Has an static RP team ever been successful for you?
I have been apart of a few Static Teams in the past.
All but one was fun, the funs ones are well organized with a sign up for whom will be there that night, what time we are going to start and what we will be doing. Real life does play a big factor in Static Team as well as the game in general, but communication is key.
The one that was not fun was not organized, no one knew what we where doing that night, start time was a guess, we all would login at 7:00pm and sit around till 8:00pm waiting for someone to pick a mission, or decide what we are going to do.
You have to set up rules in the beginning if the team is going to work.
Pick a day and time and stick to it, dont move it around! If you have to make a move then make sure all members of the team can make the new day and time. The biggest mistake you can make is to try and start another team on another day and time when the first team is not even running on a regular schedule.
Have a Plan of attack. Place someone in charge with deciding on what you will do the next meeting time. Do not sit around asking everyone what they want to do that night. At the end of the day just ask does anyone have any request for next time?
Have a sign-up or communicate if you will be there next time or not, yes emergency come up every once in awhile, such is real life. You need that have the team members understand they need to sign up if they plan to be there or not because it affects the whole team when it comes to lets say a Task Force.
The biggest thing I can say about this is Have a Plan, do not just try and wing it, it will not work.
Yes it can be done, but it is no easy task to get it started and keep it going.
The Static Team I am currently involved with is not a role playing team, but we are looking for 3 more members, PM if you would like details.
A long time ago, I was a member of a wonderful supergroup called "The Tomorrow Foundation" and then "Wyldfire" both were excellent groups with superior people that always made the game a joy for me to play.
Unfortunately, after our leader of The Tomorrow Foundation dissolved the SG most of the wonderful people left to pastures that I did not want to follow. Through The Foundation I met the wondeful people in Wyldfire, and gradually lost touch with them after I had to have surgery for carpal tunnel.
When I came back and found my hero dismissed from the SG, I was saddened in that I knew that I'd never find as wonderful RP'ers/Storytellers/People as them...and so far I've been right. Good luck in your search, I know I've been looking...
I've been on a couple Static teams and it worked ok but RL got in the way for me but I found an RP SG that meets on days that work for me. The stories and adventures we've been on have been great. There are some out there for sure.
Member of the Hyperion Force
I've run into the same problems that everyone else has in this thread. Heck, my introduction to this fine game was when a bunch of my guildmates from WoW dragged me over to be part of a static RP group. I quickly discovered that I much preferred this game to the one I had left behind but when my guildies moseyed back to WoW I was left without a group and after a few months I left the game too (A silly decision in retrospect, there were some very good groups around I could have joined.).
When I came back to CoH I did so with the determination that I would find team mates, socialize my unsocial tail off and get in good SGs. So I got on the Cape channel. Went to some neat parties. Even joined a SG or two.
But I really hit paydirt when I was browsing through the listings for recruiting SGs and came across the Overbrookers entry. It's, by design, a small team where everyone knows everyone else. Yes, we've had player turnover, but the core group is very stable. As a result we all know each other's stories and characters. And since the group enjoys putting the boots to evil we even get some RP in while fighting. (I shall admit I have not mastered the art of typing out well written sentences while desperately fighting for my life but I'm getting better at it!). Though the group is looking to add a few new members by and large its a static group and a lot of fun to play.
So they are out there. I know that the OBs aren't the only ones. Check the listings in the forums. Go to recruiting fairs. Throw yourself into some RP PuGs and see if anyone on them catches your fancy and if they are in a SG. Heck, create your own SG with a static membership and get some of your in game friends to join you. I'm not saying that Overbrookers are everyone's cup of tea. But I do believe if you keep looking you are likely to find someone who is.
(Oh, and speaking of the OBs, happy anniversary to the team! One year down and going strong.)