As our player groups erode and people become increasingly busy, as their RPG libraries collect dust next to the trumpet and all the other things from high school they no longer have time for, many people take a dive into online gaming. Of course, playing by Instant Messenger or Chat Room is fun and it keeps the feel of face-to-face tabletop role playing, but it creates one of the same problems as regular gaming: aligning two or more people’s schedules, often across multiple time zones. Another popular option has become running Play by E-mail (PBEM) or Play by Post (PBP) games. By utilizing mailing lists or forums similar to these ones, the players can circumvent the problems of aligning schedules.
Personally, I’ve been a GM in one PBEM or another since my last year of high school. I think that much of the advice below could easily be transferred to a Play by Post situation as well. There are some excellent resources out there on what a PBEM game is exactly and how to run a PBEM game, these are where I started and I draw your attention to them first.
An Argosy of PBEM Advice
How to Run a Successful PBEM
Most of the advice in these two articles is great stuff and provides an excellent starting point for new GMs and players alike. In addition to these articles I would offer my own advice as well.
Players
My most successful PBEM campaigns have had great players at their hearts, good creative writers but also people I “knew”. Often times gaming communities have an online presence through forums, bulletin boards, and an obscure network of Instant Messaging buddies. In these communities we often build relationships and end up chatting and IMing our pals from across the globe discussing the latest book, rule change, or other minutia from our game of choice.
These relationships are a great starting place for building a PBEM group. By the very nature of our conversations with these people, we know how often they’re online, what their preferred character types are, and aren’t afraid to say “Are you going to post this week?” Relationships also translate into a good community of role players; the more everyone knows each other and talks via IM or forums outside of the game, the easier it is for them to participate in the game.
Start Small
While the logic may be to take ten players and let attrition whittle them down to five I would recommend the opposite. Starting with a group of 3 to 5 plays really lets the game move as quickly as possible at the beginning and makes sure there is no one “left behind” or “out of the loop”. Engaging a small group of players who you know and talk to outside of the game creates a real feeling of community and loyalty.
With a small group and a good story two things happen: people get excited, waiting expectantly for the next post, and they tell their friends. This word of mouth advertising is essential to a game, people soon “want” to be in it and will ask you if they can join. Your small group of three to five players is essential here because each one will act as a reference for new folks, and really work with these new friends to make sure the game they know and love is going to benefit.
Control Growth
As new people approach you to enter the game remember adding a whole bunch of new faces at once can be very disruptive. Add one player at a time, if possible, and space out new additions. This allows new people to be integrated into the game but not be overly disruptive to your existing players.
© 2004-2009 all authors as specified. Duplication of contents with permission only! This means you can't sell it, but feel free to print, modify, or use in anyway for your personal campaign use.
All incidents, situations, institutions, governments and people are fictional and any similarity to characters or persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
Disclaimer.
