How do you run PBEM games?

[SoulsFury]

I've been running a PBeM for nearly two years now, and another for just under a year. Here are the important points I've found:

1) Get the right players. You'll talk to these people ALL THE TIME! I get as much correspondence from games as I do from all my other friends combined. Make sure you like these people.

2) Roll your own! Dice that is. As DM I roll all the dice. It's much faster, and there aren't any issues. Trust me on this, it's great.

3) And they'll go on vacation! We've had babies born, people graduate from college, family members die, jobs change, and players get married during those two years. And lots and lots of vacations. Be ready for breaks in the game, and be prepared to move the game forward without waiting for a player if you have to.

4) Keep track of everything. You have the entire game archived as text, don't throw a scrap away. Not only is it a journal, you'll need the reference material. PBeM is slow. You WILL forget what happened.

5) Get an email list. I use Yahoo, but I'm sure there are others you can try. Before I had the list people would Reply instead of Reply All, and others would miss posts, then I have to forward things around, and people would get confused. The list is much better, and it allows people to lurk in the game. Set them up to receive without being able to post, and all your friends and fans will follow your every move!

6) I could go on and on, but I'll stop with this last point. Have patience. PBeM is slow no matter what you do. My game has been going for two years, and I'm pretty sure I haven't had a week long break in posting yet, but my PCs are only 3rd level. It's the nature of the beast that a scene that takes half an hour face to face can be 6 weeks of posting. So just relax and have fun!

I have a little site dedicated to my PBeM. The Chapters are simply the emails all strung together, so you can see our posting style quite clearly.

http://fomoss.rpgoffice.com/

I'll also set you up as a lurker if you're interested.

PS

I'd love to be a lurker, my email should be in the post above still! Thanks!!

Nik

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Do the players send what they say to all the players or just the dm and he routes it as needed?

I am looking for players, I sent you an email Meepo. If anyone else is interested, email me at ncs966@aol.com

For my two games, most posts are on the main mail list, so everyone sees them. If people want to do something privately, they take it "off list" - usually emailing just the relevant parties (DM and characters). This is great for little side issues, or side quests where the party is split into more than one group (a potential bane for every PBEM DM). Sometimes, people post something (e.g., "Detect Magic"), then the DM mail him/her a results post, which the character works into their next post.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Re: Or....

Why dont you use a bulletin board instead of email? Much more efficient, IMH(but experienced)O

I don't know why they don't do this. Definitely, the threading of replies would help!

I like email, because then I have an archive on my hard drive.

Some BBs let you do both, which would be the best of both worlds, I imagine.

 

[Vacuum Elemental]

Take a look at this method:

http://www.vacuumelemental.org

(as opposed to http://www.vacuumelemental.com )

If you need dice, here's a "cheat proof" method to provide a better table top feel:

http://krisinchico.brinkster.net/rolldata.asp

You can also find this on our commercial site.

Kris

 

[Storminator]

Re: Re: Or....

I don't know why they don't do this. Definitely, the threading of replies would help!

I like email, because then I have an archive on my hard drive.

Some BBs let you do both, which would be the best of both worlds, I imagine.

Personally, I don't like threading. I think it's too easy to get diverging stories, and then it's a bear to mash the timelines back together coherently.

But that's me. Other than threading I don't know what advantage a board would have over email, and as I said above, I'm not sure threading is really an advantage. I do know that others swear by BB games, so tastes vary.

I'll add you in SoulsFury.

PS

 

[SoulsFury]

Ok, thanks for the help guys. I'm gonna lurk in a few games for a week or so and then start. I looked at the games that are run with threads, and like mentioned above, it looked like it could get out of hand rather quickly.

Nik

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Ok, thanks for the help guys. I'm gonna lurk in a few games for a week or so and then start. I looked at the games that are run with threads, and like mentioned above, it looked like it could get out of hand rather quickly.

Nik

I think lurking is a great way to see what you like and don't like about running a PBEM.

I hadn't thougt about the problem of diverging threads. I guess no system's perfect.

Good luck!

 

[Tetsuwan]

Play by Web

I have been playing in a PBEM for the past few years and just recently the DM changed from using email to playing via the following site:

http:www.playbyweb.com

The site provides DM's and players with a nice little system, including character sheets, the opportunity to have character portraits, and a dice rolling program (no cheating with it either).

Another upside to the site is that games run a lot smoother (character interactions and conversations especially) and certainly a lot more quickly, especially when you have players in different time zones.

Hope this helps.