Just dropping in to say I am still eagerly looking forward to a final draft of DH's guide to PbP GM'ing!
Dot. [dice=Attack]1d20+3
Looks like a hit to me
thank you this was very helpful
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FWIW, I'd find that a bit difficult to follow as a GM, so I'd make sure they don't mind if I do that. Especially as you get into higher levels, there can be a lot of dice rolls.
For example, my higher-level TWF rogue:
If all of those were on the same line, I think I'd cry. :)
I agree. I prefer the attack and damage on separate lines for ease of readability. Further, I prefer to see rolls and other crunch stuff in a spoiler.
I can not read the all on one line style for some reason. It makes me actually feel a little car-sick and I just give up and say I'll come back and update this game later.
Dwarven Barb. rages and attempts to kill the tiny kobold. "Tis your day to die peasant rat."
"1d6 Flaming"
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One thing I find when playing support characters/buffers is that it drives me nuts when I can't tell if the other PCs are taking my buffs into account or not, and I hate having to post every round going "+1 to hit and damage, guys! :D "
So I often tend to format my own posts/attacks like this, although I can't force other players to do so:
It's just a nice way of double-checking your own book-keeping, as well as making sure everyone knows you got their bonus/buff, without them having to ask. And at higher levels of play, where there's 9 billion buffs in effect, it can really start to get necessary, anyway.
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It's also helpful for the GM to be able to see if you're including something you shouldn't or forgetting something you should. Sorry you dint like it GM Beckett.
buffs - duration remaining
protection from energy (party) - 139 rounds
circle pro evil (centered on Bob) - 45 rounds
bless (party) - 12 rounds
haste (party) - 6 rounds
vanish (self) - 3 rounds
.
Round 2
JimmyJoeJohn scampers off to the left to get out of range of the ...
.
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Yeah, as both a GM and a player, I'd rather have that big string of numbers so that I can at least check it, even if it IS ugly to have a ton of stuff there, than to not have it. I catch my own players making mistakes all the time when they do the whole string.
Some of my players make the actual rolls behind spoilers, to cut down on the visual clutter. Also valid.
I also will do as ElterAgo does and put my buffs in blue text (usually at the bottom of my posts), but as far as being like 'well, if they didn't remember it, that's their problem'... that's super-frustrating for me, especially if I am, say, a low-level bard, and that +1/+1 is my biggest net contribution at the moment. Because then it's not just a case of the person screwing themselves out of a bonus by forgetting it; it's a matter of 'well, the main thing I contribute to the party is not actually being used. Great.'
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As a GM, I post a list of active effects and who is subject to them every round, like this.
People might still forget them from time to time, but it's not like they're not right in front of their faces. :)
We actually do this at the table, too, when buffs start flying: Someone will pick up the dry-erase marker and make a list of modifiers from things like haste or bardic performance on the edge of the map.
great thread. I read the first page and last page. Going to go back and read the rest. I've never pbp before. I am also a little computer illiterate. This is exactly what I was looking for. To learn how to do this. Thank you again to take the time to do this.
I've only table topped gamed before. (evercrack doesn't count as RPG)
As I said before. I will be reading through the previous posts at my leisure. But the questions I think I need answered I will post here incase they are not answered earlier.
Changing fonts (bold, Italics, blue, and green)
Character builds. What program is used? I currently use herolab. For table top gaming.
Dice rolling. Are we trusted to roll our own? Is there a program for that? Or does the GM do the rolling?
The little box thing. That expands into more writing?
That's it for now. I'm sure I will have more questions after I am done reading. Through all the posts on this thread.
Again thank you for this thread
ok figured that part out.
another suggestion/question.
A lexicon of terms. (dot) this to me means- Damage over time. I assume it means something else here
On the Paizo forums, when you post in a thread, a dot shows up to the right of the thread name so you can find it again more easily. Hence, when you"dot" a thread, you're posting in it for the purpose of keeping track of it.
In PbP in particular, dotting a gameplay thread adds the campaign to your Campaigns tab.
Changing fonts (bold, Italics, blue, and green)
Bold is usually used for dialogue, italics for thoughts or internal monologue, blue for OOC questions or clarifications of PC actions, and green is the result of the dice-rolling tags, which you've already discovered.
You can also or whisper. Check the "How to format your text" entry below the Reply box for all your formatting options.
Character builds. What program is used? I currently use herolab. For table top gaming.
You can generally build your character any way you want, either using a generator or by hand. Some GMs have particular formats they want for the character sheet, and some don't care.
The little box thing. That expands into more writing?
The one at the bottom of the last page of the thread? Yes, if you haven't figured it out by now, you click in it, and it expands to let you type as much as you want. If you want to include quotes of another post to which you're responding, as I have in this post, you click "Reply" at the top right of the post you're responding to.
took me a minute [bold] but [/bold] I figured out the one at the bottom of the page. thou I may just use copy and paste for quotes.
bold
{spoiler] I think I got this too [/spoiler]
so if I use hero lab to build the character. what is the best way to post on here? i'm probably asking a question with no single correct answer
To post a character sheet? If you select Output Hero Statblock under the File menu of Hero Lab and choose the BBCode option, you'll get a character sheet already coded for use with Paizo's format options that looks something like this.
I use this Template for most of my characters. I use YAPCG for characters since I'm cheap. See this profile for the setup
Thank you. I will play around with that. during my free time. This is Kevin. I discovered aliases for message boards.
Male ifrit sorcerer (wishcrafter) 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide 126, 128)
CN Medium outsider (native)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception -1
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Defense
--------------------
AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 10 (+3 Dex)
hp 7 (1d6+1)
Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +1; +2 trait bonus vs. fear effects.
Resist fire 5
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Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger +1 (1d4+1/19-20) or
. . morningstar +1 (1d8+1)
Ranged light crossbow +3 (1d8/19-20)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +6)
. . 1/day—efreeti magic
Sorcerer (Wishcrafter) Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +6)
. . 1st (5/day)—charm person (DC 16), mage armor, sleep (DC 16)
. . 0 (at will)—detect magic, mage hand, prestidigitation, read magic
. . Bloodline Efreeti
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 9, Cha 20
Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 14
Feats Eschew Materials, Expanded Arcana[APG]
Traits elemental endowment (osirion), snap ignition, wati native
Skills Appraise +8, Bluff +9, Craft (alchemy) +8, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (local) +9, Spellcraft +8, Use Magic Device +9
Languages Common, Dwarven, Gnome, Halfling, Ignan, Terran
SQ fire ray, hypnotic, mark of slavery, wishbound arcana
Other Gear crossbow bolts (10), dagger, light crossbow, morningstar, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, masterwork backpack, mess kit, trail rations (5), waterskin, 48 gp, 9 sp, 1 cp
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Efreeti You were born with the power of fire genies, and the magic of the efreet is strong in you.
Bloodline Arcana: Whenever you cast a spell that deals energy damage, you can change the type of damage to fire. This also changes the spell's descri
Efreeti Magic (1/day) (Sp) Cast enlarge person or reduce person 1/day.
Elemental Endowment (Osirion, 1/day) Cast elemental descriptor spell, gain temp hp = spell level for 1 min.
Energy Resistance, Fire (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Fire attacks.
Eschew Materials Cast spells without materials, if component cost is 1 gp or less.
Fire Ray (1d6 fire damage, 8/day) (Sp) Starting at 1st level, you can unleash an elemental ray as a standard action, targeting any foe within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack. This ray deals 1d6 points of fire damage + 1 for every two sorcerer levels you possess. You can use this ability
Hypnotic (1/day) +1 to DC of spells that fascinate. May make creature reroll against such 1/day.
Mark of Slavery -2 to skills and attacks after failing a skill check, unless you're retrying the skill check,
Snap Ignition Fullrnd action to produce small flame on finger. As candle if std action each rnd to concentrate.
Wishbound Arcana (Su) Use expressed wishes of nearby creatures as verbal components of your spell.
Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Pathfinder® and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Inc.®, and are used under license.
ok so what is/are PFS I see this everywhere?
PFS=Pathfinder Society. A form of organized play. Click the links on the top left to read about Society. Look especially for the Guide to Organized Play.
thank you
Doting, and I need to see how green type works.
This is for play-by-post threads.
So I just swap ooc for b and it gives you green type?
That's not green, it's blue.
This is a dice expression.
There's the green.
To post a character sheet? If you select Output Hero Statblock under the File menu of Hero Lab and choose the BBCode option, you'll get a character sheet already coded for use with Paizo's format options that looks something like this.
THAT'S A THING??? I've been doing this by hand for how long? And I have HeroLab...<facepalm>
This is all very good, but many characters have agendas. A Kitsune who is using the characters to gain an artifact might show the PCs a human character sheet. Then the PCs, if they make a required check can DM the GM to get the reply of what she is. Once she has to use her claws to defend herself, then the GM can post her real character sheet.
If I announce up front that direct messages can be used like secret notes, can I play it that way instead of hitting everyone with lots of,"Pretend you don't know this". She's basically a furry and it can be very hard for the player's attitude towards furries to not color the character's attitude.
With The Cleaves playtest I'll be looking for genuine reactions.
Looking forward to the topic on GMing a play by post.
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A very small tip that I find useful for language gibberish: Google Translate. Translate from your base language to a language that doesn't output in a Latin alphabet (e.g. Nepali), then use the phonetic translation below the output. So "Translation is fake" goes to "अनुवाद नक्कली हो" and "Anuvāda nakkalī hō."
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A very small tip that I find useful for language gibberish: Google Translate. Translate from your base language to a language that doesn't output in a Latin alphabet (e.g. Nepali), then use the phonetic translation below the output. So "Translation is fake" goes to "अनुवाद नक्कली हो" and "Anuvāda nakkalī hō."
+1 on this. I use it, my players use it. Very easy and very 'authentic', if you know what I mean.
I have an animal companion (which also happens to a separate alias) in my current campaign. How would I make it roar? Would I do something like the following:
Moria Jr opened its jaws wide and let loose a loud, "ROAAAARRR!"
-or-
Moria Jr opened its jaws wide and let loose a loud roar.
I have an animal companion (which also happens to a separate alias) in my current campaign. How would I make it roar? Would I do something like the following:
Moria Jr opened its jaws wide and let loose a loud, "ROAAAARRR!"
-or-
Moria Jr opened its jaws wide and let loose a loud roar.
You can also use the [bigger] [b]"ROAAARRR!"[(slash)b][(slash)bigger] code to make the font size larger. I use it to indicate when someone is shouting, etc...
Thanks, that helps a lot.
Would something similar apply for other animal noises that Moria Jr. would make? (Obviously taking note on how loud each one is)
Also, my character taught her animal companions all its commands in Draconic, since it is a crocodile, so I decided to use German because of some similarities.
You can use the [smaller] [(slash)smaller] command to indicate something akin to a whisper or something muttered under one's breath.
I did some light tabletop gaming in the 90's (D&D), and although I am now in my late 30's and have a demanding career and a family, I've retained my interest in tabletop rpg.
I am mulling PbP. I'd like to do it, however, to be considerate to the community I need a better understanding of the level of time commitment that is typically required (daily/weekly). Long-term commitment is not the issue; I've played play-by-mail strategy games with friends for years, but for those I knew what the expected rate of play would be.
Thoughts?
Thanks!
-SubiculumHammer
Subiculum: one post a day is generally an "okay" rate for most games. GMs who expect more (or less) will usually say that upfront. Depending on the complexity of the game, that one post could take you as little as five minutes to write... or maybe a half-hour if you need to go back and re-read the thread for some complex story bit that matters, or what-not.
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When you say considering it, do you mean playing or running? To play there isn't a massive commitment - if you can find ten to fifteen minutes a day, you can probably produce pretty decent posts incorporating role-play and dice-rolling with no real hassle. Being around most days is helpful - everyone has stuff where they need to be away for a few days or a week or two. But if you reckon you can't post most days, then it'll be tricky because you could end up holding up a game or missing out on contributing to decisions or roleplaying situations.
Running one is obviously more of a commitment, but the pace generally makes it easier. And there's no table so no one can tell if you are improvising...