PDA

View Full Version : play by post question



Mystic Muse
2009-06-12, 02:26 AM
I'm not entirely sure this goes. here. it doesn't seem to fit into any of the play by post topics.

my two questions are A are they anything like the real game?(I.E. 3.5) and B do you roll dice or use a dice rolling program?

Colmarr
2009-06-12, 02:35 AM
are they anything like the real game?(I.E. 3.5)

That honestly depends on what your "real" games are like. There is no reason why a PbP game can't be the same as or better than a live one.

I know, for example, that I roleplay better via written word than in person, because I have more time to envision the PC's reaction.


do you roll dice or use a dice rolling program?

This varies from game to game. Most PbP forums have an in-built diceroller application which the game uses. It avoids accusations of cheating.

Frog Dragon
2009-06-12, 02:38 AM
The main differences compared to a real game are
1. There are no gaming sessions. You post in the thread, usually daily or semi daily, as do the other DM's and players. This means the game is ongoing all the time, but there may be hours between individual responses
2. There is less OOC talk mixed in since you can think about what you are saying lot more before you post. There are also seperate threads for OOC so the actual game thread sometimes only has roleplaying while tabletops always have OOC talk in the mix.
3. There are usually less visuals. You can't use miniatures and not all even use mapping for their games.

And the other question
This board has a dice rolling function. It works like this xdx+x

with the first x being the number of dice you want. The second being the type of dice (4-sided, 20-sided 10-sided etc.) and the last x being whatever modifier you have to it.

Edit: And naturally I am ninja'd.

Colmarr
2009-06-12, 02:41 AM
Edit: And naturally I am ninja'd.

Surprisingly, no you weren't.

I somehow managed to get in before you without actually saying anything that really stepped on your toes. I must be the most polite ninja ever. :smallsmile:

Kol Korran
2009-06-12, 02:42 AM
i'll try to answer as best i can:
1) PbP basically uses the same rules as 3.5, but the experience is quite different than a table top. it has it's benfits and downsides. main points of difference though:
- PbP is much slower, what you finish in half an hour in table top can take days or more in PbP. this stems from the delay betweeen each post, and usually waiting for everyone to participate (especially in combat)
- combat usually tends to be a bit simplified in PbP, especially if there are no good map tools.
- social and other non combat interactions however shine somewhat more in PbP. conversations and reactions of characters are more detailed, more in depth and so on. this stems from the player having time to think of his/ her response and paraphrase to a better effect than just hinking on his/ her feet.
most people who like PbP like this aspect of the game, if i guess correctly.

2) usually there is either an external dice roller (google invisible castle) or there is one built in the system that prevents cheating (such as in the myth weavers site)
i hope this helped. the two games offer two different experiences, don't come into one expecting it to be like the other. that doesn't go to say that one is preferable over the other, it just depends on what you're looking for. this is at least my experience.
Kol

Mystic Muse
2009-06-12, 02:43 AM
okay thanks. that's all I really needed to know. I probably won't have a map(WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too tedious for a PBP.) that's all I needed to know. giantitp.com foumers helpful as (almost) always.