Well, sadly, I'll be out of town on a family vacation that week. It's something we've had planned for almost a year. I'm very sorry to miss the beginning of the clan campaign.
That being said, I'd like to do something about rolling out my forces before I leave, or if Rob prefers, right after I get back. I live in Morrow, and work in Mason, which I mention in case anyone else is up this way. Rob, let me know what I can do.
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So, in regards to your other comments, I think we shouldn't be too hasty about judging the health of the group. This "one-shot series" started all the way back in March. That's a LONG time ago, and a long time to be just doing one-off games or "grinders". I don't want to bore everyone with a 2-page explanation of why that would lead to less players, because no one wants to hear it, and it's just my opinion anyway; but I do think that's the biggest factor in losing motivation to show up.
Before that, we tried to have 2 simultaneous campaigns and one got cancelled. That left half the group as permanent OpFor.
That went on for over a year. For some of us,
it's been over 2 years since we had a PC or group of own mechs to run. Think about that, that is a LONG time, and in that time we actually picked up some new players! Not only that, but the OpFor was generally facing Super-PC's with massive experience, skills, and abilities,
and they kept showing up anyway. (^_^)b
I want to say thanks to those that stepped up to run "one-shots", because it's a lot of work, and I'm glad you guys are willing to do it. When we have an actual campaign going, it's a fact that
guys will show up to play scenarios even when they don't enjoy the type of scenario being played. Participation in a campaign setting engenders that sort of response, and that's exactly what keeps the group going and growing. For instance, someone who doesn't enjoy Aerotech will still show up for a
campaign space battle. Someone who dislikes space combat will be far less likely to show up for a one-shot space battle.
For me personally, one-shot games are simply de-prioritized. I acknowledge that others may not feel that way, and in fact, may be angry at me for saying so. So I apologize for being part of the problem. It's not an easy thing for me to grab an entire Saturday for Battletech, so I tend to view breaks like this as a chance to catch up on other stuff; in the process, it makes it slightly easier to make the campaign games when they inevitably start up again.
I also don't feel I have the time (or the skills) to write up and run a huge ongoing campaign, so there too, I'm enjoying the fruits of the labors of others. I really,
REALLY, appreciate the work that goes into it. It's just my opinion, but I suspect we'll see better attendance for the campaign than for one-offs. Campaign play is where we've always picked up new players as well. And at some point, we'll also lose some players. That's been happening since the beginning, and the list of our ex-players will continue to grow.
My part in this "group" started when I contacted Rob on the boards (2007 I think) and he agreed to meet me and teach me the game. Next game was Rob GM'ing while Dan taught me the value of paying better attention to Scenario Objectives. After that we started picking up disgruntled B5 players (Phil, Travis) and we've been going ever since. All our lives have changed in the meantime, families have grown, moves have happened, new jobs, etc.; but we're still here, and as far as I can tell, eagerly awaiting the start of another DeHoff campaign. Let's do it!
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Topic: Well, this month was rough. (Read 3750 times)