Ok, so I'm considering joining a PbP campaign. i would like to play more, but I don't have the time to join another gaming group. This at first glance seems like it would be a decent compromise. So I started skimming through a few of the ones on these boards. But I've got a few questions. I don't like commiting to something then backing out.
1) Of the 5 that I looked through (didn't write down the titles), 4 of them seemed to be significantly focused on romance or love/hate relationships between the PC's. I personally don't have a moral problem with it or anything like that. I just don't have any real desire to spend weeks having an involved pretend romance. It wouldn't bother me if there was some of it, but it seemed like half of the posts out of combat were about that. Is this really typical?
2) Alot of the posts were very long and involved descriptions of what individuals were doing. Don't get me wrong they were pretty well written and thought out for the most part. However, I am not typically that verbose. Is that expected? Will others be disapointed if I just say, "I swing my axe at his head?"
3) Is there a sort of primer/starter around anywhere that I missed? Good choices or things to avoid. Just thinking about it, it seems like a master summoner would be very difficult to keep track of in PbP.
4) If I decide to do this, is there beginner friendly campaign that is starting or still recruiting?
thx for any help
answers
1) I Don't know
2) Those are Heavy RP players, Heavy RP GM and Heavy RP game,
some players and DMs are combat heavy, some are balanced of the two.
It varies from Players and DMs.
3) Their is no Guide I know of.
4) I have two players that have dropped out of one of my homebrew games.
It is a balance of combat and RP.
Well, if you are worried about your writing style, I know just the play-by-post that can help! Welcome to Avalon! We are always open to newcomers, and try to focus on roleplay a bit more than combat.
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3) Their is no Guide I know of.
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If there is no guide. Anyone have advice on what to consider or avoid for a beginner to PbP? Some of the classes seemlike they would be very difficult to keep track of in PbP. Especially the master summoner, a necromancer that animates a lot, a druid that spends much time in other shapes, etc...
I know when I join a new table group I usually play something like a dumb barbarian grappler. It is a role that usually isn't filled. Can still be effective/useful. Low char/low intel pc isn't expected to show a lot of group leadership/face time. This lets me see how the group plays before I become become too active.
It's only as difficult to keep track of as you make it,
that and how you organise the character data and place it in the character profile.
And DM's have control over character creation rules so they might ban certain races or classes.
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1. I have been in over a dozen PbPs on these boards, and none of them has featured a PC romance. That said, there are differences in style and tone from one to the other. If it is an existing PbP that you are walking into, read some past posts. If it is a new one, see if that GM has run any PbPs previously (in the campaigns tab of their profile) and look at those. If they have never run a campaign, all you have to go on is what they say in the recruitment thread.
2. Long posts aren't necessary in the games I have seen, although sometimes they are colorful. You should play your character the way you feel is best.
3. The types of characters that are easiest to run in a PbP are the same ones that are easiest to run in a tabletop game. Melee characters and spontaneous casters are pretty easy, classes with more complicated rules can be more of a challenge.
One of the advantages in a PbP, though, is that you can track any notes you feel are necessary in your profile, so they are available wherever you are posting from. I use profiles to track hit points, spells prepared/used, abilities usable X/day, etc. And with the time you can spend writing a post (as opposed to being put on the spot at the table) you can take your time to look up rules, spell descriptions, monster stat blocks for summoning, etc, while you are writing to make sure you get it right in your post. Personally, I find that easier than doing it on the spot.
A good thing to remember is that a lot of PbPs will want you to check in at least every 24 hours (especially in combat situations - in RP, if your character has nothing to say, you don't need to post). Make sure you are okay with checking the boards daily so that nothing gets held up. (Note: Some PbPs request posts more or less frequently than 24 hours - the GM usually gives a guideline. 24 hours just seems to be the most common.)
I hope that helps, and I hope you find a good one! Sometimes they fizzle out quickly, so don't get discouraged if your first one falls apart and you have to find another.
1) Of the 5 that I looked through (didn't write down the titles), 4 of them seemed to be significantly focused on romance or love/hate relationships between the PC's. I personally don't have a moral problem with it or anything like that. I just don't have any real desire to spend weeks having an involved pretend romance. It wouldn't bother me if there was some of it, but it seemed like half of the posts out of combat were about that. Is this really typical?
Based on your description, and where it would show if you sorted by post count, I suspect that my game (Wardove's Rumble in the Jungle) might have been one of the game you perused. In the case of my group, there is in fact a strong focus on the intra-personal relationships of the characters. I've found that the PbP format is pretty much an ideal medium for more RP-heavy games.
That said, the combat in my games is generally very challenging and the battlegrounds are very dynamic. Underwater fights, massive number of opponents, and even split groups are all much easier to implement when the players and GM do not need to respond in real time.
Mind you, these are not necessarily qualities shared by all PbPs. To a large extent it depends upon the GM and the expectations set by them and their players. Therefore, when browsing the recruitment threads, you should both outright ask for what to expect and also read thru some of the game to get a feel for it. In the case of my group, the expectation is that the story and verisimilitude takes precedence over RAW. From what I've seen, we're in the minority there, so don't let that worry you too much. ;)
2) Alot of the posts were very long and involved descriptions of what individuals were doing. Don't get me wrong they were pretty well written and thought out for the most part. However, I am not typically that verbose. Is that expected? Will others be disapointed if I just say, "I swing my axe at his head?"
I've actually messaged players whose posts consist of nothing more than, "I swing my axe at his head." One of the expectations I have for Rumble is that it should basically be readable and internally consistent even to an outsider who has little to no understanding of the rules. That doesn't mean every post has to be a short story, but character development in the form of interior monologue, dialog, or descriptive text that fits your rolls is appreciated.
Again, this isn't something that applies to every group or even most groups. Some GMs (possibly most) prefer just a terse description of actions so that they can narrate everything themselves.
Something else to keep in mind is that most games have their own style guide or conventions for how to format your posts. This varies from game to game and usually only takes a few posts to get the hang of. As a point of reference, following are the guidelines my group uses:
[ Wardove's Rumble in the Jungle | Style Conventions | Gameplay Expectations ]
3) Is there a sort of primer/starter around anywhere that I missed? Good choices or things to avoid. Just thinking about it, it seems like a master summoner would be very difficult to keep track of in PbP.
There is a sticky post in the PbP Discussion forum that has a lot of good advice and answers. You can find it here:
On PBPs, a general discussion for all PBPersAlso, questions such as yours come up a LOT so you'll probably get lucky with the search function and a bit of elbow grease. :)
4) If I decide to do this, is there beginner friendly campaign that is starting or still recruiting?
Recruitment functionality was added to the Online Campaigns section a couple months ago. I'd start in the Recruitment sub-forum and look for games that are specifically being offered for either the Beginner's Box or those who are 1st-time PbPers.
Give it a try!
I expect to run a few more "one-shots" for first time people myself...
And expect that a PBP may just die suddenly or even get "post-poned"
I will look for your name in the recruitment page.
And I never pardon puns ;(