 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||||||||
|
This section will mostly include my thoughts and experiences regarding PBeM gaming. There are rich resources and information at such sites as PBeM.com and I'll try to avoid duplication by stating only what I consider important to a good PBeM game. |
||||||||
|
Getting Started
Sounds obvious, right? I've seen too many people try to GM a PBeM without any clue how incredibly hard it can be (I believe this is why I've got so many mysteriously vanishing GMs). In a normal face-to-face (FtF) game, 30 seconds of gestures, a few sentences and a couple die rolls can resolve complex situations which would require one hour to write three paragraphs in a PBeM game. PBeMs are NOT like table-top games. I recommend that anyone considering joining a PBeM lurk for at least six weeks before trying to play. Find two or three games, at least one of which
uses the same game system, and at least one of which is the same genre (fantasy, superhero, etc.). Try to play for six months to a year before trying to GM. The time will be well spent developing the necessary
narrative and writing skills required. Doing it for one PC is hard enough. Managing four to eight PCs, the campaign world, and dozens of NPCs -- and being able to write all the narrative out -- takes
dedication, skill, talent and lots of perspiration. |
||||||||
|
Style of Play In my experience, there are two major styles: turn-based and free-form. I've decided I much prefer the
turn-based
system. In this system, the players and GM hack out ideas, dialogue, and narrative text and the GM periodically compiles it into the offical turn. I like this system because it allows for mistakes to be made and ideas to be kicked around without the risk of "making things official" before everyone is ready.
Conversely, in the free-form system, all players simply send whatever they have to say, and the order can get very confused, and it's really a muddy mess. Each player should be willing to allow other players to speak and act for his or her character, and be willing to do the same with theirs. All players must be willing to tell said other players when they agree or disagree with how they portray their characters. There will be times when, in the interest of creating a dramatic narrative, it will be necessary to script other characters. Doing this demonstrates to the other players what the author is thinking, and makes it easier for the other players to contribute to the narrataive. Some players are more comfortable with this than others. I think most players will like it, expecially if they are given the chance to enhance the narrative by modifying their own character's actions. |
||||||||
|
Build a Website and encourage other players to embellish it. Typically it will be the GM who builds the site, but it can be one of the players. The site provides a way to share your tale with other gamers, but also provides a communication mechanism outside the regular turn. Use the site to create an atlas of the campaign world, including demographic information about the campaign city, history of the world, news reports and more. Players can be encouraged to provide material for the main site, or they can create their own sites like my character page for Gravity or my campaign world page for Kodiak Steel . I find the Web is an excellent way to communicate this information to the GM for two important reasons:
|
||||||||
|
Copyright © 1999-2002 by Patric L. Rogers. All rights reserved. |
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
[ Affinity Hosting ] |
||||||||||||
