3.5 PBEM [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

3.5 PBEM [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Wizard_Master
12-02-07, 02:07 PM Hi

I am a newbie DM going to run a DnD 3.5 PBEM and wondering what is the best web site / site to post for players?

Here is the concept that I had for the PBEM:

Hi

Basically, it will be a homebrew campaign that has an open ended story line. By that I mean the characters decide the overall story / adventure. I will be the DM of course and will lead the individual adventures and such but the overall plot will be decided by the characters. The characters find themself magically transported (they do not know how or why) to a new land. The land they arrive is a small village community where they do not much of the distant lands as they are farmers and small community that rarely travels. Then suddenly strange creates start to attack the community that they only heard from legends and ancient myths. Some of the younger villagers with a hint of youthful adventure spirit track the creatures after a pitched battle to several leagues outside of their village and known area to find an underground lair / dungeon that they only heard of in ancient stories. Several of the creatures have poured into the dungeon for whatever reasons. The villagers are asking you to investigate and clear out this dungeon. Perhaps this is why you were summoned but have no idea again who or why.

The dungeon will be a randon dungeon but the plot and overall story will be developed by the character. I hope this doesnt sound lame but dont have a campaign / world developed. As I DM I will of course lead the adventure and such but what happens is up to the characters. Do they characters rather travel to see their fortune? I am very good at improvising and will create adventures for the characters and story lines as the game progresses.

Let me know if you have any questions.
Email: wizardmaster@gmail.com
kirkenix
12-02-07, 04:33 PM sounds like u know what u want to run. the only problem i can think of (and im not even sure its a problem really) is that u dont know ur players yet. if i understand ur post correctly, u are looking for a site to locate potential players, right? well, i dont know how other dm's do things, but i always like to meet with my players and find out what they are expecting out of me. if i have 3 new players and 1 inexperienced player (like what im co-dm'ing here in iraq) u might be better off starting with a session or 2 so that everyone can get the basics before starting a story arc of ur campaign.
ive found sometimes that the character someone thinks they want to run in the begining, is not the character they want to run once they know how the game works. one of my players here started off trying to run a sorcerer, but hes really having trouble, so when i started my campaign he chose to be a fighter and he loves it. the player who started out as a barbarian chose to be a bard because he seems to like to role-play more then battle (he might be one of the best new players ive ever seen). its also difficult to plan out dungeons/battles if u dont know how the party is composed, or how many players will even be participating.
all that aside, i like open ended gaming that is character driven. i like it when players make their own decisions, and i think it makes them more pasionate about the campaign. nothing is better (for me anyway) to hear one of my players say they should hike on the last couple of miles in the dark so that they can visit their favorite bar and npc bartender for the night, before heading off in the morning to meet another favorite npc, just to see how hes doing.
im not sure any of this helps, but i wanted to chime in anyway. i wish u the best of luck finding a group, and have lots of fun.
Edymnion
12-02-07, 08:12 PM Hi

I am a newbie DM going to run a DnD 3.5 PBEM and wondering what is the best web site / site to post for players? Well, first, lets get our terminology straight. PBEM is Play By EMail, and is played over email. There is no website involved, no posts, its all done over email.

What you are describing is PbP, Play by Post.
For that, you want http://www.rpol.net.

If you want to use the WotC boards to find players for either one though, you need to use the proper board for it, namely this one:
http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=347

:)
Ariakus
12-03-07, 09:07 AM This is true, Play By eMail has no central website...you would either email your posts to each individual, or you would use a Group like YahooGroups to host your game...that way you are emailing only 1 address and the post goes to everyone in the Group via email.

I personally use RPOL.net as well, I play and DM in it, but there is a certain attrition rate with them...players just disappear. But it's great, a giant forum to find players and games of more than just D&D...
Wizard_Master
12-03-07, 02:07 PM Well, first, lets get our terminology straight. PBEM is Play By EMail, and is played over email. There is no website involved, no posts, its all done over email.

What you are describing is PbP, Play by Post.
For that, you want http://www.rpol.net.

If you want to use the WotC boards to find players for either one though, you need to use the proper board for it, namely this one:
http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=347

:)

Right - I was referring to websites that have advertising for PBEM - the website question was inquiring for websites to post for players. By far the best one was irony.com and that was the best place to post for players. RPOL.NET is nice if you like web based gaming but has a serious flaw which I dont like (it does not email notification when a new post is entered. Other than that its a great site but people usually like email or web based. THis game will more than likely be email.
Ariakus
12-03-07, 02:18 PM I loved Irony.com...I don't know what happened to them, I wish they hung around....
Wizard_Master
12-04-07, 02:59 PM I loved Irony.com...I don't know what happened to them, I wish they hung around....

They have moved to a new web site and most of their original material is there:

http://onlineplayer.com/

Not sure what happened to the domain name. Perhaps they lost it or they sold the domain. Most of the features are there except for the pbem tracking feature.

www.pbem.com is down though
Ariakus
12-04-07, 04:07 PM They have moved to a new web site and most of their original material is there:

http://onlineplayer.com/

Not sure what happened to the domain name. Perhaps they lost it or they sold the domain. Most of the features are there except for the pbem tracking feature.

www.pbem.com is down though

Oops, I didn't explain what I meant...I meant the PBeM page that advertised for players and DM's. It just vanished without explanation one day.
Wizard_Master
12-05-07, 02:47 PM Oops, I didn't explain what I meant...I meant the PBeM page that advertised for players and DM's. It just vanished without explanation one day.

Right... sorry for confusion... yes that is sorely missed....

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Wizard_Master 12-02-07, 02:07 PM	Hi I am a newbie DM going to run a DnD 3.5 PBEM and wondering what is the best web site / site to post for players? Here is the concept that I had for the PBEM: Hi Basically, it will be a homebrew campaign that has an open ended story line. By that I mean the characters decide the overall story / adventure. I will be the DM of course and will lead the individual adventures and such but the overall plot will be decided by the characters. The characters find themself magically transported (they do not know how or why) to a new land. The land they arrive is a small village community where they do not much of the distant lands as they are farmers and small community that rarely travels. Then suddenly strange creates start to attack the community that they only heard from legends and ancient myths. Some of the younger villagers with a hint of youthful adventure spirit track the creatures after a pitched battle to several leagues outside of their village and known area to find an underground lair / dungeon that they only heard of in ancient stories. Several of the creatures have poured into the dungeon for whatever reasons. The villagers are asking you to investigate and clear out this dungeon. Perhaps this is why you were summoned but have no idea again who or why. The dungeon will be a randon dungeon but the plot and overall story will be developed by the character. I hope this doesnt sound lame but dont have a campaign / world developed. As I DM I will of course lead the adventure and such but what happens is up to the characters. Do they characters rather travel to see their fortune? I am very good at improvising and will create adventures for the characters and story lines as the game progresses. Let me know if you have any questions. Email: wizardmaster@gmail.com
kirkenix 12-02-07, 04:33 PM	sounds like u know what u want to run. the only problem i can think of (and im not even sure its a problem really) is that u dont know ur players yet. if i understand ur post correctly, u are looking for a site to locate potential players, right? well, i dont know how other dm's do things, but i always like to meet with my players and find out what they are expecting out of me. if i have 3 new players and 1 inexperienced player (like what im co-dm'ing here in iraq) u might be better off starting with a session or 2 so that everyone can get the basics before starting a story arc of ur campaign. ive found sometimes that the character someone thinks they want to run in the begining, is not the character they want to run once they know how the game works. one of my players here started off trying to run a sorcerer, but hes really having trouble, so when i started my campaign he chose to be a fighter and he loves it. the player who started out as a barbarian chose to be a bard because he seems to like to role-play more then battle (he might be one of the best new players ive ever seen). its also difficult to plan out dungeons/battles if u dont know how the party is composed, or how many players will even be participating. all that aside, i like open ended gaming that is character driven. i like it when players make their own decisions, and i think it makes them more pasionate about the campaign. nothing is better (for me anyway) to hear one of my players say they should hike on the last couple of miles in the dark so that they can visit their favorite bar and npc bartender for the night, before heading off in the morning to meet another favorite npc, just to see how hes doing. im not sure any of this helps, but i wanted to chime in anyway. i wish u the best of luck finding a group, and have lots of fun.
Edymnion 12-02-07, 08:12 PM	Hi I am a newbie DM going to run a DnD 3.5 PBEM and wondering what is the best web site / site to post for players? Well, first, lets get our terminology straight. PBEM is Play By EMail, and is played over email. There is no website involved, no posts, its all done over email. What you are describing is PbP, Play by Post. For that, you want http://www.rpol.net. If you want to use the WotC boards to find players for either one though, you need to use the proper board for it, namely this one: http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=347 :)
Ariakus 12-03-07, 09:07 AM	This is true, Play By eMail has no central website...you would either email your posts to each individual, or you would use a Group like YahooGroups to host your game...that way you are emailing only 1 address and the post goes to everyone in the Group via email. I personally use RPOL.net as well, I play and DM in it, but there is a certain attrition rate with them...players just disappear. But it's great, a giant forum to find players and games of more than just D&D...
Wizard_Master 12-03-07, 02:07 PM	Well, first, lets get our terminology straight. PBEM is Play By EMail, and is played over email. There is no website involved, no posts, its all done over email. What you are describing is PbP, Play by Post. For that, you want http://www.rpol.net. If you want to use the WotC boards to find players for either one though, you need to use the proper board for it, namely this one: http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=347 :) Right - I was referring to websites that have advertising for PBEM - the website question was inquiring for websites to post for players. By far the best one was irony.com and that was the best place to post for players. RPOL.NET is nice if you like web based gaming but has a serious flaw which I dont like (it does not email notification when a new post is entered. Other than that its a great site but people usually like email or web based. THis game will more than likely be email.
Ariakus 12-03-07, 02:18 PM	I loved Irony.com...I don't know what happened to them, I wish they hung around....
Wizard_Master 12-04-07, 02:59 PM	I loved Irony.com...I don't know what happened to them, I wish they hung around.... They have moved to a new web site and most of their original material is there: http://onlineplayer.com/ Not sure what happened to the domain name. Perhaps they lost it or they sold the domain. Most of the features are there except for the pbem tracking feature. www.pbem.com is down though
Ariakus 12-04-07, 04:07 PM	They have moved to a new web site and most of their original material is there: http://onlineplayer.com/ Not sure what happened to the domain name. Perhaps they lost it or they sold the domain. Most of the features are there except for the pbem tracking feature. www.pbem.com is down though Oops, I didn't explain what I meant...I meant the PBeM page that advertised for players and DM's. It just vanished without explanation one day.
Wizard_Master 12-05-07, 02:47 PM	Oops, I didn't explain what I meant...I meant the PBeM page that advertised for players and DM's. It just vanished without explanation one day. Right... sorry for confusion... yes that is sorely missed....