Maghara

KingmakerDM's page

326 posts (369 including aliases). No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 7 aliases.


Full Name

KingmakerDM

Size

Medium

Age

43

About KingmakerDM

Play Guide
This playguide is put together based on some excellent resources here on this site as well as some of my own experiences with PbP and other mediums over the last 30 years or so of gaming.

Doomed Hero's Guide to PbP - This is an excellent introduction to PbP. Also check out his second thread with some "advanced" tips as well.

Painlord's tips - another excellent resource that builds on Doomed Hero's guide.

I strongly recommend reading both of these guides if you have not already.

Things I expect
These things are more requirements than a guide. These things will make us all better players and the game much more fun.

Have fun:
That seems so simple but really, have fun. If you aren't having fun then why are you playing? If you find you aren't having fun in one of my games, please send me a PM and I'll do my best to correct the situation. If it can't be resolved, I'm perfectly happy for you to leave the game. This is about all of us enjoying ourselves.

Post Frequently:
Try to post once a day during the week. I'm not on much at all during the weekends but want to be active during the week. This doesn't mean you have to post nonsense just to keep up posting every day (though a quick post to describe your character's demeanor, reaction to the last action, or something of the like is always welcome). The main thing is to ensure that no one is waiting more than 24 hours for your action. If you take longer, I may either assume your action or say your character does nothing.

Unusual real life events notwithstanding, I will be prepared to post at least twice a day during the week. If there's nothing for the GM to add, you may not see anything - but I will check the gameplay thread 2 or more times each day. I will try for more often during combat.

Vital Statistics:
Put your vital stats, expended charges and active conditions in your forum tag line. It really helps for those situations when a GM needs to make a roll for the whole party or if I need information. That means I can easily do the rolls, resolve all the effects, and move the game along in a single post.

How to Post Vital Stats:
When you edit the profile of your alias, anything that appears in these fields will appear on your tagline in posts on a PbP thread (in this order):

1. Gender
2. Race
3. Classes/Levels

All you need to do is put your vital stats in these three fields and you are good to go. Formatting goes a long way. Here is some code from another poster on the board

Gender: [ ooc]Male[/ooc]
Race: [ ooc]NG Half-Orc[/ooc]
Classes / Levels: [ ooc]Fighter 1[/ooc] | HP: 12/12 | [ ooc]AC: 16 (11 Tch, 15 Fl)[/ooc] | CMD: 16 | [ ooc]F: 4, R: 1, W: 3[/ooc] | Init: +1 | [ ooc]Perc: +7, SM: +2[/ooc] | Active Conditions: None | [ ooc]Wand (CLW) charges: 12/50 [/ooc]

Note how I've used "ooc" tags to alternate the color of each snipper of info to make it more readable. Note also that the Paizo forums will make your tagline bold no matter what you do, so "b" is a useless tag here (hence my use of "ooc"). If you run out of room in one field (I believe there is a character limit) then just put part of the information into a preceding field.

Rolling:

The following PC rolls will always be made by me to keep things moving:

1. Initiative
2. Perception
3. Sense Motive
4. Saving Throws
5. Group diplomacy*

Player dice rolls of these types will be ignored, unless specifically requested by me.

I may make the following where appropriate, but you may request to make these yourself (let me know if you prefer to roll these yourself):

1. Knowledge checks
2. Survival checks
3. Individual diplomacy*

Further, I may make a roll of any kind on your behalf if you do not post within the 24 hour timeframe (see above for more on this).

* Where the group is involved in a diplomatic action and a diplomacy roll is required, I will roll using the PC with the highest modifier for the group as the primary roll and the next highest modifier for an assist. Depending upon roleplaying and other circumstances, I may allow multiple assists also, or require someone other than the PC with the highest modifier make the primary roll. Otherwise, the players roll these individually

Finally, a convention I am going to adopt (mostly for rolling during combat):

1. No rolls during combat for any checks that do not specifically require an action unless called for by the GM. Same for free actions that do not influence combat. Eg. Knowledge (dungeoneering) to identify that ooze is a free action, but this is a roll you must ask the GM to make for you (unless he has asked for it). Concentration checks to cast a spell is a free action, but that's fine to roll yourself (since it forms part of your cast spell action).

2. Always roll for actions in the order in which they occur. When in doubt, roll reactions to GM first, reactions to players next, and then your actions. This should help minimize players swapping over save throws for attack rolls (and the like).

3. If you do want to make an "actionless" skill check, ask the GM to roll it for you. He'll have to post you the results anyway.

How to Roll:
Just in case you don't know, you can make a dice roll using the bbcode [dice=roll type]NdX+k[/dice] where "roll type" is replaced with the roll you do (eg. "stealth" or "attack with power attack"), "N" is the number of dice you're rolling and "X" is the die type. Try to put most of the description in the main text (like who you're hitting), but out of character roll stuff like power attack, expertise, etc can go in there.

Eg. [dice=Climb check]1d20+5[/dice]

Tips and Advice
These pointers are aimed to help you to make the game more fun for everyone. The key to this is readable descriptions and posts that help the game to flow and progress

Doomed Hero's Commandments:

Thou Shalt Avoid Walls of Text

Thou Shalt Not Hog the Spotlight

Thou Shalt not Assume the Actions of Others

Thou Shalt Not Assume Outcomes of Actions

Thou Shalt Not Derail Gameplay

Thou Shalt Use the Discussion Thread

Formatting your Posts:

Format speech in bold with the quotes still there. This helps to draw attention to what the character is actually saying (as opposed to what you are saying about the character).

Eg. Yarro the ranger runs back to the party. "Orcs over the next hill, get ready!"

Use "ooc" tags to say things out of character. It puts your posts in blue and helps GMs and players alike to tell when you are talking about mechanics and when you are talking about your character.

Eg.Amber tries to squeeze through the door. Do I need to make an escape artist check or somehting?

Make sure to use the discussion thread for "ooc" text that is not relevant to your current post.

For some cool ideas on how else to format your text, see Doomed Hero's advanced tips.

Writing Style:

Use Third Person Limited. Full stop. If for no other reason, it will keep everyone's posts consistent. It is also what most PbP posters use.

Keep it Moving:

Painlord says "Always be pushing" but I think "Keep it moving" captures it a little better. After all, you can pull as well as push. The main idea is to always provide a hook for another character to pick up on and keep the game moving towards the goal. If your post doesn't provide a way forwards, consider revising it. After all, we do want to finish the adventure some time this century, right?

Eg.Post that doesn't keep it moving:

Darian sits down, head in hands, heavily wounded and exhausted from the fight.

Eg.Simple modification to the above that keeps it moving:

Darian sits down, head in hands, heavily wounded and exhausted from the fight. "Well, friends, it looks like we all need a rest. Shall we set up camp for the night?

Acknowledgements:

Obviously thanks to Doomed Hero and Painlord for their excellent guides. I also want to thank GM Damo for the format of this section and for the borrowing of much of the text as well. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, yes?