Society Play-by-post questions

[Derek Weil]

Hi,

I am currently GMing my first scenario via play-by-post. I'm a bit nervous, but very optimistic so far. I do have a question or two, though.

If players drop out, and I only have three, can I use an appropriate pregen?

Can I roll initiative for the group, or does that violate Organized Play rules?

I'm sure there are others, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Nebten]

1) If you move fast enough, players shouldn't drop out. Typically, its not hard to field a table of 6 PCs. I've seen one, maybe 2 drop out at the most during a typical scenario. Modules on the other hand could be an issue.

While this is not official, I would say no, you can't add a pre-gen. It would be no different then a PC dying during the game. You can't just use a pre-gen to fill in for the dead PC. I recommend GM's audit their players to make sure that they are reliable to stay on board for the whole game. If they have a history of flaking out mid game, then don't select them for your group.

2) The better GM's roll initiative for the group. It is a kindness that allows the game to run smoother. Nothing bogs down a game more in PbP then when the GM asks for each player to roll initiative on their own time. It could take days for everybody to get their roll in. I recommend the GM rolling player's initiatives, saving throws, & intuitive skills. This keeps the game moving along at a good pace.

I find it good manners though to notify the PCs before the scenario starts that you will be make these rolls on behalf of them. I invite each PC to double check the roll to make sure all proper modifiers are accounted for.

Good luck on the boards!

[N N 959]

It's not uncommon in PbP for the GM to re-open the muster if players are lost.

Regarding rolling initiative, imo, a better way to handle this is have the players pre-roll initiative in an OOC thread. Ask for 10 rolls ahead of time. If you burn through those, ask for 10 more.

The bottom line with PbP and speed is that if the players aren't posting, it doesn't matter what you do, the game will not progress. I recommend telling the players you reserve the right to DMPC them if they do not post within 24 hours of when they should. If they miss too many encounters, then you don't give them any XP or gold.

PbP requires players that are committed to posting. That includes the GM.

[DM Rah]

I completely agree with Nebten on all points.

Nothing kills a PbP game faster then losing momentum, and asking players to roll reactive dice, particularly with a large party, slows down the game to a crawl.

Another note to keep in mind is expediting cut scenes. If the party has just defeated an enemy, don't wait for them to say they are going to loot (because you know darn well that every last bit of lint is coming out of that goblin's pockets). You might as well get all the basics out of the way and roll one group perception for secrets, and spellcraft for those with detect magic, then hand out treasure with identifications (and let them know that they have only done a cursory search - just in case someone wants to take 20 for those who like to toss a room and do body-cavity examinations). Doing all this can shave 5 days off every encounter, which for most scenarios in PbP can mean cutting a month off the time for completion.

For ease of GMing, I'd suggest creating a Text Document for your party that has pre-formatted group rolls for the following skills: perception, initiative, sense motive, and spellcraft.