Play-by-post/online play: Experiences?

[Kaodi]

I've tried PbP, and it is abysmally slow. That is why when I try to find or start one (like I am now), I aim for solo. My theory is that having a single player will make it go faster, but I could be horribly wrong. Maybe you could clear things up on that one, Nonlethal Force, since you have experience?

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

Take a look here. This site has the correct functionality for play-by-post (including such things as a verifiable die-roller that the players can use, so they roll their own dice, user-defined character sheets, private lines as well as private messages, etc.)

This is the play-by-post game that I started at the beginning of November 2005, and is still going strong. During the year and a half of steady play without breaks, the players have completed:

One Act aboard ship;
One Act set on an island;
and begin a third Act set in the tunnels beneath that island.

As you'd expect from me, this uses 1e. I'm fairly certain that DMs using 3.x would seriously need to find ways to streamline combat, or the game would just grind to a halt.

 

[Kralin Thornberry]

While slow, it does beat the alternative of not gaming at all, if that is your only alternative (as in my case). I have been in pbp gaming for around 10 years, and have been in many games, some lasting a long time (I've been in one for 2 + years now) and some that just never went anywhere.

I've only tried the chat one a few times, and I've noticed that if the time isn't good for you, well then, neither is chat based.

A decent sight for pbp is www.roleplayinggames.net.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

My theory is that having a single player will make it go faster, but I could be horribly wrong. Maybe you could clear things up on that one, Nonlethal Force, since you have experience?

My ultimate cop-out answer is that it totally depends on the posting rates of the other person. I tend to be a 1-8 posts per day kind of DM. There are some days I can check hourly. There are other days where I can check just before bedtime and that's it. The same is true with the other player. So, ultiamtely the thing that holds PbPs up is the posting rate.

However, having said that, I think it is possible for a solo game to move more quickly than a typical four person adventure. This is simply true because when the player is ready to move on, the DM can move without waiting to make sure the other players are ready (since there are no other players!). This tends to streamline the game in addition to allowing the game to remain focused.

However, I have found that in the solo game I run with Unleashed that the pacing is about the same. Actually, that solo game posts more often than any of my other games, but Unleashed does such a good job at character development that the time that would be gained by streamlining play is spent on character development and wolrd-immersion rather than fast play. [In truth, I'm all for that! I'd rather worry about character development than speed, though.]

In the end, here's my advice for if anyone decides they want to play a PbP:

1. If you want the ultimate character building experience and you post frequently enough to be able to keep a story going yourself, find a DM who enjoys doing solos. Because the only thing holding you back from developing your character to the fullest extent is you.

2. If you want to play a "faster" game, then play a solo game so that the game is focused and there is little lag time. However, realize that levels will still be measured in months, not days or weeks.

3. If you want to build online relationships, have good character development, but don't want to shoulder the burden of storytelling completely, play in a multiple person PbP. Depending on how your DM does combat, how often the other players focus on sidetrips, and how often the slowest poster posts ... this game could level a few times per year or have a few years per level.


In the end, though, PbP is about dedication to the game. The game will break down to a halt if a player (and especially two or more) find themselves no longer dedicated. I've been in my share of those, and while sad ... it happens. I like solo games because there are fewer people to lose dedication and when it does happen it is easy to close the game. I also like non-solos because the interaction between the other players is often fun.

As you'd expect from me, this uses 1e. I'm fairly certain that DMs using 3.x would seriously need to find ways to streamline combat, or the game would just grind to a halt.

I do 3.5 and my combats don't go on forever. I do a few things to make it work, though. I try to post some kind of online Battlemap. {For an example, check out the current last page of my Mightier than the Sword game in the Playing the Game forum, They've been in the middle of the BBEG fight, so this fight is probably the longest they've ever had}.

I also am very clear about posting the INIT order. It helps players know when other people are waiting on them. I also encourage players to post their character's action ahead of time, but that only comes with trust. For the most part my players trust that as a DM if they post an action ahead of time and something happens in the INIT that makes their action now sub-optimal that I will pause the combat and ask for clarification rather than penalize them for posting earlier. This takes some time to build trust, but once that trust is there, combat can fly. Most of my games can accomplish 1 or 2 rounds of combat per day, so long as all the players are posting at their normal rates.

I also do ALL dice rolling. I know there are DMs and players out there that react quite violently to this, and in a FtF game I react the same. But not having to wait for dice to be rolled online (and especially not having to verify the results) is a big time boon for the DM. As a player, I actually don't sign up for games where the players roll anymore because I don't like wasting my time running over to invisible castle, doing the roll, and then linking to it. I'd rather just trust the DM. It's far less work, and it makes the game move faster.

Those three things really help combat, and I imagine that they would help combat in any rules system (wheter 1e, 2e, or 3.x) I hope those suggestions help anyone thinking of DMing. Again, please feel free to reference my games if you have any questions here. I don't lift them up as perfect examples, but they are games that have been running for over a year - so they're not broken either. I simply ask that if you have questions about them, please post in the OOC threads in the Talking the Talk forum rather than the IC threads.

 

[billd91]

Play by post has its challenges but if it's the only game in town and the players and DM are commited to it, it can be very good. I've been on rpol.net for a few years now and most of the games I've participated in have petered out in some way or another (DM's going AWOL being the most common problem).

But there are a couple games I've been in for an extended period of time that have gone well. Interpersonal interactions can sometimes be better because you have time to compose a statement rather than feel pressured to put it together on the fly at the game table. You can see a lot more purple prose in a PBP game. Same goes for PCs describing the things they're doing.

On the other hand, adventuring is generally a lot slower, particularly combat. I've been in one game where we've been in a single combat since last July (admittedly, it has been a very big combat that has see-sawed back and forth and gone through a time in which the DM had to put the game on hold for a few weeks due to family issues) but the end is in sight, the body count we've racked up is impressive, and the XP award should be substantial.
Having the DM do all of the dice rolling, while it does take away one of the joys of being a player, can often speed things along dramatically.

One thing to keep in mind is that you have to reset your expectations. The game will take up less of your time in any single block, you may have to review previous events in the game periodically to refresh your memory, and you do have to be resigned to slowdowns from time to time. But it has its own rewards and fun.

 

[SecondTime]

I'm DMing a pbp game now. This would be my 4th game or so.

The first one actually lasted quite a while, because half my players were from a previous chat based game and we kept in contact regularly by AIM. There was trust and chemistry. That game got to level 4 before petering out.

The next two games died very early because of rl issues and/or a lack of interest on both my part and that of my new players.

The game I'm dming now ('Memories and Portents' in the pbp forum), I expect to last longer than the recent game, because I'm doing several things differently.

1) To make it easier on myself, I am using modules for the standard dungeon crawls, and adapting the fluff as necessary.

2) I'm using a standard, popular campaign setting (Eberron), which on the one hand provides a ready made number of plot hooks for both me and the players, and, because I recruited specifically for Eberron, those who join are more likely to be fans and feel 'empowered' by their meta knowledge of the story, giving them a greater investment in the game.

3) I have a simple, 3 scenario campaign arc in mind, with each scenario relativly independent. This structure is reasonable in size and forces me, and hopefully the players, to want to complete each. It also hopefully gives the players reason to believe that circumstances won't leave them in the lurch mid storyline, encouraging them to hang on. I will adapt the details to the individual pcs.

4) The last a biggest change, is redundant recruiting. While many note that more players tend to slow games, they also increase the 'risk' pool, i.e. a game is less dependent on the timing of one specific person's sched. I fully expect attrition, especially early on. To that end, i recruited an initial group of 7, fully expecting atleast 2 of them to drop out within the first chapter. I can quitly retire there characters while leaving a viable party; the remaining players are likely to be more dedicated, so forming a coherent group can benefit from heavy recruitment early. I will also re recruit as necessary. Those players who hang on will be rewarded with their own character specific scenario.

This is from a DMs perspective, and it hasn't been thoroughly tested, but this is my current stategy. My guess as to why most games fail (other than rl issues) is because the DM comes simply throughs their pie in the sky ideas at players who are strangers with a notion of how it will play out in his or her own head, but with little regard for an execution that requires the participation of people he has never meet before; when he or she believes his ideas aren't getting through, or if he simply looses interest in his new fascination, the game collapses. So the twin, reinforcing goals of a pbp dm should be structure (this sounds railroady, but it basically means having a beginning and end point in mind) and trust.

 

[Seeten]

So, does play-by-chat tend to have better success at longevity than play-by-post? I can see where it would keep things flowing more like an in-person session.

Azgulor

No, its subject to the same "people moving on, not showing up, not being committed" issues as pbp, it just, as you say, flows more like a ftf session.

 

[Seeten]

I'd be happy to try a openrpg type game, too, I bet that would also be cool.

 

[Gnome Quixote]

I'm in Whizbang's group (which is awesome by the way... check out the story hour, especially the next adventure he's finally archving which really sets the tone...) and we've basically hit level three after one year. However, the sheer ammount of character development and role-playing is so high quality, none of us care.

Makes that build I have in mind a long haul though.

I heartily echo this. I both play in Whizbang's pbp group, and regularly DM a Ptolus tabletop campaign about twice a month, and while there's advantages and drawbacks to both, I definitely consider them both to be equally worthwhile and entertaining.

In fact, if I had to state a preference of one over the other, I think I might actually choose the pbp game for the sheer depth of character development and interaction, but clearly that's because I'm less action-oriented than some. Our pbp game has produced a story and characters I'd actually be excited to read as a novel (and shame on you if you're not reading the Midwood story hour linked in my sig). My live game, on the other hand, while fun and exciting to experience at the table, not so much.

 

[Thanee]

That's true of any D&D game.

That's certainly right, yeah, but it's even more true for PbP gaming.

Bye
Thanee