Hello all, I'm plotting out a campaign loosely inspired by Stephen King's the Dark Tower book series and as it is story rich and combat light I thought I could try to run a PbP with it when I am ready.
I'm seeking out general advice from you veterans on how to run the best game possible for this medium.
Any and all insights are welcome.
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First off, make sure your players are up for it. Some players enjoy the combat and get bored with the incessant roleplaying, others are the opposite. If you are clear that you will be running an atmosphere heavy, combat light campaign, then the players that apply should be ready for that.
secondly check out the GM guides here (they're near the bottom of the page as most of the guides are for players)
thirdly, and most important, Have fun!
Keep the game moving, and be selective about who you choose to participate.
1) Put it in the right place on the internet. Assuming you don't already have your group ready to go, you're gonna want to look for places to run the game that already specialize in PbP gameplay and actively support it. Built in dice rollers and maps help IMMENSELY. More than you think they would.
Personal favorite here is RPOL.net
2) Make rules for posting regularity and stick to them. Something like "In combat, you have 24 hours on a weekday to respond when your initiative comes up, or your forfeit your turn". PbP bogs down CONSIDERABLY when everyone is not actively posting. Make it clear up front how often you expect people to post, and if the person sounds good but can't meet the schedule, don't add them. PbP where one person posts 1/3rd as much as the rest drags EVERYONE down.
3) Spell any and all houserules out up front. If it isn't spelled out up front, then don't use it unless everyone agrees to it. Changing rules under people is a douche move, don't be a douche.
4) Set up some kind of guidelines for how to post. Like putting actions in italic, or in character/out of character speech in different colors, or something along those lines. Make it easier to glance at a post and know whats fluff, and whats crunch. If the player wants to write a paragraph describing the flourishes of their blade, great, but have that bottom line of "I rolled a 12, so thats a 17" so you can react appropriately.