Hi, my brother and I played DND as kids in the 80’s...we weren’t deeply into it, but it was fun.  We also got into other role playing games during our childhood/adolescence—but never dove too deeply.

Fast forward to today—(we are both mid 40’s) there have been several editions of DND (5 is the current edition?).  I have just discovered this website and am trying to familiarize myself with these things again—and we have recently discussed that it might be fun to play again.  We have some friends that might be interested.

How would be the best way to find a DM that would be willing to put up with some old guys like us (and my wife is even interested—and we have run the idea past some other people as well).  We are even willing to pay someone—I figure there are people out there who do this sort of thing.

i am also totally willing to do some investigation and digging  on my own—but there’s obviously tons of information out there.  I ran across this website and started just experimenting with making characters and such (I’ve also listened to a little bit of “Critical Role”), but that’s as much as I’ve done so far—but if anyone would take the time to give me some direction or thoughts, I’d greatly appreciate it.  Thank you!

go to local game store they might offer tables to rent and hire a dm from staff i know that’s what mine does

Talk to your local game store they will know who the local DMs are and connect you.  They may even be able to facilitate some games for you as well.  Best way to start out honestly is to pick up the starter set i think its down to like 20 bucks and comes with everything you will need.  

If you don't have a local game store try a local book store any one that does writing workshops and such should be able to connect you as well.  The creative/literary crowd tend to have alot of overlap with tabletoppers.  Social media in particular Meet Up is also a great resource for this sort of thing.

Welcome back! It's always great to see players come back to the table. I played from 81 to around the late 90s, and didn't play regularly again until 2015. And the game is even more fun now than it was back then! 

Critical Role offers a wonderful look at what a compelling D&D game can look like. But if you don't have 4+ hours to kill every week there are tons of other streams popping up all the time. And this website always has a bunch of people on who can help out with info. Roll20-dot-net is a handy online rpg portal if you can't find a local gaming group. 

But your best bet is to check out the places local to you where us nerds would tend to congregate... gaming stores, book stores, the local library... The best thing about today's world is that D&D is no longer a "taboo" like it was back in the 80s. We have finally been accepted by society. Big name Hollywood celebrities brag about playing D&D now. Heck, just put on a D&D t-shirt and soon enough people will be approaching you! 

But if you still can't find a local group... start one. You can do it! And we denizens of the internets will be here to help you out. 

Thank you guys, and I’m certainly open to any more comments or guidance.  We do have at least one game store here in town, so that will be my next stop.  I have seen the game set available, and I’m not afraid of taking on the DM role myself, but I’d love to play and have someone who is experienced guide us through...thank you all for your time and input!

This is the best advice I have ever gotten.

Look to see if you can find an Adventurer's League game near you.  It will give you a chance to play and get your feet wet while having an experienced DM who's using to working with new players. 

If you can find an Adventurer’s League game near you (and the game store is a likely place for there to be one), that would be an excellent intro.  If you aren’t able to find someone to DM, I also endorse the Starter set with the Lost MInes of Phandalin adventure.  The starter set comes with pregenerated characters, although you can make your own characters for it.  If your crew would like to make your own characters, the Essentials kit includes a good guide for doing so; I’m not as familiar with its adventure, so I don’t know if the DM guidance is as good as that in the Starter Set/Lost Mines.  The starter set adventure (lost Mines) does a good job of easing you in to the process, with more handholding early on and less later.

Check to see if there's a local-area D&D facebook group - just search for [City Name] dungeons & dragons. DMs in those groups are almost always on the lookout for new players for campaigns or one-shots.

Thank you so much!  I'm really getting a lot out of this series.

Sorry for the off topic here. 

I find it rather funny that new players always get pointe to "the local game store" 

I am from denmark, we have maybe 3-4 game stores in total in the entire country😜

That means  most people  have like 50+ miles to the nearest store.  Is that considered local in the us?

Quote from Bazromark >>

Sorry for the off topic here. 

I find it rather funny that new players always get pointe to "the local game store" 

I am from denmark, we have maybe 3-4 game stores in total in the entire country😜

That means  most people  have like 50+ miles to the nearest store.  Is that considered local in the us?

 I happen to have two game stores within a mile of my house...

Wow. Sounds like Denmark could use more independent game store owners. 

 There is one local game store near me... which has some modest D&D stuff in it but mostly caters to Magic: The Gathering and similar card games... and run by people who don't seem very knowledgeable. So... "local game store" as a source of D&D wouldn't work for me, either. And I'm in the States so it all depends on where you are. Some places are "hotbeds" and others are deserts.

Fortunately there is an online option with systems like here, Roll 20, Fantasy Grounds, Discord, Skype, Zoom, and whatnot. So I am not tied to the local scene.

Greetings fellow traveler.  I am also an adventurer from the 80s that stepped through a portal and found myself here, in the land of 5e.  Things are very different but they can be just as fun.  I recommend you pick up a set of the core books from Amazon.  You may also subscribe to a set here, but I always liked laying in my bed and reading them like I once did long, well days, ago.  You might be able to find a D&D group around places besides your local game store, such as at college areas or some other word-of-mouth introduction.  You might even get a lead in the fora here asking for a DM in the _____ area.

Characters have many more abilities and choices than back in the day.  It is generally expected that your character will level up after one session, maybe two, and level up again within three more.  Characters really grow up quickly in 5e compared to the old days where most characters usually died before they reached 5th level.  Contemporary groups often operate with a collective understanding of The Rule of Cool; if it sounds really cool and it is conceivable, if not very likely, the DM will often let you narrate an epic way through a tough challenge.

More emphasis is placed on characters (PCs) trying to "play" their character.  The intent is to help everyone drop their inhibitions and enjoy themselves and let go.  Less emphasis is placed on playing the campaign the DM wrote.  More emphasis is placed on allowing the players to steer the story, which is often guided by the PCs backstory the player writes.  DMs are encouraged to write a campaign that taps into a players backstory.

It is still a great game for the same reasons it was a great game back in our day.  Have Fun!!

Discord. Seriously, find a Discord DnD group. You can text chat or voice chat RP, post images, etc. You can even find people who want to use a program for video chat if you really need real-time imagery. Using Discord means sessions can be done multiple times a week with people from all over the world, and if you use text chat then you have a backlog.

Going to a store that even has DnD and has space for you is hard, and you can guarantee that it's be slower than Christmas.

I’m glad!

Best course of action would be for one of you to dive into being a DM and run with it.  PHB, DMG, and Xanathar's Guide will tell you everything you need to know --- and then you can come here or a beginners group on Facebook (there's one I'm fond of helping people in) and ask questions for clarity and BOOM you're good to go.   That way you have a DM that knows your players and is on the same schedule :)

Unless money is really no object, I wouldn't suggest buying the core books initially--especially not if you opt for the Starter and/or the Essentials Set.  At most, I wouldn't suggest more than the Players' Handbook.  Give yourself time to try out 5e and decide if you like it before laying out a lot of money.  If you love it, then buy all means buy more resources.  Our family started with just the Starter set, and once we knew the bug had bitten us truly, we added more books.  (Or, more accurately, my son started saving his money and asking for books for his birthday or Christmas, and I made some judicious purchases here).  Don't get me wrong: I love 5e, and--thanks to my son--we have most of the player facing books in our home.  But I've also seen some folks go all in on the books (or the legendary bundle here) and then feel like they've wasted their money.  I don't want that to be the case for you.

Quote from Bazromark >>

Sorry for the off topic here. 

I find it rather funny that new players always get pointe to "the local game store" 

I am from denmark, we have maybe 3-4 game stores in total in the entire country😜

That means  most people  have like 50+ miles to the nearest store.  Is that considered local in the us?

In the US, it really depends on where you are.  Until recently, the nearest (tabletop) game store was 80 miles from me.  (video game stores are a different kettle of fish).  There's a town 25 miles from me that used to have a pretty sketch store that closed several years ago.  Now there's one there again.  Hopefully this one will make it.   But yeah, I've had US gamers who live in urban areas assume that everyone here has access to game stores and/or AL games, and that's just not the case for some of us.