Play-by-Post GMing 101 (Inactive)

Game Master Hmm

I played 6-15 Overflow Archives on my first PFS character and it was hilarious. Comical fey creatures and lots of different ways to RP them. Best of all, the creatures have distinctly different motives and personalities. The ending is great too! Everything piles into one big finale.

The only Pathfinder stories I own are the Beginner's Box and Murder's Mark. (Although Murder's Mark seems like it would be a difficult game to GM because of the sandbox aspect to it. It's just this big open carnival the PCs are free to explore.) The space seems a but daunting for a new GM.

If you want to read someone else's gameplay of it, you can look at Murder's Mark of Crows in my campaigns. It was complex, but it was one of the most fun things I have done in PbP.

Hmm

It helps that several scenarios/module PDFs are free to download, like the aforementioned evergreens (Confirmation, Wounded Wisp), the quests, and the Free RPG Day modules.

Since I'm really basic and also want to start out with something I'm already familiar with I'm probably going to run The Confirmation as my starter scenario once we're finished with GM 101. I've played it like 3 times already with various characters so it's the option I'm most familiar with already :)

(I also don't want to be overly ambitious right out of the gate and potentially ruin any desire to GM by biting off more than I can chew!)

I've seen several cool formats and symbols on the forums. Is there a master list of them? Of the code I mean.

I usually do a google search for what I want, and then copy+paste.

Google seach "Music Note Symbol" turns up:

♪
♫

Google search "Heart Symbol" turns up:

❤
♡

You can also use Google Translate to import other languages for cool effects.

Okay, awesome. I wasn't aware you could just import symbols. That's super easy!

I have been in and run several campaigns where there is an agreed upon master list of language equivalency that people use. Something like Thassalonian = hebrew, infernal = russian, celestial = thai, etc. It can be cool, but a pain in the butt if you're on a phone and there's a large swath of Other Language you need to post.

I let players decide whether they're going to use the language spoilers or not. If they're on a phone, I don't push it.

Hmm

Yeah, usually if I'm on a phone I'll just write normally and tag the words under a spoiler labeled <Language>. It's a little easier to do the actual language on my Kindle but it's still a pain compared to using a laptop/desktop.

Are you ready to begin Manor, GM Ladile?

I'd appreciate feedback on my section before we get going full steam on the manor.

I've seen several cool formats and symbols on the forums. Is there a master list of them? Of the code I mean.

There probably is a Master List but I am not familiar with the underlying code. (I don’t want to build the car or fix it. I just wanna turn the key and have it go ;)

The list of symbols I have found are all in Microsoft Word®

I am using Word 2013, running on Windows 7 but it probably works on other versions as well *shrug*

So on the top ribbon go INSERT → SYMBOL → MORE SYMBOLS

There will be a picklist window in the top left. Left-click the ↓ ‘down arrow thingy’ and scroll up and down until you see a font you want to try. There are HEAPS to choose from. My faves are MS Gothic and Segoe UI Symbol.

Now, not all of these symbols work on Paizo’s messageboards. Also I have seen some show up fine on a Windows based PC but not on IPad and vice versa. It’s a bit of trial-and-error to see what works and what doesn’t, but you’ll work out the patterns pretty quickly with practise.

The only thing I’d caution with this is:

It’s so tempting to overuse them, but really they’re a spice to the PbP game – not the ‘meat and potatoes’, which of course is dialogue and combat.

Use them too often and they get distracting and lose their impact. Used as occasional enhancements at pivotal moments – they can help make a good post great!

I enjoyed playing Dr. Quolorum because he has a lot of personality in this section, but I will certainly not be making aliases for every NPC.

Anyone have ideas for what class the good doctor might be? I think he's spot on for a Psychic Detective Investigator.

Another person appeared! :O

Ventiine pulls out Pokedex. "Hmm, yes, Yours is Mined. Gives amazing explanations of MS Word and likes PFS." Ventiine throws Pokeball.

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I might sneak over to GM Ladile's gameplay and make an in-game-night-before post to tag Elena.

I'm ready to start whenever, though we're on the cusp of when my work 'week' starts so I'll be busier for the next few days. So we've got a couple of options:

(1) I can start us as soon as everyone has had a chance to offer GM OfAnything feedback and then get dotted into the Manor gameplay/discussion threads. However, I have to work tomorrow night and Saturday night as well as all day Monday. If we start right away, I likely won't be very responsive until Sunday afternoon/evening for awhile and not until Monday evening after that.

(2) If people want a day or two breather, I can wait and start us either Sunday afternoon or Monday evening once I get home from work. After Monday I should have a few days where I'll be home and able to respond to posts more quickly.

Either option is fine with me, just let me know what you want to do!
___________

As far as feedback goes...I liked the pacing and I also liked your portrayal of the good Dr. Q! Making an alias for him was nice though I do agree with Choon that it's probably not something you'd want to do very often if you care anything about alias bloat, hehe.

Kudos on going ahead and botting Fran when it came down to just her being left in the round, even though there hadn't been a huge amount of time that had passed.

I'll add more feedback as I think of it :)

(And Dr. Q is totally a Psychic Detective Investigator! Thinking of having him join the Society, GoA?)

Did Bearington and OfAnything delete their threads? They are no longer listed under My Campaigns tab.

When a particular game ends it can be marked "inactive" when you're editing the campaign info. This removes it from your big list down to the bottom of the page so your big lost doesn't become too cluttered.

But looking at your campaigns tab I can see that's not what you meant. Interesting. I don't know why they aren't showing up for you.

Incidentally, having GM Hmm here has made it an interesting posting experience as I have to actively avoid saying "hmmm" when I'm puzzled to avoid confusion. :P

Heh. On the Minnesota PFS Organizer Slack, I used to get emailed everytime someone said "Hmm". (They finally fixed that, and now I only get emailed when someone says, "Hilary."

Eadie, your wayfinder symbol doesn't show up in my iPad.

It sounds like we could either have the two day breather or have people RP with each other in the Inn near Dunhob. What would people want to do?

Hmm

We are still around! Just listed under Elena's campaigns. I don't think you've posted in either as your GM alias.

I thought the game was run really well! While I enjoyed the pacing, if you are able to run scenarios at that pace, I would make sure to tell everyone who wants to sign up that twice per day posting is mandatory. If you post once per day (like me during almost half the week) 20+ posts all at once can be hard to keep up with. With that said, if you can find a group who can keep up with that pace, the game will be both high quality AND fast paced, which would be FANTASTIC to be a part of.

Another thing I really liked was keeping active buffs on the initiative tracker. That makes life a lot easier, especially in a fast paced game where buffs might have been cast a page or two back.

You did well turning a random spot in the woods into an notable event. I was fortunate in that my portion had a transition or two, so I could build as I went, but you did not have such a luxury, so good job!

That's all I can think of, looking forward to the rest of these games!

I vote for optional RP at the Inn near Dunhob (so players who want to do it can, players who need a breather can have it) and have the game start Sunday or whenever Ladile is able.

EDIT: Unless told otherwise, I will be marking my campaign as inactive AFTER we have completed the GM 101 Experience.

For chronicle sheets, what is the best way for all of us to distribute them?

Bearington brings up an interesting point. This is a good gauge for a person's own frequency in posting. Test the waters, know your own level of commitment. In my personal opinion, I think in terms of game pace, the GM should probably be the most proactive compared to the players. Thoughts? Do any of you disagree? Also, I think A LOT of GMs claim they expect at least one post a day but many do not follow their own creed. I'm actually in one game that I wouldn't mind dropping just because the pace is soooo sloooow (the game is updated every other day) but the story's premise keeps me hooked.

❤-❤-❤-❤-❤

I vote for optional RP at the Inn near Dunhob (so players who want to do it can, players who need a breather can have it) and have the game start Sunday or whenever Ladile is able.

I second that notion!

Regarding Chronicle Sheets...

My thought is that we can roll for who is doing whose chronicle sheet! Each ot you gets to do someone else's chronicle sheet. Since we have 7 players, someone will have to do Elena's as well.

It is common practice (for me, anyway) to do up chronicle sheets fairly far in advance so that they are ready to go at game's end. I usually have people roll their job rolls when they first sign up for my game, and then record all that data in a google doc so that I can copy and paste.

I think it would be fine to have us do the chronicle sheets a little early -- maybe when we're in the last two segments -- so you all have a chance to struggle with this collectively. Do we want to do reporting early as well, or wait until the end?

Regarding RP in the Inn

Shall we do that in GM ofAnything's thread, or in GM Ladile's? Either way works for me.

Regarding GM ofAnything's Section

I loved the pace! I agree with Bearington that you will need to set pace and botting expectations in your recruitment thread, but that's a pace that I really enjoy.

PACING ASIDE: Generally speaking, if you are expecting 2-3 player posts a day your are committing to at least 5-6 GM posts a day in order to maintain the pace. When you do that pace, a scenario can be completed in 3-4 weeks. I think it's easier to maintain that kind of pacing over a short scenario, but be sure to give yourself sanity breaks. I often take Wednesdays off because they are a busy day for me, but I try to make certain that my players know to expect that.

The atmosphere was appropriately spooky, and I really enjoyed the way you made it and Professor Qlolorum come to life. There were so many fun little details, including having you cast "Speak with Animals" so that you could understand Mr. Sunshine's song... That's the kind of attentive detail that can reward slightly kooky player RP.

Another thing that I want to give you a pat on the back for was the gentle way you handled rules questions and the illegal deity issue. Very nicely done, overall!

BONUS POINTS for providing a nice transition to the next segment.

ok... I'm next after manor and trying to get ready now so it doesn't jump up at me too fast.. I've got map and handout in google drive... but I have no idea how to cover the map, either in total or in sections so I can reveal just what's needed at a time. help?

I used shapes to draw the crater, you could use those to hide parts of the map. The icon looks like a circle and a square.

You'll want to change the sharing settings so everyone can edit the map at some point, too.

I think I have it set so anyone can edit now... I hope so anyway.... thanks for the help with hiding the map...

Confirmed. I can edit the map.

thanks for checking ! I appreciate the confirmation :)

Most of the time I hide my maps, but sometimes I don't bother. I decided not to hide the map for my From the Tome of Righteous Repose because it is an evergreen and all my players have seen that map once already!

Besides, that's one where seeing the map does not really help you, because monsters and traps can be ANYWHERE.

Hmm

I enjoyed doing that one on VTT, because the dynamic lighting makes visibility interesting.

"Hmm, yes, Yours is Mined. Gives amazing explanations of MS Word and likes PFS."

Wow! Thanks :)

Lore, you have inspired me to write up a google slide tutorial on how to get rid of the “writing” around Images you get using the “Snipping tool”

This is using MS Paint in Windows 7/8.

>> Here << is the link.

If something doesn’t make sense, let me know! :)

Very nice, Eadie!

Hmm

thanks Eadie - I'll give that a try later when I have some time (probably Sunday - my saturday is already spoken for)

Be vewy vewy quiet... I'm hunting posts!

___

Is anyone around tonight? Are there any subjects you'd like to discuss for PBP GM 101? The floor is open.

Hmm

I've got one! How do you determine when it's okay to add in NPCs and the like for flavor and what level of interaction to have with the PCs? For example, I had a little time late last night and this morning before bed and I hated to just be a totally silent GM until Sunday. So I made the waitress NPC, but then when I was going to sleep this morning I had a moment of panic because I thought maybe I'd overdone it - especially since Estra and Wormling are/were in the middle of an interesting chat already. Thoughts?

I still worry about whether I've overdone something all the time.

The players will let you know - generally by completely ignoring your hook or occasionally with a 'what the heck was that about?' question in Discussion.

Not everything you try is gonna work for a whole heap of reasons. But if your INTENT was good, it really doesn't matter.

You can test intent by asking yourself: "Was the post I made designed to enhance the fun of the game for all of the players?"

If you can honestly answer "Yes!" Get over it, move on and don't be afraid to try something else in an encounter or two's time.

Heh! 'Panic' was probably a stronger choice of words than I really intended, but I am bad to second-guess myself on a lot of things in general. What you said about intent does make sense and whether PCs seem interested in a hook or not. If yes, great! If not, oh well, maybe a different hook might catch their fancy later on :)

I think what you did was fine. We haven't yet rolled box text, and giving characters who were not in the intense conversation something to interact with is not a bad idea.

Before a PBP adventure starts in earnest, I often offer a scene to give everyone a chance to meet and chat and build their group chemistry before I roll box text. I usually tell everyone in discussion that I'm doing exactly that, giving us a soft start for a day or two before I roll the actual box text.

When I did my Murder's Mark of Crows game, I let my team meet up at Heidmarch Manor to give them the feel of being a group of tengu in Varisia, and to let them have a venture briefing before they left, and then rolled them into Ilsurian and the crazy festival there.

When I did Kortos Envoy, I found this a special challenge because it is very specifically a scenario with no mission briefing. The characters start in media res, delivering a letter from the very secretive Decemvirate. In order to give them the Meet and Greet scene, I created a conference room set up in the Skyreach Tower. They got food, a construct server, and each other. No Venture Captain to debrief or of whom to ask questions. Once they'd had a day or two to chat real time, a compartment in the construct server opened up with a letter and a note that basically said 'Deliver this. The Ten.'

I then fast forwarded them to the actual start of the scenario... One thing I've found is that a soft start that gives the players a chance to introduce themselves in character does not slow things down much... In fact, my games seem to move faster if the PCs all have a feel for each other and have established a bit of chemistry.

I don't always do this, but I find that giving the PCs a moment to get into character (whether F2F or PbP) can help them roleplay and have fun throughout.

Hmm

A random NPC also helps to ground the players into the setting. Even if we told the waitress to bugger off, it makes the whole "sitting in a tavern" thing much more real. We are no longer sitting in an empty room, there are other people living their lives there too!

If you plan on GMing a lot and don't mind a little alias bloat, you could create generic npc aliases such as "Waitress," "Guard," "Noble," etc. and use them whenever you need!

I wouldn't worry about if you are overdoing it. Like others have said, the PC's either take the hook or they don't. If they do, keep going. If not, the npc is snubbed and moves on with their life. I think the potential benefits are worth it, especially if there is explicit downtime/ a soft start.

EDIT: On the topic of making it more real, interrupting a heavy conversation realistically (like with a waitress while at a tavern) is something the players can potentially relate to. I have been interrupted by a server while having a deep conversation and this sort of shared experience with my character helps me relate to them on a personal level too.

Related to a previous conversation:

I thought the following post from a GM was also a good way to handle an illegal character option:

I thought this was a good way to go about it for the following reasons:

That was an excellent post: informative, helpful and tactful. GM Cody really did a great job with a challenging moment.

Thanks for sharing that, Bearington! I love it when you guys share your good examples with us!

Hmm

Thank you GM Bearington for the acknowledgement there. I'm the GM in question in Bearington's above post. GM Hmm asked me to pop by and I thought I'd explain my thought process.

I'd talked a bit with Hmm before making that post addressing the illegal character option. Its a very different beast handling potential confrontation online versus in-person. In person I can measure the player and really understand how best to handle the situation.

Online I only know their posting style and the character they are playing at the time. I decided that being civil and constructive would be the most defusing manner for handling an illegal character option.

In the end, this one was relatively easy because it was just a spell swap and I really should have caught it sooner during the audit.

I'd talked a bit with Hmm before making that post addressing the illegal character option.

Shh! You're not supposed to let them know how I knew which GM it was! How else am I supposed to maintain that mystique of VL omniscience?*

Its a very different beast handling potential confrontation online versus in-person. In person I can measure the player and really understand how best to handle the situation.

Online I only know their posting style and the character they are playing at the time. I decided that being civil and constructive would be the most defusing manner for handling an illegal character option.

100% with you there! It is really hard to judge tone on the internet. Because of that, it is best to keep as civil and constructive as you can. We'd like to avoid conflict or hurt feelings over simple misunderstandings as much as we can!

This brings up another point. If you're going to craft a sensitive post, it doesn't hurt to bounce it past a discreet friend. (I do this all the time, except in cases where I must maintain extreme confidentiality.)

Which reminds me: I wonder if it's time for us to discuss how to handle problem players and conflicts that occasionally happen between players or players and GMs?

___
* Mystique, ha! A thinly coated veneer is all that is! In reality I am totally myopic!

Oooh, the juicy stuff! I’ll start ...

I have not had any major disagreements between players when I’ve been the GM, so I won’t comment on those.

I have had disagreements with the GM as a player, and with players as a GM. All were resolved more-or-less amicably.

I think the keys are remembering:

• We are all here to have fun (not to argue, unless your name is John Cleese)

• The goal is a fair, long-lasting resolution that hopefully maintains good relationships

• Treat everyone with respect/park your ego/don’t take it personally

• Try to figure out what the fundamental issue/underlying problem is

• Then make your case as a player/explain your GM ruling, based on FACTS

• If it’s a grey area of the rules (which is where most problems I’ve had arise) and you’re the GM, I think you have a Spidey/Uncle Ben responsibility to review the literature (messageboards) and ask independent, experienced GMs their opinions before making a final ruling.

• If you’re a player, remember it’s the GM’s table. If despite your brilliant, well-reasoned arguments she insists the sky’s green – then it is. If that ruling hasn’t killed your PC, let it go.

❄ cue Anna, Elsa and Lyric the Singing Paladin ❄

My conflicts have been slight and mostly minor. I typically can solve most of the problem by making sure to stop and actively Listen to the problem or complaint or what-have-you. It can be easy to fall into a mentality of "I'm right by default" mentality as a GM, especially if you're the one with the system mastery at the table. 90% of the conflict can be diffused if you just listen and acknowledge that you understand the problem. Then you can work with the player to fix it.

Cue Anna, Elsa and Lyric the Singing Paladin

❄️️ "Oooh, did I filk that one and forget about it?" ❄️️

^ I love those snowflakes, Eadie!

Eadie and Choon --

Thanks for picking up this topic. I was starting to worry that no one would! I'm going to chime in, but I'd like to give others a chance to do so.

Gang, what have you seen that's worked?

Hmm

Huh...I've been lucky enough in PbP to not really experience any issues between myself and another player or GM. I've witnessed one or two, though. In my opinion, things to keep in mind:

(1) Don't assume malicious intent. People from all across the globe post here and standards of communication vary from country to country and culture to culture. What's normal to one might read as rude to another, whether it's meant to or not.

(2) Be careful about using 'blaming' language. As Bearington noted earlier with GM Cody's situation, it's good to avoid using words and phrasing that puts the other party on the defensive. When people get defensive, the conversation can grind to a halt in a hurry.

I have not had a problem player at a table I have been at, Play by Post or Face to Face.

Maybe I'm the problem player.

I can honestly say that the only problems I've had in several years gaming here are due to GM's who quit a game without notice (understandable -- sometimes Real Life reminds you that it's in charge and it doesn't really care about your schedule or your needs) but are still posting to other games where they are players (unforgivable IMO).

That chafes my squeegee almost as much as people who misuse idioms.

My fear of being That Guy is mainly what's kept me from accepting the responsibility of GMing until now.

I had a GM just pull out of a PbP all of a sudden and claim he was the Davidic Servant and wont be GMing anymore. That is a bit disappointing.