Rather than parrot everything Barry's said. I'll simply say that he's got the right idea.
First you need to try to contact the GM, via rmail probably and see what their status is.
Then get a head count on the players and what they'd like to do.

Until you have those you won't really know what your options are.

Alright, thanks for the info. ^_^

The above have covered most of it.
I'd emphasize the point of "will you still have fun as the GM rather than a player?"

You'll also want to see if the game is marked as "personal and intellectual property," since if it is, you're technically not supposed to continue it.
You can look for the P in front of the game from the main menu, but also check above roster in The Cast to see if it says anything.
(I've noticed some games say they're IP in The Cast, but don't have the P in the main menu. Anyone know how or why?)

If you do end up rebooting or something, it's a good opportunity to correct any flaws of the game. Namely, what might have caused the game to die in the first place (though in this case it might have just been an inactive GM).

How do you make images look like images, instead of links?  I feel silly asking.

Copied and pasted from a game I'm in....

Also, feel free to upload pictures into your character description. You may upload four pictures if you desire. It seems Photobucket is a good venue and its free! simply upload your portrait to their site and then copy from the bar that's labeled 'IMG' into your character description.

 Use what's written here and after album/ incorporate the rest of the link from your IMG tab.

(example)

   <.img src="http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/     ">

(add the last quotation and bracket after inserting your link! Also, so the link would show up in this, a period was added before img, remove the period to correctly upload your photos.)

 (The above is what you'd use to prepare to upload your link into your character description)

 (then paste whatever the IMG link is)

 n205/peanutspo/Peanuts.jpg[/IMG]

(Combine the two together)

 <.img src="http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n205/peanutspo/Peanuts.jpg[/IMG]">

(

Note: Photobucket is no longer a good suggestion but there are others available like imgur.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:05, Thu 02 Nov 2017.

Aw, thanks man!

Note: this is not the place for that question. Rpol has that info already detailed I believe. Please keep things in focus.

I have a question about the apparently high attrition rate among players.  I have tried to be more strict about my acceptance policy, and have started requiring new players to show high initial investment for the first 2 weeks after joining a game to show that they are actually interested in participating in the game, and not just sitting around like dead weight.

Other than stricter application processes, does anyone have any advice on how they have dealt with this?

I find that being active in your game helps a lot.  Chatting up folks in OOC threads, for example, gives the impression that you're around, and approachable.  By seeing the game "active", players are more encouraged to participate.

Sadly I have not always been as active as I should have been, as GM. >.>

One thing to be mindful of hemophage is extensive RTJ's put prospective players off.  Of course it's the GM's game but I find several paragraphs of rtj requirements to be off putting and I won't bother.

In part I guess it comes into the way I play.  If something seems more rules than fun it probably will be and might suggest something about GM style.

Still, if you find a good way to retain players please share it!

Something I did when I was still GMing, to help make players feel like they were contributing, is have a thread that allowed them to request threads if they wanted their characters to go someplace I hadn't thought of, but still makes sense for the game's setting.

In reply to Liz (msg # 14):

Yeah, that is a good idea.  And that premise is the basis of the "West Marches" style of campaign.  You give the players a whole bunch of rumours and information, and let them decide where they want to go.  Some info might be of interest to certain characters, who could then invite others to go with them.

It cuts down on the amount of GM work you need to prepare.  It also allows you to have a larger group of players, and multiple GMs.

Adviser, can we please have a separate thread pertaining to "player attrition?"  I feel like it's one of the worst hurtles to deal with as a GM on rPol.

I agree with a lot of the responses.  Another thing that can help is to "overstaff."  Invariably, no matter how good a game is, some players will fall off.  If you have more players involved in the game than you otherwise would, you already have enough people to keep things moving.  I agree with pdboddy about being active;  I've been in games where a player will drop, and the GM let the pace drag while finding a replacement.  Once the GM lets the pace falter, the attrition rate starts to compound.

Personally I think you're on the right track with the extensive RTJ process.  If a player falls off because they're getting bored during the RTJ, I would assume they weren't going to be the most committed player, and any time you can get rid of a player who's likely to drop before they even integrate themselves into the game, you've nipped the problem in the bud.

Sounds like a good idea, there's a new thread for it now. So go nuts.

In reply to Barry (msg # 3):

Okay, it's been nine days sent I sent the GM an rMail, no reply, and it's still just two players, and the game's starting to get really boring really fast.

In reply to Liz (msg # 18):

Well, it's up to you.  Has the game been good?  Enjoyable?  Worth letting it sit on the backburner a bit?

All you have to do is pop into that idle game every day, maybe message from time to time in ooc threads.  Eventually the GM may return from whatever emergency or thing took away their free time, and they'll see (hopefully) some folks are still about and perhaps willing to jumpstart the game again.

There's nothing stopping you from joining active games, though.  You don't have to sit around bored. ;)

   That's true, you don't have to sit in a game and wait - I've joined several to keep my attention while some of the others are sitting back and the post rate has slowed. Some of the other games are fast-paced and are keeping my interest, so I can let the slower ones slack a little.

   But even in those, I poke in twice a week, post if necessary, and move on. I've been here about a year, and I've only dropped out of 2 games in all of that time - both of them having GM absence issues.

I think Liz, in the context of your original post it maybe time to move on and just start your own game.  You were very much in a 'stick or twist' situation with the GM disappearing.  I think that since you have sent the message and if you feel the game needs more players and you want some control over the game it is time to start your own game off.

Good luck with it Liz, if that is what you choose to pursue.

From a GM POV, Liz, 9 days isn't a huge amount of time for a GM (or anyone) to be missing. There are a good many RL events that can keep someone off-balance for that sort of time.

To put it in perspective, the Mods will not transfer game ownership until a GM has been missing for three months. So even if you were a co-GM (and if you're not, the Mods won't transfer ownership at all) there's no way you could take over anytime soon.

But OTOH, you're under no obligation to stick with a game, or a GM, if you're bored.
The best thing you can do, as Barry suggested, is to chat with the other player and see what the two of you prefer. If you decide between you that you'd like to set up on your own, do it.

Liz,

I am currently in a game now where the GM has disappeared on 2 different occasions without warning.  The RTJ thread was set up Oct 26, 2013.  Real life emergencies happen.  I have been lucky both times as the GM has returned.  If the game has been fun for you, let the game be idle and post every now and then to keep it active.  Your GM may show back up.  But only do this if the game has been fun.  You might get lucky too.  My GM has an advantage as this is a game using the system I GM, which every GM wants, to play in their chosen system as a player.  I requested this GM to run the game.  And the character concept is one I have been wanting to play for over 20 years.  So his chances of losing me as a player are slim to none.  If he needs a break, then so be it, I can wait.

I'm considering running a Mage the Ascension game (M20, specifically), but it's likely to be heavy on combat. I am... not known for my strength when it comes to combat-heavy games, particularly at the snail's pace that RPOL can sometimes run at. Does anyone have any suggestions for making M20 combat work in this setting? Or am I doomed to a Discord game? :/

What is the problem you are running into specifically?

General advice for any combat is never expect players to post in initiative order and do as much as you can to pre-declare reactions if possible. But I don't know the details of M20 other than where they cross with V20.

I'm less concerned with the rules themselves and more the speed slow-down that occurs when battle occurs. Unless it's a one-round battle, which I dont think I've ever encountered, this sort of slowdown can be a game-killer.

Several options: 1, accept the slow down. 2, have everyone send you the declaration of their actions. This allows you to post the description of actions all at once in an interesting fashion, but requires a lot more work. The 3rd option is to mix a bit of both but cut it down to three phases. Opening midpoint and endgame. This speeds things up and also keeps it somewhat cinematic, without causing the players to feel like they aren't in control. Those last two do require more work for the GM, but they do make the game more enjoyable.

In reply to Storyteller (msg # 26):

It depends why the slow down is actually occuring. There are several possible reasons.