Awhile back we had a discussion (may have just been the editors, so you may not remember this) about letting GM's run more than one game. We came to the conclusion that a good GM could manage more than a single game at a time, and that if we refused a list to an active GM, they'd probably run off and start their new game somewhere else anyway, which would defeat the purpose of refusal in the first place. But just how many games is "too many"? When evaluating a new application, how many games can be considered an indicator of a GM that's over-extended? There isn't a clear way to tell if the GM's just really, really good at the job or if he's started a bunch of games and hasn't realised he's in over his head yet. One concern for multiple Phoenyx-hosted games is what happens when Real-Life interferes? It would be a bad blow to the Phoenyx to have a GM of four or five games suddenly have to give up all of them due to extreme life circumstances. (And it happens... we've temporarily and permanently lost GM's to long-term medical problems, divorce, major job disruptions, etc.) In specific, I've got an application from a GM that is already running *four* games, wants to start a fifth game using a style he's never tried before, and would like to start up *two more* campaigns based on two of his existing games. The GM has a potentially cool idea, but I think running four games and starting a fifth puts him in the "high risk" category. Not saying that he *can't* pull it off, but asking if we really want to take a risk at having yet another game fold. Remember that risk management is the primary concern of the application process. I deleted two games today and have to email two more GM's about inactivity. Our goal is to have games that run to completion, even if it means fewer games. So that means trying to determine how likely it is that a potential GM will not drop out early. (A nearly impossible task, of course... but we work with what we have.) -- -------------------------------------------------------------- Game(s): Fudge, Worldmaking, Fantasy Co-Editor, Phoenyx Co-Owner Listowner tools are found at http://www.phoenyx.net/listowners/
