Would you play in this type of PbP game?


Gamer Life General Discussion


I’m sort of curious about what most of you think is the default way of playing in a PbP game here on these forums.

Would you play in a PbP game where it was a requirement that all your game post were made in the third person, clearly as if you, as a player, are describing the actions of your character, and not in the first person (as if the game would read as a narrative of a fantasy adventure)?

See, I would love to run a game here where every player participated in the activity treating it as a game, and not as an exercise in storytelling. A game where each game post was made like it was being made at the game table. The player describes what they hope to have their character do or say, (and is allowed to Bold dialog if they want to add a more direct “Role-Playing” element to their post, but otherwise each post treats the activity like a game, and not a story.

What are your thoughts?

This one time, at band camp…:
I once joined, as a player, a game on these forums and posted, the first time in the third person, telling the DM what I wanted my character to do, and then said, “and then my character says…” - and the rest of the players in the game went into attack mode, telling me I should stop doing that or risk getting kicked out of the game because it broke up their “narrative” which, in my opinion, was a bit hard to follow anyway


It's all about finding the right group of people. A lot of people come to PbP to immerse themselves as fully into their character as they possibly can, and this style of play is touted as one of the best to take the 'game' out of RPG. I'm sure if you posted in PbP section of the boards you'd find a group to play this way. Your biggest issue would be trolls (intentional or not) coming in to talk about your 'badwrongfun'. I'll be floating around that forum to see if something comes up.

~Fez


GM Fez wrote:

It's all about finding the right group of people. A lot of people come to PbP to immerse themselves as fully into their character as they possibly can, and this style of play is touted as one of the best to take the 'game' out of RPG. I'm sure if you posted in PbP section of the boards you'd find a group to play this way. Your biggest issue would be trolls (intentional or not) coming in to talk about your 'badwrongfun'. I'll be floating around that forum to see if something comes up.

~Fez

Thanks, good information to think about

I will not be posting any sort of recruitments for a long while, but I appreciate the sentiment. I am not doing a good job of running games for the dedicated and patient players I have now, so there is no reason to complicate that issue.


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It's not quite clear to me what you mean. What you describe actually sounds like what I see as the default PbP way of doing things. I'm actually more likely to use first person at a face-to-face table and third in PbP and that's how I've usually seen it.

Maybe an example of what you'd like and one of what you usually see?

random past PbP example:
Kiyanetikert also moves up, brandishing another vial, "Yeah, we came to help him, not kill him. Yield and we'll deal with it. Don't and we'll deal with you."

[dice=Intimidate:]1d20-3

It should be ridiculous, the little gnome waving a bottle and making vague threats, but somehow this time a scary wildness comes through.


I'd use the character's name rather than "my character", and don't generally bother with "X says", since it's clear from the bolding/quotes and that it's posted under the character's alias.


You're right. My question is too vague. I'll have to give more thought to exactly what I am trying to ask.


thejeff wrote:
I'd use the character's name rather than "my character", and don't generally bother with "X says", since it's clear from the bolding/quotes and that it's posted under the character's alias.

I also don't bother with "X says," although I might say "X murmurs to Y", or "X mutters under her breath," or "X shouts"--anything that's not normal speech.


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Quote:
A game where each game post was made like it was being made at the game table.

There's a fair amount of people who use first-person at their face-to-face game tables. I know a good number of my players say "I do the thing" rather than "(character name) does the thing" or "my character does the thing".

Quote:
See, I would love to run a game here where every player participated in the activity treating it as a game, and not as an exercise in storytelling.

I obviously can't speak for everyone, but that's generally the opposite of what I want out of my campaigns, and it sounds like you've run into a lot of people who feel likewise.

The response to your actions in your spoiler was over the line, I think, but I can't help but see at least a little where they're coming from, and would probably feel somewhat similar myself if I was running a story-focused campaign - which, at least in attempt, all my games are - and had a player who was more interested in the "game" portion of it than in the storytelling.


I'm too old, and my mind is stuck in nostalgia, stuck in a place, at a game table forty years ago.

I don't meet anyone who plays the way I used to play.


Also, I'm not being clear. I do not mean that I am more interested in the "game" portion, or aspect, of the exercise, not the mechanics of playing the game that is. I do love that a story is being created, but I find that no one I play with is willing to play it as if it were a game, you know, talk to the DM or other players like it is a game you are participating in, ask questions, learn about the other characters, oh well, never mind,

Let's just let this thread quietly sink away.


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Do you mean like:

"Okay, my guy will walk over and search behind the bar. If anyone asks him what he's doing, he'll tell them he's an exterminator and there's been a report of mice."

vs.

"Hector casually strolls over to the bar and then ducks behind, his eyes searching rapidly for the dagger that was used to stab the prince.

'Here, now, wot's all this?' a voice demands, and he looks up to see the barkeep's wife glaring down at him, a heavy rolling pin swinging from one brawny arm.

'Be on your guard, good lady!' he glibly improvises. 'I just saw a rat the size of a goblin dart back here! I believe it may be nesting.'"

?

Because the first is certainly something I'd say at the table to move forward as expeditiously as possible, whereas the second is something I'd use in a PbP.


That's definitely a part of it


A lot of the groups have a secondary chatboard where they have non role playing conversations.

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