Question about "new players allowed".

I wanted to join to my first game on the site, and made a proper, good request in LFG campaing to join a game that was tagged "new players allowed". My spot was taken by more experienced player, and apparently the whole tag was up because one of their friends is first timer. How is this okay, and how am I supposed to find myself a game to play?

It's unfortunate that that was your first experience here, as Roll20 is extremely welcoming to new players. The New Players Allowed is really just stating that they're willing to take on new players. Ultimately it's the DM's call who to invite to their game, just in a regular physical sit-down. It's rarely, if ever, first-come-first-serve. I would recommend checking out the Looking for Group Forum rather than the LFG Tool for first-time players. You will find a number of intro games or Interest check posts all the time in the forum, where the LFG tool tends to fill up nearly instantly. You can also create your own LFG Post explaining what kind of game you're looking for, your experience level, etc... if you pique' a DM's interest, that will certainly aid you in finding a game. Just please be patient with it... finding a tabletop RPG group takes WEEKS traditionally. Using an online tool makes that faster, but it's certainly not instant. Please don't let this discourage you from the wonderful community and game system that is Roll20.

Sure finding an RPG group takes a week or two, but I've been looking for months and I absolutely despise this kind of circlejerking happening in here. My post was up, and replied to more than a day before the remaining three joined the game, and filled my spot. I am not going to beg on forums to be let into a group, as I feel like I've got vast amount of experience from other sources of D&D, such as reading the player's handbook from back to back several times, playing games that are based on D20 rolling system.

It doesn't seem like you're really looking for assistance here or have any questions about the Roll20 system so I'll stand by my recommendations as to what works for me, and bid you the best of luck.

Hynips , I sugguest you also try out these venues. I've found the LFG tool to be near-useless due to the way people use and abuse it. Roll20 Player Network G+ Community Roll20 LFG Subreddit

I'm running a game that will welcome almost any new players, especially those who are actually new to roleplaying games. My campaign is "Explore dungeons inside a strange world" and the system we use is free, Basic Fantasy RPG (in the style of 1980's D&D). PM me asking for the join link for the Basic game if this interests you. Kevin, I assure you LFG isn't anywhere near useless. Good suggestion to try other venues for finding gamers though. I've used the LFG to find almost all the games I've played in, on here, which amounts to a dozen different campaigns gaming with collectively more than 100 other people on this site, using a handful of different game systems since 2012. That's proof it's not useless. LFG can work for Hynips. Hynips, My advice is keep checking the LFG every day-or-two for several weeks, and write good application posts that show your appeal to the GM. Realize you won't get invited into all of the ones you apply. New games are posted daily and they fill & disappear quickly. If you only check the LFG once a week or so, you'll miss opportunities to apply. "New players welcome" doesn't necessarily mean they will invite every new player. It means they are looking for someone who is new. There may be dozens of applicants for a few slots. Usually you need to make a good application to succeed, and also keep checking and applying until you find one that is a good match for you.

To add on what Gold mentioned. Your interest post (application to join the game) has to show the GM that you would be a good player. There is over 600,000 members here and while not many of them post, you have a wide field to compete against for a slot in a game. Good luck and keep trying.

I only DM 2nd edition AD&D, and have recently added five new players to my game, for a total of eleven, which is my limit. I generally put a few conditionals into the posting like send me an email at...and send me a Skype cantact request at... If a player pesters me with PMs they are not going to get in, if you are an AD&D 2E fan you just missed it. GMs put a lot of work into their games, I put about four hours of prep time for each hour of game time. Some GMs will reject someone because they just have a feeling, and some GMs are jerks, GMs, contrary to what they will tell you are just people, except me of course. It can seem like dating, you have to buy dinner for a troll or two before you find the princess or prince you are looking for.

It's not "Your" spot till you are in / hired. Just like a job. Player to DM ratio is about 15 or 20 to 1. If you really want to be in a game, you almost have to run it yourself. Then you meet other players. As it rotates, you get into their game. It's all about rep and trust and not being a jerk, and putting yourself in the best light. There's a lot of other people who have taken months (up to 4 i'm told) to find a game. Good luck.

My best suggestion is to check every day. And look in the forums too. Heck, just go ahead and post your own thread and tell people what you want. Another would be to GM. Becoming an online GM will help you figure out a lot of things about why things are the way they are regarding applications, among other things. It does usually take more work to GM a game on roll20 than in real life, so keep in mind that GMs can and will be picky about players. Having said that, I've run several 2-shots and 3-shots (because 1-shots never finish in 1-shot on roll20) for total newbies plenty of times. The trouble with that is that you need to have patience as a GM and as players, because you need to figure out the mechanics of roll20 and how to get things to run smoothly. As a GM, it isn't fun to do that all the time, as it can really take up a lot of session time, often over several sessions. Things I look for in a player is attention to detail (don't ask me questions I've already answered in my post), and a sense of eagerness (you know what you want to play and look forward to the game). If it's a game that I don't want to spend time teaching roll20 to newbies, then I look for players who have 250 hours or more under their achievements. And I am ruthless about punctuality (at least when advertising). Good luck to you finding a game!

Heh, if ever there was a doubt about this community looking to help each other out, this thread would go a far way to disprove that :) It looks like OP has a group prospect with Sean M.'s 5E Tomes Campaign group, so score!

Gold, you're right. I was being hyperbolic. I've found players for my games and vice versa. I've also found them through the other venues. A player or GM would be wise to try all three!

All i can says is dont give up mate. Im a new GM myself and out of the eight prospect players i had before the actual game started, I only managed to keep 3. I can see the apprehensions of GMs now after that experience so I wouldnt blame them too completely. Im not running a D&D session tho Im afraid but I do wish you the luck we all wish we had. If curiousity is getting the better of you, I still have a backup/player still open. Happy gaming mate.