Getting an adventure started

[Drakiin Magis]

Hello people. i am new to dming and i have what seems to be a very crazy group of people. 2 crazy 1 emo 1 other crazy 2 serious. i think i have had 16 opportunities to get them together and play but only 1 time when we all sat down and played. it was quite fun and entertaining. i have snacks and drinks provided. i still can't get them all at once. "i dont wanna play right now", "probably in an hour", "i'm too tired now", "Hang on after this level", and "how did you get into my house??" are some of the major things i have to deal with. i need some advice on how to motivate them. any advice? please and thanks.

-Drakiin Magis, Hopeful GM

[Salty]

You may have to consider whether or not you want those players in your group. They could be your friends, but maybe you should make a point to be with them out of game.

Basically, you may want to consider keeping your gaming and personal lives seperate.

[Mastikator]

Tell each of them that they are ruining it for everyone else when they don't show up and if they refuse to commit that you'll simply exclude them, also, mention that it's not personal, just in case they are... well... just in case.

You might need some new players.
I always find it important to mention that I only want serious and committed roleplayers when I fish for people. It signals serious and committed roleplayers who have been burned that I am likely okay, and it scares some of the non-wanted people away.

[valadil]

Be willing to play without some people. Tell them game is happening saturday. If 3 or 4 show up, just play with them.

[Narmoth]

Be willing to play without some people. Tell them game is happening saturday. If 3 or 4 show up, just play with them.

Exactly. Also, if you're new at dm-ing, 2 or 3 players will be hard enough to keep track of.
Remember, you don't need to have all your friends in your gaming group

[Berserk Monk]

This is how you get adventure started:
Monsters
Roll Initiative
Kill, Fight, Sneak Attack, Fireball
Monsters Dead
EXP
Treasure
What's that? You find a plot hook symbol for an ancient demon cult/church on one of the bodies and now you're on an epic quest to destroy the church.

[Prometheus]

Sometimes D&D isn't people's thing, they might just not be telling you that. In other cases, people have busy schedules but they are highly motivated to play if they a) know other people will be there and b) know what time to arrange to have free. Go with the advice of the other posters and schedule a time for the D&D session to occur in which most people have either said they could attend or would have time to plan around. Remind people the day of (if it is far away) and call people who don't show up. You don't have to nag at them to come, if they don't want to than they won't. Instead you are wondering whether they will be arriving late and informing them the game will move without them (unless they arrive). This sometimes has the side effect of discouraging people who miss a couple of sessions in a row, but it generally ensures that you have a continuous game for someone to join. This strategy, of course, works more effectively if you have one or two more people.

[Wez Yo]

See now, since im part of this specific D&D group, I could probably help things because I completely agree that we cant focus AT ALL!!! This would work for me (it would probably piss one off a lot, if you know which one im talking about) I'm sayin that if we dont show up for/if we dont play for like, idk, 3 rounds or somthin like that, our role payin person could just die, or lose levels, or gp, or somthin, jsut like, make a consequence for not showin unless you have a good reason like if they were going to thei cousins o somthin like that....jsut a suggestion, but i think that it'll work

[Narmoth]

See now, since im part of this specific D&D group, I could probably help things because I completely agree that we cant focus AT ALL!!! This would work for me (it would probably piss one off a lot, if you know which one im talking about) I'm sayin that if we dont show up for/if we dont play for like, idk, 3 rounds or somthin like that, our role payin person could just die, or lose levels, or gp, or somthin, jsut like, make a consequence for not showin unless you have a good reason like if they were going to thei cousins o somthin like that....jsut a suggestion, but i think that it'll work

Bad suggestion. It only generates better excuses, not more player attendance

[Grail]

Making excuses not to play? Sounds like they don't really want to. Sure there might be some that do, but most don't. Ditch those players, even if you have to run the game for only 2 players, do this - rewrite your scenarios or let them power-up their characters to match. Then whilst you are playing, try to recruit a couple new players.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Well, sounds like you can't even get it to water at the moment, this horse just aint thirsty.

[only1doug]

Set a time to play, tell them not to turn up unless they are actually going to play, play with those who turn up and kick them out if they lose focus.

don't worry about the lost players, play with those who are interested, be ready to run a game with just 2 players.

you should (by the sound of it) be able to count on Wez Yo and salty at least.

Once you have a regular game running there's a better chance of the others rejoining you.