What kinds of characters/players are you looking for?
For the PCs themselves, I am mainly looking for submissions that have personality. Your chances of being selected will go up exponentially if you have painted a clear picture of who your character is and how I can expect them to interact with the game world. For players there are two primary things I am looking for. First, I am looking for strong role players who will aim to interact with the world, the NPCs and most importantly, the other player characters. Second, I am looking for players who seem like they will be consistent posters and committed to completing the module. Have you ever spent a week actively RPing in a thread, even though the GM was on vacation with no internet? If so, you are the type of player I want!
Is there anything that will hurt my chances of being selected?
Min-maxing won’t help your chances, especially if your crunch choices have seemingly no correlation to your character’s background. A posting history that indicates a pattern of bailing on games without any explanation or creating a hostile gaming environment for other players is a definite bad mark. For players with no prior experience on the boards, make sure you have spent some time learning the format through guides or reading through other games. Making a few missteps is totally understandable, but seeming totally illiterate in the style of the boards would definitely hurt your chances. Remember, if you are unsure about how to do something, you can always just ask!
How many players are you recruiting?
I am aiming to recruit around five. However, the exact number will be variable on the number and quality of the submissions.
What will be the pace of the game?
I would like players to commit to at least one post per weekday and at least one post on the weekend, except under special circumstances (with the expectation that those special circumstance would be communicated as soon as possible).
Are you recruiting based on party role?
Yes and no. Party balance is certainly something that I will be keeping in mind. However, my ultimate goal is to find my favorite submissions that I think will be interesting together, not to form the perfect five-man party.
Do I have to create an alias?
No. However, if you are not using an alias, please use spoiler tags for your application, separating out your Crunch, Background and RP Samples into separate tags. Also, try to have one post where your application can be reviewed in its entirety.
Can I RP in the recruitment thread?
I would prefer that there was no RP in the recruitment thread. While I understand the appeal, it tends to clutter things up, making it difficult to track questions and new submissions. Please use the RP sample portion of your application to demonstrate your roleplaying ability and understanding of the PbP format. However, I still absolutely encourage discussion in the recruitment thread. If you think someone's character is cool, feel free to let them know! See a way your character might know another character? There is no guarantee that you will both be selected, but a little extra inspiration never hurt anyone!
Do you plan to continue with the same group after this module is done?
There are certainly other adventures that I would love to run and I am open to continuing with the same group. However, for now I am just committing to completing Murder’s Mark.
Why did you cut secrets and relationships from the 10 minute background? Can I still have them?
Sure. If you want to provide additional information because you have inspiration for them, please go right ahead. However, I am not requiring them since there may not be time in a short pre-written module to utilize those sections for every PC. Also, as a player, I sometimes find those sections a bit limiting. Not every character needs big secrets surrounding them or will have lots of friends and enemies in the immediate area. I am far more interested in the development of your character’s personality.
The 10 Minute Background format doesn't really fit the way I want to write my character. Do I have to use it?
Absolutely not. My goal with providing a format is not to force your character into a box, but to help paint a clearer picture of the kind of background information that I am looking for. The actual style of your background matter to me far less than the character itself being interesting and well developed.
