Gaming From Afar—20 Rova 4717

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

One of my favorite things about Pathfinder Society (and now Starfinder Society) derives from the portability of the campaign. I started playing during Season 2 of Pathfinder Society. Since then, I've lived in three different locations (four, if you count my home in Las Vegas.) No matter where my family moved, we either found a Pathfinder Society community or built one. Being able to game anywhere made it easier to pick up roots and move again, knowing there would be a group of friends waiting at my destination.

But what happens when you don't have people nearby, or work a non-traditional schedule, or family commitments get in the way of participating in local games. Great news. Not only do we have thriving gaming communities centered on physical locations, we have a robust online scene as well. The partnership of Paizo with several Virtual Tabletops gives a variety of platforms for play. In addition, the Play-by-Post (PbP) community hosts loads of games. And that is the focus of our blog this week.

Instead of bringing my limited knowledge to the table, I'm handing the keys of the keyboard to our esteemed PbP Venture-Lieutenant Hilary Moon Murphy (HMM). She'll give you the ins and out of participating in one of the most roleplay driven gaming styles.

Before I do that, I want to call out two other organized play items. The first involves the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. Due to a few crossed wires, <<Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild #4-1—Chasing Yellow Sailsreleased in its' entirety last week. Next up, a special promotional adventure Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild #4-P1—Murder in the Marketplace that ties into the upcoming Hell's Vengeance Character Deck releasing in October.

I also wanted to point everyone to the Roleplaying Guild Additional Resources section of the website. Thanks to John & Linda, the updates are ready for June, July, and August publications.

The Play-by-Post Community

In December of 2014, I stumbled into my very first Play-by-Post game as a replacement player. It was a bizarre We Be Goblins game that turned into a musical. Everyone was engaged, the story was a delight, and I found myself refreshing constantly throughout the day for updates of the wacky antics of my fellow players and this delightful story that we created as a team.

It's also the moment that I fell in love with Play-by-Post, realizing the myriad possibilities of gaming in this manner.

An Assortment of Cool Things

Story-Driven and Flavor-Filled. Play-by-Post is Immersive, and offers the opportunity for rich roleplay. You can do things in Play-by-Post that may not be feasible at an in-person table. Characters often reveal hidden thoughts and motivations, building out a character's rich backstory. Snarky familiars can get their own avatars and become fully fledged party members. You can split the party, offer side adventures, brooding interior monologues... all without slowing down the game for others. As a GM, one of the things that I love to do is bring out the quirky and varied settings of Golarian. Play-by-Post gives more time for party exploration and discovery.

Inclusive & Easy to Schedule. "You don't have to actually leave your home or talk to anyone to play" wrote a PbPer named Lady Ladile: "It's a fantastic medium for the shy, the introverted, the home-bound, the anxious, the stay-at home parent, the busy worker, etc. You don't have to leave your family, or try to wrangle several people's schedules in order to play maybe once a month if you're lucky. You don't have to speak if you're not comfortable with speaking or not good at speaking. All you need is some sort of internet-capable device and a connection. As someone who is shy, introverted, works an oddball schedule, and isn't a good speaker or quick-thinker, this is a key reason that I love PbP as much as I do."

A Warm & International Community of Gamers. In our most recent special, I noticed GMs that hailed not only from North America, but also from Indonesia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore and Switzerland. Most of the tables I've played at have been international in some way. PBP allows you to make friends with people from all over the world, and our lodges love welcoming new players.

Some Things to Consider

Play-by-Post can be Slow. Games take weeks to complete, and your characters will be tied up in that game for the full run. However, that slowness also gives you time to think about your next move.

People can flake sometimes. Just like no-shows in real life games, sometimes people disappear. In all the PBP lodges players and GMs look out after each other; we all know that actual life can sometimes get in the way of the game. If a replacement is needed they are found quickly; no game is orphaned long.

Want to Try It Out?

Play-by-Post Gameday VI starts August 25th! A few of our GMs have even reserved seats specifically for players new to Play-by-Post! This is our annual Play-by-Post Convention, one that you can attend without leaving home. We'd love to have you try out a game, and come be a part of our community too.

Have questions about PbP, ask them here! Our community of PBP veterans are happy to share their experiences.

Hilary Moon Murphy
Venture Lieutenant, Play-by-Post

Tune in next week for a summary of this month's Starfinder Society and Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild scenario offerings!

Until then—Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Manager

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Organized Play Pathfinder Society
4/5

Viva le PbP!

The Exchange *

Title wrote:
Gaming From Afar—20 Rova 4716

should be 4717.

Betle wrote:
Wednesday, September 13, 2017

should the 20.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Adventurer's Armoury 2 is missing its title under the Additional Resources. It's underneath the first book and lists the butchering axe, so it's not impossible to find, but a title distinguishing itself would be great. Right now it just says the Pathfinder Player Companion.

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 *** Venture-Agent, Nebraska—Omaha

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I've been on the lookout for the card game adventure! Ahhh!

Grand Lodge 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Venture-Captain, Minnesota

7 people marked this as a favorite.

Whoa. My blog finally appeared! Wooo!

Let me say that PBP Gameday is still going... There are still GMs starting up games, and if you're interested in GMing PBP, you can still find players.

If any of you have questions, I would be more than happy to answer!

Hmm

Grand Lodge 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Venture-Captain, Minnesota

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Grandmaster TOZ wrote:
Viva le PbP!

Funny thing about that.... We have games in both Spanish and French this year, going on other forums. We are in fact working on launching a PFS PBP lodge on Pathfinder-FR! Eric Collins, VC of Paris is running a Starfinder game in French over there right now!

So Vive les jeux par forums!

Hmm


Murders on the Marketplace is awesome, thanks a bunch!


I am a relatively new player in PBP and I have some input from a new player perspective. First off, the community is really awesome about answering your questions very quickly. I think anytime O asked anything, within hours people were there to help. So if you have any questions before starting, don't hesitate.

Second, they reserve spots in lots of games for new players. This is a huge help for if you don't know where to start. So you can start up usually pretty quickly and the GM is normally really understanding of you being new.

If you are on the fence about joining one, I would say go ahead and give it a try. One game isn't a huge time commitment each day and it is really fun. We have a great community and I hope that this helps convince more to join us!

Sovereign Court 3/5

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Yay for PbP - everyone i've played with has been friendly and fun to game with.

New players are always welcome!

Good job on your blog post Hmm :)

Grand Lodge 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Venture-Captain, Minnesota

7 people marked this as a favorite.

Out of nowhere, an orchestra starts up.

A spot light shines and Hilary Moon Murphy steps into it, singing.

♫ So many gameplays
Aren’t they neat?
Wouldn’t you think my collection’s complete?
Wouldn't you think I'm the girl
The girl who has everything?

Now in our forums
Scenarios unfold
How many stories can these forums hold?
Lookin' around here you'd think
Sure
It's got everything

We’ve got PFS Play-by-Posts a plenty
We’ve got Flaxseed, Mythweavers and more
Multitable special’s tables numbering
Over twenty
‘Cause we care
It’s our deal
We want more!

I wanna be where the posting is
I wanna see, wanna see ‘em playin’
Bringin’ deep roleplay to--what do ya’ call ‘em?--oh, games

In real life you can’t read their thoughts
Interior monologues are just a cipher
But play-by-post lets you dive deep into character’s brains

Up where they post
Throughout the day
Not lettin’ timezones get in their way
Wand’ring free
(Hittin’ CTRL-Z)
Part of that world

Reach for the sky
Give it a try
Playin’ in text mode
Deep in roleplay
Few posts a day
The story we’ll span!
Come take my hand
You’ll understand
That you’ve hit the RP mother lode
PCs with layers
Friendly players
More than you planned!

Are you ready to know what our players know
Ask us some questions
And get some answers
Try a game hook and—what's the word?—learn?

When's it your turn?
It’s not just hype
It’s there for all of those who can type!
Try PbP
Wish you could be
Part of that world

Try PbP
Wish you could be
Part of our world ♫

Source: Part of Your World from Little Mermaid

Sczarni 5/5 5/55/5 ***

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Usually when people type lyrics, even if they reference the originals, I just can't hear it in my head.

But I'm a big Little Mermaid fan (and my name's Eric to boot!), so "hearing" this made my day ^_^

4/5 5/5

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Great read Hmm!

If you happen to read this and have no clue where to start PbP gaming: The Flaxseed Lodge (for Pathfinder Society) and Castamir's Flaxseed Station (for Starfinder Society) are great places to start!

Silver Crusade 4/5

Huzzah well said Hmm!

If you don't have enough Pathfinder and/or Starfinder in your life, that's the best thing about PbP, now you can play a little bit of your favorite RPGs everyday!

It's great! Come join us!

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