finding groups to join: Is this common?

I'm new to the community but not tabletop rpgs. I attempted to join a game, submitted app, got invite, got invite for discord. There was very little if any communication so I'm pretty confident it wasn't something I said... as I hadn't said much at all. Three days before game is scheduled to begin, I get removed from the game with no explanation. With no response to my query as to why. The game was not canceled, I can still see it in the list. But I've been blocked from it. This has made me very hesitant to put any time or effort into a second attempt. So far this Roll20 thing has been a very rough experience for me. Starting to think Roll20 may only be useful as VTT I use with my actual table group.

Its normal roll20 denizens. believe me, there are some real nut jobs out there. they seem to Put a ton of work into characters than ghost the game or quit after the first session. Or they are looking for that Matt Mercer game clone, whoo knows lol. If you are looking for a game for sunday afternoons CST, PM me and we can try to work something out.

Unfortunately it is quite common, It takes quite a few misses before finding a good, stable group and/or GM.  It takes very little effort to have an idea and put up an LFG post, but it takes much more to actually put in the work to properly prepare a campaign, organize a group of players, schedule a game time, etc... so a lot of games don't ever get off the ground.  and a good percentage of those that do, fall apart after a few sessions.   This may not be a popular opinion, but if you're looking to bypass some of the pain of the search process, you might want to consider looking into paid games (full transparency: I am a Paid GM, so my opinion is biased ).  Most reputable paid DMs will offer a session or two as a trial period, or have either youtube videos or Twitch VoDs you can watch to see if you are a good fit with the DM and other players in the group.  Im sure that some people out there in Roll20 land will have had bad experiences with Paid games,  there are going to be bad apples in every bunch.  I can only speak from my own personal experience as a Paid GM, I am currently running 6 games, 5 of which have been running weekly since this spring, and one that has started recently, and I have had very stable groups, with active and committed players.  Of course, some players have come and gone, but the vast majority have been due to schedule conflicts, and the players have let the group know, rather than the ghosting that is very common in free games. If you have any questions about paid games, feel free to ask either here or in a PM, I'd be happy to help in any way I can. -Andre @ Red River Gaming

Can only agree with the above. Flaky players and GMs are a thing and the best you can do is to keep trying. There are nice people here but they are mostly in stable groups already. If you can't wait to start playing a paid GM is a good alternative since they are less likely to bail or ghost you. And I must add, there are plenty more places to look for groups then just the Roll20 website. Tablefinder, Reddit and what not. You will find nice people to play with. It´s just a question of time.

I've had the same problem from the other side. I run a RuneQuest game on alternate Thursdays. Wanted to add an additional player, got a response fairly quickly. We had a couple of sessions getting his character ready. Then he showed up for one game session, and then quit. Particularly annoying because he wanted to run shaman, was the first player to ask for that, so I had to spend time learning rules I hadn't really used before. One of the other players commented, "That's Roll20". I guess simple courtesy is beyond some. Marc

Our group consistently encounters this whenever we try to recruit. Most of the time the applicants don’t bother responding after applying no matter how quickly you respond. The players you do take in either don’t show up to the game or were telling fibs about the kind of game they want so its a bad fit all around. We actually don’t try recruiting very often because these shenanigans impact the flow of the game. Unfortunately I think there are probably a lot of tables doing the same thing.

+1 to roll20team

Wow I'm impressed, and kind of shocked. I was not expecting this. Go Roll20!

In response to Roll20 : I don't think this was an abuse or griefing issue. Just inconsiderate and very rude. I posted here in an attempt to generate discussion to gauge if effort would be worth the time pursuing it again. As well as possibly find people more... reliable and considerate :) Which was kind of working until it got closed. Thank you for taking the time to follow up and correct it :)

Really looking forward to that member and gm rating system that was talked about on the round table now ;)

Shaun, sorry for you to have all the trouble of getting invited then being removed from the game with no explanation. This has been an issue with a variety of VTT's that started way back in WEBrpg time, continued through OPENrpg usage, and into the current VTTs. Every platform has people that are inconsiderate and rude but there are also people that are very considerate and polite. It takes time to find those that match your expectations on manners. A possible way to reduce the amount of chaff you have to sort through is to join one of the various communities that exist on Roll20. There are various communities (groups) for many of the systems that range in size of a couple dozen up to thousand or more. This method gets to reduce the number of people you are competing against for a game but one of the side effects is that those that ghost on games (be it a player or GM) are known and you could be given a heads up about them that way. The reason I know about this is that I'm a creator of a community for a niche playstyle (text based) that has reached over 750 members. Most games that are posted about in our forums usually fill up within a few days and run. There are some members that have specifics that might keep them out of a game but usually over all if there is enough GMs posting their LFGs, people get to game. Just food for thought. Good luck.

Hey, Shaun best bet is to try one of the larger gaming community types. There is a bundle of West March types that run multiple games and have multiple dms as part of their gameplay system. You have the official campaigns run by Adventure league and official campaign of dnd, then you have lots of smaller communities running games.  If you really are looking for a game and having that kind of terrible luck hit me up in a private message. I run a West March Campaign with 75 players and 8 DMS. Some people are active daily some once every couple of weeks. Great place to get your gaming feet wet and it won't just ghost on you. 

It's a simple matter of courteousness, since nearly everyone on here will never have to actually face the people they deal with, they feel "Hell with it". The worst part of it comes down to having to turn players away because you accepted a player who said they were reliable and turn out to be a dolt. So in the end you turned away a good player because the game was full and then had the inconsiderate player leave without a word. A Simple Private message is all Free DMs ask for, how hard can that be. End of Rant, Merry Christmas. 

I feel everyone's frustration here. roll20 is like online dating, more misses then hits, just stay patient, for my ongoing chronicle i had to go through several apps to fill in my 5th spot, most were great people, just either could not commit  or simply my style was not theirs or vice versa.  it is what it is. plenty of games for different play styles. i rarely ever remove someone without at least an explanation as to why, only time i ban / kick people from discord without saying a thing (sadly happened a few times) is if they are disrespectful / bigots (again sadly i had a few of those) i usually grab 1 more then i really need just in case, and if both picks fit and i end up with 1 more so be it, nothing worst then loosing a good player because your game is full. i wish everyone here best of luck in running / finding the game that is perfect for them. Cheers

Definitely not alone here, Shaun. I've been trying to get into some games during the week (as has my partner). In my situation, two days before the campaign was set to begin, the DM messaged me saying there were offline conflicts. In my partner's case, on game day the DM deleted the listing, game and left everyone in a Discord server wondering what happened. Reflecting back, I actually got to where I am now (weekly game Saturday and bi-weekly Sunday game) from meeting people in a West Marshes style D&D game, before finding a specific group that ran World of Darkness that I stuck with for some years.  When I was deciding to leave the WoD group, I actually checked in on a couple of people I really enjoyed playing with back in the West Marshes game and there was an opportunity to listen in on a game one was in. Taking that opportunity, I ended up worming my way into being a Co-DM helper and from there, when the campaign ended, joined the group. Point being: The comparison to dating is actually quite a good one. You meet people in a low stress environment, make connections and as you check back on the genuinely good ones, a new opportunity might come out of it.  Here's hoping we both find something worthwhile in the end! 

Another shout of support. This isn't uncommon at all. As a GM, I have many times taken players, coached them through character making, and had them ghost before they ever play, or after one or two sessions, or rarely flip-out mid-session and ghost because their PC wasn't the center of attention or because another player asked them - politely - to cut out some random, distracting hijinx. And as Pat said, this has been true since VTTs began. I had these same issues back when my 56k modem was the new hotness, and so did every other GM I knew.

Well it sounds like if your patient and look hard enough one can eventually find something. When you click the Join Game button and see the page it looks like it appears like it might be pretty easy to get into a game. Usually 3-4 pick up games gearing up, lots of stuff for D&D 5e and specifically the beginner content I was looking to play (phandelver). I was like oh man this is cool, where as this been all my life? lol Figured I'll jump in into a group, play through campaign and see what happens. Maybe find long term group maybe split up after. Either way I sort of expected to as least get a few sessions into it. My expectations weren't what i would consider high. Then that happened, so I started looking for more games. After typing up some more apps (I can't help but put effort into it). Kind of felt like applying for a job... I'm like ok... do I even have time for what this might require? If I put in the time will it pay off? I expect I'll be doing a lot of GMing for my local group, so a lot of my available "game time" is spent prepping. However I'd like to play a little too, and I figured it might be interesting to play an adventure (phandelver) before running it for my group. Its been a struggle to not read the adventure so that I can still play it lol.

Well, I have a small  solution  I think personally works. Well, at least, to sort of "hit things off"... But if you have any friends or social groups you partake in, you could try organizing a get together with them. Have someone you're a bit familiar with GM. A group of pre-established friends usually tends to last a bit more. Or if not that, at least bring some mutual friends with you when you apply to a game, build characters together in front of the DM to show them you're interested and possibly build hype . Well, those are some of my tactics. They won't always work, but I do think they boost the odds in my head..

It doesn't matter where you find them,a lot of players online just act in weird ways. I gotta be honest and say simply being kicked off is pretty mild. It hasn't happened to me but I've certainly had to leave dozens of games even before the first session starts because of all sorts of red flags popping up. It's extremely common to find a group,join the discord channel and absolutely fucking nobody has said anything at all on discord and everyone,including the DM is just in radio silence mode for some reason. And then the DM pushes session 0 back because of ''insert excuse here'' and then pulls a no-show-no-tell to the newly scheduled session 0. Sometimes people are active on discord at start,you have a session 0,everyone seems to be hyped about the type of game the DM is gonna run and everyone basically decides what characters they're gonna play. But then next week you're one day away from starting the campaign and realize that half the players haven't even touched their character sheets or sent their backstories to the DM. Then the game day comes,session starts and 3 of the players start filling out their character sheets as if they're in middle school and teacher just asked to see their homework,they waste everyone's time and at least one player that put in the effort to be ready for the session just leaves the group right there. Neither of these examples is a horror story,these are actual things that happen constantly whether you found those people from reddit,roll20 or anywhere else. Don't get discouraged,just try again,eventually you'll find a group where you'll have a great time for months or maybe even years before having to find another group.

I think I might be one of the few exceptions to the norm. Ive had amazing luck finding groups on roll 20. one has been going over a year now and another getting close to that. I have heard the horror stories from others in the games. Not sure how much this will help but try to talk with he dm as much as possible before joining.You can do a few other things as well. Like check the profile, I have avoided a few games because people post a great lfg post and then have none of the roll 20 achievements. I might have missed out on a good game but I feel I missed even more headaches. Also try to join games that have 5-6 players. A lot of the time 1-2 people will leave or not show up which leaves you with a solid amount of players left in the game. You can also try some of the very large west march groups if you like that kind of thing, they always have people around and games going. I have seen some with thousands of members. I have no experience with paid games. However my understanding is that they are much more stable. I hope you continue to try to find a game on roll 20 its an amazing tool. There are good groups around, I hope you can find at least one.

Unpopular Opinion Ahead: As a successful Free DM on Roll20, I would not invite OP to my game because OP has not filled out their Roll20 profile or even chosen an avatar picture. I spend at least one hour GM prepping for every hour GMing on Roll20 ... if I am lucky. OP has not even taken half an hour to complete the most basic part of any application to any game. In fact, OP gives the appearance of being one of those players who will flake out at the last minute. Nothing personal ... in fact, it can't be personal since their profile leaves me knowing nothing personal at all about OP. lol

Cutter said: Unpopular Opinion Ahead: As a successful Free DM on Roll20, I would not invite OP to my game because OP has not filled out their Roll20 profile or even chosen an avatar picture. I spend at least one hour GM prepping for every hour GMing on Roll20 ... if I am lucky. OP has not even taken half an hour to complete the most basic part of any application to any game. In fact, OP gives the appearance of being one of those players who will flake out at the last minute. Nothing personal ... in fact, it can't be personal since their profile leaves me knowing nothing personal at all about OP. lol What information should we put down on our profiles?

Wisna Keo said: What information should we put down on our profiles? As a GM what I look for is some information about what genres you like (this could be books and movies also), any experience in rpgs even if it is nothing more than watching a stream or playing a computer rpg, and timezone. Those are the bare minimum I would expect in a person's profile otherwise I would skip over inviting that person into my personal game. The profile is where you can build a small picture of who you are for people to see you by.

Wisna Keo said: What information should we put down on our profiles? Wisna Keo: Your profile is a stellar example for everyone! That is a job well done. Congrats! And I see that it has worked for you ... 3685 hours as a player!

Cutter said: Unpopular Opinion Ahead: As a successful Free DM on Roll20, I would not invite OP to my game because OP has not filled out their Roll20 profile or even chosen an avatar picture. I spend at least one hour GM prepping for every hour GMing on Roll20 ... if I am lucky. OP has not even taken half an hour to complete the most basic part of any application to any game. In fact, OP gives the appearance of being one of those players who will flake out at the last minute. Nothing personal ... in fact, it can't be personal since their profile leaves me knowing nothing personal at all about OP. lol Personally I've never found a need to actually put stuff in the roll 20 bio since so far at least every good DM I've ever played with has asked for an application and then interviewed me for at least an hour or two over on discord before inviting me. Though I do agree that not having a profile picture makes you look like you couldn't care less about what's going on.

Hey Shaun Sorry to her about your experience man!&nbsp; I've actually had some similar responses from other on here, and a large group of friends and myself have actually decided to start growing a building a community to help deal with situations like this.&nbsp; I have been actively DMing on Roll20 for a about a year now, solely with home-brewed DND 5E material.&nbsp; We would love to have you come play with us and possibly get a new campaign started.&nbsp; We host consistent campaigns and are starting some one-shots starting in January.&nbsp; If you are interested, come check out our re-occurring weekly one-shot or open group. :) Good luck in the future! - The Smiling DM <a href="https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/187321/escape-from-crustfall-manor" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/187321/escape-from-crustfall-manor</a> <a href="https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/187252/gamershrinks-school-of-dandd" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/187252/gamershrinks-school-of-dandd</a>

Unfortunately it's all to common. Spending a good week taking the time to write out a decent adventure than having no one show up is not fun. Alot of "clicks" here also. Have their own ideas on how things should run and if you don't measure up they will throw you out on your heels.

That is unfortunate but it does seem to be somewhat common. I've been ghosted as a DM/GM as well and it's always frustrating. To echo some things said here, paid games will generally be a bit more stable and better quality as everyone has more than just their time invested into it. I would certainly look for paid games that have a free session 0, unpaid time set aside in a session 1 for session 0 type things, or ones that have videos available on request to show the DM/GM's gaming style and skill. I am a bit biased as well on the paid thing as I am a professional game master myself, but it does seem to have a better experience overall. I say this, not just to plug myself, but if you're looking for a game, I do have free games that I run on stream (I do several TTRPG shows each week on Twitch) and I do have open spots for private paid games (I charge $10 an hour total split among the group) if you're looking for something off-stream. Regardless of where you end up, though, I hope you find a great group and enjoy your time playing. :)

personally, to avoid any of those flags, i have a discord chat with potential players, to see if we are a fit, lay down my expectations, find out the expectation of the individual and so on and so forth, That seemed to cut down on those issues drastically. A bit time consuming and feels ,heck it is an interview but the time investment is well worth it if it means the player , myself and the group are a fit and on the same page.

Hey Folks, &nbsp; &nbsp;I run a lot of games and I have intentionally started with a higher number party than normal because I expect people to drop.&nbsp; There are multiple reasons just as there are multiple types of players. The Best a DM can do is be as specific as possible on what they expect in their players and how they plan to run the game. Although I would prefer people not to join a game i start just to quit one-two sessions in im gratefull they do so I can find someone who is willing to invest in the game. You get what you put into it. DM's ( the ones that dont charge) are ones that really love the game and those ones really deserve respect for the time and effort they put into their games. What I get out of it is the satisfaction of creating a living breathing story with the players that lead to epic moments of triumph and adventure.&nbsp; Eventually the group will "weed out" those that prefer a different play style and will eventually get a group that just meshes. As a player if you find that the group your playing with excludes you or gives you a hard time about the way you play then find another group. Im sure there are DM's that cater to all kinds of people ( extreme hobo killing&nbsp; violent groups to the lets just roll play and please no battles ). Find a group of kindred spirits and have fun.&nbsp;

John K said: Hey Folks, &nbsp; &nbsp;I run a lot of games and I have intentionally started with a higher number party than normal because I expect people to drop.&nbsp; There are multiple reasons just as there are multiple types of players. The Best a DM can do is be as specific as possible on what they expect in their players and how they plan to run the game. Although I would prefer people not to join a game i start just to quit one-two sessions in im gratefull they do so I can find someone who is willing to invest in the game. You get what you put into it. DM's ( the ones that dont charge) are ones that really love the game and those ones really deserve respect for the time and effort they put into their games. What I get out of it is the satisfaction of creating a living breathing story with the players that lead to epic moments of triumph and adventure.&nbsp; Eventually the group will "weed out" those that prefer a different play style and will eventually get a group that just meshes. As a player if you find that the group your playing with excludes you or gives you a hard time about the way you play then find another group. Im sure there are DM's that cater to all kinds of people ( extreme hobo killing&nbsp; violent groups to the lets just roll play and please no battles ). Find a group of kindred spirits and have fun.&nbsp; Wow. How dare you tell anyone how much they do or do not love this game? You really think paid DMs do not love this game as much or more than anyone else? And as far as time and effort goes... Free game quality map. Paid game quality map. So yeah, I am going to go ahead and say that you are about as off base as possible on this one and suggest that the next time you post about paid games, that you know what you are talking about.

John K said: Hey Folks, &nbsp; &nbsp;I run a lot of games and I have intentionally started with a higher number party than normal because I expect people to drop.&nbsp; There are multiple reasons just as there are multiple types of players. The Best a DM can do is be as specific as possible on what they expect in their players and how they plan to run the game. Although I would prefer people not to join a game i start just to quit one-two sessions in im gratefull they do so I can find someone who is willing to invest in the game. You get what you put into it. DM's ( the ones that dont charge) are ones that really love the game and those ones really deserve respect for the time and effort they put into their games. What I get out of it is the satisfaction of creating a living breathing story with the players that lead to epic moments of triumph and adventure.&nbsp; Eventually the group will "weed out" those that prefer a different play style and will eventually get a group that just meshes. As a player if you find that the group your playing with excludes you or gives you a hard time about the way you play then find another group. Im sure there are DM's that cater to all kinds of people ( extreme hobo killing&nbsp; violent groups to the lets just roll play and please no battles ). Find a group of kindred spirits and have fun.&nbsp; How fn dare you tell me or someone else how much I love the game when I spend 40 hours only on prep per week not to mention game time, viewing other channels looking at resources, writing myself or creating art from drawing maps, to remixing music, to placing and hooking up things. I have invested both more money and time than you ever will. Me and my players enjoy a certain quality whether that is for you or not is up to you decide or the other players that join the games or the DMs that post them. I find it absurd to question someone's dedication to the game based on something like that. I can challenge you to show me the games you run and show us how much you love the game and how much betters yours are. To the topic at hand sadly there are a lot of flaky players and DMs and sometimes people don't jell well together for whatever reason. It is the reality of human interaction.&nbsp; With that said it should not discourage you from applying again until you find the game or players you want because once you have that alchemy ther is nothing better

First of all, I'm just going to throw out there that you're the perfect example of why I probably avoid paid games. However, that's not an insult. It's a compliment. Great looking stuff. One reason I've always been leery of paying for Roll20 games is that I'm pretty sure I'd get hooked...and then you'd get all my hard-earned money. Kudos. As for the original post, I think a lot of good advice has been offered as well as -- I'm sure you've noticed -- a lot of empathy. It's just the nature of an online community. It's easier to ghost when you're not dealing with someone face to face. And whether it be online dating, job applications or finding that perfect RPG, it comes down to persistence. Keep trying and eventually that perfect game will come your way. And, of course, as others have mentioned, if you don't find it...make it. I was leery about GMing on Roll20 at first, but once you take the plunge, I think you'll realize most players are quite forgiving and willing to work with you as you grow into that role. After all, there are way more players than GMs. Most folks are just happy to find a game.&nbsp; I would also suggest finding either a Roll20 group or a Discord group that promotes games. There are various ones out there, specializing in different areas from Adventure League to text-based communities and more. Many times getting involved in those communities will introduce you to like-minded players with similar interests. And, I've found, that often leads to games. Best of luck moving forward and I hope you find a game.&nbsp; The Dungeon Master said: John K said: Hey Folks, &nbsp; &nbsp;I run a lot of games and I have intentionally started with a higher number party than normal because I expect people to drop.&nbsp; There are multiple reasons just as there are multiple types of players. The Best a DM can do is be as specific as possible on what they expect in their players and how they plan to run the game. Although I would prefer people not to join a game i start just to quit one-two sessions in im gratefull they do so I can find someone who is willing to invest in the game. You get what you put into it. DM's ( the ones that dont charge) are ones that really love the game and those ones really deserve respect for the time and effort they put into their games. What I get out of it is the satisfaction of creating a living breathing story with the players that lead to epic moments of triumph and adventure.&nbsp; Eventually the group will "weed out" those that prefer a different play style and will eventually get a group that just meshes. As a player if you find that the group your playing with excludes you or gives you a hard time about the way you play then find another group. Im sure there are DM's that cater to all kinds of people ( extreme hobo killing&nbsp; violent groups to the lets just roll play and please no battles ). Find a group of kindred spirits and have fun.&nbsp; Wow. How dare you tell anyone how much they do or do not love this game? You really think paid DMs do not love this game as much or more than anyone else? And as far as time and effort goes... Free game quality map. Paid game quality map. So yeah, I am going to go ahead and say that you are about as off base as possible on this one and suggest that the next time you post about paid games, that you know what you are talking about.

Nope said: First of all, I'm just going to throw out there that you're the perfect example of why I probably avoid paid games. However, that's not an insult. It's a compliment. Great looking stuff. One reason I've always been leery of paying for Roll20 games is that I'm pretty sure I'd get hooked...and then you'd get all my hard-earned money. Kudos. Thank you, and of course paid games are not for everyone and I get that too. I am probably going to delete my post but I just feel that if paid DMs are not hurting your games, why do they feel the need to insult us and our games? I have done them no harm and am providing a service that at the very least my players feel is needed. There is another couple of DMs on here that are always trying to toss stones at paid DMs and it just makes no sense to me...

My 2 CP. There is an old article about some of the social dynamics in the realm of neards. <a href="http://www.plausiblydeniable.com/opinion/gsf.html" rel="nofollow">www.plausiblydeniable.com/opinion/gsf.html</a> Not hard science really, but some interesting thoughts, especially about how exclusion sometimes can be interpreted as a greater evil than it actually is. ...and that some exclusion actually can be healthy. (Hopefully some reading can make it feel a little better)

The Dungeon Master said: Nope said: First of all, I'm just going to throw out there that you're the perfect example of why I probably avoid paid games. However, that's not an insult. It's a compliment. Great looking stuff. One reason I've always been leery of paying for Roll20 games is that I'm pretty sure I'd get hooked...and then you'd get all my hard-earned money. Kudos. Thank you, and of course paid games are not for everyone and I get that too. I am probably going to delete my post but I just feel that if paid DMs are not hurting your games, why do they feel the need to insult us and our games? I have done them no harm and am providing a service that at the very least my players feel is needed. There is another couple of DMs on here that are always trying to toss stones at paid DMs and it just makes no sense to me... *I agree that paid games are not for everyone but this hobby is large enough that paid games and free games can co-exist. I will never charge for my games as this is just a hobby for me but kudos to those that can make it a job that pays the bills. I personally have no problem personally joining a paid game except my wallet would protest as I would be forced to chose between feeding my family or paying for a game. Reimbursing GM's for their games has been a long standing option, even prior to Roll20 and online gaming. Many players in face to face games use to buy (or bring) their GM's food and drinks.I knew of many RL groups use to chip in and purchase modules for the GM to run. Once gaming went online with Roll20, groups shifted to gifting GMs money for purchasing game merchandise such as modules or subscriptions. The aspect of paid gaming has just shifted from gifting (reimbursing) to purchasing the GM's time and effort. It is akin of shifting from "Playing a hobby" to "working for tips" to "working per hour" type of perspective. All are valid and acceptable avenues of gaming.&nbsp;I think we have shifted from the OP's post and need to refocus on it.&nbsp; Enjoy the game. Embrace the hobby. Love the passion. * This is just my opinion and might not be widely popular view

Partially, I think that problem is that we treat this like long term relationships, while the platform works like speed-dating. I also think we make a mistake, by assuming that online and IRL games work the same way. ...and maybe we should aim for more speed-dating. IRL, it takes time to collect a group and then you are pretty much stuck with each other, so long term adventure-plans is a smart thing. Online, it takes about 5 min to have a group. Most of them will probably not stay for my 30 week epic adventure, yet long term epic adventure appears to be some sort of default. Now, there is no problem moving from speed-dating to a long term relationship, but there really is no system in place to keep in touch with people that we enjoyed playing with&nbsp; ...or avoid those we disliked (and there are some crazy people out there. One even sent his wife to bother my former employer, lols ) Anyway, I am currently not smart enough to actually produce any real suggestion that would help this (and maybe that would be a different topic). BUT By realizing these challenges, it will perhaps feel like less of a personal failure (or an insult) when things collapse.

I've not put any effort into my profile cause I've been putting effort into prepping the games I host IRL. In the event that I actually find a game (still looking btw), and become active in the community I might get around to putting something in my profile. Most likely though I'll focus on prepping my games, as that has had the best ROI for my effort so far. That said I've read many profiles in the last few weeks, of many GM/DMs. The only thing I ever see is how much they love the D&amp;D. We all love D&amp;D or else we wouldn't be here posting. Profiles, by all appearances do not appear to be the deciding factor or even factor in at all for the majority of people on the platform. That said, I did put a lot of effort into my application. &nbsp;As a GM my self, that is where I would expect to find data for a level of effort assessment. Which is precisely the reason I posted, I didn't want to put that same level of effort into every application if this was a common scenario. Instead I would chose to focus that effort on prepping the games I host IRL. I currently GM three games, one for a group of co-workers. One for my family (brother, wife, sons, and sons wife). As well as a game for a group of friends in a community I'm a part of IRL. Trust me when I say there was no lack of effort on my side, I submitted well thought out and complete application.

Juniper L. said: Hey folks, Went ahead and moved this convo to the Specific Use forum as a better fit. I'd like to see us get back to addressing Shaun's concerns that he's brought up, and thank all of you who've chimed in with your thoughts and reached out to Shaun to help him out so far! For me, TTRPG's are a collaborative storytelling effort, so finding the right group of fun, passionate folks are critical toward doing what we love most: telling a good story. If you keep trying, I know eventually you'll find the group that works for you, like some of the fine folks who've already responded to this thread. :) Juniper, Can you modify the title to something like “finding groups to join: is this common?” That’ll make the subject more understandable. /Matt

Shaun S. said: I've not put any effort into my profile cause... Yeah so far I haven't once decided on a player to join based on what they write their profile info. (I might have denied a few if the info is horrible) First of all, it is general information and no-one wants that. This goes for job applications, letters on dating sites or other forms of matching-situations. ….this is also why it is considered stupid to copy-paste the same post again and again on a forum. Secondly, people will usually write what they think you want to read.&nbsp; There are a few standard phrases here: -"I take this very seriously" -"I am very experienced"&nbsp; etc So what I look for is not WHAT you write&nbsp; but HOW you do it.&nbsp; -Don't tell me you are funny, tell me something funny. No/very little profile info = Avoids writing&nbsp; unnecessary stuff, but might have trouble expressing themselves in text.&nbsp; Personally I am a fan of the lanconic style (this is Sparta!!) That said. a profil pic has a few practical advantages, like keeping track of people in the game chat.

The Dungeon Master said: Jens F. said: Shaun S. said: I've not put any effort into my profile cause... Yeah so far I haven't once decided on a player to join based on what they write their profile info. (I might have denied a few if the info is horrible) First of all, it is general information and no-one wants that. This goes for job applications, letters on dating sites or other forms of matching-situations. ….this is also why it is considered stupid to copy-paste the same post again and again on a forum. Secondly, people will usually write what they think you want to read.&nbsp; There are a few standard phrases here: -"I take this very seriously" -"I am very experienced"&nbsp; etc So what I look for is not WHAT you write&nbsp; but HOW you do it.&nbsp; -Don't tell me you are funny, tell me something funny. No/very little profile info = Avoids writing&nbsp; unnecessary stuff, but might have trouble expressing themselves in text.&nbsp; Personally I am a fan of the lanconic style (this is Sparta!!) That said. a profil pic has a few practical advantages, like keeping track of people in the game chat. Could you be a little more derogatory? Your bile is not quite palpable enough. Can’t say that I notice much bile in that statement. But I think it’s safe to say that this thread is going south considering the amount of insults delivered and that some of us seems to be very sensitive on the subject. In my experience a bio or pic means next to nothing. It’s how you work in a group that’s important to me. Not random text. I also don’t like complicated recruiting processes, character essays or long interviews. No matter if I’m paid to GM or not, there are no substitutes to actually playing with a person and see if you click.

Ravenknight said: &nbsp;there are no substitutes to actually playing with a person and see if you click. I think you are right. In a few games, I have tried to add a small prologue before the actual adventure starts. It gives players a good chance to see if they like the group (and me) ....or not

MattBx8 said: Juniper L. said: Hey folks, Went ahead and moved this convo to the Specific Use forum as a better fit. I'd like to see us get back to addressing Shaun's concerns that he's brought up, and thank all of you who've chimed in with your thoughts and reached out to Shaun to help him out so far! For me, TTRPG's are a collaborative storytelling effort, so finding the right group of fun, passionate folks are critical toward doing what we love most: telling a good story. If you keep trying, I know eventually you'll find the group that works for you, like some of the fine folks who've already responded to this thread. :) Juniper, Can you modify the title to something like “finding groups to join: is this common?” That’ll make the subject more understandable. /Matt Can I second this? This seems like a useful discussion and it would be nice for it to be labelled well.