Is there a pbp guide?

[EldonG]

Ok, I have no clue as to where this should be posted, so if this is the wrong place, let me know...

I am a GM of many years of tabletop experience (25+) in a very large number of games...and yet, I've never done a pbp, as a GM...or as a player.

I have a friend that moved away, and is begging me to run a pbp...he misses my style. While I'm seriously considering his request, I would really like any pointers anyone could throw me.

A few things I've already considered:
Mysteries can be very deep...players have tons of time to think about them.
Encounters should usually be focussed on flavor - big combat encounters take forever to play out and could become uninteresting rather quickly if they are round after round of hit/hit/miss/hit/miss...etc...etc...I would think it best if big, tough things had interesting options, moreso than on tabletop (always good, of course)

Where I may well be a bit weak:
It seems to me that players do a lot more interaction, and I'd like to encourage this while still guiding the adventure. I sense that this is different in pbp.
I tend to be impatient. I love the flow in tabletop, and sometimes that can even feel slow. I'd love hints on how to keep things paced well enough to keep a good flow. That said, having posts coming in every day or two has benefits over bi-weekly or monthly games...

Any hints would be helpful...any points about scenario design, in particular...

Oh...I plan on running my own world...in a kingdom with close ties to shadow...D&D 3.5...9th level.

 

[hafrogman]

For some odd reason, the PbP guide is in the Playing the Game area, instead of here.

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=36378

It may provide some brief ideas about the gaming style. Some of your other questions may be beyond its scope though.

 

[Knight Otu]

For some odd reason, the PbP guide is in the Playing the Game area, instead of here.

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=36378

It may provide some brief ideas about the gaming style. Some of your other questions may be beyond its scope though.

I had copied it here....


... before the crash.

 

[EldonG]

For some odd reason, the PbP guide is in the Playing the Game area, instead of here.

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=36378

It may provide some brief ideas about the gaming style. Some of your other questions may be beyond its scope though.

Thank you muchly!

 

[Bront]

I'd suggest reading a few games.

Learn to use Sblocks and spoiler tags. they're nice for the little gm notes and private conversations, or language issues.

 

[Jdvn1]

I've also been told this is a very good guide:
http://www.roleplayershome.net/forum/index.php/topic,1378.0.html

 

[Nonlethal Force]

I'd suggest reading a few games.

I would second that option more than anything else. Read a few games. This will do some things for you:

1. Teach you the many options regarding mechanics and how to run them. Mechanics includes things like: Dice rolling, OOC information/chat, split parties, combat, cambat maps, "to-color-or-not-to-color" character speech, and many other such things.

2. Demonstrate just how long PbP games really are. My games tend to be heavy RP and I try to encourage dialogue with NPCs. I try to update my games daily - often twice daily if the players have time to post. I have two games running since August, and 1 (Clutches of Evil) leveled their characters about 2 months ago and the other (Mightier than the Sword) will level as soon as they bite the bullet and decide to unsheath their swords. Of ocurse, they might just talk their way around the combat and perhaps find a solution I'm not planning on. In that case, they'll level when they level. Up to them! But to think that PbP games will even remotely compete with the speed of a tabletop is just not right. If you read a PbP as an example, ocasionally note the posting dates for reference.

3. Demonstrate other things you can do with PbP that may actually be better than tabletop. For example, I use a Rogue's Guild thread to put up NPCs that the players may want to remember. We also use that thread to post character sheets, so the sheets are accessible 24 hours a day as long as EnWorld is up and running. Additionally, thanks to Bront's suggestion as a player in one of my games, I have a thread dedicated simply to posting my homebrew information. This makes such information public to my players 24 hours a day, too.

4. Reading other games' OOC threads will also help you learn what PbP players talk about: recruiting, strategizing, etc. When you read an OOC thread, note who the DM is and how they relate. Some DMs give answers in their OOC threads, some DM's play devil's advocate, etc...

Anyway, I invite you to look at any of my games. You can find them in my sig, along with my Story Hour submission and my Homebrew gameworld thread. You are welcome to post as an observer in my OOC threads, but please refrain from posting in my IC threads.

EDIT: If you do read games, please understand that some games lost info due to the crash in May. So if you are reading games that have been running longer than since May, there may well be a "jolt" in the storyline. Please understand the unfortuante reality that many of us online DMs and players went through.

 

[EldonG]

Thanks again...and I have been reading through some of the threads, both IC and OOC...

I know how long it can take, and trust me, that's one of my biggest dreads. Right now, I play in one game that runs once a month...way too slow, but it's friends and family. If I can do posts every couple days, at least the game will tend to stay fresh in my mind, and I'm hoping that'll help significantly.

By the way...I've been considering doing a pbp for literal years, now...almost 10...but I know me, and so I've held back. I think I'm about to make the plunge.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

By the way...I've been considering doing a pbp for literal years, now...almost 10...but I know me, and so I've held back. I think I'm about to make the plunge.

If you do and if you recruit on the boards ....

Make sure you post your posting frequency assumptions up front and make it clear! All the players I have now are pretty good. But in the beginning I had a few that would post real well for a few days and then vanish for 4-5 days without warning. Then they'd come back as if nothing happened only to vanish again.

There are a few players on these boards who join games with every good intention and then drop after a few months. If you do start up a game, it might not hurt to ask if the prospective players play in any other games. That way you can get to know their posting style and frequency before you pick your party. Like I said, the players in my games now I wouldn't trade in for anything! They're all awesome and the games flow great. But I learned my lesson in the beginning of the games. Hopefully this advice is at least somewhat helpful.

 

[EldonG]

Yes, I think it has been. Thank you very much...I can only hope to have such exemplary players...well, that and ask around.