Some thoughts on game etiquette.
I know I don’t always specify when we move for a general phase of play to something that requires a combat rounds. A good rule of thumb is that if anyone makes any sort of attack or physical Skill Check we are in combat rounds. This particularly applies to stealth roles - because unless a character has spent feats your movement rate is halves when they move stealthily.
When I put up a map with a co-ordinates grid, please specify a destination when you move -especially if we are in a Combat-Rounds situation (see above). The grid does two things – it allows you to work for tactical advantage - but it also helps me adjudicate enemy actions, spell effects and skill rolls. I can sometimes spend twice as a long summarising a thread, when people move around without telling me where they are going. And, if I am feeling mean, I can choose to put you right in the middle of the fire ball ….
If the party splits into two or more parts - respect it. If you are separated by more than a few feet, groups can’t share information without shouting to each other. Remember that while you can see people on the map –they might actually have moved stealthily or hidden since you moved away.
I have three ways I can handle it when a party splits into groups.
- Starting up separate sub-threads of each group is by far the best way - but it is also the most time consuming and makes it more difficult when you get back together. In a Table Top Game, this is equivalent of sending half the group away to play under a different DM until both sets are resolved.
- Taking one sub-group into a set of PMs within the same thread also works. - BUT you need to remember to include the rest of your sub-group in your own PMs. The rule of thumb is if they are close enough to see, whisper to you - then they should be included in PMs that would normally be posted openly in the thread. In a Table Top Game, this is equivalent of the DM passing notes that only half of the group can read.
- The easiest way is for me to keep the thread ‘open’ and post what each sub-group / person can see separately. This requires more work from you – to make sure that you only react to what your character would know / see – and doesn’t meta-game (too much) around the rest of the information. This is what normally happens in my Table Top Games – although it can sometimes need intervention to stop people getting carried away with what their character knows.
I tend to swap around between the three methods. Please try and respect them.
