A friend of mine wrote the following a while back. In my experience there is definitely some truth behind it.
http://blog.guildredemund.net/2017/03/11/evolution-of-a-gaming-group/ (http://blog.guildredemund.net/2017/03/11/evolution-of-a-gaming-group/)
Gronan, Chirine and other oldtimers here have pondered if there are any groups left that have a steady influx of players, and there is a definite scientific reason for it.
Go play with strangers, people!
"I play with my friends"
Fortunately, people can continue to make new friends all their lives, and RPG's are, I think, a good way to make friends, even if they just become "gaming friends" and nothing more.
I think an open mind to new people/ new players is always a good idea. Edit: Especially new players. And don't call them newbs, you fucks. That's what teenagers do.
Im allways interested in adding new players. I do though reserve that to after having gotten to know them at least a little and parse out who they are. But I've done quite a few sight unseen DMing on request.
Hopefully the science bit is a joke. It's not science, and it's a mistake, to take a study's conclusions and then randomly apply it as the right way to do other things.
On the other hand, yeah it can be interesting and great fun to play with other different types of gamers, at least sometimes, when it works out. It can also be a problem, and that's not just about whether you're familiar with them or not.
The "science" about the Broadway musicals is completely flawed. It's the definition of bad science.
The "success" of a musical is a dollar amount, often based on the fact the musical was converted property (aka, Les Miz, Beauty & Beast) or a famous remake (aka, Oklahoma, Annie) vs. original work so without deeper categorizing this math is crap. There are plenty of excellent Broadway productions that may not meet the criteria of major financial success in comparison to hugely promoted movie tie-ins or beloved nostalgia fests.
But yeah, inviting cool people to become new players is a good thing.
Note my caveat...invite the cool people - not some random stranger. AKA, if you meet somebody who is fun to hang out with who isn't a gamer, but likes books, comics, or movies based on stuff like your campaign, that person *may* be a good addition.
In my most recent game group, we had a very steady influx of new players - new to both gaming and the world setting - so it is possible. They were all friends-of-friends, so they weren't total strangers.
These days, I think I'd have to hang out my shingle at the FLGS or the local convention, to get any interest.
That noise you heard was all the statisticians I work with shouting "Correlation does not imply causation!"
People, the science thing is obviously a joke, don't get hung up over it:)!
Quote from: AsenRG;955243People, the science thing is obviously a joke, don't get hung up over it:)!
But that's the whole point of the blog post. At least, that's what a lot of us took out of it.
Wow, that's a gigantic festering pile of Crom's corn-laden shit, based in its root in a false equivalency and a totally unwarranted assumption or ninety.
There seems to be an overly strong regection for a claim that doesn't apply.
Do you feel you have been accused of having wrong fun?
Quote from: Tod13;955264But that's the whole point of the blog post. At least, that's what a lot of us took out of it.
No, the point of the post is this.
QuoteSo, form new groups often. Do play with people you know, but also with people you haven't played with previously.
Everything else? It's a (tongue-in-cheek, at least IMO) justification for a concept that many experienced RPG players might find foreign.
"My dear Wormwood,
It seems to me that you take a great many pages to tell a very simple story."
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;955570"My dear Wormwood,
It seems to me that you take a great many pages to tell a very simple story."
I've actually read that. :)
"Science" outside the matter:
My groups that rotated out as many players as in - too much time in introductions, less time adventuring, boring and annoying at times.
My groups that had a solid base - always worked well, but if one left multiple left... group dies.
A core base is key to me for consistency in gaming. That will lead to more fulfillment at the table. There is a need to add new players along the way, or (as I have seen) the group could die quickly.
OP fits my experience - the best campaigns tend to be with a mix of players I already knew, and new players. Or recombine players from different gaming groups. Always playing with the same group of people gets stale.
Edit: I think the Broadway musical is a pretty good analogy to an RPG campaign actually (& in most groups the GM has the Producer role, as well as Director). Both recruit players/actors who are typically expected to remain a fairly stable group for the life of the endeavour. Whereas swapping out too many people during the endeavour can often kill it, getting some fresh blood in at the start is beneficial.
I get new players fairly regularly. My gaming groups all have waiting lists.