I have an established group that's been playing together for some time. The Campaign is relatively young but the group is solid.

I have 5 players and most nights there are 3 or 4 of us that sit down to game. I like to keep the numbers up as it is more fun. So I need to find just one more player. I've got buy in from the other players, especially important is the fellow that hosts the game.

The plan is:

1. Try my friends (that aren't already playing). See if there is anyone interested amongst people I know. It's good to get those people because they are most likely to fit in.

2. If not, advertise in my local gaming shop and invite whoever gets in contact to a beer in a pub beforehand. That way they can meet most of the players and see if they are likely to fit in.

3. If not, advertise on the web (probably on a uk roleplay site) and then invite down the pub as per step 2.

4. Once I have a willing volunteer, send them a setting pdf they can read up that gives them the story so far. Icar is all freely downloadable but there is a shed load there, fine if they are keen.

5. Meet (or over email) to make a character outline. The setting I'm running at the moment requires strong story ties at the start but not much knowledge of the system really. Which is nice.

6. Try and engineer the first session to be one that's easy to join in with. Make them important in the team in some way. Get them going right from the start.

I've not really done this before, so does this plan work out ok?
Is there anything else I should consider?
Is there anything here that seems a bit heavy handed?
Any other tips?

Many thanks for the help that will no doubt be offered.

Beer beforehand is a good idea.

I'd not make a character for the session but give him/her an NPC. Sometimes even though beer was fine, play is not. So you don't waste much time for character creation.

Furthermore I as a player don't like to bring a character and I don't like others to bring their characters. So I like it better when a new character is created with everyone around. Maybe there is input or relations can be planned ahead

I tend to do 1-3 all at the same time. In my experience it takes time....or something wacks you in the face right away. You just need to get out there and eventually someone comes along.

Also realize that not everyone is going to work out. So, ummm, "be yourself" and don't force a bad situation.

>>  6. Try and engineer the first session to be one that's easy to join in with. Make them important in the team in some way. Get them going right from the start.

That depends heavily on their personality. Had a player's little sister join our group once. She was very quiet and shy (still in highschool at the time) and mostly watched only for a number of months. She definately wasn't a bad person to have at the table but certainly wasn't the person to have at the centre of the fray. Probably would have freaked the everloving crap out of her at the time. Then one session she decided she was comfortable with gaming and speaking up and she jumped in. *shrug*

BTW if the game you are playing has offical/semi-offical message boards I've found that works really well. At the moment every single person I game with has come via a person I've found on a message board or a direct friend of theirs.

Most game related message boards will have a dedicated locator forum or they are cool with the requests going up in a general discussion section. Post there. Also use the search function, in all forumns. Users will drop hints about where they live in their posts from time to time. Once you've got a list you can review posting histories for possible matches and then spam them via PM.

I've never had luck with the dedicated locator sites. I've had a few people contact me via those...looking for someone to play a completely different game. Plus the downside is you don't have this history of posts to look at to see where people are coming from. What they are looking for and expecting in a game.

I personally have always made the first meeting in a public place. Sort of a common ground with a quick escape route. Maybe I play Shadowrun too much?

P.S. Yes, there are people that read my posts who are not only are willing to meet me in person but also play with me. Apparently my warm, fuzzy meat-body personality shines through my rough internet exterior?

Thanks for the top tips, guys. I shall certainly take all that advice. I'm glad I'm running on roughly the right lines.

Fortunately, Icar has a dedicated (if a little quiet) forum.

I try to get players that have similar tastes in a particular area (music, for example), thus creating a common point of interest.

Usually when I am needing another player, I ask my existing players if they can think of anyone who might be a good candidate, might be interesting and able to play, etc..

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