As a really long time RPGer and relatively recent online player, I'd like to say that PbP is awesome!
Really, that's all. The format is like reading the book instead of watching the movie.
Any seconds or refutals welcome.
It's amazing how long I overlooked the medium, thinking "that's not for me". When it's good it's good. But it is sort of frail... every game feels like it's always at risk of dying.
Yes 9/10 games die before the adventure is done but you know what that ratio is not much different from my experience with face to face games. (PbP does tend to tank more quickly.)
I like having time to think of what my characters would do/ how they would respond.
Thejeff, I'm only playing PFS via PbP, myself. You're right; the short "4 hour" format of scenarios definitely helps, since all you have to do is keep playing for a couple of weeks. Also, you get continuity without having to place all the responsibility on one overworked GM.
So, revision: I love PFS PbP.
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I will quote some yahoo--
For those of you who are new to PbP, the format is *THE* best pure Pathfinder experience there is. It allows for a depth in roleplaying and character development that is not possible in a F2F (face to face, aka tabletop) game. In fact, I prefer PbP to my regular games: for the quality of character development and totality of roleplaying combined with the pure strategic/combat geekery that a good, updated map can provide.
Ayep. That still sums it up. It's just *good*. Better than face to face, better than RollD20.
Yeah. It's just a good way to go. In time, it will dominate f2f play...people think it's anti-social or <insert thing>, but a good game is infinitely more social, deep, and complete than any f2f is.
The future of RPGs is PbP (or the next iteration of such) and that's why it's too bad that Paizo Gamespace died. It could have been a huge boon to Paizo's long term growth.
Not dead, just throughly backburnered.
And has been since springish 2014, according to the thread.
I've addressed that problem by playing mostly PFS by PbP.
Scenarios are generally short enough to finish.
I've found that PFS games are super rushed. Everyone posts so fast so they can get thier credit and free up the character for f2f play (Just the impression I get, I could be wrong). Which would probably be fine except I live in Australia so all the posting happens while I'm asleep.
(Since you asked for dissenting opinions, I will offer mine...)
PbP is definitely a great medium for those who are heavily focused on character development and the social interaction portion of gaming. For those, like myself, who prefer the exploration and combat phases of gaming and have little interest in deep character development it's not so great.
I find the incredibly slow pace of play really off putting and I prefer to be able to interact with people face to face when gaming. I enjoy the social aspect of gaming (gathering around the table and having fun with friends) but not the social interaction portion of gaming (long-winded PC speeches and talking to NPC's)...yeah, I know, it's weird.
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As someone who likes ALL parts of RPGs, I certaintly see the appeal of PbP's, I just started having more free time, and joined 3 games in about a week. (yay)
I like the fact that people are more likely to pay attention to the personality and behaviour of the character, and I feel that a character fleshes out in much, much shorter amount of time, maybe 10-15 posts, rather than 4-5 sessions.
I dislike the fact that combat usually takes longer, and some things work quite hard, such as attacks of opportunity, and the sometimes odd initiative prevents teamwork feats and buffs to take place as they should, but other than that, I think PbP is a solid mode. I only wish it could convey accidental blunders and due haste (which I enforce at times in games I run, 20-30 seconds to decide what to do), but those aren't that common anyway.
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I'm a newcomer here, and though I just played my very first tabletop rpg last weekend, the PbP intrigues me - It helps that I enjoy writing, and it helps that I am more interested in character development and interaction then pure battle. I am curious.. Are there other PFS members who have created CHAT based rpging? I would think perhaps that could be a happy medium.. or maybe not an in-between, but maybe good for those who don't have access to tabletop sessions that fit their schedule..?
NJHeart2Heart, I'm not sure about CHAT based PFS, but there is another format, the "virtual tabletop (VTT)," that you may be interested in.
In VTT games, participants use some sort of software (roll20 is browser-based and popular) to share a battlemat and dice emulator. If I'm not mistaken, most VTT platforms support near-real-time chat, but most games have voice and video using Google Hangouts or Skype or something similar.
I hope I've given you something to look into. VTT PFS has a lot of support on the Paizo messageboards and a few third-party websites. Same goes for PbP, if you don't decide to go the VTT route.
Good luck!
Thanks Abyssian,
Great information, and so glad that there's support for VTT for PFS specifically! Thanks - I'll definitely look into that some more!
--NJHeart2HeartThere are also some of us around who believe that PbP doesn't have to be slow. A few such of us ran an entire adventure path in 120 days, with about 90 posts per day between us... and on the other end of the scale, we've run a PFS scenario in about 6 hours of solid, dedicated posting.
Welcome to the community!
I would be interested to see the AP and scenario you mentioned above. Could you provide me the names of those games? Secondly, how did you accomplish this feat (especially the PFS scenario)? Did you set a time to all be on the forum simultaneously and post for a dedicated time period (6 hours)?
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Welcome aboard guys.
A healthy game moving at a solid pace isn't the impossible dream many folks seem to think it is. Like Oladon mentioned, it just takes a handful of coordinated players and folks committed to regular communication. The saying 'real life comes first' gets thrown around a lot but I don't think anyone has ever suggested that you should skip feeding your kids to play a game. What's important is that you honor the social commitment you have to the other people you're playing with and this includes things like keeping them informed of absences and lulls in your activity. For example, you'd call into work to let them know you're staying home sick. We all owe our fellow gamers the same consideration.
Ditto what the two slackers said. There are 3-5 other people in the game. They matter too, so just be considerate.
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PbP is a fun format and lets me run different types of games at one time, which is hard to do at a table top setting. I tend to run three PbP games at a time:
One is unbelievably fast paced 50 posts a day is the norm. The players know this going into the game. I ran my COT game that way (the AP was completed) and I'm currently running Razor Coast in the same manner. This format is not for everyone and it is easy to fall behind, but I have an incredible core group of players that enjoy this format. There is deep character development, conversations with NPCs and amongst themselves that are rich, and complex battle scenes that are run efficiently. There is a lot of GM and player creativity, and I would characterize this as 50/50 role/roll play game. It is pretty close to actually being at a gaming table but with more depth.
My second game, Rappan Athuk, is a more moderately paced and has some ebbs and flows but it is heavily combat oriented. I also add in some creative battle scenario's that go beyond what is written.
My last game is a single shot module and that is designed to be slower. I stick to the module as written.
There are three important ingredients in these games: First, communication. Two, dedicated players who understand the type of game they are joining. Three, an organized GM that posts consistently, thus moving the game along. These games have clear guidelines of expectations that are giving during recruitment and restated on the campaign thread tab.
Time zone can be an issue but I've had a player in Australia and he was one of the most prolific posters in my COT game. I still don't think he slept. That being said this is the type of conversation that needs to take place during recruitment. As Feral stated it's a social commitment and it's doesn't take much to post that you'll be offline, slow posting, or on vacation. It's simple gaming etiquette.
As a GM, when I recruit for game, I put much more weight into a candidate's posting history and tendencies than the character sheet. Key to me is not getting the perfect characters but getting solid players that understand the commitment requirements. Are they players who can keep up and post more than just combat rolls? Do they disappear after a few weeks? Do they tell the GM and players they will be offline for any extended period? I also like to select at least one person who is relatively new to PbP and give them the opportunity develop as a player. In fact, three of my players from my COT/Razor Coast game(s) at one point were new posters...now they have thousands of posts under their belt.
PbP certainly has its share of pros and cons, but I also have really been enjoying it. I'm new(ish) to the medium. (only been play-by-posting for about 3/4 of a year)
I have two games with friends (one that I GM and one I play in) and two online PbP games (one that I GM and one I play in), so my adventuring cup runneth over! The PbP games offer me a different angle on the RP and narrative writing ability than what is available in a traditional tabletop session.
I avoided PbP games for a long time but that was silly. It is a rewarding experience and I recommend it to any who have been holding out.