Hello! I am a forever-DM who has been playing for about 5 years. I've never tried PbP but wanted to give it a test run. Was hoping to find someone who would be willing to run a short (1-2 week) trial run, just to see what it's like. Especially if you want to try out DMing for a PbP campaign but don't want the investment!
I'm most comfortable with Discord but happy to play it here as well. Happy to do solo but would love to see another 1-3 players join. I'm hoping this can be a casual trial of PbP campaigns using D&D rules. I'll make my character using D&D Beyond. If this is something you'd be interested in playing in, or willing to DM, please let me know!
i've been playing PBP games for decades. Except for the few games that are near real time, 1 to 2 weeks is a very short time for a PBP game, not even enough for the first combat.
Though discord based PBP tend to go faster that those based on chatboards, often going as fast as near reel time when many are online at the same time.
But I have plenty of characters left over from PBP games that didn't last long, so I'm willing to join.
Okay, cool, thanks for the info! What timeline would you recommend for a trial run for a PbP campaign? The equivalent of a one-shot for traditional play, just to get the feel.
There is WIDE variation in how fast a PBP game goes.
One round of combat a day is a good clip for this slow format game. And that depends on players being available when it's their turn (or taking turns in any order).
Different games have different ways to handle players that are slow to respond, and what slow is.
The fastest tried to time combats when most were online, with designated player to take over characters for players not online.
Next would be games where players post their turns in any order, possibly with contingent actions since the situation can change from other plaeyrs actions, then once a day, the DM figures out what what happened, takes the turns for the monsters, and posts an updated situation.
Next would be games where there is a time limit to respond, commonly one day. If you don't respond in the time limit, your turn is skipped, you can take it later when you are available.
Slowest would be the games that wait however long it takes for players to respond.
I've been playing PbPs for a while now (a handful of years at least!)...
My experience has been - a new game is opening up and right in the intro, the GM asks players to post 'at least, once every <insert timeframe>'. Most times it is "post once every couple days. Sometimes it is twice a week.
BUT, what happens after the first couple weeks is.... LIFE HAPPENS... and those who posted religiously suddenly have 5 days between posts. Or more... due to work, travel, holidays, family chaos... the game screeches to a halt until the player sends an OOC update or drops out.
In a couple cases it was the GM that disappeared while the players waited almost a month for an update.
Right now, I am in one PbP and the last post was from the 24th of August. We are waiting on the GM to kick the can down the road. (( players NEED feedback ))
In a couple of PbPs I am currently in, I end up writing lengthy 'filler' pieces to make certain the PbP thread stays active and on the first 5-7 pages of the FORUMS. :p Can only sweep the tavern floor so many times!!!
But, yes, as @JSenecal stated, two weeks might be waaaaaaaaaaaay to short... unless you are specifying 'post at least every 24-36 hrs'...
However, I have been in some games... the intro is complex and lively... and everyone is chomping at the bit to get playing.. so for the first 24-48 hours, we dump posts at breakneck speed.... until we hit our first obstacle. (or DOOR).
I've been in a game where 75% of the players are in Europe, one in Asia and then me in the US of A. A lot can get posted while I am snoring away the wee hours... and if I don't post at the crack of dawn, the others have a LOOOOOOOOOOONG wait for my response post.
As stated by others, using DISCORD is closer to 'real time' table action... but I can not comment since my ISP is such trash I can't open a map, graphics and Discord at the same time without locking up my machine. Hence, why I am doing the PbP thing.
Hello! You may call me Gato (which means cat in Spanish)
I am a STAY
Common side effects include nervousness, insomnia, nausea, agitation, anxiety, sweating, vision problems, psychosis, numbness, dizziness, headaches, and weight loss
Okay, cool, thanks for the info! What timeline would you recommend for a trial run for a PbP campaign? The equivalent of a one-shot for traditional play, just to get the feel.
Unless you're just looking for a single encounter to try out the format, let's assume that the one-shot has 4 to 6 "significant" encounters. Assuming that the game maintains a steady pace of 1 post from each player (and the DM) every 36 hours, I think that you should expect your one-shot adventure to take 6 to 12 weeks to finish.
Hello! I am a forever-DM who has been playing for about 5 years. I've never tried PbP but wanted to give it a test run. Was hoping to find someone who would be willing to run a short (1-2 week) trial run, just to see what it's like. Especially if you want to try out DMing for a PbP campaign but don't want the investment!
I'm most comfortable with Discord but happy to play it here as well. Happy to do solo but would love to see another 1-3 players join. I'm hoping this can be a casual trial of PbP campaigns using D&D rules. I'll make my character using D&D Beyond. If this is something you'd be interested in playing in, or willing to DM, please let me know!
i've been playing PBP games for decades. Except for the few games that are near real time, 1 to 2 weeks is a very short time for a PBP game, not even enough for the first combat.
Though discord based PBP tend to go faster that those based on chatboards, often going as fast as near reel time when many are online at the same time.
But I have plenty of characters left over from PBP games that didn't last long, so I'm willing to join.
Okay, cool, thanks for the info! What timeline would you recommend for a trial run for a PbP campaign? The equivalent of a one-shot for traditional play, just to get the feel.
There is WIDE variation in how fast a PBP game goes.
One round of combat a day is a good clip for this slow format game. And that depends on players being available when it's their turn (or taking turns in any order).
Different games have different ways to handle players that are slow to respond, and what slow is.
The fastest tried to time combats when most were online, with designated player to take over characters for players not online.
Next would be games where players post their turns in any order, possibly with contingent actions since the situation can change from other plaeyrs actions, then once a day, the DM figures out what what happened, takes the turns for the monsters, and posts an updated situation.
Next would be games where there is a time limit to respond, commonly one day. If you don't respond in the time limit, your turn is skipped, you can take it later when you are available.
Slowest would be the games that wait however long it takes for players to respond.
I've been playing PbPs for a while now (a handful of years at least!)...
My experience has been - a new game is opening up and right in the intro, the GM asks players to post 'at least, once every <insert timeframe>'. Most times it is "post once every couple days. Sometimes it is twice a week.
BUT, what happens after the first couple weeks is.... LIFE HAPPENS... and those who posted religiously suddenly have 5 days between posts. Or more... due to work, travel, holidays, family chaos... the game screeches to a halt until the player sends an OOC update or drops out.
In a couple cases it was the GM that disappeared while the players waited almost a month for an update.
Right now, I am in one PbP and the last post was from the 24th of August. We are waiting on the GM to kick the can down the road. (( players NEED feedback ))
In a couple of PbPs I am currently in, I end up writing lengthy 'filler' pieces to make certain the PbP thread stays active and on the first 5-7 pages of the FORUMS. :p Can only sweep the tavern floor so many times!!!
But, yes, as @JSenecal stated, two weeks might be waaaaaaaaaaaay to short... unless you are specifying 'post at least every 24-36 hrs'...
However, I have been in some games... the intro is complex and lively... and everyone is chomping at the bit to get playing.. so for the first 24-48 hours, we dump posts at breakneck speed.... until we hit our first obstacle. (or DOOR).
So... plenty to consider.
Oh... and one more consideration... TIMEZONES
I've been in a game where 75% of the players are in Europe, one in Asia and then me in the US of A. A lot can get posted while I am snoring away the wee hours... and if I don't post at the crack of dawn, the others have a LOOOOOOOOOOONG wait for my response post.
As stated by others, using DISCORD is closer to 'real time' table action... but I can not comment since my ISP is such trash I can't open a map, graphics and Discord at the same time without locking up my machine. Hence, why I am doing the PbP thing.
(one step up from Play By Snail Mail !!! )
Lol, I can join this if needed
Hello! You may call me Gato (which means cat in Spanish)
I am a STAY
Common side effects include nervousness, insomnia, nausea, agitation, anxiety, sweating, vision problems, psychosis, numbness, dizziness, headaches, and weight loss
Unless you're just looking for a single encounter to try out the format, let's assume that the one-shot has 4 to 6 "significant" encounters. Assuming that the game maintains a steady pace of 1 post from each player (and the DM) every 36 hours, I think that you should expect your one-shot adventure to take 6 to 12 weeks to finish.