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  #16  
Old Mar 24th, 2020, 11:21 PM
HansJS HansJS is offline
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I too was wondering if combat got clunky in play-by-post. Some of the pointers here seem good.

Another thought I had was do a Skype or Roll20 session once a week or whenever a sustained combat seemed called for. Anyone try that?
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  #17  
Old Mar 25th, 2020, 06:09 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HansJS View Post
I too was wondering if combat got clunky in play-by-post. Some of the pointers here seem good.

Another thought I had was do a Skype or Roll20 session once a week or whenever a sustained combat seemed called for. Anyone try that?
I am sure that has been done, yes. Maybe someone will come along with a story/data about their experience in trying it.

Once you try to nail down a set time, you run back into the problem of work, life, schedules, and distant time zones... What's free time for me is school time for you, and middle of the night for her.
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  #18  
Old Mar 25th, 2020, 07:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Mechaniacal View Post
So, I'm not necessarily new to DMing. I wouldn't call myself the best, but I'd say I have a general idea of how to run a game in real life. The thing is, play by post is an entirely different beast. It's a slow, lumbering beast that I find can be great for storytelling, but keeping players involved and interested is a concern.

Normally, I take a hands-off approach to DMing. I like to let my players explore and roleplay with each other, and only offer up small bits of information when they become relevant or a question is asked. This gives the players time to do a bunch of stuff, meet NPCs, shop for gear, collect some potential questlines for future adventures, etc. Of course, that all assumes that everything is happening over the course of a few hours; not a few months. I suppose the question is, how does one keep players engaged in a play by post format? How does a DM drive the story forward without railroading the players when everything in the game is running at approximately 1/40 of the speed a real life game would be running?
Recruit good players. If you recruit good players at the beginning it will make your job 100 times easier as a DM. Combat is easier to keep moving than the roleplaying part, but for me what I've found is with the roleplaying part I try to respond as quickly as possible if they are controlling a NPC. That really helps keeping the game moving verses waiting for all 5 or 6 players to post and then having the NPC respond to each player.

Also whatever your schedule is keep to it religiously. I tell my players if they haven't posted within the schedule time I will NPC them. Some of the games I play in, the DM gives the players a certain amount of time and then after that, one of the other players can control the missing player. That works well also.
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  #19  
Old Mar 25th, 2020, 09:52 PM
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I think the main appeal of PBP is to get away from Skype and Discord lol. I know combat takes forever here, but its a small price when you consider how much roleplaying you get done. Some systems like Amber, don't even use dice, so combat is roleplaying too.
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  #20  
Old Mar 25th, 2020, 11:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HansJS View Post
I too was wondering if combat got clunky in play-by-post. Some of the pointers here seem good.

Another thought I had was do a Skype or Roll20 session once a week or whenever a sustained combat seemed called for. Anyone try that?
The issue with that is if you can get everyone on a Skype or Roll20 session once a week then you might as well play a weekly Skype or Roll20 D&D session.
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  #21  
Old Mar 26th, 2020, 08:05 PM
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Originally Posted by TomBombadil View Post
Recruit good players. If you recruit good players at the beginning it will make your job 100 times easier as a DM.

Also whatever your schedule is keep to it religiously. I tell my players if they haven't posted within the schedule time I will NPC them.
^ This. All of this. Exactly this.

I usually take on an extra player or two from the start, even though it makes a hectic beginning, because it seems like PbP (or gaming in general) lends itself to people dropping out either right as the game is starting or right when a major plot point is about to begin. Getting a game going and then having to put it on hold to recruit a new player is like a death knell to the action, sometimes.

I also agree that a healthy OOC thread helps to keep a game alive.
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  #22  
Old Apr 16th, 2020, 10:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wishkamon View Post
I was wondering how many players people find manageable with a mind to keeping a pace going? I see a lot of games with up to 8 players and find the idea of wrangling so many PCs mind boggling, especially if you are trying to stick to x post per week. but likewise i suppose with less characters the chance of fizzle out seems stronger?
In the past I've gone from solo games and duos to... 16, I believe? My best game was 8, but if I run another game I'll advertise for that 7-9 person range. There is absolutely a lot of more work with more characters, especially with each of them bringing their own backstories. But on the flip-side, there's room for the characters to keep breaking off into smaller groups, to keep mixing it up and growing and changing, and then converge for your "set piece" moments before splitting again, and I found that as long as I could handle the pacing of the groups to mostly match up, then there was a lot more interaction because I would get micro-bursts of the honeymoon effect as the groups reformed each time. I actually think 9, not eight, will be what I aim for in the future, because then I could break them up into 3 groups of 3, instead of 2 or 4, which should give everyone a good balance of shining and mix up the possible teams even more.

That said, if I don't have that many applications to fill out a party of nine, then I won't take it. If I only get five stellar apps, then I'll take them and adjust my expectations and approach. What I've learnt from all my failures is to really refine my world so that if I have 9 players I always know exactly where all the plot-lines are heading, and can respond to the wants of each of the players - what they want out of their characters to have the most fun, and what they want out of the story. It might sound like a sandbox game is built for that kind of catering, but my sandbox environments have absolutely failed, while more structured environments have succeeded. (Until I lost control myself, that is.)

Edit: I also agree with the consensus that a healthy OOC tends to lend itself to a healthier game. My best games had roaring OOCs, whether it was 8 people or just two. So if you can identify a player that applies that is engaging others successfully in the advert thread, then pick them up and let them bring that same life over to your OOC thread.
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Last edited by Atalla Wanderer; Apr 16th, 2020 at 10:04 PM.
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  #23  
Old May 21st, 2020, 07:31 AM
Mulletman Mulletman is offline
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This has been super helpful to read for some stuff I'm trying out! (not a DM but trying a PbP style thing for some friends!)
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