An Argosy of PBEM Advice
-or-
Everything You Ever Wanted
to Know About Running or
Playing in Play-by-Electronic-
Mail Role-Playing Games
-or-
Zen & the Art of PBEMs,
The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to
PBEMs, PBEMs on $1.50 a Day,
etc.
~~~~
Compiled by Andrew Fabbro
(afabbro@umich.edu)
~~~~
Version 1.0
5 February 1994
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Section 0: Introduction & Table of Contents
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This document is a modest collection of advice on the fine and noble art
of running and playing in play-by-electronic-mail (PBEM) role-playing
games. It does not cover role-playing games that were specifically
designed to be played as PBMs/PBEMs (such as Atlantis, Arena, etc.).
Instead, it offers advice on how to adapt paper-and-pencil RPGs to PBEM play.
To my knowledge, the only net.doc ever previously written on the subject was
Chua Hak Lien's excellent _Totally Harmless !Complete Guide to PBEMs_. After
mentioning it rather casually on rec.games.pbm, I was flooded with requests
for copies. After seeing Bruce Saul and Rob McNeur post other useful
advice, I decided to compile all this sage wisdom into a formal (ha!)
document. Everyone concerned was kind enough to grant me permission, and
thus, the Argosy of PBEM Advice.
However, this document is far from finished. If you have anything you'd
like to add, or if you are aware of other net.docs on the subject, please
send them to me (afabbro@umich.edu) so I can include them in the next
version. Here is your chance to be a big net.star...see your name in
little pixeled lights...and gain big heaping bucketfuls of good karma.
Heck, you might even inspire someone to start a PBEM you'd like to play
in. The only rule regarding material for the Argosy is that the original
author must grant me permission to include it.
Your feedback and opinions would be happily received at afabbro@umich.edu.
This document has been posted at greyhawk.stanford.edu and
soda.berkeley.edu.
Contents:
=========
Section 1: The Totally Harmless !Complete Guide to PBeMs by Chua Hak Lien
Section 2: Article by Bruce Saul
Section 3: Article by Rob McNeur
Needless to say, all copyrights held by the articles' respective authors.
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Section 1: The Totally Harmless !Complete Guide to PBeMs
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by Chua Hak Lien
Once in a while, one will see a post in the rec.games.frp.**
newsgroups about a PBeM game being started by so-and-so. So you might be
asking? What is a PBeM? How does one take part? How does one start one?
Well, this article attempts to answer some of your questions. So
read on, pilgrim...
I. What is a PBeM?
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PBeM stands for Play By Electronic Mail. Basically, in the context
of RPGs, this means that the game is played with players and Gamesmaster
communicating and sending moves to each other via email. (Now, wasn't
that enlightening?) It is a good compromise for those GMs and players
who cannot afford the time to play face-to-face or can't find a game in
their area, and who don't want to resort to a PBM, or a play by mail, game.
The advantages of a PBeM include:
[a] The players won't call out for pizza and make you pay the delivery
boy for it.
[b] Your mom won't come in and ask about the female wearing the chain
mail bikini on the cover of the module you're running.
[c] No little kid sister breaking into giggles just as Zorkath, Lord of
Darkness, prepares to scarifice the party to the pit of Infernal Dimensions.
[d] You won't have to clean up your house afterwards.
[e] No more Born Agains protesting outside your home.
[f] No more struggling with names like 'Rl'yeh', 'Drizz't', or 'Nyarletheop'.
II. How do I get to play in one?
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Hang out night and day in the rec.games.frp.* newsgroups, watch
out for a PBeM post to appear, and send out a reply immediately. It would
be good if you had a character prepared, but the most important thing to
do is to reply AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, because spots for PBeM games are
likely to fill within 24 hours of the posting, if not much shorter.
Sending out a post requesting that someone take you in for their
PBeM is not likely to work. The likelihood of getting a reply is
probably about the same as that of getting viciously maimed by a group of
grenade-launching hamsters while jogging.
III. How do I run one?
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Ahh.. now we're talking.
Firstly, you have to be willing to put time into your PBeM
campaign.
How often do you want your moves to be? Once a week? Once every
two days?
The length of your moves should be proportional to the time you want
the players to reply back by.
Next, ask yourself, do you REALLY want to run a PBeM? Spend long
thankless nights sifting through moves and answering questions, and roll
dice all alone in your cold dark room. A lot of PBeMs go belly-up even
before the first move is sent, mainly because someone just like you thought
that they did want to play, but lost interest after a week. Make sure
you'll willing to commit the time involved. It will be just as much as
that for a face-to-face RPG, I assure you.
So you decided to run your own PBeM. Well, good. Here are some
guidelines so that you can preserve your sanity.
[a] Decide on the game system and milleu.
Sounds easy enough. Keep in mind that for the most part, you'll
want the game to flow pretty quickly. Avoid rules-intensive games and
consider using a system with little combat. Combats are difficult to run
in PBeMs and the faster they can be resolved, the better. Also decide
what supplements or rules-additions will be used.
Of course, the player should have the basic set of rules that you
are using, as well as know the background to the milleu, if you're using
a commercially availabe product. If not, you'll have to spent a few
hours every night sending out dossiers on why the Quorantigas of the Land
of bani-Wani stuff crickets up their nose, and other background info.
[b] Decide on the number of players.
How many players do you want? The best number all depends on the
time you have available and the kind of game you like. Some PBeMs work
well with just one or two, while others may have up to 10, but this makes
for an administrative headache as players disappear, are busy because
of homework or run off to have babies.
But you might ask, should there only be one group?
The answer to that is an emphatic YES. With multiple groups running
around, you'll be facing the possibility of a brain haemorrage trying to
remember who did what to whom, when and how. Stick to ONE group at a time,
and if you're thinking of running a tourament like game, in while several
solo players run around in a dungeon or similar setting, TRASH IT! You'll
never be able to find the time to write out all the moves!
[c] Decide on how the players will generate their characters.
For games with point allocation systems, this is fairly
straightforward.
For games which depend on random generation for ability scores or
stats, come up with a fair system. For AD&D, I use a 80 point system to be
divided between the six ability scores. For scores below 16, the point
conversion is on a one-to-one basis. Therefore, a score of 14 requires 14
points. For a score of 16, 16.5 points are required, a score of 17
requires 18.5 points, and a score of 18 requires 21.5 points. In the case
of Charisma, the point cost is only 75% of normal, as most players will
try to shave off points from this score. Any additional points left is
converted to XP (100 xp per .1) or gold (100 gp per .1). Example: Krag the
Dwarf has these abilty scores: Str: 16 Int: 10 Wis: 11 Dex: 14 Con:
17 Cha: 10, which makes 16.5+10+11+14+18.5+(10*.75), or 77.5 points. He
spends 2 points on XP, and the rest on gold, giving him 2,000 xp to start
with, and 500 extra pieces of gold to spend.
[d] Post to the appropiate rec.games.frp.* group.
So now you're almost ready! The big moment! Now you can actually
POST and declare to the world that you are starting your very own PBeM!
Give yourself a congratulatory shake, a pat on a head but not at the same
time, of course...
The content of the post should say:-
i. The rules you are using.
ii. The movement rate.
iii. The power level of the characters.
iv. And some brief background of the game world, if you're feeling
egoistic and want to show your works to the whole of USENET.
So post and prepare to be deluged with mail. You will probably find
your game oversubscribed and you should savor the moment because you'll
probably never ever receive as much email in such a short span of time ever
again.
But of course, you might want to stop the flood. So do the following.
i. Send out another post saying you have enough players.
ii. CANCEL the article with your PBeM announcement.
The latter should do the trick, but folks from Northern Europe will
probably still be mailing you for the rest of the week. Anyway...
[e] Decide who to take in
Yes, this is the hard part. Send your intro to those who have
replied to your email, and ask them to start sending their characters.
You'd probably want to include additional material on the tone of the
game and the background of your world, so that players don't wind up
sending Stimpy the clown characters for your Neuromancer-inspired universe.
Not everyone will reply to you. A 50% attrition rate at this stage
is common, as repliees decide they have better things to do like decorating
the lawn and watching the goldfish. But don't be disheartened, you've gone
too far to back up now! Pump out your chest and thumb your nose at those
who have deserted you, pitying them for missing out the game of a lifetime.
And now sift through the characters of those who have remained loyal
and are actually interested. Decide who to take in. Look for good
background and effort in characters, and who will make DMing interesting
for you as well. You'd probably want a good spread of characters; not
just in terms of profession, but in personality as well. Else you may
wind up with a whole bunch of 'dark, dour men' who clamber with each
other to grab that unlit spot at the corner of the tavern.
Avoid characters that hint of munchkinism. Out. No. Ah-ah. Sorry.
Twelve year old child geniuses with PhD's in Molecular Cell Physics and
Biology, as well as a black belt in karate, as an example.
[f] Send out acceptance and rejection mail
So make your choice and mail to those lucky individuals who have
been selected to participate. Keep a waiting list as these few may
decide they want to mow the lawn or watch the goldfish instead and drop out.
Then prepare the rejection slip. For your convenience, I have
included this form letter which you may freely use:-
Dear [insert name here],
I am sorry to inform you that despite the wonderful character you
have sent me, I am unable to find space to fit him into my game.
I hope you will be able to find another PBeM campaign as good as
mine will be to play in. Thank you for your interest.
Yours Sincerely,
[Insert your name here]
Avoid the temptation to gloat. It makes for bad public relations
on the net and high medical insurance.
[g] Finalise the characters.
Ask your players to finalise the characters and make them fit into
the background of your campaign world.
Then, you are ready to begin!!!!
[h] Format for Moves and Mails
It is advisable to you a standard format for replies to posts.
First or Third Person, and it's also best that the other players be able
to read each other's move, so you don't have to spend your time relaying
mail between players. Third person is best, as it makes it easier to
read.
In the subject line of the post, ask the players to tell you
the name of the character as well as the subject. You may want to number
moves as well. Eg:
Subject [Krag: #4] At the F.O.U.L Scharwz
You may also want to have players send their moves in a special
format, so you can easily read what they want to do. An example would be
the use of '<...>'s to denote actions, '"..."'s for speech, and '[...]'s
for questions to the GM. You may want to use '{...}'s for 'if this happens,
then the character does that moves.' For example:-
"Take THAT, you ball of fluscious, fragrant fur!"
{If Krag kills it, he will draw out his crossbow and start shooting
at those monkeys with the unicycles zipping above him.}
{If Krag is just about to get killed, he will fall down onto the
floor, twitch his feet and play dead.}
[Are the Barbie Dolls attacking Mikhol the Magnificent? What
weapons are the Ken dolls holding?]
[i] Format for GM's posts
Of course, you can do whatever you want with your posts.
But do not abuse your powers. Do not make the players address
you as 'God'; 'Your Highness' should suffice.
To make life for your underlings better, however, it is suggested
that you also use a nice format for your subject line, as in:-
Subject: [Nordok, Move # 5: At the F.O.U.L. Schwarz]
(Where Nordok is the name of the game world in this case. Oh? It's
not as good as Oerth or Greyhawk or Glorantha. Well, sue me!)
For your post, you might want to write up in the third person a
story detailing the results of all the PC's actions, like so:-
Krag's axe bites deep into the fur of the Gund Squirrel.
Coughing up a hairball, it falls to the floor and dissolves into a pile
of nylon. Then the dwarf draws out his crossbow and begins to shoot at
the unicycle riding monkeys.
Mikhol the Magnificent casts a spell on the Barbie dolls,
changing them to Cabbage Patch Kids. They all head off in search of a
good plastic surgeon.
Toghar bonks the head of the Furry surf Troll with his baseball
cap of homerun hitting. He then takes out his lasso to foil the escape
of the windup elephant.
Krag's first bolt just nicks the head of the monkey. The
hairy ape hurls a coconut at Krag in return, hitting the dwarf squarely
on his helmet and stunning him. Krag falls to the ground, unconscious!
Then from the gateway appears the two enemies your party has
huntd for all this while! You see a man in brown robes holding a packet
of french fries, next to a huge cat in metal sheet armor spewing dirt
from it's mouth.
"Oh no!" Cries Princess Elyria, the maiden you have just saved
from suffocation from the giant Goofy doll. "It .. it is... the fiendish
Chip Monk and the Muck-Filled Plated Puss! Oh.. what will we do????"
The Chip Monk raises the bag of fries and casts a spell on Tohgar,
changing him into a pig
[Deadlock Comment]:
The guy who wrote this had a 'flicted idea for an example, huh?
Reward the efforts made by players to individualize their characters
by support in your own postings. If you have an elderly Dwarf priestess
who is a master chef, let her find cook books in a library, and have NPCs
ask for their favorite regional meal. If a player creates a style of
movement and of speech for their character in their postings try to
maintain this when you send out an update.
5. Always let your players be the most important people on the
scene. If your game starts the characters at first level then find a way
to isolate them so the only NPCs with the party are level 0 or advisors.
Give them challenges suited to their abilities. Never place a higher
level NPC with the party as 'insurance'. Nothing kills out the fun of a
game session like a DM run NPC who totally outclasses the characters.
6. Try to maintain a balance in the game in terms of things for
folks to do. Find challenges for every class of character, and make it
equally important for each character to succeed. Each of your players is
taking important time from their schedules to be in your game. Give them
a reason to eagerly scan their mail list for your postings.
7. Encourage your players to think about the previous history of
their characters and use the character's past as an anchor in developing
sub-plots for them. I have a gnome mage who has seen his sons die,
victims of a plot of chaos. Driven to understand why the world is as it
is the character seeks to become a sage. He actively collects bits of
esoteric knowledge and speaks of 'when all this is over'. This depth of
play is a priceless gem, especially when the player has the skill to
maintain it over several years, as this player has.
8. Do not needlessly overcomplicate your plots, or weave multiple
levels of puzzle into a campaign. Remember that more communication will
take place in a six hour face to face gaming session than in a year of
PBeM gaming. Overcomplicated plots drag, and cause players to lose
interest. Puzzles are too often answerable in a single manner.
Creativity and enthusiasm are the chief ingredients of a successful
PBeM. Encourage these by having several possible 'logical' solutions to
riddles, puzzles, or traps. And if your players come up with something
which might work which you have not previously considered give it a fair
chance to succeed.
9. Be understanding in the treatment of error. As a DM, you are
going to forget things about the characters, and the players are going to
attempt things beyond the scope of their abilites. If you make an error,
and have it discovered by the player be gracious enough to make
correction as soon as possible. If a player directs their character do
something which is not possible by the game rules send them individual
e-mail explaining the relevant rule and ask for a revision of the
proposed action.
10. Be patient with those who cannot temporarily contribute.
Vacations, mailer problems, and work schedules wreak havoc with a
player's ability to contribute at times. Learn the ways of each
character so that you can write for them if the player cannot post an
update. On the flip side encourage the players to contribute by
involving their characters in the action through careful construction of
plot and use of NPCs.
11. Never, never trick your players into doing harm when they
intended good, or evil when they wished to be the heroes. It is the
world's easiest thing to create a situation where the well meant actions
of a character can result in harm to an innocent NPC. Resist the impulse
to do this at all costs. Conversely, do not confuse your players as to
the moral implications of a possible action. Most PBeM players really
want to wear the white hat. If there is to be mud on the brim let it be
by the conscious, and fully informed action of the players. Don't screw
them over.
12. Resolve to put the energy into the game which it and the
players deserve. This is the toughest thing to do. There will come
days, or even weeks, when you just seem flat in terms of the idea of
sending out an update. Well, buck it up, and send out that update! You
have others who are waiting on your posting in order to continue the
game. In starting the game you have pledged to maintain a level of
response to player postings. If you find you can't keep the game up
admit it, and as soon as possible. My own game was originally started by
another DM. He had to drop out.
Using the high level of player enthusiasm I was able to put together
my own campaign.
Whew, that is enough for now.
Bruce Saul
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Section 3: Article by Rob McNeur
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[Compiler's note: This article was posted in response to Bruce Saul's
article]
As well as that
(6) If you want to focus on ROLE-playing, check all initial
characters carefully to ensure that no-one is trying to start with unfair
characters (in stats or equipment)
(7) Try and be available to players every day to answer questions
and do short updates for situations that only affect individuals rather
than the whole group
(8) Inform all players of any house-rules in advance, but be willing
to discuss them
(9) Before any combats, get a general idea of what each individual
intends to try and do and then try and do as many rounds of combat as you
can or the whole combat if you can do so without needing to get back to
the players. The smoother it flows, the more the players (and the DM)
enjoy it.
(10) Remember rule 1! Always do everyone's dice rolls yourself.
It really does save arguments, and any players that don't want to play
that way are probably going to argue about anything anyway.
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