What is the best way to get into a group?

Been trying to get on to a group for a couple of days now  with no luck. I’m new to the game but I’m excited to get started and begin playing. Is it because I am a new player?  Or are the characters I made flawed?  I’m looking for constructive criticism and some advise.   Thank you!! Name: David TIME: Eastern: Looking for evening times Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. TYPES OF GAMES: 18+ that like to have fun laughing and playing. Harkner (LvL 1 Dwarf Barbarian) Found by a clan of nomad barbarians as a young dwarf he was raised by Klarth, the clan leader and his mate. Klarth told Harkner that he was found on a mountain pass as the clan made their way farther north one summer. They came across what looked like a dwarven camp that had been beset by orcs as there were many more orc bodies than dwarven bodies. They found him under the body of a dwarven maid in full battle armor. Once he was of age Harkner set out to uncover his origins and hunt orcs whenever possible. Kuraki Lynith (LvL 1 Half Elf Warlock) BACKGROUND: He and his companions were hunting the forest one night when they were attacked by a party of drow warriors. Kuraki was taken as a slave along with two of his other companions. As a slave to the drow he was able to make a pact with a Fiend in order to escape. He was the only one to escape alive and since his arrival back to the surface; he has dedicated his like to keeping the land free of evil. ABOUT ME: I am a 39 year old high school Spanish teacher. I fell in love with fantasy worlds when I was about 14 years old. I have read so many series that I should probably reread all that I read when I was young. I have always wanted to try my hand at D&D but did not know really how to go about it. Now though I have finally been able to sit down and really delve in the game.

David, it basically just takes perseverance.  Try and try again.  The ratio of players to DMs is not in your favor.  Consider a paid game if that is an option for you.  I'm in one and it's been quite awesome.  Other than that, monitor this forum religiously for any games that fit your interests and schedule.  Use the Game Finder on a daily basis the same way. When you reply to a DM, remember that you are trying to sell yourself.  Make sure you talk about your experience, playstyle, etc.  If you're new, mention it and talk about what interested you in D&D (or their game) and what you're hoping for.  READ THEIR LISTING CAREFULLY .  Do everything they ask for in their application.  Some DMs immediately weed out applicants who can't follow simple instructions up front.  Character concepts are nice to have but you never know what a game will be looking for. 

Gotcha Jesse!  Thank you!

Some advice: 1. Get rid of the pre-gen characters. Instead, take a look at the plot/world they've created and design a character to fit it. 2. Get familiar with the rules. A lot of people don't enjoy the experience of having to wait for ages between turns because of a new player. There are a lot of games that are specifically new-player-friendly, but those tend to be very low on combat and heavy on roleplay, which makes rule 1 extremely important. The low-story games are typically fluid, casual and extremely fast-paced, so try to look for youtube videos or such, and always think about what you're going to do on your turn before it starts.

Thank you Arsen!

DM here. Forget about your characters for now. Read the DM’s listing twice and follow their instructions. If they dont call for a character idea, don’t add it to you application. If there’s an application thread for applications, don’t make a new one titled “can I join?” Second item I check as a DM, would be your profile. You joined roll20 last September, no need to have hours logged in, but changing your profile picture and your bio info will tell me a bit more about you as the player and not as a playabcharacter. The “about me” you wrote here would be nice to see.  There was a similar post abou this. It might be worth reading the feedback from there too. Here’s the  link .

Thank you Silver

Holy crap that's a fierce beard!

New players do have a bit of a disadvantage (higher played hours can give an impression of being reliable even if its false), but honestly its just luck.  As bad as you think the ratio of DMs to players is, i assure you its likely worse.  Just gotta keep putting yourself out there, and don't put something in your message history that might turn a DM off (we do tend to glance at that if we are seriously considering a player)

Thank you Acrid!

Hi David!  I’m a newbie as well. I’ve picked up a few things talking to gaming friends and love Sci-fi and Fantasy novels. I’ve never played a real campaign, but I’d be glad to join you!

You can look for games in other fantasy systems that are not D&D to get some experience. There are always less people applying.

David H. said: Been trying to get on to a group for a couple of days now with no luck. I’m new to the game but I’m excited to get started and begin playing. Is it because I am a new player? Or are the characters I made flawed? I’m looking for constructive criticism and some advise. Thank you!! Welcome to the best hobby on the planet! First lesson...the ratio of GMs to players is more than 1000 to 1. Because of this there are more people trying to get into games that there are running them. You mentioned looking for a few days. To be very honest that isn't very long at all. Unlike all other forms of media we consume RPGs MUST have someone running them. You can pick a book up if you are interested in reading. Install a video game and play solo. Turn the TV on to watch a show. However RPGs NEED that GM. SO if you are really interested in being part of an RPG and don't want to wait (and depending on the system/style of the game) to play the lotto I highly recommend trying to GM a game. If not the advice above is solid and should help you take your first steps.  Hope this helps and you can taste the greatest form of entertainment of all time...RPGs :D Happy Gaming, -Keaggan

Hey David, You applied to my game and I decided to ignore you because of a few things in your application. First and foremost because you applied with your characters already finished, without knowing almost anything of what the other players want to do, or the setting and adventure provides. Furthermore, did it very much feel like you didn’t read all my posts in the thread because you applied with level 1 characters, but I already said that at least one of the things I want to do starts at level 17. I have run games for years know and thus had to read through a lot of applications. For me experience is nice but not the most important thing, I am searching for people who want to play in a group, who are fire and flame about our game and those who are interested in the kind of game I want to run. After the first screening I usually speak with those applicants and see if their vision of a game is compatible with mine and then go from there. Cheers

Simon, thank you. I’m new to this and at first I thought I had to just apply and have characters ready at lvl one. Thank you for the feedback!!

[GM] Keaggan said: David H. said: Been trying to get on to a group for a couple of days now with no luck. I’m new to the game but I’m excited to get started and begin playing. Is it because I am a new player? Or are the characters I made flawed? I’m looking for constructive criticism and some advise. Thank you!! Welcome to the best hobby on the planet! First lesson...the ratio of GMs to players is more than 1000 to 1. Because of this there are more people trying to get into games that there are running them. You mentioned looking for a few days. To be very honest that isn't very long at all. Unlike all other forms of media we consume RPGs MUST have someone running them. You can pick a book up if you are interested in reading. Install a video game and play solo. Turn the TV on to watch a show. However RPGs NEED that GM. SO if you are really interested in being part of an RPG and don't want to wait (and depending on the system/style of the game) to play the lotto I highly recommend trying to GM a game. If not the advice above is solid and should help you take your first steps.  Hope this helps and you can taste the greatest form of entertainment of all time...RPGs :D Happy Gaming, -Keaggan Thank you Keaggan!