anyone have an idea how to start a DnD group?

[Brunhidden]

thinking about squandering some of my spare time by finding people in town willing to come over and play some third edition DnD

now, the problem is that i dont know many people, and those of them i do know arent dorks who are into DnD

ive put a facebook post on the DnD page to see if anyone is in the area interested, and if that fails i stumbled uppon dndmeetup.com which seems to think 'nearby' is an hour and a half drive...


but, anyways, are those good ways to find people willing to stop over for a game?

assuming i do get people together, then what?

do i feed them or do they bring their own kibble?

how often and how long should each session take place?

is it really a good idea to welcome these warped and likely unwashed people into my own home? if not, where else would we meet?

if someone is a problem how do you properly eject them, and later replace them?

are there any potential problems i haven't thought of?

[techmaster-glitch]

Oh! There's a thread in the Haunted Ballroom on D&D, and on llearch's chat server, there are actually several channels dedicated to several weekly online groups

I'll send you a PM with the info, you can stop by and we'll tell you everything you need to know, whether you decide to do an online group, or to get one together in real life (...insofar as the very game itself is in "real life" )

[Inumo]

but, anyways, are those good ways to find people willing to stop over for a game?

I haven't had much luck that way, but that was mostly because I lack the means of transport to go anywhere nearby.

assuming i do get people together, then what?

Decide who's the GM, where to meet, etc.

do i feed them or do they bring their own kibble?

Whenever I've GM'd (which was rarely and not the best, since I never prepped >.>) I'd have snacks available, and if the session ran late, I'd call a half-hour break to go eat, then reconvene to keep playing.

how often and how long should each session take place?

The number I've most heard thrown around is somewhere around 4 hours per session, though I've heard of shorter, longer, and a LOT longer.

is it really a good idea to welcome these warped and likely unwashed people into my own home? if not, where else would we meet?

Truthfully? So long as you set out beforehand that you want them to have taken a shower (with soap, of course) before they come over, you should be fine. However, sometimes they've got the stink stuck into them, so if you'd rather avoid it, you might be able to borrow a local library's room. If all else fails and the weather's okay, the local park should also work, though you might want to bring paperweights with just in case.

if someone is a problem how do you properly eject them, and later replace them?

are there any potential problems i haven't thought of?

For both of these I would suggest looking at Gnome Stew. Though they are first and foremost a GM blog, I know they do some articles about the social part of the game, since it's often the GM that's hosting the group and has to manage who's in and who's out.

Good luck out there!

[Tezkat]

thinking about squandering some of my spare time by finding people in town willing to come over and play some third edition DnD

now, the problem is that i dont know many people, and those of them i do know arent dorks who are into DnD

ive put a facebook post on the DnD page to see if anyone is in the area interested, and if that fails i stumbled uppon dndmeetup.com which seems to think 'nearby' is an hour and a half drive...


but, anyways, are those good ways to find people willing to stop over for a game?

Sure. You can see if that works out for you.

Local hobby stores (wherever it is you go to buy your gaming materials) normally have bulletin boards where you can advertise for new players. The staff there should also be able to direct you to sites where gamers in your local community hang out.

assuming i do get people together, then what?

It's generally assumed that whoever's organizing the pickup group will have a campaign ready to go. (The exception to that is if you have an established group of players advertising for a new GM.) It's signficantly harder to form a new gaming group with strangers if you don't already have a prepared GM.

If you're putting up flyers, it's a good idea to have a timeslot set in advance. (e.g. "D&D 3.5 campaign looking for players every Thursday at 7pm.") If you're organizing around a single online forum or Facebook thread, it might be possible to negotiate the best timeslot with prospective players.

do i feed them or do they bring their own kibble?

It's semi-standard to have chips and mountain dew lying around the house. You're not really obligated to feed them, though. It's common for everyone to chip in for a pizza halfway through the session. People will often bring their own snacks. (I normally bring my own snacks due to food allergies and such.)

how often and how long should each session take place?

Most groups meet weekly or biweekly. More often than that is very uncommon for a pickup group. Less often than that could be a problem, as maintaining interest with less frequent meetings is difficult, and it's a lot more disruptive when one or more players can't make it.

I'd say 3-6 hours per session is the comfortable range. Less than that, and you don't really have enough time to get anything accomplished. More than that, and everyone will start getting tired/silly unless you actually organize around marathon gaming. (My groups have done things like spend a weekend at a cottage playing 12 hours of D&D a day with rest and meal breaks every 4 hours or so.) Ideally, you'd like to be able to end each session at a convenient campaign milestone rather then stopping in the middle of things and picking up where you left off the next week.

is it really a good idea to welcome these warped and likely unwashed people into my own home? if not, where else would we meet?

They're mostly harmless. It's rare to meet the dangerously crazy this way.

However, it's been my experience that some of these guys genuinely don't understand the whole personal hygiene thing, so bugging them about it is a lost cause. Good ventilation is helpful...

Running regular sessions anywhere but at home presents logistical difficulties, as you need to be able to guarantee access to your gaming space in the same timeslot every week.

if someone is a problem how do you properly eject them, and later replace them?

It's best if you can discuss matters with a problem player. Politely explain what you expect of them and why you consider their behaviour disruptive. It's hard enough to get these groups going in the first place, and regular gaming sessions are a huge commitment. Having to eject and replace problem players can be just a disruptive as dealing with them.

[Brunhidden]

thanks to TG i have a pretty good idea of how it should all go down, but the big problem still seems to be locating players

Local hobby stores (wherever it is you go to buy your gaming materials) normally have bulletin boards where you can advertise for new players. The staff there should also be able to direct you to sites where gamers in your local community hang out.

time and time again this problem surfaces- the only game shop in an hours drive radius had closed years ago thus i have no idea how to find the gaming community that i know already exists in town.

basically i have to rely on meeting people online, despite the constant warnings that i should only play with people i already know.

my idea of putting a bulletin at the local library was shot down for fear of christian fundamentalists setting stuff on fire on my lawn because im some kind of satanist as evidenced by my interest in tabletop gaming. i really have no clue where else in town i could put up a flier to raise awareness without drawing the wrong kind of attention

[Tezkat]

Hmm... do you have a local college or university with a gaming club, perhaps?