You have to talk to people.
I don't care how many dice are sitting on the table in front of you, eventually you actually have to interact with the people that are sitting at your table, or by extension, at their computer in the same video call as you. In order for this to be an experience that you think back to with anything resembling fondness you might want to consider a few things-
Does everyone know what kind of game this is going to be?/Are the groups expectations more or less on the same page?
I don't know if you've heard but there's like, a few options for RPG's these days. And the choice of which one you play only scratches the surface-
If a game system is a guitar (and it is) then not only are there like a bazillion different guitars to choose from (which all look different and cool but more or less they have strings and they let you play music) you also have to decide on a whole GENRE of music to play, with what is ostensibly your new BAND. Cuz buckle up buddy, you're in a BAND now- with the people who are sitting around you with their dice and their snacks and whateverthefuck else goddamn late capitalism fun time think geek accessories they brought with them. I KNOW I'M MIXING THE METAPHORS. It's intentionally confusing because if you walk your ass into BAND PRACTICE and you start laying down a face melting, gut busting metal riff and your drummer only knows how to play goddamn SMOOTH JAZZ well shit sonny you might have a weird time. Or a bad time. Or you might pull it off in which case cut your album/write your system and make a dime.
But regardless this is why people talk about the kind of music they play before they commit to being in a band and it's why you should talk about the games/stories/shows/inspirational youtube videos your gaming group likes before you start playing. And then like, decide on the kind of game you want to run.
Do you like these people?
The most popular piece of pithy writing I ever spat onto Tumblr was this:
"Don't play D&D with anyone you wouldn't go on a 3 hour car trip with"
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| I deleted the original post because it destroyed my notifications. |
I learned a few things from posting this, most notably that some people can manage to play for 7 or 8 hours at a time. If you can do this, good for you! Personally I would rather scoop out my eyes with a spoon than spend a full workday roleplaying but I'M NOT HERE TO TELL YOU HOW TO HAVE FUN. I'm just handing you a condom to carry your dice in.
The greater point i'm wobbling towards is that much like any activity involving more than just yourself, you should examine for a brief moment the quality of the company you are planning to keep for this foray into the world of imagination. It's okay to not want to play an RPG with someone, EVEN SOMEONE YOU LIKE. I'm not going to go into all the ways that you can let that person down easily but that's because it's a general life skill and there are more qualified folks who've taken a stab at that already. I'm just saying you should probably try to know what you're walking into, which leads me to this-
Are you cool with leaving if you don't like these people?
Say you've thrown caution to the wind and ignored every single piece of advice I have so far given, and you sit down, blind, to a game at a convention or other such wild west of a gaming tableu. UH OH. What if everyone at the table simultaneously takes off their baseball cap and reveal that they were all wearing FEDORAS or A SIMILAR STYLE OF HAT WORN BY THE PERSON IN THE COMMENTS THAT WILL BE LIKE "I THINK YOU MEAN TRILBY"
Then between swings of their katana sharp tongues uttering malapropacious memesplanings you must make a choice, do you love games more than your own comfort and sanity? I can only hope the answer is yes, because the world is big and wide and D&D is fucking MAINSTREAM AS SHIT now and you can do better-
don't give up, don't be afraid to ask questions, and good luck out there.
