PbP: What is it? How to do it? Have you enjoyed it?

[Phelix-Mu]

Basically just what the thread title says. Links appreciated for explanations or examples. Reviews of stuff you have been involved in also welcome.

[Togath]

PbP is a game played on a forum, I have a few games in my sig that could work as examples, I can also dig around for the one's I'm playing in as well.

[Flickerdart]

PbP is play by post - basically, the game runs in a forum thread (usually two - one for in-character and one for out-of-character talk). PbP works ok for talking, since it lets people phrase things like they want to, but it's absolutely rubbish for combat especially at higher levels when immediate actions and multiple actions per round become common.

[Jack_Simth]

Basically just what the thread title says. Links appreciated for explanations or examples. Reviews of stuff you have been involved in also welcome.
Well, there's An Entire Subforum (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=13) of them here, if you want concrete examples.

Certain things are better in some ways - you can't get interrupted when giving a description, for instance, as it all comes out in one go, and it's rather hard for someone to make the excuse that they couldn't hear you when you were describing the room or some such. Certain things are worse in some ways - anything that takes a lot of back-and-forth - combat especially - gets painfully slow.

[Zman]

See links in my Signature for an example of a very fast posting consistent PbP.

[Flickerdart]

If you can get all of your players online at the same time, a program like Maptool or roll20 may be more suitable, as you get a live chat and a tactical map. Getting ninja'd when writing up your cool actions sucks even worse in a PbP than it does in normal threads.

[Phelix-Mu]

Thanks for the prompt replies.

@zman: Awe-some. I am a writer at heart, and I really like the degree of composition that goes into the interaction. Something that you normally only get out of the most hardcore role players when meeting live. I have been "spared" anyone with such extreme tendencies in the campaigns that I've DM'd...ah, for the days of 2e, when the only reason to play something so poorly constructed was role play.

This sounds cool. I will check out the subforum. Do you guys just usually post throughout the day, or do you set up a time for everyone to be "at keyboard?"

EDIT: Semi-ninja'd. My current irl group is in fact a skype group. Don't get me started about how real life totally nerfs the playability of D&D. Oh, endless childhood, wherefor art thou so cruelly unreal?

[Zman]

Thanks for the prompt replies.

@zman: Awe-some. I am a writer at heart, and I really like the degree of composition that goes into the interaction. Something that you normally only get out of the most hardcore role players when meeting live. I have been "spared" anyone with such extreme tendencies in the campaigns that I've DM'd...ah, for the days of 2e, when the only reason to play something so poorly constructed was role play.

This sounds cool. I will check out the subforum. Do you guys just usually post throughout the day, or do you set up a time for everyone to be "at keyboard?"

EDIT: Semi-ninja'd. My current irl group is in fact a skype group. Don't get me started about how real life totally nerfs the playability of D&D. Oh, endless childhood, wherefor art thou so cruelly unreal?

Thank you. Feel free to give it a read, the game is still going and approaching its 4th In Character thread.

[Newcomer]

Zman's game is awesome! I randomly picked it out when I wanted to see what pbp was like, just like you're asking now, and I've been following along ever since. It's been a great help for me just seeing what good role-play can look like, as an inspiration.

PbP is not as intimidating as it seemed at first. As long as you have time to check in regularly, you should have fun with it. I like that there's more time to compose a response than is the case in live games. Instead of just quickly picking an action to keep play moving, I can stop and think about the character's motivations and personality.

Unfortunately, players/DMs sometimes stop checking in, and so some games can die, but the recruitment forum's always full of new adventures!

[TaiLiu]

This sounds cool. I will check out the subforum. Do you guys just usually post throughout the day, or do you set up a time for everyone to be "at keyboard?"

Usually, one has to keep up with a posting rate - say, once a day or once every other day.
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Personally, I like PbP because it allows me to post insights into a character's psyche and thoughts without worrying about time constraints.

[Zman]

Zman's game is awesome! I randomly picked it out when I wanted to see what pbp was like, just like you're asking now, and I've been following along ever since. It's been a great help for me just seeing what good role-play can look like, as an inspiration.

PbP is not as intimidating as it seemed at first. As long as you have time to check in regularly, you should have fun with it. I like that there's more time to compose a response than is the case in live games. Instead of just quickly picking an action to keep play moving, I can stop and think about the character's motivations and personality.

Unfortunately, players/DMs sometimes stop checking in, and so some games can die, but the recruitment forum's always full of new adventures!

Thanks! Didn't realize you were still checking in. Kurt and Shiny died recently, the group is working on making them better.

[Newcomer]

Thanks! Didn't realize you were still checking in. Kurt and Shiny died recently, the group is working on making them better.

Yeah, I didn't want to pop back into OOC and insert myself, but it's great reading material while I wait for my (slower) games to update. :smallbiggrin:

And yeah, those deaths were powerful! And Henry's, too! That was a wow moment. I like the depth in both the characters and the story. And I like your encounter designs. :smallsmile:

[Zman]

Zman's game is awesome! I randomly picked it out when I wanted to see what pbp was like, just like you're asking now, and I've been following along ever since. It's been a great help for me just seeing what good role-play can look like, as an inspiration.

PbP is not as intimidating as it seemed at first. As long as you have time to check in regularly, you should have fun with it. I like that there's more time to compose a response than is the case in live games. Instead of just quickly picking an action to keep play moving, I can stop and think about the character's motivations and personality.

Unfortunately, players/DMs sometimes stop checking in, and so some games can die, but the recruitment forum's always full of new adventures!


Yeah, I didn't want to pop back into OOC and insert myself, but it's great reading material while I wait for my (slower) games to update. :smallbiggrin:

And yeah, those deaths were powerful! And Henry's, too! That was a wow moment. I like the depth in both the characters and the story. And I like your encounter designs. :smallsmile:

Again, thank you. Glad to know others are enjoying the read. Henry's really shook the group, it added a whole new level of depth to the game. I honestly found it amazing that a simple name applied to a random NPc turned into a reoccurring character the group grew fond of.