Tips for playing with a new group. - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Tips for playing with a new group.

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
meech17
Oct 14, 2011 22:46:51 Hey guys.. I've been playing DnD for about four years now, but it has always been with the same core group of people, and when ever new players come in, they're genuinely new, so they play the way we play. Well my regular group had to call it quits, I started college, my brother and his girl firend had a kid, my best friend is going to college almost an hour away, and our other player moved..

I recently found a new group, and I only know one member, but he said the group was more than willing to have a new player. I'm slightly worried, it's like going to a new school.

Does anyone have any tips for playing with a new group?

Also, its weird but isn't a big deal, their sessions usualy run from about 11 AM to 4 PM.. Where as I'm used to playing 8PM till well into the wee hours of the morn.. I think thats kinda cool though..
#2
yronimosw
Oct 15, 2011 2:06:07 The best on-boarding to a group I ever got was when the DM let me sit in on the end of a closing campaign, and gave me a minor NPC (apparently a PC that belonged to a player that quit early in the campaign) to play through that final couple of sessions, just to give me something to do. I was free to adjust the character's background a bit and play him however I wanted, and the group seemed happy with the changes.

It also gave me a chance to see the group in action and get an idea of what was normal for it before I created a character, which helped me better with creating a character that fit in. I guess it's comparable to "lurking" in a forum before posting, to get an idea of what's normal for the forum. The ability to play a low-key, minor character gave them a chance to see my role-playing style a bit before they started gaming with me regularly, which helped them get an idea of what my style was like, so they could tell the DM to kick me out if they wanted to (I remained with that group for a couple years, so apparently they were either happy with me, or the DM over-ruled them as punishment for not buying pizza or killing off a DMPC or something....)

If being able to sit in on the group in their existing campaign for a session isn't possible, you might try suggesting a one-shot or similarly short campaign just to test the waters with before committing to a campaign.

Beyond that, I don't think I can suggest anything you don't already know.
#3
oxybe
Oct 15, 2011 11:55:48
The best on-boarding to a group I ever got was when the DM let me sit in on the end of a closing campaign, and gave me a minor NPC (apparently a PC that belonged to a player that quit early in the campaign) to play through that final couple of sessions, just to give me something to do. I was free to adjust the character's background a bit and play him however I wanted, and the group seemed happy with the changes.

It also gave me a chance to see the group in action and get an idea of what was normal for it before I created a character, which helped me better with creating a character that fit in. I guess it's comparable to "lurking" in a forum before posting, to get an idea of what's normal for the forum. The ability to play a low-key, minor character gave them a chance to see my role-playing style a bit before they started gaming with me regularly, which helped them get an idea of what my style was like, so they could tell the DM to kick me out if they wanted to (I remained with that group for a couple years, so apparently they were either happy with me, or the DM over-ruled them as punishment for not buying pizza or killing off a DMPC or something....)

If being able to sit in on the group in their existing campaign for a session isn't possible, you might try suggesting a one-shot or similarly short campaign just to test the waters with before committing to a campaign.

Beyond that, I don't think I can suggest anything you don't already know.

this.

sit in on a session or two, get a feel for the group dynamics, take notes and ask questions when the session is over.

if not, a short one-shot or two-three session adventure might test the waters.
#4
Cohen95
Oct 15, 2011 12:00:42 Just be yourself. Bring a character you'll enjoy playing (maybe ask what everybody else has, so you don't end up being the third controller or something). Maybe recycle a character you've used before so you already have a good idea about the character's personality and all that.

Talk to the DM (or other player guy) before hand, and find out about the tone, theme, and setting of the game so that you can be ready to roleplay your character in a way that meshes well with the group.

Don't be afraid to ask questions outside of game, but during game try as hard as you can to just roll with how they do it. If they do something "wrong" it may just be a houserule that everybody forgot was a house rule.
#5
meech17
Oct 15, 2011 15:08:57 We had our first session today, and it was quite horrible.. I would have to say it was 90% encounters, and the remaining 10% which included roleplaying and story progression was mostly the DM talking. I tried to get the story going but none of the other players were interested, they all just wanted fight scenes.. I don't think I'll be playing with them much more

Thanks anyways guys..
#6
Cohen95
Oct 15, 2011 18:46:27 Eh, it happens. You can always just roll a Killatron 3000™
#7
warrl
Oct 16, 2011 16:31:00
We had our first session today, and it was quite horrible.. I would have to say it was 90% encounters, and the remaining 10% which included roleplaying and story progression was mostly the DM talking. I tried to get the story going but none of the other players were interested, they all just wanted fight scenes.. I don't think I'll be playing with them much more

Thanks anyways guys..

That happens.

A group I was in had a couple people stop by for just one session, and I can just imagine the reviews:

"...and it was quite horrible... I would have to say it was 90% roleplaying, with everyone talking rather than the DM being in control. I tried to get a combat going..."

(Seriously, our 4-hour sessions were more likely to have no combat encounters than to have two combat encounters.)

In short, not every gaming group is suitable for every player. And that's okay.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 meech17 Oct 14, 2011 22:46:51	Hey guys.. I've been playing DnD for about four years now, but it has always been with the same core group of people, and when ever new players come in, they're genuinely new, so they play the way we play. Well my regular group had to call it quits, I started college, my brother and his girl firend had a kid, my best friend is going to college almost an hour away, and our other player moved.. I recently found a new group, and I only know one member, but he said the group was more than willing to have a new player. I'm slightly worried, it's like going to a new school. Does anyone have any tips for playing with a new group? Also, its weird but isn't a big deal, their sessions usualy run from about 11 AM to 4 PM.. Where as I'm used to playing 8PM till well into the wee hours of the morn.. I think thats kinda cool though..
#2 yronimosw Oct 15, 2011 2:06:07	The best on-boarding to a group I ever got was when the DM let me sit in on the end of a closing campaign, and gave me a minor NPC (apparently a PC that belonged to a player that quit early in the campaign) to play through that final couple of sessions, just to give me something to do. I was free to adjust the character's background a bit and play him however I wanted, and the group seemed happy with the changes. It also gave me a chance to see the group in action and get an idea of what was normal for it before I created a character, which helped me better with creating a character that fit in. I guess it's comparable to "lurking" in a forum before posting, to get an idea of what's normal for the forum. The ability to play a low-key, minor character gave them a chance to see my role-playing style a bit before they started gaming with me regularly, which helped them get an idea of what my style was like, so they could tell the DM to kick me out if they wanted to (I remained with that group for a couple years, so apparently they were either happy with me, or the DM over-ruled them as punishment for not buying pizza or killing off a DMPC or something....) If being able to sit in on the group in their existing campaign for a session isn't possible, you might try suggesting a one-shot or similarly short campaign just to test the waters with before committing to a campaign. Beyond that, I don't think I can suggest anything you don't already know.
#3 oxybe Oct 15, 2011 11:55:48	The best on-boarding to a group I ever got was when the DM let me sit in on the end of a closing campaign, and gave me a minor NPC (apparently a PC that belonged to a player that quit early in the campaign) to play through that final couple of sessions, just to give me something to do. I was free to adjust the character's background a bit and play him however I wanted, and the group seemed happy with the changes. It also gave me a chance to see the group in action and get an idea of what was normal for it before I created a character, which helped me better with creating a character that fit in. I guess it's comparable to "lurking" in a forum before posting, to get an idea of what's normal for the forum. The ability to play a low-key, minor character gave them a chance to see my role-playing style a bit before they started gaming with me regularly, which helped them get an idea of what my style was like, so they could tell the DM to kick me out if they wanted to (I remained with that group for a couple years, so apparently they were either happy with me, or the DM over-ruled them as punishment for not buying pizza or killing off a DMPC or something....) If being able to sit in on the group in their existing campaign for a session isn't possible, you might try suggesting a one-shot or similarly short campaign just to test the waters with before committing to a campaign. Beyond that, I don't think I can suggest anything you don't already know. this. sit in on a session or two, get a feel for the group dynamics, take notes and ask questions when the session is over. if not, a short one-shot or two-three session adventure might test the waters.
#4 Cohen95 Oct 15, 2011 12:00:42	Just be yourself. Bring a character you'll enjoy playing (maybe ask what everybody else has, so you don't end up being the third controller or something). Maybe recycle a character you've used before so you already have a good idea about the character's personality and all that. Talk to the DM (or other player guy) before hand, and find out about the tone, theme, and setting of the game so that you can be ready to roleplay your character in a way that meshes well with the group. Don't be afraid to ask questions outside of game, but during game try as hard as you can to just roll with how they do it. If they do something "wrong" it may just be a houserule that everybody forgot was a house rule.
#5 meech17 Oct 15, 2011 15:08:57	We had our first session today, and it was quite horrible.. I would have to say it was 90% encounters, and the remaining 10% which included roleplaying and story progression was mostly the DM talking. I tried to get the story going but none of the other players were interested, they all just wanted fight scenes.. I don't think I'll be playing with them much more Thanks anyways guys..
#6 Cohen95 Oct 15, 2011 18:46:27	Eh, it happens. You can always just roll a Killatron 3000™
#7 warrl Oct 16, 2011 16:31:00	We had our first session today, and it was quite horrible.. I would have to say it was 90% encounters, and the remaining 10% which included roleplaying and story progression was mostly the DM talking. I tried to get the story going but none of the other players were interested, they all just wanted fight scenes.. I don't think I'll be playing with them much more Thanks anyways guys.. That happens. A group I was in had a couple people stop by for just one session, and I can just imagine the reviews: "...and it was quite horrible... I would have to say it was 90% roleplaying, with everyone talking rather than the DM being in control. I tried to get a combat going..." (Seriously, our 4-hour sessions were more likely to have no combat encounters than to have two combat encounters.) In short, not every gaming group is suitable for every player. And that's okay.