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Hey all,
Here is a little offering for those of you who may be interested.
I recently started a Kingmaker PBEM and wanted a mechanic to deal with the two major problems I have had with PBEM's in the past, the random factor and general story pacing.
Here was my solution.
The D20 Matrix
Every player starts of with a matrix of numbers 1-20 (One of each number from one to twenty). During a post the player will choose one number from the matrix, cross it off, and all random elements for that encounter will be based off of that number (This includes everything from Initiative to Attack rolls, and saving throws. The damage done is roughly the percentage of the number chosen (A 5 is 25%, 10 is 50%, etc). This lets the player control the effectiveness of their character in the encounter and gives every player an equal chance to shine (I am in no means implying that some players would cheat =). The bad guys also have a matrix from which the DM can either roll randomly, or choose like the players (I prefer to roll for the standard encounters and choose for the boss fights). This also levels the playing field for the player vs villian aspect.
Pacing
Over the years this one has been a beast. Should I run a post once a day? Once a week? How do you cater to the dedicated and those who have a life in the same game?
I decided to run a post a day, absent players would default to a 'standard move' (Discussed before the game. Things like diplomacy before fighting, always use sleep spell first, stay at ranged with bow and at the last resort use the short sword etc.)
I then decided that each day "Scenario" would encompass one complete encounter (Sometimes even more depending on the severity of the encounter). I then broke the Adventure path into 20 Scenarios and began the campaign.
It has turned out quite well, and one of my players commented that we get more done in a PBEM than we do in our weekly game (I am still not sure if this was a complement or not =).
Best of luck!