How to Find A D&D Group – Experience Points Vol. 9

Finding A TTRPG Group

There are a few different ways that you can find a d&d group in person or online. I’m gonna start with in person.

First step is to ask friends, family, and coworkers especially those that are into video games, board games, and fantasy stuff like that. Especially if it’s similar to the game you wanna play

A birthday or a holiday is a great excuse to get a group of people together so you can run a one shot for them.

One hack you can do is set a day and time, invite too many people, and play with the 4 – 6 that actually show up. And the people that didn’t show up miss out on all the fun.

Another place to try is your friendly local game store. They’re gonna game nights, flyers, bulletin boards with others looking for groups too. My local game store even has a Discord server where people can find games and tables to play with locally.

You can also try schools, universities, colleges, clubs, community centers, and even libraries.

Now for finding a group online. There are so many great places to look.

D&D Beyond has a forum with a looking for group section. There’s even an official D&D Discord server that has a looking for group section. Not to mention the zillion forums and discord servers out there with looking for group sections.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums
https://app.roll20.net/forum

There is the subreddit r/lfg looking for group where people are posting every day looking for DMs and players.
https://www.reddit.com/r/lfg/

And last but not least is StartPlaying Games, an amazing website where there are many very passionate and quality DMs and GMs that will happily run games for new and experienced players.
https://startplaying.games/

I do want to say one thing.

The cost of playing D&D, sometimes for free forever, the cost is time. It’s going to take time to find a group. It’s going to take time to find a group that works for you. It may not be your first or your second, or your fifth. But I promise you if you spend the time, you will find the right table and the right game for you. I promise you if you spend the time to learn, show up, and be interested in the story happening at the table you will have a great time. I promise you if you spend the time to let yourself connect with other players and characters at the table there is no limit to the amazing stories you can tell.

And that time is 100% worth the cost.

5 Dungeon Master Tips

it’s totally ok for players to change classes or characters so they have fun
no one says you have to roll to recharge the dragon’s breath weapon
keep the scenarios simple and allow the players to make them complicated
a goblin with explosives is a good way to shake up a boring encounter
it’s ok not to go all out with bells and whistles. sometimes dnd is a dry erase map with candy for monsters.

5 Dungeon Master Resources

300 Warm Up Questions. Every session I run I start with an in character warm up question. Not only does this get them thinking as their character but it also can do some world building or just give me info to use against them later.
https://www.patreon.com/CraigofInspiration/posts/300-character-up-163831458
Initiative Tracker. Having an itemized chart for initiative has helped me so much. With all the names, ac, hp laid out and space for conditions, and tick marks for who’s already taken a turn. It has helped make my combats run more smoothly.
https://www.patreon.com/CraigofInspiration/posts/inspired-tracker-164920960
Dungeon Master Reference Sheet. i ditched my DM screen a long time ago but recently I made a printable dungeon master reference sheet. now that its in a sheet protector its easy to reference the 2024 (or 2014) dnd rules whether I’m running a game in person or online.
https://www.patreon.com/CraigofInspiration/posts/dnd-2024-2014-163959393
Simple Monster Stats. Every time I start home brewing a dnd monster I start with this handy chart I made. It has basic monster stats organized by CR. You have your AC, HP, to hit bonus, # of attacks, and the 6 ability scores bonuses. I even included an example monster with skills they may be proficient in to help you even more.
https://www.patreon.com/CraigofInspiration/posts/simple-monster-165125720
d100 Character Connections. This table can help you create connections between the characters at the table. Super easy to use and adds depth to all sessions, even a one shot.
https://www.patreon.com/CraigofInspiration/posts/d100-character-164398295