Characters I never got to use, what to do with them>?

[Greenflame133]

I'm starting to feeling like this forms are huge waste of time. I was making characters for games often based on homebrews or setting, then it turns out that DM doesn't pick that character. Perchaps when I build up huge pail of then I will be able to just throw them into a new games coming up but untill then.. it feels bad..

[Velaryon]

Are you talking about characters you made for play-by-post games that were not selected by the person running the game?

If so, I'm inclined to agree from my own personal experience (not on GitP, but on other websites), that it's largely a waste of time. Even if your character is chosen for the game, The majority of PbP games either never get off the ground, or peter out due to someone not being able to keep up with posting in a timely fashion. There are exceptions of course, but those that do last tend to have the same players, so they aren't the ones that put out open calls. I don't think there's any way to predict whether a PbP game will last when you're first submitting a character.

As for what to do with the characters, I can think of a couple possibilities:
1. keep them on file and try applying to more games with them, refining the character concepts as needed to fit what those DMs are asking for.
2. make your own game and populate the world with the characters you've already created.

[Greenflame133]

Are you talking about characters you made for play-by-post games that were not selected by the person running the game?

If so, I'm inclined to agree from my own personal experience (not on GitP, but on other websites), that it's largely a waste of time. Even if your character is chosen for the game, The majority of PbP games either never get off the ground, or peter out due to someone not being able to keep up with posting in a timely fashion. There are exceptions of course, but those that do last tend to have the same players, so they aren't the ones that put out open calls. I don't think there's any way to predict whether a PbP game will last when you're first submitting a character.

As for what to do with the characters, I can think of a couple possibilities:
1. keep them on file and try applying to more games with them, refining the character concepts as needed to fit what those DMs are asking for.
2. make your own game and populate the world with the characters you've already created.

oh yes I;m doing both of this. Further more perchaps I will write down some stories including them

How about outher oline games with randomes? Do voice games thend to be more stable?

[Velaryon]

oh yes I;m doing both of this. Further more perchaps I will write down some stories including them

How about outher oline games with randomes? Do voice games thend to be more stable?

That I have no experience with. The most I've ever done with online games other than PbP is Skyping in an out-of-state friend to an otherwise in-person D&D game.

[2D8HP]

...Perchaps when I build up huge pail of then I will be able to just throw them into a new games coming up but untill then.. it feels bad...
That's exactly right, having a "stable" of PC's "ready-to-go" increases your chances to be picked, as the faster you can submit one the more likely it is that your PC will be accepted.

Here's some general advice on PbP gaming that while not true for every game is close enough to true that it may be of some use:


Because I just can't commit to enough of a block of time for face to face gaming (or even Skype and the like) PbP is the only gaming I still do, and I've only ever done PbP at this Forum (mostly 5e D&D, never 3.5), and I've never used "Roll 20" (I actually quit one game because the DM instead of just telling me the distances insisted that I log into a Roll 20, and view a map. I created an account, only to discover that to view in "mobile" I had to subscribe. Since 99.9% of my computer time is via "smartphone" that was a deal breaker)

I'm going to assume that what works for 5e will work for 3.5:

1) Be persistent.
I had to try many times before I lucked into games that lasted.
And it was luck. I can't descern any clues as to which games would last. "Past history (or lack of same) is not a predictor of future results".

2) Subscribe via e-mail to both the "Finding Players (Recruitment)" and the "Currently Recruiting Players" threads, and be ready to jump.

3) Have multiple character "sheets" ready to go at Myth-Weavers.com

4) PM yourself lots of "back-stories" ready to copy and paste for when the DM asks you to submit one.
Length is more important than quality, I write junk but most DM's seem to decide by word count.
Pile on lots of dead relatives in the back story, DM's eat that "Edgelord" junk up, I'm serious don't have shame steal be inspired by Batman and Mad Max's, yes those are trite cliches but they work.

5) Don't actually role-play out a character implied by the back-story, the "back-story" seldom fits the campaign, and it's usually disruptive if you try.

Why do DM's demand them?

Who the Abyss knows, but if you want to play you must pay some dues, and that includes writing some tragedy filled junk.

6) Forget about whatever "character concept" you had before play starts, make your PC fit the game, including how your PC's interact with other PC's, which you can't really guess at first. I've seen DM's flee in terror when a game starts off with "competitive soliloquies" by the players narrating their back-stories, which soon devolved into character driven bickering.
Nobody really cares about that mess!

7) Steal an image for PC off the "Dreamboats" thread, or some other source and include it with the "back-story" submission. Worth at least two dead relatives in your PC's history as far as getting accepted to pkay.

8) Don't flake and be Civil. You encounter the same people again and again, and you will be remembered.

9) Always be applying!
You can't guess which games will last, and if you don't have "many irons in the fire", you will be without a game.
Yes that does mean that sometimes you will be playing more games than you want, no you don't get to flake.

10) Did I say that you can't predict which games will last?
Well here's an exception: Players recruiting DM games don't last.
All games lose players, but when you lose the DM the game ends, and if it's someone else's idea for a game the DM is more likely to quit.

11) Subscribe to the game thread via e-mail, and post fast.
Speed is more important than quality.
A long, well written post encourages others to do the same, it also intimidates others into not posting.
A short and to the point post inspires others to post as well, keeping the game going, think the opposite of the back-story you wrote.

12) Post off topic nonsense in the OOC. "Boy do I roll bad", jokes, the weather where you live, whatever. It makes it so that people recognize you.

13) Put your characters name (and maybe even a small image) into every post, as it's easy to get confused.

Here's an example:


https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6d/1a/b8/6d1ab8fd0305d5f74d5a7ef8e20fbf40.jpg

Riardon:
Wood-Elf Fighter/Rogue

AC:17 (Leather & Shield)
HP:26/11
Initiative:+3
Speed:35ft. Passive Perception:17 (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1102339)
"Liberates" one of the Goblin's shields, and continues searching the cave, stealthily when he enters a new area. I'm going to see what's further in
Perception:[roll0]
Stealth:[roll1]


14) If you need to take a break, post it!
If you had to to take a break, and you didn't warn the other players apologize and continue. They have lives as well, and will likely understand.

15) Be flexible, odd house rules and trying out unorthodox settings may be why the DM is running the game.

16) Try other games.
Non 3.5 and 5e D&D games have much better GM to player ratios.
I'm playing a game of Pendragon, which is awesome, and I didn't have to stress about will my "back-story" be accepted among the many submissions, I'm also playing a "freeform" game where I didn't have to stress about submitting a "sheet", and I'm playing a 5e game (maybe two depending if anyone posts again) where I had a sheet and a back-story pre-made, plus a "homebrew" system (pending another posts).

17) If you have a "snowflake" non-core class you want to play, submit all the rules.

18) Be the DM/GM!
Way better ratio that way.
Too much work?
How about a simplified system. Here's one:


1) GM describes a scene.
2) Player says an action that their PC attempts.
3) GM decides if the PC has no chance of success, no chance of failure, or a partial chance of success.
4) If a partial chance of success, GM makes up on the spot a percentage chance of success.
5) Player rolls D100 (two 0-9 twenty-siders once upon a time).
6) If the player rolls under the made up number their PC succeeds in attempting the task, if over the PC fails.
7) GM narrates the immediate consequences until it's time to again ask, "what do you do".
8) Repeat.




I'm playing in three in-progress games (people have posted today), two maybe games (people have posted this month), and I've played many used-to-be games this year.


Two games have lasted more than four months, one of which just had a post today, and I really couldn't have predicted which games would last.

By patient and persistent.

Good luck.

:smile:

[Greenflame133]

thanks for a guide, it make ie sound like there it's no fun to play at all. Yet aside from metagaming/psychogaming it's what seems natural to do

[Tvtyrant]

I use mine as members of various guilds when I DM. Why let characters go to waste?

[2D8HP]

thanks for a guide, it make ie sound like there it's no fun to play at all...

:redface: :eek:


Sorry if I gave that impression, as I do find the playing fun (else I wouldn't bother), but I do find applying to play, and a lot of character creation tiresome.

FWLIW here are the PbP games that I've played most recently:


Premade Long Epic (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?543578-Premade-Long-Epic)


5e Adventure By Me. Yeah. II (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?520514-5e-Adventure-By-Me-Yeah-II)


IC - The Great Pendragon Campaign (KAP 5e+) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?527083-IC-The-Great-Pendragon-Campaign-(KAP-5e-))

[The Fury]

I've had a similar dilemma. There were some characters I had in mind for fantasy RPGs that for whatever reason just didn't work. Not so much that I didn't think they worked as characters, just that they didn't work as game characters.

I started drawing a minicomic for a friend starring these reject characters instead. I hope to have three, or at least one issue done by her birthday in Febuary. (Wish me luck!) Anyway, if you're considering doing something like comics, short stories, novellas or whatnot, your characters might work OK for those.

[Jay R]

I design characters as a joint project with the GM. By the time he's firmed up, I've asked the GM about every decision not in the most basic set of rules, tried to get my character tied into the GM's world, and asked for advice on which skills or options fit in well with the GM's plans.

A character designed without GM input is the one most likely to not be compatible with the game, or the world, or the GM's approach.

[Drewzer987]

As someone who has designed more characters than I have played games of D&D my advice is to do something with them, whether it’s draw them, write about them, or generally give them a nice backstory. (I will admit to writing a description of two of my D&D characters in an exam once) If you like a character it’s a nice way to keep them alive till you get a chance to use them in a game. Keep a file or list of characters (or character concepts) that you want to use and if you need a new character use one of them.

That’s my opinion on the matter anyway