Roleplaying in the CWBP.

[Redrobes]

Yes that is a concern I would share too. One of the things that has happened with the CWBP is that there is very little activity of mapping within it. I think that having an evolving story within places in it would give some more incentive to map those areas. I reckon the biggest incentive to map something tho is when you need it to play in that area. So I think its a double edged sword. You would get a lot of non mappers waiting for new maps to be made by others which is not really very constructive but I think you would get a lot of mapping done at character level which is where its needed the most. Ok so we might not expect that all the maps would look great but I think even if we had rough pencil maps of houses, cave systems and so on then it could be used as a template to make that into a better map.

I think the wikipedia is a good example. Almost all of the people who edit it have no interest in making encyclopedias and only the tiniest fraction of people who look at it would want to contribute to it and also of all the contributions, most are pretty bad to start with and get refined progressively. But its still a great success despite it all.

I guess it depends on what each sees the target of the CWBP to be. For me, I would like to see it as a complete living world where its constantly being added to, updated and used.

I reckon if it were played in then I would hope that many non participants would follow some of the groups within it too.

Heres a question to throw out there... is anyone currently using the CWBP as a campaign region ?

[curufea]

I'm only a new member, but there is a co-operative fantasy roleplaying worldbuilding project currently occuring for the Fantasy Hero System that I'm involved with. It's a generic system able to simulate any genre of fantasy. The project is concerned with the tropes of the genre and making a generic setting and could well do with a look by members of this project.

The thread on the project is here- http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73066

The wiki set up by the creator of the project (Killer Shrike) is here-
http://www.killershrike.info/MainPage.ashx

[Korash]

This does sound like a good idea. I would suggest that it not run IN the CG, but beside it. Maybe on another site linked to it. Another part of the Alliance maybe?

I am not sure if that is what you have in mind RR, or how much work that would take to set up, but that that is what I was getting from the intro.

Like the idea, like I said, but not too sure how much time it will take up. I am also on a time budget.

[RPMiller]

I'm only a new member, but there is a co-operative fantasy roleplaying worldbuilding project currently occuring for the Fantasy Hero System that I'm involved with. It's a generic system able to simulate any genre of fantasy. The project is concerned with the tropes of the genre and making a generic setting and could well do with a look by members of this project.

The thread on the project is here- http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73066

The wiki set up by the creator of the project (Killer Shrike) is here-
http://www.killershrike.info/MainPage.ashx

Hey curufea! Small world eh? Welcome to the Guild! I haven't visited the Hero Boards in any formal sense in forever. Life got in the way it seems. Anyway, just wanted to say hey.

[Alecthar]

I have some experience playing in PbPs for 4e D&D, and I have to say it works very well. Now, that might not be the case for a more free-form experience (which is what it sounds like you guys are going for here), but I imagine that, depending on the system you choose, a PbP could work very well. One of the things I generally find very cool about PbP is that you get people who don't particularly like to RP when sitting at a table with other people, but being able to type out your speech and actions removes some of the embarrassment factor from saying things like "forsooth!" and whatnot.

[Redrobes]

Thanks for that. I dont have any preplanned ideas about what style to go for. I was looking for experience from others about what works. I would be cool with a free form style tho but I could imagine that others might want a more rigid - by the book approach.

I was estimating making a statement per day or so with a sort of pace of about a room per week kind of thing. Perhaps a touch faster but I cant see how it can be done unless you make statements every few hours. Would be good if you had this sort of thing running in your day job but I doubt that many people could do that. At a max I could make maybe three statements per day so if a player I might be able to move, attack and kill an opponent, choose and move to the next one and attack them in one day. Maybe I could pre plan to search the bodies and room afterward and hint at which exit to take too. All that is assuming the GM can keep up with that. Else as a GM I think that maybe one round of combat per day from the 3 statements to various people. Is this sort of pace normal ? Maybe the whole thing would be too slow. But how did people cope in a play by snail mail set up ?

[Alecthar]

Thanks for that. I dont have any preplanned ideas about what style to go for. I was looking for experience from others about what works. I would be cool with a free form style tho but I could imagine that others might want a more rigid - by the book approach.

I was estimating making a statement per day or so with a sort of pace of about a room per week kind of thing. Perhaps a touch faster but I cant see how it can be done unless you make statements every few hours. Would be good if you had this sort of thing running in your day job but I doubt that many people could do that. At a max I could make maybe three statements per day so if a player I might be able to move, attack and kill an opponent, choose and move to the next one and attack them in one day. Maybe I could pre plan to search the bodies and room afterward and hint at which exit to take too. All that is assuming the GM can keep up with that. Else as a GM I think that maybe one round of combat per day from the 3 statements to various people. Is this sort of pace normal ? Maybe the whole thing would be too slow. But how did people cope in a play by snail mail set up ?

In the 4E PbPs I'm in, generally a post a day is considered the bare minimum. Most make more posts than that, especially outside of combat. Combat isn't problematic so much as simply slower than other parts of the game usually are. RP between characters can go really quickly if the person you're talking to IC is online. Between NPCs it depends on how often your GM is online.

Combat is slower because, at least for 4e, you're bound by initiative order, so you can't act whenever you wish. Because of this you might find yourself waiting for a player to take their turn, or the GM to complete the combat update (where did the enemies move, what actions did they take, etc.) Many players find that a good way to make sure that combat flows well is to plan out their actions somewhat, a good strategy is to PM your GM the possible actions you wish to undertake, given certain happenings, and include the relevant rolls with that PM (we use Invisible Castle for rolls). The worst thing that can happen, then, is that the situation ends up outside of those predictions and you have to wait for that person like you would have had to anyway. Best case the GM says "so and so takes this action, next..."

[industrygothica]

Thanks for that. I dont have any preplanned ideas about what style to go for. I was looking for experience from others about what works. I would be cool with a free form style tho but I could imagine that others might want a more rigid - by the book approach.

I was estimating making a statement per day or so with a sort of pace of about a room per week kind of thing. Perhaps a touch faster but I cant see how it can be done unless you make statements every few hours. Would be good if you had this sort of thing running in your day job but I doubt that many people could do that. At a max I could make maybe three statements per day so if a player I might be able to move, attack and kill an opponent, choose and move to the next one and attack them in one day. Maybe I could pre plan to search the bodies and room afterward and hint at which exit to take too. All that is assuming the GM can keep up with that. Else as a GM I think that maybe one round of combat per day from the 3 statements to various people. Is this sort of pace normal ? Maybe the whole thing would be too slow. But how did people cope in a play by snail mail set up ?

Having not read past this post, this might have been answered already, but in my experience with pbp, the pace your are describing is nearly impossible. If everyone posts once per day, you MIGHT get one round done... assuming they post actions in those posts, and not just questions for clarification.

I recently wrapped up the first chapter of a game on ENWorld which took 24 hours game-time. It took us just over 2 years to complete it... granted, that was a slow game, but that's what you get sometimes if you actually want to be able to finish one. Otherwise people get burned out and want something new and different.

Just my two cents - now I'll finish reding this thread and see if someone's already answered you.

-IG

[Redrobes]

Crikey ! That's a lot slower than I imagined people would put up with. I mean, how satisfying was the playing during those two years then ? Was there a feeling along the lines of "for gods sake when are we getting out of this room" or were people happy to stay in that groove for long periods.

I guess I would be prepared to go a lot more loose and laissez faire just to get the pace up and would accept decisions being made on my behalf if they were approximately what my character might have done. I remember the old times with real face to face round real table and real dice. That got pretty slow at times and it doesn't get any faster than that.

I don't know what people want but I am getting the feeling that there's not a lot of interest here for playing. I don't think ill be putting any effort in to write tons of software to make it happen.

Edit -- I think ill echo FeralSpirits comment that it is quite surprising that there hasn't been more interest and posts. I agree that in the past it might have been terrible and slow but I think things really are different now. We have VTTs including free ones so there's the option of live running as and when to get past a sticky moment in the game. The broadcast ability of mobile devices and ubiquitous email esp in work locations mean you can get those updates more quickly than waiting for the mail man.

[Midgardsormr]

Heres a question to throw out there... is anyone currently using the CWBP as a campaign region ?

Not currently, but I have been toying with the idea of transitioning my current 4e game into the plotlines I was building up in Groam before Real Life caught me in its net.

I wouldn't mind playing in a forum-based game based in Ansium, though I certainly don't have the time or energy to GM. And it might even, as you think, induce me to make a map or two.

Your proposed decision system is interesting and similar to the informal process I used in my first successful PBeM. I don't know that I ever thought about it quite that deeply, but it's essentially what we were doing.

Play by Post does tend to go really slowly, but setting a time limit on taking actions does wonders to prevent analysis paralysis. I had a policy that I would post no sooner than 24 hours after my previous post, but once I did, whatever was being discussed at that time became what actually happened. It encouraged everyone to be very decisive, since there just wasn't time for too much dithering about options.

Nowadays, 24 hours is probably too fast a schedule for most people around here. I'd say something on the order of the GM posts turns twice a week is good. Or weekly if it's a heavily narrated game.

If you want a look at a very well-executed PBeM I once participated, cruise by here: http://www.cityofveils.com/pbem/ It was unfortunately very short-lived, but while it was going on, it was one of the best I've ever encountered. I played Reidjai.