Player and GM Expectations for the Game

Before we start, I’d like to give everyone the opportunity to share any expectations they have for the game and how it is conducted.

From my side:

1. Players have sole responsibility for maintaining their character sheets. This particularly relates to your inventories, encumbrance and movement rates. Expended items should be removed, acquired items added, and encumbrance totals and movement rates updated accordingly.

2. If you know that you're not going to be able to post for a period of time, please let me know. In this way, the game can continue smoothly in your absence. Similarly, please let me know if you decide to leave the game. Don't just disappear; the uncertainty this creates can be very disruptive.

3. If, for whatever reason, you’re unhappy with any aspect of the game - please let me know. The whole point of this is to have fun and I’ll do my best to accommodate any reasonable request.

Oh ... I don't often get that question asked back at me, so thanks!

I would like the game to replicate, as far as is possible in a play-by-post format, the feeling of playing an old school game face-to-face, around a table. This means that posts should focus more on what the characters are doing or saying, and less on their innermost thoughts and feelings. In this way, the game transcript should end up looking very much like a typical "Example of Play" that you often find in rulebooks (e.g. OSRIC page 153).

In keeping with the old school style, skill checks per se should be relatively few and far between. If you describe what your character is doing, and it seems reasonable, I will let you do it. If we take the example of searching a room for secret doors, you could simply say "we search the room for secret doors" in which case I will roll the appropriate x-in-d6 chance. However, if you say, "I investigate the ornate torch sconce to see if it can be manipulated in some way", and that sconce happens to trigger a secret door, then you will automatically succeed. There may be a fair amount of "rulings rather than rules", so I will generally call for rolls when required rather than expect players to anticipate them.

Unless there is a good reason not to do so, I generally prefer to keep all content visible to all players, even if that ends up being a bit meta. So, except in exceptional circumstances, I won't be using asynchronous notes or messages. Again, I think this is in keeping with the old school "round-the-table" style.

The three posts per week guideline is a minimum. I generally post most days, although if I am particularly busy at work I may alternate posts between this game and my other Stonehell game. If, as a player, you're posting less than three times per week, you're likely to fall behind. Other, than that, post as you see fit. I'd particularly encourage discussion between both players and characters when it comes to planning, problem-solving, improvisation, risk management, resource management, etc. Old school D&D is as much a game of player skill as character skill, and you will need to be giving yourselves every advantage if you're to survive the perils of Arden Vul.

Finally, embrace the lore and the setting! Arden Vul is an incredibly rich environment (which is why it spans 5 volumes). It is not a funhouse dungeon. Everything is there for a reason. If something seems odd or out of place, there is probably a reason (historically or currently) why that is the case. It is also a very dynamic setting. As you will probably have gauged from the rumours, there are multiple existing factions within the dungeon. How you interact with those could have a significant bearing on how the adventure plays out.

Finally, finally, this is a sandbox. There is no predefined story arc to follow. There are many routes to "success" depending on how you define that, and many (more!) routes to failure. So, as you ease into the setting as a group and become a well-oiled machine, try to ensure that you are collectively focused on certain objectives. I don't want you to feel that you're just aimlessly wandering around.

I'll drip-feed additional lore as it becomes relevant in play. Where it's general information the characters would probably know, I'll share it freely (so it's OK to ask "Would my character know ..."). The less common lore you will uncover through delving.