So, I'm my group's GM. I just am. There are a lot of reasons why, but I really want to be a PC too. I would like to know how play-by-post and other forms of gaming work so I can figure out my other options?
So, I'm my group's GM. I just am. There are a lot of reasons why, but I really want to be a PC too. I would like to know how play-by-post and other forms of gaming work so I can figure out my other options?
This may not be what you want, but my group tonight used a webcam because I live 100+ miles away currently. It worked alright, but you need to make sure the microphone on their end is good enough for you to hear them.
We had a little bit of an issue with the die rolls on my end, but we fixed that with a little finagling of an alarm clock and the webcam. Not too bad.
Play by Post is very simple. Participants all post their actions and reactions. The players for their characters, the GM for the world around them. Resolving die rolls can be handled by the GM, the honor system, or by a impartial mediator like the board's die roller or something like Invisible Castle. PbP tends to have a much slower pace, as posting once a day per participant is a pretty common pace. This slow pacing does have its affect on the game. For instance there is much more opportunity to elaborate and convey mood. If you want it can allow for much greater exploration of a character's inner thoughts and motivations, that simply are much harder to get across in a more first person format like face to face gaming. Another thing because of the length of time it can take to resolve things mechanically, a lot of GM's may call for the dice a lot less, and resolution might become a little more storytelling focused.
If you want to check out what play is like in a play by post there is a for here on the boards dedicated to them. PbP Forum
You might find this thread informative, too:
So, I'm my group's GM. I just am. There are a lot of reasons why, but I really want to be a PC too. I would like to know how play-by-post and other forms of gaming work so I can figure out my other options?This may not be what you want, but my group tonight used a webcam because I live 100+ miles away currently. It worked alright, but you need to make sure the microphone on their end is good enough for you to hear them.
We had a little bit of an issue with the die rolls on my end, but we fixed that with a little finagling of an alarm clock and the webcam. Not too bad.
well my computer is definitely capable of doing that pretty well, but I kinda don't even know how to go about finding a group, since I kinda made my group happen by getting my friends into it.
There is a sub-forum further down the main forum page entitled "Gamer Connection". I would recommend reading thru some of the recruitment threads there to get an idea of what PbP GMs look for, then start applying. Also, you might check out Boomer's Bar and Grill. It's an 'RP Tavern' where players who have not yet found a game can hang out and roleplay with others. (I got my start with PbPs in a similar thread actually.)
Since you've mentioned that you are always your group's GM...
As someone who has also always been in that position, realize that when you step into PbPs, your baseline expectations of what constitutes a normal game and what you look for in a game may be wildly different than what others expect. Play style, the narration of die rolls, and even things you may take for granted may catch you by surprise. (Such as buying magic items straight from the book rather than having to find a seller, or even how GMs will interpret the results of a diplomacy check along with your dialog.)
At any rate, it's great fun but it is something that requires a great deal of commitment from the players and a fairly high level of 'infrastructure' competence on the part of the GM. Naturally that doesn't even touch on the most important aspect: finding compatible players who all post with the same regularity.
Good luck and have fun! :)
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MapTools is a great program with chat, dice roller, and virtual tabletop all built in. It takes a little know-how to mess with port forwarding and firewalls but it definitely pays off as it is much, much faster than PbP, albeit a bit slower than face-to-face.
I agree with everyone that says play by posts are slow it is really true. Also some play by posts can die after a while if the Gm has work problems or other things. Overall they are still fun.
http://www.thetangledweb.net/forums/content.php
try this site its full of pbp and maptool games theres even a PFS section if you wanna try some society play