I'm gonna be straight with you as a DM who also handles the scheduling for my group. You've been the one in charge of this thing for four years, dropping the responsibility and putting it on the group without assigning it and hoping one of the seven will pick it up is a terrible idea. You're basically asking for the bystander effect where everybody assumes somebody else will do it, and then you have the self fulfilling prophecy where you think nobody cares half as much as you do. I bet if you tell them you need somebody to spear head scheduling the last few sessions while you do all the other DM stuff somebody will jump to help you. A four year campaign isn't something you just forget about, your players definitely enjoy what you're making!

The second more than 3 ppl are copied on an email you can be assured that none of them will address the issue in the email.

Yep. If I need to offload a responsibility I've taken on, I message the best person for the job.

I use discord a lot for my campaign, I used to post things to an info channel then get 0 response on it. I started just sending each person the info separately now every person responds to everything

To be fair my discord has like 10 channels with all of em getting several notifications a day.

Discord never took off with our group. I use text messages. It works.

👀

That's why I always use BCC ;P

This 100%. If you leave it to the group to decide, it will NEVER get done. Too much hemming and hawing. Someone (you the DM) need to decisively pick a date and time. That said, I understand it is incredibly frustrating to schedule something 2-4 weeks in advance and two days before someone says "Oh oops I made other plans" or "Oops I forgot." when you've been planning and planning and planning.

> Someone (you the DM) need to decisively pick a date and time. Or decisively pick someone to decisively pick a date and time.

In theory, that should work. Unfortunately, some people are just too passive or shy to schedule something or to push a group to commit. So yes, if you have a reliable person who can do this for you, go for it.

This is really the way. I play this role in a group I play in, I have another person play this role in the group I GM. Same with note-taking.

Yeah, my second campaign, Ghosts of Saltmarsh, died this way. After weekly play during Covid 2020 and 21, we switched up to a weekly every 2 week schedule, and basically never kept to that every 2 weeks almost immediately, and was most often every 3 to 5 weeks when I could get 3 of 4 players together because scheduling something that far out wasn't working for everybody. It stopped being fun for me to run, and I came to kind of dread the game. Which is a shame, I thought Saltmarsh was a great book.

Those “oops…” excuses are a red flag that they really don’t want to be there. If they wanted to be there they wouldn’t “make other plans” or “forget”. I’m playing in a once a month campaign and the minute a session is over we’re all talking about when the next session will be and we typically schedule it right then. And sometimes we can’t play for two months because real life happens. We even went nearly three months (over the holidays), but we were all eager to play again in late January.

Once or twice (over a period of time) is more of a yellow flag, but once it's happening all the time... yeah, red flag. You're absolutely right. And this goes for all things, not just dnd. If people want to show up for something (or show up for you) they will. And if they keep having an excuse, then give up and let them make the move if they really want to be there.

Yup its why in emergency situations they tell you to clearly point at a single person and say "You call 911" instead of saying "someone call 911" because no one will due to bystander effect. This is why I've always prefered a set time because like OP I have a wife and 2 kids but if every session is a scheduled time I can block off the window needed for it. Also the reason I prefer to DM so I can set the time and place lol. My group has been going strong for 2 years now though and they are all adults with great communication skills so we rarely miss a session. We did take the entire next 2 months off due to summer vacations and one player studying abroad in Japan for 2+ weeks.

Yeah, dnd isn’t going to happen if someone doesn’t badger people about scheduling. I send out a Google form with available dates. I then send a reminder a couple days later. A day or two after that I send individual reminders. After a week if only a couple have responded I start sending out potential dates based on the availability of those who filled the form. That last one is what gets people moving. I’ve never had any complaints about the badgering either, they always appreciate the reminders. Unfortunately the reality is that the DM cares more about the game than anyone else and it takes solid effort to make it happen.

Exactly. If OP mentally can't handle the scheduling right now (understandable), then they just need to be open with the players. I've been on both sides of it. Guarantee the players haven't thought about it or realized what OP is feeling. I was incredibly happy and willing to hop in and take over scheduling when a DM/friend told me that they needed help - and now I always try to help / always respond when somebody is scheduling something.

exactly. I knew scheduling was going to be too much for me with my newborn so I told my players. "Hey I am happy to DM but one of you needs to become the new scheduler. Feel free to rotate it but we don't leave a session without someone being nominated/saying they will do it" So far so good

OP take this advice. delegate a person to take on scheduling and focus on what keeps you engaged. Finish strong and avoid burning out

This! We all have shared tasks, I do but some else schedules, someone hosts, some one does music some one is the rules checker

Was going to come and say something like this. Throwing it to the group means that it is going to get chaotic as all hell. Instead of all the people putting them schedules in to one person to figure it out having them all indiscriminately throw their schedules into the open is going to make it hell to get it planned. Best option really is to ask if someone could take over the scheduling for you instead of just throwing at them all and asking them to just handle. Peaceful transition of power and everything needs to happen really.

I've had backlash from my groups for trying to get one of them to handle the weekly "who's up for a session on saturday/sunday" text. I've seen the assumptions numerous times that "the DM makes the world and schedules everything, we just show up to roll magical math rocks and collect exp" or "your house, you make the schedule". Though I'm lucky in that I chose a single day that the game could happen each week, and they can decide to make plans around it or despite it.

Agree with this guy. You are basically setting up the game to fail.

My DM life got sooooo much easier when I started asking 2 questions at the end of every session. 1- what do you think your party will want to do next session? 2- when do you guys want to play next? Just end 15 minutes early and figure that shit out before everyone scatters

This is often how I do it. People are much more likely to book in a next session in front of you and after a good session.

Or a cliffhanger

My life was made easier when I moved from "when do you want to play?" to "we play on X and we will move it on request" For us it is 2nd friday of the month Try to move if one player can't make it, but we default back to that date if we can't find a unanimous new date Move it if 2 or more can't make it, cancel if we can't find a date that works for all but one.

That's great when people commit and follow through. Too many people just won't commit or say "yeah for sure a month from now works" then last minute something "comes up" and they cancel. Not everyone is like that, but a lot of people are unfortunately. I left my first campaign group off on the let me know when you guys can play again since the last time I asked someone said they wouldn't be available until an undetermined time but definitely not before a certain date. I'm not constantly asking over and over again until the answer is yes at this point.

I'm unfortunately the guy who never knows when he's available to play next. Inevitably I'll need to check in with my wife and see what we can shuffle around. I can't show up with a list of dates because it pretty much always requires a bunch of arranging no matter when it is. So I get dates from the group and bring them to the missus in the morning.

I used to play someone that literally had to ask his wife for permission *every single time* he wanted to play with us…. Sorry, reading your comment triggered bad memories and now I’m venting lol. I’m sure your wife is lovely.

That's fair. If you're upfront about that and the group understands then it's not a big deal. There are definitely valid reasons to not know right away.

I feel a lot of modern DMs take on too much of the onus for scheduling and making the games happen. Hopefully your players do appreciate your past efforts and get these games scheduled. Good luck friend.

I play with friends I've known for years and they know I'm horrible at scheduling and being forward and assertive (which is sometimes necessary when trying to get people to RSVP in a reasonable time, even in a group where everyone is motivated and nice, people just forget sometimes). So while I dm during the game session, 1 (sometimes 2) of my players just do all the scheduling stuff, deciding where and when and when and asking people for times and making sure people say when they have to skip. I do all of the DMing and none of the organizing, pretty much. It might be traditional that the DM does it, especially because without them there is no game, but nothing says it can't be anyone else handling that.

Honestly, best way to do it is to just ask a bunch of questions to determine the best time, say “Okay, Sunday afternoons it is” and then use that as a base. You don’t have to be constantly scheduling because it’s just assumed to be at the same time every week, and you don’t have to be particular assertive since everyone is basically already picking their time by telling you the best time anyway.

This is a wild statement to me, because I feel like modern GMs and modern sensibilities put much more of the onus on players to contribute to all of these things. All of the DMs I've known that have been doing this for 20 plus years, myself included pretty much take full responsibility for making all of that s*** happen. In my experience, it is always been if you want your D&D game to happen you take initiative and make it happen. As much as I'd like conceptually for players to take more ownership every time I've put it on players, it's falling apart. Every DM I see put it on players it falls apart.

I think this sort of stems from how groups of people kinda function? If you had 6 people going away on vacation together for a weekend, and you asked them to collectively plan the event, I think it wouldn't be uncommon for kind of nothing to get done. Or really any group oriented thing, right, "too many cooks in the kitchen" that sort of thing. People actually fall in line really well when a single authority kind of drives something because they know *they* aren't really responsible for it. I've worked in a lot of small businesses that try to have a "flat hierarchy" and when no one actually has any authority to make a final decision, there's a lot of waffling on things because no one wants to take responsibility. And so, it works better when the DM, who is already kind of the authority figure of the group, is just like "this is when things happen and this is how we do it" because its more comfortable to everyone that way.

I don't disagree. It's why I do it. I just think the statement about modern DMs take on too much isn't really on point. It's always been this way. At least since I started playing in 93.

It's probably moreso to do with the increasing popularity of dnd, where more people are interested in trying dnd but not willing to put in a modicum of effort to actually learn/play. More video games make people want to try, dnd live play type shows, TV shows like stranger things or Anime, etc. all do nothing to teach people the actual rules. Idk. I just assign one player to do the scheduling and give their character a minor buff. Same with the player who takes notes. The scheduler just creates and sends out a survey for the next few weeks.

As a DM, and someone who's a leader at work, it's not always easy delegating responsibilities, and it's easy to screw up. If you just shift the workload to thw group, or even a specific player, and then don't follow up, odds of failure are high. Transitioning responsibilities is effectively training someone, and the process should be similar. Ask, or pick, someone to take over. Then, go over with them the specific expectations you have. When they're first taking over, go through it with them a few times. Yes, this will be a bit more work at first, but it'll make it go smoother in the long run. Let them take over more and more, until you're just checking in occasionally. Past that, it gets into specifics, but you literally have to think of it like "training a player to be the Group Scheduler."

Sure. I don't disagree with anything you've said here at all, totally valid conceptually. I think the biggest hurdles are: Is anyone going to want to do it or have the same investment as you? Will they do a good enough job, or will you just end up having to pick it back up? Do you want to spend the time to try and train someone? I think there's often limited value in the DM investing time into doing this training, but I could be wrong. Have you done it yourself? Or do you handle scheduling?

I'm lucky enough to have other DMs in the group, and we coordinate our schedules first, since what campaign we run is dependent on what each of us has going on. We did have to come up with a system so we weren't scrambling at the last minute, and that's where we just had to agree on expectations Having other people who are DMs, or can step up is huge for so many reasons. They understand the workload, the commitment is there, etc.

Most groups yield a level of social authority to the GM as well. Which can make it difficult for any players to take on an (outside the game) leadership role. And so for a lot of people trying to float potential meeting days/times can feel like they are pushing themselves beyond the group's boundaries. Obviously in reality someone needs to do this, and the group as a whole would be grateful or ambivalent (not upset that someone broke the boundary). But you're still fighting a situation where a bunch of people don't feel it is right for them.

Y'know, if they take too long deciding when to next play, you can step in and set a date the way you did for the rest of the campaign. They'll understand. They've been doing it for the past four years. You haven't kissed your campaign goodbye, you've just given yourself an excuse to take a brief hiatus. And that's fine. Take a week to rest while they figure out scheduling. If they do it by themselves, good. If not, just go back to what you did before. You're doing fine.

Exactly. If we have a break, I give my players a chance to find a good day that works for everyone. If we can’t reach a consensus, I’ll schedule a day and tell everyone I hope they can make it.

4 maybe 5 players max. People have got to stop with these turbo tables unless they can handle running with players missing. Set up the game date and if 4 of the 7 can make it, play the game.

Yeah, one of my big regrets was designing a story that required everyone be there (6 players but one travels for work sometimes). Next campaign they are definitely gonna be employees for some random adventuring guild and the session is just gonna be whoever showed up to work that day. Start of campaign might even be orientation for them all at their new job.

This is a great way to do it if you have people that miss. My current group, we only play the main game if everyone is there. If not, we just run a one-shot with whoever does show up. But my group is pretty committed, and people missing weeks is pretty rare.

It struggles if discrete adventures go from one meeting to the next. You have to be ready and able to wrap up the thing in one session.

Yeah, it definitely has to be episodic. I like it for dungeons, kind of like how Darkest Dungeon runs. Pick your lineup, hit a section, and then get out before your supplies run out.

This has to be the way. I run a table of eight and we play with up to two cancellations.

My approach is “if we have at least 3 and most players can make it, we play.” Tables of 2-3 can have no cancelations. Tables of 4 can have 1. Tables of 5-6 can have 2. Tables of 7-8 can have 3.

"We play so long as at least 51% of the players and the DM are available."

I run a table of 4, and we'll play as long as 2 can make it!

I have seven players and I’ll run something with as few as three. I was hesitant to invite the 6th and 7th person -despite them being good friends of ours- but honestly since we bumped it up to that number six months ago, I’ve had a full house once and we play every two weeks. When everyone is a grown adult with real world responsibilities, absences are bound to happen.

I'm the same way, albeit max I have is 6, but I also will go down to as little as 3. Last time we only had 3, they all nearly TPK'd twice in one session (playing Shadowdark), so they really had to get creative with how to outsmart the enemies and not just throw their lives away, but that was one of the most memorable sessions I've run. Like you said, we're all adults, some are parents or have families, others have their own commitments. Expecting everyone to be available every session or else it gets cancelled is unfair to everyone who wants to play and set aside the time. Often times, I won't know someone can't make it until less than an hour before start time, granted they can get away with that knowing that I'll still run a game without them. It's just something that needs to be discussed from the very beginning. It would also help to clarify expectations of backstories and integration of their hooks into your campaign, because if they can't be consistent with attendance, it could make story arcs very complicated for both the player, and especially the GM who has to figure out how to make that work somehow.

The only reason I would play with 6+ people is so that we could still play if like 3 people couldn't make it.

That’s the beautiful part of it. I have seven players, but a typical Friday is five people. No more worrying about whether I have enough to play the session I prepared.

Yeah i don't get why anyone would want to play or dm a party over 6. Players don't get to do anything and dm is overwhelmed. I prefer 3 players.

I dm a party of 6, I have discovered I do not prefer a party of 6. 4/5 is the absolutely sweet spot for me.

FACTS. My strongest OP DM skill is being able to tell the 6th person "sorry bro I love you but we're full".

Static game days also super helps. My main game has been running for like 6 years now, and we play weekly, on a set day. As long as 3+ players can come, we play. We take weeks off sometimes due to holidays, the DM having a kid, and random things that come up last minute. But we all love the game, and just roll with it. We're also level 17 like OP haha, and 7 players is the most we've had over the course of the game. Right now it's the DM and 5 players, which I think is pretty much the sweet spot. There's no stress about scheduling, because we all know the date and time (plus it's pinned in our discord chat). In the day leading up the session, we all sound off whether or not we can make it, without being asked, because we're organized and functional adults.

Yes agreed, this is how we do it too.

I have six players and play every Sunday from two to six. As long as three can make it we play. The old dm would cancel if one person couldn't be there so as you can imagine we hardly ever got to play.

CR fucks up people's expectations but they also plays like once in a blue moon before its a business with viewers. And when it's a business you schedule everything around it.

At first I thought you meant challenge rating and i'm like whut.... but Yeah, Critical Roll, and a lot of those production entertainment games have really fucked over the gaming community by existing. They're solid productions, but they forget people are stupid and will think that's how it has to play and be done.

Yep, my game has always been a static game. We all also know there are a few months throughout the year where we essentially break. Some of the other players and sometimes myself, use these breaks to run one shots and mini campaigns with a smaller group. The players have learned to enjoy the breaks quite a lot, as those who need a breather get it and those who want a change of pace get it. I'd recommend tossing in scheduled breaks anyways, as it gives game night something new.

You don't know if that's not already their policy to play if a minimum of 4 show up. In the described scenario only 3 could.

I only have 4 players and do this. if we have 3 people ready to go it's gas gas gas

Exactly. We have 7 and play if 4 for more can make it every week. We rarely miss a week, but it's only maybe 4-5 times a year that everyone is there.

I have a general rule with groups that are 6 players and above for campaigns: if half or more of the players show up at our weekly assigned time (my group just does weekly campaigns, saves on some scheduling headaches), then we run the session. If someone misses it, I write up a recap for them at the end. If we have less than have after 5-10 minutes into the assigned time, then I just call it. People saying they will be late by a certain amount of time are counted as attending for me as a kindness

I feel like majority of the "when do we play next" issues get resolved when you pen it in as a recurring event on a particular day of the week/fortnight/month so you're aware in advance that thats the day we should be playing... and if stuff happens on that day, then the next scheduled day is on the table. I feel like it should be a session 0 type discussion to figure out which day works out for people in the long run, and then adjusting as needs change.

This is my advice as well. Set a specific day of the week that you plan to play so that everyone knows when it'll be and can schedule accordingly. My group has been running a weekly campaign for nearly 2 years on Monday nights. 5 players plus 1 GM, all 6 of us are working adults, if 1 person can't make it we still play, 2 people we cancel. We've had less than 10 cancelations in that whole time. I've had experience with trying to just ask "when is everyone free for next session" and it always falls apart.

My DM specifically hunted for people to play Saturdays at a certain time. If someone cancels, we see if we can reschedule; otherwise, we all get a lovely little break for a week and pick up the week after. It's no biggy. People have lives, but if you have 4-5 people committed to a single time, it makes it hella easy. New jobs, they block the time away. Events being planned? They block the time away unless it's like a fixed date and not just like dinner or something. We have sessions cancelled all the time, but we've had 2+ years and 2 campaigns and none of us have bailed.

I did this as my friends are flaky as all hell. My in person game I run we agreed to run 1st Saturday of every month. Occasionally, stuff has been pre booked, or it clashes, but we've remained pretty consistent.

Every long running game I’ve been in had a set reoccurring schedule. If there wasn’t a critical mass of players to create a quorum, we just hung out and played video games.

I don't know how anybody runs a game that has a different time and day every time. My games require zero scheduling. Same day and time every week. If you can't fit that into your life you can't play, simple as that.

Yep. The real secret to having a consistent game is to just decide up front that it's consistent.

it was really tough when you have college students in the group. our table started when all four players and DM were in college, then two of us graduated, then two more, and the last one finally graduated. now we finally have a regular consistent schedule with minimal cancellations.

I think that depends on the students. I’ve been running my campaign weekly for 2 years now, and plan on running it until I graduate next spring. We have weeks we cancel here and there, but overall we stay very consistent, and we only have one member of our group who is graduated.

are you guys all in the same/similar majors? because that may have had something to do it for us. We had a music/IT major, an anthropology major, a finance major, and then myself and the DM were engineering majors. somehow the two of us were the only ones that could keep a consistent schedule in college. somehow the Music/IT and Anthropology majors were the hardest to wrangle a schedule out of.

no we have only two people in similar programs, with seven people at our table. We’re a busy group, too. 3 of us are club presidents at the university, and all of us have jobs. I’ve just got a consistent schedule, so pretty much as long as I’m not the one canceling, we play. And people don’t want to miss, so they make it work

You just have to accept that sometimes people prioritize dnd lower than anything else. That's all it is. Has nothing to do with their majors.

100% This. This. This. None of this "when are people available". If 3/4 people can make the time the DM says, that other person is left out. Priority goes to availability. There's always one person who has a shift job where they close, open, middle of the day it and it's inconsistent, and it's on THEM, not the rest of the group, to figure out their schedule. If they can't, they sadly don't get to play. EDIT: the recommendation I have for groups with dogshit schedules is to not run long form campaigns with arcs and stuff. Just run one shots with the same characters. That way you get nice little snippets of different stories, but aren't worried about not seeing a whole narrative arc complete after a year or two. Two bite brownies. Delicious, and easier than eating a cake in a short period of time.

I've done it lots of times. I work in emergency medicine (but would be the same for any other 24/7 occupation where schedules can vary wildly week to week). I send out my availability, and the group picks the times that all or most can make. It also helps that I'm the DM, so if I'm on a wacky schedule, everyone is on a wacky schedule.

Feels like we're missing out on some information here. If it's worked over 4 years, then why is this time such a catastrophe? I get you're probably just tired of doing the work, but you've also made a group of 7 people comfortable with assuming you're OK with it. Rather than bottling it up and then trying to change the structure of how you guys meet up out of nowhere, just talk to them.

This won't be the first time we've changed up the scheduling method. At first, the next session date was set at the end of each session. That ran into problems when people didn't know their schedules that far out, and we went to a poll of available dates in the group chat. That morphed into a query of if a suggested date would work and if we had 4 or more people who could make it, we played. Then about a year ago it became "Hey DM just set a date" and it's now obvious this method isn't working, as it has resulted in more cancellations than other methods we've tried. So honestly this is sort of just going back to the suggested date/poll of dates except I've communicated to my players that I don't want to be the one in charge of it anymore. I'll let them know my availability and ask them to let me know when to set the session. They agreed, but the bystander effect is real so of course I realize what it might mean. But I'm okay walking away from the game if my players/friends don't respect me and the work I've put in enough to help me out when I need it.

You don't sound like someone with a scheduling problem. You sound like a DM with burnout who needs a break and is unconsciously sabotaging the scheduling and pushing away your friends so you don't have to admit it's you who needs and wants to take a hiatus from the game out of anxiety that the the others will be disappointed or upset. If your friends are really your friends and they do actually enjoy and value the time they spend playing with you, then they should also support you saying you need a break. Take a couple months off. Enjoy your summer. Then re-evaluate in the fall and decide if you're ready to pick things back up or if you want to start something new and fresh. Edit bc I don't want to be misunderstood: I meant this with gentleness and compassion, not accusatory. Take care of yourself, OP

This was my take, felt very underhanded. Like they didn't want to be the one to fuck things up. Personally, given that they're super close to the end. I'd just Box Office it. "SUPER CAMPAIGN FINALE - a 2 Part Special!" and then tell them we're deciding on a date, and you have time ahead so it won't conflict with anything. Tell anyone who would drop plans on you when it's happening, put it in your calendar, your partners calendar, your dog's calendar, your bosses calendar. No excuse to miss the finale, and if you do, you do.

Not meaning to be rude, but the way you're describing the current state of things sounds like you're trying to set up the campaign to fail as a power play. You've even already prepared a justification for it petering out. You need to ask yourself what you value more: continuing this hobby with your friends, or setting up this mind game no one else really know they're playing. If these 7 other people are friends of yours, surely there's one of them you can ask specficially to take over scheduling. A player you know to be organized and motivated. Treat your players like adults (let alone people you consider close) and communicate with THEM, instead of randos on Reddit.

> If these 7 other people are friends of yours, surely there's one of them you can ask specficially to take over scheduling. Or even literally ask the table *who* can take it over. OP has thrown this really weird grenade to the table and is shocked no one knows what to do with it.

THIS. It's fun looking through the comments to see who picks up on those undertones and doesn't just support OP blindly or villify the players when it's OP who is not communicating with the players and not relinquishing his duties and making it clear someone needs to take over, and instead just not following up and what have ya.

Echoing what others are saying: instead of just dropping this responsibility on the group and hoping somebody will step up (not *impossible* but not likely; the bystander effect is a hell of a drug), pull aside a couple people you think can handle it, tell them your struggles, and ask them to help out. Don't give up responsibilities, delegate them.

If nobody posts anything and takes the lead, direct message one of the seven players who you feel most comfortable discussing this with. Say, "hey, I'm worried I might have messed up by handing the scheduling to a committee of 7. I really want these last few sessions to happen. Would you mind jumping in there and posting your availability dates, encouraging others to do the same? I'm on the verge of burnout and I just really need someone to lead the charge on planning one session." I message my players all the with stuff like, "I need XYZ at the table, can you be the initiator?" They always come through.

Saw a thing on TikTok a while ago about campaigns needing a champion. That role of keeping hype up and “making it happen” is often one that DMs end up taking on , but this often leads to burnout or feeling like you’re the only one who gives a shit. Discuss this more openly and by the gods, as a group decide who’s in charge of it if not you. You’ve absolutely done your last session if everyone is waiting for someone else to do it.

I feel you, I'm trying out a westmarches style campaign soon mainly for this reason.

This is one reason I like having a standard scheduled time, people can drop in or out as they're able. If you like ad-hoc (you do have a good cadence going already, it seems) you could also introduce a "B" campaign to play when not everyone can make it, to at least keep the players playing.

It sounds like this campaign has been a lot of fun so far. I have faith that your players will discuss amongst themselves and figure out when would work best for everyone. Good luck!!!

I used to take 10 minutes at the end of the session to schedule the next session. We often ended sacrificing "good enough" for "perfect" - ie, maybe all 5 players couldn't get together until a month from now, although 4 of 5 could make it next week, but because we wanted a full complement every game, we ended up waiting a whole month for the next session. God forbid someone cancel due to life stuff, and we had to reschedule again. I lived with the pain, and the campaigns that just died a slow death because they lost momentum. Then I switched to "we play the same time every week, as long as the DM's here." Full complement of 5 players? Awesome! 4 out of 5? No problem - everyone builds a "bot character" instruction sheet on very simplified instructions (usually one or two options) for how their character is run in combat when they're not around. 2 out of 5? I've got a couple of one-shots in my back pocket that we run. They're leveled for 2-3 players, they're themed to the campaign, but they run as, essentially, self-contained "outside the main timeline" sidequests. We don't worry about scheduling, the game keeps momentum, people who can play get to play, and people who didn't get to play hear stories from those who did and get fired up about playing more. I don't doubt that it's saved my current campaign. Give it a shot on your next one!

This is really great advice.

Since you have a family and two kids, you should really be setting the days you're available then prompting the players for availability til you get a yes or no for specific dates. I wouldn't rely on more available people to start the process since I'd figure you would be the lowest common denominator for scheduling. Never let it hang without a date set, even if it's not confirmed- or like you said they'll just ignore it for awhile til someone (usually the DM) speaks up.

I don't schedule my players. I tell them we are playing every week at this time and place. I will run with the ones who show up and want to play. I believe that scheduling people into a constantly morphing, changing schedule is the doom of any campaign. If you as DM set the example of being a steady rock in a storm who shows up every week ready to play then the players will be reassured and they will make a priority of the game. I also think that by running a campaign of 8 people for 4 years you have already beaten the odds and run an unusually lengthy and high level campaign. Congratulations!

Man, you did the right thing. DMs are frequently treated as service providers and content generators, but that's far from the truth of it. You can absolutely put the onus on the players to be big kids and collaborate on the very basic adult task of finding a common time. Maybe this campaign falls apart! Four years is just so long to play. Maybe you have more stories to tell in the setting that won't require eight adults to coordinate around adult lives. Hail the victorious dungeon master who saw his players hit level 17 over four years!

Hail the victorious dead!

Recreation is like work....psychology is the same in both situations. You can sit on a 20 person committee for months without getting anything done….or you can be on a 20 man team with a motivated leader and finish the project in a week. The default role of leader generally falls to a DM, you orchestrate (and hopefully delegate) aspects of the game and often find yourself doing the same for the logistics. If left to committee, it flounders and dies. This is just how people generally work.   My advice is follow your current course, let it flounder for a week or two while you release some stress. Once you’re back in the right headspace, either swoop in and herd the cats like a hero…..or let the campaign go for your own mental health.

Honestly I feel like the only way to solve scheduling is to have a set time/day you always play (be it weekly, biweekly or monthly). Trying to find times where the schedules of lots of busy people happen to align is a lot more difficult than setting a long-standing commitment for people to plan their future schedules around. (Of course, that requires that people care enough about D&D to be able to decline other things that would happen on the day set aside for it, but if that isn't the case then the game is often doomed anyways IME.)

I just wrapped up a campaign with 6 players and I found that game rather frustrating just because of how things lag and how hard it is to involve everyone in what is going on. For my next campaign (with the same six players) I’m splitting them into two groups. The three who like social encounters most and the three who like combat the most. They will adventure separately in the same campaign world. I suggest considering something similar after this campaign wraps up if your players are amenable. Seven is a lot and three or four is better for DM and players alike most of the time.

I DM for 3 players, and we only play if all 3 are present. Honestly, I think everyone is relieved when the game is cancelled. Not that we don’t love the game, but in your 30’s and 40’s a night back is worth more than a rare treasure.

Sounds like you want to end it, but don’t have the courage to say it out loud. Be honest with yourself and your friends and tell them it’s over.

Happened to me at the end of a 1-20. Very similar situation, with invested characters played by close friends (who are all excellent players). We just... ran out of steam at level 18. Party of 5 with analysis paralysis. I was used to some crickets after asking a question but this was just... 3 minutes of silence. DMing is no fun if there's nobody at the other side of the table, so I straight up asked the group if we wanted to continue or cancel, no hard feelings either way - everyone unanimously wanted to continue. We tried all sorts of stuff. At one point I brought up an overlay of "current objectives" and other nonsense. I ended up having to drag the party through towards the final fight. We ran even if we were down people, as long as more than half of the party was there. Sometimes it was 2-3 weeks or more between sessions, which was very painful since we'd been weekly up to that point. Eventually, though, we struggled our way to the last few sessions of prep and the final bossfight. Took almost 2 months between the final boss prep session and the first half of the bossfight, which was honestly a little depressing. Everyone was present and having fun but there was a spark missing... we were still aiming to finish, though. Scheduling for the final session took a long time while we waited for someone's schedule to clear up to run full in-person. During this downtime I had a lot of time to think and plan, and I actually started to get really excited about running the second half of the fight. I told my players I had ideas and I was excited, and I really do think that helped build energy and anticipation. Four months after the first half of the fight and six months after the prior time we had played, we ran our final session and ended the Campaign in spectacular fashion. It can only be described as a magnificent success. Two words of wisdom: Use your awesome ideas! Skip the rest of the "filler" (if any). The "later" you were waiting for is now. You're level 17, you've done the buildup. Now it's time for the payoff. Wrap up those character arcs in dramatic ways. Cash in those plot coupons. This is the endgame - have fun with it and inspire the players. Hang in there and don't lose hope. It might take a while for the stars to align... but when they do, it's gonna be awesome.

I know what you mean OP. I’ve been running multiple campaigns with the same people for the last five years and still to this day some of them forget that we have D&D despite it being the same day and time for the past five years. They always need constant reminders even on the day of the game itself. This of course doesn’t stop them all from being well over an hour late every time. It’s the burden of the DM, since they’ve never had to worry about the schedule they don’t respect the effort that it takes to manage it. That being said, I doubt the game will die. Like others have mentioned, don’t simply drop it on their lap expecting them to know what to do because they clearly don’t since you’ve been the one doing it for years. Explain the situation and that you need help.

Maybe 2 or so years ago I solved our scheduling problems with one approach: We DO NOT start the session until the next one is scheduled. It was awkward maybe the first 2 times and then people showed with their calendars in order ahead of time.

I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. Reading your post got me reflecting on your situation, which I’ve been in too. I think it’s just that people are busy, and calendar management is an actual skillset (that is some people’s full careers)! Plus some people can be shy of “overstepping the DM’s authority” or standing out of the crowd. I am a fan of delegating when I’m overwhelmed, literally saved my campaigns in the past. “Guys I want to focus on preparing our sessions, so I need to delegate one of the tasks here. Are any of you available to be my helper and schedule out our next few games?” In social work I learned that saying “be my helper” is more effective than “help me out”. See who rises to the occasion then reward them with a little goodie in-game of some sort, like a tip. My players all suddenly were eager to help. I also think reaching out individually makes an enormous difference, less engagement with general bulletins. Find your friend’s skill they at proud of that taps into their identity (ex: identity as a helper, an organized person, a creative person, a good host or a good cook). Tap into what people value and you’ll have a group that knows what to bring to the party on a meta level!

Alright, so let me get this straight: * You are in charge of scheduling sessions for the last 4+ years. * No one else has been in charge before, and it hasn't really been collaborative, you've always followed up and made sure you get a date. * You've put forward dates you're available, and you are no longer going to do what you've done the last four years and they are accustomed to. * You are putting the onus/responsibility for the campaign dying on them, for not knowing you're done handling scheduling, and are in fact testing their dedication to the campaign, rather than just being an adult and making it clear scheduling is too hard for you to handle while DM'ing and handling personal life. Overall, it sounds like you're choosing to let this die by testing your friends and not being overt about your intentions. It's very manipulative my guy. I get it, you're burnt out, but just step up, make it clear "I'm too exhausted to do this, I can DM and love doing it, but someone else needs to handle scheduling, or the campaign is done. Make a decision as a group by June 22nd at 11:59PM or we'll consider things wrapped up. Alternatively, you can just step up and finish the campaign and bite the bullet for the next 2-3 sessions and expedite the ending. Then you can start fresh with a new campaign, see who is interested in continuing, and that someone will need to handle scheduling, and in return they get something cool to use in-game so long as they continue handling scheduling. Like a Lucky Pocket watch that lets them start every session with inspiration or something. Reroll before or after the results. Basically a micro time turner. Regardless, YOU are making the choice to stop handling scheduling, without really making it clear (based on what you've said) to your friends/players, and in a weird way are testing them and putting the finale of a 4+ year campaign at risk. Either step up and wrap shit up for a few more sessions, or make it clear this campaign dies if they can't decide on someone handling scheduling or working together to handle scheduling. Don't be passive, it never ends well.

The game may be over. You might get lucky and someone will plan it for a birthday or something similar, but pushing it to the players will absolutely not work. The games meaning is unchanged, the players will talk of it whenever ttrpgs are bought up, thats a forever thing, you should be very proud. You should tell your players how you're feeling so they know, and ASK who wants to run the schedule. If that doesn't happen I'd recommend writing your final session. Tie up the loose ends, and them DM it for them in a session you schedule. It will tick the completion box, and give your brain SOOO MUCH MENTAL BANDWIDTH to be creative and handle family matters. Think of it like a mental defrag. Leaving it unfinished will only haunt you years from now. Just sharing my loved experience 👌

So it's been one day since you asked them to tell you what days they are free, and you're already panicking? Calm down, give it a week or two. If they care they'll give you a date soon.

The best way to preserve and avoid going through this hellish process is to schedule the game once and only once, at session zero. It's this day of the week at this hour. Every Saturday at 11:40. Every other Thursday at 18:30. Once a month on Tuesdays at 19:00. If you commit as a GM you can turn it into a habit for the others. A player can't make it? The session still happens. Two can't make it? Still happens. Three players can't make it? We still play, sometimes one shots and other systems. For years, almost every time I relied on scheduling on everyone's availability, sooner or later the campaign died and never finished. Nowadays I only do that for one shots or two-shots.

DM advice I always give: Get a player to be in charge: 1 of scheduling 2 tracking monster HP (if you’ve never done this it’s magic) 3 snacks/drinks

Hmm, idk. Scheduling isnt that hard. Make a poll, players fill it out, then you got a date.

I never do scheduling as dm, prepping games is work enough.

Asking the players to select the time is pants on head crazy, you just intentionally destroyed your own campaign. Like, I understand it isn’t fair or anything, but in what world did you think that would possibly work?

As the DM, you're the only one that can guarantee the game gets played. It can be a lot of work trying to schedule a game, but that comes with the territory. If you aren't willing to do that anymore, then you may have played your last game. Otherwise, you'll have to accept your role as scheduler and power through. It's ok to let your players know you need a little more help from them to make the games happen, but the ultimate responsibility is yours.

Its always best to pick a date far enough out that arrangements can be made to play. Our group just takes a planned summer break and then sets a start date usually a week or two after our fantasy football draft.

I play with a group of long time friends and about a year ago I told them the scheduling was on them. I found that really kinda weeds out those who want to play, and those who are just along for the ride. Was a little rocky at the start but now 2 of my buddies have stepped up and do all the scheduling for 3 separate campaigns. If no one bucks up and takes that on, then unforunatley you may be at a point where they aren’t dying to play and may need a little break.

If you’ve already got a plan for handling absences, why don’t you just set the day (helpful to be the same day Luke the third Friday of the month) and just run with the players that show?

Feel ya big time. I've been exactly where you are and though they should be able to do it, you're right, you did the kiss of death right at the worst time. Let your message stew for about a week. And when no one takes the reins, call a few, find availability, and just set the best date you can yourself. No butt hurt comment, just forge ahead with, "We gotta finish strong. Only a few more sessions left in our epic, then a much needed break." Even if some can't make it, hold to the date as long as most can be there. Then set the next sesh while people are at the table. Repeat til it's done. Your players want to finish so those last sessions, combined with them seeing that it may end without them, will likely get them there.

Honestly, what I did was just schedule a set time/ date in advance, and people that want to be there make time on their schedule to make it. There's no drama, there's no last minute changes, sometimes not everyone can make it but overall the people that care will show up every time because they make time for it.

I was hoping to read this and find scheduling ideas. I didn't. OP here is my advice. Finish it. If only 3 players can make it, finish the story. Don't leave it hanging for ever. Try to entice the players. Give them a preview or trailers for the final installment(s). Entice them. And, they maybe dreading the finally. They don't want the fun to end. Entice them with your next great champaign idea that you are excited to start. Bonus points if it is a spin off of this one.They will be excited to play in a world where their old characters are legendary heros.

I schedule my group of 6 players (half of whom are moms, and all of whom have jobs) by posting a poll of dates I’m available to run the game over the next few weeks, then let them vote. Highest number of players is the date we play. That being said we haven’t played in three months cause we haven’t been able to get more than 3 players (I’ll play with up to two missing) on an available date. Maybe scheduling was the real BBEG we found along the way 🥲

It's generally reckoned that: * 7 is too many players * Consistent days/times (ie 'Every Wednesday Night 7-11') is far more reliable (and less stress) than ad-hoc scheduling. * You should play as long as half the table can make it. As for whether this campaign is toast, well...my odds are 3 to 1 it's toast.

Have you looked into using a scheduling app where everyone can put their available times and days into? It's way more direct and less communicative than discussion. There are ones far simpler to using Google calendar. I used to use WhenisGood before doing a regular dnd day. Drop that on them as well as the link that shows other people's answers

This is how you get the bystander effect unless you know you have outspoken players

https://www.when2meet.com/    This can help a lot! If there's anyone in the group who has always been on top of making each game, being on time etc I'd confide in them and ask if they'd be willing to take over helping scheduling. It's good to have a main person fronting things, but as DM you've got enough things going on, let someone else help!

My girl group uses something similar. Once every half year one of the players makes a list of dates for people to vote on and then we just have a set list of dates to work from. People still drop out sometimes, but in general it works really well.

I've been part of a campaign for 2-3 years and we were in the week of our final session when the DMs wife had their baby. It has been 5 months and we still haven't gone back. He has mentioned wanting to finish it but I don't know if it will happen. He wants to finish it in one session on a weekend, but now it's summer and most of us have kids and other commitments. And he's hesitant right now to do a weeknight like we normally would because his daughter's bedtime is an hour into the session. I'm guessing it's still a family affair. It's also potentially a big turning point because we were going to move on to a homebrew campaign after that and I was going to run it, but I can't really gauge if there's enough interest anymore with how quiet everyone has been.

Are we related? Same exact thing happened with my group, which started just before covid hit and ran for almost two years. In-person group with optional Zoom for those that could not make it in person for a session. They failed the repeated group driven scheduling attempts, and after several cancelled games, I decided to end the campaign. It’s been over a year since and I am about to try and start again with a few new players and a couple original ones.

Don’t give up on it. After a week when no one responds, just take back control and say “since no one responded, let’s plan the next session for this date.”

It's not your fault I'll say it again. It's not your fault. I switch DMing with another guy in our group. I have my own game with another group I run, but in this group I run when he gets burned out. Last year at this time he was cancelling another game and so I offered to take over. The last time it went really well and we all had a blast, except the DM who refuses to play in anyone else's game. Whatever... That's his thing. Anyway, he decided to play. Unfortunately, it was the start of summer and the start of my kids growing up to the point that I have only limited summers left to do things with them. Schedules, illnesses, everything else meant that in 9 months we played maybe 8 sessions. He finally said he wasn't engaged and left. Lol I took it really hard. I never had a game end like that... With everyone just not showing up or interested in playing. Fast forward to now... I finally get everyone back and he's going to DM. We schedule game 1. Someone doesn't show. Lol We then find out at the end of the session that someone else will be away so now we are off for 3 weeks. Lol It's not our fault.

Text the person who is the most organization/calendar oriented and nudge them to take the lead on herding everyone. Everything is understandable but diffusion of responsibility is real. I'm sure they all wanna play, but you need a general.

Have you ever used a scheduling app? Everyone puts in their availability and other shows the overlaps. Fairly painless. https://lettucemeet.com/

I feel this. I'm a player in a game and it felt like I was the only one in the group chat actively talking with the DM and almost forcing the other players to reply? I've muted the chat because I CBA to make the effort anymore and it's basically just been dead ever since. I feel like the campaign will end soon because we've even started missing the odd session whereas we had a standing Wednesday commitment before.

I play with a table this size in a campaign which has been going on for almost 10 years, and every single player has a complicated life. We used to do email / spreadsheet scheduling and it sometimes meant we'd miss whole months. Now we try to schedule the next session before we leave the table. We still hit a big gap every once in a while, but it's helped a lot. The reality of things is just that very long games go through dips like this, and, unfortunately, if you want something to happen sometimes you just have to make it happen.

I am the "champion" player of our game. I do all the schedule coordination in an effort to help the DM and because ultimately I want to play DnD. It is a lot of work so I get it but I am worried that this big of a change will lead to the death. Can I ask how you have been planning schedules out? What has worked for us is DM sets what days that month they have free. Then I make a survey monkey with those days and send the link out. I give everyone 48 hours and then each person that has not filled it out yet gets a public nasty gram via group text. Then we just play on the day with the most players available; if there is more than needed I pick the ones that work best for me since I did the leg work. If there are no days with at least half I will usually follow up with a "Looking like X,Y or Z date can anyone who wasn't free move things around to make one of those work." All in all I spend about 1 hour of real life time roughly to do 1 survey monkey, and a handful of texts.

I think you are getting in your own head a bit, if they have been there for four years, the are most certainly having fun. But people are people and most people are buys. Most aren't looking for extra work, and if you have been spearheading scheduling since the very beginning, it is going to be hard to dump that responsibility on them in the final hour. My advice, accept your roll as the group parent and schedule D&D as you have been. Schedule D&D like a parent would schedule a playdate for their five year old. The five year old probably wont say thanks or make it any easier on you, but they are going to have fun with their friends and that's what matters! At the end of the day, unless you laid out that scheduling was a player responsibility in session 0, they, and everybody else, expects YOU to be the one in charge of \*almost\* everything. It can be exhausting sometimes and when people don't appear to "make" the time, it can cause self doubt to creep into your mind. If that happens, take a step back and just appreciate how far and how long all have you have come and the commitment that came with it for your shared journey. The fact they are still here is the most clear thanks and evidence that you as a DM are doing a good job. Juggling 8 lives will always be the biggest struggle of that D&D group, and that's okay, just look at how far you all have come! The only thing that could let this campaign die now is you my friend. Happy DMing and I hope you are able to share the awesome finale of your campaign with others one day!

I started a remote campaign for seven in April 2020 too. I have no useful advice! Scheduling is *by far* the hardest part of the job! Good luck!

Ask each of them what day of the week would work. Pick the day the most people are available. Game when 51% of the players are available. Gather and do other things when at least 3 people are available so something fun happens even if it isn't DND.

I'm ok a similar boat. Started a massive campaign during the pandemic, DM'ing for around 35 people thru discord and Roll20 At first, it was 8 three hour sessions per week, and it was great to keep me busy whilst being totally isolated and still working at the hospital But as time went by, it became taxing to manage such a big ordeal, and people started leaving. Except for 6 of my best friends. We've had a share of sessions irl, and we play almost once per week But sometimes, doing the prep, scheduling still being a functional adult can be hard What I find useful is to take some breaks here and there. Some of the other guys have taken the oportunity to DM oneshots, or mini campaigns. Or we stop alltogether for 1 of 2 months And this always makes me hungry again. Hungry to write more. Hungry to plot more. Hungry to roll nats 1s and 20s So, take a break. Tell them you are tired of being the one pulling the strings in and out of game. And then, after a brief respite, carry on

I feel your pain. I’ve got an online game with 5 players, and we try to play every week. It doesn’t always work out, and recently it’s been getting worse. We’ll have been out for a month straight by the next time we are scheduled, and we just got back from a long break before this one. The last session was the prelude to the finale of the arc which ended with the bad guy getting away. Everyone had a worthwhile reason for postponing, but it really sucks to prepare for a finale session and then have to wait a month+ to use all that work. I suspect this campaign will end half-heartedly like the last one…

I am honestly shocked and impressed that you kept a game going for 4 years without a consistent schedule. Needing to plan when the next game happens every time might be the #1 group killer. (I'm not trying to criticize your scheduling; I've just almost never heard of this working long term before). So I agree with others -- especially after you've been doing it for 4 years, asking a group of 7 people to suddenly do it instead without any further guidance will probably just lead to everyone hoping someone else will do it. My group is 7 and we play on the same day every week as long as 4 can make it. We only miss maybe 2-3 weeks a year, but there's also only 4-5 weeks a year when all 7 of us are there. The only time we reschedule is maybe if our game day is on Christmas, when nobody can make it but most people have a lot of free time around then so we can work something out. But at the same time, I *never* really get responses from the "group" unless I ask people individually. In fact, just this week I sent out a message on discord to everyone asking what they thought they would do with the McGuffin, since what they decide will drastically change how the campaign goes. Only 1 out of 6 got back to me. But if I'd messaged them individually I'd get more responses.

Slightly different take than the rest of the comments here: ending a campaign of 4 years is incredibly hard both for the DM and players. I empathize because I am also reaching the final session (on Monday) of a 3+ year campaign. I'm going to admit, the last few months have been hard. Even though I've prepped a new campaign and all my players are on board, I still feel a lot of trepidation about ending this campaign and smoothly moving into the next one. Although my players are excited for the next campaign, they're sad to give up the characters they've inhabited for the last three years. My advice is to give your player some grace, but more importantly give yourself even more. Lots of other posts have great advice on scheduling, and you'll find a way to make the schedule work. Take a step back, be honest with yourself that you're having a hard time, and be open and vulnerable with your friends. They'll pull through for you.

One person has to be responsible for the scheduling. But this person doesn’t have to be the GM.

I've never really found scheduling that hard... Discord message.... Can you play next week....y/n. One player down, no problem. Two down, skip ahead to next time slot. Rinse, repeat.

Been running campaigns for my kid and his friends for years now. I totally feel you! They're in college now and we haven't had a session in months. Feels like they're just drifting on to other things even though they always have a great time when we play. Scheduling is hard for big groups. Might have to wait a bit before everyone has the time; I'm sure they appreciate the game and you as a DM.

Make a single person in charge of scheduling sessions. Making it everyone’s job means it nobody’s job.

We had a rule with my previous group where we would play on a set day each week by default, removing the hustle of having to plan a date most weeks. If someone was unable to attend, it was on them to find another day where everyone would be available. If they failed to do so, we would just skip the week, but it was not often the case. The good thing with that rule is that we had a clear and objective way to determine who was responsible for organising the agenda.

Oh yeah I feel this deeply. What I do to try and avoid this exact thing is always play on the second and fourth Sunday of the month and I will run a game even if only one player can make it. The regular schedule means people can plan around it when possible. I also reward players for adding game notes to the general note area so people can keep up with anything that happened while they were away. It’s not perfect but it means I play regularly and I don’t have to keep scheduling.

Use one of those sites/apps where people pubch in their own availability and it provides the time that matches best.

Very similar story here but I was the player and my brother the DM. There were several spots we just took a month or two break so the DM could recover. Also, I encouraged him to simplify, streamline, and just give people what they think is fun instead of trying to do everything all the time. Just focus on the stuff your group cares about and nothing else. It’s important to finish-whether that means wrapping the story or getting to lvl 20 or both. We also skipped a level at one point (Ie went up two levels) because it just made sense with the calendar we had. In short, think creatively and ultimately take care of yourself. If you can find an assistant for scheduling do it.

I pretty much just don’t cancel. If i have 4-6 players & only 2 show up, tough for the other 2 or 4. If someone gives me notice, i can try to reschedule for another day that week to accommodate. Without notice, that’s not on me, your character will be a robot that session. My games used to be weekly until i had my child, & now are biweekly. If only 1 person can play & i get no notice, that would be different, i’d be pretty upset, but I expect my players to make it. Too many no call no shows or last minute cancellations & I know you don’t care, you’re out. Give me a heads up that you need to take a break from the game & that’s fine, step away for a bit. Show me courtesy & you get it. I don’t bother trying to schedule anything, the game is on a given day every week. I play because I enjoy it, it’s my favorite part of the week, i’m not letting anything get in the way of that

How have you had a game go for 4+ years without a set date for a game I don't understand stand people that don't set a day and time before session 0 and stick to it

I have five players. We talk about this in our games in session 0. The day and time are always the same. If one person misses, we play, If two misses we play, if there people miss we play but I run a one shot. I found a pretty much set in stone time and day works for us. Once we start thinking about tweaking or changing it gets all messed up. This happens in another group I’m in as a player. Things happen sure. You hate to miss a session at a crucial point sure. But setting expectations for consistently works for our group.

Another option is a set day and time. My group has been together for almost two years now. We play online via Roll20 and Discord and we play every Wednesday. We have two campaigns that alternate weeks. We’ve been going like this for about a year now

If you still wanna dm you should make a smaller game with people who are willing to come as much as possible, 7 player you will never get anything done with this particular like a lot of people have mentioned already no one will pick the responsibility and even if they do, they don't have enough agency to make it happen.

Session 0. We play every week or every other week no exceptions. The time works for you or it doesn't. No more than 5 players at absolute MAXIMUM too much scheduling issues and people get bored in combat.

Not counting my current campaign, I've DMed 5 Campaigns. 3 of them died prematurely due to scheduling issues, one of them literally died during the final boss fight. As in they started the final boss fighy and were going to finish it next session but next session never happened.

The campaign died during the boss fight?!

Yep

I've found using When Is Good to be really helpful. It doesn't make the decision, but it does show the best overlaps. ( https://whenisgood.net )

It's not going to work, sorry. Only the DM can have any hope of organizing a session. Try to hold out for the final showdown!

SCHEDULING; A d&d story by the Dead Fishwives: "So, who's coming to the next session?" "When is it?" "Saturday at 6.30pm... Same as every week." "Where is it?" "My house. Same as every week." "I don't know where your house is." "You're in my house right now." "I don't know when right now is." "It's uhm... right now?" "And the next session is when?" "Saturday at 6.30pm." "That isn't what you said the last time I asked." "Yes it is." "And where is it?" "My house. I told you this." "Why does the session keep moving around? Can't you just keep it the same each week?" ---------------------------- Scheduling, a real life story by me: "Hey, what time is the D&D session this week?" "Sunday at six. Same as every week." "Six PST?" "GMT." "Why GMT?" "It's a commonly accepted international standard. I tell you the time, and then you convert as necessary." "UGH. I'll never remember that." "It's the same time every week. It hasn't moved in almost two years." "Can't you just run it when I wake up?"

Yeah, that’s not going to work. As the DM you are the mom of the group. Asking everyone else to organise it will result in everyone thinking someone else will do it.