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Message: <blockquote data-quote="perrinmiller" data-source="post: 5683716" data-attributes="member: 88649">Ariel Esimae, Female Aasimar Cleric[sblock=OOC]Yes, for the record I was talking to the players, but I would have been happy with a summary once DC (Kalius) agreed.I want to put on my DM hat and share about game pacing since it is something I have studied and discussed with other DMs in a PbP environment.  I apologize if this is long, but I do have a fair amount of experience in PbP gaming under my belt.  And my comments are applicable to DMs and players alike. In the 8 games I currently run, each group is a little different (numbers of players, posting frequency, and styles), but there are some basic things that hold true.1. A game typically progresses at the speed of its slowest player's schedule.  This can be amended to the second slowest player in larger groups if the slowest is typically skipped and just posts when they can outside of combat.2. OOC communication ensures smooth flow.3. All games develop a pattern or cycle of posting.There are two different styles for scene progression:1.  Player driven2.  DM drivenWhich style is best depends on the players really.  I have found most players at EnWorld are not comfortable with Player Driven scene progression, and rely on the DMs to do all the work. You can see the difference in the two LPF games that I run here.  Daggers at Midnight struggles to progress for this reason.  Where my Scourge of the Howling Horde has no issue moving along, I just tell them to go ahead.  With that in mind, most players react to the scene and talk to the other players. They do skill checks when they think they need to be done. Then that's it, waiting for the DM to move things along at some point (usually when people stop posting <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />).  For the most part, this is how things are done at EnWorld and with people posting 1-2 lines of text.  Now let's take a player like me.  I typically don't need a DM to advance the scene for me at all.  Instead they can post in reaction to the actions of my character, describing the results and what happens when my character moves to a new location. This is a huge difference compared to what we are experiencing in this game at the moment.  And most of the time I have been just going with the flow instead. I have an example of this player driven style right <a href="http://unlimitedrpgs.com/forums2/viewtopic.php?f=386&t=5076&start=195" target="_blank">here</a>.In either style, there are some basic courtesies that should be kept in mind. Typically, the players should be posting in a pattern of exchanges, very similar to when they are in combat.  What this means is that after a DM update, all players should have a chance to react and post before the next significant thing happens.  The DM is the one that can control this.For example in this current scene, Ariel just moved forward to talk to the NPCs.  Audra and Saktouk already have posted, so it is really Veniarus and Megan who are next, before the DM should post a reply to Ariel's conversation.  With a group of 5 players, this can slow things down, but it is proper etiquette. So normally, the DM should not post more than once in a 24 hour period during role-playing so everyone has a chance to take a turn.However, not all groups are the same and there are always exceptions.  Ariel is the diplomatic character and the controlling player is often a frequent poster <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" />. And, among the other players, some do not or cannot post daily and have not minded when things keep flowing without them.  So after an adequate time period has passed, the DM could post a reply without waiting too long since the other players are expecting Ariel to do significant talking with the NPCs. They accept that they get skipped a time or two and catch up on their next post or just play things from there..Another exception, is when direct questions are asked that need to be answered much sooner.  These might be a character asking a question that requires answering before anyone can post again, or it might be the results of an action everyone is waiting on.  These are judgement calls, but can be obvious.  Usually DMs don't wait and answer right away. When the player and DM are on-line at the same time, posts can be exchanged quite fast, but proper etiquette would mean that they not post more than 1-2 times each before allowing the other players to react or participate.Of course, DM updates in combat don't follow these guidelines and are another exception.So... scene advancement. We have communicated this at times in the past, us players putting an OOC comment that we were ready to move along.  This is good, and the DM should not take this as impatience on the player's part.  Better yet, this can be done IC as well by posting something like, "Ariel grasps her longspear and moves forward once her companions are ready." There will be times where half the party is ready to move forward, but the other half are interacting with each other and should be allowed to play that out.  This is part of the fun.As a rule, the scene should never be advanced significantly in time without clearly knowing the players are ready.  I have some games where the players are continually interacting and you just have to ask them OOC if they are ready or not since they will keep going for days RL otherwise.To illustrate how things should work, I will use the current DM advancement as an example (sorry SS21, not picking on you, but it easier to make the point without me explaining a different situation first. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />).  After combat ended, the players should have each had ample opportunity to react and interact.  I would have expected this to have lasted 2-3 days while our characters talked to each other, searched for things and dealt with the carcasses.  If the players are not helping advance the scene, the DM could have posted to ask if we are ready or just told us he planned to advance the scene the following day.  Simple communication.However, a better way would be that the players post their characters saying good-bye to the NPCs, inform Mr. Savi they are ready to go, mount there horses, and start moving down the road again.  Then without even asking, it is clear that it is the DM's turn to advance the scene in REACTION to the players.  The players are the heroes of the story, they would feel somewhat in control of their destiny, even if the adventure is linear.[/sblock]Ariel replies to the monks, "Not sure, but we don't have any outdoors nature experts in our group anymore.  I am sure this is just a misunderstanding like the issue with the Fey earlier."Ariel rides her horse closer and then dismounts about 20 feet away from the altercation.  She holds up her right hand in greeting, her longspear in her left hand pointed up at the sky."Good day. I am Ariel Esimae, Priestess of Helena, War-maiden of Justice.  Might I be of assistance?"OOC: If possible, I want to take 10 on Diplomacy (+10) when appropriate.[sblock=Mini Stats]Initiative: +2 AC: 22 (20 without shield, 18 flat-footed, 12 Touch)  HP: 23 Current: 23 CMB: +3 CMD: 15 Fort: +5 Reflex: +4 Will: +7 (+8 vs. Fear)+1 for all with ResistanceResistance: 5 Cold, 5 Acid, 5 Electricity Conditions if Effect: Point Blank Shot Current Weapon in Hand: LongspearJavelins: 5/5 RemainingFire Bolt: 4/6 Remaining Channel Energy: 4/5 remainingDeflection Aura: 1/1 remainingSpells Remaining: Orisons: (Light, Resistance, Guidance, Detect Magic)1st Level 2/4 (Shield of Faith, Doom, Bless, Burning Hands)2nd Level 0/3 (Resist Energy, Bull's Strength, Barkskin) [/sblock]___________________________________________<img src="http://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae47/perrinmiller/Nicki-Aycox_9-29-03_Wescyde-Scan.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> <a href="http://livingpf.wikia.com/wiki/Ariel_Esimae%28perrinmiller%29" target="_blank">Ariel Esimae</a></blockquote>

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