Quote from: Abyssal Maw;356598Oh, and you could interview this guy to till the cows came home and never realize what danger you were in until later. Has anyone read the Sociopath Next Door?

To be certain, the absolute creepiest gamers I've ever met (let's face it, the creepiest people of any vocation or past time) have started out looking very normal.  "Repulsive" and "creepy" occupy different, if overlapping, positions on a Venn diagram.

QuoteI game every week, and I'm mostly connected well enough to know who not to invite before the fact.

Okay, good.  That's the common ground I was looking for -- cultivating players from an established social network, or by establishing a new network.  I imagine you threw out that "I'd put an advertisement on the Internet for random players" to impress upon us that the pool of 4e players out there is sufficient to pull a new game together within an hour, but it kind of backfired.  However, point taken.

!i!

Quote from: Balbinus;356382Really?  I mean, I've played with random people at cons, a significant proportion of them are utter fucknuts, either weird or utterly passive or some other style of too strange to happily have in your home.  LFR or not, I'd screen those people.

That aside, I'd find a new group, obviously, though with slightly less ease than Abyssal since I don't play as popular a choice of game as he does.

I have had the same experience.. but only really had this experience outside of D&D. (I was a torg playtester- worst experience with gaming in my life). It was literally like 4 crazy people meeting in a basement.  

LFR is very mainstream. (This is the opposite of the usual stereotype- that D&Ders are wild-eyed, crazed gamer stereotypes). But it's actually the opposite- it's mainstays are very casual "mere hobbyists" that show up to gamedays and such.  Most of us don't even have beards. (haha, ok but seriously- 5 people in my apartment last night, zero beards).  

Now, it also helps that you really don't have to go all thespian and touchy-feely with 4E (the boardgame slur!) if you end up with a group that you aren't comfortable with. Because, yes, you can reduce it to a fairly impersonal level-just running encounters and narrating things in between. Or when you get a great group you can go as thespy as you like.

Quote from: Ian Absentia;356609To be certain, the absolute creepiest gamers I've ever met (let's face it, the creepiest people of any vocation or past time) have started out looking very normal.  "Repulsive" and "creepy" occupy different, if overlapping, positions on a Venn diagram.Okay, good.  That's the common ground I was looking for -- cultivating players from an established social network, or by establishing a new network.  I imagine you threw out that "I'd put an advertisement on the Internet for random players" to impress upon us that the pool of 4e players out there is sufficient to pull a new game together within an hour, but it kind of backfired.  However, point taken.

!i!

You can't see it unless you register, but you can register (please feel free..)

http://warhorn.net/GamesAndStuffLFR/attendee/list.php

This is the signups page for my regular Thursday meetup group: It's 101 people right now- I could just say "I have a gaming group of 101 people". That's just for one store, one day a week. Now- the same 101 people don't show up every week, obviously, but we usually get between 15-30, and they divide up into groups of 4-6 and get an assigned DM. I don't know from week to week wo I will be DMing for usually, but I have regulars.

The Yahoo list for my region (which I use for unofficial game announcements and such) is 324 people. http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/lfrneusa/

The people at the Warhorn meetup are only partially represented on LFRNEUSA. There are other lists_ one for Baltimore, one for DC, there's a Meetup group in Frederick.. There's also the regional boards over at the Wizards site.

It's always a struggle to keep tabs with all of the community. But it's big. So when I say "I would put out an email and get the next six", I'm being pretty literal about it. I swear.

Quote from: Abyssal Maw;356598(big Pathfinder fan, by the way- no, that isn't a jab)

Yet you felt the need to mention it anyway.

:rolleyes:

This guy is kind of a legend. I don't think he's a bad person, he's just the worst possible stereotype of gamerdom. But I've even given him a ride from the shop we played at twice- no three times.  One time my girlfriend was in the car, she giggled about it all the way home.

Big Pathfinder fan!

Quote from: Premier;356509Where X is a black DJ whom nobody would think of as nerdy, Y is a well-known antiques dealer and transportation expert, Z someone who used to work the NGO circuit, and W a retired US diplomat and popular party animal.

W, retired US diplomat and popular party animal.

i left my old group a few months ago and will probably remain on hiatus.  i'll do solitaire/solo stuff (traveller, etc.) for the meantime.  i hope to move sometime in the next couple of years, so i probably won't bother searching for a new group until then.

Quote from: Abyssal Maw;356637This guy is kind of a legend. I don't think he's a bad person, he's just the worst possible stereotype of gamerdom. But I've even given him a ride from the shop we played at twice- no three times.  One time my girlfriend was in the car, she giggled about it all the way home.

Big Pathfinder fan!

........

Quote from: Abyssal Maw;356598(big Pathfinder fan, by the way- no, that isn't a jab)

Quote from: Melan;356652W, retired US diplomat and popular party animal.

And a lady, to boot! I just happen to know all the right people...

George W. Bush is many things, but he is certainly not a lady.

Oh, wait.  You said "retired US diplomat".  I was thinking "retired US head of State".

!i!

Well, I almost know that "retired US head of state W" as well. Or at least, I can 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon myself to him with one intermediary link.

QuoteWell, I almost know that "retired US head of state W" as well. Or at least, I can 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon myself to him with one intermediary link.

Your uncle sold him coke?

Finally, a worthwhile thread on this forum. :cool:

Quote from: RPGPundit;356309Would you call it quits?

Ehe. No.

QuoteWould you go out looking for new players?

I wouldn't even have to look.

QuoteIf so, would you know where to look?

Yes. I'm a member of the university's RPG club, I study an inherently geeky subject, and I've got a good network of contacts.

QuoteWhat methods would you use to get a group again?

I'd call for players on the RPG club's mailing list, mail a few people in town that I've played with before and possibly recruit a complete newbie or two from the student body.

QuoteHow easy do you think that would be to do in your area?

Trivially. I already have more willing players than there's room around my table.

Those of you with hordes of players and waiting lists should count yourselves lucky.  And my advice is DONT FUCK IT UP.  Because its not always as easy to get things going as one might think.