What do Players want from their PbP?

[Jdvn1]

- Small party.

Good point. For some reason, the smaller groups seem more tight-knit.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Good point. For some reason, the smaller groups seem more tight-knit.

I think it is because contrary to what you might expect, the smaller the group, the faster the post rate will be.

 

[Rystil Arden]

As for me, I'm going to be the opposite of a few people above in some respects. I like to see a fun setting, particularly settings I know and love like Planescape and Spelljammer, but Homebrews are cool too. But the part where I disagree is that I have no interest in playing a RAW-only game that disallows fun character concepts. Allowing lots of fun options, within reason of course, makes me much more likely to play.

 

[The Shaman]

I have to know and like the rules system (including any house rules), and the setting really needs to grab me and make me its bitch.

If I like the setting, then I'll enjoy making a character that fits it.

 

[Rhun]

Fun!!!


An opportunity to roleplay the character, and an opportunity to see them in action.

 

[Question]

Most importantly, THE FLOW OF THE GAME.

Ive lost interest in so many games, or the game just died, when the flow of the game was disrupted.

An example would be asking the party to state their actions or positions every time they move around.

Another common problem is the DM not providing sufficient information, such that the game has to pause, time and time again, so players can clarify. This is especially true if no battle map is provided. "Wait, so monster x is next to me? When did that happen?"

Players also tend to screw this up with way too much game chit chat(WINNER : 2 weeks spent on quest NPC breifing the party because half the players and the DM wanted to chit chat about fantasy food.)

Theres also the atypical "Roll x check." "okay heres the check." "okay here is the result." that slows things down. Hell, just roll the check YOURSELF. You go from an average of 2 days for something to occur and have everyone respond to it to less than 1 day because you roll the check, and post the results immediately, letting your players respond to the situation the first time they see it, instead of you waiting for the check, then them waiting for the result.

This is pratically the most important part of PbP. Your story and plot line may be fantastic on the scale of JRR tolkien, but its useless if its moving too slowly and your players are getting bored going "and THEN....?".

Having a healthy rate of posting, with actual actions, is also crucial. This is what i call the "Robert Jordan" syndrome. A lot of posts, but nothing in actuality is being DONE. The game hasnt progressed at all.

Other than that something innovative for a storyline, or at least clear cut, direct and simple if you are going for something simple like saving a town or whatever, would be appreciated. Some DMs pull weird stuff like "This guy got into the palace, killed the king and the royal family, and took over the kingdom without having to deal with the army or mass rebellions. Now go kill this guy." that make no sense whatsoever and leaves players scratching their head and wondering wtf they are supposed to be doing.

Beyond that i would like to see, you know, some variety. Allowing all sources on a approval basis gives you some really interesting builds, and if a feat or whatever is broken you can just house rule it to normalness. I hate DMs that insist anything non-core is imba(One DM insisted the warlock was overpowered as he could tank with d6 hp and cast in light armor. Pretty much his exact words.), when they could use some common sense and make minor changes to fix it, and in my experience most non-core stuff is underpowered, not the other way round.

Same goes for campaign specific stuff. "Red wizards dont exist in greyhawk, you cant have them!" ticks me off. What, you cant write up a short pargraph(or let your player do it) summarizing the existence of a evil order of wizards that put a heavy emphasis on specialising in their chosen schools for whatever setting you are using?

Putting players in un-usual scenarios can have interesting effects as well. Things like, oh, having them hold off a large orc raiding party from high ground, that you dont see everyday.

Personally i also like reasonable DMs that are easy to work with. Some DMs(not many, thankfully) just have a serious case of attitude problem or are control freaks, and are running a game so they can constantly tell players rudely to do x or y or leave the game, or suddenly pull out a critical house rule from nowhere, or starts doing godmodding like "You miss the BBEG. Yes on a roll of 20. Do you have a problem with that?".

 

[DEFCON 1]

The biggest thing for me is that players make ACTIVE choices, and DMs then reward them by telling them what occured.

I want players to write stuff like "Bobbo goes over to the guard and asks him what he saw", and then the DM follows up with "Guard Smith tells Bobbo that it's been a quiet night, except for the flurry of birds that passed by at about midnight".

If players make passive choices like just standing around watching what's going on... they aren't even participating in the game. Why are you playing if you don't DO anything? And by the same token, if I write that my character checks his backpack to make sure that he wasn't pickpocketed, I'd like the DM to tell me what the results of my check were. This is simple stuff that helps drive the story forward.

Story grinding to a halt because the players and/or DM stop writing active choices in the roleplays is what makes most game end quickly.

 

[Bront]

The biggest thing for me is that players make ACTIVE choices, and DMs then reward them by telling them what occured.

I want players to write stuff like "Bobbo goes over to the guard and asks him what he saw", and then the DM follows up with "Guard Smith tells Bobbo that it's been a quiet night, except for the flurry of birds that passed by at about midnight".

If players make passive choices like just standing around watching what's going on... they aren't even participating in the game. Why are you playing if you don't DO anything? And by the same token, if I write that my character checks his backpack to make sure that he wasn't pickpocketed, I'd like the DM to tell me what the results of my check were. This is simple stuff that helps drive the story forward.

Story grinding to a halt because the players and/or DM stop writing active choices in the roleplays is what makes most game end quickly.

Exactly.

I find that a lack of movement is often a player's fault as much as a GM's, depending on the game, because a player either:

A) Posts very little and when they do, don't provide a hook (Something ANYONE can react too)

B) Is too in love with inner monologue, which can be good for setting a mood or letting the GM know what an NPC might catch on a sense motive check, but beyond that, gives NOTHING to interact with (See point A)

C) Make posts so long that it's hard to react to anything said or done because it's hard to interject what you might have said or done in between what they said.

D) Are unclear or unspecific about what they want to do or fail to even react to a GM's post.

There are others, but those are the 4 basic ones.

They can be fixed by:

A) Posting a little more often (Lets the GM know you're there and paying attention), and doing something that people can at least react to (Either saying something, or doing something) or may require the GM to give you information (Specific looking around/listening)

B) Avoid inner monologue unless it's truely useful in setting the mode, and don't let it take over a post.

C) Try to make a few more, smaller posts. If your post is over 3 paragraphs, you might want to check and see how much of it could be reacted to and give people a chance. The occasional long speech is good. A long speech every post can be wearing on other players and GMs.

D) When doing something (particularly in combat), provide follow up/contingiency plans, and be as exact as you can. The more you give a DM, the more he can just run with it instead of pausing to find out exactly what you wanted. Also, don't make the GM assume when you're ready to move on, even if you simply mention it in an OOC comment.

GM Tips:

A) Lack of detail or direction in the game. Not that in game down time isn't fun, but direction gives the characters something to think about and aim for. Also, a lack of detail can cause players to feel like they've been cheeted when they miss something, or have them miss something you didn't want them too. (And conversely can be endlessly entertaining when they pick up on the wrong detail)

B) Not giving control to the players. Players should have a little bit of control over the world. It can be tenious, since occasionaly they can overstep, but better than than them needing to wait on your every post for minor details. Conversly players should be willing to assume minor things (A waitress takes their order, their drinks arive, etc).

C) Give the players time to react, and things to react to. Without time, you may push forward when a PC wanted to do something first, and without things to react to, the PC may have trouble even finding something to do. Sometimes they may be short, hopefully they sometimes have multiple aspects.

D) Find a balance in assumptions with your players. This is hard because everyone thinks differently. Assume too much, and their PC could be doing something they didn't intend. Assume too little, and the PCs are wondering why the game isn't moving. At the same time, don't be afraid to fix a mistake on your part of either missing or assuming wrong.

And yes, I agree with RA on size. The best games I've been in have been less than 6 people who formed close in character bonds fairly quickly because they were easy to keep track of who was who and there was more to do as one character. It's a rough balance though since if you loose one, you're in more trouble than if you had a few extras.

Hope that helps

 

[The Shaman]

*snip*

Yeah, those control freak GMs are really a pain.

:\

 

[MavrickWeirdo]

- No wierdo characters.

What did I ever do to you?