Hey, folks - I apologize in advance if this is not the place to post - but, I'm new to RPGs in general, but would love to learn. I have the complete sets of the Star Trek Adventures rpg from Modiphus, the Alien rpg from Free League and the G.I. Joe (and Transformers) rpg from Renegade.

BUT - being in my mid-50's, I don't know how to absorb the "mechanics". Some of the systems use the D20/Essence 20 while others use the 2d20 system - but, its all Greek to me!

Is there anyone or any place I can go to "learn" or get some "hands-on" experience?

I also have several "solo" emulators (Mythic, Radiance, etc.) for solo play, but again - I don't know the core mechanics. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Hello Adventurers! I am GM Velyn. Are you interested in learning more about Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, as a player or a GM? Looking for an experienced guide to help you navigate these imposing realms? I’m hosting events in your local area, with details below! All levels of experience are encouraged to participate! I will also be posting a discord link at the bottom of this post as well if anyone wants to join for further information.

I have four out of five spots open for a Learn to Play Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition one shot. It will be held on Sunday October 20th, 2-5pm, at Bryant's Cidery in Carytown! If you are interested in the Learn to Play session, you'll only need to bring yourself. 21+ is a must since we will be in a cidery. Priority will go to players who are new to D&D, followed by those new to 5th Edition. The session will be from 2pm to 5pm EST, with a small chat after as a review/feedback/decompress time. If you want to start thinking about your character, we will be using the Player’s Handbook races and classes just to make things easier for everyone to learn as well as supplying premade character sheets if you would rather use that option. If you are interested in being on a waitlist in case someone can't make it, please let me know as well. This won't be the only L2P session and I am planning on hosting one at least once a month. So if you don't get in this one; I promise there will be more!

Here is a link to a Youtube video that will help give you some tips & tricks, as well as let you know what to expect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo_oR7YO-Bw&t=490s

A Game Masters’ Workshop is also in the works, with a tentative date being Saturday October 26th at 6pm. If you are a Game Master of any level of experience and are interested in a Game Masters’ Workshop, I’d love to hear from you as well! I’m planning on having a fun and informative meeting to go over ideas, techniques, homebrews, and more. We host discussions about all of these topics in the discord below if you want to join! If you have any suggestions or ideas feel free to reach out to me!

A little about me: I’ve been playing D&D or other table top games since about 2001, with my first GMing experience starting in 2004. I love TTRPG gaming. I build worlds that I want others to experience, change, and mold these worlds into wholly new pieces of art and entertainment. I definitely fall into the Rule of Cool over the Rules as Written. Map making is one of my favorite aspects of GMing and I make custom maps for other GMs and authors as well. Currently, I am one of the GMs at Rogue Game Masters, a Virginia(for now) group that helps GMs organize themselves in their local areas to find more players and venues to game at. If you’d like to check out my profile with references, it is: https://www.roguegamemasters.com/profile/gm_velyn/ 

And finally, if you would like to join the discord with our community of gamers/nerds/Richmonders, come over to Possums & Paladins! Please keep in mind that you must read the rules and agree to them by clicking on the little dragon below the rules post! https://discord.gg/2jstM7h87J

Hey everyone! I'm a mid-30's guy that has been looking for a new gaming group after moving away from my last crew. I try to be friendly and accepting of others. If anyone has an open seat at the table, or are thinking of starting a new campaign, please feel free to reach out. Thanks!

Hi, Richmond D&Ders. I recently ran a successful kickstarter for Labyrinth & Lyre, an authentic ancient Greece setting for D&D 5e. When i went to the print shop, they mistakenly printed off 80 slight misprints (they printed the rough draft). They acknowledged their mistake and printed off the correct books, but now I have 80 slight misprints, still very usable.

i would like to give away a (slightly) misprinted copy of this 236 page book, which includes new classes. races/species, feats, backgrounds, magic items, monsters, and 6 original adventures to any school club that wants one. I'd also be happy to give one to a library or other community/ nonprofit organization. Leave a comment or PM me, let me know what organization you're representing and I will get a copy into your hands.

If you aren't with a school or community club and you'd like to buy a non-misprint or .pdf of the rules, I can arrange that as well. Happy gaming!

Very low-key with a mix of goofy, we are looking for a DM who can guide us goobers. Monthly-ish and ideally virtual (we are spread out Northside and southside, and very different work hours). We know the basics, but not a lot of experience

Hello Everyone,

I have been debating setting up a meet-up to play my home-brew game system with some new players to get some fresh feedback.

This game system, Nemo D20, has been playtested and updated non-stop for the past few years.

Right now I am just trying to find out if there is any interest in this sort of thing in general.

Thanks!

-Ed

Edit: I didn't want to get too far in the weeds on what my game system is about as I just wanted to find out if any locals were interested in other systems besides the big names.

But here is a brief overview:

This D20 system was created originally to be played in a Modern Dungeon World Earth. This is a world that was integrated into a series of Dungeon worlds by a mysterious System. It includes magic, gods, and different species of humanity, (kodolds, goblins, elves, etc...) The modern version utilizes a mixture of magic, melee, and firearms.

But...The game system is designed to be played across multiple periods of Earth's history, including Low-Fantasy, High Fantasy, Modern, and Future (Space).

If you are curious, you can check out my novel, "The Grumpy Little Kobold" which is based on this game system.

As the title says, new player in the RVA area looking to start/join a group. I've been watching the dungeon dudes and I think it just started a itch for me. I would be cool to be a part of an in-person group, availability weekends and weekday evenings, or a virtual group would be cool too.

Hello!

I recently moved to Virginia from Ohio to nanny my sister’s daughter. Looking for a dnd group to make new friends. I’m open to any group! Want to play and make friends.

Hiya! As the title says, I’ve got years of playing under my belt (it was my biggest outlet/escapism in high school) and am eager to join a campaign again. It’s been so long and watching Dimension 20 can only fill the void partially lmao. I have a ton of fun character concepts in reserves already but would also be down to whip up one to better fit in your setting. I live in the downtown/shockoe area and I’m free pretty much every day of the week except Friday nights. Also, if it sweetens the pot at all, I’m an artist 👀

In terms of ideal group traits, it’d be wonderful to not be the only neurodivergent (I’ve got AUDHD) and queer person. Campaign wise, I am a very story and character focused person. Combat is fun, just not my fave thing about playing. Anyway hmu if you have space for one more person or wanna start a group!!

Hi,

I'm a new player looking for a group to start a campaign. I played a homebrew campaign a few years ago but don't have any experience other than that. I'm down for both dnd and pathfinder!

I live in the short pump area but going to downtown rva isn't an issue for me

Will anyone be starting a campaign soon that I can join? I'm very new to this, just played a game today with G&G, and trying to find one that meets more frequently

Howdy howdy! I know these posts are done to death but I’ve not been able to find an in person campaign anywhere else. My brother and I (both under 21) are hoping to join or help start a game (5e, 3.5, Pathfinder, really most things).

We can do any day but Thursday and Sunday, and though evenings are preferable any reasonable time is fine. We’re both into the rp side (and we have about 5 years of 5e experience), and like to do matching or intertwined characters.

If you need players who may or may not make baked goods, please comment or dm

Cheers

Hey y'all!

We're gearing up for another open game (that means no tickets, it's a free-for-all) at Stone Brewing next week on Tuesday, August 20th!

All experience levels welcome, professional Game Masters at every table - come for the adventure, stay for the friends & brews.

Doors open at 6PM and we'll start playing at 7PM ~ We'll have pre-gen characters available, but feel free to make your own characters ahead of time!

There are no tickets for this event, it's first-come, first-serve! Please arrive early-ish to grab some tacos and find a seat.

More Game Deets at the discord bit.ly/goblindiscord

Hey. I am completely new to D&D but I am looking to find a group or groups who are willing to allow newbies and explain how to play. I’m in shockoe bottom

Howdy folks!

Our next Mechanicsville Nerds Community Game Night is coming up this Saturday (7/27) from 6-9 PM at Walnut Grove Baptist Church. We'll have all sorts of games including little old ladies playing dominoes, games of Smash Bros and Mario Kart, mid weight board games like Horrified and more. Free pizza, drinks and snacks provided.

For TTRPGs, I'll be running a fun, chaotic one shot of "For the Dungeon", a game of mooks, minions and monsters trying to protect their dungeon and carry out missions for their evil overlord.

https://www.meetup.com/richmond-board-game-meetup-group/events/300720854/

If you want to know more you can contact us on Facebook and Discord under "Mechanicsville Nerds"

https://www.facebook.com/groups/668714234303392/

Hey everyone! I know there have been a bunch of requests to join groups but they primarily look at least a few weeks old and didn’t want to revivify an old thread for no reason and figured I would start fresh.

I’m a 33m new player looking to either join a 5e group or help get one together (need a DM obviously). I’ve listened to probably thousands of hours of actual play DnD podcasts (Not Another DnD Podcast, the Adventure Zone, Dimension 20’s various campaigns) but have only played a limited amount of one shots and am looking to get into a more substantial campaign. I work a 9-5 at home and have 3 kids so weekday evenings after like 6 or Sunday evenings are my sweet spot (I have an amazing partner who has no problem doing bedtime with the kiddos so I can meet up with some friends and roll initiative).

I’ve tried a couple times with friends to get things rolling but I’m the only one who’s heavily invested in DnD so it has been an immense challenge to actually get together. If your group is wrapping up a campaign and you would be willing to take on a newbie, another player looking for a group, or a DM who’s willing to take on a new adventure, let me know! Happy to meet up at a coffee shop and get to know each other beforehand as well!

Hey y'all!

Goblins & Growlers is gearing up for another open game (that means no tickets, it's a free-for-all) at Stone Brewing on Tuesday, July 16th!

Doors open at 6PM and we'll start playing at 7PM ~ We'll have pre-gen characters available, but feel free to make your own characters ahead of time!

There are no tickets for this event, it's first-come, first-serve! Please arrive early-ish to grab some tacos and find a seat.

Game Deets

We're starting a fresh campaign in the desert of Anikhim! In this adventure you all will play as historians and excavators seeking to unearth the mysteries from the unyielding terrain and discover the secrets within the Sunken Tomb ~

• Level 3!
• more details at bit.ly/goblindiscord

Hi everyone,

I came here to post looking for a group to join and saw several posts of a similar nature in the past few weeks and it doesn't look like most people have found a group. So, I figured i might try to start one! It's been a few years since I've played but I used to do mixed DM and playing, I'd be happy to DM a campaign since it seems to be the bottleneck. I wrote one for my friends years ago that fizzled out when people moved.

Ideally I'm thinking a group of 4-5 people in addition to myself. I was thinking maybe meet up at a coffee shop (Stir Crazy is my favorite!) or something to get to know people and talk about what we want to do, then maybe do a couple of one shots to get a feel for people's play styles and preferences before we launch into a campaign.

A little about me, I'm 29m, gay, married, have 4 cats and a dog. If I'm DMing my preference would probably be to host since I have a bunch of game-related stuff like dungeon tiles and all that, but if we wanted to rotate or someone else has allergies to my pets I'm down to go elsewhere. I work a 9-5 so I could only do evenings or weekends to play but I'm flexible otherwise. My playstyle/DM style is a focus on fun and creativity rather than sticking to a script, so if you want to spend 3 sessions investigating the weird shit going on in a specific town because I said one random thing you locked on to, I'll gladly go down that rabbit hole. I'm also down for a little bit of homebrewing as long as it's not too over the top, but also totally ok with sticking to the book as much as possible if that's everyone's preference. I like to be pretty detailed so I usually keep a running log of details like NPCs you've interacted with, consequences of actions you've taken (even if you think it was benign 😉), etc, so I like to build as immersive a world as possible.

If anyone is interested, please feel free to DM or comment, no real time frame on when I wanted to get something going so no pressure at all if you can't commit to a campaign starting next week. As stated above, the ideal would be to start a campaign so I would be looking for more long term commitment, but if that's not what everyone wants I'm also down for a series of one shots. Open to new and experienced players as well, so if you're new don't be scared!

Hello! We (currently) have an established group that plays PF2 most Monday nights in Hopewell. Due to life being, well, life, we're losing one player, and a couple more at the end of August.

We are a casual group - this is to say that we don't worry about min-maxing or what the damage output is, we have fun and joke around with each other; and -try- to focus on RP (we admittedly get distracted a decent amount talking about nerd stuff.)

Our game sessions are in Hopewell at a local game store; Mondays from 7pm to 10pm.

Hey folks! I am in the Greater Richmond area and am looking for an in person DnD group as a player!

Best!

I understand that most folks prefer being players. Being a player is perceived as requiring less responsibility and knowledge of the game. Therefore, playing is seen as the “easier” option.

However, I would like to make two arguments against that notion. Two arguments I hope encourage more people to take up the role of game master.

First off, I never have a hard time finding a game around my schedule. For example, I currently play every other Monday night from 6-9pm with other busy adults. As GM, it is fair for you to set a schedule that works to your benefit. Everyone you want to play with won’t always be available but there’s always enough players looking or willing to meet your schedule. For this reason, you can always find people who would like to play when you’d like for easier scheduling and playing.

Secondly, players who Game Masters want to keep playing with eventually learn the rules, get everyone else involved at the table, take good notes, help clean-up, and do prep work like leveling up between sessions. Good players are putting in similar levels of effort when compared to the GM in & out of sessions. This is why GMs are far more likely to include even a slightly experienced GM at their table as a player over an experienced player who never GMs. Tell the GM you’ll run a one-shot between campaign arcs and they may ask you to marry them or nominate you for Mayor.

For those reasons, being a GM is no harder than being a good player. Being a GM (or player for that matter) does not require voice acting or elaborate storybook descriptions. A willingness to express your imagination and some prep work of a different kind is all you require.

To get you started.

You can find a free link to the standard 5e Rules here. Nothing more is required to run the game. Don’t let the 403 page count discourage you. You only need about 30 of those pages to get you started. The majority of the pages are monster options.

Beyond 1st Level page 56 Equipment pages 62-66 Using Ability Score pages 76-83 Movement pages 84-85 The environment page 36 Resting & Between Adventures pages 87-89 Combat pages 90-98 Spellcasting pages 100-104

Adventure modules and tips can easily be found across the web. I personally suggest Matt Colville’s Running the Game Series. And if you’d like to learn how to GM in person then we gather at the new Midlothian Library over other Saturday. We call the event Collabs & Crits and dates are linked here.

Otherwise, feel free to send me a direct message. Being a game master is a fulfilling & enjoyable hobby that’s even easier when you can set your own schedule. Plus, a GM in need can always find helpful advice because other GMs respect & appreciate others taking up the mantle.

I live in the Chester/Chesterfield area and am able travel a little distance. My availability is anytime after 5pm on weekdays and open all day Saturday. I have two other groups I am in: One of them is flexible scheduling so I can work around them and the other is falling off and seemingly disbanding.
I have a wide array of characters set and ready to play depending on the group’s current makeup. Hope to hear from you soon.

Howdy folks!

Our next Mechanicsville Nerds Community Game Night is coming up this Saturday (6/15) from 6-9 PM at Walnut Grove Baptist Church. We'll have all sorts of games including little old ladies playing dominoes, games of Smash Bros and Mario Kart, mid weight board games like Horrified and more. Free pizza, drinks and snacks provided.

For TTRPGs, I'll be running a PBTA one shot in the Hearts of Wulin system, a narrative forward game of melodramatic martial artists a la Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

https://www.meetup.com/richmond-board-game-meetup-group/events/300720845/

If you want to know more you can contact us on Facebook and Discord under "Mechanicsville Nerds"

https://www.facebook.com/groups/668714234303392/