A SMALL NOTE TO THE MODERATORS:
I've had it on my mind for quite a while to open this thread, but somehow never quite got to it. Basically, this thread will be devoted to an active role-playing game that forum members may participate in. I think it could be pretty fun, but if you feel something like this is not appropriate for the forum, feel free to lock/delete or move into a different section.



What is a Forum Role-Playing game (or Play-by-post game)?

Quote from Wikipedia:

Quote:

A play-by-post game (PbP game, also called a sim or simming) is an online text-based role-playing game in which players (also called writers or simmers) interact with each other and a predefined environment via text. It is a subset of the online role-playing community which caters to both gamers and creative writers. PbP games may be based on other role-playing games, non-game fiction including books, television and movies, or original settings. This activity is closely related to both interactive fiction and collaborative writing.

Unlike other forms of online role-playing games such as MUDs or MMORPGs, the events in play-by-post games are rarely handled by software and instead rely on participants or moderators to make decisions or improvise. Players create their own descriptions of events and their surroundings during play. Results of combat, which may include Player versus player encounters, may be determined by chance through dice rolls or software designed to provide a random result. The results of random chance may need to be provided to the players in order to avoid disputes that may be a result of cheating or favoritism. Alternatively a forum may be diceless and rely on cooperation between players to agree on outcomes of events and thus forgo the use of randomisers.

If you're still not clear about what this is, shoot me a PM and I'll explain it in more detail.

Every Role-Playing needs a Setting, which is just a word for the world the game takes place in. There are many different Settings, each with their own histories, back stories and of course, rules. I'm knowledgeable enough to lead a game inside two of those settings: "Dungeons and Dragons 3.5" and "Vampire - The Masquerade".

D&D 3.5 is an epic fantasy Setting, somewhat akin to the Lord of The Rings universe, centering around combat, adventuring, dungeon crawling, monster-slaying and loot-collecting. Not to say there aren't any other elements in the game (because there are many), but it's still basically a "slay the mighty dragon and save the princess" kind of thing.

Vampire - The Masquerade, however, is a different beast altogether.
To quote Wikipedia again:
"The game uses the cursed and immortal vampiric condition as a backdrop to explore themes of morality, depravity, the human condition (or appreciation of the human condition in its absence), salvation, and personal horror. The gloomy and exaggerated version of the real world that the vampires inhabit, called the "World of Darkness," forms an already bleak canvas against which the stories and struggles of characters are painted. The themes that the game seeks to address include retaining the character's sense of self, humanity, and sanity, as well as simply keeping from being crushed by the grim opposition of mortal and supernatural antagonists and, more poignantly, surviving the politics, treachery, and often violent ambitions of their own kind."


If there are active forum participants who are interested, I'd like them to speak out here so we can gather up and start a game. You also need to tell me which one of these two Settings you'd prefer, so I know which one we'll play. As soon as you reply here, I'll shoot you a PM with links to the PDFs of the books detailing the settings. Three players are enough, although a bare minimum, while 4-5 would be preferable. If there are even more interested parties, we'll work something out.

By D&D, do you mean the Greyhawk setting/Oerth? I think that's core for 3.5. Alas, I'm a hardcore Forgotten Realms guy myself.

Never done this. Might be interesting, but how much activity do you expect? Checking back several times a day, or? We will be playing for real, with dice and everything, and not just freeform storytelling? I think I got the 3.5 PHB and DMG, if that's what we'll go by I know the rules. Not so much the geography and cultures, but I may have the Gazetteer PDF somewhere.

If you want a compromise between settings, by the way, Ravenloft is neat and there are prewritten modules for it. I think you'd need conversion from 2e rules, though.

To tell you the truth, I'd actually greatly prefer VtM. I put D&D up there in case nobody wants to play Vampires, but really, D&D games can take forever to get interesting which is not recommended for newbies to Role-Playing. Unless we start at level 5-6 or something. Plus I just generally love the modern, gritty and gothic-punk setting of VtM much more than high fantasy stuff that kind of bored me. But you know, this is a democracy after all, so we'll see how others react.
If we absolutely must go for D&D, then I'd go for Forgotten Realms. I'm actually not familiar with Ravenloft, so I'd be neat if you could fill me in a bit.

As for activity, 1 post per day per player should be the absolute bare minimum, and that's plugging the game on life-support. 2-3 would be swell, but not necessary.
And yes, full rules, with online dice rollers and stuff. Maybe a house rule or two and some tweaks if we agree on them.

I'm not too big on prewritten stuff, I like my freedom.

I can go with VtM too. Never played it. I'm a big FR buff, the 2e books especially are great reading. DMed an online server for three years as the team's de facto lore buff. Not sure you want a player who's skimmed all the books on the setting, though.

Though I'm out for the next week and after that I start a new 2-month job at the Uni (to do with my studies), so I won't be logging on during the day. Which kind of sucks. So I guess I can't promise anything, but I'm tentatively interested.

Eh, we'll see. I doubt we'll gather up as many people as we need anyway.