
Kevdak |

Noobs get wrecked!
Seriously though, welcome aboard, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, this is a very friendly and helpful community.
Thanks.
I have never played anything like Pathfinder but I've always wanted to try and figured your Online Campaigns would be the best way for me to learn (I don't have a large slot of hours in a day that I can spend on Skype or playing D&D somehwere IRL).

GM_Beernorg |

PbP (play by post) tend to be a good online method of play that does not require long stretches of available time, as you can post to the thread and further your characters actions, then check back in later to see what happened, and then continue from there.
You just have to be aware of how frequently the GM expects posts from each player in the thread.
Oh yeah, and welcome to the PF boards!
(Haladir is quite correct, the rules and advice boards can get, terse to say the least, troll infected at their worst)

Kevdak |

PbP (play by post) tend to be a good online method of play that does not require long stretches of available time, as you can post to the thread and further your characters actions, then check back in later to see what happened, and then continue from there.
You just have to be aware of how frequently the GM expects posts from each player in the thread.
Oh yeah, and welcome to the PF boards!
(Haladir is quite correct, the rules and advice boards can get, terse to say the least, troll infected at their worst)
The PbP section sounds like the perfect place to start.
Thanks.

Ceaser Slaad |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

The biggest problems with play by post games are:
1) They can end up taking a very long time to do what could be done in a face to face table top setting in a matter of hours. A large combat scene could take weeks to play out in play by post format. So you have to make sure that you're going to be comfortable with the relatively slow pace.
2) At least partly related to reason 1, people will end up dropping out of games with no notice after they have been going for a while. Sometimes that even happens with the GM. While this is frustrating when it happens, you simply have to be ready to find other games to try to join, or do the work to GM one yourself.
However, if one is fortunate enough to be able to get into a good group, one can have quite a bit of fun. And it is possible to do some things in posting on the boards that can't easily be done in face to face settings such as getting into detail about what the characters is thinking or feeling. Just make sure you go along with the conventions used to differentiate what a character says from what a character thinks. For example:
As Mundarion dodged behind a pillar to take cover from the opposing archers he said, "We've got to take these guys down!". He thought to himself, "This is not going well at all"
Though different groups might have slightly use slightly different methods to sort that kind of thing out.

Kevdak |

The biggest problems with play by post games are:
1) They can end up taking a very long time to do what could be done in a face to face table top setting in a matter of hours. A large combat scene could take weeks to play out in play by post format. So you have to make sure that you're going to be comfortable with the relatively slow pace.
2) At least partly related to reason 1, people will end up dropping out of games with no notice after they have been going for a while. Sometimes that even happens with the GM. While this is frustrating when it happens, you simply have to be ready to find other games to try to join, or do the work to GM one yourself.
However, if one is fortunate enough to be able to get into a good group, one can have quite a bit of fun. And it is possible to do some things in posting on the boards that can't easily be done in face to face settings such as getting into detail about what the characters is thinking or feeling. Just make sure you go along with the conventions used to differentiate what a character says from what a character thinks. For example:
As Mundarion dodged behind a pillar to take cover from the opposing archers he said, "We've got to take these guys down!". He thought to himself, "This is not going well at all"
Though different groups might have slightly use slightly different methods to sort that kind of thing out.
I figured the dropping out thing that might be a problem.
However I was wondering how you sign up for a PbP campaign? Is there a forum you have to go to or do you PM to DM or Mod?

GM_Beernorg |

Depends on the particular PbP, some are more open, some require being in the group at the time of the games launch. There is a play by post, and PbP discussion board, and very often there are recruiting threads for games. The good ones should have instructions for getting started and contacting the GM included.

Calex |
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And when everything goes wrong don't forget to Blame Cosmo!

captain yesterday |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

And when everything goes wrong don't forget to Blame Cosmo!
Not me, I blame Al Gore, sure it's a little inconvenient, but what are ya gonna do.

Ceaser Slaad |

One other thing to mention in regards to trying to get into a game. There might not be that much going on until after the New Year's holiday is over. The games move at a slow pace anyway, but during holiday seasons people get busy with other things and real life has a tendency to take priority for some bizarre, inexplicable reason.

Kevdak |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

Just make sure to avoid any kind of political thread. Those can get nasty. It doesn't matter how strongly you feel about the subject, just don't post in them. Under any circumstances.
In other news, welcome! Please enjoy your stay.
I learned to stay away from internet political (and religious) discussions a long time ago.
One other thing to mention in regards to trying to get into a game. There might not be that much going on until after the New Year's holiday is over. The games move at a slow pace anyway, but during holiday seasons people get busy with other things and real life has a tendency to take priority for some bizarre, inexplicable reason.
That's fine with me.
I still have to figure out how Pathfinder even works so I'm not going to rush getting into things.

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7 people marked this as a favorite. |

Here's my "noob" story, and it is used to berate "veterans".
My wife has played exactly ONE session of D&D because of this as well.
If you're familiar with Village of Hommlett, you know about the gnoll mercenaries in the dungeon level. My wife played with two dudes in town for a convention, with me DMing. They encountered the gnolls, and my wife asked why not just talk to them, maybe we can buy them off or something. The two "veterans" made her feel very stupid for even making the suggestion.
My wife had ZERO prior knowledge of the encounter, as she's not very geeky and doesn't look through my gaming stuff, and independently, with a non-gaming mind, stumbled across a strategy SPECIFICALLY SHOWN IN GYGAX'S TEXT as possibly effective, that the two "experienced" gamers rejected out of hand.
Se felt so bullied that she hasn't picked up a die since. Hopefully, with my new group (guys I've played with before and less stereotypically geeky in general), she might want to give it a shot again.
So, the moral of this story is, even of you've played "forever", sometimes a fresh, inexperienced, perspective can find solutions your "experience" reject. Be nice to "noobs", they might be pretty good thinkers and problem solvers, both things that require zero gaming experience to possess.
And, you know, don't be a stereotypically geek d**k, it keeps people from wanting to play, and our hobby really can't afford to turn ANYONE off at this point. We're too niche a hobby to be arrogant like that.
And, yeah, you two, you know who you are, and you really made her first (and so far only) experience miserable and turned her off to gaming badly.

Orthos |

Goddity wrote:I learned to stay away from internet political (and religious) discussions a long time ago.Just make sure to avoid any kind of political thread. Those can get nasty. It doesn't matter how strongly you feel about the subject, just don't post in them. Under any circumstances.
In other news, welcome! Please enjoy your stay.
Wiser than a lot of people, you are.

Fergie |

And I think I may need help. I looked at a Pathfinder character sheet and it looked like rocket science at first glance.
Don't worry, it looks crazy at first, but for the most part, it is pretty easy to fill in most of the numbers and stuff.
If you have any questions, you can post them here, or in the advice section of the messageboards. If you need help with the basics or getting started, there is also a section for the beginner box set that has some great info. Just ask!

Kevdak |

Kevdak wrote:And I think I may need help. I looked at a Pathfinder character sheet and it looked like rocket science at first glance.Don't worry, it looks crazy at first, but for the most part, it is pretty easy to fill in most of the numbers and stuff.
If you have any questions, you can post them here, or in the advice section of the messageboards. If you need help with the basics or getting started, there is also a section for the beginner box set that has some great info. Just ask!
I've been trying to use computer pathfinder sheets while reading the beginner box's hero handbook, but the sheets keep on screwing up on me.

Wei Ji the Learner |

Two acronyms to help differentiate the two words 'noob' and 'nub'.
Noob: Neophyte Of Organizational Beginnings.
Nub: Nearly Useless Body
That all aside, welcome aboard, may your stay be educational and enlightening, and mind the dangerous false dichotomies of optimization/roleplay, Table Variation/RAW, and other things you'll discover along the way.