Finding Players (Recruitment)Look for players for chatroom, play-by-post, or even real-life games here. Threads will expire after 3 months, so be sure to move important information to your OOC thread.
The Guide to Play By Post Games is a resource for players and game masters, with tips and suggestions on how to conduct games via Play-by-Post (and other similar text mediums), as well as a set of commonly used templates and websites.
Play by Post Questionnaire
Spoiler
When starting a game, a DM should provide enough information for players to make their characters. The 16 Questions (by TheVorpalTribble) have been traditionally used on this forum, but because of its length and redundancy, a newer version has been provided, which you should adapt to suit your needs. The tradtional sixteen questions have been preserved below as well.
Quote:
System: (e.g. D&D 3.5e, 4e, GURPS, etc.) Player Count: (Number of Players) Style of Play: (Type of Game, e.g. Hack & Slash, Roleplay, Sandbox) Allowed Content: (List of Allowed Content)
Book #1
Book #2
Book ##
Character Creation: (Character Sheet Generation) Backstory: (Required?) Experience: (e.g. 5th Level) Wealth: (e.g. Standard WBL) Ability Scores: (e.g. Rolled 4d6b3) Hitpoints/Health: (e.g. Average, Rolled, Max) Alignment: (Restrictions?) Other Notes: (Anything Else You Want to Add)
What game system are you running (D&D, Call of Cthulu, Palladium, GURPS, etc.), and if applicable what edition (Original, Classic, Revised, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th, etc.)?
What 'type' or variant of game will it be (i.e. "Shadow Chasers" or "Agents of Psi" for d20 Modern)? What is the setting for the game (eg. historic period, published or homebrewed campaign setting, alternate reality, modern world, etc.)?
How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?
What's the gaming medium (OOTS, chat, e-mail etc.)?
What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?
How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with?
Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?
What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?
By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points?
Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so?
Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?
Will you be doing all of the die rolling during the course of the game? Will die rolls be altered, or left to the honor system? If players can make die rolls, which ones do they make, how should they make the rolls, and how should they report them?
Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules.
Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?
Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?
Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?
Copyable Template:
Code:
[b]1. What game system are you running (D&D, Call of Cthulu, Palladium, GURPS, etc.), and if applicable what edition (Original, Classic, Revised, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th, etc.)?[/b]
[b]2. What 'type' or variant of game will it be (i.e. "Shadow Chasers" or "Agents of Psi" for d20 Modern)? What is the setting for the game (eg. historic period, published or homebrewed campaign setting, alternate reality, modern world, etc.)?[/b]
[b]3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?[/b]
[b]4. What's the gaming medium (OOTS, chat, e-mail etc.)?[/b]
[b]5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?[/b]
[b]6. How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with?[/b]
[b]7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?[/b]
[b]8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?[/b]
[b]9. By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points?[/b]
[b]10. Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so?[/b]
[b]11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?[/b]
[b]12. Will you be doing all of the die rolling during the course of the game? Will die rolls be altered, or left to the honor system? If players can make die rolls, which ones do they make, how should they make the rolls, and how should they report them?[/b]
[b]13. Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules.[/b]
[b]14. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?[/b]
[b]15. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?[/b]
[b]16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?[/b]
When creating your game threads, it would be a good idea for your threads to be formatted nicely. Most threads will invoke a prose format, in which a third person, past-tense, point of view are preferred. Character speech is often differentiated by colors, while italics might be used to represent character thought. You can create your own variation, but be aware this can be a bit confusing for players. Regardless of format style, all players should follow the convention set forth by the GM, even if their preference is for another style. An example is displayed below.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prose Sample
Character Name, Character Race and Class (Optional)
"Character speech should be distinct and easy to read, representing your character’s speech, preferably a color different from other characters in the game." The characters other actions are often written as part of the paragraph, as if in a novel. Character thoughts may or may not be colored, and are occasionally displayed through italics.
Separating by paragraphs at conversation breaks or at logical action breaks is a good idea. Strive to not post “one-liners.” That is, don’t simply post ‘Joe the Paladin whacks the goblin.’ That’s boring. Try to weave in some narrative. ‘Joe the Paladin ducks under the goblin’s hammer, easily sidestepping the crude swipe. His ornate mace slams against the goblin’s head, delivering a powerful smite in the name of Thor.’ This is by no means quality material, but it is a step in the right direction.
{{Other symbols can indicate such things as radio calls, speech in languages (may also reflect a color change) other than the standard assumed language of the campaign, etc. Which symbols mean what should be established by the GM in the OOC thread or in the first post.}}
[OOC: Out of character information, usually statistical information or questions. OOC banter is usually reserved for the OOC thread.] Any out of character dialogue not directly related to the OOC thread may be conducted through the use of spoiler tags. For example, rolling might be conducted in a spoiler in the In-Character thread to expedite the combat process.
Spoiler
Attack Roll: [roll0] Damage Roll: [roll1]
Above all, stay in-character in the in-character thread, and out of character in the out of character thread.
Many players reserve colors for character speech, either for consistency between games/characters, or for personal reasons. When picking a color, pick one different from the other players and stick to that specific color. If the GM reserves a color, don’t use that one. Red is acceptable for character speech, though it is preferred that you do not - normally, {red text} is reserved for Mod posts, at least in theory.
Proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation (barring unusual speech patterns or accents as part of a character's defining traits) are a must, since confusion resulting from a run-on sentence could lead to mistakes, possibly even character death. Running a post through a spelling and grammar checker before posting is a good idea. If you are unsure of your post clarity, run it by your GM prior to posting.
Using the Forum Dice Roller
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer
In an effort to let the other "How do you roll dice?" thread die off, here is how you roll the dice and how to read the results. Just ignore the bolding, that is only there to prevent the forum from converting the text into an actual dice roll.
[roll]#d#[/roll]Diplays cumulative results. 1d6 gives the results of 1 six-sided die, for example.
[roll]1d6[/roll]gives you [roll2]
[rollv]#d#[/rollv]Displays individual dice results, then cumulative.
[rollv]3d6[/rollv]gives you [roll3]
[roll]#d#+X[/roll]Displays the cumulative results, with the added modifier (X) totalled into it.
[roll]3d6+5[/roll] gives you [roll4]
[roll]#d#-X[/roll]Displays the cumulative results, with the added modifier (X) subtracted from it.
[roll]3d6-5[/roll] gives you [roll5]
[roll]#d#b#[/roll]Diplays the cumulative results of the best of the dice (4d6b3, for example, would give cumulative results of the best 3 dice of 4 6-sided dice).
[roll]4d6b3[/roll] gives you [roll6]
[rollv]#d#b#[/rollv]DOES NOT WORK! It only gives the cumulative result of all the dice, not the best # of dice. You have to do the math yourself if you want to see the best-of results, or remove the v from the roller.
[roll]#d#b#+X[/roll]DOES NOT WORK! It gets ignored.
Negative results are possible if you give a modifier on the end that can cause a negative. The dice themselves cannot give you negative numbers, even if you were to type in d-40 or something. [roll]1d-40[/roll] will do nothing.
d0 always give you 1. 6d0 gives you 6, and so on.
Spaces are NOT your friend in the code. They will result in the whole lot being ignored.
[roll]3 d 6 + 4[/roll]
Frequently Asked Questions
Spoiler
What is a play-by-post (PbP) game?
A play-by-post, or PbP, game is any game that is normally played face-to-face or on a tabletop played by posting to a web-board. Types of games might include Roleplaying Games (RPGs; e.g. Dungeons and Dragons), Strategy Games (e.g. Diplomacy), and Freeform Games.
Free-form games lack formal rulesets - the GM of the game determines what is possible and what is not depending on the situation and what the players tell him. In short, free-form PbP is sort of collective story telling. The second form utilizes an existing ruleset for tabletop gaming. On these boards, this primarily means d20 systems.
How do you play?
Simple: the GM explains what’s going on, and then you post to the game thread explaining what your character is doing. PbP is just tabletop gaming expressed through the medium of the forum. More detailed information on how exactly to express what you want to do will be found later in this guide.
How do I join a game?
First, if you want to join a new game, check the Finding Players (Recruitment) forum and see which games are looking for players. Do not post to a thread in an IC channel asking to join. This just annoys the GM and other players. You might also wish to create a player profile in the Player Registry, or if you wish to run a game, create a profile in the Dungeon Master Registry. Please keep in mind that the GM should start all game threads, unless he/she gives express and specific instructions for someone else to start the thread.
Sagely Advice for Players
Spoiler
Character Creation
The GM will list all relevant guidelines for character creation. The standard method here is to use some form of point buy appropriate for the system being used (many systems use point buy as a default), and then let people know how many points they have to play with. Note that specific rules for how to use a systems point buy will be found in the appropriate rulebooks, and is generally copyrighted and thus cannot be posted publicly on the forum. Where to post the character stats/sheets will also be explained by the GM. See below for more detail on this.
Regarding Other Characters
In PbP, there is a temptation to include the actions or reactions of other characters, PC or NPC, in your own post, in order to move things along in the story. Do not do this. It's known as “godmodding” “railroading,” and quite frankly is rather rude. It may take a while longer, but waiting for another player to compose their own characters response is generally worth the wait, and the slight acceleration of the plot is not worth the trouble. Also, let the GM resolve anything that needs an opposed die roll. In order to speed things up, its usually okay to post probable actions your character will take depending on what happens next - a sort of “if, then” statement. Don't go overboard with this.
The exception to this rule is if you have permission from the GM and/or another player to control another character's actions, or if a GM has taken control of a character from an absent player.
Mechanics, and Resolving Dice Rolls, Checks, and So Forth
The GM of a particular thread will designate a method to be used for dice rolls, generally reserving the right to make the rolls for all checks, or at least opposed checks. Generally, as a player you will post what checks you think you're making and your relevant modifiers in the OOC section after your main post, and then the GM will actually roll the checks and usually post your results. Sometimes, a GM will allow players to make their own rules using an online dice roller. Regardless, check the game's main thread to determine what methods are being used, and follow the GM's guidelines.
It's always a good idea to include the relevant statistics for any sort of skill check you're making in the OOC section. For example, in combat listing AC, attack bonuses, weapon damage, and current HP is a good idea. If you cast a spell, list caster level, save DC, etc. When making a skill check, list the relevant bonuses (for example, “Survival +6, +8 aboveground, +8 when tracking goblins, +10 when tracking goblins aboveground”). The GM does have access to the character sheets, but its good form to give quick reference information when possible.
Divine Advice for Game Masters
Spoiler
Scheduling, Timing, and Pacing
One of the benefits and curses of PbP games is that there is no formal meeting time for games. Players post whenever they are available to check the boards. However, this also extends the time it takes to work through adventures quite a bit. It could take several hours, or even days, for every player to post to a single combat round.
Given this, a few suggestions can make the game run more smoothly. First, state how often you expect players (and yourself, as the GM, in particular) to post at a minimum - once a day, three times a week, whatever works best. If you have particularly prolific posters in your game, especially if the rest of the players don't post as often, establishing a maximum number of posts in a specific time period might be a good idea as well.
Additionally, establish limits for non-responsive players. For example, if a player doesn't post for two days, the GM will decide that PCs actions in order to keep the story moving. Another good thing is to establish a limit to how long a player can be gone (not posting at all), without providing an explanation, before their character is turned into an NPC or otherwise removed from the game. Two weeks is a typical limit.
A Leave of Absence?
The previous paragraph brings up another potential problem of the expanded time span of PbP - player absences. Players might have to leave for a week or more due to vacations, family concerns, work, school, or any of a myriad of reasons. Generally, if the player contacts the GM, that player should be able to return to the game when they get back, without penalty - though, if the absence is going to be especially long, it might be better for the player to leave altogether. Also, its often standard-practice for another player to handle an absent player's character while they are gone. This should only be done with the player's permission, and the GM should make sure the absent player's character doesn't get, well, screwed, while the player is gone.
If you as the GM are going to be away for a while, it’s a good idea to post to both the IC and OOC threads, and let people know when you'll be back.
Dropping and Adding Players
Players end up dropping out of games – whether standard tabletop or PbP – regularly due to outside concerns. This is problematic in PbP due to the extended time span the game progresses through. Ideally, having a few alternate players to call on should a regular drop is a good idea. Otherwise, adding a new character should proceed in the same manner as starting a game.
Rolling Dice and Mechanics
Many GMs prefer to make all rolls themselves, but there are also online dice rollers available. The GM should clearly establish the method used at the beginning of the game and stick to it. If you make only some of the rolls, state which ones players will be making clearly. Also, make sure to provide guidelines on how to report rolls or relevant stats so you can make die rolls. Lastly, explain how you will be reporting die roll results at the beginning to avoid confusion. Players should always follow the guidelines and format suggested by the GM.
Roleplaying
The nature of PbP tends to promote heavy RP games. The players have longer to compose their thoughts and responses, and heavy “roll” games tend to go quite slowly, so extra RP helps keep things interesting. Of course, what this means will vary from game to game. If everyone is having fun, then you're at the right degree of RP for your game - whether it's more or less than another PbP is a non-issue. As a GM, you should explain how much RP and detail you expect, and set an example by providing that level of RP and detail in your own posts.
Private Messages and Metagame
Generally, with PbP games, you just have to trust players not to metagame. As a player, you shouldn't take advantage of this trust. However, every once in a while it’s easiest for a GM to send a private message to a player to supply information or ask questions. In this case, I suggest two things: try to stay in character for PMs, make the PM's subject clear that it is in regards to the PbP game, and mention that you've PMed the player in the IC thread.
Maintaining a Game over Play by Post
It isn’t enough to just start your game and expect it to take off. Indeed if that happens, congratulate yourself, because you’ve either written a very compelling campaign, or you’ve happened upon some very dedicated players. It takes work to keep your game flowing and interesting. The fluid and noncommittal nature of forums leads to many games dying out.
First and foremost, keep your players interested. If players lose interest, they’ll stop posting, and if one person stops posting, then everything grinds to a halt. Whenever possible, encourage your players to keep posting, even if it’s just one-liners. Anything is better than nothing. It may be worth making clear at the very beginning that if someone has to stop posting, arrange for a “heads-up” so to speak. Clear communication between all players (and the GM) is a definite must. Some possible ways of rescuing your game might be to set a maximum period of inactivity before the GM may godmode/railroad (or smite) said character to further the game.
So you, or your players aren’t posting, because nobody knows what to do, or because it wouldn’t be in character for someone to speak. First, you need to let your fellow players know, either in character, or in the out of character thread, that you’re still here and participating. At the very least, somebody should be maintaining the “action” whether it be in game or out of game. Feel free to discuss in the out of character thread. As long as everyone is there and checking in, it shouldn’t really matter that you’ve spent the past month trying to solve this one riddle (as long as it’s really good). If your character is stumped, somebody else might have the answer (out of character) that they can just tell you, and things will go on their merry way.
Feedback is a core component of roleplaying in general (not just play by post). As a GM, you should seek feedback and constructive criticism to make sure that everybody is having fun. Other people can’t see your face, and you can’t see theirs. Therefore, it is up to you to find out whether people are legitimately enjoying themselves. If you think something is stupid, say so, but do so nicely, and firmly, lest your thread get derailed.
Starting a Game
Spoiler
Getting Started
The GM should first establish what system the game will be in and what material is available in the game (SRD only? All splatbooks available? Core rulebooks only? Standard material for a specific campaign setting?). Making this clear at the beginning keeps things running smoothly later. Also, a general description of the game type - is it hack-and-slash D&D, or RP-heavy d20 Modern spy game? - should be included.
Collecting Players
Post your idea to the Finding Players (Recruitment) forum. Figure out how many players you want, and include that in the post. Most GMs will require a backstory, selecting players from a pool of candidates based on quality of narration or premise. Backstory length and backstory quality do not necessarily correlate directly. Being clear and concise may be just as good, if not better. Above all, be creative.
Character Creation, and Posting Characters
As GM, you should establish the rules for character creation as soon as possible. Just use whatever variant you prefer from the game you're playing, though for d20 point buy or shared stats are preferred for fairness. More important is deciding how to post character stats. The two primary methods are to have a “Rogue's Gallery” thread for stat blocks in the OOC forum, or to create the character sheet on a website that supports character databases. For the latter, don't forget to make the sheet public!
Getting Ready to Play
Once players are chosen and characters created, and the posting frequency rules set, you should create new threads in the Out-Of-Character subforum, and Ongoing Games (In-Character) Channels with the title of the game and game type as the thread name. Make sure it’s clear which game is yours when you pick a name, and link back to the OOC thread in the first post, and post a link to the IC thread in the OOC thread. Linking to characters in the first post is also a good idea. Read some of the ongoing games to get an idea of how things work. You might also wish to create a dice rolling thread in the appropriate subforum.
* Original Guide by Gorbash Kazdar -- Updated and Maintained by Neftren (Yours Truly).
† Please keep in mind that Play-by-Post games are governed by the same Forum Rules that govern all threads and posts on the Giant in the Playground forums.
I found in a word document my old post on why play by post tend to die and how best to prevent it. I'll repost it, even if most of it it's in the guide, since sometimes it's useful for me to link people specifically to this bit:
Strawberries' analysis on why pbps die (and how to prevent it)
Spoiler
Here's a list of the most common problem play by posts have, and some advice to how address them.
----Problem: Games tend to die because players drop out
This is one of the most common problems, in my experience. A player stops posting for whatever reason, other people keep waiting for him/her, game dies.
Possible solution: As a player, warn others if you are going to drop out. Noone will judge someone who says “Guys, I’ve got too much on my plate, I have to quit”. This gives the DM and the other players an heads-up, as they know they shouldn’t wait for you.
As a GM, as addressed in other parts of the guide, it’s probably helpful to establish a “maximum inactivity time”, at least during combat, which is the maximum time a player is allowed to go without posting before the dm takes control of their character or the action skips to another player. Ideally, this time should be shorter during combat, longer outside combat (as then the other players have more chances to step in).
Also, as a GM, remember that you have the option to start recruiting again to fill the empty spots.
----Problem: Game stall because people wait for other to post.
This may in itself have various causes:
a) people don’t post because they don’t know what to do.
I’ve seen this happen quite a lot (and happened to myself, too). As a player, you think “Uhm, I’ve really no idea how to act in this situation, I’ll think about it for another while/ wait for someone else to take the lead”. Then people forgot, and the game dies.
The solution: post OOC. Say that you’re stuck. For instance, say “Hey, guys, Sir McINT should know the answer to this riddle, but I’m stumped. Anyone has any ideas?” Brainstorm plans, courses of action, whatever you like. Chances are, the barbarian’s player knew the answer, and was waiting for you because he felt that it would be out of character for Mr Smashalot to say it.
Which brings me to
b) people don’t post because they think their character wouldn’ t say/do anything
Which is fine, really. If it’s out of character for someone to act or speak, they shouldn’t. Except the other players have no way of knowing why you aren’t posting. So they’ll still wait for you, leading to the game stalling and dying.
The solution: that’s easy, but rarely applied. If your character does nothing, post saying you are doing nothing. I. e. “Julia Introverted waits by the window, uncomfortable in the presence of the large group of people and not sure of what to say to break the ice”. This way, your character still doesn’t move or speak, but people know you (the player) have read and reacted to their posts.
Moreover, both as a player and a GM, poke people. A lot. Either by posting in the OOC thread or by PM. PMS work wonders in cases like these.
----PBPs are slow, therefore people lose interest.
That’s not an astonishing piece of information. PBPs are slow because you have to wait for people from all around the world to post. There are timezone issues, as well as real life issue. Combat is going to take days.
The solution. That’s not an easy one, as pbps are by nature much, much slower than real life games, but there are some things both GM and players can do.
As a GM, beside the aforementioned time limit, you can, for instance, do some rolls yourself. For instance, rolling initiative for the players (as opposed to post “roll initiative” and wait for everyone) can save days, and free the first player to focus on the active part of combat. Same goes with spots/lsten checks. Please note than you should tell in advance to the players f you are using this system, and be sure everyone agrees.
As a player, if you aren’t sure if/what to roll, roll all the same, and ask the DM to disregard if not relevant. This saves time as you don’t have back/forths like “Can I make a knowledge check?” “Sure” “Well, then [roll=knowledge]” “You have these info:…” This may seem a trivial exchange, but in a pbp can easily mean a day of real-time. Compare with “Can I make a knowledge check? [roll=knowledge]” ”Yes you can. You have these info:… / No, you can’t, it doesn’t apply”. Half the time, same result.
General advice
My general advice, not linked to any of the problems in particular, is to talk OOC whenever possible. Share opinions, talk about unrelated subject, whatever. Because it’s a good way to get to know your players and/or your gamemaster, and it’s always funnier to game with people you know and like than with total strangers. Moreover, there is a thing I consider of great importance: this is a forum. People can’t see your face, and can’t tell if you are enjoying yourself or you’d prefer to do something else (more combat/roleplaying/intrigue/humor. They don’t know if you’re arguing IC because your character is going to be fiercely opposed to a course of action, but you think it’s a great idea, or if it’s you as a player that think the idea is stupid. The only way you have to let them know if to post OOC. Feedback (both from players to the GM and vice-versa and between players) is a fundamental aid in having successful pbps.
__________________
Moving house. Posting schedule and PM replies may be erratic for a while. Pokes are very appreciated if I forget to post somewhere.
I created an interactive battle grid system that I used when I was running PbP games. I haven't worked on it in a while, but it works and players seemed to enjoy using it:
__________________ For a sleek and simple battle grid for PbP, check out EZ PbP! You can edit the terrain, and have your players update their own coordinates on the map! PM me with comments or questions!
I created an interactive battle grid system that I used when I was running PbP games. I haven't worked on it in a while, but it works and players seemed to enjoy using it:
Hmm. I played around with this for a few minutes yesterday, but couldn't get it to spawn a new campaign. Do you have a how-to manual or some sort of quick start guide to go with it? Maybe I'm missing something, I dunno...
Hmm. I played around with this for a few minutes yesterday, but couldn't get it to spawn a new campaign. Do you have a how-to manual or some sort of quick start guide to go with it? Maybe I'm missing something, I dunno...
It doesn't create new campaigns right now. I have to go into the file system and add them manually. Try an existing game that's not in use: "berserkers" or "testgame". Then click "Tutorial" in the left sidebar. If you're interested in using it, I'd be happy to add a folder for your campaign
__________________ For a sleek and simple battle grid for PbP, check out EZ PbP! You can edit the terrain, and have your players update their own coordinates on the map! PM me with comments or questions!
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