Hi all. I'm new to the D&D scene, have taken interest again after seeing some D&D on YT like Critical Role etc. Lately been recently been studying some rulesets such as DragonAge and Gurps to start with, just simple rule sets to cut my teeth into.

I love writing and i think i would do better in written form than tabletop for roleplaying.

Just a couple of questions.

1# Is there a transcript somewhere on this site as an example of how a typical d&d session is played via pbem, perhaps a short game or first scene as an example so newbies can have a peak and get the gist of it before jumping in.

2# Is there a list of common abbreviations that players and GMs use eg. like OOC (Out of Character) etc. I see there is a 'System Abbreviation List' for types of games but didn't seem to see anything for typical abbreviations for general play?

3# This question might be a bit ambiguous, but how long do typical games run for. I'm sure because of the turn base nature it could take weeks to complete a short game.

4# How many players are their typically? i would imagine 2-4 since the more players the longer the wait for your turn? and a slower paced game perhaps.

5# Is there a rating system for GM where players can get an idea as to whether they are  good and not joining a game where the GM is very immature eg. wants to play God or whatever. I'm sure such Gm's their games will end pretty quickly.

6# Is a game played on this website or email only?

Thanks.

Hey there Daza, welcome aboard ! Glad to see another putz ... I mean excited new player to Role Playing has found our little community. Actually I think I heard Ron (BBR)(BigBadRon) say there were over 10k players here actively playing by post.

DragAge and GURPs are awesome and you will find games running both of those rule sets. So now on to your questions ...

1. A transcript of a game session ? ... Nope. Not that I have ever seen. You could do a GOOGLE search for something like that and see what you find, but there is not an available game session copy available on this site.

2. I think I have seen several such "Abbreviation Lists", but they were game to game. You will get used to them. The one that tripped me for years till I asked was CharGen ? (Character Generation) ... lol. DUH !?

3. Games here have a shelf life of hours to decades. I have seen both. I run a game that is three years old, but I was in a game that was deleted before I could finish my RTJ (Request To Join). So to answer ... expect four to six months ... is that being cynical ? STFU and GAL ... LOL ... JK

4. I think most games have 3 to 5 players. Some games are solo and some are sand box type with hundreds of writers, it varies with the games.

5. There is definitely no rating system. If you want ratings look on "Angies List" or "YAHOO" for a plumber or a restaurant. The problem with ratings is that some players can not handle being mature and will dump on good people they hate and other people will self promote or promote a friend who is really a putz. So there will never be a rating system here ... it would waste or time on nothing productive. I do suggest you keep a list of your own of players you like and players you did-like, same for GMs. You will most certainly meet putz's along the way and if you do not record their names you will meet them again and wonder is this guy a putz or a primo ? It helps.

6. Games are played through this web site. Giving out your email to another player or GM is not required.

7. Enjoy. Remember if you are not enjoying yourself you are doing it wrong.
This message was last edited by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 14:02, Tue 05 Dec 2017.

In reply to Daza (msg # 1):

1) You could find some D&D games, either in progress or completed, and ask to be a lurker.  You would probably have less resistance to looking at games that have finished or go on hiatus.

2) I don't think there is a list of common abbreviations or acronyms here, but that is something we could put together.  You can always ask, too.  Many are relatively easy to figure out, but some are a bit arcane or obscure.

3) It comes down to how well the GM can keep the players interested in the game.  Bringing in new players when regular players drop out.  Keeping it fresh and exciting.  It is usually a crapshoot as to how long a game will last, given the vagaries of life.

4) For me, as a GM, in face to face tabletop games, I prefer 4-5.  Here on RPoL, I've run games with 30 player or so.  As I have compared the experiences before, face to face tabletop is the Red Bull of roleplaying, while RPoL is the IV drip of roleplaying.  Being an IV drip means you can usually manage a larger group of people as things are slower paced.

5) There is no such list kept, at least not publicly.  It's on you to keep track of your experiences, and choose your games based on these experiences.

6) Everything is done here.  Though this doesn't prevent you from exchanging information and meeting people elsewhere to play.

Thanks for your replies guys some good advice and answers.

I will definitely try asking to be a lurker and get test the waters, i suppose that would be better for GMs and players not to have to fit in a new character if they decide the writing style of story isn't for them etc.

Another question comes to mind:
How does interaction with other PC work in pbem? i mean in a tabletop game you have players supporting another player or perhaps the party discusses some ideas as how to solve a problem etc..Im presuming there is a chat window where messages can be left for the others to read and reply even if the others are offline and read it when returning etc. I guess it all will make sense when i dive in as a lurker...

I think a basic list of commonly used rpg jargon in these games would be very helpful for new players and wont have to pester others for what does this and that mean. Perhaps someone who is bored might post one and have it pinned.

ps. What does Putz mean? i'm not up on my jargon. lol.

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 03:07, Wed 06 Dec 2017.

There is a short glossary of RPoL related jargon in the Help (link at the top right corner of every screen).  /help/?t=help&page=glossary

And "putz" is a slang term for "a stupid or worthless person".

Welcome to the mix, Daza.  You'll find wonderful tools for creating games here, and lots of games here already.  Dig in.

There are many ways to do this. The first one is just to have your characters talk through whatever is going on in the game itself by posting back and forth and bouncing ideas around. Other options are using an OOC (out of character) thread that the GM sets up, private lines of text in posts, or private messages in the game itself. All posts made in any of these methods  will be saved since this format doesn't require all players to be active at the same time-- though some groups can/ will set times for everyone to meet and play, though, I don't think that's the norm. This is why pdboddy describes it as an IV drip... :) posting rates vary. Some groups move along quickly, but many others have a slower pace where one might be expected to make a post once a day to once a week or more. It just depends on the GM and the group. So, poke around and see what seems like a good fit for you. :) Lurking should definitely help!

You can also do a quick lurk by looking at various games and finding one that keeps all threads public, allowing you to view the game in progress.

You can use the Browse / Search the Games feature to find a game for this purpose. It hovers around the middle of the home screen and is accessed by a link there.

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 03:29, Fri 12 Jan 2018.