Oldskolgmr Posted October 1, 2023 Share Posted October 1, 2023 (edited) I wanted to get feedback from other GM's on running a Pbp RQ game (possibly with Theatre of the Mind Combat). How did your game go? How often did you do posts? What server/forum/site were you on? Thank you! Edited October 1, 2023 by Oldskolgmr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajagappa Posted October 1, 2023 Share Posted October 1, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Oldskolgmr said: I wanted to get feedback from other GM's on running a Pbp RQ game (possibly with Theatre of the Mind Combat). How did your game go? How often did you do posts? What server/forum/site were you on? I've been running PbP Glorantha games since 2014, and RQG ones since 2017. I also currently play in another RQG game using the RQ Classic Borderlands setting. At the moment I have two active RQG games: one set Heortland/Holy Country (that one started in 2020) and one in Imther (started that one up in May this year). My prior Colymar/Dragon Pass RQG game concluded with the Smoking Ruin - while that could easily have continued I wanted time to explore and develop more material for my Imther publications. I use the RPGGeek forum and that works well for my needs. You can find advice for running PbP games on the site here: Tips for users new to play-by-forum games on RPG Geek | RPGGeek Those of us who run PbP for RQG have threads under this forum: https://rpggeek.com/forum/2242867/runequest-roleplaying-glorantha/play-forum If you want to see an example, the Smoking Ruins scenario starts here: RQG Smoke and Fire (in-character thread) Generally, I try to post at least every other day. Much over that and the game quickly loses momentum (however, you have to allow for real-life for yourself and your players so some slow periods through the year are inevitable. The PbP format leads to a very different style than face-to-face or online. It's very conducive to a narrative style. The GM can describe a lot more of the setting and has time to develop story lines more fully. And the players can elaborate more readily if they choose to as well. However, the pace of PbP is much slower. What you might do in a 3 hour in-person session may take one to two months in PbP particularly if you're in a detailed scenario. My run of the Smoking Ruins scenario began in July 2021 and finished in May this year. Overall PbP is great if you and your players have got small time-slices on a daily (or every other day) basis which is what I generally have. Regarding "Theatre of the Mind" - probably not how I'd describe or approach PbP. Narrative is how I focus it - you've got all the tools of storytelling at hand so you can more readily describe what's happening. As you need visuals/maps, those can be inserted into posts for reference. I do try to streamline combat a bit by somewhat ignoring strike ranks and focusing on statement of intent and actions. Edited October 1, 2023 by jajagappa 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldskolgmr Posted October 2, 2023 Author Share Posted October 2, 2023 Thank you @jajagappa, I have been really busy. I looked at your PbP ideas and the Links you posted for RPGgeek. That maybe a good forum for me to try. @jajagappa what made your group avoid using a Discord or Roll20? Has anyone tried Discord or Roll20 for a PbP? Experiences and feedback welcome, thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajagappa Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 59 minutes ago, Oldskolgmr said: what made your group avoid using a Discord or Roll20? At the time I started, RPGGeek was the one I was made aware of and it worked for me. One of my players later ran his own PbP game on the forum but also using Roll20 for maps. I played in that game but personally found Roll20 to be a cumbersome addition, and did not feel any need to use it for my own. I've never used Discord so can't comment on that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g33k Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Oldskolgmr said: ... Has anyone tried Discord or Roll20 for a PbP? Experiences and feedback welcome, thank you! I would consider Roll20 largely irrelevant for TotM play -- the focus of their service is the mapping function, which is the exact antithesis of TotM. There *is* a nice RQG rollable character sheet there; so... maybe it's worthwhile just for that? Edited October 2, 2023 by g33k 1 Quote C'es ne pas un .sig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajagappa Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 3 hours ago, g33k said: a nice RQG rollable character sheet There is certainly no standard "character sheet" on RPGGeek. One of the players built a basic template which they all use - and those are stored either in another forum thread or a separate list thread. They are easy for me as a GM to reference that way, but not the most elegant. At one point we tried shared character sheets in a GoogleDoc folder, but that's not as handy for keeping character sheet and backstory together. Largely you've got to find what works for your group in that regard. On the other hand, I really like the RPGGeek dice roller as you quickly get in-thread rolls which can't be fudged (even if you "delete" the roll is recorded and referenceable). And you can highly customize the rolls so if I want results that list out Runes instead of numbers, that's relatively straightforward. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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