How to Sneakily Sneak Your Way into a Tabletop Roleplaying Game

June 2020

That’s easy. You bait and reel.  

Rascally Rogue

A subtle enchantment should do the trick. But for you, I recommend a mirror and a toothbrush.

Snobbish Sorcerer

We’ve all been there. Limping around, ogling scores of animated gamer-geeks chatting in elvish, hoping a friendly face will pluck us out of the nerdless masses and say,

“Wanna to join our roleplaying group?”

In this modern Age of Nerds, popular role-playing games like Gygax and Arneson’s Dungeons & Dragons 5th ed. and Sandy Petersen’s Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying Game have made tabletop gaming hotter than raging fire elementals.

There is absolutely nothing, NOTHING to be ashamed of when it comes to joining the tabletop community. Personally, I find the gaming community in San Luis Obispo (CA) more than welcoming. In fact, I’ve made some of my closest friends (including GM) over bouncing D20’s in living rooms packed with roleplaying newbies like myself. 

If you find yourself struggling with…

• Finding a group
• Finding a fun group
• Finding a fun group of nerds who love to R.O.L.E.P.L.A.Y. 

…then here are some totally-pro tips by a blogger who had very little trouble stealing his way into the tabletop RP’ing community.

Method 1. Eavesdrop Like it’s Hot

If you are thinking to yourself, gee, I don’t know anyone who roleplays—you are setting yourself up for failure. Roleplayers are everywhere. However, there are certain groups you should mark for surveillance. These include bookshopers (especially in the fantasy section), online forums like this reddit thread (most modern eavesdropping is digital anyway), family gatherings (the fun ones), and queer spaces.

Fun fact: 100% of my first college roleplaying clique is queer. There are eight of us. None of us knew that the others were #rainbow before they started gaming. In fact, the game progressed something like this:

A lot of gamers are queer and friendly. If you’re comfortable with inclusive gamers and a lot of queer jokes, the rainbow community is a good place to mingle, peel your ears, and ask lots leading questions like, “I wonder if there is anyone who roleplays anymore…” and “wow, is that a goblin tattoo?”

Of course, staying respectful of people’s space is a must. Approach with an open mind and a friendly attitude, and chances are you will find a roleplaying group looking for an extra player.

You. I mean you.

Method 2.  Break into the Scene and Start Your Own Squad

You don’t have to be a pro to start your own tabletop gaming group. Some of my fondest memories are of my cousins and I poring over the 2nd edition Dungeons and Dragons Starter Set. We followed the rules we could remember and ad-libbed the rest…which is perfectly fine when gaming with a bunch of fellow newbies. 

And best of all, you don’t have to expose your nerding fantasies to the big bad world. Just your nerdy friends… who you know are dying to pick up the proverbial sword and start a-swingin’. (Note: Not all tabletop games are violent. Just, you know, most of them.)

Method 3. Hack Into the Digital Network.

Google is the digital Hermes of communication. There are a whole bunch of ways to play with friends (and even strangers) online. I’ll list a few of them below. 

Roll20 is a Dungeons & Dragons-specific platform that advertises itself as a free, browser-based D&D tabletop simulator with loads of nifty features, like pre generated campaigns and ways to share the games you create. Plus, you don’t have to know anyone to get started; their Join a Game feature lets you party up with strangers. Find the site here and create a free account to get started.

RPG Table Finder is a flexible platform that let’s players host any role-playing game they choose. Like Roll20, it puts you in touch with fellow players. You can build campaigns and play directly through the site, or arrange to meet in person. Find the site here and register free to start creating.

Fantasy Grounds is yet another hosting platform that let’s players move all or parts of their tabletop games online. It comes with a mountain of features and a Demo version that let’s players participate in 1:1 adventures or join campaigns hosted by players paying the highest subscription package.The subscription is cheap, and the platform comes with the option to substitute a one-time purchase fee for the subscription model. Find it here.

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That’s it, folks. Anything beyond that is common sense, and this blog is anything but common. Or sensible. 

This is Player, signing off for the evening. Have a wonderful week, friend.