Completely inexperienced player, looking for some guidance on what to do before I try to join my first game

Or someone willing to take me in for a game, but mostly guidance. What do I do first?

I can help point you in the right direction. If you have skype please add me ferryman3636 or send me a private message

If you want, you can do some research on some of the popular games being run, such as D&D, Pathfinder, etc. A quick glance of the Looking for Group tab or this sub-forum will give you some ideas. If you find one interesting than just look for a group that is open to teaching new people. Everyone was brand new at one point after all :) Other than that just go in with a positive mind set, the more you put into it the more fun you will have!

I'm running a D&D 5e game for newbies this Saturday at 6pm MST. No homework required, just show up on time. Give me a PM if you are interested.

Basically, you need to find a Gamemaster running something. Or pick a genre, and game to play. List your time zone, along with your days and hours, so people know when you are available. Good luck.

if you want to get a little insight into the variety of table-top rpg's on roll20, i can probably tell you something about most of them (especially cWoD and nWoD games), furthermore, i run a fairly stable group called Jaded (VtR), with players from a variaty of RPG backgrounds. im sure they wont mind sharing their wisdom either. so, if you have any questions you can join me on my Raidcall Group (Raidcall is a 'free to download' Voice Chat). my Raidcall ID is 7366441. btw; my group is down a player, so if you like to join a fun group, maybe my group is just what you are looking for.

The best I can suggest is to look for games that are welcoming to new players and simply jump in. Most DMs are understanding and will help you out. Explore multiple options and styles. I started out in DnD 4.0 but swapped to pathfinder because I liked the way it played better. Don't be afraid to screw up, there isn't really a better place for "Trail by fire" to apply than here.

Pretty much what every one above me said hehe :) I'm actually doing a game with a friend of mine who's a vet and it's for people new to RPG systems. We're running a custom made campaign created with the Microlite74 system which is a trimmed down/basics version of most RPG systems (This one is based off of Primal Fantasy SRD). We're a group of people here to learn and have fun with it since it's custom made and the system allows the players and GM to free form much more than traditional rpgs today :P You're free to check it out if you want! We're all new :) (but one friend to help us :P)

If you dont want to feel like a noob though, the one thing I would reccomend is trying to join an unusual game/homebrew game where most people will also be kinda lost for the first couple sessions. I started with a 4th ed d&d with a very nice gm, I still kinda felt like a noob though XD

Look to join a group in a genre you enjoy (best = text & map only, because Skype/ Voice etc does not get recorded), tell the GM that you want to 'lurk' for a while before you create a character, and after you are added, go to the Campaign Details page, and click on the 'chat archive' button. Read thru and figure out what is going on. Look through the Forum Posts for the Game/ Campaign. Put the story-parts they have created together in your head, and see if that is the kind of story that you would like to help make in the future. See if anyone else needed help creating a character, and try to follow along if they did. If so, ask the GM your questions in PMs (please don't clutter up the Forum for the Game), and create a character and join in! I'm running a Roll20 Mutants and Masterminds 2nd Edition game, text and maps only (Super Hero Genre), on Monday Eves, 5 PM, PST. Episodes usually last about 4 hours, and you are quite welcome to join, 'lurk', learn, and play!