Filtering new players online

 We all want to play Dnd, but finding consistent and invested players can be difficult, especially online.

In general, keep in mind:

• Someone can be a great person and a great player, but if they don’t have the time or commitment necessary for Dnd, it’s not going to work out.
• People have different playstyles. The key is finding the right players for your game. You can’t be afraid of saying “no” if you feel like someone isn’t the right fit.
• There are tons of players who want to play. It may take time, but everyone can find the right players for their game.

My go-to place for finding players is the Looking for Game subreddit (r/LFG). There are also various Discord servers such as Never Forever DM. Let me know if there are other places you’ve had success finding a group!

When looking for players, I’ve found it’s better to make my own post as opposed to responding to other people’s posts. With your own post, you can describe exactly what you’re looking for. This helps to narrow down the responses a bit.

In my post on r/LFG, I will describe:

• My play style (combat vs. role play balance, how deadly the game is, etc.)
• Type of game (homebrew vs. published adventure)
• Format of game (VTT, play by post, theater of the mind, etc.)
• The type of players I’m looking for (invested, team players)
• Character info (starting level, which source books / homebrew are allowed, etc.)
• What times I’m available

At the end of my post, I’ll ask them to message me if they feel they’d be a good fit. I’ve tried using a Google form to collect responses, but I’ve found that a ton more people will fill out a form vs. actually messaging you. It’s also easier to start a natural conversation when they’ve already messaged you.

Once some interested people have messaged me, this is my process:

1. Chat with them a bit to make sure they’re not a huge jerk.
2. Ask them to put together a character for a one-shot. They will all say they’ll do it, but this will filter out a lot of people (about half) who aren’t super invested. I never remind someone to turn in a character sheet.
3. For those that do turn in a character sheet, I’ll divide them into groups based on their availability and schedule some one-shots. These one-shots are the best way to truly gauge someone’s playstyle and if they seem like a good fit for your game. If you have multiple one-shot groups, you can always re-use the same one-shot if you want to save time on your prep.
4. Hopefully you’ve found some players you’re excited to run for. If you have enough players, get a campaign going! Otherwise make another post and keep looking for more.

If the campaign fizzles out, hopefully there are a few players you’d like to invite back to try again. Those are the players you want to cherish.

Let me know what has worked for you!