Hey, there

Yes, Wanda would like to play.

Unfortunately, adult real life seriously interferes with gaming, so after several years of not playing at all, I decided to try playing on a forum. Hope it goes well, because this is my last resort :)

Welcome, Wanda!

If you want to see how GP functions, here are links to the New GP Member Guide, the forum rules, this video introduction made by user Qralloq and a little helpful formatting guide made by user Adam. You might also be interested in looking through some public games as well to get a feel for the site.
If you have any questions about how to use the site, you can put them into our Questions and Help subforum.

To join a game, keep your eyes on the Games Tavern, where GMs advertise their games and look for players.

You're also invited to join us on the Discord server for some friendly conversation, about the site, RPGs in general or anything else!

If you have any concerns or questions, feel free to contact any of the following moderators:

bowlofspinach
CancerMan
Dramasailor
Len
Naatkinson
Qralloq
Keleth (site owner)

Happy gaming!

Welcome to GP, WandaPlays!

Welcome!

Hi Wanda, and welcome! What sorts of games, or genres of games, are you most interested in?

Hello, all.

Sure, I'll look around, thanks a ton for those useful links.

A gaming preferences sample:
- cluster1: contemporary occult / ConspiracyX, Witchcraft, Delta Green, nWoD mundanes /
- cluster2: sci-fi / Aliens, Cold & Dark, The Void, cyberpunk, Stars Without Number (setting), Traveller TNE (setting) /
- cluster3: low-magic fantasy / Westeros, The Wheel of Time, Witcher /
- mechanics: strongly leaning towards class-less and level-less / nWoD, Delta Green, Unisystem, Fate, WR&M, Aliens, Savage Worlds /
- game style: either personal or big-picture; story, mood and atmosphere are important; social/action/investigation balanced

Welcome Aboard!

I think most of your game requests are fairly common on GamersPlane. You shouldn't have too difficult a time finding something fun to play!

I highly recommend jumping into the GamersPlane DISCORD channel, if you haven't already. We don't play over there but we have pretty lively discussions and it's a great way to get to know the community.

Welcome to Gamers Plane, Wanda. You shouldn't have any difficulty finding a game or three here.

Welcome to the site! You'll find that a lot of the gamers on here have tough adult schedules and can empathize with you.

Welcome to GP!

Welcome to the community, Wanda! We've all been there! Hope you find some great games to join!

I have a question because I'm addicted to logically assessing everything.

What's the single greatest challenge / obstruction / threat to running a forum-based game (is there a handy abbreviation for that)?

We call it PBP (Play by Post).

The greatest challenge is to get a group that sticks together and sticks to the posting rate. A lot of games fall apart early on, so you'll have to be prepared for some disappointments, unfortunately. But once you do find a good game with players who stick together, it's definitely worth it.

PbP games move way slower so you'll have to adjust your expectations that games take much longer. A lot of people join the site and then leave or lost interest and you never hear from them again. Other people might like a game in person but find it doesn't translate well to PbP (high combat games suffer this more than most I find). And some people have different gaming styles and personalities which take more time to judge when you don't see them face to face. But its worth it if you stick it out.

One of the big obstacles is the lack of a sense of community on most PbP sites. It's easy to just drift away because you don't connect with the other players/site members. GamersPlane has a great sense of community so that's not as big a hurdle to cross here.

Other than that, it might take some getting used to as far as the pace. Forum play is, by it's nature, not a particularly fast method of communication but sometimes games can have a blur of activity and make you feel left out if you didn't catch it while that was going on. You just have to manage your expectations, realize that we're all here to have fun and enjoy playing RPGs together.

Welcome :)

I'd like to second what bowlofspinach wrote. I've only been here since March, but I've already seen that, particularly among new people to GP.

Fortunately, I've met some great people here already and really enjoy it. When I came here, I was in a gaming funk (my games were Play by EMail though), but since coming aboard, I've had my love of RPGs renewed.

Now that I'm a bit more familiar with how GP works, I'm preparing to GM my first GP game. If you're running a game that not too many people play, you might not find character sheets you can use and you might have to prepare an explanation of the rules (there are some great how-to guides that explain how GP works and setting up a game here), but it's really about the people. Getting the right crowd is the main thing.

Welcome to gamersplane.com!

Welcome

* a lot of games fall apart
* pbp is slow
* no feeling of community
Sounds tough. Still, I'll try and see what comes of it.

@Psybermagi
I'm going to accept that invitation. It's very nice of you!