Looking for a group.

So far I have added people to Skype, tried to join multiple groups, and there has been no response or acknowledgement of my existence (or so I feel) so what gives, is there something extra special or elitist about this community, or is the timing, or form or something that I am not aware of, or does this community not welcome new players ? I am literally willing to pay my GM's for their time, and preparation, and for hosting the game to begin with. I have always believed the players should pitch in to make the GM's life more comfortable if not like in RL, paying their taxi home or paying their beer for them etc.. Anyways, what gives ?

It may just be timing or games just fill up quick. If a GM is running one of the more popular games they get flooded with request very fast and people are bound to get left out. There are a lot of players per GM that's just how it is unfortunately. What games are you interested in playing?

Sounds like you've found some lousy GMs. If that's the case, it would be nice to let you know it has been filled and maybe even invite you for a running of it at a later date.

Ah, so other peoples experience has varied from my own, then, I take it. That is reassuring.

So far, only this thread has gotten me any invitations or direct communication, so no regrets :P Just hope I have not offended anyone.

Welcome to Roll20 Lee. You are in a boat that a lot of people are in. It is unfortunate that the quality of GM's that advertise on Roll20 are not the most experienced or dedicated. The other half already have established players or are looking at your profile to see your experience and/or dedication. It is hard to find a group, let alone a good GM. Trust me I know and a lot of my current players will agree. With that being said, your request for a game is lacking a lot of information and sounds more like your whining than seeking a game. I was looking around for a new player to join my well established group but I don't know what systems you play, what times you're seeking or anything else. Do you think you can elaborate for us GM's seeking solid players a bit more on yourself since your profile is lacking.

I would invite you to my Call of Cthulhu game because a couple of my players aren't really getting back to me about their characters. It is a week away though, so they've got time to do it. I just don't know if I'm already over my preferred limit until I know whether or not I'm ever going to hear from them again. That sucks when I'm simply trying to gather a party that wants to play. It sucks telling players that are committed to the game that they'll have to wait another week because the other people simply vanish. That's why I'll have an RSVP list and once that fills up, it's game time. I hear what you're saying, but it definitely goes both ways.

Ah so I am missing something in a profile somewhere. I am looking for whatever I can learn on the fly that will not cost too much, of course. I have played tons of DnD and such over the ages, but not much of anything past 4thEd. I haven't played much ShadowRun but when I did play it, i loved it, though it was incredibly complex, but I heard that has changed alot since the 90's.  Also, Call of the Cthulhu and other horror themed campaigns sound intriguing, I have had very few GM's who have done that sort of HP lovecraft inspired theme stuff.

He's got a point. Update what games you enjoy playing, what games you're activity seeking groups for, and maybe even a little bit about yourself as a player.

Did that, there is so many I haven't tried.

Alright, i only really know DND and ShadowRun well, but i'm open minded I'd try other things. Roleplaying is Roeplaying to me, the system for rolling and stats matters not as much. I am just curious how this whole thing functions. Do I download something ? How do I join a game once I get invited etc..

The GM sends a link out for you to be put on the roster for the game. The link takes you to the game's home page. There is a link to "join game" once there.

Oh I see, is it mostly like a web browsing game ?

I'll go ahead and give you my standard "Ahoy, Newbie!" spiel, some of it may be helpful to you :) To get kicked off right, I'd suggest watching one or both of the introductory video series: 1) If you're absolutely brand new to RPGs and want to know the general idea of how they are played, which game to choose and then find a group of fellow gamers: Check out our Introduction to Tabletop RPGs series . 2) If you've played tabletop RPGs before and just want to get a understanding of how Roll20 can be used: Check out our Roll20 Crash Course . This is a step-by-step overview for creating your very first Roll20 game . This tutorial uses the Pathfinder RPG to frame itself, but it's not a system specific tutorial and you should be able to follow along without knowing one single thing about Pathfinder. Starting your own test game to play with the controls is an excellent way of getting used to the software, and you really can't break anything I promise! Secondly, check out the Looking For Group Tool and Looking for Group Forum daily for games that may be of interest to you. Thirdly, be sure to completely fill out your User Profile . Your Bio is where you have a chance to catch a GM's eye with a well-written statement about yourself Enjoys Playing is important for two reasons: Every entry you put here is a data-point for the The Orr Group Industry Report of games being played, and it lets other people looking at your profile know a bit more about you Actively Seeks Group For is where you can add yourself to the Player Directory for systems you want to play Feel free to ask any questions you have about Roll20 and post in the various forums on their particular topics (Don't stress about putting topics in the right sub-forums, we mods really don't mind moving topics when needed!) Happy gaming!

Awesome, thank you !

To be helpful, I'd like to post my 50 cents as someone who GMs about 2 ongoing campaigns at a time. This is just my own opinion on what kind of players I look for and who I tend to add. What Secret said earlier is true, for the most part, GMs will have a strong preference for people they have played with before, now this isn't always the case since I've had instances of players who I'm alright with but would prefer to continue on without them. Another factor in that difficulty is that Roll20 is a GM's market, there are instances where it seems people don't notice this or assume its a matter of posting interest to get into a game, I take a good deal of time selecting my players and mores than the characters that they have, I try to get a good look at the player's personality that lets me know how working with them would be like during the campaign. As a player I've also had times I've been added on Skype and forgotten, its incredibly rude regardless of how one looks at it, whenever someone checks with me I always try give them a firm answer if they weren't accepted. Characters are easy to change, people's nature are not so a GM is better off not doing first come, first serve. Ive had an instance where out of a party of 6, 5 players ended up not doing their character sheets within a month's time, and 2 of them insisting they were working on it even after a week extension on the deadline. Which is one of my past experiences that makes me really wary of just accepting anyone. So to combat that in my more contemporary games, I will usually post a template to gauge people, not so much as their characters alone but to see how much effort and thought they put into A) Their ability to create a small story, B) Their willingness to follow proper spelling and grammar (which shows organization), C) and just overall how much effort they're willing to put in to be accepted. While that sounds a bit, yes "elitist" as you would say, its also because I view the players I accept as an investment of time and breadth. Theres nothing more depressing that having a player who's trying to play a campaign like a disneyland ride and wait for the GM to have the little cart continue along the rails. ._. GMs are not waiters. The people themselves tend to be more important than finding someone who knows how to play the game to me at least, its like a job experience, if someones worth it, then it should be equally worth teaching them. Asking a few questions of a GM is also a good way to show interest, I love it when someone checks in on certain details of a world I have thought out and it gets me thinking about other details I haven't covered.  As for trying to get into DnD & Pathfinder, its the most played game on Roll20 and there is such a massive population it is very difficult to fight pass the crowds and get into the door, so while its all for a game, its also a matter of how much you want to play. If you constantly scan the LFG tool & Forum, and stay persistent, you'll eventually find a GM to take you in. Some of the easiest games I've found to join in on are the ones that aren't the full mainstream games like DnD, Pathfinder, & Shadowrun. Examples being such as: Paranoia XP, End of the World: Zombie Apocalypse, Anima. Less people looking for games like that, but enough players willing to play that its possible to see non-mainstream games being advertised on the forum.  Currently myself, I have a thread out in the forum to pick up a new player for my Mutants & Masterminds game since a player had to drop. If this information isn't what you were looking for, then I apologize. I wish you best of luck on all future adventuring ^^

That is great information, and I have begun creating a character for one campaign I was invited to, however, i have quations about abit, I do not even know if creating a character is something you do like in PnP, but I went ahead and created what would be my characters motivation and personality and small quirks and how it could be fun and interesting to see played out. The system was Dream Park, which I have never played.  there has been little communication with the GM back and forth, but its possibly late at night for them, who knows. I think I've spent a good 6 hours now reading things up and down, over and over. You all helped me greatly, helped me stay motivated, and got me excited even. I look forward to meeting you guys ingame oneday, too.  Somethings that I think are not awnsered easily, are how is a character created in the game, like is it a google doc that gets shared or is there a mechanical system to have these things sync'd with GM's etc.. how does one choose those little Avatars to move around (like choosing which one is yours) or can you literally create your own custom one, upload it to some vault and other can freely use it too, like custom content. I am no stranger to having spent time re-skinning 3D textures and modelling things for myself and others. I've played with this one community , in NWN2 for nearly a decade on a PW called BG:TSCC. Some might recognize me from there. Every so often a new game community is like "Hey, your that guy ! I know you.." so I wouldn't be surprised. Small world and all. As for playing, whenever I'm given that chance, I will make the most of it. Even if I have questions, I will learn, and I will be gracious to my GM and as a starting player, I will try and focus on my characters motivations, and personality to drive what they would do, rather then what OOC would be pleasing to me on a whim. More likely to RUN from anything dangerous then think - cool, kill it and get reward etc...  I believe, I am a very good role player, I hope this translates well ingames for immersion and fun. I can only guarantee my intentions will be well aligned. The community seems very large, now that I have had 2 days to look around too. Easy to get lost. 

Well if you don't mind the game I'll invite you to try signing up for my  Mutants & Masterminds Game, its a super hero based RPG. I cannot promise anything however, I try to be impartial and give everyone an equal chance best I can.  2 Days? I'm not surprised you haven't found anything yet lol, even for people who've been here a while its not that quick, a lot of it is also waiting for the right opportunity. Not all GMs and not all campaigns are the same. While its different for every system, I'll see if I can explain some of it best I can. Character Creation is a definite thing in Pen & Paper, ideally it should be a mix of concept and the mechanic of the game. When you're in a campaign, you'll be given a character sheet, which is typically a list of mechanical stats, numbers that will determine what you roll when you engage with an action. The rules and character creation guide are done through the player's handbook of whatever game system it is,  this is typically something you have to buy though a few games such Have OGL (Open Game License) such as DnD and Pathfinder along with a few other games that have their rules posted online. Tokens are usually made by GMs/players, Roll20 supports the uploading of any kind of image so Ill find a nice round template and take the image a player wants and crop it into a circle such as these (1st a horror RPG, 2nd A Song of Ice & Fire RPG which includes their house sigil):   I've never played Neverwinter Nights 2 myself but its based off Forgotten Realms which is a DnD Campaign Setting, I know that much. What you described for personality and quirks, that is a part of character creation as well, there ARE games/GMs however, that don't do too much story in their games and will neglect RPing like that and it'll be a bit like a Rogue-like video game where you crawl through dungeons constantly, but yes, I personally like characters with strong distinct personalities since thats how a party can have a good time. Character creation, aside from "Story" related personality/history, is answered through the handbook of the game. Some of the core stuff stays the same such as  1) Core stats 2) Derived stats such as defenses,  2) Skills 3) Feats/Perks/Advantages/Qualities 4) Powers/Spells/Magic 5) Gear This process covers like 80% of most mainstream Tabletop RPGs. Idk what to tell you about that GM, yea, some GMs are just slow, some don't like responding to players, some don't like being real and telling someone they're not in. Or it could just be that they're busy, all GMs are different, some good, some bad. 

Persistence is the key, I say don't worry too much about not getting accepted, it happens, and just focus on looking out for different games & GMs to see whats out there. As for being a good role - player, thats something best shown through example :) if you get in good with your first group, then ask around afterwards to see if they know of any other games going on.  Trying to play tabletops on Roll20 is a lot like finding a job. A bit too much, you have to build up experience, impress interviews, network, etc. Unlike video games, it takes quite a bit more effort, but the result of being able to login in and play a few games, make some friends, and share some laughs is a lot easier to find in tabletops where nearly anything can happen. 

Thanks for all that, seems relatively what you would expect. So, super hero's aye ? Sure sounds different,I wouldn't mind readin up on it abit. 

Heres a link to my thread:&nbsp; <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/2273185/lfp-muta" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/2273185/lfp-muta</a>... At first, the game is honestly very daunting but thats because of how customizable powers themselves can be, once you get the hang of the game system, it can be used for a lot of styles of gameplay. &nbsp;Some googling will show you a bit of information on the game that'd be too much for me to explain. Theres a chance I might GM something else at some other point of the week in the future but it'd probably be a late night Pacific Standard Time game and I'm not sure what game system I'd use, I typically stay away from DnD because I find it A) Too easy, B) Too overdone. I get sad theres not enough appreciation for some of the other game systems out there.&nbsp;

Sorry for being so absent.&nbsp; I was in &nbsp;SR thing with 5 people for a week or two.. things went down hill. GM got insulted by one guy who rage quitted and tried to pull a fit with everyone, and well, GM says she liked me and this other guy, doesn't want to continue.&nbsp; I do not know if I am willing to invest so much time babysitting anymore, or learning new rules, to be honest.&nbsp; I am going to try and find a SR game with people know know the game well enough not to need my help.

Lee is a good player! Unfortunately, my group didn't work. I can personally vouch for the fact that he's a solid player.&nbsp;

Don't worry the convo is deleted now

Lee W. i am forming a group for a besm game besm is big eyes small mouth i am useing 3rd edd point buy. here is link to my info if intrested post or pm me <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/2304138/looking-for-players-for-a-besm-games" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/2304138/looking-for-players-for-a-besm-games</a>

Lee W, first off if it can be said, welcome to the community. I've been a DM here for about three years. When I first joined I was told the player to GM ratio was 12 to one, now it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 players to each GM. So given that the average group is five players, plus or minus 1, for every group that forms there are 20 people left out. Since it takes a good week to a month to form a group and it takes a good couple of months to a year to make good GM, there is a constant and growing disparity between the number of players and the number of GM's. So you're not alone. Going to meet a lot of people here that are cool, and you're also going meet a lot of people here that have significant ego or personality problems that don't or can't fit into a normal tabletop group, this is because of the anonymity of the Internet and because for some people this is their only option for gaming and because Internet tends to bring out the worst in people with they feel there's no consequences for bad behavior. Personally, you know you can do what you want but I think posting what happened in a chat as an example of what can happen in a bad interpersonal situation is just bad form, it… you might think it helps your case, but now what happens if I go to invite you into something and something happens? I'll maybe as a GM, not knowing the group yet, not handle it well or I don't intercede to stamp it out, it looks like you know there is for all to see. I would never do that, but I guess you feel the need. You're the first person I've seen here in three years to do that. It's not a perfect community, but it is what it is. I have found great groups here. I have found not so great groups here. Some people think I am a great DM, that is very dedicated with maps and plots and everything. Some people think I'm a choo-choo railroading DM who is in love with his campaigns. Some people think I'm a horrible DM. A lot of times it's a mismatch of styles, or you have one or two or sometimes more people they just have problems and they can not play well with others. I have heard from players, who are good players, that it has taken them a month sometimes two months to find a game to join let alone get in a game that sticks, that runs past the first three scenarios. We're all strangers here to each other, except for those of us who know each other, and those of us who have built a reputation good or bad among other people I guess, I have a mixed reputation. But the people that want to play my games really like my games, so I guess that's the criteria is do I find a group that I get along with that can accept me as their game master/dungeon Master/storyteller. Now the easiest way to find a group is to become the DM because you will get if you're running fifth edition D&D, you will get 15 people over two days to apply., Then just like everybody else you pick, who seems the most dedicated, who seems the most hard-working and getting their character together, who seems the most able to interpret what you put as your campaign introduction document that lists what you're looking for, there is a match and after all that you do have a group of about five people. Which leaves 20 people that did not make the cut added to the poor people who were looking to get into games, plus the 40 new people that arrive every week. And among some of those 20 people, there are people who are like your example of touchy or egotistical or nerfed my character, or I don't like your rules or I don't like your setting or I don't like your other player, or "I want to play, but with no gay players" or whatever there are so many problems it's not even funny with the level of work that it takes to get a game off the ground to get past the first three scenarios with a stable group of five people. And so this is why people don't recruit new people because nobody wants to meet someone who is gonna be a problem it's just easier to stick with the people that you know and have proven themselves to be easy to get along with, not argumentative, not rules lawyers, not jerk offs, not insulting to women, not insulting to man, not insulting the gays, not racist, whatever whatever whatever whatever whatever. This really sounds like a rant but it's just what it is. this is the community that you're in now if you want to be part of it there are cool games here. Many, many, many cool games. Most of them are closing to new recruiting. I got one full 5E game, I got three-game groups that are in An irregular schedule, and as I've said before above, the real trick is if you want to find a game group you pretty much have to start yourself and go to the agony of selection, and sometimes not agony sometimes you're lucky but in my experience recently it's mostly been agony, Time-consuming, grueling, pick an adjective.. Twitch and ITMEJP have been driving people here who are desperate, to find D&D games and that's cool, and we just don't have the GM's to support all these people coming in through the gate, and so you know it's a process of filtering out the people I just don't want to deal with. But really, if you want to find a group, start one yourself. That's the deal man, is we need more GM's. And you will see people say left and right OH I don't have the time to GM, I'll never have the experience to GM, whatever reason they can give you as to why they can't GM. I get it. So the problem just grows. Because by the nature of interactive role-playing it's a GM at about five players and so with 40 new people a week, we need eight new GM's a week and plus the backlog of a bunch of people… because there are they say 1 million players here. So why are you getting ignored? You are not getting ignored. You just did not, in your entry here, just like everyone else, they don't realize until after about a month here you're in a crowd of thousands of players seeking a stable group of friends, of like-minded people who just want to have an adventure… but in the middle of that you get trolls and egotistical and narcissistic people who are just a problem. So you're hoping to find one of the rare, experience, talented, hard-working dungeon Masters, the GM's who get lucky and they find that five people group, and they stick with it and they become a weekly thing and then closed to new recruits, and that is the deal around here. Again, this sounds like sour grapes, but it's not. Just the truth as I see it and I've been very lucky to find the most talented players pretty much of my life here people who have played for 20 years Or people who are 16, or 17 years old who are natural players…&nbsp;It really really really really really is all about finding players that want to get along that are willing to try the same system. it doesn't have anything to do with age To determine if you're going to be a good player though, it has 90% to do with attitude, and also a major thing is styles, I run a narrative heavy, combat light game, that bores the tears out of people who like a fourth edition D&D combat grid junkie&nbsp;As their dungeon master. That doesn't make them or me wrong, it's just a mismatch of styles, but a lot of times dungeon Masters get an unnecessary amount of flock considering the work that they do for no pay. I've also met some of the worst people I ever met in my life here, who have been nasty and vicious and cruel and just not fun to be around. The community moderators have done an excellent job over the last two years and cleaning up the most rampant trolls who used to just divide the community. So with that, welcome to the community and so she's vouching for you so that's good enough for me so if I get an opening and you want to play a narrative style fifth edition One-Shot or something you know, hit me up. I will give you a chance, because it's really getting down to am I wasting my time or not recruiting people. but Emma J is cool and she's vouching for you so you are cool right? Just had a lot of bad experiences this week I met some great people, and great, great experiences but some bad ones too. So I'm trying make the best of it, and keep my options open, and welcome new people to the community. I run a semi – regular fifth edition One-Shot new each week to welcome new people, sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't, mostly due to the quality of the people, and how rigorous was my selection process in filtering out people that are not serious, or who are going to be problems, or who will create problems for any group that I plan to run. Welcome to the life. I'm not kidding if you decide to GM you'll get 15 people in two days.

James J. said: I'm not kidding if you decide to GM you'll get 15 people in two days. That is true. I run a niche gaming style of a niche system in a niche hobby (text or play by post Risus system on roll20) and usually have a full group within a few hours of posting a recruitment for it. Use the tools supplied by the site and don't give up hope. Roll20 has over 1 million members now and only a fraction of them read or post in the forums but that is still a tremendous amount of people to compete against for a slot in a game. Good luck.

I'm trying to learn how to use the Map functions, I will test it out in a normal PnP game with a few of us and our laptops while we're over at the same house and such soon. I'm a terribad DM, but I think I am still better than some people who do not know the rules or whats going on and are attempting to DM for the first time, and don't even know how to play whichever respective game. SO, I will try and learn the system, and train my friend to use it too, then maybe we can have more DM's.&nbsp; James thanks for the time in writing all that you wrote, it gives a very clear idea what is what, or I shall say much clearer idea. I am trying to develop a concept where 3-4 DM's can all play and DM one at a time each week. And when you come back you can resolve whatever plotlines you had going on, so i am forming a kind of checklist for this group I am going to be with, so we can all have time playing an easy to play adventure, and yet have long term consequences too. Make NPC's come back etc, on going story and stuff. The issue is, it would have to be a storyline that replaces people as they become irrelevant, with whomever naturally would be in the situation, but realistically &nbsp;by proper motivations and look fluid. If done properly I hope to have it where we can basically HEAVILY contribute to the immediate world around us, with some dynamic setting.&nbsp;

Lee W. I have been kicking around Roll20 now for about three years. My experience was very similar to you. In fact after about two months I willing to quit. I was sick of taking the time to find a game only to have it not happen, cancelled, fell apart shortly after starting or whatever. It was frustrating to deal with peoples inconsiderate behavior. James J was exactly right stating that the anonymity of the net is mostly to blame. Anyway, as I said, after two months I willing to quite and tell everyone how much Roll20 sucked. What turned it around for me was a game I was helping someone else setup. He flaked but I tried to save the game by GMing in his place. The game did fall apart rapidly after that but it got me thinking about GMing. Again James is right. It is indeed the best way to get a group together. Different people use different strategies to get a group together. The one that I tried first was to join a number of games I had an interest in. I kept track of who I thought were the good players and developed relationships with them. This took about 1-2 months, but it netted about 5 or so good players. Another option, don't use Roll20 to find players. Try G+ communities or places like Reddit. In all honestly my experience on Roll20 for games and players is probably under 50% when it comes to people I do not know. I have spoken with others and that seems to be the benchmark. My retention from G+ communities is much higher, in the 80-90% range or better. Of course everyone's experience is different, so your mileage may vary. The key is to perseverance, using multiple strategies and using tools other than Roll20 to find the games and players. Hope that helps a little bit. Good luck with your gaming endeavors!

Yeah, since I'm part of a gaming community known as TEST SQUADRON, I found many players and games in the community, riught under my veru nose. Now its non-stop everyday of playing.

If anyone here is interested, I'm hosting a game that's not getting very many responses. The first session will be 10/31/15 9:00 PM EST. I am looking for 1 to 2 more players ASAP. Here's the link to the listing: &nbsp;<a href="https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/34247/one-shots" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/34247/one-shots</a>