I've not done any TTRPG games in many years - in real life or PbP - and am looking to get back into things. In particular the majority of my experience was with D&D 3.5, so I was looking for any games of that, and games that are suitable for players who haven't got a lot of (recent) experience, so preferably not too much in the way of unusual rules or anything.

I've no issues with group games as long as people are patient - the huge benefit of PbP to me is that I don't have a lot of spare time to spend in single blocks. It's more a case of bits of time throughout the day.

I should also say that whilst I've done PbP in the past, I've never used rpol until now so apologies if I get anything wrong!

Cheers

I'd love to play.

I've been brainstorming for a 3.5 game based on the old 3.0 adventure path modules, though there is one semi-complex rule I'd been planning - gestalt.

The campaign would start at level one, though, so by the time that starts making things noticeably more complicated the rust should be shaken out, and I'd been planning for low-mid optimization (the characters are already powerful enough!) which tracks well with returning gamers.

What kinds of characters were you eyeballing, graham, and what kind of book list are you comfortable with?

So, the reason I suggested "beginners" is really because the last time I played anything was back when 5e was still being called DndNext. Which was a while ago! (About 8-9 years by the looks of things)

I have some a lot of the more complex things in the past, but it was back then so it's a case of remembering how things work is the issue.

In terms of characters. I always used to favour casters, and preferred arcane over divine. However, that was then. These days, I'd probably pick characters that have depth to them, and that worked well with the setting and story.

Book list - it really depends on what I can get hold of. I used to have a large number of them but not sure where they are, or else if I can get new copies (Kindle maybe)

Well Arcane Casters with all the books including DMG 2 the Conjurer is scary if done well.

I also like Bards especially in solo, two and three player games.

I like experts sort of builds. Not ,necessarily, min/max. One Wizard I played had a Dex 18 and Int 15 his father a Royal Scout didn't approve of him going to a magical college in time he accepted it after I saved the Queen. Good RP.

I'm interested in something RP heavy, and while I don't particularly care for beginning levels because the encounters are the same old goblins, zombies, and kobolds and it takes forever to get any kind of "fun" reward, the small group and possible Gestalt does appeal to me.

Ninja / Fighter or Cleric / Fighter is the character option I'd go with.

So, way back when I'd have been very much into the idea of "the perfect character" and balancing stats and everything to get the most powerful you can. These days, the idea of something more fun is what appeals. Something more RP heavy than by-the-numbers perfect.

In terms of characters - gestalt can lean nicely into this. Something like a Barbarian / Warlock, who doesn't realise he has these powers because they only manifest in the midst of battle. (Though I realise that exact combination doesn't work because you can't use Charisma-based powers whilst Raging)

If you're after RP heavy, I think I'm the wrong guy; the old adventure paths were (at least at low levels) very much dungeon crawls, and RP-heavy games between characters tend to grind to a crawl.

Hmm. By RP heavy, I mean more than a single line or two per post and only reacting / interacting when the DM posts something.

To me "RP Heavy" would mean that there is a lot of interaction between PCs just because, and between PCs and the world as a whole. Probably even being an open-world game where you can just go and do anything.

That's very different to the situation where the game is more than "A goblin appears. Roll for attack".

You can absolutely do dungeon crawls that still incorporate a decent amount of RP, and playing characters that are built more unusually (i.e. not min/maxed to the hilt) and thus are more interesting to play. And whilst my PbP experience is all a long time ago, I'd hope that being slightly more RP focused than just "Roll for attack" would help keep people more invested and coming back for more.

Sounds like fun to me.

Would love an intro game to 3.5