THE CYBERNETIC ROGUES

RPG – PBEM
Fantasy Role Playing Games – Play By Email

by Krilion GreyDragon (krilion@krilion.cnchost.com)

What is PBEM?

Play By Email is a variant of table top role playing which includes various gaming genres and styles of play. How does it work?

In its most basic form the players and GM (Game Master) communicate their game moves via Electronic Mail.

GMs create the setting and scenario for the game being played.

Players submit characters as per genre rules and their GM’s specific house rules.

How do The mechanics work?

The GM sets the scene and details the actions of NPCs (non player characters) by sending the information to the players via email.

The players post their PCs (Player Characters) actions in response to the situation or other PCs actions.

The GM resolves the actions of the PCs and communicates any results to the players. The Gm will usually handle dice rolls or use a email dice server which is a email generator that calculates dice rolls when given a formula and sends the results back to the requested parties.

Irony Games has a nice Dice Server  Irony Games

This continues until the PC is retired, killed or quits the game. Or until the game is concluded and a new one is started. (This is called a ‘Run’, ‘Adventure’, Scenario’ etc., etc..)

How much time does it take?

Unless you are a GM, the time involved depends on the amount of time you wish to put into it. The more often you post, the greater the role your PC will play in the ongoing campaign.

Some Gms have a msg quota for their games, so be sure to ask about that. Most times it is something like – 1 msg within 4 days of the last posting by your Gm.

Games can run for a very long time. I have a group of gamers in my troop that have been playing for about 5 years now. Pbem games as a rule run a bit slow and this point has been a bane to the popularity of it. It does have a plus side though. We find this to more than make up for the slowness of playing. Pbem offer a huge leap in character development.

We tend to see that players who play by email are less restricted in their actions. If they feel their character would make an action or statement that wouldn’t be in the groups best interest they will tend to go ahead and perform the action, not being restricted by sitting at the table ‘live’ and being razzed by the  rest of the group for it all night.

Also, you have a bit of time to think about exactly how you want to respond to the scene around you and the dialog of the PCs and NPCs. This is very cool because you rarely have that feeling of being pressured in a game and after a few turns say to yourself, ‘Man..I wish I had done that just a bit differently’…

How do I get started?

First consider the type of game you would like to play in. There is a large variety of Pbem sites on the net. Finding one that is agreeable to you is a must. Just like any ‘live’ group of gamers, if you don’t care for the people.. you won’t like the game..

Simply do a search using your favorite search engine for “PBEM”.. You’ll get more hits than you can manage to look at in one sitting..

We suggest TCR GAMES or Irony Games for starters..

A lot of the sites will host games for you if you are interested in running a game. But I suggest being prepared in advance. Have the ideas and concepts for how you plan on doing things upfront.

What is ‘LURKING’?

Lurking is a term used for observing. If you are new to gaming in general or Pbem, ask your Gm about lurking in the game for a while to get a feel for how the game is run. Also if you don’t wish to play but enjoy reading, this is a excellent forum. It gives you the enjoyment of watching RPG gaming without the dedication of playing.

Where do I send my check?

Most but not all Pbem games are usually free to play in. Some of them have a one time application fee, others are monthly. The true tradition of Pbem gaming though is the free to play concept..

End of report