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Overview Obsidian is a free, locally-stored Markdown note-taking application that the TTRPG community has widely adopted as a campaign wiki, session planner, and lore database. Originally designed as a personal knowledge management tool, it stores everything as plain text files on your own machine with no subscription required. Description Unlike purpose-built platforms such as World Anvil, Obsidian was not designed with TTRPGs in mind, which means it arrives without templates, stat block support, or any TTRPG-specific structure out of the box. GMs who want those features need to install and configure community plugins themselves, which carries a steeper setup cost than dedicated alternatives. For those comfortable with that process, however, the result is a highly customizable system with no ongoing fees and no vendor lock-in. A thriving plugin ecosystem has filled most of the gaps, and the tool has become a genuine alternative to subscription-based worldbuilding platforms for technically comfortable Game Masters. System Overview & Key Features The Vault System Obsidian organizes everything into a "vault", a folder of plain Markdown files stored locally on your machine. Your campaign notes are portable, readable in any text editor, and not tied to any server or subscription. There is no proprietary format and no account required to access your own files. Bidirectional Linking Obsidian's core feature is its wiki-style linking. Typing [[The Silver Throne Tavern]] in a session note creates a connection to that location's article, tracked in both directions. You can click any note and immediately see every other note that references it, from quest hooks to NPC backstories. Graph View Every link in your vault is visualized as an interactive network graph. Game Masters use it to see which NPCs are the most connected, which locations have no written articles yet, and where campaign threads intersect. It is a useful overview tool for large, complex vaults. Canvas Canvas is Obsidian's built-in infinite whiteboard. Game Masters use it to map out plot arcs, organize faction relationships, or plan dungeon layouts using a drag-and-drop interface that links back to notes in the vault. TTRPG Plugin Ecosystem Obsidian has no native TTRPG features, but community plugins cover most needs. Fantasy Statblocks renders monster and NPC stat blocks from multiple game systems inside your notes. Initiative Tracker handles combat order. Dice Roller allows rolls directly from the vault. The Leaflet plugin embeds interactive, pinnable maps into location articles. Each plugin is maintained independently, so quality and update frequency varies. Templater The Templater plugin allows you to define reusable document templates. For example NPC sheet with fields for Motivation, Secrets, and Stat Block, or a session template with sections for Recap, Key Beats, and Cliffhanger. New documents can be generated from any template in a single command, which significantly reduces repetitive formatting work. The plugin ecosystem extends well beyond what is listed here, with community tools covering everything from database-style note querying and cross-device sync to interactive maps and combat automation. A full directory is available at community plugins. Additional Links obsidian.md - Official website and download obsidian.md/plugins - Community plugin directory forum.obsidian.md - Official community forum

The “LFG” struggle is real. How do you find a group to play with in 2026 “LFG D&D 5E”, “LFP D&D 2014/2024 5E”, “LFG Dungeons & Dragons” - it is very likely that you have seen (or even posted) such messages in various places. LFG, or Looking for Group, is the common acronym to indicate that you are looking for a table to join. The opposing acronym is LFM - Looking for Members. Posting these messages will wear you down eventually. Are there really no groups that have room for you? Is there something obvious that you are perhaps missing? Is the hobby not meant for you? It is natural to feel worn down by either rejection or just silence. You see a group that is looking for players, you reply and you get nothing back. Playing Dungeons & Dragons should feel like fun. Because it is fun. Find the right group that fits your style and you will absolutely fall in love with the game and look forward to every session. But. You have to get there first. You need to find a group of players to take you in and only then, can you take the next steps. Reddit, Discord, Facebook or a dedicated platform? When you are looking for a dnd group, you are faced with various different paths to take. They all have their cons and pros. Lets take a look at some of the more popular approaches: The subreddit spam Reddit has been a reliable all-inclusive platform for a long time now. With a massive amount of users all over the world covering various different topics, themes, questions, experiences and interests - it is safe to say, that reddit has everything. But including that everything, you might run into a lot of “noise”. Pros: A lot of users making many posts every day. Global platform connecting you to various people all across the globe. Cons: The noise. An active subreddit will see multiple posts every hour. Your post might get immediately covered by other redditors’ posts. Filtering the posts to find something relevant to you will be difficult, as it is all text-based and with no detailed search functions. Finding a group that is focused on a specific theme or topic will be a chore. The Discord discourse As a platform for messaging and being involved with various communities - there isn’t a good alternative to Discord. Different communities have various versions of #looking-for-group channels. And as clustered as Discord is, with everyone starting their own server, gathering users and growing a community, you are either locked to a few LFG channels - or you have to find a ton of various community servers to join, to share your post with as many pairs of eyes as you can. Pros: It is an instant messaging platform. You post - it gets sent. You get a reply, it happens instantly. And once you find a group to join, you don’t have to look further, as most likely further communication will continue on Discord. Cons: You need to know where to go. There isn’t a one-stop-shop server that gets your message out to everyone in the hobby-space. It also lacks a search functionality beyond basic text search. Unless the server you have found separates games by theme, type, timezone or some other parameter - you are usually stuck with a single channel to post and search. The Facebook fatigue You most likely already are on Facebook. Either you have an account that is collecting dust, or you use it for messaging. And similar to Discord, there are tons of various D&D LFG groups to find, join and post in. You just have to find the right one, get your join request approved and get posting. Pros: Once you find a group that fits your search criteria, you can post your message. And have people either leave a comment or message you directly. Keep in mind, that messages from users who you are not connected with will be filtered to a separate mailbox. Be sure to check there, if you are waiting for a reply. Cons: Just like the other methods listed above, Facebook also falls short when it comes to searchability. And compared to Reddit or Discord, the search functionality is even more limited. It was never designed for that. You also need to find an appropriate Facebook group to join. One that still has active users and has not been abandoned yet. The Groupfinder gateway And then there is Groupfinder. A dedicated platform for your LFG needs. Free to use, with users all across the world and a simple user interface to get you going. While other platforms are, at the end of the day, messaging boards - Groupfinder has been built from the ground-up to serve a specific purpose (You won’t be selling a lawnmower here any time soon). You are here to find a dungeons and dragons group. Pros: Filtering. Finding a group (or other players) is easy with various filtering options. Looking for an online dnd group? Limit your search results to a specific timezone. Whether you are on the east coast, central Europe, or even in Australia - you can manage who’s posts you are shown. /images/general-media/1774999635_UxGFgbcv.pngThe filtering system will help you narrow down your search Or if you are trying to find a local, in-person game - you can use the map filter to pick a specific location on the map, adjust the search radius and only be shown the groups that match your specified area. In addition to timezones, you can use the tags. You can only view groups who have added various predefined tags to their post. Looking for a game that is suitable for a newcomer - “Beginner friendly”. Want to play over messages - “Play by post”. Interested in games that have a spooky theme - “Horror”. Take a look at the various tags that you can use to filter the posts. Are you looking for a game that follows the 2014 ruleset? Pick “Dungeons & Dragons 5E”. Or are you ready to switch over to the newer rules? - “Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E (2024)”. Even if you are looking for games for another game system, like Daggerheart, Pathfinder, Shadowrun, Mothership or Savage Worlds - use the game system filter. (Read more about the popularity of alternative TTRPG systems in this article) Not currently looking to join a paid game? Understandable - you can use the “Paid game” switch to filter out all the games run by professional GMs. Cons: The platform is still growing and more people are still discovering it. How to increase the odds of your post succeeding? While there isn’t a specific and guaranteed approach that is bound to get you into a group within 5 minutes of posting. You can still follow a few suggestions to increase the odds. Who are you and what do you want?  This might sound like a line from a cheesy detective movie - but it holds some truth. Writing a compelling and descriptive profile bio will give you a massive advantage Tag appropriately. Some groups search for players via tags. If you don’t have any added to your profile, you are immediately cutting yourself out of their search results. Don’t go overboard and add all the tags. Pick only the ones that represent your preferences the best. Share your profile. All the platforms listed above are messaging boards after all. If you spot a group or players thinking about forming a party - post your profile link. Instead of sending them a wall of text, you now have a page that describes who you are, what games you are looking for, what your timezone is and displays you as someone willing to go the extra mile. Bump yourself. Bumping (Bring up my post) is how we have eliminated the constant message spam. Instead of returning every day or two to write up a new post to introduce yourself, you can take your current profile and just click the button on the right side of your cover image. That will bump your post to the top of the listings, completely refreshing it’s position. Stop wearing yourself thin Instead of spending all that time posting on various different platforms. And then doing a second lap of checking for responses - post your profile and find your dnd group.

Are you ready to rock? More importantly, are you ready to roll?!  Welcome to No Quest for the Wicked, a story driven actual play podcast! Currently in our second campaign using Paizo’s sci-fi space opera system, Starfinder, in a homebrew setting. Starring Ryan Dwyer, Dain Miller and Niall Spain. Made in Canada! Campaigns Campaign One: RECKONING Where it all began.  Set in the entirely homebrewed system of Casa-Mal, the crew of the Persistence is inadvertently plunged into a political and cosmic conspiracy that leads them on an epic planet-hopping adventure of discovery, growth, loss and learning the importance of embracing your past with the understanding that who you were and who you’re expected to be doesn’t dictate who you are. The show follows MERRICK, a four-armed warrior in self-exile as he abandons the traditions of his people to forge his own path.  DURRIN, a ratfolk ex-assassin hiding from his violent past in an effort to start over and make-up for his past atrocities.  And CODY, an amnesic android obsessed with 80s action movies desperately searching for his best friend and creator. Campaign Two: FRONTIERS FRONTIERS picks up 25 years after the catastrophic events of RECKONING with a brand new cast of characters as a mysterious, uninhabited planet suddenly appears in Casa-Mal as the system rushes to investigate, secure and settle this potential new home for those displaced.  This new adventure will focus heavily on the themes of discovery and consequence with multiple ways the audience can interact and influence the narrative. Join the Discord and participate in votes as citizens of this new planet, band together with fellow listeners and create a Faction that will be represented within the in-game universe or submit a Quirk, Conflict or Catastrophe to the random event chart that will shape the campaign. Links noquestcast.com - Official website youtube.com - Youtube channel spotify.com - Spotify feed podcasts.apple.com - Apple Podcasts feed patreon.com - Patreon page