PBEM/PBP - Is it really playing DnD?

[ced1106]

I play in one RL game, DM two PBEM's (in the same world of my creation) and play in another PBEM. I have to say that initially it wasn't easy to get into a GOOD PBEM to play in. A lot of them DO evaporate due to lack of enthusiasm - but once you get into a decent one where everyone has sufficient interest, it can be a great supplement to playing in real life. The thing is finding a GOOD GROUP that is comitted to posting on a regular basis

I ran a Play by EMail Call of Cthulhu which turned out **much** better than I expected. Essentially, we ended up writing a collaborative story, rather than a traditional "investigate then blow it away" CoC game.

First step: Auditions for players. I posted on a roleplaying USENET group. I required players submit at least one paragraph of background information. Stats were optional and I offered to generate them based on the background material.

Second step: Weekly deadlines. I wrote a story, players submitted what their characters did, I edited it, and sent it out. If I made an error, I simply re-edited the story.

Third step: Participants also could email me suggestions to further the plot.

Fourth step: Control the plot suchthat messages back and forth were minimized. In CoC, combat is lethal, so players didn't bother with it!

The game did indeed end because of lack of interest -- or rather, it got tiring for me to edit each week for two hours straight. The plot moved pretty slowly. But the results was a richly written story that far exceeded anything that happened in any roleplaying game I've played.

Don't knock it until... you're able to write for two hours on a small novel each week!


Cedric.
aka. Washu! ^O^

 

[robaustin]

BRILLIANT! Where did you get such an amazing idea? What brilliant mind spawned it? Why does that nick look familiar? And why did the name Davin Gallandir just jumped into my mind out of nowhere too?

Hi Rob.

I'll give credit where credit's due - Samnell was the DM of the first PBEM I ever played in -and he "showed all his work" too... Which is of course where I got the idea from.....

<waves back to Samnell>

--*Rob

 

[Aust Diamondew]

yea

I agree with the author of this thread. Not only that but it'd take forever to play a game on a message board compared to real life.

Maybe I'm just too young and ignorant. (I've only played D&D since 8th grade, so I've played for about 4 years.)

 

[kingpaul]

Re: yea

Not only that but it'd take forever to play a game on a message board compared to real life.

Not necessarily. Does it take longer to play out a scenario in PBeM/PBP than RL? Yes. However, if you have a good mix of people, it doesn't necessarily take forever. Combat can get kind of bogged down, unless the group tells the GM what their general fighting styles are and he runs combat (preferably showing all the dice rolls). As has already been stated, I feel the RP is done more in this mode, as combat can get tedious.