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Post by Admin Pete on Oct 20, 2017 23:10:05 GMT -5
Monday or Tuesday, I'll try to build a relational database to track characters locations, and events with circles and arrows in red and a paragraph on the back. I can't wait!  |
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Post by Richard on Oct 23, 2017 19:49:45 GMT -5
Monday or Tuesday, I'll try to build a relational database to track characters locations, and events with circles and arrows in red and a paragraph on the back. "paragraph on the back"? Back of what? Also, this is the first time I've encountered the term "relational database," so I'm not sure what you're building. The wikipedia entry didn't help much. So I guess I'll just wait and see what it is. |
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Post by Richard on Oct 23, 2017 19:52:38 GMT -5
I must decline to be the caller. Six months ago I had a mental breakdown, and withdrew from all online gaming (among other things). The doctor has ordered me to lower my stress or else. This is my first tentative re-entry to playing, and I don't want to map, organize the party, or lead. Normally I end up doing these tasks, but I have resolved not to do that here I apologize in advance No apology needed. I can definitely understand needing to avoid stress, particularly in the realm of on-line gaming. When I first began playing PbP, there were many times when my blood pressure probably entered stroke territory. But I've learned to take it all much more in stride these days. |
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Oct 23, 2017 19:55:16 GMT -5
Gonna be a few days yet. I yam sitting with the grandmonkeys until Thursday. The 13-year old is, surprisingly, not much of a problem, but the 9 & 10 year old granddaughters go completely out of control after a couple of hours at the park.
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Oct 23, 2017 20:07:49 GMT -5
PS, To Raikenclw2: Has the day come when Arlo Guthrie has been forgotten? You might want to google Arlo, Officer Obie, and the photographs of the "scene of the crime" with the circles & arrows on the front and a paragraph on the back. You'll probably find an audio or video of one of the innumerable versions of the song that Arlo has performed. Enjoy it if you have time; it's longer than any 45 could handle.
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Post by Richard on Oct 23, 2017 20:24:00 GMT -5
I've found the best policy is to think ahead - really FAR ahead - before you make a GM post. Ask yourself, "What is the wackiest possible way that this information can be interpreted, especially by players who may just be skimming my post while doing three other things and without reading the player posts which preceded it?" Then be ready for that wackiest interpretation, because you're GOING to get it, from someone!
Also, in your GM posts it's a good idea to restate (as briefly but as completely as possible) what has "actually" occurred in the scene since your last GM post. Because as I note above, some of your players are going to be too busy to read (or remember having read) relevant stuff from other player's posts.
One thing I try to do in my games is put a distinctive date-time-location stamp at the start of each GM post, in a fixed format, something like this:
"DATE: 226 Imperial Calendar (2583 AD)
TIME: 13:46 Imperial/21:04 Local
LOCATION: Bridgeview Grill & Bar, ISS Ask Me No Questions, Judice System, District 268"
This not only serves as a notice that this post is a summary of what has happened in the scene since my last GM post, but it's also a convenient way to keep track of the "current" time in each scene. By changing the time as events progress, everyone in the scene has a marker by which to judge how long the party has been (for example) talking with the barkeep about the person they're after.
I wouldn't worry about trying to push the action. Nobody expects (or at least nobody should expect) PbP to go fast. You need to try and strike a balance between going too fast and going too slow. Unfortunately, there is no real way to tell whether you're doing this right except through trial and error, since every single group of PbP players is a different beast. Getting the pace wrong is usually what killed by own games, so it's not an easy thing to do. If you push too much, you'll likely lose your slower-posting players, because they'll feel too overwhelmed by the dozens of posts they haven't read since the last time they were able to visit the site. On the other hand, if you let play slow down too far, your faster-posting players will become frustrated at not having their goals realized and drop out on you.
One thing I tried which did help a bit was the use of Interlude scenes, as a way to keep faster-posting players interested. An Interlude scene takes place outside of the current thread of the game action, usually as a flashback to an earlier time. For instance, while the group is engaged in a firefight in the main scene, a concurrently-running Interlude may feature a couple of fast-posting players playing out a theological debate which their characters engaged in over some pints in a cozy pub, in the startown of the last place their ship touched down, a week back in game-time.
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Post by Admin Pete on Oct 23, 2017 21:29:58 GMT -5
PS, To Raikenclw2: Has the day come when Arlo Guthrie has been forgotten? You might want to google Arlo, Officer Obie, and the photographs of the "scene of the crime" with the circles & arrows on the front and a paragraph on the back. You'll probably find an audio or video of one of the innumerable versions of the song that Arlo has performed. Enjoy it if you have time; it's longer than any 45 could handle. , take a look at this Alice's Restaurant - Original 1967 Recording. |
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Oct 23, 2017 21:33:59 GMT -5
Great album, Meh movie, classic song. I heard the 1965 version once and because a fan for life.
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Oct 23, 2017 22:06:35 GMT -5
BECAME not because. Grumble
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Post by Richard on Oct 23, 2017 23:14:14 GMT -5
PS, To Raikenclw2: Has the day come when Arlo Guthrie has been forgotten? You might want to google Arlo, Officer Obie, and the photographs of the "scene of the crime" with the circles & arrows on the front and a paragraph on the back. You'll probably find an audio or video of one of the innumerable versions of the song that Arlo has performed. Enjoy it if you have time; it's longer than any 45 could handle. , take a look at this Alice's Restaurant - Original 1967 Recording. Thanks to you both for broadening my cultural awareness. Before this, Arlo Guthrie was just a name. I was 3 when that story song came out.  |
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Post by Richard on Oct 25, 2017 4:39:09 GMT -5
NOTE: I went through my recent posts to the action thread and did a little editing . . . because while lying in bed and trying to fall asleep, I suddenly realized that in at least one of them I had typed "Joshua" instead of "Josiah." My General Manager at work is named Joshua and I had been texting back and forth with him earlier tonight . . . [sigh]
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Post by Richard on Oct 25, 2017 4:55:40 GMT -5
I'm currently waffling between starting my next FtF Small Smuggling Crew out as criminals who cooperated to steal their ship from a crime lord three [in-game] years back OR a group of disparate adventuring types dispatched on a deep-penetration secret mission in an officially-stolen ship [e.g. Rogue One]. I was always going to use pre-generated characters next time around FtF, because most of my prospective players are relative newcomers to roleplaying and especially to Savage Worlds. I'm still constructing my setting at the moment and in the process of that I've been re-reading the Savage Worlds Science Fiction Companion. There is an insectoid race mentioned therein who are known largely for their deplorable habit of conducting slave raids on remote colonies and then selling their living "loot" to various unscrupulous buyers. In fact, the race's name is "Rigellian Slavers." My new idea is to start most of the pre-generated characters out as such "loot," waking up from doses of knock-out gas in the cells of a Rigellian Slaveship. I say "most," because two of the characters - to hopefully be played by the two adults among my prospects - will NOT be "loot," but will be instead an obsolete (and soon to be sold as scrap) Security Robot and the Rigellian crewmember in charge of the cell level . . . a crewmember who - thanks to a very bad bet on a recent sporting event - now owes an ENORMOUS and completely unpayable debt to a mobster aboard the Rigellian Mothership to which the Slaveship is returning . . . Yep. The game will start with a mutiny, with the party's ship being the slaver they've cooperated in stealing. |
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Post by Admin Pete on Oct 26, 2017 21:40:03 GMT -5
I am proposing that when the ref speaks as the ref I will place the statements in large bold teal print thusly.
Player OOC this way
And player IC "This way."
That way we can keep track a bit better and I will try to insert myself and identify when decisions should be made if you have not yet gotten there. This not to shut down discussion but to try to strike a balance between those who like a lot of roleplay/talk and those who are more interested in the action.
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Post by ffilz on Nov 2, 2017 11:25:05 GMT -5
Gah, I'm starting to get really lost here... I may bow out and leave this campaign to those who enjoy the style of role play more...
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Post by Admin Pete on Nov 2, 2017 13:48:27 GMT -5
Gah, I'm starting to get really lost here... I may bow out and leave this campaign to those who enjoy the style of role play more...
Those summaries will be in bold like this at 12 pt type. |
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Post by Admin Pete on Nov 2, 2017 13:57:48 GMT -5
Right now we are just waiting for everyone to check in and let me know their equipment is as complete as they can make it before the meeting with Graytusk the ogre bartender/owner takes place.
Once you talk with him, assuming good questions are asked you will have a final chance to look at your equipment make asjustments and then hit the road.
Other things of interest are that Kavita (NPC) is an elven seer (explains the low - for an elf- charisma) and Sora (player) (& his NPC sidekick) is trying to foment trouble with the Lawful Orc NPC's.
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Post by Admin Pete on Nov 2, 2017 16:02:07 GMT -5
Also, hengest , magremore , mormonyoyoman , ffilz , Warrior Twin One , Warrior Twin Two & makofan if two or three or four of you would like to have a game with less(lot less) roleplay that would have fewer posts to sort through, I am open to creating a second game thread and letting you split into two groups, then all of you can play to your preference.
Just before or after you meet the ogre would be a good place to do the split. Both parties could go separately to the ruins or not, I am good either way or you can pursue any of the other hooks or look for something else.
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Nov 2, 2017 18:10:57 GMT -5
I came into rolegaming after a few years as an actor and student director, then matured in it as an enlisted ground crew in the USAF. So though I've played tactical and strategic rolegames, I've found the greatest challenge and the most fun is actually playing a role in a role playing game. Tactics and strategy games reminds me too much of what was once my "day job" and I frankly don't want to be reminded of some of the things I saw. (Search and Recover springs to mind.)
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Post by Admin Pete on Nov 2, 2017 22:11:47 GMT -5
I came into rolegaming after a few years as an actor and student director, then matured in it as an enlisted ground crew in the USAF. So though I've played tactical and strategic rolegames, I've found the greatest challenge and the most fun is actually playing a role in a role playing game. Tactics and strategy games reminds me too much of what was once my "day job" and I frankly don't want to be reminded of some of the things I saw. (Search and Recover springs to mind.) |
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Post by Warrior Twin One on Nov 3, 2017 7:00:28 GMT -5
Also, hengest , magremore , mormonyoyoman , ffilz , Warrior Twin One , Warrior Twin Two & makofan if two or three or four of you would like to have a game with less(lot less) roleplay that would have fewer posts to sort through, I am open to creating a second game thread and letting you split into two groups, then all of you can play to your preference.
Just before or after you meet the ogre would be a good place to do the split. Both parties could go separately to the ruins or not, I am good either way or you can pursue any of the other hooks or look for something else. I would like to play in both parties if we are allowed to do that, I am enjoying the role-play, but I also like a terse action game. |
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Post by Warrior Twin Two on Nov 3, 2017 7:02:55 GMT -5
Also, hengest , magremore , mormonyoyoman , ffilz , Warrior Twin One , Warrior Twin Two & makofan if two or three or four of you would like to have a game with less(lot less) roleplay that would have fewer posts to sort through, I am open to creating a second game thread and letting you split into two groups, then all of you can play to your preference.
Just before or after you meet the ogre would be a good place to do the split. Both parties could go separately to the ruins or not, I am good either way or you can pursue any of the other hooks or look for something else. I would like to play in both parties if we are allowed to do that, I am enjoying the role-play, but I also like a terse action game. Count me in too! ffilz if you or anyone else wants the terse action game, I can do that. Count me in on both parties if that is allowed. |
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Nov 3, 2017 13:51:56 GMT -5
I came into rolegaming after a few years as an actor and student director, then matured in it as an enlisted ground crew in the USAF. So though I've played tactical and strategic rolegames, I've found the greatest challenge and the most fun is actually playing a role in a role playing game. Tactics and strategy games reminds me too much of what was once my "day job" and I frankly don't want to be reminded of some of the things I saw. (Search and Recover springs to mind.) Only if using real switches. |
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Post by makofan on Nov 4, 2017 13:05:37 GMT -5
I am fine with roleplaying during the course of the adventure, I just hate spending all that time before the beginning of the FIRST adventure. I like to begin a campaign in media res, and then let the backstory unfold as the adventure proceeds. You don't need all the exposition up front, like in the Wonder Woman movie. So no need to split off a group for me
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Post by Admin Pete on Nov 4, 2017 13:53:03 GMT -5
I am fine with roleplaying during the course of the adventure, I just hate spending all that time before the beginning of the FIRST adventure. I like to begin a campaign in media res, and then let the backstory unfold as the adventure proceeds. You don't need all the exposition up front, like in the Wonder Woman movie. So no need to split off a group for me I started everyone in the tavern together and I just went back and read it to see where it deviated from that and I found two main places that happened and I failed to interrupt and nip it in the bud. Right now the moment everyone has responded I will start the meeting with the ogre and then you can all hit the road if everyone is on board. You experienced pbp refs, please use pms, I am always open to hearing advice and will often apply it. I will be posting more information in the subboards; however, don't feel obligated to read anything beyond the Character creation items that directly you. |
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Post by ffilz on Nov 6, 2017 14:53:27 GMT -5
Yea, I don't think we need to split off the group if we can just get things moving. I'm not out yet, just not feeling it yet because of how long we've spent on the meet the other PCs in the tavern.
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Post by Richard on Nov 7, 2017 0:33:11 GMT -5
Just a point: Sora isn't trying to start trouble. He's trying to avoid future trouble by letting the orcs know that not everyone in the group believes their story about being Lawful . . . because the odds are good that it IS just a story.
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Post by Admin Pete on Nov 12, 2017 15:40:43 GMT -5
magremore, contacted me to let me know that his posting is down for the count until he replaces the keyboard and that he is ready and waiting to hear what the ogre has to say. My wife has her cancer surgery on the morning of the 16th, so while I have things I would like to post prior to that - no guarantees. I am not sure how soon I will be back on line afterwards.
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Post by Richard on Nov 13, 2017 0:37:30 GMT -5
Best of luck! I'll be here when you get back. |
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Nov 14, 2017 16:03:38 GMT -5
Best of luck! I'll be here when you get back. "I'll be waitin' for yuh raight here, Marshall. Bring yore gun." (paraphrased from every third episode of Gunsmoke.) |
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Post by makofan on Nov 23, 2017 8:18:26 GMT -5
It looks like we need 4 weeks of rations. Can we buy normal rations, or do some need to be iron rations?
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