RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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I'm relatively new to RPGs - i.e., I don't measure my experience in decades ;) - and since having joined these messageboards, I've been noticing threads recruiting people for "play by post" games. How does that work? What are the main differences between that and a tabletop game? Wouldn't combat take forever, as you waited for people to come online and post in the correct order?
If someone could explain this concept, that would be great.
It works about how you might expect; the players post their characters' actions (rolling dice with the forum's dice roller when necessary), and the GM posts the results along with any actions by the NPCs.
Yes, combat can take a long, long time, relatively speaking. Play-by-post games are not for the impatient. :-) On the other hand, you can play a bunch of play-by-post games at once without taking up too much effort.
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How is scheduling handled? I mean is there a set time were every one is expected to be at there computers and keep hitting f5, or dose it work like long term chess games, you take your turn when you gt around to it kind of thing.
I imagine every one has to be at their computers at the same time for it to work in a remotely timely fashion.
It doesn't really work in a timely fashion. You need patience. I usually ask participants to commit to once a day posting. Battles can take weeks to compoets. But , on the other hand, if you like exploring characterization , there is nothing better
Interesting... Okay, this may be a silly question, but is it possible to do Society play in a PBP fashion?
Yes; for instance, here's a thread where some folks were playing through Silent Tide (spoilers for Silent Tide, of course).
Note that it took several months and it's not allowed to play two games with the same character at the same time (as far as I know, anyways).
Depends a LOT on the players. I have a PBP that's been running nine months that still has near perfect attendance. The posting frequency I gave my players is once per day. I told them up front, if your character is in a critical position and needs to act, and you do not post in 48 hours, I will choose your character's action. I've only had to do that a few times in nine months.
OTOH, I've been in games where I'd check back faithfully every day, and the DM/GM wouldn't post for days at a time. As long as everyone can maintain a minimal commitment of about 10 minutes a day, it's great.
Sometimes, you do run into timing issues, with two people replying to the same incident and their posts conflict. In my games, I run my own bb, so I can edit and/or delete peoples' posts to make everything make sense. This usually only happens about once a month.
Time-wise, it seems to take about a month of play-time to equal a six-hour session, in my experience.
The last time I played PbP, two of the six PCs just disappeared off the face of the forum. We waited for AGES (well, three days) to see if they'll come back but alas. After the hasty conclusion of the adventure, I've never played pbp again :(
If you want to play PbP, you'll want people who are reliable- something you can't judge from half an ocean away with only the ever-so-impartial keyboard as your communication medium. So either play with the people who have a good track record of attendance or at least establish another method of communication (msn and others) just so you know straightaway if they want to back out due to other circumstances.
Edit: as a side question, is it just me who had had a terrible experience with less committed players? If not, how did you (or the DM) deal with the problem?
....Edit: as a side question, is it just me who had had a terrible experience with less committed players? If not, how did you (or the DM) deal with the problem?
For me, it depended on what percentage of the people involved had to quit or just stopped posting. Most of the PbP games I have been in start with 5-7 player plus the DM. If a couple of players fall out, which is about par for the course in my experience, no big deal so long as the DM rolls with it. If half or more of the players or the DM falls out, then it tends to be a game stopper. If there are less than 5 players and anyone drops out, that tends to stop the game, too.
As a DM, after having this happen, I put together a story that didn't rely on any of the characters to drive it. As a player, I simply refocused what I was doing if I was in a scene with one of the drop outs.
For that matter, I've dropped out myself due to real life issues. I always tried to let people know, if at all possible. I didn't want to just drop off the face of the earth with no accountability for the potential mess I was leaving behind.
Edit: as a side question, is it just me who had had a terrible experience with less committed players? If not, how did you (or the DM) deal with the problem?
I gave up trying to play PBP on these boards after 2-3 attempts where the DM bailed after a short time. I used to do PBeM (play by e-mail) and had several games that ran for years.
I gave up trying to play PBP on these boards after 2-3 attempts where the DM bailed after a short time.
I quickly learned to pass on proposed PbP games where the GM only has 20 or 30 previous posts on the Paizo board. :-)
I gave up trying to play PBP on these boards after 2-3 attempts where the DM bailed after a short time.I quickly learned to pass on proposed PbP games where the GM only has 20 or 30 previous posts on the Paizo board. :-)
Yeah, experience is key, and a good GM is the heart of the game. Players can be replaced (heck I've replaced many), but if the GM ain't in, the game's all done.
Of course, everyone has to start somewhere. My first stab at GMing a PbP is still running after 3+ years, even though I was a rank N00b poster when I started it. Sometimes you have to take a chance.
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I run or play in a few very long running pbp games on these boards, but I have started playing (or GMing) a lot more games that have failed than the ones that succeeded. It appears to be an unfortunate fact that more games will fail for one reason or another than will succeed.
On the other hand, a few of the games I am in here are very successful. Aubrey’s Eberron game has been running for over four years, we still have four of the original six players (plus a few extra who have joined along the way) and our characters have just hit 10th level. Heathy’s Saltmarsh / Isle of Dread game is at about 20,000 posts between the two threads it has run over, and we have gone from 1st to 13th level. Kruelaid’s Z-Day game went on hiatus for about 2 years due to life issues, but when Kruel was ready to run it again after two years, all the original players came back for it (including one or two who had all but left the Paizo boards in the meantime). My Dark Ages game is the longest running still active pbp game on the these boards, and although we have only retained two of the original five players, other players have joined over the years and the story is still going.
My point is don’t let one or a few bad experiences with pbp convince you that it doesn’t work.
Whether or not a pbp game will be successful depends somewhat on luck, somewhat on dedication and somewhat on choosing players (or a GM) who are reliable and in it for the long haul.
Of course, everyone has to start somewhere. My first stab at GMing a PbP is still running after 3+ years, even though I was a rank N00b poster when I started it. Sometimes you have to take a chance.
I checked your posting history, and it looks like you had at least 100 posts under your belt before starting as a PbP GM. But I agree, the #1 factor for a game to survive is the determination of the GM to keep it going, and that's hard to predict. :-)
I currently have two PbP going on another forum. I also have five e-mail 'games' with another in the works. All of those are solos, meaning it is me and one other person. Really only one could be classified as a 'game' since we are actually using a system. The others are free form. Communication is key.
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I've GMed one PBP game, a run-through of Master of the Fallen fortress over at RPGGeek. It took just under six months to complete the module, with most people posting about five times a week, and apart from one person signing up and then dropping out straight away, everyone made it to the end.
The main disadvantage is that things run an awful lot slower than a tabletop game, but the GM and players have to be prepared for that. One thing I would do in future games is make far more notes, as even though there's a written record, I found it a lot easier to forget which monsters had been left undealt with, etc.
The main advantages are that there's a lot more space and time for people to be descriptive with their actions, and there's no problem with parties splitting up, as you don't have half the group sat their looking bored while you resolve the other half's actions.
I'm intending to run a PBP game of We Be Goblins! a few weeks after it's released; I may even attempt to run two 'tables' in parallel.
Of course, everyone has to start somewhere. My first stab at GMing a PbP is still running after 3+ years, even though I was a rank N00b poster when I started it. Sometimes you have to take a chance.I checked your posting history, and it looks like you had at least 100 posts under your belt before starting as a PbP GM. But I agree, the #1 factor for a game to survive is the determination of the GM to keep it going, and that's hard to predict. :-)
Yeah, I guess I felt more like a n00b starting it at that point. I think the PbP gaming conventions appeal to some, not to others. It works for me and my life. =)
IMO, in a local game there's a far greater chance that you are already friends with the people you'll be playing with. As such, you should have a good idea of the style-of-play that everyone enjoys.
However, when you start a PbP, there's a really good chance that you'll be gaming with complete strangers. As such, I'd say it's vital to establish player/GM expectations up-front. If most of the players want a gritty, low-magic, dark-fantasy setting and the GM is mostly inspired by super-heroes and animé, there may be a pretty big difference in what they find enjoyable. It's handy to figure that all out beforehand.
I'd say the best way to do this is to setup and RP tavern, see which players naturally 'gel', have similar posting schedules, and compatible energy, and then go from there. That's what I did for Rumble in the Jungle and so far it's worked fairly well.
Another difference from local games is that is is VERY important that the GM be handy with their technological tools. Simply put, if you can barely find the power button on your computer, then perparing and sharing documents and maps is likely going to be a much greater difficulty for you than for someone who is techno-savvy and can automate many of the chores.
Make no mistake, when GMing a game, the accuracy with which you can portray the battlefield in a timely fashion, the degree of granularity and objectivity you can give to die rolls (while still replying promptly) will be largely dependent on how good you are at making tech work FOR you. Simply knowing how to post on the forums doesn't equate to having a tackle-box full or minis, a stack of flip mats, and a knack for improv.
In fact, the improv skills that serve you well (as a GM) in a local game are not nearly as important in PbP. One HUGE difference is that you can take time to think things thru and really get into character or spend more time planning out what might otherwise be spontaneous plot points. To that end, I'd say organizational ability and the ability to voice involved dialog are much more important than the ability to GM by-the-seat-of-your-pants or run combat efficiently.
With that said, because PbPs can be a lot slower, I'd say it's vital to find ways to keep up the pace. Having players make rolls when they declare actions (as opposed to having to ask and wait on them) is one, rolling saves for the PCs when an NPC effect goes off is another. I even allow PCs to skip around in the initiative order so long as there are not any enemies in between them and the preceding characters — people have different schedules and it sometimes works best to let people post when they are able.
If you are interested a bit more, I have a few links in my profile on how I have automated many of the GM tasks (so I can spent more time GMing and less typing forum codes). There's also a couple of articles I've posted on my own campaign wiki to outline both the expectations and conventions used in my game. (i.e. do player bold their dialog or use italics, does the GM roll initiative or do the players, etc.) If it's helpful to you, great, if not... no harm done. Each group is different and you have to find the balance that allows the mechanics of how you game blend into the background so you can all have fun.
Rumble in the Jungle Conventions, and Expectations