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Old 12-06-2012, 02:34 PM   #4
ErhnamDJ
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: OK
Default Re: [OCC] Poll : What makes a good PbP game? (will be applied)

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Originally Posted by ericthered View Post
Genre: Fantasy, DF, Science Fiction, Supers, Space Opera and others. Which make you say "I've got to play this", and which do you particularly avoid?
I like all kinds of games. But not all kinds of games work well in PbP. I've never seen a science fiction game work out. There's too much stuff going on, and most of the technology ends up seeming arbitrary. Those kinds of games require a lot more work up-front by the GM. It needs to be crystal clear exactly what technology exists in the world.

My preference for PbP is low-magic, low-power fantasy, since that seems to suit the medium best. Everyone can come in with the same understanding of what the world is going to look like and what kinds of characters are appropriate, which is most of the battle with a PbP game. If the players' expectations and characters don't match up to the game, then it's not going to work.

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Activities Planned: Do you prefer solving puzzles? or is it combat that enthuses you? How important is character development? Is negotiation an enjoyable part of play?
It doesn't matter, as long as it's clear before the game starts, so everyone comes in with the same expectations.

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Supplement materials: Which sets of rules make or break a PbP game for you? This includes Cinematic vs Realistic, G:Magic, Thuamology, Supers, Psionic Powers, DF, MH, MA, and so forth.
Lower power is better. Complicated actions take much longer to resolve in PbP. The spells in Magic can bring a game to a halt, especially since there are often so many options available. It's the same in supers games.

I like psionics and divine powers. Those allow for flexible abilities without being overly complex.

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Plot: how important is the plot? do you avoid games without it, and only go for ideas that sound cool? do you prefer just wandering around letting characters make their own decisions? And is this question even an issue?
I like to have a strong plot. It gives the game cohesion. If there's no cohesion, you can spend months lost in posts where nothing happens.

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Power Level: Do you love working with mounds of points? is such a prospect dull to you? does it matter by genre? similarly, (but not the same) do you enjoy being world shakers, or do you want to deal with peers? or is this even an issue?
Higher point totals cause problems in PbP.

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House Rules: Are they annoying or wonderful? If depends, what determines this? or are they just all par for the course?
Doesn't matter, as long as they're not surprises in the middle of play.

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Gaming Group: Different players and GMs cause games to behave differently. when using PbP on this forum, how important is who is already playing in the game, or GMing it?
It's incredibly important. People with different posting rates will have different amounts of influence on the game. Someone who can post two or three times a day is going to affect the game much more than someone who only posts twice as week when they can catch up.

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Other issues: what other issues strongly effect how well a pbp game runs?
The two biggest factors as everyone being on the same page to start with, and people consistently being able to post. If someone doesn't understand what the game will be going in, then they'll lose interest when the game isn't what they expected. And then the game comes to a crawl as they stop posting.
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