player seeking Champions 5 pbem From: Brandon Blackmoor <bblackmoor@blackgate.net> Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 15:24:07 +0000 I am looking for a basic, fairly normal 5th edition Champions superhero pbem game, preferably run on YahooGroups (YahooGroups makes pbem games so much easier, it's almost not worth it to play any other way). Now, you'd think this would be all there is to it -- "Hi there, I'm looking for game -- anyone looking for players?" Sadly, the control freaks, the fanboys, and the pervs appear to have taken over pbem gaming, so I have to spell out what I'm looking for, and what I'm not. I apologize for the length of this message, but I guess it's better to get it out of the way up front so there are fewer misunderstandings later. I have had a run of bad luck trying to find a supers pbem game in the last few months, and I'd like to break that streak. What interests me: * As a player in a supers game, I value cooperation and creativity. * I like the opportunity to defend the innocent and rescue the endangered. * I enjoy the occasional moral quandry or pyrrhic victory, but in the long run I want to know that I am fighting the good fight. * I like some mystery and horror thrown in from time to time to spice things up, as long as the mysteries do eventually get (mostly) solved, and the horrors eventually get (mostly) driven back. * I'm prepared to play in a game that lasts for the next couple of years. I'm in it for the long haul, and I post regularly. What does not interest me: * I am not interested in a game with as many house rules as there are official rules -- two or three is okay, but more than that is just not worth the hassle. Hero 5 has been playtested and bug-fixed six ways from Sunday, and I think it's just fine. Stop fiddling with the damned trivia, and let's play. * I am not interested in games that require all of the players to play established DC or Marvel (or Buffy, or Harry Potter) characters -- I do not mind if they show up as NPCs, but I am not interested in a game where we just ape someone else's characters. If you like that sort of thing, that's fine, but I don't. * I am not interested in games that exist only to satisfy the GM's desire for free internet porn -- I do not mind an adult situation now and then, but if I want smut I know where to get it. * I am not interested in games where the GM is a control freak who imposes nuisance requirements on how the players format their posts, whether that is mandatory past tense, mandatory first person, mandatory "one asterisk means this but two slashes means that", or whatever. My grammar and spelling (if not my typing) are probably better than average, but I am happy to tolerate just about anything from the other players, as long as we are all having fun. However, I am simply not interested in jumping through inane hoops, and I consider control freak GMs one of the worst possible types of bad GMs. For Pete's sake, it's a role-playing game, not a screenplay or a technical manual -- stop micromanaging the players' damned grammar, and let's get on with the game. About me: I have been role-playing for umpteen years, and I have been playing Champions for most of that (in addition to White Wolf, D&D, and assorted other games). I have played in numerous pbem games, and I have run more than a few (mostly successfully). I truly appreciate how much work it takes to be a good GM, particularly a good pbem GM. I am not a perfect player: I definitely have my flaws, and sometimes I make mistakes, but I do make a genuine effort to get along with the other players and make the GM's job easier. (You'd think this would go without saying, wouldn't you? I wish that were the case.) If you have an opening in your 5th edition Champions superhero pbem game, or if you want someone to play an NPC for a while until a PC slot opens up, please drop me an email. bblackmoor@blackgate.net 2004-06-10 Up