Quite true regarding the fizzle factor. I found that having as little dependency on other player as possible tends to make things run smoother - with fewer snags. Also doing the event in smaller segments with small parties works. ie. During one segment, an artifact might be unearthed and the leader of the event may request they they reconvene somewhere to discuss further actions. In another sitting, the group of available players might be slightly different.. but as long as no particular players need to be involved, it still works with the new players giving it a breath of fresh air.
I prefer to do open events where anyone can jump in and jump out as needed. I'll present a problem of some sort ( being an antagonist most of the time ) and leave some room for others to catch on. This is a little bit more like freestlye RP than a guided event with the exception that I'll have a long term plan that I'll strive to accomplish in one manner or another.
Another problem that I run into is with meeting up with others. My hours of play are very awkward and being on for long stretches of time is extremely difficult. Likewise, being on at the same time as other players is a challenge, so what I do is to branch out and look for others to help take part in running the event. This can be done strictly ICly by asking another character to fulfill a long term request or via ooc discussion and agreement to help run the event. The nice thing about having others help is that they get to choose how THEY wish to run their portion of the event. As an event runner, this gives ME the pleasure of not knowing exactly how things will go down.
