Who gets to add new players to the group?

[S'mon]

Who gets to add new players to the gaming group?

Normally I see group membership as very much the GM's prerogative, the GM puts together a group /he will enjoy GMing for and thinks will work well together. But I can think of one exception - when a GM is GMing at someone else's house, it is good etiquette to ask that player before bringing new people into their home. I know I've felt a bit miffed when I'm the player/host and GM brings someone new to my house without checking with me first. Conversely I understand some groups add new players by consensus or majority vote - not sure how that works if not everyone knows the new player. Some groups never add new players. Some groups let players bring in whoever they like - as GM that annoys me if a player turns up with their friend/partner/relative without checking with me first. I think I might be even more annoyed if it was done by group vote and I got outvoted, though...

How does your group do it? What works best for your circumstances?

(Might be worth discussing who boots/bars players too, but hopefully that doesn't happen too
often. IME it's always been the GM who boots a player, possibly on advice of other players.)

 

[Morrus]

Anybody is able to introduce a new player to our games, but you don't just turn up with them (especially, like you say, when the game is hosted in somebody's home).

Usually it'll be an email or raised during the game - "By the way, I have a friend called Bob who says he'd like to play." We generally trust each other not to intrude raving sociopaths or anything, so we'll invariably say "sure, bring him along next week". I don't think anybody has ever just turned up with an extra person tagging along.

I don't think we've ever booted a player. Anyone who is that out of tune with the group generally leaves of their own volition anyway.

 

[jasper]

When I was an addict to D&D, it did not matter who added an extra player. As DM and player I just rolled with and either had a good time, or bad time.
Since I am no longer an addict to the game, it depends. Game at my house, I want to know before hand. Gaming at other people's home, not my problem since I not DMING a homebrew at the moment.
Edit to add
Since Morrus mention booting a player. I did boot a player from my table but not my house. If I was DMING BOB was goober with 80% of rules challenges, dumb stuff, problem player. But if I was just a player, Bob did not give the other dms the same amount of grief/BS as he gave me.
Here what BOB did once. Complete Paladin handbook. He wanted to run one of paladins from the book. Long story short, I asked was there anything MAJOR I need to know about the paladin type. Bob said NO. Then pulled out an HOLY AVENGER during the first combat during a first level adventure. His replied was "I let you borrow the book for a week and you didn't notice." The subclass/whatever paladin receive a +5 Holy Avenger for graduating Paladin Basic training.

 

[CydKnight]

Right after we began our current campaign, I had a discussion with my private group about potentially bringing in new players. I felt this was especially important since all but one of them had never played a tabletop RPG before. We all agreed that bringing in a new player has to be approved by the group first even if it's just for a session or two.

For an Open campaign at your local hobby/gaming store, it can be a lot different. The one I play insists on AL rules for all Open Table games which means you must allow all players up to a maximum of 7. You have no control over who joins but I suppose you can dismiss an unruly player if they are disruptive. Of course you could just bring in your own pre-determined group and make it a Closed table but I think most who run Open tables do so because they don't have a set group.

As a DM I really would rather not have a player join an on-going campaign without prior knowledge. I am not efficient at improvisation yet and need ample time away from the table to prepare in advance as it is. I'm sure I'd make it work if/when it happens but I likely won't be comfortable with it.

 

[Eltab]

For an Open campaign at your local hobby/gaming store ...

That was the situation when I DM'ed. We were the store's "Come try out D&D" group. We had a large number of one-time-only tryouts, some of which turned into regulars or occasionals. (I noticed that the higher-level we got, the fewer people came back twice. This inspired me to work on a campaign for Tier 1 PCs.) We had table sizes from 2 players to 15 for a given week.

You learn to be polite, to have a backup 'demo PC' ready, to roll with the changes, to build all set-piece battles with an 'if extra PCs attend, Team Monster gets these reinforcements' appendix. You also learn to set the new guy up in a position where (s)he can shine: insubstantial undead drift in front of the Paladin for a Smite, the Fighter has aggro, &c.

If / when I get a new (day-shift) job, I want to get back to playing and DM'ing. Reading on the forum is better than nothing, but not as good as being there. -sigh-

 

[Sunseeker]

I think anybody should be able to invite a friend, but that should be cleared with the group first. A simple "Hey my buddy got interested in D&D, can he drop by and watch?" goes a long way. I also think that both the players and the GM should be clear with each other when they feel the group is "full".

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Blue]

In my group it's always consensus. Anyone can veto. We're a group of people getting together for a social event - it doesn't matter if we're playing monopoly or D&D, it's the group. The DM only has special privileges inside the game where the others have accepted him as running.

We've even had players blocked because some players didn't want to grow the size of the group, not even a reflection on them as a player.

At the other extreme, I play in a D&D club (a pay-for-seat gaming space that provides DMs and a great environment). There while your table is somewhat static others can join, and the coordinator can switch tables around or toss people for conduct violations even if not playing. But they don't very much, people like having a group and they are able to keep open by providing an excellent environment for gaming.

(Adventure's League did a spotlight on them: http://dndadventurersleague.org/spotlight-nn-adventuring-company/ But they run more then just AL.)

 

[ccs]

In the circles I play in it's always a group decision. And the whole group, DM + players, has to agree.

And in the case of our Sunday game hosted at my friends house he has ultimate veto power.

 

[MNblockhead]

I DM a game at my house and I pretty much invited the players. At this point, I would not bring in a new player without discussing with the existing players. Even though I created the campaign world and it is at my house, it is no longer my game. It is our game. We've been playing in this campaign going on two years. I don't think it would be cool at all for me to just bring in a new player without discussing and getting buyin from the players.

Similarly, it would irk me considerably if someone brought a guest without any notice or asking if it were okay. Especially because we game at my place. But I can't imagine any of the players in my group doing something like that.