Library entry example

If you are new to Dungeons & Dragons, getting started can be a daunting task, one of the first hurdles to overcome is to find a dnd group. The game has over 50 years of history, rules, knowledge, changes and players. Just picking it up and getting started will seem like a lot of work. Let’s break the whole process down to simple steps you can follow. What is D&D? How is D&D? Why is D&D? Gather your gear Finding a group Creating your character Go play What is D&D? The core of the game is collaborative storytelling. Instead of following a linear path, the game takes the players through a story. One that doesn’t generally have a set structure or end-goal.   Lets explain it through an analogy - a book. The players decide that they want to play D&D, and one of them steps up and states that they are willing to be the Dungeon Master. The DM is the one who will come up with the world, the setting, the locations, various events and even history for the world the game will take place in.   And the others are the players (although the DM should also be considered a player as well, but we will separate these two roles for now). The players will be the main characters of the story. Mighty heroes, accidental adventurers or incompetent bandits - as long as the story the DM will be running makes sense for those characters. The game is a collaborative story, where the DM will present the players with various characters, situations, problems and encounters and the players will try and figure their way through all those. Either by talking their way out of them or getting into combat and resolving the situation in another way. There is no right path to take in D&D - the DM can never anticipate what the players will do in a certain situation - and the players will have no way to know what the right approach would be. But stumbling through these situations will be the story. Whether things work out for your characters and you become heroes, or you fail at doing the most mundane tasks, leading to humiliation, failure and a lot of laughs - this makes it your story. /images/general-media/1776431683_KlnMNNhS.jpg How is D&D? The game has a lot of rules - this might seem daunting, but generally you will try and understand them as you start playing. If your DM (or other group members) have more experience than you, you can rely on them to help you figure things out. Nobody knows all of the rules by heart - referencing the rulebooks is a part of the game. But how exactly is D&D played? Is there a game board? Is it a computer game? This is what separates D&D from traditional board and video games. It is a narrative game. You will play the game through explaining what your character would do. Whether you succeed or fail, is determined by rolling dice (and applying some rules). There is no board to move your figurine on. Instead the DM describes (verbally) what you are seeing, hearing, smelling and so forth. Based on all that information, you can tell the DM what your character would like to do - “I would like to find someone who looks like a guard” / “I would like to punch the first person I see in the face” / “Looking around, do I see something that looks like a dragon?” And so forth.   As a player, you are in control of your characters intentions and actions. The success of all of that is determined by the Dungeon Master and their response. If your characters have reached a dungeon and are looking for a hidden door in the room, the DM might tell you to roll Perception. Whether your character is good at that stat or not, will affect the likelihood of you succeeding. Once again, it is a story that your character is going through. How you solve different situations is up to you. You are limited by what is realistic for your character to be able to do and what kind of an approach you come up with.   D&D is a game where there is no exact way of winning. You are not playing the game against the others - as an adventuring group, your focus should be on cooperation - to overcome various obstacles by working together, relying on others and their characters’ abilities. If you leave the game session and you had fun - that really is the only way to be “winning” at D&D. Why is D&D? While the article revolves around Dungeons & Dragons, almost all of it can be taken and applied to any other tabletop roleplaying system. The hobby space does not only consist of the behemoth that is D&D. Ever since the first edition of the game was released back in 1974, a vast number of other tabletop systems have been created by other creators. You can find various other systems listed in the library here. Dungeons & Dragons is a great gateway to the hobby thanks to it's rather streamlined gameplay process, rules structure and publicly available resources and knowledge. And many of the skills and knowledge can be transferred over to other systems, even if their focus is on more mechanical systems or different themes. While you will be able to find more groups and other players for D&D, once you are more familiar with the whole TTRPG genre, you should branch out and experiment with other systems to get a better understanding of what kind of a game system you would actually prefer. Gather your gear To start playing, you don’t need much. You need other players and someone willing to be the Dungeon Master. You may have seen various memes about the dice. D&D is famous for dice and dice-related obsessions and while some players get themselves a set of dice and hold onto those for their entire tabletop gaming career - there are others (commonly referred to as dice goblins) who can’t stop buying new dice. But dice are dice, at the end of the day. But you don’t even need dice - there are various digital dice rolling tools to replace the need for physical dice. Then there are the rules. Fortunately the free basic rules are available online. You can familiarize yourself with the rules free of charge and get the general idea of the system. With the rules at your hand, you need to create a character. Your character is boiled down to your character sheet - a document that holds a technical overview of what your character is. How strong they are, how smart, how charismatic, how good they are at picking a lock and many other aspects that make your character unique. If you are just starting out, it is recommended to not spend too much on trying to remember and understand all the rules. Without context (since you haven’t played the game before) the rules are likely to not be very intuitive and understandable. Same goes for creating a character. Sure, you might have the idea of a character floating in your mind, but it is important that your character’s concept fits the story the DM will be setting you into. Creating a silly character might not be the best fit, if the story will take place in a dystopian vampire-infested world. /images/general-media/1776431690_WRNbTOBM.jpg Finding a group A typical D&D party consists of 3-6 players. This is definitely not a hard limit (on either end), some game groups are two players and a DM, some are eight. Although the sweet spot of 3-6 generally might be the most enjoyable for a new player. The best way of finding a group is forming one with your friends or family - you most likely know these people already and know whether you’d like to spend 3-5 hours at a time with them. The second best way is Groupfinder. Sure, we might be a bit biased here, but Groupfinder is here to solve one of the biggest hurdles a newcomer might encounter when trying to start playing - finding a group. Create your profile, introduce yourself and it is highly recommended to add the “Newbie friendly” tag to your profile. If you are looking for an in-person game or to play online, Groupfinder will help you find your group for both. Read: DnD Looking for Group: How to find your next table Creating your character Once you have found a group of players, you will need to create a character before your first game. It is highly recommended to have a “Session Zero” before the game actually starts. That is the session before the first session where the DM will tell you about the world, what kind of a story he is hoping to run you through and other technical details regarding the games. Now knowing what the theme and topic of the game will be, you can finally create a character that fits the game. Head over to dndbeyond.com and create your character there. The whole process should be more or less intuitive. But don’t feel like you have to figure everything out on your own. Talk to your DM and other players if you feel lost at any point. In addition to the technical aspects of your character (Their species (human, elf, halfling etc.) and their class (rogue, ranger, wizard etc.) and their stats) figure out who your character is. What makes them them. On paper they might be a human fighter - but they should have a backstory, who they were before the adventure began. What they like and dislike. Do they have hobbies, favourite dish, friends or family? The more you flesh our your character, the more real they become. The realness of the character is one major aspect that distinguishes D&D from a traditional board game. Instead of playing as the “boot” in Monopoly, you are playing as a character with a personality, with unique quirks and thoughts - all of these will shape the way they approach different situations in the game. Go play Hopefully you will have a better understanding of what D&D is, how to get started and how to take your first steps into the hobby space.   You can start off by heading over to the Groups page on Groupfinder and browsing through the various games that still need players. Or instead post your player profile and introduce yourself. Of course remember to be proactive. Just posting your profile might not be enough - reach out to groups that are looking for players and let them know that you are interested in joining.

What is a “session zero” (and why should you have one) You have decided to start playing D&D, keep in mind that Dungeons & Dragons is a social game. Sure, we have dice, miniatures, maps, terrain, rules and books. But they are all connected by social interactions and connections. And managing those social situations before they become problematic will save you a lot of headache. After all, you are looking to find a dungeons and dragons group not be defeated by the recruitment process. A session zero (named so, because the first session will most likely be the one where you all sit down and finally get the game going) is a validation checkpoint. A change for all the players to discuss what they expect from the game and the group. Voicing any concerns or topics that should be addressed beforehand, not when they have already become issues. During the session zero, players (including the DM, they are a player as well) will be given a general pitch of the game, the theme, the style and the direction the DM is expecting you to go. This most likely will not be a two-hour lore-dump session, where you make notes and try to remember all the important bits. It should resemble an elevator pitch. Short, straight to the point, without too much flavouring and getting bogged down in details. This is a chance for the players to understand and align their expectations regarding the game. Going into the first session with Boblin the Goblin, aiming to be the funniest character known to man and then realizing that the DM has prepared a serious, down to earth, adventure focusing on social intrigue and moral choices… Well Boblin might’ve not been the best character for that. /images/general-media/1774882359_X6rlHtg9.jpgRead the room. Create a character that fits the atmosphere of the game. And if you were hoping for constant laughs, you will find that the game and your expectations were severely mis-aligned. Session zero will try to manage expectations and set themes. Aligning players, aligning characters Understanding the world, the themes and topics is useful for the players to understand whether the game they are about to commit to is really for them. Whether it will be something they will look forward to prior to every session, or will it eventually become something that “you are not feeling”. Perhaps the tone can be adjusted - from gothic horror with no room for laughs to something that is still eerie, but the players can find humor in appropriate places. This is the time to discuss these questions. The time to adjust the game is now, as it will be rather difficult to do a complete shift when you are ten sessions deep. This is also the point where players can discuss their characters. Whether they have anything complete prepared by then or just a fragment of a concept. Your characters shall be adventuring together - try and figure out how that plays into the world you were presented with. Can you find some common background pieces with another player to somehow connect your characters? Or perhaps come up with a reasonable theme that would bring all your characters together. If your plan was to play an edgy loner, who doesn’t like people and works alone. Discuss this with others, as this might become an issue later, when the other characters can’t figure out a way to establish any reasonable connection with your edgelord. Be flexible, adjust concepts, ideas, goals and character details. A social contract Nobody likes contracts. Unless you are a warlock, then you live for contracts. But a social contract is more for managing expectations. How often will you play? Figure out whether your group can agree on a fixed schedule that everyone can book in advance. Every second Thursday evening? Booked now. Ofcourse this is subject to change as life happens.   Is it a 100% attendance game? If someone can’t attend, will the session be cancelled or will they be somehow “dragged along” without any narrative focus on them for the session. Is there a narrative way to exclude characters from certain moments, if the player is unable to participate? Agreeing on these will help you avoid situations, where some players might feel left out and might decide to start ghosting the sessions, until they are eventually removed from the roster. /images/general-media/1774882564_47pDcYw0.webpIf you have trouble setting some systems up, ask others to help you What systems and platforms will you be using if this is an online game? What video or voice platform will you be using, is everyone okay with the choice or does someone need help setting something up? Whether combat happens on a VTT or some other platform, can everyone manage that? Check in with others and figure out that the technical aspects won’t become too much of a burden to manage. Boundaries. A vital part of session zero. Even if you think these are not necessary - It is still strongly recommended. Using various safety tools can make sure that various themes or topics that the game might tackle are accepted by everyone. Especially if you haven’t played with all of the members of the group before. You can find various different tools to help set the right boundaries and make sure everyone feels comfortable with the game. Take a look at “Lines and Veils”, “X-Card” or “Monte Cook Games RPG Consent Checklist”. Vibes. How are the vibes Keep track of the vibes during session zero. Do you notice anything that might be considered a “red flag”? Is the humor off, does everyone feel like they get enough respect and attention from the others? All of these are important to keep in mind. While some things can be discussed and corrected, if needed. People are different and while they might be great people to be friends with, it doesn’t mean that they would be great people to play D&D with. If there are issues that you feel should be discussed, turn towards your DM and talk things out. Perhaps you were not the only one who noticed it. Or maybe it was a case of miscommunication. Clearing the air before the game actually begins is important. Otherwise the problems will start festering and your enjoyment of the game will decrease over time. “No D&D is better than bad D&D?” - No. Not at all. With Groupfinder you can  find a dnd group that fits your preferences. Maybe it will take a few tries and session zeroes, but once you find your group, you will know these are your people. And you will enjoy the games a lot more. Why bother with all of this? It might feel like all of this is too much trouble just to get the game going. But statistics have shown, that groups who go through a "session zero" before their actual game are  significantly less likely to ghost or fall apart after a few sessions. Spending a few hours talking about expectations might save you hours of frustration later on.

As we step away from the summer months, we find ourselves more at our tables. Tables for playing and also working on features and fixes for Groupfinder. And there have been quite a few additions since our last Update log. We'll go over some of the bigger changes and additions. Supporters /images/general-media/1789388957_fqCygV2e.png Some of you may have noticed in the menu dropdown a little page called Subscribe. Worry not, this does not mean, that Groupfinder is going to be pay to use. No, far from it. We are sticking by what we have been saying since the start - Groupfinder will remain free to use. Becoming a subscriber is your way of supporting our ongoing work on the platform. To make sure the lights stay on, the servers buzzing and the licenses get paid, we have to make sure all those costs don't overwhelm us. What does it mean to be a subscriber? As a thank you, for your help and trust in us, your account will have some ease of life perks: Automatic bumping - you can set up automatic bumping for your posts, helping your post stay refreshed. Once you set it up, every 48 hours, the system will bump your post moving it back to the top of the listings. Customized notifications - want to only receive specific notifications and alerts for games and players in a specific region and game system? You can set your specific rules for custom alerts. Colour themes for your posts - Feel a little red? Green? blue? Customize your posts with the colour theme you prefer, make your post stand out with a little cosmetic tweak.  More cover pictures - Supporters will also find that they have access to a whole new set of cover images to choose from. If you are tired of the ones you have seen so far - you will find more from the selection we present the subscribers. Higher limits - If you have more than two games you are looking players for - you will be able to have up to six different active game posts at once. You will also be allowed to send more messages to new users every day. Attach files - perhaps your games have a world map you'd like to show off to make players more interested in it - you can add some files to your post and make it more informative. And various limit increases and customization options for Group Manager and for those who manage a library entry page. You can read more about the subscription here. And if you don't care about those perks - but you think we are doing a neat job - that can be your motivation as well. Messenger On desktop devices, you will find our messenger in the bottom right corner of the page, allowing you to chat with others in a more intuitive manner, just like you may be used to on various other platforms. We will continue to improve the messaging experience as we go forward, but we are very happy with the way it is now. Ofcourse you can continue using messenger, how it was before, as a full-page view. Tiles for Group Manager /images/general-media/1789389492_W7MfXXwR.png In addition to various improvements for the Group Manager, we are happy to announce tiles.  Tiles are small customizeable and editable dynamic elements, that you can add to your Group Manager dashboard to add various features to them.  Add images, spell, item, skill lookup searches, connect your notes to your Obsidian markdown files and keep them synced with what you have on your computer or just add a slideshow to set the mood for the game. Badges /images/general-media/1789389332_qdibSnHO.png Show off your activity and achievements on Groupfinder with the badges you have earned here. There are various ways to earn badges, some you get for reaching out to users on the platform, some you get for bumping. You may be considered a librarian, if you help us improve the library.  And with higher tier badges, you will also unlock unique perks (such as lower daily bumping cooldown, or additional unique cover images). Posts and listings We also took some time to optimize the filtering options on the posts pages. We added additional features to the search, and with that it slowly started getting out of hand. So it was time to take a step back and look at the whole listings filter as a whole and bring it all together, again. Many of these fixes and tweaks have been things you, the users, have asked for. Just like the option to also exclude tags from your search. Don't want to see games that have a "Horror" theme? Take it out and no spooky season for you. We admit that for some time the "Create a post" flow was.. messy. Again the same deal, as with filters - we added fields, elements, options and much more to it. But it resulted in the pages being overly cluttered and some fields may have been accidentally overlooked. Now the flows have been reworked and should make it a lot easier for you to create your player post or add your games to the listings. Also to all of our multilingual friends - you can now write your post description in multiple languages. I mean.. you could also before - but now it is more reasonably separated and structured. Those with a game post will also have access to more detailed analytics about your post. Knowing and understanding more about those, who open your post, can help you tweak and tailor your post in various ways. A more organized library /images/general-media/1789390627_QjshwGXo.png Don't you just hate it when your local library is a mess. Well ours was a bit messy - so we cleaned it up and made it make more sense. The new library home page now offers you a better overview of what is new, what is popular and which events are upcoming. Speaking of events - if you know of any upcoming tabletop events that might interest others - tell us about them and we'll try to get those added to the library as well. And much, much more In addition to all the topics we've covered here, there have been a vast amount of additional changes - not necessarily smaller and less important. We just have to keep these update logs at a reasonable length. If you have any feedback regarding these changes (or lack of an update you were hoping for) - do let us know. Either use the contact us form, or join our Discord server and let us know there. We are always happy to discuss and learn from you. Till next time.

Tales from Myriad is a Campaign-focused fantasy game run by a GM for at least 2 players. It is a 2d6 system with exploding dice and a magic dice pool-per cast (with miscasts!). It embraces whimsy and chaos, making every session an unpredictable adventure. Its standout features are its unique magic system that adds excitement and surprise to every spell, its character creation is quick and easy (plus, CLOTHES! Your wardrobe keeps you alive!) and the mechanics are approachable for newcomers while still offering plenty of depth and creative freedom for more seasoned players. With its focus on dungeon-delving and its playful, unpredictable style, Myriad is perfect for those who love creativity, surprises, and a touch of chaos in their games.

TalesNTokens brings map building, live rooms, character tools, notes, assets, dice, and campaign management together in one browser based and FREE connected experience, designed for fast setup, smooth play, and real-time collaboration across any device. No scattered tabs. No bloated setup. Just your world, ready to play and share. Create interactive maps for the way your world actually plays Design playable spaces directly in the browser with layered terrain, assets, buildings, openings, roofs, and lighting controls ready for live sessions. - Layered terrain, water, cave, forest, asset, and building workflows - Brush, shape, free-shape, erase, and point-by-point drawing tools - Reusable assets with drag-and-drop, grid-aware placement - Floor, wall, roof, door, window, and visibility controls - Save maps and edit seamlessly across desktop, tablet, and mobile Run the session from one connected command space Import your interactive maps into live rooms and run the table from a clean, modern interface that keeps powerful session controls close without overwhelming play. - Interactive maps with tokens, dice, initiative, notes, and character tools - Automatic dynamic lighting from Map Builder walls, doors, and windows - Doors and windows carry into play as meaningful session controls - Simple interfaces with deep control for advanced live sessions - Run and play the board from anywhere with full device and touch support Play on any Android/IOS mobile, tablet, or desktop. Built to work on your devices with proper mobile UI and touch support. Companion Mode also keeps players connected without needing a second monitor or desktop setup. Links talesntokens.com - Official website ko-fi.com - Ko-Fi page

Total Party Chill, a San Francisco-based TTRPG studio, specializes in producing a diverse array of content, including Actual Plays, Gaming News Podcasts, D&D Game Shows, and more. Established in 2018, TPC is driven by its mission to craft innovative TTRPG content and products that inspire enthusiasm for gameplay. Campaigns Bad Luck Club A group of failed adventurers get the opportunity to pull cards from the Deck of Many Things. What could possibly go wrong? This Game is Cursef "This Game is Cursed" is a D&D Podcast that follows 4 friends who sat around the table to play a game of D&D. After finding an old fantasy roleplaying game stashed away in a secondhand bookstore, Devon (Dungeon Master) and his four friends sat down to play D&D. After the players chose from the pre-made characters, and began to roll the dice, they were ripped from our reality and Jumanji'd into the game. Now they have to find a way to return home. Treasure Hunt Treasure Hunt is a new D&D actual-play podcast set in a world forever changed by the Age of Dragons. Over a thousand years ago, mortals rose up to slay their draconic overlords, founding dynasties upon the spoils of dragon hoards. Now, long after dragons have faded into legend, whispers emerge of a forgotten lair belonging to one of the most fearsome wyrms, its vast fortune untouched, its location lost to time... Until now. Links totalpartychill.com - Official website youtube.com - Youtube channel spotify.com - Spotify feed podcasts.apple.com - Apple Podcasts feed discord.gg - Discord channel patreon.com - Patreon page