How do I run a game?
Short answer: Say you want to run a game for the start of the next rotation and get some players interested.
Slightly longer answer: Say you want to run a game for the start of the next rotation and get some players interested. Design your game with the guidelines below in mind. You can run any game you like (even a homebrew) so long as you can get enough players interested, of course.
These guidelines are by no means strict rules, but reflect the spirit of what CROW is about. As much as possible it is appreciated when these can be observed, though we understand that there may, on occasion, be special circumstances that require an exception to any point below.
- Try to design a mini-campaign or series of stories that will last for about five weeks to include, in most cases, character creation on the first week (unless continuing a previously run setting or having arranged to generate the characters prior to the start of the run). Returning to a campaign setting is perfectly acceptable after a gap and can be a lot of fun, though GMs should prepare for the possibility that not all the players/characters will be the same on return. If you can't finish the game quite in five weeks (e.g. you find yourself needing another session or two to wrap up the storyline - you may always choose to run those sessions in private on a day or evening that all your players can attend. This is perfectly acceptable.)
- Try to avoid designing a game with a min/max number of players required. We generally accept that about three players is the ideal minimum and six is the ideal maximum, but be prepared to run with fewer or greater numbers, at least temporarily, until we can break into more games with smaller groups (i.e. the next rotation). This is not an absolute condition and GMs may choose to cap their players at any number they wish, but are discouraged from doing so unless there are other games accepting new players.
- Try to design the adventures to be flexible enough to allow for players to drop out (either temporarily or competely) and/or new players to join without hindering the story too much. Where possible, it is preferable to avoid canceling your game just because a single player can't make it one week, though we understand that sometimes a player may be crucial to the continuation of a story.
- It's probably a good idea to have some pre-gens ready (even if from the book) that are suitable for your adventure so that if any unexpected new player should turn up they have the opportunity to jump straight in for a session before deciding if they want to create their own character (outside of the normal sessions, ideally) or continue to play the pre-gen provided. This can be a great benefit to the GM as pre-gens can be designed beforehand that already have a reason to suddenly turn up and can instantly work on-the-fly to suddenly join a game.
- If you, as the GM, cannot make it one week and any other games that are running continue (i.e. CROW itself has not been postponed) then be prepared to re-work your adventures for a shorter run (e.g. if you miss one week then your campaign will only last for four sessions instead of five), or arrange with your players to have an extra session at another time. Try to avoid last minute cancellations, if possible, to allow time for someone (whether in your group or even from another group) to prepare a one-shot filler so that your players still have something they can do rather than stay and home and miss out on the RP fun.
- New games begin every five weeks with new GMs. It is against the spirit of CROW to GM for longer than five weeks at a time. As stated above, if you still need an extra session or two for your story to wrap up then it's perfectly acceptable to arrange with the players some extra sessions at another venue on another day. The purpose of the rotation is to allow for a regularity of new games and GMs. Not everyone likes all games, but "quick" turn-arounds allows for the possibility that a player may try a game s/he isn't too keen on if they know it's only for a short time. More importantly, this allows every player the opportunity to GM and ensures that all GMs have a chance to play games.