Raellus' PbP Guidelines

The following guidelines are based on a set originally developed by ChalkLine for his T2K PbEM (now PbP) campaign. In general, I plan to follow them in my campaign and I'd like all of my players to do their best to follow suit. Big thanks to ChalkLine for saving me the trouble of writing this up from scratch.

Post Rate

Typically, I'd like us to shoot for three turn posts per [seven day] week, standard. I want a quick moving game that involves frequent opportunities for character development and interaction, problem solving and teamwork, and, of course, combat.

For any PbP game to really work well, it's important that all of the players show initiative on a regular basis. This doesn't just mean posting once per turn. This means being active in seeking situations out, participating in planning and decision making, and interacting with other PCs, rather than simply reacting to GM input.

Missed Posts

If you are unable to make a post now and again, that is fine; I will NPC your character for that turn, if needed. If you will be unable to post for any length of time, please let me know in advance and I’ll be happy to fill in for you in your absence. If you miss several posts with no forewarning, your character will be walked off-stage (or overboard).

Posting Style

1. Please write all IC posts in the third person, past tense.

2. I know it's hard to come up with thrilling narrative or snappy dialogue every turn, but please try and make longer posts of good descriptions of your PC's actions for a few reasons. Firstly, they get me really enthused to write the back-story for you. Secondly, they add so much to the game. Thirdly, fifteen separate posts of "yes", "no", and "maybe" tends to 'spam-out' people in different time zones; they get up and there's a hundred posts of drivel that they can hardly inject themselves into. It also is amazingly confusing to GM. And boring to read.

3. Please color all dialogue blue. Please color all OOC material in an IC post (combat tags, rules-speak summaries, brief questions or comments, etc.) orange.

 4. Please trim your posts. Only have in your post the text that you are responding to or relates to your post, and only respond AFTER the text and not before.

5. If you post a long and descriptive turn, you may want to follow it by a 'rule-speak paragraph' after your turn - but before your summary - if you're concerned the GM may get it wrong. Don't skimp on your descriptions, they're the meat of the game, but sometimes a quick clarification of the round- 1: run to barn, round 2: ready grenade, round 3: throw grenade into loft- makes things amazingly easier for me to GM out and I hate it when I make mistakes about your intentions.

6. Proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar are important to the flow of good writing. To err is human, but please do your best to use proper English conventions when you post IC. Poor grammar makes posts hard to read and breaks up the flow of the narrative.

7. The GM reserves the right to edit IC player posts for grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Combat Tags

When in combat, post a combat summary after your post, there's twenty of you and I don't have time to comb through every post to double check things. The summary looks like:

Who you are,
Where you are,
What you're using,
What you're doing.

Such as:

Private John
In the ditch, crouching, by the wrecked BTR.
M16A2 (25/30 rounds mag #2)
Covering Private Fred's advance to the gully.

IC Posting Ettiquette

1. Players MUST always answer other players, even if it's to only post "I ignore John." (If this isn't instituted, some players aren't answered and are stuck waiting for a response, missing turns and slowing everything down, sometimes this turns into the dreaded 'talking to the air' where players address the air rather than be held up. It looks really odd when twenty guys do it.)

2. PCs must NOT 'think aloud' about other PCs. Never post '"Fred thinks John is a total jerk, his plan is stupid and will get them all killed." etc. It's cowardly and the other player gets no right of response. Roleplay out your differences and resolve them on the board, that's the name of the game!

3. Avoid Metagaming! In PbB games you often have several things happening at once on the game site, but obviously not connected. You have to try and keep these things separate, even if it means your poor old PC walks into a trap that you as the player knows about. I do take note of the PCs who try hard to avoid it and appreciate it.

Corrections

Enquiries, corrections to the GM and other stuff, please send to me via PM. I'm fallible, but not everyone has to know it!

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This message was last edited by the GM at 05:51, Thu 19 July 2012.

As a rule of thumb, combat actions should be able to be accomplished in 3-5 seconds.

In a combat post, you may post one or two Actual Concurrent Actions (what your character is actually doing in those 3-5 seconds) and then post one or two Intended Actions (what your character will attempt to do in the next 3-5 seconds, if possible).

For example:

Chip hit the dirt and quickly turned to face the enemy, searching for the source of the fire. If he spots a target, he will draw a bead before opening up on full auto.

The first couple of actions (hitting the dirt and facing the enemy whilst searching for them) are nearly concurrent and can be accomplished within 3-5 seconds. These are Chip's actual actions.

Spotting a target is contingent upon game mechanics. Aiming and firing are what Chip would like to do next, if possible. These are Chip's intended actions.

The intended actions give me an idea of what your PC would like to do next, if given the opportunity. The intended action does not actually happen until the ref says it does. It is contingent upon other circumstances in the game. So, if a teamate's or enemy's action preempts your character's intended action, it can be ignored by the ref and does not actually occur or affect what's happening IG. If nothing preempts the intended action, I can "work ahead" so to speak. This will speed up combat a bit.

Remember to follow the combat convention and post a brief synopsis after you describe your actual and/or intended actions.

Who you are,
Where you are,
What you're using,
What you're doing.

Here's an actual, in-game example demonstrating how you can post both actual concurrent actions AND intended actions in a single combat turn/post, as well as the combat synopsis:



Thanks to Chalkline for this fine example.

*Added by GM.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 01:22, Mon 27 Apr 2015.

In the interest of fairness, consistancy, and preserving my own sanity as GM, I will use the following system to determine player's status in the game. I want players who want to play, and if you've lost interest, there are others waiting who would like a chance to get into the game.

Please note that the following list refers to missed posts without prior notice and authorization.

1 Missed post: your PC will be NPCed, no questions asked.*

2 Missed posts: your PC will be declared AWOL.**

3 Missed posts: your PC will declared MIA.

4 Missed posts: your PC will be declared KIA and you will be dropped from the game.

*If this happens more than a couple of times without notice or reasonable explanation, your PC will be placed on MIA status.

**Refers to consecutive missed posts.

If, for whatever reason, you decide that you don't want to play anymore, please, as a common courtesy, let me know. I promise I won't try to send you on a guilt trip.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 01:21, Mon 27 Apr 2015.

Well, it depends. The short answer is "yes" but you will probably have to wait a while before the opportunity to add a new character arises. So, try not to do anything too rash, IC.

If you have a history of missed turns or rules infractions, you might not be allowed to return as a player.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 01:19, Mon 27 Apr 2015.

1. Be a team player. This is not a solo campaign.

2. Don't tell other players what they should or should not do IG. Do not offer unsolicited advice. This includes second-guessing already-established PC actions and/or offering ex-post-facto advice.

3. Don't issue IC/IG ultimatums. A Captain Ahab archtype is not a good fit for this game (see also #1).

4. Don't post "thought attacks" IC (this is actually a very old rule). If you feel you must post an insulting or derrogatory comment about another PC, do so "out loud" so that the other PC may respond. Or, better yet, don't post this kind of stuff at all (See #1).

5. PM a fellow player if you have an issue with him/her, instead of posting it publicly in the OOC thread.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 01:19, Mon 27 Apr 2015.

Please PM me a basic character concept including the PC’s gender, age, nationality, branch of service, years of experience, and focus skills (i.e. mechanic, medic, HW specialist, etc.). If I approve, I will give you the go-ahead to begin full character generation.

Use the basic T2K v2.2 char-gen system. I find that v2.2 produces slightly anemic characters in terms of skills so, once you've generated a standard v2.2 PC, your character will be granted bonus skill points to reflect the on-the-job training of years in combat. I would like you to abide by the honor system when generating your PC abilities and skills. Quite frankly, I do not have the time to work backwards through your character’s skills and ability points to make sure you haven’t “cheated” or played loose with the system. Since this game is solely for adults, I will trust you to behave accordingly.

In addition to abilities and skills, I would also like some idea of what you character looks like, their personality (in case they must be NPC’ed for any reason), and their back-story. Your PC’s back-story should include a bit about their pre-war life, what they’ve been up to since the start of the Twilight War, and how they ended up in Krakow, Poland in the year 2000.

I find the idea of common soldiers displaying uncommon valor intriguing. But, if you wish to play as a special forces soldier of some kind, that’s fine too.

Starting equipment is pretty much whatever you want, as long as it entered military service prior to 1997 and your PC can carry it. Warsaw Pact caliber small arms and ammunition are common in the AO, NATO weapons and ammo are slightly less so.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 01:27, Mon 27 Apr 2015.

To reflect the harsh learning curve of wartime, add the following skill points:

Language (Polish) +1
Medical (Trauma Aid) +1
Observation +1
Scrounging +1
Small Arms +1
Survival +1

These skills were obtained during the day-to-day realities of living in war-torn Poland.

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From time to time, I will award players with XP which may be used to boost their character's skills. XP can be awarded for the following IC and OOC actions:

Exceptional role-playing

Successful completion of difficult and/or impossible tasks

IC Problem solving

Awarding XP is the ref's prerogative and is completely up to his discretion.

Experience awarded to the player may be converted to increases in skill levels as follows:

"...the character spends experience points to buy levels in a skill. To buy a level costs points equal to the numerical value: to buy Mechanic: 5 costs five experience points (assuming the character has Mechanic: 4 already). A character must already have achieved the level immediately below the one sought, although a character can advance more than one skill level at a time (to go from Mechanic:3 to Mechanic: 5 would require 4+5=9 skill points which could be expended at the same time."

-from the Twilight: 2000 v2.2 manual, Skill Improvement, p. 138

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This message was last edited by the GM at 01:19, Mon 27 Apr 2015.