Running an AD+D pbem From: kitten@scoraz.resp-sci.arizona.edu (Bruce Saul) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 1994 17:16:25 +0000 A few thoughts on running an AD+D pbem gleaned from my own experiences at dmming since September of 1990. 1. Once a week is just not enough. You have to send out two updates a week minimum or your players will lose the thread of what is happening. 2. Whether the player rolls the dice or whether you do is less important than what you do with the roll. By this I mean draw the game with large brush strokes and with vivid colors in your descriptions. Use solid action nouns and verbs in descriptions. Exploit fumbles to put the characters in danger, and let their superior rolls mean something. 3. Mystify, mislead, and confuse your players. :-) Well, not really. What I mean is deliberately take the game out of the ordinary, expected, and documented in order to develop in the mind of the player the same uncertainty and apprehension which would be in the mind of the character in the game. Don't use easily recognizable monsters, or pat spell descriptions, or cliche plot twists. Or if you do take a few seconds to make them somehow different. Anyone in a pbem will most likely be a veteran of many role playing sessions. The standard bar brawl, or stand up fight against orcs is just not going to interest them. 4. 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 gameing 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 Referenced By Up