How to DM D&D over email/online?

[Wippit Guud]

I'm in two PBEMs, and I find it actually enhances roleplaying, as you have time to think out what you want to say, etc.

When combat comes around, we send in 5 round of actions, and being a spellcaster, I usually send in 'interrupts' in case something specific happens.

Then the DM write the combat story style, and it looks really good.

Here's the link for the more established one, been playing it since March 30, 2001:
Legend of Aerilis

Run by Cor Azer, who frequents here. Page includes character stats, and a record of every official story post made by the DM, you can read through 6 levels of advancement.

 

[Uller]

Playing over chat would be easy, I feel. We are both really fast typers and I don't mind him rolling real dice; he would play along well. The idea of playing over email seems difficult though. :-/

Patrick

Then seriously check out TMapper (http://www.tabletopmapper.hpg.ig.com.br/index.htm) and DungeonCrafter. Use that (shared via NetMeeting), and any old chat program and you'll be good to go. Our first game was without voice. We used NetMeeting as a chat tool and that worked fine (even with 3 players and a DM).

I'm with you...I don't think e-mail seems like much fun.

 

[Storminator]

I've been running an email game for 3 years now, and it works out pretty well. It's not the same, so if you really want a replacement for face to face, it doesn't work. It's its own deal, tho and it's pretty cool.

Disadvantages: slow. 3 years, 4th level. One major adventure.

Slow means you forget things, and all the problems that entails.

Advantages: Time to craft. Scenes are really cool, and much more literary. All you have is what you write, so it takes a bit more thought. More thought means good gaming.

A solid record. I know how NPCs speak, because I have everything they ever said on file. Voices, goals and attitudes are highly consistent.

It's all the time. A face to face game you play once a week, and think about a bit more. In a PBeM you can get a message any day, and send one any day too. I find I think about my PBeM much more often during the week than my other games.

I like PBeM a lot, but like I said, it doesn't replace real time with friends. I invited a bunch of cool posters from message boards to my PBeM, and I've come to consider them all friends, which is an added cool factor (nothing like emailing every day or two for years...), but it's not hanging out with the guys.

PS

 

[X.plosion]

I've played in several on-line games, and theyve all worked out pretty well. The dice server we used was http://www.irony.com/mailroll.html
Its really reliable and impossible to forge, sends out the rolls immediatly to, so you can play over instant messenger, and have your e-mail page open to recieve rolls. Good Luck with the game, and give your buddy my blessings.

 

[Aramus]

I've ran online chat based games for almost 6 years now. Right now I have a game up and running based on the Iron Kingdoms setting from Privateer Press. We used to use things like MiRC and ICQchat but for the last 5 years we have had either a .cgi chat or currently a php chat that my friend programmed. In a situation like Patricks you just schedule a time that both of you will be on and go for it. Right now, we have either social chat where the characters can just talk IC with each other while in the city along with Scheduled adventures and also some random adventures whenever I catch a couple people playing together in a room where I can make something happen. If you intereted in taking a look then stop by. The chat is at http://www.digitaldreaming.org/D20

Hope that helps some. Take care and good luck.

Thanks,
Jeremy


City of Corvis: Iron Kingdoms Online RPG
http://www.digitaldreaming.org/D20

 

[JoeBlank]

If you can get together for chat, try OpenRPG

http://www.openrpg.com/orpgnuke/index.php

It's free, includes a chat window, dice roller and mapping utility.

In my campaign we play via email almost daily, then get together every couple of weeks on OpenRPG. You can try to pace things so that important encounters and fights occur during chat, if you like the "live" feel, rather than email.

Someone mentioned the slow pace resulting in forgetting things. Simplest solution I have found is to set up a Yahoo group. You can have posts emailed to you, so you get regular email, but they are also archived on the group site. If you use OpenRPG, or some other chat, you can save the logs and post them to the group site. You can also post your character sheets and pictures, maps, etc. So everything is all in one place.

 

[Carnifex]

Go here:

www.roleplayinggames.net

- for messageboard-based gaming.

 

[robaustin]

I can't seem to find it now, but there is a website out there where your can put in a die to be rolled and have the result emailed to as many people as you like.

SD

Email dice servers:

http://cgi.kenware.com/DiceServer.pl

http://www.irony.com/mailroll.html


--*Rob

 

[MerakSpielman]

ok, I just skimmed, but has nobody mentioned the Play-by-Post (PbP) games happening right here at EnWorld? Just go to the Talking the Talk or the Playing the Game forums to see what I'm talking about.

I'm DMing two different online games in there myself. The games move as fast as people are able to post (i.e., not too fast).

I've got one of the games marked in my sig. Check it out to see if that's the sort of thing you're looking for.

 

[Storminator]

Someone mentioned the slow pace resulting in forgetting things. Simplest solution I have found is to set up a Yahoo group. You can have posts emailed to you, so you get regular email, but they are also archived on the group site. If you use OpenRPG, or some other chat, you can save the logs and post them to the group site. You can also post your character sheets and pictures, maps, etc. So everything is all in one place.

I have 3 yahoo groups dedicated to my game.

The things that I'm talking about are minor in-game clues that tell you "that character wasn't there at the time," and that sort of thing. I have over 4000 posts archived, and it's rather unrealistic to expect a player to sort thru them to remember minor (at the time) point number 17. I've chosen to simply remind players of what I think are the revelant points from time to time.

In a face to face game those minor points happened two weeks ago. I had one section of the game where two weeks of game time took two years of real time. Naturally the characters would remember details the players forgot long ago.

PS