LFG - Prefer 5e, Open to Any Others

I've been on here for almost a year and tried to play a handful of games, mainly D&D 5e, and they either never get started or fall off very quickly. It's quite frustrating to not be able to get into any games or have them end before they even get started. Is this common or am I just unlucky?

I'm interested in getting into a game that actually finishes a campaign. I've mainly played 5e, but I'm open to trying out other games.

It’s not unusual for games to fall apart, just like in real life. And it would be very unusual, I would think, for a PbP game to actually finish a campaign (a one-shot maybe) just because of the different rate that these types of games go at. But the fun is in the journey, I would say. Hopefully somebody will have a spot in a game which you can take and, for however long it lasts, you can enjoy it.

This is probably obvious, but just make sure you pick a character which you will enjoy roleplaying, as opposed to one which you think would be good mechanically (since it could be a long time until you level up).

Yeah, those sort of things happen. I've seen many games where people had to drop becuse of real life, or either just fell out of the internet wihtout a warning one day... Of all the games I tried to participate in or run, I'd say roughly 75% of them either die or never start off.
As for games which might interest you and are still going strong that I can suggest you, there's marithyme's Swoard Coast Swashbuckling (Flug's former game and D&D5), Night By The Bay (Urban Shadows, a PBTA game), and my very own World of Caera (using the 4th edition of Dungeonslayers, a free and rules-lite system).
If none of the above interest you, browse the Games Tavern section; you're bound to find something to your liking eventually...

Thanks for sharing your insights and experiences gentlemen, I really appreciate it! I'm going to look into those games (the Night By the Bay game is the only one with open spaces) and continue reading within the Tavern.

I'm personally not a fan of D&D anymore but I know there are games starting quiet frequently and they fill rather quickly. I mostly get on Gamer's Plane and look for games I couldn't play locally face to face due to interest/timing/etc. Since it's play by post I actually don't think I've been in a campaign with a preset end point versus we don't have enough people since they drop off the site. It is a bit slow and people have varying availability to post though so I get it.

I've noticed that, it seems like the best thing to do is keep an open mind to other games and have a lot of patience.

I have been lucky. My first game I DM'd here is still going 1.5 years on. But that is after an attrition of about 6-7 people that dropped. Only one player stayed from the beginning (thanks Robago!!!!) and one more joined mid campaign and has posted steadily (Thanks Cancerman!!!). It was super hard to keep motivated at times when people dropped away. But I am happy we stuck with it!

I was thinking one strategy would be to advertise to join a game that is full of the people that post ALL the TIME. Like the three people that have answered your post I have seen them all over the forums. At least then one has a chance of keeping a game going. I have been watching gamers tavern and the introduction forums and I started to see who is likely to stay. Perhaps just PM some of the regulars and see if they have a strong healthy game you can join?

Another thought I had was a post counter. This would be an idea for Keleth and is not appropriate for this forum but I will throw it out there. If people had a rating that represented their post frequency, say like up to 5 stars, then we could see who is more likely to be reliable. Not sure if it is a GOOD idea but it is something I thought of.

Wow, what a weird coincidence! That is actually my motto!

You are more than welcome to join my 5e game if you're Serious about playing in a campaign. My game turns 16 years in two months. It is most definitely a campaign. You cannot imagine how many players have come and gone from my game in that time. I do feel your pain. It is a unique challenge finding and keeping PbP games running.

16 years? That is incredible!

I agree with Cruvis, a game can run and run if you keep replacing people as they come and go. I have one Call of Cthulhu campaign that has been running since last April and has seen a bunch of players come and go and another that has been running in one form or another for going on ten years.

I am just starting a Warhammer campaign that will be very long form

I concur with aaronschmidt’s Strategy. Every time I come on here, I actually take a peek at the ‘The Gamers’ link and see who’s active. I don’t take notes or anything like that, but it is a habit and it tells me who the regulars are.

Now, as a DM, it is not in this site’s best interest if I only recruit the regulars as players. However, if I plan to play in someone else’s game, it is necessary that they are on here regularly. If I see someone posting in forums and their name is familiar from my ‘creeping’ the ‘who’s online’ link, I know this is a potential DM for me.

Just my little habit...