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I've been GMing for some years now. During that time, I feel like I've developed somewhat of a style/preference with the kinds of games I like to run. While I feel my games can be enjoyed by a variety of players, I find that certain types of players mesh better with my style/preference. Selfishly, this sort of meshing really improves my satisfaction as a GM and I'd really like to build an entire group of only players like this, even if it was just to fulfill a vision I have for a single, particular type of campaign.

Have other GMs attempted and/or succeeded in this sort of utopian endeavor? What are some strategies/tactics I could/should consider?

As an example of where my mind is currently at, I'm considering running a series of 4-session campaigns for different groups of players (a complete story arc for each group) and using these mini-campaigns as incognito recruiting events. Having a pre-defined end point after 4 sessions would (hopefully) allow me to gracefully cut ties with the players that don't fit the profile I'm looking for, without creating any hard feelings -- though this is all still theoretical.

Other details that might be useful:

  • I'd be looking to build a group of 3-4 players, maybe 5.
  • I'm preferably looking to build an in-person group, but could try this online.
  • No specific system. In fact, I'm hoping to build a group that's eager to try out different systems/genres.
Gadianton
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    Related (possible dupe): How do I find a friendly, inclusive roleplay group online? – Thomas Markov Jul 24 '21 at 13:07
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    Related (possible dupe): Where can I find other RPG players? – Thomas Markov Jul 24 '21 at 13:08
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    Is it for a face to face, or online (like roll20) game? – Mołot Jul 24 '21 at 13:09
  • @Mołot - Preferably in-person, but I'm willing to be flexible. – Gadianton Jul 24 '21 at 13:13
  • @ThomasMarkov - thanks for sharing! After reading those, let's assume I know how to find other players (which I do). I think a distinguishing characteristic in what I'm trying to do (maybe it's not properly conveyed in my post) could be described as "curating/handcrafting a group" or "building an elite group", particularly as a GM. I'm curious to learn more about what the process was like for other GMs (who may have done similarly). – Gadianton Jul 24 '21 at 13:27
  • I updated the title of the post to more accurately reflect that I'm trying to "create" rather than "find", which is an important difference to me – Gadianton Jul 24 '21 at 13:34
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    Related: https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/92290/whats-the-purpose-of-the-same-page-tool – Akixkisu Jul 24 '21 at 14:02
  • @Akixkisu - Done. I added these details to the bottom of my post. I was thinking/hoping that what I'm trying to achieve was more agnostic than that, but I hope that helps provide clarity. Let me know if there are any other details I can provide. – Gadianton Jul 24 '21 at 15:43
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    @Akixkisu Thanks for the tip. I'm still a newbie, so I'll take that as a lesson learned. :) – Gadianton Jul 24 '21 at 16:05
  • It might help if you could elaborate on the traits you're seeking in players. For example, are you looking for players who are good at optimization so you can challenge them vs good at picking roleplay relevant abilities even when more powerful options are available, or like to speak in character vs good at explaining their characters' actions and motives. It doesn't have to be specific (and I'm not positive it will help) but that was one of my thoughts reading this is that I'm not sure how to narrow down a set to a subset without criteria. – Ifusaso Jul 25 '21 at 02:46

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I have done this several times. I have a favorite one-shot adventure, and I run it periodically for strangers, sometimes at a game store and sometimes on meetup.com. If I like a player, I get their email address and add it to my list. Once I have enough players, I send out an email saying "I want to run a game at X location and Y time, here is the teaser, who can make that slot and wants to join?" Sending the email in this way also avoids difficulty scheduling a recurring game.

I also want to note that it's quite easy to recruit players for an online game, for example by posting a signup form on reddit.com/r/lfg. The only hard part is that some fraction of your signups will flake. For the game I'm currently running, two of my players flaked before the first session with a message about how their college professor had scheduled activities in my (evening) timeslot; my plan for future games is I will require players to be age 25+ to avoid getting college students.

The form I used for my campaign was this, and it got 13 responses. The open-ended questions did not give me as much signal as I wanted, so if I do another form it will ask something more like this.

Dan B
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  • Has your experience been that a one-shot is all it takes to learn what you need to about a player? If so, this might be a good, lower effort approach than the one I'm thinking. – Gadianton Jul 24 '21 at 15:48
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    Yes, a one-shot is plenty. – Dan B Jul 24 '21 at 15:59
  • I was going to add this exact answer but it's already here. I recently ran 4 one shots over a series of weekends with interested players from a Facebook group I'm in, trying to get new players for each one or inviting back people I liked. End result were 5 players I knew enjoyed my games and who I liked. It takes time but this approach works. – Steve Jul 24 '21 at 22:48
  • I really like the answer, except for the fact that the links will once be expired (the second link already is). What's this site's way-to-go to to ensure that the content of the links will be available in the long run? – Rayllum Oct 22 '21 at 02:37
  • Dan B, do you mind writing which One-Shot you used? Also @Steve, if you also used the same One-Shot multiple times? I'd find it very interesting to see what One-Shots can be played for this purpose. – Rayllum Oct 22 '21 at 02:46
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    I use https://sites.google.com/view/the-orb-of-storms/home. It seems like this should be a separate question, but I can't think how you'd avoid getting it closed as opinion-based. – Dan B Oct 22 '21 at 16:52
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    I used the adventures out of Candlekeep Mysteries that looked interesting, finding ones that had combat but also a reasonable amount of required role playing and the group solving something. In particular: The price of beauty, Sarah of Yellowcrest manor and the scrivener's tale (twice). – Steve Oct 22 '21 at 22:19