[LFG][D&D5e][PST] Player's last application. (Long Rant as well)

So I have to be honest here about the current situation. I've been looking into playing a D&D 5e game where the world is exciting, the players are amazing throughout, and both of them are committed into putting hours towards their respective campaign. And also where we all can be friends and share moments with each other. That was what was like, putting it simply, in my last group until we disbanded about a year ago. Today, I've been searching a group with the same qualities or similar to it that can provide the spark in people's minds and hearts. But its hard to find a group nowadays who not only can bring the best experiences and moments out of each other, but to be able to show that they can turn something awful and make it one of the best characters to remember. Not only that, and I believe people can relate to this, is when someone puts effort into their application, and/or characters they would like to implement into the story. But that isn't the hard, its the waiting the makes things dreadful. During the wait, you will go through "The Stages of Grief" and it sucks. I can tell you for a fact, after 5 WEEKS of searching,  probably find 1-3 campaigns that may or may not accept you into his/her campaign, but in the end they won't respond let alone notifying the people who did no make the cut at all. I think, in my opinion is kinda dickish, but that is just me. I don't know if others felt the same way or not. What I do know is the pain and anger people go through, and it makes me feel like shit. So my point is, there will come a time when you feel like shit or you will hit a wall of sorts. Its either you give up on applying to campaigns that may or may not accept you, the feeling of rejection, or something similar. Or you try to break through that fucking wall and go all out. So this will be my final application. If you believe that, after reading my application, I am the right player who fits in your campaign, or I would fit great with your group that is solid since the beginning. Then don't hesitate to notify me though PM. But don't send me a reply that I am a possibility and you should apply. NO I WILL NOT APPLY TO YOUR CAMPAIGN. When I said this is my last application, this is it. I will not apply to someone's campaign and be a potential candidate. I think I had enough heartbreaks as it is now. So with further ado, here is my last applicaiton: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name or Username/Age: My name is Markvincent Labrador and I go by my username, "VinceXenos." I am 23 years old and I am attending college. Give a brief description of yourself: Well I live in Washington State, which is in the further North West of the US. I've been going to college for 3 years now working on an Associates degree in Arts and I want to develop that into either Graphics design for an advertisement company or become a freelancing photographer. I play video games on the PC and PS4. Recently, I have poured over a hundred hours towards Monster Hunter World. I'm also a Club President of the NERD Club at our campus and have hold that position for almost 2 years now.  How long you've been playing D&D5e/Roll20? I've been playing D&D 5E exclusively on Roll 20 for almost 2 years now. I've been a player for most of my time, but I have tested the waters as a DM before.  How were you introduced into D&D and what is your experience in it currently? I was introduced to D&D 5th Edition by a Youtube group called Funhaus. Now this game was my very first tabletop role-playing game ever and I was intrigued by the role-playing experience and combat. But overtime, when I gotten into my first game, I realize there was more to the game than I first expected. I had no idea how to use Roll20, let alone on how to roll stats, how to build a character, and after all that, you start to learn all the game mechanics. And let me tell you, my first character was a Rogue, would steal money, jewelry, paintings, and antiques of sorts. And use those items to sell them off in different villages or towns. And it was fun... until I realized my character's background doesn't matter because it was set in a module you had to follow step by step (in case you are wondering, it was Against the Giants before the Tales of the Yawning Portal was released). Now, I didn't experience much role-playing, but hot damn if I wasn't telling the truth that it was fun as hell interacting with other characters, because you can create some crazy moments to share with other players. Over the course of almost 2 years, I've learned, I conquered, and I experienced amazing role-playing occurrences I had in a long while. My experience now is decent enough to where I know what I want as player and give up as much to appease my group in hopes we can find a balance. And as much as I know of the game itself, I still have a lot to learn from people who I can share with. What do you prefer/expect in a campaign and the DM? I prefer both role-playing and combat as they are the peanut butter to my jelly time. And what can I expect from a DM is fun and lenient on ruling since it’s about having fun, but also take control once in a while when things get too out of control or when we need to press on. Another thing I'd like to point out is that not only backstory is part of the world, but other players as well to create their stories as well. I want to experience what their characters are going through and see on how we, the players, can either benefit from this or help for that matter.  If you were given the opportunity to join in a campaign, what classes do you prefer playing? I prefer playing Paladin, Fighter, Ranger, and Wizard, but if group needs a specific class to fill in a composition of sorts, I can fill in that position for you. Which is: cleric, druids, sorcerers, and lastly... bards. I will warn you, if you need a bard, I am your male entertainer...that is all. Do you have anything else to point out or note anything in particular? Not really, except thank you for your time in looking into my application, and I look forward into joining your campaign. If I am not the right player for your group or campaign, then I thank you for your time and bid you ado. - Markvincent Labrador

Dude keep in mind dnd is VERY popular and on here has a hell of a lot more players than dms of course youre gonna have triuble finding a group

Fairystail said: Dude keep in mind dnd is VERY popular and on here has a hell of a lot more players than dms of course youre gonna have triuble finding a group I understand the ratio being overwhelming, and how far the D&D is by far popular, but I felt the need to at least rant.

I recently started DMing two games (saturday and sunday) because of the difficulty in finding decent games to join. Two of the games I had been apart of, one for 9 months or so, and the other for 3-4 fell apart about the same time, so i found myself with two nights of nothing happening. So I decided since there aren't enough DM's, I would try to help the problem by taking on 10 players and trying to provide a fun experience.  As frustrating as it is to find a game, as a DM here it can also be a frustrating experience shifting through all the chaff to find the wheat. Many players are flaky ( don't show up regularly), lazy (can't read the advertisement you put out looking for players, and then request specific things you say you do not allow...) immature (rules lawyer, arguing, fighting with other players) or just plain annoying.  However, it's worth it when you find the players that work well with you, you create a game that everyone has fun in, everyone says at the end of the night how much fun they had and that they are already looking forward to next week, and communicate all through the week their plans, hopes and wishes. That being said, maybe if you can't find a game, try DMing. Create what you want to find in a game. Train some new players (I have taken on several) and teach them how to play, and maybe you can encourage people to try DMing their own game once a week.  Or if you find a game, reward your DM. Pay for their sub. Pay for tile sets, or whatever that they might not have to give them more options to be creative. That's what the DM's get out of it. It's a shit load of work unless you are using a boring module, (I put in 30 hours+ per adventure) and the only reward a DM gets out of it is the fun of their players.

Shawn L. said: I recently started DMing two games (saturday and sunday) because of the difficulty in finding decent games to join. Two of the games I had been apart of, one for 9 months or so, and the other for 3-4 fell apart about the same time, so i found myself with two nights of nothing happening. So I decided since there aren't enough DM's, I would try to help the problem by taking on 10 players and trying to provide a fun experience.  As frustrating as it is to find a game, as a DM here it can also be a frustrating experience shifting through all the chaff to find the wheat. Many players are flaky ( don't show up regularly), lazy (can't read the advertisement you put out looking for players, and then request specific things you say you do not allow...) immature (rules lawyer, arguing, fighting with other players) or just plain annoying.  However, it's worth it when you find the players that work well with you, you create a game that everyone has fun in, everyone says at the end of the night how much fun they had and that they are already looking forward to next week, and communicate all through the week their plans, hopes and wishes. That being said, maybe if you can't find a game, try DMing. Create what you want to find in a game. Train some new players (I have taken on several) and teach them how to play, and maybe you can encourage people to try DMing their own game once a week.  Or if you find a game, reward your DM. Pay for their sub. Pay for tile sets, or whatever that they might not have to give them more options to be creative. That's what the DM's get out of it. It's a shit load of work unless you are using a boring module, (I put in 30 hours+ per adventure) and the only reward a DM gets out of it is the fun of their players. This...+1

your rant here encapsulates a lot of my frustrations here with Roll20. Ive been a member here nearly 3 years now and have only gotten into 2 campaigns, both of which only lasted 3 or 4 sessions(the last one was WELL over 2 years ago).  Im the kind of player who wants to roleplay, and while many campaigns have this advertised as a definite feature, i think it a lie. GMs seem to only want players whose characters are by the book and expect them to be number crunches. My characters (most of them anyway) are unique characters, not powerful or anything like that, just unique, interesting, characters that go against the norm because... well.... its D&D! why wouldn't a GM want a unique character in their campaigns? Hell the one character i've been applying everywhere with is a magical broom who can even fight, doesnt speak, but is a cleric class and serves as a comic relief/goof character. She just wants to have fun and dance to music and collect hats while performing cleric (support/healing only) duties for the party (randomly of course, she's not totally sentient). never one got accepted, feels like im wasting time filling out these applications  I know we cant forced GMs to accept parties... but still it seems something could be done >.>

Shawn L. said: I recently started DMing two games (saturday and sunday) because of the difficulty in finding decent games to join. Two of the games I had been apart of, one for 9 months or so, and the other for 3-4 fell apart about the same time, so i found myself with two nights of nothing happening. So I decided since there aren't enough DM's, I would try to help the problem by taking on 10 players and trying to provide a fun experience.  As frustrating as it is to find a game, as a DM here it can also be a frustrating experience shifting through all the chaff to find the wheat. Many players are flaky ( don't show up regularly), lazy (can't read the advertisement you put out looking for players, and then request specific things you say you do not allow...) immature (rules lawyer, arguing, fighting with other players) or just plain annoying.  However, it's worth it when you find the players that work well with you, you create a game that everyone has fun in, everyone says at the end of the night how much fun they had and that they are already looking forward to next week, and communicate all through the week their plans, hopes and wishes. That being said, maybe if you can't find a game, try DMing. Create what you want to find in a game. Train some new players (I have taken on several) and teach them how to play, and maybe you can encourage people to try DMing their own game once a week.  Or if you find a game, reward your DM. Pay for their sub. Pay for tile sets, or whatever that they might not have to give them more options to be creative. That's what the DM's get out of it. It's a shit load of work unless you are using a boring module, (I put in 30 hours+ per adventure) and the only reward a DM gets out of it is the fun of their players. Basically this. If you aren't finding the game you want, make the game you want.  As a person who truly loves DMing it can be really frustrating when players are the things that Shawn lists here.  I've mostly given up on a more 'serious RP experience' if it isn't face-to-face and even then finding a group that sticks together is crazy lucky.  I am so happy to have my gaming group IRL which has been playing the same campaign for the past 7 years.  I'm blessed to have them and I let me players know how much I appreciate them. D!ESF1RST said: your rant here encapsulates a lot of my frustrations here with Roll20. Ive been a member here nearly 3 years now and have only gotten into 2 campaigns, both of which only lasted 3 or 4 sessions(the last one was WELL over 2 years ago).  Im the kind of player who wants to roleplay, and while many campaigns have this advertised as a definite feature, i think it a lie. GMs seem to only want players whose characters are by the book and expect them to be number crunches. My characters (most of them anyway) are unique characters, not powerful or anything like that, just unique, interesting, characters that go against the norm because... well.... its D&D! why wouldn't a GM want a unique character in their campaigns? Hell the one character i've been applying everywhere with is a magical broom who can even fight, doesnt speak, but is a cleric class and serves as a comic relief/goof character. She just wants to have fun and dance to music and collect hats while performing cleric (support/healing only) duties for the party (randomly of course, she's not totally sentient). never one got accepted, feels like im wasting time filling out these applications  I know we cant forced GMs to accept parties... but still it seems something could be done >.> Yeah, I can understand this as well. Its one of the reasons I love being in the big R20 campaign that I'm in right now. Its low commitment, been going for 4 years, has games daily and I know that it will be around later when I put work into it. I can dump 100 hours of work into a story arc and I KNOW I'll have the players when it comes time to run it. That is such a huge relief for a DM it isn't even funny. As far as Roleplaying weird things... A lot of groups aren't going to want to play with a magical broom that doesn't fight.  The more off-the-beaten path you make a character the more unlikely it is that a group will help you fill that niche.  Its like wanting to play Mouseguard (which is a great game btw).  Finding a group for that game is crazy hard and if you add extra pieces it is going to make it that much harder.  If you look at your character as a self-contained thing and you will do it your way come hell or high water... maybe change that attitude and you will get accepted into a group.  The thing that 'can be done' is to try to cooperate with other players when we all play this cooperative game. I wish I could help the OP out.  I can feel his frustration through the screen.  I don't run or play 5e.  There are an insane number of players of 5e on this platform and a ton of 5e games.  A lot of those players are going to be sub-par and a lot of the DMs as well.  The good games that last for a long time are going to be like winning the lottery.  If you are in one of those games, great.  If not, don't get discouraged and throw a tantrum.  Understand that you are working with the odds stacked against you and roll that crit with disadvantage (Or do everything you can to make yourself seem like someone who matches the campaign and expectations of the DM to try to cancel out that disadvantage!)

As a DM with a very intensive application process I can there are a couple issues I've found with Roll20, some on the player side some on the GM side. When I have been a player looking for games I have noticed a majority of "application processes" are just a simply copy+past involving absolutely nothing that tells the GM about the players. Its basically just name, years of experience, character idea. How in the hell is a GM supposed to know who is a good player or a player that fits their GMing style just by knowing those details? This creates this weird dynamic where basically the only people actually getting into games are the ones who manage to be the first few comments because the GMs are too lazy to make an attempt at finding a good party....and then the game falls through because half the players will be super flaky and the DM will feel unappreciated and randomly drop the campaign. Personally I feel that any GM starting a new campaign and accepting applications should either do a long application or better yet, a voice interview. A voice interview is 10x more likely to let GMs find good players and will at least let everyone else you talked to feel like they had some kind of control over their situation even if they aren't accepted as a player. When I am a GM for a game and opening applications though, I have found there is a huge sense of entitlement coming from some applicants. In your case you said you find it dickish to not notify people if they were accepted or not. I've found that even if I make a post or edit my game's description saying I found my players, the ones who had barely tried on their application and thus didn't get a voice interview chance will still PM me a week later cussing me out for not personally messaging them if they were accepted or not. Like, sometimes I have over 300 people apply for my game if I leave applications up for more than a week....am I really expected to personally message that many people? Not saying you are one of these people, you may be one of the people who would actually read the forum post or edit....but you'd be surprised how many times people expect a private message. And honestly, if a GM is doing the basic application with little to no effort you probably shouldn't expect them to put any effort into notifying people at all. They already showed their laziness so better to just give them their copy paste and hope their random selection chooses you. Best advice I can give you though is to look through this forum rather than the individual game listings. GMs like myself often browse through listings on here and randomly pick up players. DMs will also sometimes make posts themselves here looking for players. I can say that when I was looking for a game about 3 weeks ago within 7 days I had joined 3 campaigns by just keeping an eye out. 2 ultimately failed but one looks like it will stay around.

It's odd to me that so many players think they have the right to shoehorn a character of theirs that they created into a DM's campaign. It's the DM's campaign. They put the work into their world. They have to create an environment that is fun for the group, set up all the encounters, npcs, etc etc. So, if you want to play some really strange thing  that is totally out of place in THEIR world, they aren't the ones being jerks. I imagine DND like a  theme party. All a player really has to do is show up in costume matching the theme, not be a jerk, and have fun., eat the food, enjoy the free drinks and entertainment, and go home happy while the DM is the one left cleaning up the mess after having prepared it all. However, so many people on roll 20 aren't satisfied with that. Instead they show up in a costume completely inappropriate to the party, and wonder why they aren't invited in. It's up to you as a PLAYER to create a character that meshes with the world the DM created. It's not up to the DM to create a world around YOU. 

Shawn L. said: It's odd to me that so many players think they have the right to shoehorn a character of theirs that they created into a DM's campaign. It's the DM's campaign. They put the work into their world. They have to create an environment that is fun for the group, set up all the encounters, npcs, etc etc. So, if you want to play some really strange thing  that is totally out of place in THEIR world, they aren't the ones being jerks. I imagine DND like a  theme party. All a player really has to do is show up in costume matching the theme, not be a jerk, and have fun., eat the food, enjoy the free drinks and entertainment, and go home happy while the DM is the one left cleaning up the mess after having prepared it all. However, so many people on roll 20 aren't satisfied with that. Instead they show up in a costume completely inappropriate to the party, and wonder why they aren't invited in. It's up to you as a PLAYER to create a character that meshes with the world the DM created. It's not up to the DM to create a world around YOU.  +1

Shawn L. said: It's odd to me that so many players think they have the right to shoehorn a character of theirs that they created into a DM's campaign. It's the DM's campaign. They put the work into their world. They have to create an environment that is fun for the group, set up all the encounters, npcs, etc etc. So, if you want to play some really strange thing  that is totally out of place in THEIR world, they aren't the ones being jerks. I imagine DND like a  theme party. All a player really has to do is show up in costume matching the theme, not be a jerk, and have fun., eat the food, enjoy the free drinks and entertainment, and go home happy while the DM is the one left cleaning up the mess after having prepared it all. However, so many people on roll 20 aren't satisfied with that. Instead they show up in a costume completely inappropriate to the party, and wonder why they aren't invited in. It's up to you as a PLAYER to create a character that meshes with the world the DM created. It's not up to the DM to create a world around YOU.  This. I agree very strongly with this, both from the perspective of a GM and the perspective of a player. When I am looking for a player as a GM, I'm looking for exactly that -- a player. A good player will mesh with the players in the group in a way that contributes to outstanding RP and overall fun, care about the world and campaign, and be more than capable of creating a character that will fit those things. I see character creation as a social process that at the least is a collaboration and interplay between the player and the GM, and in the case of some campaigns and groups, is a collaborative process amongst everyone playing in the campaign -- this is especially true when people want to interweave backstories or create a collective history prior to the start of the campaign. More to the point, character creation is something which I feel should happen after Session 0, which is obviously going to take place after being accepted. When people are applying with a character they want to play already in mind (which is something I explicitly request people not do), they're jumping ahead three and a half paces. Likewise, I believe GMs who ask for people to apply with character concepts or even full sheets are setting themselves up for a less cohesive campaign both in and out of character -- if you're selecting members of the group because you want the characters presented to mesh, you may end up selecting someone whose personality you may feel doesn't fit the group as well just because the concept they put forth may seem to fit slightly better. The character is something malleable, something that can easily be changed. The person is the one you're actually sitting down at the table with (whether physical or virtual) for the long haul. I do want to be clear that I don't think my way of doing things is the only way, and if everyone is having a good time in the end, that's great -- but it seems like many are not. Tabletop gaming is a highly social activity from start to finish, and player curation is one of the most important and most challenging jobs on a GM's list, though it may not immediately stand out to those newer to it. When I set up a campaign, I want to make sure the people playing are going to be invested for the long haul and appreciate the style with which I run the table, as I know not everyone will. When I look for a campaign, I try to look for people who put the same degree of care into the selection of players, since I feel those are the ones that will most likely lead to well-managed, enduring experiences.

If you're that desperate for a game. Try paying. Paid games are 100x easier to get into. If you refuse to, then understand that the amount of free players looking for free games is far greater then the amount of slots open at any given time. EVERYONE wants a free game and there is not enough GM's to meet that demand. The fact that you want them to message you when you don't get accepted is odd, what do you want them to say? "Sorry." It just takes a significant amount of time to message everyone that didn't get accepted, only to give them one sentence why. It is almost never personal, it's just about timing and what the party needs.

I can tell you that I have a very specific set of questions that I ask everyone to fill out whenever someone applies to one of my games, and that if you had submitted your original post as your application, I would have rejected it. I don't screen players who submit characters. I screen for compatibility. If you're dissatisfied with other DMs and their processes, you should try DMing or paid games as other respondents have pointed out.

Shawn L. said: I recently started DMing two games (saturday and sunday) because of the difficulty in finding decent games to join. Two of the games I had been apart of, one for 9 months or so, and the other for 3-4 fell apart about the same time, so i found myself with two nights of nothing happening. So I decided since there aren't enough DM's, I would try to help the problem by taking on 10 players and trying to provide a fun experience.  As frustrating as it is to find a game, as a DM here it can also be a frustrating experience shifting through all the chaff to find the wheat. Many players are flaky ( don't show up regularly), lazy (can't read the advertisement you put out looking for players, and then request specific things you say you do not allow...) immature (rules lawyer, arguing, fighting with other players) or just plain annoying.  However, it's worth it when you find the players that work well with you, you create a game that everyone has fun in, everyone says at the end of the night how much fun they had and that they are already looking forward to next week, and communicate all through the week their plans, hopes and wishes. That being said, maybe if you can't find a game, try DMing. Create what you want to find in a game. Train some new players (I have taken on several) and teach them how to play, and maybe you can encourage people to try DMing their own game once a week.  Or if you find a game, reward your DM. Pay for their sub. Pay for tile sets, or whatever that they might not have to give them more options to be creative. That's what the DM's get out of it. It's a shit load of work unless you are using a boring module, (I put in 30 hours+ per adventure) and the only reward a DM gets out of it is the fun of their players. I may try my hands on that. And possibly try something easy for a module. Thanks man.

Shawn L. said: It's odd to me that so many players think they have the right to shoehorn a character of theirs that they created into a DM's campaign. It's the DM's campaign. They put the work into their world. They have to create an environment that is fun for the group, set up all the encounters, npcs, etc etc. So, if you want to play some really strange thing  that is totally out of place in THEIR world, they aren't the ones being jerks. I imagine DND like a  theme party. All a player really has to do is show up in costume matching the theme, not be a jerk, and have fun., eat the food, enjoy the free drinks and entertainment, and go home happy while the DM is the one left cleaning up the mess after having prepared it all. However, so many people on roll 20 aren't satisfied with that. Instead they show up in a costume completely inappropriate to the party, and wonder why they aren't invited in. It's up to you as a PLAYER to create a character that meshes with the world the DM created. It's not up to the DM to create a world around YOU.  Agreed I take time to create a character by starting with a concept. And with a concept, it can be molded, or written differently to fit the narrative of the DM"s world. But one thing I don't get is, why there are some DM's looking at characters in an application, instead of the players/applicators. I think it is more reasonable to get to know to the player or at least have a brief description about themselves before joining in the campaign.

Avvil said: Shawn L. said: It's odd to me that so many players think they have the right to shoehorn a character of theirs that they created into a DM's campaign. It's the DM's campaign. They put the work into their world. They have to create an environment that is fun for the group, set up all the encounters, npcs, etc etc. So, if you want to play some really strange thing  that is totally out of place in THEIR world, they aren't the ones being jerks. I imagine DND like a  theme party. All a player really has to do is show up in costume matching the theme, not be a jerk, and have fun., eat the food, enjoy the free drinks and entertainment, and go home happy while the DM is the one left cleaning up the mess after having prepared it all. However, so many people on roll 20 aren't satisfied with that. Instead they show up in a costume completely inappropriate to the party, and wonder why they aren't invited in. It's up to you as a PLAYER to create a character that meshes with the world the DM created. It's not up to the DM to create a world around YOU.  This. I agree very strongly with this, both from the perspective of a GM and the perspective of a player. When I am looking for a player as a GM, I'm looking for exactly that -- a player. A good player will mesh with the players in the group in a way that contributes to outstanding RP and overall fun, care about the world and campaign, and be more than capable of creating a character that will fit those things. I see character creation as a social process that at the least is a collaboration and interplay between the player and the GM, and in the case of some campaigns and groups, is a collaborative process amongst everyone playing in the campaign -- this is especially true when people want to interweave backstories or create a collective history prior to the start of the campaign. More to the point, character creation is something which I feel should happen after Session 0, which is obviously going to take place after being accepted. When people are applying with a character they want to play already in mind (which is something I explicitly request people not do), they're jumping ahead three and a half paces. Likewise, I believe GMs who ask for people to apply with character concepts or even full sheets are setting themselves up for a less cohesive campaign both in and out of character -- if you're selecting members of the group because you want the characters presented to mesh, you may end up selecting someone whose personality you may feel doesn't fit the group as well just because the concept they put forth may seem to fit slightly better. The character is something malleable, something that can easily be changed. The person is the one you're actually sitting down at the table with (whether physical or virtual) for the long haul. I do want to be clear that I don't think my way of doing things is the only way, and if everyone is having a good time in the end, that's great -- but it seems like many are not. Tabletop gaming is a highly social activity from start to finish, and player curation is one of the most important and most challenging jobs on a GM's list, though it may not immediately stand out to those newer to it. When I set up a campaign, I want to make sure the people playing are going to be invested for the long haul and appreciate the style with which I run the table, as I know not everyone will. When I look for a campaign, I try to look for people who put the same degree of care into the selection of players, since I feel those are the ones that will most likely lead to well-managed, enduring experiences. I agree one hundred percent. 

PMed you vince. ill be your huckleberry.

I wish I had an application from you for one my games. That would’ve tell me if you read my listing and followed simple application instructions.  Anyhow, I was on you position a few years ago. The solution is pretty much what people are mentioning... become the dungeon master. Screen for the compatibility of your type of gaming and make clear what you are looking for in a group. By doing this, you will appreciate and understand what the dm go through just to find the ideal players.  If you don’t want to put time on learning how to run a game, look for a pay to play game. edit- I would be more than happy to be a player in your first DM run and give you feedback afterwards. Nothing complicated, try the third or second map from roll20’s master vault adventure.

Daniel M. said: As a DM with a very intensive application process I can there are a couple issues I've found with Roll20, some on the player side some on the GM side. When I have been a player looking for games I have noticed a majority of "application processes" are just a simply copy+past involving absolutely nothing that tells the GM about the players. Its basically just name, years of experience, character idea. How in the hell is a GM supposed to know who is a good player or a player that fits their GMing style just by knowing those details? This creates this weird dynamic where basically the only people actually getting into games are the ones who manage to be the first few comments because the GMs are too lazy to make an attempt at finding a good party....and then the game falls through because half the players will be super flaky and the DM will feel unappreciated and randomly drop the campaign. Personally I feel that any GM starting a new campaign and accepting applications should either do a long application or better yet, a voice interview. A voice interview is 10x more likely to let GMs find good players and will at least let everyone else you talked to feel like they had some kind of control over their situation even if they aren't accepted as a player. When I am a GM for a game and opening applications though, I have found there is a huge sense of entitlement coming from some applicants. In your case you said you find it dickish to not notify people if they were accepted or not. I've found that even if I make a post or edit my game's description saying I found my players, the ones who had barely tried on their application and thus didn't get a voice interview chance will still PM me a week later cussing me out for not personally messaging them if they were accepted or not. Like, sometimes I have over 300 people apply for my game if I leave applications up for more than a week....am I really expected to personally message that many people? Not saying you are one of these people, you may be one of the people who would actually read the forum post or edit....but you'd be surprised how many times people expect a private message. And honestly, if a GM is doing the basic application with little to no effort you probably shouldn't expect them to put any effort into notifying people at all. They already showed their laziness so better to just give them their copy paste and hope their random selection chooses you. Best advice I can give you though is to look through this forum rather than the individual game listings. GMs like myself often browse through listings on here and randomly pick up players. DMs will also sometimes make posts themselves here looking for players. I can say that when I was looking for a game about 3 weeks ago within 7 days I had joined 3 campaigns by just keeping an eye out. 2 ultimately failed but one looks like it will stay around. If I could give you gold, I would. I’m glad that someone else wrote this. 

I want a good group of players to help me expand and flush out my world and I would be glad to have you play with me if you would like but I don't currently have any other players on this format but yes you seem like a great guy would love to talk more in depth with you about it

the irony of this is i PMed OP about joining a game...he hasnt PMed me back...LOL.

I am very glad that this became and excited that this rant became a huge discussion and others sending their experiences and/or point views. It is very welcoming to get private messages and I am glad to say I have officially found group. I like to thank everyone for sharing, pming, and having a civil discussion on the issues of a growing population of players and also suggesting others to be Dungeon Masters as well. As for the others, I encourage other players to keep trying and you will succeed. If not and if you feel you were in my similar position, don't give up. Refine that application of yours as a player, not characters. And I also challenge other DM's or GM's to get the know the player first and foremost. Even though you have an amazing world for players to explore, dont think about the characters you want being a part your narrative, but the people you want around to experience the game together. Get to know a brief summary of the applicants, and maybe you will be able to find an amazing person, but also good friends. Thanks again everyone for the advice, the stories, your experience, and your heartfelt joy for the game. -Vince.X

RoflDonkey said: the irony of this is i PMed OP about joining a game...he hasnt PMed me back...LOL. Hey, this is just in case you u haven't received my pm, but again I apologize for not responding to your pm sooner as I am finishing up responding to other people private messages.