D&D General Any advice on looking for an irl group?

[not-so-newguy]

My brother just moved from the SF Bay Area to a small town (8,000 people) in Alaska and he's looking to play DnD in-person. He's already talked to the local hobby store that carries WOTC products, but they had no info to help.

Besides Meetup, what would you advise him to do?

 

[DEFCON 1]

Have him ask the hobby shop if he can either put up a request for players there, or even probably better if he could run a game there in the store (that way there's less permanence expected if it turns out the players he gets do not suit his style.)

Now if he was hoping to actually be a player rather than a DM he might need to go online and find FG or Roll20 pick-up groups instead... but if he's good with DMing... setting up a weekly Adventurer's League game for a month or so might be a way to meet some fellow gamers that could work out. At which point if the group works together, they could then make it a permanent game at someone's house if they didn't want to play in the shop.

 

[jmartkdr2]

The best way I've found to build a group is to run one-shots.

If you're running, you'll find players. By running one-shots, you're not committing to playing with anyone long-term. Invite back people you like, grab some new folks, and keep iterating until you have a solid group.

If he doesn't want to run long-term, someone else will probably volunteer. (If you don't like dming, it kinda shows.)

 

[iserith]

The problem with that town in Alaska is that I hear it has a night that lasts 30 days and as a result they are plagued by vampires who tend to catch the well-marbled folk first. Hence the lack of D&D players.

 

[J-H]

-Faceborg, if he still uses it
-Meetup
-Posting a notice on the bulletin board at the game shop
-Show up at several events (board game days, etc.) and chat with people. Become a bit known in the community, then ask if anyone's interested. Schedule a couple of one-shots, have the shop promote them, and then go from there.

 

[aco175]

If there is a local FLGS or maybe an actual bookstore/library you can see if they have games. Maybe some AL to start and see if a group has players. Colleges should also have something. I was working at a small college and seen many D&D books in their dorm rooms when I needed to enter.

 

[The Green Hermit]

My brother just moved from the SF Bay Area to a small town (8,000 people) in Alaska and he's looking to play DnD in-person. He's already talked to the local hobby store that carries WOTC products, but they had no info to help.

Besides Meetup, what would you advise him to do?

If it's a town that small, Meetup probably won't help, unfortunately. I am facing a similar problem in my town. I play with my kids (and my husband when we tell him we need the extra fire power), but it would be nice to have an outside group to game with, where I could actually be a player.

Heck, at this point, I'd probably be willing to try an Online game.

 

[not-so-newguy]

If it's a town that small, Meetup probably won't help, unfortunately. I am facing a similar problem in my town. I play with my kids (and my husband when we tell him we need the extra fire power), but it would be nice to have an outside group to game with, where I could actually be a player.

Heck, at this point, I'd probably be willing to try an Online game.

That's pretty much his situation, but he's not willing to play online (yet).



@iserith his wife used to play Masquerade, so there's some validity to that.

 

[aco175]

If you get desperate enough, place a billboard in your yard. Maybe pick a public place to start. I'm guessing that there are a few gamers around and some are looking for new people or maybe are in the same place looking for gamers.

 

[The Green Hermit]

That's pretty much his situation, but he's not willing to play online (yet).



@iserith his wife used to play Masquerade, so there's some validity to that.

I get it. It's hard enough to schedule around people you get to see face to face. Scheduling the same time in front of a computer screen seems even harder -- at least to me.