Here's the deal, I'm a new player looking for advice on how to start a game or preferabley find one locally. I would prefer to find an established group of players (in the Sacramento, Ca area) because I just got out of the Marine Corps and don't know anyone into this stuff. Anyway, hit me up even if you want to let me know how lame I am and to F%$* off.

Does your area have a Friendly Local Gaming Shop? A good place to start would be to hang around there for a bit and occasionally chat up players.

I do have a game shop and I've gone there during gaming nights; it just seemed click-ish, but I'll give it another try. Thanks.

SGT877 said:

What's "click-ish"?

Anyway, in my opinion the best gaming group is made of a group of closest friends - because you don't have to care about how to behave yourself in the midst of people you've met first in your life. For example, I have tried a few times to mix up people from different companies in my games (as well as I tried myself to join people I didn't know), and it usually didn't work out. Of course, it depends on your personal approach, but the gaming clubs might not be the best option here.

In this regard, I would suggest you persuade some of your friends you feel really comfortable with to try out the game. Do not try to heap the rules over their heads, nor put them in the thickest of the intrigues or difficult combat in the first session, nor initiate the time-consuming and novice mind-numbing process of their Acolytes generation, though.

First thing you'll have to do is to gather them on the weekend (just a couple of intrested friends will do), prepare foodstuffs, bring your GH books, and just start talking to them about the game and W40k Universe. Show them images, weapons, rules - make them interested! You might even want to run a brief combat demo and show an example of a scenario plot. That should be enough for a start. Next time if they want to go on, you might try to generate the Acolytes and run Edge of Darkness or some other beginner's scenario.

If you definitely have no interested friends in the area, then the gaming club is your best option, of course.

Happy gaming!

You hit the nail on the head right at the end... my friends are definitely not interested. I just moved back ito the are which also give me the opertunity to make some friends who are.

Hey man- welcome to the forums. Now that your a PFC you already know that new friends are on your horizon.

I know this sounds dumb but- time for a little recon! Your community has a much larger "geek" count that my city by far. Take a day and hit the local game and comic stores. Talk "nerd" at a party or two while meeting new people.

Your still probaly settling into the area so who knows, maybe the dudes playing 40K at the nearest store might have some friends who play Dark Heresy. By far your chances at finding others interested in playing (or already are) will raise by scoping these places out and introducing yourself.

And if all else fails- sieze the initative and start a group yourself! I know your up to it. And dont worry about "cliques", you know every mob has them, and you'll be in your own soon enough. Like the NCO club all over again. You might be out of the crotch but things havent changed that much- you just get to sleep in more and have LOTS of free time.

Good luck

Ooh-Rah, Sgt!

It never ceases to amaze me how many Marines are into 40K. I guess it appeals to the Holy Warrior in all of us. Sorry to hear your in CA, or I'd say lets start up a game. I'm in NY right now. RPG's like this are pretty cool, but the people who play them are not the most socially adept folks in the world, and a trip to a local game store can represent a frightening journey into a world of esoteric dork-humor and mediochre-to-poor hygeine. My local Games Workshop smells like a locker room and echoes with heated debates about the comparative ca[abilities of dwarfs and Orks and so on. Its not the sort of place you'd want to bring your girlfriend.

I think the hobby is a bit more main-stream in the UK, but in The States it is still largely the stomping ground of strange misfits and aspergers-syndrome sufferers who smell like boiled cabbage. Even the Hobby-Store in Jacksonville is the same way, despite the occaisional staff NCO creeping about and trying not to be noticed.

There were a few guys in my unit who were big closet-40k fans, including one of my Sergeants (who also, incidentally, had terrible hygiene. What's with that trash, anyway?), but I think an RPG is a bit beyond the pale for most folks, even bored Marines.

That's why I set up an online game. I'm the GM for now, and I've got two other players, one of which is a good friend of mine. We're kind of just getting started, and the pace is much slower than a game in person, but its been fun. Post here if you're interested.

I'll provide details.

Semper Fi

NY huh? The on-line thing souds interesting; do you have some more info?

just remember what makes the grass grow...

I'll drop a post with more info on here later on tonight. Till then...

SGT877 said:

Sunlight, proper exposure to air, moisture and mineral rich soil?

Or do you mean BLOOD!

Blood makes the grass grow... water is for healing broken bones, hurps, aids, amputations, etc.... when taken with Ibuprofen.

I trhougt it was Gatorade. After all, it is what plants crave...

Nullius said:

Of course you would. The more ashamed you seem over your hobbies, and the more you try to hide them the more of a turn-off it'll be. If you can walk into such a place, hand in hand with your lady with confidence, a straight back, and talk lingua geek-is with the others in the store and not seem the least bit embarassed about it, she'd have to be a REEEEALLY shallow woman if she'd want to break up with you over that. (seriously it's like breaking up with someone for not putting down the toilet seat)

As long as you can be just as passionate with her as you can be about discussing the fact that Orks will kick dwarven ass any day of the week (or vice versa), and she's not a shallow, empty husk of an excuse for a human being, you'll be fine. I mean, it's not like she got interested in you for your hobbies in the first place, right?

//Varnias Tybalt - who accepts the fact that some hobbies might hold a larger stigma in other countries than his own, but at the same time is very much aware of the fact that stigma is mostly just inside our own head rather than a tangible social phenomenon.

There is a Dark Heresy play-by-post game being started on www.rpgrm.com.

Link to the game is:

http://www.rpgrm.com/rmsmf/index.php?board=386.0

BR Juergen

Varnias Tybalt said:

Oh my dear Varnius, twas a valiant defense. But there are many types of girls and many sorts of hobbies and some of them do not mix. Alas, hot girls can be shallow, and uncomprehending of the finer points of ork vs dwarf combat, and most find the smell of stale cabbage to be less then stimulating (I don't blame them). Getting layed is very important, even in the Grim Dark Future. Sacrifices must occaisionaly be made : )

Sgt 877. I'm trying to open a link to my Play by post game, but the server for the site seems to be down. I'll post again later with the URL. You can get a look at it and see whether its your thing.

Ah. There it goes.

This is the URL.

http://www.storycrafter.com/story/index.php?storyid=4822&mlogout=true

The name of the campaign is Calixis Confidential. What you see on the page are three character preludes. They are sort of like mini-adventures which give the players a chance to see if they're into it and stretch their legs a bit with the rules. The pace of posting is, at minimum, once per 48 hours and can get more often depending on schedules. Characters are randomly generated and then adjusted throughout the prelude.

Each character has two threads. The narrative threads are the actual story and dialogue, uncluttered by out of game referances and dice-rolling. The "tabletop" sections contain the dice-rolling, shooting the breeze, etc. It works out pretty well.

Its all abit literary, I know, but its a fun alternative to finding a gaming group. Occaisionally we'll play real time games utilizing a webite thats designed for that purpose (still shopping around)

'Fall of the house of Drake' is a finished tale. 'At What Price Victory' and 'The Shadow of His Hand' are still active. Once a couple of players are through their preludes, we'll get on to the campaign, which will be a mix of published material and stuff of my own devising.

Give me a heads up if you're still interested, or anyone else for that matter..

I'll check it out.

Nullius said:

Im only valiant when im right, and regarding this subject I am. Remember, that the more stale cabbage the other nerds smell like, the better you will seem by comparison when you don't smell of stale cabbage. It's all about making her think: "Whew, im glad my nerd boyfriend isn't as bad as those other nerds."

It's surprising how far you can get with self-confidence alone and not much else going for ya. You know, as long as you make sure you don't smell of stale cabbage that is.

Soap and cologne are great products!

Varnias Tybalt said:

You're pretty funny, Varnius. I'll laugh about this statement for the rest of the day. I think you should write a dating self-help book for nerds. I like to think you've had a great deal of romantic success with this philosophy, and I don't want to hear otherwise. You're a fracking stud in my book.

: )

Nullius said:

Now about my romantic successes that's a private matter and I don't kiss and tell. If you or anyone else want to call me a fraud because I don't feel like bragging then that's your prerogative.

But for the sake of argument, my line of thinking and my opinions do come from somewhere other than idealistic bullsh*t. If you'd speak with any of my friends and relatives they'd tell you that im not an idealist at all. In fact, the brunt of my confidence and even happiness stems from a perspective I have. A perspective that some have said to be depressing, nihilistic, anti-social and even misanthropic at times. I don't really agree with them, but they are entitled to their opinions aren't they?

And I assure you that im not that stereotypical goth/pseudo-emo guy who cries out for attention. In fact im a pretty happy and carefree nihilist. Sure the world might go straight to hell, but that won't bother me in the slightest. I just focus on what's closest to me at the present, and the things I like and by so doing feeling pretty unperturbed about the standard stuff that most people worry about (like how attractive they are to the opposite sex, how well liked they are, how much status and fame they have acquired etc. etc.). That might be considered selfish and arrogant, but really im quite a nice guy once you get to know me. And while im not very inclined to care about the israeli/palestinian conflict, or about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's latest adoptive baby, or whether that completely unkown girl by the bar thinks my hobbies are making me "unattractive" or not, I care very much about my closest friends and relatives wellbeing and happiness.

I guess that this carefree and serene attitude I have an appeal to some people, while others might not even notice me (because I don't really strive towards getting noticed), and some negative fellows consider me an under-achiever. But that doesn't bother me much, im happy with the way I am, and that's all that matters really.

Let's face it, we're an insignificant species living on a small and unimportant planet in a huge and uncaring universe, and nothing we do can ever change that fact. That's just the way things are, and there's no need to get bitter over it or feel depressed about it. Just do what you like to do, and don't be ashamed about it. We're only capable of experiencing reality from a subjective standpoint after all, so why bother caring about what the collective at large thinks about you and your actions? It's not like the world is gonna change because you do.

Well, that's just the way I think. And if that makes me a stud then, well, if you say so. A few girls have agreed with you. Well, girls that aren't so overly neurotic that they feel insulted by me being a bit too "oblivious" about their looks than they are used to guys being.

It's actually a bit wierd how often a few women can think that all you really want is to get inside their panties. Those girls tend to not like me very much, and some have even called me coldhearted or have tried to question my sexual orientation (which I have found to be profoundly hilarous every time). But hey, you can't be liked by everybody. That's just how it is.

Other girls have said that they are intrigued by my aloof, brooding and carefree manner. Just the other day when I got off the bus this gorgeous girl came up to me and handed me a note saying that she thought I looked like an interesting person along with her email if I ever wanted to get in touch.

Sure I was a bit caught off guard because, as usual, I was completely oblivious and had spent most of the busride reading and watching the scenery fly by outside the windows, not noticing her very much or that she had checked me out during the time. But I was impressed by her candid and straightforward manner and I have followed it up. I guess only time will tell what it might lead to.

Now I don't consider myself being good looking, or very remarkable (even if I do dress and act a in a way out of the ordinary). But I think you can tell that I have special/nerdy interests by looking at me in a casual enviroment. And if an oblivious, aloof, proud nerd like myself can pique the interests from members of the opposite sex, when im not even trying to do so. Then I find it hard to believe that something so insignificant like a hobby would discourage women completely...

..Or it could just be the fact that I don't smell like stale cabbage, even if it was a really hot day at the time.

(as for the hygiene part, I used a perfume-free deodorant, and a touch of mens perfume. Because I think that perfumed deodorant's tend to smell too much alcohol and be a bit overpowering so I use two specialized products instead of an "all-in-one". I guess we shouldn't believe the Axe commercials after all. )

But, that's quite enough of side-tracking on my part. I just wanted to explain some of my life philosophy, and while I can't guarantee that anyone living by it will melt the heart of every woman they meet, I think that the lack of desperation and carefree attitude that comes from it can appeal to many (I mean, isn't it safe to say that desperate and overly careful people seem a bit "tense" and akward to be around?).

Remember to keep an eye out a bit more than I do though if you hope to score. Because according to my more perceptive friends, I have let a lot of chances for casual sex just slide by me, because I just wasn't thinking too much about it at the time.

//Varnias Tybalt - oblivious and brooding, but happy nontheless

Talk about text Tybalt. Ever thought or have writing/written your own book?

Well, I said you should write a dating self-help book for nerds, and it turns out you've already written the first chapter! (or two) : )

In all seriousness, you're absolutely right and in the end, peace with yourself is all you really have in the world. Just remember that, when the day comes that you meet a girl who really puts the 40K in your Warhammer, to look outside yourself and strive to not be solipsistic or nihilistic in a way that alienates her or drives her away (and I'm not talking about anything superficial like hobbies or personal appearance, I'm talking about open mindedness and generosity of spirit) . You'll be doing yourself a favor, and you just might fall in love in the process. What's more, guys like yourself often end up in the most long-lasting, satisfying realtionships because you hide nothing from the begining.

But, when you meet her, make sure you're paying attention. She'll be the one smiling at you for no reason...(maybe you met her already)

I wish you well, my good Nihilist. Best regards to Nietzsche and the great, bottomless abyss.

: )

Nullius said:

Well someone has to keep check of the bottomless abyss. What if something creeps up from it?

So far I have only fallen in love once. Rather embarassing really, because I was confident in the thought that I was simply too disintrested in others to fall in love. But still, it happened. It was great at first, but eventually it turned sour. Sour because when I can actually live up to the principles, ideals and behaviour I proclaim, she couldn't.

And while you may be right that guys like me end up in the most long-lasting and satisfying relationships, we're just as likely not ending up in any relationships at all.

I guess im just one of those gents that Johnny Cash sang about in the song "Solitary Man".

Lucky for me im not that troubled about it... It is sad how much panic some people feel over the thought of not finding a good partner. What's even more sad is the fact that we have entire industries devoted to fuel this panic, and convincing people that you aren't worth anything if you can't find and catch such a person. (the so called "self-help book" industry, being one of them. Which probably serves to explain why I wouldn't want to get involved with it in the slightest).