New Gamer Needs Friends/Help!

[Sanjuro]

Hey Everyone,

My name is Michael and I am not only a CoC newb, but an RPG newb! I got into this kind of late, I am 32 years old, but have extensive video gaming experience playing competitive games professionally (cs 1.6 and dota) for over 15 years. My wife and I got into the board game hobby last year then I discovered CoC and holy smokes. I am currently developing an original screenplay to option as well as starting work as a voice actor. Needless to say, the idea of role-playing in a horror setting made me regret not having these kinds of friends growing up. Well here I am now and I have no idea what I am doing! I have played a little DnD 5th edition with a few people but that is it. I purchased 7th Edition CoC bundle at Chaosim that comes with the investigators handbook, keepers shield and supplement book. I have read through most of the 7th edition book and am working on the investigators handbook how. I quickly realized I have run into some problems. One, none of my friends or family (besides my wife) are interested in CoC let along RPGS. I have no real creative friends and it proves really hard to find some people in the part of L.A. that I live (south bay). I have tried Meet-up but they are mostly into path finder and board games. So I need some help...

Where should I go to play CoC, even if it's online - where would I find people who would be willing to let me play a campaign with them?

What are some good cons or events, possibly on the west coast, that I can attend to meet more people?

I would love to run my own campaign but having not even played the game once let alone a campaign has made this my priority. Idealy, I would love to run a weekly game night at my place but finding people here is hard, so I appeal to all of your great judgement. Thank you everyone for any and all feedback! 

P.S. If someone would let me play with their group I would be oh so happy and will be a fantastic team player!

[g33k]

Hello, and Welcome!

A key acronym you want to know is "FLGS" -- Friendly Local Game Store(Shop) in RPG'Netspeak.  Very often, they not only stock RPG's for your retail pleasure, they actually host RPG tables on a regular basis.  This may be your best resource.  Note that such stores are usually supported by the higher density of gamers found near colleges/universities, and near military bases.

Here is a "Meetup" thread (a bit old, but maybe a decent start) on SoCal game-stores:  https://www.meetup.com/stcrispins/boards/thread/18529702/0/    ( I note that previously well-reviewed "Third Planet" is now gone.)

Speaking of Meetup, though: "Meetup.com" can be a great resource for finding local folk who share an interest (St.Crispins, who posted that link, may be a good one for you...?)   Also of possible relevance:  http://www.gamersnearme.com/   and   http://nearbygamers.com/

If you're willing to travel north (SanFrancisco Bay region), I can *VERY* highly recommend DunDraCon on President's Day Weekend:  www.dundracon.com ... In addition to all manner of in-general RPG (and other gaming) goodness, they have a special CoC7 event-track.

Here at BRPCentral you've probably found the deepest pool of CoC fans, but I can also recommend "RPG.net" as a decent (if more general) resource.

 

[Mike M]

Hi Sanjuro

Welcome aboard!

Online games - keep an eye on the Chaosum G+ page and the facebook page too. Stick a post on the G+ page saying you are looking to join an online game.

Head over to Miskatonic University Podcast http://www.mu-podcast.com (they have forums and a podcast) - you can sometimes pick up games on the forums http://mu-podcast.com/campus/

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias - podcast and helpful 'how to' videos on their site at http://blasphemoustomes.com

Roll20 site posts games you may be able to join https://roll20.net

Also https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/home.php

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2021 by MOB

[Sanjuro]

On 12/13/2016 at 10:25 AM, g33k said:

Hello, and Welcome!

A key acronym you want to know is "FLGS" -- Friendly Local Game Store(Shop) in RPG'Netspeak.  Very often, they not only stock RPG's for your retail pleasure, they actually host RPG tables on a regular basis.  This may be your best resource.  Note that such stores are usually supported by the higher density of gamers found near colleges/universities, and near military bases.

Here is a "Meetup" thread (a bit old, but maybe a decent start) on SoCal game-stores:  https://www.meetup.com/stcrispins/boards/thread/18529702/0/    ( I note that previously well-reviewed "Third Planet" is now gone.)

Speaking of Meetup, though: "Meetup.com" can be a great resource for finding local folk who share an interest (St.Crispins, who posted that link, may be a good one for you...?)   Also of possible relevance:  http://www.gamersnearme.com/   and   http://nearbygamers.com/

If you're willing to travel north (SanFrancisco Bay region), I can *VERY* highly recommend DunDraCon on President's Day Weekend:  www.dundracon.com ... In addition to all manner of in-general RPG (and other gaming) goodness, they have a special CoC7 event-track.

Here at BRPCentral you've probably found the deepest pool of CoC fans, but I can also recommend "RPG.net" as a decent (if more general) resource.

 

Thank you so much, this helps greatly - I am already hitting people up on nearbygamers and seeing if going to dundracon is in the budget. Thank you for all the information I sincerely appreciate it.

[Sanjuro]

On 12/14/2016 at 9:46 PM, Mike M said:

Hi Sanjuro

Welcome aboard!

Online games - keep an eye on the Chaosum G+ page and the facebook page too. Stick a post on the G+ page saying you are looking to join an online game.

Head over to Miskatonic University Podcast http://www.mu-podcast.com (they have forums and a podcast) - you can sometimes pick up games on the forums http://mu-podcast.com/campus/

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias - podcast and helpful 'how to' videos on their site at http://blasphemoustomes.com

Roll20 site posts games you may be able to join https://roll20.net

Also https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/home.php

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much, all of this helps tremendously, my bookmarks are filling up - I just made an account on roll20

Edited December 27, 2021 by MOB

[g33k]

1 hour ago, Sanjuro said:

... and seeing if going to dundracon is in the budget...

aye, there's the rub!

It's not so much the 'Con cost, as the hotel!

FWIW:  The Marriott is nominally "full" but there are sometimes cancellations, so it's worth hitting them up regularly; staying on-site is IMHO dramatically better.  Events go on 24/7... errr, 12/24/24/12 I guess that is:  beginning Friday afternoon and not stopping until Monday-morning events end (in the noon-2ish timeframe).  If you stay at the con, you can just wander down from your room at 3am and check out the action...

 

Edited December 14, 2016 by g33k

[wombat1]

Many of the local colleges and universities have game clubs and some of these welcome members of the public--one can look on the various local college websites to see what is there.

Also. many of the local game stores have notice boards where one can post notes inviting gamers to contact you.

Edited December 14, 2016 by wombat1
added thought

[Max_Writer]

You also might want to try meetup.com.  You plug in your interests (tabletop rpgs or Call of Cthulhu) and your zip code and it allows to find groups in your area.  When I moved to Raleigh in 2009, I found a group that had about 150 people in it.  They were up to over 300 by the time I left a year and a half later and presently have 1200 members of the group.  People can set up games and put out general invitations to group members, who sign up and come play the games.  I don't know if there'll be any groups in your area but it can't help to look.

[Questbird]

Obsidian Portal is a site where GMs record their campaigns from all sorts of role playing games including Call of Cthulhu. I host my various campaign notes there (user: nehwon). There is a feature called 'Games Nearby' which allows you to find games near you geographically, and the ability to contact those gamers through the site. Some campaigns advertise that they are looking for players, others might well accept a new player anyway. That might be another way to find local gaming gangs. Good luck!

Edited December 16, 2016 by Questbird
typo

[g33k]

On 12/14/2016 at 0:44 PM, Sanjuro said:

... seeing if going to dundracon ...

Also worth noting, is that this turns out to be a pretty awesome COUPLES event, if both members of the couple are "Gamer Geek" types.  It does happen to fall just after Valentine's Day...  ;-)