Re: [DL] DL via email....(LONG)

[Ivan E <ivan_gaming@yahoo.com>]

--- Jeff Shoffner <shoffner@usit.net> wrote:
> Sounds like a couple of you guys play DL via email,
> so I wanted to pick your
> brains a little....

I've been running a DL PBeM called Dust and Bones for
almost a year now, and I hope these comments will be
helpful for the entire group. 
 
> How do you do email posts & whatnot?  Daily? Weekly?
>  Time limit & anyone
> who doesn't post by then is "hesitating" & out of
> the action?

As we can, which usually means daily skipping
weekends. The only time limits we place are on combat:
I post initiative, and everyone has 24 hours (skipping
weekends) to respond with their actions. Once I have
all actions, I run the combat at my desk and post the
first draft. Everyone has 24 hours to tell me "No
change" or to spend chips, alter actions (if their
targets were killed earlier in the round, etc), etc.
After that I post a Final Draft, complete with prose
description of the round's events, and another post
with the new Initiative on it.

Other than that, I tend to follow instinct. If only
one player is interested in talking with the Shaman,
then I'll post responses for him/her as often as s/he
posts. If they're all planning a jailbreak, I'll give
them as much time as they need.

> HOw do you handle dice rolls & card dealing? 

I do it all. It's a lot more work on my part, and it's
embarrassing when I screw up, but it means I don’t
have to wonder about players showing up with eighteen
12s in a row. Anything that can cut down mistrust in a
group is a Very. Good. Thing.

> Character creation?

I let them make up their own characters. Saves time
and cheating’s less of an issue: if they come in with
supermen, they fight super-powerful foes and get fewer
chips for overcoming obstacles.
 
> Does anyone out there do a website, have folks email
> their moves in, then
> update the story on the website?  (I think I've seen

Our website was down for a month or two following the
Reckoners’ attack on @Home service, but we’re back up
and running at
http://www.gamesgroove.com/ivan/DustAndBones/index.html.
While the game is going on, I save all messages into a
text file. After every adventure, I post the entire
story to the site in HTML and illustrated in Adobe
Acrobat format. 

Again, it’s a lot of work, but I think my players and
game are worth it.
 
> Second, my way of doing the email posting is I'd do
> a segment of the
> storyline, give everyone a week to decide on what
> they wished to do during a
> clump of story time, then next week, post the
> results, etc.  When the group

Word of advice? I started my 7th Sea PbeM out this
way, promising we’d be advancing the plot once a week.
Once we started, it was obvious that three of the four
players were interested in posting every day, and
often more. The one player who couldn’t keep up is a
real gentleman, and waited until the current adventure
was over to withdraw to lurkerdom.

I feel bad whenever a player is forced out due to time
constraints – it has happened twice now, both times in
the 7th Sea game, in over two years of PBeMing – but
by the same token, keeping a faster pace makes the
other players happier, and allows us to advance the
adventure much more easily. Inertia can be a huge
problem in PbeMs, and there will be weeks when it
seems like you’ll never even get out of the General
Store, much less to the end of the adventure.

My advice to you is this: Ask your players how often
they think they can post. If the general consensus is
once a week, then start at once a week. If players are
routinely posting faster, then consider bumping the
time limit to twice a week, etc. If you let a time
limit set itself organically, you’ll get better
results than with an arbitrary command.

> Third, I did all the dice rolling.  I thought that
> would be fair to
> everyone.

Again, I recommend this, provided you have the time.
 
> up or have handy, but what I'm trying to eliminate
> is the munchkin type
> player that has all stats at D12 or D10, never
> misses a dice roll, & always
> gets dealt five cards--RJ, four Aces, & one King.  I
> don't mean to say I
> don't trust total strangers to be honest with dice
> rolls & cards, but just
> having one person in the group ruins it for
> everyone.

Well, make clear that you’ll be screening characters.
I did so, and the first person to respond to my call
for non-AB Deadlands players had some HoE Witch
archetype with all 12s. When these people pop up, try
to be polite – they’re gamers too, and the clan needs
to stick together nowadays – but do let them know the
character’s unacceptable as written, and suggest a
rewrite. If the person’s obstinate, then you don’t let
them play. That simple.

Another easy way to eliminate it is by allowing them
to assign the same die rolls that the archetypes
share: 2d12, 4d10, 2d10, 3d8, 1d8, 4d6, 3d6, 2d6, 2d6,
1d6. That guarantees they all start off on an even
footing.
 
> At any rate, what do you guys suggest?  Oh, & as for
> doing the website
> thing, I've never done that & don't intend to.  I
> have other things to do
> than to sit here & mess with html coding....

Most of us do have other things to do. It’s your
choice whether you keep a site or not. But without
one, make absolutely sure you’re using an engine like
Yahoogroups or playbyweb that will archive people’s
messages, or you’ll waste half of your game replying
to messages like “I thought he was on the left side of
the bar”, “What was the Shaman’s name again?” and my
personal favorite, “That’s not what I said!”

> If I do, I will also tend to be a strict on the
> requirements; ie: if you
> can't follow simple directions when asking to play,
> I won't even consider
> you.

Good thinking. But you’ll still catch more flies with
honey than vinegar. I firmly believe that PbeMers who
deride, or fail to respond to, the same people who
have taken time out of their day to respond to a call
for players, will catch trouble later on.

Remember that the community of PbeMs is pretty small.
I’ve played with a number of people who I met in later
games, and it’s always been a pleasure to see them
again. I can vouch for them, suggest them as alternate
players when our own group loses a member, etc. Now if
you’ve told half the people who wrote to you that they
can’t hack it, or just leave them in email limbo,
they’re likely to tell their friends – and you’ve lost
a pool of players you might have been able to draw
from later.

My advice is to create a form letter to let people
know that you’ve received their character, but the
group currently can’t use this character. Thank them
for their interest, and let it go. If they write back
angrily, well, then it’s up to you. I always think
erring on the side of courtesy is the best bet, but
then, I’m a known softie (for a DL Marshall, that is).

Here are some other random tips from games I’ve been
in or lurked in:

1)	One special advantage per party. That means once a
character who’s Blessed has been accepted, you won’t
accept a second one. Only one two-fisted gunslinger,
only one gal with Luck o’ the Irish. This allows every
player to feel special. (Tip o’ the hat to Marshal
Jamis and the Deadlandz Posse!)

2)	Have an adventure in mind. Don’t just throw them
into a town and expect players to drive the action –
the players are as busy as you are, and if all they’re
doing is talking to saloon gals, the game stands a
good chance of falling apart. (Tip o’ the hat to
Marshall Doug and the Six-Gun Posse! Bring on the
Book!)

3)	Make your pet peeves known. Mine is spelling. If
players can’t use a spell-checker, I’m not accepting
them in. (Thanks again to Marshall Doug!)

4)	Before bringing in a new character, introduce them
to the group. Make sure the party dynamics will work
out, and that the new player can keep up with your
crowd. You might even want to run a campfire scene
with the potential character – if s/he won’t work out,
just let the player know and write the character off
into the sunset, never to be seen again. (Tip o’ the
hat to Marshall Ross and the No-Namers!)

Also, be scrupulously honest when describing the game.
I always make clear when talking with Marshals that I
can’t stomach rape scenes, and ask if they expect to
put such things into their games. Generally the answer
is “no,” occasionally it’s “If I do, it’ll be a
cut-scene that’s implied and not written out”, and
once it was “It’s a horror game, so get used to it.”
Guess which one I decided not to play in? 

By the same token, a player who hates roleplaying and
just wants to shoot monsters is going to have an awful
time in my game. I make that clear up front, and it
avoids a lot of problems from the very beginning.

Finally, don’t be afraid to scrap a game and start
over. If you have massive player turnover, lack of
interest, or you yourself lose interest, it’s smarter
to apologize and pull the plug than to keep plodding
along. You can keep the best players with you and move
on to a newer campaign after you’ve gotten your feet
wet.

I hope this all helps you, and that your experience
turns out to be a good one. Best of luck – and if you
do decide to run a website, be sure to post it here so
the rest of us can see.

- Ivan
http://www.gamesgroove.com/ivan/DustAndBones/index.html


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