Hello everyone! This year I took a sabbatical from pbp games for some personal reasons. But my mental state has improved and I'm thinking about jumping back in with an offering of Strange Aeons!
My question is about a dillema that just KILLS me as a GM in pbp. It seems like there would be infinite time in this medium, and therefore easy GMing. But that's not what I find. And the workload makes the games unfun after a few months. At a table I can roll some dice and say "Hey Quantos, what is your AC?" and get an instant response. But in pbp I have to it all and it sucks.
Here is the dillema:
ON THE ONE HAND In order avoid bogging down Combat to where people will lose interest I must check all the sheets, roll all the inits, resolve every little action, look up everyone's ACs, roll all the saves, double check everyone's feats, roll damage, check for modifiers, advance initiative, ect. ON THE OTHER HAND, in order to avoid losing interest in the game because this is such hard work I must NOT do all those things myself. I must post things like "okay everyone roll will saves", and "Okay, the monster attacks . Does that hit you, Quantos?"
The result is that many complicated combat posts, especially above level 5, just take hours to write. I have tried all the clever excel tracking sheets and macros and even C# console apps to make this easier, but the fact is, it's just too much.
Does anyone have any suggestions that can solve my dillema?
Really glad I got that "1" roll out of the way though. It won't hit me in a game:)
Maybe if you have some contact over a medium where people tend to reply more quickly - Google hangouts or something - you could ask quick questions there?
Alternately a simpler RPG system might work better than PF over play by post.
If players post things like AC and HP and save bonuses in the classes/levels section of their characters profile you can see most of the important things at a glance. (assuming you are running on the pazio forums}
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Honestly, the key to PbP GMing is having a group that keeps their sheets up-to-date and has the GM do mass rolls. That way, you can glance at the sheet, see that it hits and roll damage. With Will saves, I'll either spoiler the info for the player to make the save (honor system on that spoiler) or roll for them.
It goes way, way faster.
I put my players' PCs into a HeroLab file so I always have access to their stats. It takes some time up-front (less if they use HeroLab themselves and can just e-mail me the file), and I have to apply the changes at level-up; but I can easily double-check their speed, to-hit with various weapons, AC, saves, skill checks, etc., not to mention making it easier to bot the character if they're unavailable.
In a perfect world, all the players keep their profiles updated with current hp, spell effects, etc. In the real world, I have to admit that I don't do this all the time.
{Also, flagging this to be moved to the Online Campaigns General Discussion forum.}
Hm. Slothsy's suggestion of using spoilers for saves would be a load off.
Several suggestions for you.
1) DM rolls Group Initiative and Group Perception. I use ShortKeys to create macros. I think you get 15 of them in the free version or at least you used to. I purchased it a while ago.
example: (takes six characters to do this: -- r-in (without the space))
2) Use Google Drawings for maps, and use each alias as their token on the map. That way, the players can move their own tokens/pcs within reason.
3) I use Sticky Notes to keep track of a) initiative order, b) AC, hp, max hp, c) foe stats, and d) unseen by players, the dice rolls for foe attacks.
ie, here is the latest cut'n'paste for my Rise of the Runelords sticky note:
This way, players know what order they go in, and basic information on their foe, so they know if they hit, their spell works, etc.
4) Within the DM summary, foe turn post, I will put things like the following, lets say if the foe casts a suggestion spell on Adolina.
This way, players roll their own saves and know how to act whether they pass or fail.
5) Require certain information in the race/class line of the alias.
Here is what I have in my Ranger alias:
Race: TN Male Human Ranger(Trapper) 1; (HP 13/13 AC:16 T:12 F:14 Saves F:+4 R:+4 W:+2 CMB:+4 CMD:16 Init:+4 Perc: +6)
Class:
This way, you as the DM have the needed information at your fingertips.
Good luck DMing and good gaming.
-- david
I've put a lot of thought into this.
Here are things that make everything easier:
1) Player Headers with quick summary information
Everyone has already talked about this, but it's worth repeating.
2) Preformatted Initiative, Perception and Group Save Rolls
I keep mine in a google doc.
3) A botting policy
Tell everyone how long they have before they get botted.
4) "Bot me!" spoilers in player character sheets.
I've started requiring these. They are preformatted dice rolls that the players have come up with for likely actions and that can be used for cut/paste.
5) When the workload gets high, asking the players if any of them want to bot other players in case of absences.
I stole this idea from GM Red's lightning fast table in Sky Key Solution. The players botted each other to keep the game moving at its crazy pace. Awesome!
I don't do that often, but it works well if everyone buys into it. In January, I'm going to be running two games at once. I've already asked for player volunteers who might be willing to bot each other.
Knowledge Checks in Spoilers
When there's something to roll for, provide it in advance so that the players can act on it immediately.
Hmm
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*takes a seat under the learning tree*
I like a lot of the ideas here. I put my "macros" (usually just initiative and Peception) in the Campaign Info tabs of my threads. Then it's just a quick click and copy-paste to get them into the game thread. Here's my Strange Aeons version.
I'll also do "macros" for pain-in-the-butt combat sequences, which become more common at higher levels (where combat can take even longer). I'll write up the series of five attacks, say, and then send it to myself in an email so I can just copy-paste it:
[ dice=Bite]1d20+79[/dice]
[ dice=Damage]3d20[/dice]
[ dice=Claw]1d20+79[/dice]
[ dice=Damage]3d20[/dice]
[ dice=Claw]1d20+79[/dice]
[ dice=Damage]3d20[/dice]
[ dice=Tail]1d20+79[/dice]
[ dice=Damage]3d20[/dice]
[ dice=Wing]1d20+79[/dice]
[ dice=Damage]3d20[/dice]
If you roll a crit threat in combat, just add the confirmation check at the end of the sequence, so it doesn't recalculate where all the 20s go (and change the results of the attack sequence). I also try to make sure I identify most of my rolls, as above, so players can check and make sure they really were hit as much as I indicate. (Some rolls remain more secret with no description of what they are, just to keep some suspense...)
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Definitely have players put certain info in their aliases/posts. I actually prefer when it's done in individual posts, though. As a player, I put a "quick stats" spoiler at the top of any combat post, which lets me see current use of resources, ongoing effects, etc. This recent post (not my finest post in terms of role-play) has an example. I actually do that more for myself as a player, but I really like it when my players do it in games I GM. It really helps me keep track of things.
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I also usually let my players save. Generally, if there at risk, I'll write something along the lines of: Blah blah blah, fireball explodes . If it's a situation that I have to know immediately, I'll roll it for them (but I can also generally avoid that problem because I do grouped initiatives, so basically the players all act without interruption).
Grouped initiatives are a huge time-saver, IMO. While combat may be a little less organic, it also IMO makes it very easy for players to know who's up. I find as a player I get really lost in non-group initiative unless the GM constantly posts at the end of his posts whose turn it is (which IMO is a must if not using grouped initiative).
I agree grouped init is the way to go, but how do you keep track of, and communicate, who still needs to post? In past I've done an init order bloc like this, which works super well, but takes forever to format. Even if I use a google doc i'm still adding back in the [bold] tags each round, or keeping lots of copies of the bloc in various states, in which case I get lost myself!
I wish I could just give everyone a penny and have them return 'em when they take their turn, haha!
round 15 actions remaining
Kevian
Lucilla
Jorgan
KillerbetaFries
Doomania
Monsters
I do a spoilered initiative block at the top of each in-combat post, so I just copy and paste that from round to round. It's just typing in:
[ spoiler=Round X] (Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V) [/spoiler]
I resolve everyone's actions after everyone's posted (rarely, if I have time, I'll resolve something mid-round, but I think that just adds confusion). Ideally, everyone posts within 12-24 hours of my post, so it flows smoothly.
In games that I've been in without grouped initiative, it's generally done with an OOC comment. This post is probably a good example (open up the Round 1 spoiler).
Slade slices the incorporeal creature and feels a howl of cold air as it silently screams! Because it is incorporeal, only half the damage goes through.
Rolander and Illia are up!
^ This how I do it. I note recent actions of each creature in a one word summary, as well as on going conditions and hp damage of NPCs. People who's turn it is are bolded.
I keep a copy of the tracker in my current google docs.
Yes, it's totally transparent.
If a monster has mirror images, I also note how many of those are still active like this:
These little notations help both players and myself track the combat.
Hmm
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Thanks for your answers everyone. I think you've given me the confidence to proceed with my game. If you want to play Strange Aeons, you are invited! Recruitment posted here.
Love,
MayDay
I'm glad we could be of service.
Hmm