A welcoming fantasy role-playing community? On-line?

October 13, 2019 2:58 PM

Asking for a friend who got her first taste of fantasy role playing when some people asked her to join a weekly D&D game last year. It was very low key and friendly and she had a great time. The game fell apart and she was wondering if she could find something similar on-line since there is nothing else within her local friend network.

What she enjoyed about the game was sense of comraderie. She's fine killing dragons and collecting gold but much more interested in the collective construction of a story than trying to "win" something.
The group needs to be welcoming to a newbie and supportive of diversity.
Technically she has a Mac and not much money to spend on new tech or subscriptions.

Also, she is located in Asheville if anyone knows of a group IRRL that might be a good fit.

Thanks for any ideas!

posted by metahawk to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (4 answers total)

She might try the various Discord communities for actual play shows. There are a bunch, but if she has the time, maybe have a peek at a few shows to get a sense of the kind of audience might be drawn to a particular Discord. Off the top of my head, there's Scratticus, Encounter Roleplay, Tales from the Grim.

(to be clear I'm saying she could probably find a non-streamed game put together by fans not that she should try and join a streamed show.)

The technologies involved for playing online are usually either roll20 which is free or fantasy grounds which isn't.
posted by juv3nal at 5:15 PM on October 13, 2019

Has she looked into D&D Adventure League? They have a store finder here. They are public games open to anyone. So it can be a little hit or miss, as to the other players & how good the DM's but I've found some great groups through AL & made some great friends. Also once you're known as a regular it's a great way to find out about private games that other players may be putting on & get yourself an invite. Remembering some groups will lean RP heavy & some combat min/max heavy so you might have to try a few groups to find one that's a good fit.

They are by the rules of AL supposed to be open to diversity and the groups & cons I've played at have all been really good embracing & supporting diversity, but of course I can't speak for all the AL groups.
posted by wwax at 6:33 AM on October 14, 2019

Best answer: Roll20.net has an online game finder with some pretty decent filters for game type and time. However, the way I've found friendly online D&D/RPG groups is through discord servers of related fandoms. So discord servers for D&D shows like The Adventure Zone, Not Another D&D Podcast, and College Humor's Dimension 20 show are good places to start. Feel free to PM me if you'd like server links. It helps to know those shows but isn't required.
posted by runcibleshaw at 10:42 AM on October 14, 2019

My son plays with a group rotates among 3 breweries each month. Seems like the kind of thing that might happen in Asheville too.
posted by COD at 6:33 PM on October 16, 2019