I've always heard stories about D&D and how fun it was (especially the pen and paper variant), but I've never had a chance to actually play it. Recently I've been looking around trying to find people to play with, but the only games I've been able to find are days or weeks off. Is there no place online where people play daily? I'd really love to give it a try, so any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018350I've always heard stories about D&D and how fun it was (especially the pen and paper variant), but I've never had a chance to actually play it. Recently I've been looking around trying to find people to play with, but the only games I've been able to find are days or weeks off. Is there no place online where people play daily? I'd really love to give it a try, so any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Welcome to RPGSite.
There are several places you can go for play by forum RPGs. Currently over on BGG/RPGG there was an announcement of some new PBF sessions starting so might want to check that out as one option.
There are also sessions played on platforms like Tabletop Simulator. But I have not seen one in actual play so cant say how viable it is or is not.
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018350...the only games I've been able to find are days or weeks off.
I'd suggest waiting those days and playing with real live people. Online play will never give you the same experience.
@Dumarest I have a couple people that will play with me, the only problem is they have about as much experience as I do. lol Someone told me to find a good Dungeon Master but I don't really know where to look.
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018355@Dumarest I have a couple people that will play with me, the only problem is they have about as much experience as I do. lol Someone told me to find a good Dungeon Master but I don't really know where to look.
I wouldn't be too discouraged by that. When I started back in '81 or '82 none of us knew what the heck we were supposed to be doing. It takes time. But if you can find a good DM who wants to show you the ropes, that's always good. Wish I could be of more assistance.
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018355@Dumarest I have a couple people that will play with me, the only problem is they have about as much experience as I do. lol Someone told me to find a good Dungeon Master but I don't really know where to look.
If you live near a city there will likely be public clubs you can join.
If not I suggest one of you try running something simple like the Basic Fantasy D&D clone - downloadable from basicfantasy.org - lots of simple starter adventures there.
How to play:
GM says: "Orcs jump out from behind the trees! What do you do?"
Players say: "We..."
Then likely roll dice to resolve what happens next.
Quote from: S'mon;1018361GM says: "Orcs jump out from behind the trees! What do you do?"
Players say: "We..."
Then likely roll dice to resolve what happens next.
Not far off from my first experiences... :D
Tell you what, Reaper. Where exactly do you live? Bet we can find nearby games for you short of you living in utter isolation.
I live in South Mississippi, aka the place isolation goes to get away from people XD
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018369I live in South Mississippi, aka the place isolation goes to get away from people XD
Have you heard of Canada?
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018350I've always heard stories about D&D and how fun it was (especially the pen and paper variant), but I've never had a chance to actually play it. Recently I've been looking around trying to find people to play with, but the only games I've been able to find are days or weeks off. Is there no place online where people play daily? I'd really love to give it a try, so any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Roll20 is probably the most popular online play platform, it is free to join and there are loads of D&D games.
Welcome!
As the person who made the investment in some books, I'd suggest you bite the bullet and run the game for your local friends. You can all learn together. Watch some youtube videos for pointers if you want, but like any other game, you figure it out as you go.
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018369I live in South Mississippi, aka the place isolation goes to get away from people XD
How far from Hattiesburg? Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg has had a large well organized roleplaying club for many years. Might be worth it to check them out.
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018355@Dumarest I have a couple people that will play with me, the only problem is they have about as much experience as I do. lol Someone told me to find a good Dungeon Master but I don't really know where to look.
That's kind of like "I don't have a wife and kids, but need to find somebody that does so I can..."
Driscoll's kind of a piehole, but what he means is that grabbing a book, getting a few friends together and figuring out how this all works together is pretty much how a ton of people got started.
It might be fun to have an expert GM, it can also be fun to try it yourself and see how things go. One thing is for sure, there is a hell of a lot more help online and ideas. Not needing them, I'm not the best source for getting a list of those resources, or knowing which books have the best "How To" sections, because I simply ignore them at this point.
But let's start with this:
- What are you and your friends into? Sci-fi, Fantasy, Video Games, what ones?
- Do you play any fantasy or sci-fi boardgames, cardgames, etc?
- Have you looked for at Meetups in your area at Meetup.com?
- Do you already have any rulebooks?
Quote from: Headless;1018371Have you heard of Canada?
Sheesh, he's from South Mississippi, of course he hasn't heard of Canada. :D
Sorry, had to do it. :p
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018355@Dumarest I have a couple people that will play with me, the only problem is they have about as much experience as I do. lol Someone told me to find a good Dungeon Master but I don't really know where to look.
So this is where I make the hard suggestion: one (or more) of you pick up the DM-hat and just *GO FOR IT*.
There are plenty of adventure modules you can cut your teeth on. You will make mistakes. You will fail. But you will learn and get better with each attempt. But you will also have tons of fun.
Finding a *good* DM is hard. Becoming a good DM is harder - but it is also infinitely more gratifying because it means wherever you go, you got a game. It might be a good idea for you and your friends to swap the DM chair at intervals you all can agree on. DMing isn't for everyone, but for some of us - it's like a crazy "calling". You may not know until you do it.
So DO IT.
I'm going to echo Dumerest, Tenbones and CRKrueger (and you should answer Krueger's very sensible questions before you begin - it'll help us help you).
You don't need to worry about doing it wrong or finding somebody to teach you. Just jump in, make it up and have fun. When I was playing it wrong way back in 1979, it was a blast. By playing on-line or being taught by an expert, you are cheating yourself of some of that joy of discovery that all of us old guys never quite succeed in getting back.
Find some like-minded friends, read the rules and learn the game to the best of your ability but don't worry about it. The rules are there to serve you and your game, not the other way around. Put on your DM hat and just go for it. If you don't know how to resolve a situation, ask the players what they think would be cool, or roll a die and make it up. You can look up the rules later.
The answer is "CHARGE," what's the question?
Like several have said.. "just do it." I ran my first D&D game at age 16. I grabbed a piece of graph paper, sketched up a dungeon level, and ran the game using CHAINMAIL because D&D wasn't even published yet.
It sucked. But I learned.
Like the old joke... "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" "Practice, practice, practice!"
And the first edition of the West End Games' "Star Wars" game even says, "Don't look up rules, just wing it and keep playing." Fun is more important than rules.
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018350I've always heard stories about D&D and how fun it was (especially the pen and paper variant), but I've never had a chance to actually play it. Recently I've been looking around trying to find people to play with, but the only games I've been able to find are days or weeks off. Is there no place online where people play daily? I'd really love to give it a try, so any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!
I can only suggest one thing. You may or may not like the first game you play in, but remember that there are dozens of settings, systems (genres) and various other things that pretty much ensure you will like at least one (if not a dozen) more of RPGs. My very first game was kinda bad, although I also did mistakes I wasn't even aware of it then (due to fully being new to pnp, but I was also something like just 12 then), so if your first game is great that is very nice, but don't get disheartened if not.
Quote from: tenbones;1018510There are plenty of adventure modules you can cut your teeth on. You will make mistakes. You will fail. But you will learn and get better with each attempt. But you will also have tons of fun.
I learned the hard way, too. I wouldn't trade it for anything. (Well, except for a handful of times when I was a jerk to the players, but as a teen, I'd have had to learn that lesson the hard way one way or the other.) Most of the GM mistakes were hilarious at the time, and even funnier looking back on them. The incredible screw ups are part of the shared history of the game that you carry around for life.
I sometimes feel sorry for people that didn't play in a group like that, to start.
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1018554The answer is "CHARGE," what's the question?
Like several have said.. "just do it." I ran my first D&D game at age 16. I grabbed a piece of graph paper, sketched up a dungeon level, and ran the game using CHAINMAIL because D&D wasn't even published yet.
I was older, the rules were different, and I had made a story and a couple dungeons, because that's what I'd seen in Baldur's Gate and Fallout before...but the rest is similar, namely this.
QuoteIt sucked. But I learned.
Ditto:D!
And that was 17 years ago, if not more.
And more importantly,
take notes from what you do wrong!My next campaign didn't suck nearly as badly;).
Telling someone completely new to the game who has never played to buy a bunch of books (or download the free rules online) and to start DMing is probably too intimidating for most people.
Again, I'll suggest the free and very busy online play platform Roll20, especially as he is geographically isolated, to get his feet wet.
Quote from: Voros;1018586Telling someone completely new to the game who has never played to buy a bunch of books (or download the free rules online) and to start DMing is probably too intimidating for most people.
I guess... But that's what a lot of us did. No one taught me. I was GMing at 11 with a map/setting of my own devising and no rules; soon moved on to the very simple Fighting Fantasy RPG then later 1e AD&D. It's not hard if the rules are simple enough. A lot of online games with veterans may be harder to get the hang of.
Quote from: Voros;1018586Telling someone completely new to the game who has never played to buy a bunch of books (or download the free rules online) and to start DMing is probably too intimidating for most people.
Again, I'll suggest the free and very busy online play platform Roll20, especially as he is geographically isolated, to get his feet wet.
I say thee nay! Otherwise how did this illustrious group of GMing badasses self-assemble? Necessity is, and always will be, the mother of blah blah blah.
If you want to GM you gotta want it. Like anything else good in life. Then you gotta get off your ass and get on the dance-floor.
Quote from: tenbones;1018594I say thee nay! Otherwise how did this illustrious group of GMing badasses self-assemble? Necessity is, and always will be, the mother of blah blah blah.
If you want to GM you gotta want it. Like anything else good in life. Then you gotta get off your ass and get on the dance-floor.
I am Gronan of Simmerya, and by Cram and Mirthless I approve this message! The second worst thing to happen to this hobby is the notion that running a game is difficult.
I have seen people screw up a game, because they didn't know how to GM. I've also seen people afraid to GM, because they think they can't duplicate what an experienced GM is doing. They are half right. They can't do it right that moment. But never starting, they'll never get there.
The absolute ideal way is to try it yourself first, complete with hilarious screw ups. Then, when you've got a little experience and context to understand what you are seeing, find a way to participate in a game as a player with someone that knows what they are doing.
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1018638I am Gronan of Simmerya, and by Cram and Mirthless I approve this message! The second worst thing to happen to this hobby is the notion that running a game is difficult.
Gronan had to have this run through Google Translate. In our native tongue it is slightly less poetic sounding.
The only experience I have with this is what I've seen of it on Twitch. My IRL friends aren't into stuff like this at all, but my online friends expressed interest in trying it out if I could set it up. I've been checking around on Roll20, but haven't found one that would line everyone up to play yet. I am, however, on the hunt :)
Howdy, ReaperWeAre!
We seem like a hard candy shell outside, but don't mind that, we're all sweet gooey goodness inside, like an M&M. We're a very "Speak your mind already!" "No, I think you're full of shit on that!" "You're OK, let's go have a beer already." sort of place.
As for how-to, basically it's like playing pretend when you were kids, except there's a scene describer + rules arbiter (GM, wearing two hats!) and things like dice to prevent endless childish arguments of "Did not!" "Did too!" ... It does not always run so smoothly as each of our inner children tend to be brattish and often want to win at all costs. But roughly that's the process.
So you probably role-played already with your friends. You just probably didn't bother with a Master of Ceremonies and a Random Value Generator to avoid arguments. Recall that state, it'll help you and others understand -- more like remember -- what it's like to play "Let's Pretend" this way.
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018738My IRL friends aren't into stuff like this at all
Your IRL friends suck! Get new ones! You need friends that like space ships, mythology, and dinosaurs!
Ok, another, more clear suggestions. Join two or 3 campaigns at the same time, for the start have them all use the same system (like 5th Edition D&D as example) so you get quicker used to it. Just make it sure not to have session time overlapping, and try to make wildly different characters for the 3 campaigns.
Build different personalities for your characters, one of the traps in RPG is that a player makes either all characters with the same personality, or they have none (and use the player's own). Creating characters for multiple campaigns at the same time allows you to be more aware of the similarities and differences the characters have as you prepare them. This is harder at the beginning, but as time passes while you play pnp it will get easier and natural.
A good, detailed background history for the character also helps you set character goals and personality. As example I have a pretty bad memory and just as everyone in my previous RL group I also got used to make detailed histories for the character. Unlike them I always used the background as something I can read through again and again before sessions to 'get into role', it helps me remember the character and its quirks, intentions. Just be sure not to dig holes for yourself with writing the history as it is too easy to do. As example I can't suggest you to write that a dragon is prophesied to kill your knight as divination is often incorrect anyway (a prophecy background wouldn't save you from getting killed by goblins before you ever meet a dragon) but you could include semi-detailed allies and enemies in your history which could then be used by the GM. (just don't write that you're friends or enemies with well known characters, like from books in a Forgotten Realms setting)
A very simple example could be how your halfing street urchin from the city had to flee once a rival gang took over the territory with the aid of their dragonborn leader. You could greatly expand on how your halfling even got into a gang, maybe the way he became an orphan, describe your corner/district of the city, what your relation with your own gang was, and how the gang war started/concluded. It may grant you in the future appearing friends and enemies (others from the gang you assumed dead but weren't, ect). I noticed there are some GMs who dislike long background histories but a page long history can easily be written for even a level 1 character who just starts adventuring. Everyone has families, they have jobs (or 'professions') and a community, and a place in those societies. You can just as well write in great detail about your orphaned rogue halfing as you can about an elven noble and its own struggle in the family for respect and feuds with other noble Houses. A gnomish merchant history of smuggling can be just as interesting as that of a drunkard dwarven military officer, and while it may not seem intuitive to write about an officer's history starting at level 1 remember the guy also had to go through training and gain experience to even get that one level, and rank is often not tied to ingame level. With recommendation, shortage of officers, family ties, or friends with benefits he could get the rank too. In the case of the Church of a god(dess) the highest ranking priest of the city (bishop, cardinal, ect) might also be a low level character compared to an abbot who answers to that man in the region.
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018369I live in South Mississippi, aka the place isolation goes to get away from people XD
As someone who lives in rural Georgia, you have my sympathies.
While there are plenty of sites that can accommodate online play, such as rpol.net, the best thing to do is to grab some friends who are at least somewhat of the geeky persuasion, and offer to run the game yourself. Get yourself a set of rules that you would be interested in running - Wizards Of The Coast has the basic version of the current ruleset available for free on their website. I know running a RPG sounds intimidating, but the rewards are more than worth it. I *strongly* recommend Matthew Colville's channel 'Running The Game' on YouTube... His advice is what gave me the courage to start my first RPG campaign last year, which I'm still running.
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018369I live in South Mississippi, aka the place isolation goes to get away from people XD
There was a very large club at Southern Miss and I have been told recently it's still there. You might search for USM RPG. USM is not alone. I think most colleges have clubs - even community colleges...
If Gary Gygax can find 15 to 20 players in the goat's anus that was Lake Geneva, WI in 1972, you should be able to find one or two.
Quote from: Tulpa Girl;1018984As someone who lives in rural Georgia, you have my sympathies.
While there are plenty of sites that can accommodate online play, such as rpol.net, the best thing to do is to grab some friends who are at least somewhat of the geeky persuasion, and offer to run the game yourself. Get yourself a set of rules that you would be interested in running - Wizards Of The Coast has the basic version of the current ruleset available for free on their website. I know running a RPG sounds intimidating, but the rewards are more than worth it. I *strongly* recommend Matthew Colville's channel 'Running The Game' on YouTube... His advice is what gave me the courage to start my first RPG campaign last year, which I'm still running.
I think this is good advice (assuming you have a couple somewhat geeky friends), the 5e D&D Basic Rules etc are here - http://dnd.wizards.com/dungeons-and-dragons/start-playing
I would probably recommend the hardback
Tales from the Yawning Portal as the best resource for 5e D&D printed adventures (some maps are too small but you can Google larger versions), but personally I mostly use cheap/free stuff for other versions of D&D and use 5e stats for the monsters, eg the adventures at basicfantasy.org are great as is Dyson's Delve (https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/maps/dysons-delve/), Goblin Gulley (https://rpgcharacters.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/onepagedungeon-goblin-gully.pdf) and all Dyson Logos's stuff.
Quote from: tenbones;1018594I say thee nay! Otherwise how did this illustrious group of GMing badasses self-assemble? Necessity is, and always will be, the mother of blah blah blah.
If you want to GM you gotta want it. Like anything else good in life. Then you gotta get off your ass and get on the dance-floor.
The OP didn't say he wanted to GM, he said he wanted to play and 'try it.' I agree GMing isn't rocket science but the OP seems to be looking for a game to join not GM. It isn't like when we were kids and the only way to find a game was to start one yourself. That is one of the few advantages of online play.
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018350I've always heard stories about D&D and how fun it was (especially the pen and paper variant), but I've never had a chance to actually play it. Recently I've been looking around trying to find people to play with, but the only games I've been able to find are days or weeks off. Is there no place online where people play daily? I'd really love to give it a try, so any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Welcome to theRPGsite!
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018738The only experience I have with this is what I've seen of it on Twitch. My IRL friends aren't into stuff like this at all, but my online friends expressed interest in trying it out if I could set it up. I've been checking around on Roll20, but haven't found one that would line everyone up to play yet. I am, however, on the hunt :)
Stick with it and eventually you will find a game.
Then, you can decide that it isn't for you after all, or is something you liked but might want to play again, or become hooked on a lifetime of fun.
Most of us here had the third experience.
Quote from: ReaperWeAre;1018738The only experience I have with this is what I've seen of it on Twitch. My IRL friends aren't into stuff like this at all, but my online friends expressed interest in trying it out if I could set it up. I've been checking around on Roll20, but haven't found one that would line everyone up to play yet. I am, however, on the hunt :)
Welcome to the site Reaper. While in person play is always the best, I've gotten a lot of mileage over the last few years with Roll20. It's kept me in touch with some of my best friends and allowed me to make some new friends, and I've had the same group playing weekly for nearly 2 years now.
If you've got a couple online friends interested in playing, you're most of the way there. Just need to pick a system (there are so many good free ones available) and decide who is controlling the monsters. It grows from there.
If your group is really wanting to experience play before someone tries DMing, I'd be happy to run a simple one shot on Roll20 for you sometime. 2 hours, straight into the dungeon, kill some goblins, steal some treasure. I'm on EST and have most evenings free with a little notice.
Yeah, ideally if you're not living alone on an island or something, you should find a group to play with. If one doesn't exist, why not try to make one? Maybe there are people around you just as interested, and just as uncertain about how to get into it.