Some of the inspiration behind our Hellfire Club
Dungeons & Dragons GTA 2.1k members
Dungeons & Dragons Hamilton 1.4k members
The London Ontario Dungeons & Dragons Party 1.8k members
I have been following groups and groups like this for some time. Some of this was to identify potential markets for my products. Some of it was to interact and learn more about the community that my business aims to serve. The fact that there was a bit of fun involved was a nice bonus.
As they grow, Facebook groups and pages take on a life of their own. I'm not going to bore you with the ORIGINAL motives behind these groups but I can tell you what they look like now. They are informative, they are tools to help share new projects, they share a lot of memes & good humour and they also appear to be a great (the only?) place where players can ask for places to play. This is the one that especially caught my eye.
The success rate of game matchmaking appears to be quite low. Many requests go unresponded and likely unfulfilled. I believe that this presumed purpose exceeds the capability of the groups involved. No one gets to actually meet anyone in advance and feel them out to see if they might be a fit. This challenge is one that has always been faced since when these games were invented.
Ultimately, I believe that players are left with very few options if they don't find a live game:
- just don't play and keep dreaming that somehow you'll find that magical group
- wait for events to come up where you'll get a chance to join a table, if only for one day
- sign up to play online. It's reasonably safe, secure and a solid option to scratch that itch
- pay to play in a live game with someone with risk involved. Distance, cost and quality of experience are key considerations
This is where I hope that Brantford's own chapter of The Hellfire Club can help.
I'm not in the business of collecting Followers for the sake of Facebook metrics. I believe that more members that can be connected means a greater chance that some of those requests to play get converted into live, sustainable experiences. This Club won't build the community as much as gather the substantial one that already exists. Frankly, it doesn't know just how big it really is.
We do support pay-to-play for the superior live gameplay experience. We believe in providing value for those who play. We believe in using our club to help provide opportunities for the members to meet in person - this helps to provide access to more information to make informed decisions on using their money to play. We believe in using the funds collected to help remove some of the hurdles to providing experiences in Brantford & area for live game events, trials of new products, teaching new players to play, helping experienced players make that leap to becoming a Dungeon Master and expanding community access to locations friendly to our game.
After only one month of a Facebook group, we have already had our first meet up. We expect to have recurring opportunities to have accessible live games, separate from these events. A recurring learn-to-play program is expected to start this summer. A mini-convention (one day with approximately 40-50 players, 3-4 vendors) is quite possible before September. I've already hinted at a larger scale event (100 players?) to take place before 2027. My business model reinvests to grow and it transfers so perfectly to this Club that a Brantford RPG Convention is easily conceivable by spring of next year. If some of our members seem super stoked when they talk about the Club, it's because I've probably already shared this vision in person.
Our early success of 50+ members in the first month is no accident. I have been glad to invest some of the effort and financing required to shortcut our way from "scattered" to "fledgling band of rabblerousers". I will continue and I hope that the community enthusiasm continues. The next steps of growth involve our Club members being inspired enough to share, interact and invite others to join.
Let's see where we can take this. Keep Lootin'!
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