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View Full Version : Play By Post Game.. With no dice? (Solved)



Slay33
2017-07-07, 01:11 AM
Hello all! New DM here. I've been active on this forum in the past, but haven't posted much recently. Just me looking to the experienced for some advice on running games again! All help is appreciated, I'll do my best to respond as soon as I can. Now enough bs, on to the point.

I've been aiming to start a play by post game on this site. It won't be my first time running a game, nor my first time running one online, but I notice that all the play by post games i've seen so far all use dice rolls. I'd like to run a play by post game with no dice, only roleplaying. This does not mean there will be no combat or skills involved, but will simply rely on player and character integrity to run smoothly, as opposed to the fall of the dice.

A few questions:

-How should I do character creation? Should I make up a system which allows characters to be customized and balanced to a degree without using dice rolls? If so, How should I go about creating this system, if I should bother creating it at all?


-I'd like to think combat could be done on a system of character integrity.

Good example: "Demetrius draws his sword from his belt, and begins his charge towards the orc, taking note of the two nearby orcs as well, keeping his gaze focused on his original target, the large orc at which he drew his blade and continued his advance upon"

Bad example: "Demetrius draws his sword from his belt, instantly charging at the orc and knocking his foe to the ground, taking the orc's head off with a single quick slash. The warrior turned his attention towards the two nearby orcs, cutting both down before either could react to his original attack against their leader"

Could combat work this way, or is it simply too much power in the hands of the players?


-Could other skill checks be done on the same basis as combat?

Good example: "Demetrius creaks the door open slightly, squinting his eyes to try and catch a glimpse of whatever may be in the room ahead, the darkness making it difficult for him to see clearly"

Bad example: "Demetrius looks through the cracked door, taking in everything in the darkened room with ease" (I know characters with enhanced vision skills or items may be able to get away with something like this, but that's besides the point.)


-What else should I take into consideration before attempting to run a play by post game this way, or should I even bother at all with this idea?

Thank you in advance to all who reply! I am willing to discuss and change everything as much as need be.

Lacco
2017-07-07, 01:54 AM
For diceless combat check Amber Diceless. It has quite intriguing system.

Draconi Redfir
2017-07-07, 02:19 AM
-I'd like to think combat could be done on a system of character integrity.

Good example: "Demetrius draws his sword from his belt, and begins his charge towards the orc, taking note of the two nearby orcs as well, keeping his gaze focused on his original target, the large orc at which he drew his blade and continued his advance upon"

Bad example: "Demetrius draws his sword from his belt, instantly charging at the orc and knocking his foe to the ground, taking the orc's head off with a single quick slash. The warrior turned his attention towards the two nearby orcs, cutting both down before either could react to his original attack against their leader"

Could combat work this way, or is it simply too much power in the hands of the players?


-Could other skill checks be done on the same basis as combat?

Good example: "Demetrius creaks the door open slightly, squinting his eyes to try and catch a glimpse of whatever may be in the room ahead, the darkness making it difficult for him to see clearly"

Bad example: "Demetrius looks through the cracked door, taking in everything in the darkened room with ease" (I know characters with enhanced vision skills or items may be able to get away with something like this, but that's besides the point.)


-What else should I take into consideration before attempting to run a play by post game this way, or should I even bother at all with this idea?

Thank you in advance to all who reply! I am willing to discuss and change everything as much as need be.

oh yeah it's definitely possible, i took part in a ton of RP's like this before coming to the playground. most of them weren't based around DND, so nobody applied dnd mechanics.

the key is to write in suggestions. weather you are DM or not, never allow anyone to just go "so and so cuts off so and so's arm". it's always TRIES to cut off the arm, AIMS to cut off the arm. etc. the first person suggests an action, and the second person affirms weather or not it goes through based on their character's abilities, chances, and weather or not the writer is okay with it. for example if bob is tied to a chair with his wrist, elbow, shoulders, and back all bound, and the chair nailed to the ground, then it's pretty unlikely that he's not going to loose an arm, so bob's writer is going to have to suck it up and loose the arm.

conversely if bob is in an open field and free to move, they can always dodge, weave, block, or any other thing to try and deflect the attack. so long as everyone is playing fair, it should be okay.

of course, that's if people are playing fair. lord knows i've done stupid and unfair things in my time on this kind of rp too, and i was rewarded by being completely ignored and essentially kicked out of the rp. the key is having mature players you can trust, and yeah, there is a lot of honor rules or whatever the term is for just not being a dink going around, but so long as everyone is okay with that, then things should be okay.

as for stats, i'd say don't bother with them. players can decide their character's own feats of strength. since you're probably going to be managing the DM position still, you can determine what is reasonable and what isn't, be sure to talk too your players and communicate with them on what is and isn't okay. don't be afraid to retcon or step in and stop someone if they are getting out of hand either. it's all a story about trust and fairness.

incidentally, hit me up if you do decide to run this game, been a long time since i've been in a play by post with no dice rolls :P

Knaight
2017-07-07, 02:50 AM
There are three concepts that are covered by "no dice", all of which are pretty distinct. All of them are also play by post functional, but they'll tend to attract different people and people wanting to play in one might not necessarily like the other two. Without further ado:
Type I: Games containing non-dice randomizers. Maybe there are cards, maybe you have marbles in a bag, but there's a rules system there and it has a random element. These are pretty close to dice based games.
Type II: Games containing formalized mechanics, but no randomness. There's still probably an RPG system in there, and it might very well have character sheets, skills, etc. Amber and Microscope are examples of this.
Type III: Freeform roleplay. There's no formal system there, and no numerical mechanics. The game is freeform.

Slay33
2017-07-07, 03:03 AM
oh yeah it's definitely possible, i took part in a ton of RP's like this before coming to the playground. most of them weren't based around DND, so nobody applied dnd mechanics.

the key is to write in suggestions. weather you are DM or not, never allow anyone to just go "so and so cuts off so and so's arm". it's always TRIES to cut off the arm, AIMS to cut off the arm. etc. the first person suggests an action, and the second person affirms weather or not it goes through based on their character's abilities, chances, and weather or not the writer is okay with it. for example if bob is tied to a chair with his wrist, elbow, shoulders, and back all bound, and the chair nailed to the ground, then it's pretty unlikely that he's not going to loose an arm, so bob's writer is going to have to suck it up and loose the arm.

conversely if bob is in an open field and free to move, they can always dodge, weave, block, or any other thing to try and deflect the attack. so long as everyone is playing fair, it should be okay.

of course, that's if people are playing fair. lord knows i've done stupid and unfair things in my time on this kind of rp too, and i was rewarded by being completely ignored and essentially kicked out of the rp. the key is having mature players you can trust, and yeah, there is a lot of honor rules or whatever the term is for just not being a dink going around, but so long as everyone is okay with that, then things should be okay.

as for stats, i'd say don't bother with them. players can decide their character's own feats of strength. since you're probably going to be managing the DM position still, you can determine what is reasonable and what isn't, be sure to talk too your players and communicate with them on what is and isn't okay. don't be afraid to retcon or step in and stop someone if they are getting out of hand either. it's all a story about trust and fairness.

incidentally, hit me up if you do decide to run this game, been a long time since i've been in a play by post with no dice rolls :P

Thanks for the reply! This covers my questions, thank you! I'll begin working on my roleplay. Hope to see you there!