How do you find players for non-D&D games?

[faunus]

I’ve went to Meetup.com and posted on the area’s RPG group, asking if any were open to systems besides D&D, but got no response.

I persisted on meetup. Then created my own meetup group, it's not to difficult or expensive to do, then you can attract more targeted players. The Seattle Zweihander RPG meetup group (Seattle, WA)
There are also discord for any game you are interested in, join a few and post about live play, or actual play on them with your details.
Be on twitch and find table top roleplaying games for the systems you are interested in. Chat with them, join their discord and ask there too.
Don't be afraid to try roll20.net games, they are a great way to game with people outside your normal zone.
Join roll20.net and ask for play opportunities there
Go to your local game shops, set up at an empty table with your books out and answer questions set up a game on the gaming board if they have them. At the table you can just design your game campaign or something.
At the game shop ask them to order the books and accessories for your game, many won't until there is interest or players playing it at their tables.
Twitter has a vibrantly and active #ttrpg and #rpg community. Talk about why you like the game you are interested in, DO NOT talk down any other game. Fair comparison is fine, please dont use general declarations as you'll get a rep that is difficult to correct.
I also talk about it with close acquaintances as a way to see if they are interested. Have a quick pitch. Use yes and language.

 

[hawkeyefan]

It’s been a long time since I played RPGs beyond Convention one-shots, but I have the bug to try it again. I’ve moved to a new area and know no one. While I want to run/play RPGs, the only games running here are D&D and maybe PF.

I’m unwilling to play D&D/PF. II try to play it I’ll end up that pessimistic sour guy at the table. I don’t want to be That Guy and drag others down with me. Better to play nothing at all.

I’ve went to Meetup.com and posted on the area’s RPG group, asking if any were open to systems besides D&D, but got no response.

So what do I do?

I think the first step is to narrow it down a bit to what games you do actually want to play. Once you have that, then I'd say go to websites or locations dedicated to that game.

Reddit and Discord are both helpful with this. You can then try to connect with others who are looking for a group. Roll20 is free and has a ton of games.

 

[Rechan]

I think the first step is to narrow it down a bit to what games you do actually want to play. Once you have that, then I'd say go to websites or locations dedicated to that game.

I already know what I want to play, but I've gotten advice saying not to specify. Because you say "I want to play X" they will think "That's not D&D I don't know what that is, nevermind". Instead say "I want to play a game, looking for players" and maybe suggest it's not D&D and then explain once they actually get there.

But I'm not specifying here; I tried that on REddit and I got "people I talk to think that game is garbage" and "No one wants to play that genre with randos".

Realized I was assuming you want to be GM. If not, you might have to give GMing a try in order to introduce players to a new system. Games can work really well with just one player and one GM, so even finding just one other non D&D player could work.

Oh I accepted long ago that unless I run a game, I likely won't get any RPG at all. That goes triple for anything not D&D.

If you are willing to play online, then you won't have nearly as much trouble finding a non-D&D game to play in or run.

I am, but it requires finding a VTT that handles more than merely dice. The game I really want to play uses a Jenga tower. However, I've found a hack that uses a deck of cards, but it requires you putting the joker in the last 20 cards, and each person at the table drawing certain amount of cards until they get the joker. So the VTT has to be able to handle that.

Also in my experience, if you play with Both a VTT and a voice-chat program, you will inevitably have problems where a player can log into one but not the other, so I'm hoping there's some VTT out there that has an in-chat program.

 

[Nagol]

Get a rep as a good DM/GM, walk up to players who have expressed interest in playing in your game before. Tell them you have a new game starting if they want in and it is X. Say if they're interested, you'll send them the intro sheet. Ask if they know someone else who'd be interested.

Rinse and repeat until (a) you have enough players to start or (b) you get discouraged and decide to run something else.

 

[LordEntrails]

Also in my experience, if you play with Both a VTT and a voice-chat program, you will inevitably have problems where a player can log into one but not the other, so I'm hoping there's some VTT out there that has an in-chat program.

Roll20 has a built in voice program but it sucks. Everyone (including myself) uses something else for voice when using Roll20. My preferred VTT is Fantasy Grounds and we use Teamspeak or Discord. Having them both running at the same time isn't a problem, I do it at least once a week.

A jenga tower is going to be tough. FG has a card extension, but I suspect it would require some customization to be able to specify the jokers are in the last 20 cards.

 

[Legatus Legionis]

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[Rechan]

I actually really like the look of Tabletop Simulator. Of course that depends on how big the community that support it is, but boy it looks nice. Some fans have even made a Jenga variant, but I suspect folks won't trust that. It's not as good.

 

[uzirath]

I actually really like the look of Tabletop Simulator. Of course that depends on how big the community that support it is, but boy it looks nice. Some fans have even made a Jenga variant, but I suspect folks won't trust that. It's not as good.

I've heard good things about Tabletop Simulator too. Here's a relatively recent post from the GURPS/DFRPG forum where someone provided a detailed explanation of how it works for them including screenshots. I'm thinking of giving it an extensive spin this spring with former players who have moved out of state and have been pestering me about doing a virtual game. I want something simple. I'd be happy with video conference software if I could figure out a really simple way to handle tactical layouts. It's enough work prepping for a game that I don't really want to have to waste tons of time preparing digital maps and resources.

 

[Rechan]

I favor far more loosey goosey rules light story games, and things like FAE, so not too much prep for me.

And it looks like any mod I need is in TTSim. Excellent.

 

[aramis erak]

Realized I was assuming you want to be GM. If not, you might have to give GMing a try in order to introduce players to a new system. Games can work really well with just one player and one GM, so even finding just one other non D&D player could work.

That's quite controversial, and depends upon a lot of variables, including the game system.

Systems with strong niche protection (Including AD&D) tend to have a fairly strong minimum. In AD&D, that minimum is 2 if both players play non-matched multiclass demihumans... 4 if people are playing single classed.

Likewise, GMing styles vary widely. I find that anything less than 3 is not going to work well in almost any game. I can handle 1 or 2 in burning wheel, but it's not fun for me unless the player(s) (is/are) exceptionally motivated. Give me 4-6 ideally. 7 is comfortable. In a sufficiently rules light, I have run for up to 12...

Likewise, other games make player numbers matter in ways other than niche protection. Alien, for example, has a lot of high stakes rolls, and the players want at least 12 dice on those, which is best able to be attained by 5-8 from player rolling (att+skill), 2 from tools, and 1 more per helping character. (One try only, failure triggers a critical damage roll. Need at least 1 six. needs twice per character week... on different skills.)