I wasn't sure if this is the right place, but it's as close as I can figure. Here's the deal, the concept of the play by post has intrigued me, but I have yet to do it. I've been playing D&D and other rpgs in some form for nearly 20 years now, and have yet to do so. I've lurked some on the various boards and read some of the posts, but for some reason I still feel like I know nothing of the genre. So I ask you tell me of playing by post, the technical aspects rather than the stories themselves. Tell me why you PbP, and how the games generally run, and what sort of setups you use to run or play in them! Thanks in advance!
*Also if this is the wrong forum for this, please move it to where it belongs, Many thanks in advance*
Proper pacing and player/GM dedication are the main hassles with play-by-post. Combat runs at a snail's pace, and you have to be willing to be flexible with things like posting order and posting times. You also have to be willing to play for years to complete something major like an adventure path.
Role-playing becomes more important than combat, and actually somewhat easier. You have tons of time to think through your posts, so you can come up with that great one-liner or flavourful description that might have been more difficult to do on the fly. Regular posting is important, though, as PbP games can easily stall. It also helps if players are willing to allow the GM to make some rolls for them (initiative, Perception checks, etc.).
Well, that's a bunch of random thoughts. Others will have more.
Just spotted this on my rounds. You will have much more luck with this thread in the 'Gamer Connection' forum, this forum is generally for active games OOC chat. I have flagged for the thread to be moved to Gamer Connection and i'll weigh in later when I have more time.
Thanks!
Proper pacing and player/GM dedication are the main hassles with play-by-post. Combat runs at a snail's pace, and you have to be willing to be flexible with things like posting order and posting times. You also have to be willing to play for years to complete something major like an adventure path.
Role-playing becomes more important than combat, and actually somewhat easier. You have tons of time to think through your posts, so you can come up with that great one-liner or flavourful description that might have been more difficult to do on the fly. Regular posting is important, though, as PbP games can easily stall. It also helps if players are willing to allow the GM to make some rolls for them (initiative, Perception checks, etc.).
Well, that's a bunch of random thoughts. Others will have more.
Hmmm, I was curious to how much time does one usually devote or need to devote to a PbP?
Stewart as a fellow longtime gamer [20+ years] I only started getting involved in pbp this year. Main reason was my "real life" gaming group pretty much died, and I was making no headway in recruiting a new game.
Considered pbp as an option before, but took the bull by the horns and fired in a character for recruitment [Skane on my profile].
Honestly the experience has been great; roleplaying is very good - in the game threads its pretty much all in character and I honestly see it as writing a collective book, with a narrator thrown in.
I'm now in 2 pbp, being considered for another and plan to run my own [a rehash of a couple of old TSR UK modules] in the fall.
Timewise depends on the game and your availability of posting - I tend to post at least once a day in all the games I'm involved with. Setting up is probably the biggest time taker - I'd advise creating some characters and having them ready for potential submission to a game [easier to tweak than complete build] but it depends how quick you are at pulling characters and ideas together. Again as a DM I'm currently doing ALOT of background and prep, with an eye on posting at least once or twice a day when my pbp starts. Most DM's will outline what they expect pretty quickly for potential players.
Hope that helps!
There's a few reasons I get into the PbP. I recently just started playing them. I was invited by a friend a few years ago and started but we only got to one encounter then it died. I began reading the Paizo forums, and jumped into a PbP recruitment while my RL game hadn't met for a few weeks.
Now I'm addicted. I run a game and play in about 7. What I like about it is that every time I make a character, I come up with a different concept in mind. A new PbP opens, and I get to make that concept and play it, thinking of a new concept at the same time. It allows me to make and play all my concepts at once.
It also allows me to play D&D EVERY DAY, which is a big deal for me. I only ever played MMO's, because I couldn't get a group or the time to play D&D every day. With PbP, I can play any one of my characters, any time of any day. I am never without a game going on. Being in more than one, means that if it hits a slow patch, I have something happening in the others.
I have a service desk job, where I wait for the phone to ring. I can sit and update both at home and at work.
But most PbP only require at least 1 post a day, maybe less. So being in only one, there isn't a large commitment.
Another thing to be aware of is mapping. The one thing that you have to duplicate that you may normally have at the table is the map. I'm a map junkie, and need a visual most of the time. If you look at the threads there are a few about mapping programs. Then all you do is get like a photo account (e.g. Flikr, Photobucket) and you can post them their to link them.
As mentioned above they are also much more Role-play focused. Considering combat takes so long to resolve normally, those that get impatient between fight and during the talky parts are more often than not unimpressed with PbP. The in character conversations in a lot of the PbP's are more involved and well thought out, and sometimes players will just spend their time speaking to one another IC, while the Dm is away or preparing stuff.
Overall, I really enjoy them.
Seems to be a popular topic recently. Check out this recent thread.
See the stickied thread at the top as well, which is also about PBP Q&A.
Thanks everyone for the awesome info!