Hello lu-mon, and welcome to the hobby, the game and these forums!
1), playing solo is fine however you do it, but a word of clarification… do you mean to play as a single character (a group of 1) or do you mean to come along by yourself and then join a group in play?
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What sort of character are you planning to play? There are many groups of players, for every nation, areas if interest, and so on. We can certainly put you in touch if you want to find someone to look for. Including some who might be more local to you than you thought…
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That’s a great idea as a new player. Even if you go solo the whole time, having someone to meet, to chat with, to hang around with is great. It gives you a spot to drop anchor, socially. EG: “Aye, I am a wanderer along the roads of the Empire, but I met these folks on the way here and am sharing their fire for this meeting…”
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While there are new player workshops and meetings and training courses (during the events, on Thursday and Friday), knowing a few folks before is a good idea, even if it’s just “Hi I chatted to you online, can I help put up your camp, what are you looking forwards to?”
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Oh yes, getting there on Thursday is a good idea for a new player. It costs a little, but it allows you to explore the area, chat to folks as they arrive, make new friends and do lots of shopping (or indeed gawking in awe
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Sanctioned events: you CAN jump into the game at these (and many folk did, over lockdown), but as you’ve found they can be pretty fighty. While PD don’t run smaller events in the winter, there are indeed quite a few sanctioned events which are likely to be more social in nature, where folk meet up to plot/chat/sing/romance/backstab each other in a convivial manner. There might still be the occasional duel. If you can tell us approximately where in the country you are and what sort of character you’re planning, we may be able to suggest some.
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There are a lot of groups on Facebook answering these questions as well. If you’d like to avoid FB, I can also have a search around myself and throw things your way.
Happy to answer any and all questions!
Here, by the way, are some useful discussions on the subject:
