Roll Out - Finding the party

Another classic 80s cover.

Anyway you look at it, Dungeons and Dragons requires at least two people to play. You need one Dungeon Master describing the world and adventure. Then you need one player to go on that adventure. But in most cases you want a few players to make things more interesting. I've found that having a group of 3 to 4 players and one DM is ideal. Get much bigger than that, and the game can slow down a bit. This smaller group can get enough character interaction in each session, as well as present a solid force against enemies. Make no mistake, some groups run larger, with 8 to 10 players and one DM. This can work in a combat heavy game, where roleplaying is kept to a minimum, and the players are familiar with the game.

Since I'm more interested in storytelling (and I'm a bit of a ham) I was looking for a smaller group to play with. We have a couple of local hobby stores in the area, but when I discovered you could play online that seemed much more appealing to me. There are several options out there for anyone interested in playing Dungeons and Dragons on a virtual tabletop. Some folks keep it simple and use Skype or Discord. There are virtual dice rollers, or you can use an honor system and people can roll physical dice. Then there are sites like Roll 20 and Fantasy Grounds. These allow the DM to use full blown maps, digital miniatures, digital dice rollers, fully functional character sheets and ways to have video and voice interaction. These virtual table tops require a bit of a learning curve, but provide more immersive experience.

After some research I went with Roll 20. First off, it was free to join and use. It was fully compatible with Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition rule set. And it seemed to have the larger player base at the time. I found some videos on using Roll 20, and did some work creating characters, getting used to the interface and some of its quirks. When I felt confident enough it was time to find a group.

The magic of the internet!

Roll 20 has a board where groups searching for players can post. DMs usually post details about the game, the kind of players they are looking for and if they are open to new players. You can narrow it down by game, time zone and content. So I filtered for Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition in the Pacific Time Zone. I'm are pretty open guy, so I didn't filter any content. I figured I'd just see what was available first.

I was surprised that there was plenty to pick from. But it was also interesting to see how the DMs pitched their games, and described the types of players they were looking for. Suddenly diving into this fun hobby seemed like it might turn into more of a job interview. Questions like "How long have you been playing?" "What type of gaming experience are looking for?" and "What kind of character did you want to play?" were typical. I actually got a little intimidated by amount of questions and how to best answer them. 

I'm sure he's friendly, he's smiling, right?

I ended up popping onto YouTube and found a few videos describing the best way to approach joining a party in Roll 20. And much of the advice was the same as you'd find when going in for a job interview. So I set up some clear and concise information on my Roll 20 profile (so DMs could find out a little more about me). I answer a few group postings in clear direct language. I also posted in about 7 different groups, because the odds of them all answering back were very slim.

I ended up getting three responses back, and soon enough joined a game. I'd taken my first step into a virtual table top game, and my views on storytelling suddenly changed.

Every try any virtual table tops? What was your experience trying to join a new group for your favorite table top RPG?

Next stop.. a lost mine!