Can someone explain how the place works?

[Shady_Author]

I just joined today, and I have no idea how the place works. I can't seem to find a create-a-character type thread, and I honestly don't know what I'm looking at here.

[Kyrell1978]

What are you looking for? If you are looking for a play by post game there is a separate section for those, then there is a recruiting section within that forum and I believe a thread dedicated to posting your info so that a dm can contact you about their game. Hope that helps, if not then I misunderstood your question.

[Shady_Author]

I'm just trying to get a basic overview of what's where. Is there a character creation thread? Do you make characters when you actually start playing? Basically, just where do I go to get started

[Kyrell1978]

I haven't been on here that long either so I'm probably not the best person to direct you, but I would start by going to the "Play by post" section and check out which games are recruiting currently.

[Shady_Author]

Thank you, Kyrell

[Anymage]

It's a message board. You'll see that many of the topics here have nothing to do with either gaming or the comic. And many of the gaming threads are more about discussing them than playing them.

If you want to do play-by-post you can. But even then it's less about having one specific character you use sitewide, and more about having ones specific to the groups you wind up with.

[Telonius]

Asking for advice about character creation would probably go in one of the "Roleplaying Games" forums. They're mostly D&D-based, divided by which edition you're talking about (5th, 4th, 3.x/pathfinder, Older editions/other systems). I don't think there are any specific "build me a character" mega-threads, but plenty of individual people asking for various kinds of advice.

[SaintRidley]

If you're interested in playing a game, go here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?51-Finding-Players-(Recruitment)) and find a recruiting game that looks interesting to you. Then create a character and submit it as an application.

This message board is fairly easy to navigate.

[2D8HP]

If it's PbP at this Forum you're after a couple of folks have said this advice was useful:


Because I just can't commit to enough of a block of time for face to face gaming (or even Skype and the like) PbP is the only gaming I still do, and I've only ever done PbP at this Forum (mostly 5e D&D, never 3.5), and I've never used "Roll 20" (I actually quit one game because the DM instead of just telling me the distances insisted that I log into a Roll 20, and view a map. I created an account, only to discover that to view in "mobile" I had to subscribe. Since 99.9% of my computer time is via "smartphone" that was a deal breaker)

I'm going to assume that what works for 5e will work for 3.5:

1) Be persistent.
I had to try many times before I lucked into games that lasted.
And it was luck. I can't descern any clues as to which games would last. "Past history (or lack of same) is not a predictor of future results".

2) Subscribe via e-mail to both the "Finding Players (Recruitment)" and the "Currently Recruiting Players" threads, and be ready to jump.

3) Have multiple character "sheets" ready to go at Myth-Weavers.com

4) PM yourself lots of "back-stories" ready to copy and paste for when the DM asks you to submit one.
Length is more important than quality, I write junk but most DM's seem to decide by word count.
Pile on lots of dead relatives in the back story, DM's eat that "Edgelord" junk up, I'm serious don't have shame steal be inspired by Batman and Mad Max's, yes those are trite cliches but they work.

5) Don't actually role-play out a character implied by the back-story, the "back-story" seldom fits the campaign, and it's usually disruptive if you try.

Why do DM's demand them?

Who the Abyss knows, but if you want to play you must pay some dues, and that includes writing some tragedy filled junk.

6) Forget about whatever "character concept" you had before play starts, make your PC fit the game, including how your PC's interact with other PC's, which you can't really guess at first. I've seen DM's flee in terror when a game starts off with "competitive soliloquies" by the players narrating their back-stories, which soon devolved into character driven bickering.
Nobody really cares about that mess!

7) Steal an image for PC off the "Dreamboats" thread, or some other source and include it with the "back-story" submission. Worth at least two dead relatives in your PC's history as far as getting accepted to pkay.

8) Don't flake and be Civil. You encounter the same people again and again, and you will be remembered.

9) Always be applying!
You can't guess which games will last, and if you don't have "many irons in the fire", you will be without a game.
Yes that does mean that sometimes you will be playing more games than you want, no you don't get to flake.

10) Did I say that you can't predict which games will last?
Well here's an exception: Players recruiting DM games don't last.
All games lose players, but when you lose the DM the game ends, and if it's someone else's idea for a game the DM is more likely to quit.

11) Subscribe to the game thread via e-mail, and post fast.
Speed is more important than quality.
A long, well written post encourages others to do the same, it also intimidates others into not posting.
A short and to the point post inspires others to post as well, keeping the game going, think the opposite of the back-story you wrote.

12) Post off topic nonsense in the OOC. "Boy do I roll bad", jokes, the weather where you live, whatever. It makes it so that people recognize you.

13) Put your characters name (and maybe even a small image) into every post, as it's easy to get confused.

Here's an example:


https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6d/1a/b8/6d1ab8fd0305d5f74d5a7ef8e20fbf40.jpg

Riardon:
Wood-Elf Fighter/Rogue

AC:17 (Leather & Shield)
HP:26/11
Initiative:+3
Speed:35ft. Passive Perception:17 (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1102339)
"Liberates" one of the Goblin's shields, and continues searching the cave, stealthily when he enters a new area. I'm going to see what's further in
Perception:[roll0]
Stealth:[roll1]


14) If you need to take a break, post it!
If you had to to take a break, and you didn't warn the other players apologize and continue. They have lives as well, and will likely understand.

15) Be flexible, odd house rules and trying out unorthodox settings may be why the DM is running the game.

16) Try other games.
Non 3.5 and 5e D&D games have much better GM to player ratios.
I'm playing a game of Pendragon, which is awesome, and I didn't have to stress about will my "back-story" be accepted among the many submissions, I'm also playing a "freeform" game where I didn't have to stress about submitting a "sheet", and I'm playing a 5e game (maybe two depending if anyone posts again) where I had a sheet and a back-story pre-made, plus a "homebrew" system (pending another posts).

17) If you have a "snowflake" non-core class you want to play, submit all the rules.

18) Be the DM/GM!
Way better ratio that way.
Too much work?
How about a simplified system. Here's one:


1) GM describes a scene.
2) Player says an action that their PC attempts.
3) GM decides if the PC has no chance of success, no chance of failure, or a partial chance of success.
4) If a partial chance of success, GM makes up on the spot a percentage chance of success.
5) Player rolls D100 (two 0-9 twenty-siders once upon a time).
6) If the player rolls under the made up number their PC succeeds in attempting the task, if over the PC fails.
7) GM narrates the immediate consequences until it's time to again ask, "what do you do".
8) Repeat.




I'm playing in three in-progress games (people have posted today), two maybe games (people have posted this month), and I've played many used-to-be games this year.


Two games have lasted more than four months, one of which just had a post today, and I really couldn't have predicted which games would last.

By patient and persistent.

Good luck.

:smile:


....and a couple of other folks had valid criticisms of some of that advice, but I'm too lazy to correct myself now, so take it how you like.