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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SiderisAnon" data-source="post: 4984895" data-attributes="member: 44949">Does anyone on EN World have experience with running or participating in "pickup" type D&D games?  By that, I mean games run at a local gaming store (or other location) where the DM pledges to come in and run a game on X day at Y time and people can sign up or just show up if there's still slots open.I find myself without much in the way of gaming because real life has gotten in the way of my gaming group.  For the last several months, we've been hitting less than half our sessions and sometimes missing 4-6 sessions in a row.  We've finally cut the schedule in half and are still missing sessions.  I rather miss DMing regularly and so I'm looking at a way of spending some more time at my hobby.In the past, I've tried finding games through my local gaming shop, but I've run into a few nightmares along the way.  I also find traveling to various people's houses difficult due to a medical issue.  (I can get in and out of our current gaming location and the local gaming shop fine.  I cannot run at my own place.)I admit, I like the idea of what the RPGA tries to do.  I'd love to do that at the local gaming shop.  Unfortunately, the people running RPGA here are rubbish.  They are so disorganized that you're often running a totally different module than you prepared, things inevitably get started late, and they often fail to report the modules run to the RPGA.  They're "in" with the owner of the store, so there's nothing that can be done about them.However, I was thinking of running something at the shop on a different night, possibly weekly.  I was thinking pickup type game because it wouldn't require people to commit to showing up (except me) and could allow me to deal with a variety of different players.  (With the option of removing truly horrible ones, which I don't have with the RPGA because the guys running it never report things like cheating, striking another player, and other infractions.  The only guy I got removed was because the store banned him out because there were so many complaints about him.)  I guess I'm basically thinking a tournament type game once a week (or every other week).I haven't given detailed thought for what sort of characters.  I'd want to have some pregens available, and would possibly run all pregens just to keep things honest.  I'd probably keep the game in the 5th to 10th level range, which is what I see as the "sweet spot".  It would be 3.5 D&D, mostly because I don't own and don't wish to spend the money on 4th.  (Please, no edition wars.  I don't have any opinion of 4th other than I don't have the money for it.)I'm not worried about having to adapt my material on the fly.  After more than 20 years of DMing, the seat of my pants and some dice are all I need to game with.I've also thought about trying to do this online, or just forming some kind of regular group online.  I've just never done any real chatroom type gaming, so don't know how well it would work for me.  (I do have DSL and a good computer, so technical resources wouldn't be a problem.)So, does anyone have any experience with "pickup" games or anything similar?  Anyone have any suggestions?It's Albuquerque, New Mexico, if it matters.  There is only one gaming shop in the city and it's mediocre in my opinion.  (I used to live in New Orleans and before that Chicago, so I'm probably spoiled.)</blockquote>

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