I'm a steady fixture of the PBP community on this site (I like to think so anyway). I run multiple games simultaneously and have for a couple of years now. I also play in many PBP games. Most of them fail for one reason or another, which should be well known to anyone who has given PBP a serious try. This leads to many, many games at 1st, 2nd and 3rd level that never get past that point. Or many games where you never level at all. I personally like games where I can feel a constant sense of advancement.
I am running one game currently where I just realized that it's taken us ~2,500 posts to get from level 1 to level 4. That's probably my fastest game too. Is that representative? What's the farthest and fastest you've leveled up a PBP character? How many posts from starting level to current/ending level? Was normal XP used?
I'm just curious about other people's experiences. Thanks!
Note:I'm not talking about games that start at high levels, unless you leveled multiple times during them.
In DM Medlii's CotCT, we have hit 7th in 2088 posts. BUT he levels us when appropriate for the AP, not by xp. ( Typhon B'Ru)
Conversly in the RoW campaign I'm in ( which is on its second DM) we are level 6 with 4551 posts...( Ankih Tohep) using xp.
Playing Age of Worms we made level 9 in 6400 posts. Level 5 took 4100 posts.
I will give you stats from core Pathfinder running older modules and being very strict with the experience tables at medium progression.
Finished N1--Cult of the Reptile god--advanced characters to level 3 in 1500 posts. Had to give a generous story bonus at the end to get the experience right (about 1000XP per character).
Running Keep on the Borderlands (B2) we are at 1800 posts and almost level 3.
When I first started DMing on the boards I had thought that characters should make a level every two months doing some rough calculations. Now I realize every game has its own pace.
My new experiment I am trying is to take a story driven module and set out a script for events and try to force the combats to fit my schedule of getting the characters to (1)make level 3 and (2) hit all the story goals in three months. This may require shortening combats and absolutely no random encounters.
I'm in your B2! :P Good to know we're almost level 3.
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And you are in my grand experiment to create an 'optimized' adventure format for PbP.
Story hooks interspersed with episodic combat to meet a schedule.
I am learning that traditional dungeon crawls, my favorite type of adventure, do not translate well to PbP. Maybe because of the 'doors' issue described in Painlord's thread.
Combats eat up valuable posts, and they all need to be efficient and meaningful.
Opening four sets of doors with four orcs behind each door takes too long in PbP!!
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Word. Dungeon crawl fatigue is a major issue in PBP. You need an SOP for opening doors that can be run by the DM without player input.
But then the game just becomes a long string of combats with no RP. Tough thing to balance.
But running through a dungeon crawl with Gary Gygax or Tracy Hickman as DM was the ultimate roleplay experience.
Hopefully someone finds a way to capture the Dungeon Crawl in PbP and make it work. I try my best, but PbP requires a different set of tools.
And, need to learn maptools! The good DM maps make me feel intimidated.
I think my Java version didn't support maptools, but I probably need to try again.
And let us hope Pathfinder Virtual Tabletop make it all good!!
Roll20 is easier to learn and easier to use in my opinion. Support them financially and you get cool dynamic lighting also.
FWIW, MapTools also has dynamic lighting.
Sort of. Only if you are running a live server, otherwise it's more like static pain-in-the-bum lighting.
I'm at 2971 posts in my Skull and Shakles game, and at 6th level (close to 7th, we're almost done with Book 2), and 1509 in my Carrion Crown game, and they just hit 5th.
Though conversely in my homebrew, a sandbox-ish Thieve's Guild type of game, we're at 3186 posts, and just hit 6th...when we started at 3rd.
I don't use EXP in any of the above. Myrial (the homebrew) is moving a bit slower though because there's a reasonable amount of planning and inter-party banter, whereas my S&S and CC characters are a bit newer, and less chatty.
Well if you are keeping numbers on this to find an average, keep in mind I do not use XP.
My WotR game is at 2496 posts and the players are level 7 or will be very soon.
My Falcons Hollow homebrew/modules is at 5237 and the players are level 6.
My Iron Gods game is at 1575 and the players are level 3.
Seems that running APs nets faster levels.
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Playing Age of Worms, as Jelani and Rynjin know, has taken us 7716 posts and 273 days from level 1 to level 6. All six players post multiple times per day.
Playing in one of GM Demonmoose's "Fires of Creation" games, we've taken 1258 posts and 89 days to get from level 1 to level 3 (about to reach level 4, though). In that game unfortunately we have lost two players, but the remaining four players usually post at least once a day.
And WhtKnt ran a Pathfinder Society scenario for five of us this summer; it took us 303 posts and 101 days to complete it. That one was noticeably slower, and we lost a couple players by the end.
My Carrion Crown game just passed book 3 and weirdly I actually did a lot of this kind of calculation today to post in discussion.
We are 7,430 posts in and level 8. Books are taking an average of 2,476 posts to complete and I think today is day 528 if my math is correct which works out as 14 posts per day. I think thats a pretty healthy pace to continue immersive roleplaying whilst progressing the story
Jade Regent: Book 1; Just Level 3; January 11 2014; 955 posts
Wrath of the Righteous: Book 1; Just Level 2; July 12 2014; 501 posts
Moru Country: v3.5 Box Set; Mid Level 6; January 30 2013; 3128 posts
-- david
Wrath gives lots of XP so levels will come significantly faster than the others. It looks like 500 or so posts per level on the other two PbP.
I tend to not worry about it much, as far as "how many posts till", as long as the game is fun, and people are still roleplaying. My S&S game is 500 posts in, and still at level 1, almost to level two. I just try to keep the pace moving towards goals, and pay attention to when things tend to stagnate. Also throwing in personal tie ins for the characters seems to get them more involved, and as far as I know, nobody is really too worried about levelling up, as much as having fun.
my mummy's mask game has been running for 7 months, 8 months coming this january. Less than 2300 posts and level 14 and on book 5.
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my mummy's mask game has been running for 7 months, 8 months coming this january. Less than 2300 posts and level 14 and on book 5.
How exactly is that possible?
Is there no inter-party dialogue and every combat lasts one round or less?
And all that with everybody only posting every other day at best?
I saw that, but as I don't have the AP and don't have any other real point of reference, I can't tell how far they are in the AP at any given point without reading all 2205 posts.
Is Mummy's Mask just really easy to blow through?
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It looks like it's a pretty high-powered game (see the recruitment thread). 30 PB and 7 PCs mean you can blow through most of the smaller encounters where 33% rounded down is 0. And Silver Bullet probably averts a lot of "what next?" stagnation.
I don't know anything about Mummy's Mask either, though.
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not to mention the extra monsters mean more exp, and if possible I try to add powerful extra monsters instead of weak ones for massive exp, so they are above and beyond the level they are suppose to be. Silver Bullet used to avert the "what next" but not that way anymore. Plus I automatically move the characters through the dungeons instead of waiting for them to say I move to room x and let them stop at certain points that I know have something useful. Actually we are down to 5 pcs now instead of 7.
There is inter-party dialogue, but it happens in-between scenes and in combats. Or I describe an entire scene from start to finish and let people say how they wanted to interact in that scene and then move onto combat in the same post.
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Word. Dungeon crawl fatigue is a major issue in PBP. You need an SOP for opening doors that can be run by the DM without player input.
But then the game just becomes a long string of combats with no RP. Tough thing to balance.
My 2 cents is that this is why we saw several Iron Gods groups drop off. Demon Moose & Chillblame still doing great from what I hear.
Still, it seems like Book 1 is heavy on dungeon crawl.
The IG group I'm went through a long hiatus over the holidays, but we're about to finish up book 1 now.
But running through a dungeon crawl with Gary Gygax or Tracy Hickman as DM was the ultimate roleplay experience.
Hopefully someone finds a way to capture the Dungeon Crawl in PbP and make it work. I try my best, but PbP requires a different set of tools.And, need to learn maptools! The good DM maps make me feel intimidated.
I think my Java version didn't support maptools, but I probably need to try again.
And let us hope Pathfinder Virtual Tabletop make it all good!!
I liked your simple spreadsheet maps, leaves more to the imagination.
My Razor Coast game is at 7900 posts, they began at 4th with 1 lv NPC, they are currently 6/1. We have a ton activity and roleplay. I don't hand out XP per encounter, we do it by feel of the game level. (8 months so far)
My COT game (completed the AP) had over 26,000 posts and the players were 13 level by the end. (2 yrs, 2 months)
My Rappan Athuk game began at 2nd level and the players are currently at 9th with 8300 posts. (2yrs next week)
Each game is/was different, no set rule for speed for advancement.
Hm... Haunting of Harrowstone, Carrion Crown, 1,097 posts and we are in the morning of the third in-game day... Should I be worried?
Hm... Haunting of Harrowstone, Carrion Crown, 1,097 posts and we are in the morning of the third in-game day... Should I be worried?
Why be worried if the game is moving smoothly. My Razor Coast game has 8350 posts, they are in day 8, but they's leveled several times already.
I'm at 2971 posts in my Skull and Shackles game, and at 6th level (close to 7th, we're almost done with Book 2), and 1509 in my Carrion Crown game, and they just hit 5th.
Update if anyone cares, Skull and Shackles has slowed to a crawl, with 4749 posts, level 7, and about 1/5 of the way through book 3.
Carrion Crown has shot up to 4473 posts in the same amount of time, and they're at 8th level near the end of book 3. Part of this is due to a change in player and party composition, two of the less active players leaving and being replaced by a friend of mine who acts as a "Pusher" and everyone being generally more involved and having a lot of fun whenever he's not swamped with work.
The CC game is both moving more quickly, and has more RP/inter-character interaction at this point.
Thanks for the data guys, interesting.
My Razor Coast game is at 7900 posts, they began at 4th with 1 lv NPC, they are currently 6/1. We have a ton activity and roleplay. I don't hand out XP per encounter, we do it by feel of the game level. (8 months so far)
My COT game (completed the AP) had over 26,000 posts and the players were 13 level by the end. (2 yrs, 2 months)
My Rappan Athuk game began at 2nd level and the players are currently at 9th with 8300 posts. (2yrs next week)
Each game is/was different, no set rule for speed for advancement.
Both of my ongoing games had characters level up in the last week.
Razor Coast - 8/1 level, 11,900 + posts
Rappan Athuk - 10th level, 9600 + posts
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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My "Adventure Ensues!" homebrew (5E) has been at 3rd level for a while now, and is at 576 posts. That pace is unlikely to continue, because 5E's XP schedule gets you through your first couple of levels pretty quickly, then suddenly slows dramatically. Which I think I kind of like.
I agree with Jiggy on the 5E thing, 1st level was finished in 3 encounters for my group.