Um, some people stream their games now... Dispute that, because I want some entertainment in the void in my life that would have been occupied by D&D playing if D&D playing was actually something that took place in the world.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
The real trick is to start DMing. You're guaranteed to find folks who want to play at those locations you mentioned (Reddit LFG, DDB discord, etc.) if you offer to DM for a group. End of the day, the ration for DMs to players is 1:4/5/6+ so there's always going to be more demand.
Once you've got players and have them invested, you need to use Hag-like bargaining skills to convince one (or more) of your players to DM so that you can become a player. If this fails, you're stuck with the mantle of Forever DM so it's a fine line to skirt.
If you're having trouble getting a game going, you should look at your selection process that might be placing too many filters. Some of the most common mistakes I've seen are:
Scheduling - either looking for games that run too short ("I can play for an hour at a time"), too long ("I won't waste my time with anything less than 6 hours"), too infrequent ("I want to play no more than once every other month") or too frequent ("I'm aiming to play daily"). These are all things I've seen.
Too many world restrictions; if you filter out too many races, classes, feats, optional rules or even core rules, you can filter out a lot of potential games
Styles of play; being too specific on how you play can restrict your options. I've seen posts where people have said things like "I'll only play theatre of the mind, no digital dice, no digital tools"
Unreasonable expectations; this can range from expecting every game to be Critical Role, all the way from expecting every game to be AD&D
I'm not saying these are mistakes you are making, just ones I've often seen. Over in the DDB discord, the Looking for Players posts fill up fast so if you're a DM, getting a game going shouldn't be too hard. As a player, it can be a bit harder, but shouldn't be 15 years without a game hard.
I think one issue might be there are more players looking to play d&d for free than DMs willing to pay for all the resources and prepare as well as run games. Unless they are hidden, DMs advertising free games on places like roll 20 will get 30 or more applicants. The DM then chooses from the applicants. Some exclude new players because they want everyone to be knowledgeable of the rules, others while accepting new players will choose based on character concepts and if you have never played before you might have concepts that they do not like. It took me quite a while to get into a game as I was thinking how can I make a powerful character rather than thinking of a character and then fitting them into the d&d rules.
You might find it easier to get into a game where the dm charges though a lot of people object to such a system.
I suspect you'd have very little trouble finding a game if you posted to the LFG groups as a DM offering to host for people... in fact, I think you'd be flooded. Even the for-pay DMs often have to screen applications (so I have heard from a friend of mine who is playing in 3 different online games in addition to the one I run that is for my friends, not pay).
Probably not what you want to hear, but you could prove in about 5 minutes that D&D actually exists.
When I found a good DM, I married him. That way I always have game. If you start DM’ing, there is a good chance you will get a game going and you might find a mate!
I wear shirts with popular shows on them or other things that reference D&D. I'm amazed at how much a talking point it can be. From grocery stores to restaurants to classrooms (I work in IT at a University, so my sample may be a bit skewed). That doesn't mean every time I wear a shirt that someone says something, but it still happens fairly frequently. As I'm already in a long running group... I'm also not scaring them off by immediately going "Want to play sometime? Got a group? Huh huh? You wanna?"... which has also been a great help... lol
I suspect you'd have very little trouble finding a game if you posted to the LFG groups as a DM offering to host for people... in fact, I think you'd be flooded. Even the for-pay DMs often have to screen applications (so I have heard from a friend of mine who is playing in 3 different online games in addition to the one I run that is for my friends, not pay).
Probably not what you want to hear, but you could prove in about 5 minutes that D&D actually exists.
Great thread topic title, BTW.
My thoughts exactly.
Players in D&D are like damage dealers in MMO.
DM's are like tanks (and sometimes healers).
There is a reason you see all those "forever DM" stories and almost none of those "forever player" ones ;-)
Still, you would think after 10 months of trying and exhausting some of the popular places to LFG I'd have been able to find something. I'm not asking random people on the street, I'm looking withing the tabletop community itself and not finding anything.
Are you willing to DM? I can absolutely guarantee you will be able to play D&D, IF you are willing to DM. There is a massive, overwhelming abundance of players with a huge DM shortage overall.
When browsing roll20 LFGs yesterday, I saw a posting for the lamest game ever- the only description was something like “Hi, need players for my twitch stream”, there was a grammar mistake in there somewhere too. Guess what- 40 APPLICATIONS IN ONE DAY. PEOPLE LITERALLY BEGGING TO PLAY.
My advise is to just DM. Do that for a while. Get a niche of players you like playing with, and eventually pass the DM torch to one of them. That’s the way to do it.
Do you have any friends that might be interested? If so, play it up for a while, mention how fun it is, show them some demon lords, I'm sure they would be happy to.
There is a Facebook group for 5th edition newcomers. There are regularly people offering games to newbies on roll20 so they can try it. You might look there.
Tonight is game night for me, I’m DM. You want “incontrovertible proof?” I won’t be forum posting this evening from about 6:30-10/11. There’s your proof. 😉
Tonight is game night for me, I’m DM. You want “incontrovertible proof?” I won’t be forum posting this evening from about 6:30-10/11. There’s your proof. 😉
Easily explained because even you need to sleep once a week.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Tonight is game night for me, I’m DM. You want “incontrovertible proof?” I won’t be forum posting this evening from about 6:30-10/11. There’s your proof. 😉
Easily explained because even you need to sleep once a week.
But Sposta probably couldn't be that precise about sleeping.
Um, some people stream their games now... Dispute that, because I want some entertainment in the void in my life that would have been occupied by D&D playing if D&D playing was actually something that took place in the world.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
The real trick is to start DMing. You're guaranteed to find folks who want to play at those locations you mentioned (Reddit LFG, DDB discord, etc.) if you offer to DM for a group. End of the day, the ration for DMs to players is 1:4/5/6+ so there's always going to be more demand.
Once you've got players and have them invested, you need to use Hag-like bargaining skills to convince one (or more) of your players to DM so that you can become a player. If this fails, you're stuck with the mantle of Forever DM so it's a fine line to skirt.
If you're having trouble getting a game going, you should look at your selection process that might be placing too many filters. Some of the most common mistakes I've seen are:
I'm not saying these are mistakes you are making, just ones I've often seen. Over in the DDB discord, the Looking for Players posts fill up fast so if you're a DM, getting a game going shouldn't be too hard. As a player, it can be a bit harder, but shouldn't be 15 years without a game hard.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
I think one issue might be there are more players looking to play d&d for free than DMs willing to pay for all the resources and prepare as well as run games. Unless they are hidden, DMs advertising free games on places like roll 20 will get 30 or more applicants. The DM then chooses from the applicants. Some exclude new players because they want everyone to be knowledgeable of the rules, others while accepting new players will choose based on character concepts and if you have never played before you might have concepts that they do not like. It took me quite a while to get into a game as I was thinking how can I make a powerful character rather than thinking of a character and then fitting them into the d&d rules.
You might find it easier to get into a game where the dm charges though a lot of people object to such a system.
So... what kind of game are you looking for?
I suspect you'd have very little trouble finding a game if you posted to the LFG groups as a DM offering to host for people... in fact, I think you'd be flooded. Even the for-pay DMs often have to screen applications (so I have heard from a friend of mine who is playing in 3 different online games in addition to the one I run that is for my friends, not pay).
Probably not what you want to hear, but you could prove in about 5 minutes that D&D actually exists.
Great thread topic title, BTW.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I mean that could be possible but many people play it a lot.
When I found a good DM, I married him. That way I always have game. If you start DM’ing, there is a good chance you will get a game going and you might find a mate!
I wear shirts with popular shows on them or other things that reference D&D. I'm amazed at how much a talking point it can be. From grocery stores to restaurants to classrooms (I work in IT at a University, so my sample may be a bit skewed). That doesn't mean every time I wear a shirt that someone says something, but it still happens fairly frequently. As I'm already in a long running group... I'm also not scaring them off by immediately going "Want to play sometime? Got a group? Huh huh? You wanna?"... which has also been a great help... lol
My thoughts exactly.
Players in D&D are like damage dealers in MMO.
DM's are like tanks (and sometimes healers).
There is a reason you see all those "forever DM" stories and almost none of those "forever player" ones ;-)
Are you willing to DM? I can absolutely guarantee you will be able to play D&D, IF you are willing to DM. There is a massive, overwhelming abundance of players with a huge DM shortage overall.
When browsing roll20 LFGs yesterday, I saw a posting for the lamest game ever- the only description was something like “Hi, need players for my twitch stream”, there was a grammar mistake in there somewhere too. Guess what- 40 APPLICATIONS IN ONE DAY. PEOPLE LITERALLY BEGGING TO PLAY.
My advise is to just DM. Do that for a while. Get a niche of players you like playing with, and eventually pass the DM torch to one of them. That’s the way to do it.
Do you have any friends that might be interested? If so, play it up for a while, mention how fun it is, show them some demon lords, I'm sure they would be happy to.
There is a Facebook group for 5th edition newcomers. There are regularly people offering games to newbies on roll20 so they can try it. You might look there.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/2346729402312972/?refid=28&_ft_=qid.6932856188083598722:mf_story_key.2470819802084287403:group_id.2346729402312972:top_level_post_id.2874413499544557:content_owner_id_new.100028311047575:page_id.2346729402312972:src.22:story_location.5:view_time.1614181161:filter.h_nor:tds_flgs.3:ott.AX89e-6YZD9RUa-m&__tn__=C-R
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)
Tonight is game night for me, I’m DM. You want “incontrovertible proof?” I won’t be forum posting this evening from about 6:30-10/11. There’s your proof. 😉
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Easily explained because even you need to sleep once a week.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
But Sposta probably couldn't be that precise about sleeping.
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)