Jul 9, 2019 9:05 pm
Welcome to Traces of the Mad! This thread will serve as a repository of best practices to ensure the game goes smoothly and that we all enjoy ourselves playing it.
General Guidelines
1. This is an investigative horror fantasy game. That said, I'd like to keep the content somewhere around the PG-13/soft R range. That means that more graphic content may need to occur "off screen," and some themes may need to be avoided altogether.
2. Likewise, the "X Card" is available to you at all times. Since we're not playing in person, please send me a private message if anything is bringing you distress. There is no need to go into detail; just let me know what is bothering you in the game.
3. Players should aim to make at least 5 in-character posts per week. That means, generally, about one post per weekday. More is always OK! This is play-by-post, so the game lives or dies based on your involvement. When in doubt, post something! Even if you just say that your character is still present at the scene, you'll signal your continued investment in the game and compel your fellow players to post, as well.
We are all doing this in our free time, so it's only fair and respectful that we participate fully. If you are going to be unable to post for a while, let me know in the OOC Chat Thread or via Private Message. If a player becomes inactive for more than a few days with no explanation, I will begin recruiting a replacement. Once the replacement has been found, I'll remove the absentee player from the game.
4. I award XP in two ways; first, when certain story objectives are met, as at the end of a chapter of the adventure, and second, at the end of each real-life month for players who participate regularly. That is, every month, you should expect 5 or 10 bonus XP as long as you have been taking part in the game, engaging with the story and fellow players, and generally acting as a good citizen of the game.
5. Periodically, I'll ask how I'm doing. Please let me know what I can do to improve the game, or the kinds of things you might like to see in the scenario.
Technical and Formatting Guidelines
If you're new to Gamers Plane, here are a few standards for posting to the game.
1. Use regular text for narration and description.
2. Use bold type for direct speech by your character. E.g., Rollo the Dwarf slams his mug on the table and says, "Barkeep! Another ale!"
3. Use italics if you want to share your character's thoughts. E.g., Rollo thinks, Wow, this Human ale is weak.
4. Feel free to include pictures in your posts when helpful, like when first introducing your character to the other players. You do this by using the Image button above the text window; it looks like a Polaroid picture.
5. Feel free to quote me and the other players when it helps us understand what you are referring to. You do this by using the Quote function or by putting your response within quote indicators,
6. Use the Note button to send a secret note to me or to a fellow player. It looks like a white page with red lines on it.
7. Lengthy, out-of-character (OOC) discussions should go in the OOC Chat Thread. However, you can include small OOC comments by using the "OOC" button above. For instance, you may want to use the OOC function to suggest how you want to spend the 3 Advantages you just rolled on a check. The site renders such text like this:8. Be sure to post as your character for in-character (IC) posts. Post as yourself (your main forum name) for OOC stuff.
Game Rules Guidelines
1. All die rolls should be done with the built-in Star Wars dice roller. You do this from the "Advanced" posting window. Don't worry; Genesys and Star Wars have identical dice aside from some aesthetics. However, note that for some reason, Gamers Plane does not count Triumph results as both 1 Success and 1 Triumph, so we'll need to do a bit of mental math whenever Triumphs show up.
2. This is a narrative rules system. That means you, the players, get to influence the narrative by spending Story Points and Advantages and Triumphs you roll (or Threats and Despairs the GM rolls!). I encourage you to be creative in this! The worst that could happen is I temper your suggestion a bit or ask you to come up with something else.
3. That said, the narrative nature of this system can make it play slowly in PbP due to the constant back and forth between players and GM. To that end, please offer suggestions for your rolled Advantages and Triumphs as soon as you roll them. There's no need to wait for the GM to ask you what you want to spend them on. Just edit your post immediately and add an OOC comment about what you'd like to do with the goodies you've rolled.
4. In general, when you want to attempt something, just say so in the IC thread. I'll then give you the difficulty, and you can roll. That said, in the interests of speeding the game up, more seasoned players should feel free add in the difficulty when it's known (e.g., Easy for a bow attack at Short Range). In fact, you're welcome to even "guess" the difficulty of certain tasks and to go ahead and roll the whole thing together. I may add or remove dice if I disagree with your ruling, but often this way of playing speeds things along quite well.
5. Please do not roll just your positive dice and then wait for the GM to roll the difficulty. I prefer that all dice be rolled at once.
General Guidelines
1. This is an investigative horror fantasy game. That said, I'd like to keep the content somewhere around the PG-13/soft R range. That means that more graphic content may need to occur "off screen," and some themes may need to be avoided altogether.
2. Likewise, the "X Card" is available to you at all times. Since we're not playing in person, please send me a private message if anything is bringing you distress. There is no need to go into detail; just let me know what is bothering you in the game.
3. Players should aim to make at least 5 in-character posts per week. That means, generally, about one post per weekday. More is always OK! This is play-by-post, so the game lives or dies based on your involvement. When in doubt, post something! Even if you just say that your character is still present at the scene, you'll signal your continued investment in the game and compel your fellow players to post, as well.
We are all doing this in our free time, so it's only fair and respectful that we participate fully. If you are going to be unable to post for a while, let me know in the OOC Chat Thread or via Private Message. If a player becomes inactive for more than a few days with no explanation, I will begin recruiting a replacement. Once the replacement has been found, I'll remove the absentee player from the game.
4. I award XP in two ways; first, when certain story objectives are met, as at the end of a chapter of the adventure, and second, at the end of each real-life month for players who participate regularly. That is, every month, you should expect 5 or 10 bonus XP as long as you have been taking part in the game, engaging with the story and fellow players, and generally acting as a good citizen of the game.
5. Periodically, I'll ask how I'm doing. Please let me know what I can do to improve the game, or the kinds of things you might like to see in the scenario.
Technical and Formatting Guidelines
If you're new to Gamers Plane, here are a few standards for posting to the game.
1. Use regular text for narration and description.
2. Use bold type for direct speech by your character. E.g., Rollo the Dwarf slams his mug on the table and says, "Barkeep! Another ale!"
3. Use italics if you want to share your character's thoughts. E.g., Rollo thinks, Wow, this Human ale is weak.
4. Feel free to include pictures in your posts when helpful, like when first introducing your character to the other players. You do this by using the Image button above the text window; it looks like a Polaroid picture.
5. Feel free to quote me and the other players when it helps us understand what you are referring to. You do this by using the Quote function or by putting your response within quote indicators,
Quote:
Like this.7. Lengthy, out-of-character (OOC) discussions should go in the OOC Chat Thread. However, you can include small OOC comments by using the "OOC" button above. For instance, you may want to use the OOC function to suggest how you want to spend the 3 Advantages you just rolled on a check. The site renders such text like this:
OOC:
I'll spend my 3 Advantages to score a critical hit on the Orc chieftain.Game Rules Guidelines
1. All die rolls should be done with the built-in Star Wars dice roller. You do this from the "Advanced" posting window. Don't worry; Genesys and Star Wars have identical dice aside from some aesthetics. However, note that for some reason, Gamers Plane does not count Triumph results as both 1 Success and 1 Triumph, so we'll need to do a bit of mental math whenever Triumphs show up.
2. This is a narrative rules system. That means you, the players, get to influence the narrative by spending Story Points and Advantages and Triumphs you roll (or Threats and Despairs the GM rolls!). I encourage you to be creative in this! The worst that could happen is I temper your suggestion a bit or ask you to come up with something else.
3. That said, the narrative nature of this system can make it play slowly in PbP due to the constant back and forth between players and GM. To that end, please offer suggestions for your rolled Advantages and Triumphs as soon as you roll them. There's no need to wait for the GM to ask you what you want to spend them on. Just edit your post immediately and add an OOC comment about what you'd like to do with the goodies you've rolled.
4. In general, when you want to attempt something, just say so in the IC thread. I'll then give you the difficulty, and you can roll. That said, in the interests of speeding the game up, more seasoned players should feel free add in the difficulty when it's known (e.g., Easy for a bow attack at Short Range). In fact, you're welcome to even "guess" the difficulty of certain tasks and to go ahead and roll the whole thing together. I may add or remove dice if I disagree with your ruling, but often this way of playing speeds things along quite well.
5. Please do not roll just your positive dice and then wait for the GM to roll the difficulty. I prefer that all dice be rolled at once.