PBeM Mechanics

  1. General
  2. DM Posts
  3. Player Posts
    1. Narrative
    2. Directive
  4. Conversations

General

First off, words of warning.  These PBeM games are interactive creative writing more than action adventures.  Player posts will be incorporated into my posts so the more creative you are, the more of the story is "yours." Do not expect story development to advance rapidly.  Those familiar with PBeM understand this; there are a few tricks I'll use to move things along when necessary.

All times are U.S.A. CST (GMT-6). I am in Houston, Texas.

I will setup a ONElist for each adventure; I will authorize subscriptions to the lists. See the adventure's page for its ONElist.

Only my posts will appear on the lists. Posting schedules vary by adventure.

Player posts should be sent in reply to the ONElist post (which come to me only). I may also post individual messages to players; all replies come to me only.

Do not change the subject line of my messages in your reply messages since I use that to route messages.

DM Posts

My posts will typically contain two sections: a review of actions taken followed by a presentation of new events. The review will be as long as necessary to link the new stuff to the old. In some cases a review will not be necessary. I suggest that players store their emails; it gets hard to remember details as time goes by. I also suggest the players keep notes in a separate file at least, in an in-character journal at most. At some point I may reward experience points for in-character journals and post them on the web.
 

Player Posts

Player posts should be as narrative as possible, use third person, and be in past tense. Try to include your character's name at least once per paragraph. Please only include enough of any previous post to indicate where your post fits in chronologically.  Make sure not to use player knowledge for character knowledge.

Out of character comments/questions should be enclosed in square brackets:

[This is an OoC comment.].
Contingencies should be enclosed in squiggly brackets followed by the narrative of action if the continency occurs:
{if there is no sign of the enemy}
Fildro snuck across the lighted intersection into the shadows of the corridor directly opposite.
{otherwise}
Fildro quietly nocked an arrow into his bow and prepared to shoot from his hiding place.
Combat posts will be expected daily.

The review portion of my posts will detail what happened based on the players' responses to my previous post. If your character's action is not in my post, it did not happen. If you think I misinterpreted an action or a contingency, let me know ASAP and I will see if your case merits an adjustment. I will only adjust my last post to avoid confusion.

There are two types of replies: narrative and directive.

Narrative

A narrative reply would be appropriate when your character has specific actions you want him to take and you are reasonable sure of the outcome (or outcomes if you want to include some contingencies). Narrative posts are where the players can be most imaginative and have greatest affect the style and content of the storyline. Because I review all the emails, I will correct or adjust them before they are integrated. I will include the adjusted post in the review portion of the email so you can see what actually happened.

Directive

A directive reply would be appropriate when you the player don't have the time to do be narrative or your character is in a situation of uncertain outcome; combat for example, or waiting on another character. A directive reply is just meant to tell the DM what your character is going do, and should contain contingencies if appropriate. Because the outcomes are so uncertain, directive replies do not have to be past tense and formated like a narrative reply; they are essentially out-of-character instructions/directives to the DM.

Converstations

Conversations may also be posted more often to speed things along. Conversations may also be run in "summarize" mode where the players post a list of things they want to say or find out and how they plan to act during the conversation. I will compile the players lists into a meaningful conversation in my post to the list. A conversation that would take many, many posts can be resolved much fewer posts this way.

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