darchildre | (no subject)

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email about a gaming Meetup starting in actually my area and not Seattle (which is where most Meetups I get emails about are*). I joined the group and, when an initial meeting got set up, I said I'd attend. It was last night, after work.

I am very proud of myself for a) going at all, b) staying for the whole thing and playing a card game with strangers, and c) volunteering to do character creation and run Lost Mines of Phandelver for a bunch of D&D newbies. The latter is especially good, because having a responsibility means it will be much harder for me to let my anxiety get the better of me and flake out on future meetings. (I don't want to DM long-term - I much prefer playing a character to DM-ing - but having to do so for the first bit will be good for me.) I also find that I am much less nervous about hanging out with strangers if I am doing so in order to help them or teach them something that I'm comfortable doing, so that's also a plus.

Also I had fun and met cool, friendly people who are interested in playing games with me! So I am winning at social interaction this week.

*Meetup thinks that anything within 25 miles as the crow flies of my town is fair game and does not take into account that to get anywhere in Seattle takes driving time + at least an hour of ferry time each way. That is not feasible unless I can commit a whole day to it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yay fun game times! I hope the group is amenable to rotating DMs so everyone gets a chance to play and run. It's an easy way for new folks to see if they like DMing and for those who are (almost) Always-DMs to get to play.

Yeah, my ideal would be for us to start with a bunch of one-shots or shorts games (maybe using the same group of characters so as to not cause too much confusion) so that everybody gets a feel for how stuff works before launching into a longer campaign.

That might also give folks a chance to try out different classes, if they're so inclined.

In my own experience, a series of one-shots is great for getting a feel for the mechanics, but the campaign is more satisfaction in roleplaying.

That's awesome! I'm glad there's one actually in your area -- and that you're comfortable enough starting up D&D, even if you don't wanna run it long-term. :)

I'm so happy for you (and proud of you, too!) That's awesome!

On top of anxiety for dealing with strangers & places I've never been, my own schedule doesn't really make me a reliable person for these kinds of things, so I have never really looked into finding strangers via a meetup type thing, so you're doing way better than I am! ;) ::hugs::

I hope that you have a wonderful time, and that by the time you are done being the DM, you'll be comfortable enough with the group to not have anxiety when it's time for you to play instead! Much love! <3