Play by post

So here's the deal...anybody can play, just email me first with a character concept. I'm going to pass protect the thread so we don't get uninvited visiters...I have an idea for several systems: Demon, Vampire, or D&D but I'll only do one at a time so let me know your preference. I'd appreciate tips from anyone who has played like this before. I'll probably install a "min. 3 posts before next post rule" so nobody steals the show. Minimum 1 post per (work)day, character sheet and dice are manditory whatever system we go with, although it will be heavy roleplaying with most things depending on stats and skills instead of dice rolls. Ie. If I think it sounds cool, and your character can probably do it, I'll let you. (Brother Lucius: I back flip over the orc and punch him in the back of the head)(Dex: out the wang, tumble: 28, str: 10, attack +4 dmg 1d4+0)(DM: The Orc looks a little wobbly on his feet but turns around to face you)

Campaign ideas to choose from:

Demon: Los Angeles' (BBEG: The Devil! who else...)

Vampire: Start in dark ages -> Present day (BBEG: Anyone who's not you)

D&D: Save the kingdom from an ancient red dragon...or...Ravenloft, Mwaa-ha-ha

Once I have enough interest (Min 4 people to play, Max 10 for now) I'll post instructions on the forum and email a start date :)

If anyone else wants to DM something.......

*Edit*

Here is a post on The Giant in the Playground forum Pbp area, fyi

The Basics

What is a PbP game?
A PbP, or play-by-post, game is any game that is normally played face-to-face or on a tabletop played by posting to a web-board. For these boards, that's exclusively going to be RPG type games.

There are two basic variants of PbP 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 player's tell him. In short, free-form PbP is sort of collective story telling.

The second form is the one favored here on the Giant in the Playground boards - PbP that uses an existing ruleset for tabletop gaming. On these boards, this primarily means d20 systems, especially D&D 3.5.

How do you play?
Simple: the DM 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.

Joining a PbP game
First, if you want to join a new game, check the Finding Players (Out-of-Character) forum and see which games are looking for players. Do not post to a thread in the IC forum asking to join. This just annoys the DM and other players. Also, check the Currently Recruiting thread for games looking for players, and post to the Player Registry.

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 quite frankly very 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 DM resolve anything that needs an opposed die roll. In order to speed things up, its usually okay to post probably 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 DM and another player to control another character's actions, or if a DM has taken control of a character from an absent player.

The rest of this guide is generally geared towards running a game, though the last section is on post formatting. I suggest reading a few currently ongoing games to help get a feel for how things work, in addition to reading this guide.


General Concerns

Timing
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 DM, in particular) to post at a minimum - once a day, three times a week, whatever works best. If you particularly prolific posters in your game, especially if the rest of the players don't post as often, establishing a maximum number of posts might be a good idea as well.

Finally, establish a couple limits for non-response from players. For example, if a player doesn't post for two days, the DM will decide that PCs actions in order to keep the story moving. If the player doesn't post for say two weeks without warning, then the player is dropped.

Absences
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 DM, 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 DM should make sure the absent player's character doesn't get, well, screwed, while the player is gone.

If you as the DM 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 regularly due to outside concerns. This is problematic in PbP due to the extended time span the game progresses through. Ideally, having a couple alternate players to call on should a regular drop is a good idea. Otherwise, adding a new character should proceed the same as starting a game (see below).

Dice Rolling
Most DMs prefer to make all rolls themselves, but there are also online dice rollers available. The DM should establish the method used at the beginning of the game and stick to it.

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.


Starting a Game

Getting Started
The DM should first establish what system the game will be in and what material is available in the game (SRD only? All the splatbooks? Standard ECS material?). Having this clear at the beginning makes things easier 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 (Out-of-Character) forum. Figure out how many players you want, and include that in the post. You should post to the Currently Recruiting thread at this point, and contacting players from the Player Registry who are looking for games is also a good idea as well. As DM you can chose who plays, but first-come, first-served is the preferred method.

Character Creation and Posting Characters
As DM, you should establish the rules for character creation ASAP. 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 3EProfiler.net. For the latter, don't forget to make the sheet public!

First IC Post
Once players are chosen and characters created, and the posting amount rules set, you should create a new thread in the Ongoing Games (In-Character) with a the title of the game and game type as the thread name. Make sure its 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.

Private Messages
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 DM 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's from the PbP game, and mention that you've PMed the player in the IC thread.

Now you've got a PbP game going. Good luck!

I'll probably also request post formating for actions, skills, out of charecter comments etc. I'll post a link when I decide how that will look :)