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West Marches & Draft Nights: Managing Rotating Casts of Players

#West Marches#D&D#MTG Draft#Event Organizing

West Marches & Draft Nights: Managing Rotating Casts of Players

Most RPG advice assumes a "Fixed Party"—the same 4-6 people playing every week. But some of the best gaming experiences come from Variable Parties.

Whether you are running a West Marches style D&D campaign or hosting a weekly Magic: The Gathering Draft, you face a unique challenge: You have a pool of 10+ interested players, but only 4-8 seats per night.

What is a West Marches Campaign?

West Marches is a style of play where:

  1. There is no set play time.
  2. There is no set party.
  3. The Players verify the schedule and tell the DM when they want to explore.

This solves the "Flaky Player" problem. If Player A is busy, Players B, C, D, and E can still go adventuring. But it creates a scheduling nightmare.

The Logistics of Variable Groups

You need a system that answers two questions:

  1. availability: Who is free on Friday night?
  2. Commitment: Who has actually claimed a seat?

Step 1: Broad Availability Polling

First, you need to know potential dates. Use Tabletop Time to create a blanket event for the week (e.g., "Gaming Week of June 1st"). Send it to your entire Discord server or player pool.

You will visually see "Heatmaps" of activity. "Oh, wow, 8 people are free on Friday, but only 3 on Saturday."

Step 2: Confirmation & Capping

Once you identify the "Hot Night" (e.g., Friday), you lock it in.

  • MTG Drafts: You need multiples of 8 (ideally). If 10 people are free, the first 8 to commit get the seats.
  • RPG Session: You might cap the table at 5.

Step 3: Waitlists

For variable groups, Waitlists are essential. Last-minute drops happen. If you have a list of standby players who you know are free (because they filled out the scheduler!), you can ping them instantly. "Hey, Bob dropped, you wanted to play Friday, you in?"

Managing Draft Pods

For MTG, if you have 12 people show up, do not run a 12-person draft pod. It's a mess.

  • Use the Scheduler data: See who arrives when.
  • Split the pods: Run one pod of 8 and one pod of 4 (or two of 6).

Conclusion

Variable play groups are the most resilient way to keep a hobby community alive. They survive attrition and busy schedules better than fixed groups. But they require strong tools to manage the chaos. Use a dedicated scheduler to herd the cats so you can focus on the game.