Any groups in Washington DC -- Northern Virginia area??

[Scripty]

Hi, I've recently relocated to Manassas, Va., and I'm looking to join/form an rpg group. I'm brand new to the area (been here about a month) and I'm willing to travel 30-45 minutes in any direction. It seems like everything's 30-45 min away here.

I'm currently temping at a company in DC and also looking for permanent work in the area. That coupled with family duties leaves me under a bit of a time crunch so, as most people my age who still play, I'm looking for the most effective use of my time as I can get.

The games I'm currently itching to play are HeroQuest, Sorcerer, the Pool, octaNe, InSpecters, My Life with Master or any incarnation thereof including Against the Reich and Sword and Sorcerer or homebrew settings for the HeroQuest (or My Life with Master) system.

I'm willing to also play MURPG, Buffy, Mutants & Masterminds and a handful of non-indie games. I can run or play but would prefer to play at this time as my time constraints would limit my ability to prepare adequately. Now, if we're playing octaNe, the Pool or Universalis, that might be a little bit different.

In the past, I've played and run in groups with a variety of ages from 13-40+. I'm most comfortable, and enjoy most, the Forgish style of games (exploring theme, etc.) as they're a relatively new discovery for me but I ran D&D3e at the FLGS in Panama City, Fla., for 2+ years and am not averse to playing/running other d20 games as long as it's not all the group does, all the time. I like a little variety, albeit of the simple and emotionally/intellectually engaging type.

If anyone on the boards knows of any groups that might be interested in another player or if there are other players in the area who might be interested in putting together a group, PM me here, please. I'm looking for something on either a weeknight or possibly Sunday evening. Weekends aren't great right now but that may change as my life/employment situation improves/alters.

Also, if anyone in the area knows of any decent game stores, please let me know. I've been to most of the chain bookstores here, which actually aren't that bad, but I'm a big supporter of LGS, especially FLGS. I'm more than willing to help out with running demos or helping out at a convention or whatnot.

Thanks for reading all this, if you have. I'm sort of a newbie to the area and dealing with all the funky weirdness of being completely clueless. Any advice/suggestions/connections that you can share would be greatly appreciated.

Scott

[Vaxalon]

OH MY GOD

I live in Manassas.  You know how long I've been trying to find indie gamers in Manassas?

I'm under the same time crunches you are... so scheduling may be a problem... but we gotta get together and see if our styles match up.

[Scripty]

Definitely. I'll PM you my contact info. The wife and I are at the in-laws right now. If we could work out a time/place to meet up within the next couple of weeks, that would be great. I didn't expect to find someone so close to my own location. Bonus.

Scott

[rickr]

Welcome to the DC area! Most of the gamers here get together in local game stores to play (unless they have a group of friends who meet at someone's house), and one of the best game stores in the area is The Game Parlor in Chantilly, VA. (no, I don't work there).

The three "organized" groups in the area are:
Northern Virginia Gamers
Washington Gamers Association and
George Washington University Gamers Society

The first two are mostly people who play boardgames and miniatures games, and I haven't attended any of the GWUGS meetings, so I don't really know what they're into.

Check out The Game Parlor -- you should be able to find at least a few people who are interested in independent RPGs.

[xiombarg]

I'm also in the DC, area, y'all.  If you don't mind coming up to MD, I really, really need another player for Unsung: Black Ops. Plus, I'm running Nobilis soon. I'm willing to run a lot of the indie games you mentioned.

Also, also, there is a livejournal for gamers in the DC area that y'all might want to check out.

[Scripty]

Just when I'd nearly given up hope! I went to both the Chantilly and Woodbridge Game Parlors. My first trip to Chantilly was a bit intimidating but I think they were having some huge Warhammer battle thing going on. I talked with a guy named Jason who worked there on my second trip out. He was really, really nice but didn't seem to optimistic about me finding a group that played these games. He implied that d20 was a lot easier to find. So, I had resigned myself to running a short Nocturnals game and then maybe follow it up with a few demos.

I may still do that.

But the new leads are great! Thanks a whole lot. I'll follow up on them and see where they take me.

Scott

[rickr]

... I talked with a guy named Jason who worked there on my second trip out. He was really, really nice but didn't seem to optimistic about me finding a group that played these games. He implied that d20 was a lot easier to find. So, I had resigned myself to running a short Nocturnals game and then maybe follow it up with a few demos.

Really? I'm surprised -- Chad Underkoffler hangs out there, and he wrote a small independent RPG called "Dead Inside" (published by his company Atomic Sock Monkey Press) which he playtested at the store. I don't think he reads the Forge, though.

[Scripty]

I was pretty surprised too. I'm thinking, though, that if I can't find a group of people with similar tastes here or on the above blog that xiombarg mentioned that I can post an event at the game shop and possibly pull a few people out of the woodwork who are interested in giving Sorcerer or HeroQuest a try. Most times when I try to pull a demo together I offer some sort of freebies (that's the whole reason I initially bought the Hero's Book for HeroQuest). That always seems to generate some interest.

Personally, I just think Jason was moving me along the road most traveled, not necessarily making a blanket statement regarding the area. The majority of games being run up at Game Parlor (as far as rpgs are concerned) that I was directed towards were some incarnation of D&D, be it Forgotten Realms, homebrew settings or Arcana Unearthed. I presume it's the most popular request among gamers new to the area and certainly the only games that I saw that were taking in new people. The private games didn't even list what they were playing as far as I could see. Probably some serious HoL voodoo going on in there. :D

As a consolation, though, Jason did tour me around the new WoD books. Sort of a "if you're not into that, people will be running this soon" but that was just a sales pitch. The books are new and they're trying to move 'em.

[chadu]

Really? I'm surprised -- Chad Underkoffler hangs out (at Game Parlor), and he wrote a small independent RPG called "Dead Inside" (published by his company Atomic Sock Monkey Press) which he playtested at the store. I don't think he reads the Forge, though.

Um.
1. No, not really. I've been there a couple times.
2. No: I never playtested or demoed DI at GP.
3. No: I lurk the Forge on a sporadic basis (like, once a fortnight).

:)

That all being said -- GP is probably the best place to look for gamers in the area, hands down. Dream Wizards up in White Flint is also a possibility.

CU

[Scripty]

That all being said -- GP is probably the best place to look for gamers in the area, hands down. Dream Wizards up in White Flint is also a possibility.

CU

Thanks, Chad. I'm working on a couple of things for Sorcerer demos (conflicted between one of the Sorcerer settings and my own stab at Sorcerer&Sword) at this time. I'm also formulating a Nocturnals mini-campaign (3-5 games) that may take place prior to. I'm banging my head against the system, though. Even with Brand's (Bradley Robins) nifty additions (Genre Points and Investigation Montages) to M&M, I'm still looking at Nocs and saying "This is SOOOO octaNe!" But I think that would be a much harder sell from someone new to the area (at least 80% of the games up there are d20).

I also have a couple of demos for Midnight-HQ that are practically begging to be played. I guess there aren't many games close by looking for a player, so I'm thinking I'll throw some stuff at the wall and see what sticks.
Normally, I prefer to play and then run every once in a while (either on a rotating basis or to give the regular GM a break). It's happened in the past though that I just got stuck running, either because the regular GM wanted an extended break or just couldn't do it anymore. This'll only be the second time in roughly 25 years (gosh, i'm getting old!) that I've actually tried to start a game with me in the driver's seat. I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes. I could use some experience (even some advice) with running demos. I figure I could do worse than devoting some time to the games/systems that I really care about.

Lord knows I've got experience at trying to run a game and no one showing up. That happened a couple of times at the old FLGS. Once for a Feng Shui demo and again for a HeroQuest demo. At least GP has a formal sign-up policy/procedure, that's nice...

Thanks again. Pardon the rambling.

Scott

[rickr]

Um.
1. No, not really. I've been there a couple times.
2. No: I never playtested or demoed DI at GP.
3. No: I lurk the Forge on a sporadic basis (like, once a fortnight).

Whoops! That's 0 for 3... sorry about the mistakes.

[chadu]

Whoops! That's 0 for 3... sorry about the mistakes.

No problem. Just trying to be accurate! :)

CU

[Adorame]

Anyone up for coffee or tea?  My wife and I live in old town and are always up to meet new friends.  Ive worked on a game for eight years religously and am itching to publish the thing :) Id love to hook up with local friends for playtesting, movies or just whatever.  LOVE OLD TOWN :)  my wife and I work for DHS and are having a lot of fun in the area.   If you havent visited King street you really should.  Email if you want to hook up. the more the merrier!!

adorame1111@yahoo.com

[Vaxalon]

Is it time to organize a Northern Virginia Forger housecon?  I think it might.

[Nathan]

Count me in.

I am organizing a DC group of sorts -- feel free to email me your information at nathan@mysticages.com and I will try to put something together. We are planning to meet sometime (on a Saturday maybe) at Union Station or something in DC... just to talk, hang out, and get a feel for what everyone wants to do.

Thanks,
Nathan