How do you run PBEM games?

[SoulsFury]

PBEM-Play by e-mail

I want to run a long term pbem game that will eventually take the players through Rappan Athuk. It will be played in Forgotten Realms. I was wondering how you did the roleplaying aspect. Do you email each person what someone says, the first person who replies is the one who says something? Ex:
Email 1
Npc: Hello
send mail 1
player emails: hey, who are you

Email 2
Npc: Hello
Player: Hey, Who are you?
Npc: Valin the great.
send mail 2
player 2 emails: What are your intentions?

Email 3
Npc: Hello
Player: Hey, Who are you?
Npc: Valin the great.
Player 2: What are your intentions?

Is this how it works or what? I plan on running combat like this:

As you walk through the door, you enter a 25 x 25 room. Two orcs on the opposite side of the room let loose arrows, and another stands, mace drawn in the center. The arrows both make their mark, one on Aarlin's shield, not dealing damage, and the other pierces his right shoulder (take 4)
Then send a diagram (made by cc2, not like the one shown)
O=emtpy E=Enemy D=Door (open) w=Wall
A=Aarlin B=Billy C=Candy F=Fred
OOOOO
OOOOO
OOOOO
OOAOO
wwDww
B
C
F

Then I will have the players send me:
Initiative
To Hit
Damage
Any Spells they want to do and other things like that
If, then situations (if during the round Aarlin gets hit again, then Fred wants to heal him if it happens before his round otherwise he wants to cast the designated spell or swing his mace).


How do you think this would work? Any tips appreciated!!

Also anyone interested in joining drop me an email (ncs966@aol.com).

Nik

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

In the two PBEM games I play in, here is how things have been handled.

The DM sends out a posting. The players respond, and also respond to each other. The DM eventually sends out a revised posting. Players (and the DM) respond. Eventually, the DM sends out a "new" posting. Might be a new turn # in the subject line (if the DM labels the post that way), a new subject (if the DM posts unique "titles" on each post), etc.

Generally, the issue of "first post = what happens" can be contentious, especially with varying time zones and varying internet access times. If your players have different access times (not to mention time zones), and you decide on a "first post = what happens" rule, then it's only fair (to all the players) if you post at differing times of day. In other words, don't always post at 6 p.m. US Central Time, unless that's a time of day when all your players can check for postings.

The combat is all descriptive, with the DM tracking wounds, spell usage, etc. The DMs in my games give little summaries at the end that show percentages "Fred - 88%" mean 88% of h.p. remain, etc.

For spell casting, the player writes a post describing the casting, and then usually put the spell (and target, if applicable) in a brief OOC note, like so:

Stepping to the front of the group, she begins the casting of a new spell. The gestures are different than any she's used before, concluding with her fingers fanning away from her eyes like a butterfly.

(ooc: Darkvision)

My DMs write like prose, sometimes adding in PC lines if needed:

Hugging the wall tightly, he slips by the obstruction, and pauses on the other side while Yiri directs the rest to follow the course. Beyond the fragile stonework, the debris lessens, easing the way onward. Locke, finding himself near the middle of the group, pauses midway through the crossing, and holds his glowing moss high to study the ceiling.

"No hole," he notes quietly.

The "dialog" style you made up works well, too.

But,unless you want the game to take fooooooooorever, I suggest longer emails than one line of dialog.

My DM's usually put maps on a web page, along with the "final DM post" for a turn, making a sort of permanent story hour on the web.

 

[SoulsFury]

How does your dm handle dialog then? I like the descriptive use the players have to use, then it is easily posted as a 'story' and the players get to see how it happens. Thanks.

Nik

 

[Kichwas]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pbemadvice/

http://www.pbem.com

 

[SoulsFury]

Great links! Thanks!

Nik

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Are you looking for players, SoulsFury? I'd be interested if you are.


-Meepo

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

How does your dm handle dialog then? I like the descriptive use the players have to use, then it is easily posted as a 'story' and the players get to see how it happens. Thanks.

Nik

In the games I play in, the dialogue tends to start with one character (sometimes the DM as an NPC) saying something, then someone responds, and the players (or players + DM) just keep sending a bunch of emails, and pretty soon you've got a dialogue written.

Since we don't want the game to "drag" we will often start a dialogue in the middle of a DM post. Then our poor DM has to cobble it all together (and remind people whose character's arent' there that they can't join in the conversation, etc.). If we didn't do that, the dialogue would take weeks to write.

The same thing happens for actions. The DM will describe the beginning of a battle, and everyone else pretty much has to post at least one post, saying what their character is doing in the battle.

For a very complicated battle, the group may have to post actions for every round of combat. For something simpler, we just give the DM a general idea and he runs the combat for several rounds between our input.

As a DM, be prepared for players to drop out of the game without warning, or to have sudden silences as real life prevents them from posting. Usually they can email to let you know they'll be absent, but once in a while they just disappear....and hopefully re-appear soon!

 

[DM_Matt]

Or....

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

 

[Storminator]

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

 

[SoulsFury]

In the games I play in, the dialogue tends to start with one character (sometimes the DM as an NPC) saying something, then someone responds, and the players (or players + DM) just keep sending a bunch of emails, and pretty soon you've got a dialogue written.

Since we don't want the game to "drag" we will often start a dialogue in the middle of a DM post. Then our poor DM has to cobble it all together (and remind people whose character's arent' there that they can't join in the conversation, etc.). If we didn't do that, the dialogue would take weeks to write.

The same thing happens for actions. The DM will describe the beginning of a battle, and everyone else pretty much has to post at least one post, saying what their character is doing in the battle.

For a very complicated battle, the group may have to post actions for every round of combat. For something simpler, we just give the DM a general idea and he runs the combat for several rounds between our input.

As a DM, be prepared for players to drop out of the game without warning, or to have sudden silences as real life prevents them from posting. Usually they can email to let you know they'll be absent, but once in a while they just disappear....and hopefully re-appear soon!

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