OOC Coms

Super happy to be starting this! Especially after this next month, I should have a ton of time to be learning a lot! Thank you to everyone helping!

:)

Thanks for coming! Though it makes me super nervous. This game is something I haven't prepared as much as my other one I've been running in person. Hopefully that means I'll get better at thinking of good things much quicker.

There's a fine balance with preparation as a DM. You need to do just enough that you can fill in the rest as you go. How much that is varies from person to person, depending upon your experience and how much you like to improvise. Too much prep and you either end up forcing the story ("railroading") or wasting your time because the players go off script (which they inevitably do).

In play by post you have the luxury of time. If you need to think of a clever response or flesh out an NPC, you can take a day or so and do that. And this is a learning game, so if you get stuck, we are here to help!

So anyway, it's understandable to be nervous...I was very nervous when I started too! AND...this will be fun, and the nerves will fade. :) As you've no doubt discovered with your friends, DMing is super fun and challenging.

yea, i concure with marithyme.

In my irl game, i've preped enough to make it sound like i wasnt making stuff up but all i've planned is a "they are going to go here. (desc) [encounter]-> room -> room repeat, etc...

I am a firm believer of over preping but not getting upset if they take it off the rrail because worst case, the players don't know what you did or didn't have planned. so you could plop that in... well anywhere else!

Personally I have a method of [start]->checkpoint a(i want this paticular thing to have happen) -> checkpoint b (if necessary) -> repeat as necessary -> [end goal.]

ill probably be able to get a character made later today hopfully! also thanks for allowing the op. to help mentor

Glad to have you! Already getting good advice! Is there someone else I should invite to round out the numbers?

Summer is a quiet time, so tends to be slower recruiting.

Well, we just filled up I think! Good to have everyone here!

You want a food truck? Hmmm... well rustic foods are the norm. Breads and vegetables with game meats. Someone looking for a transportable or easily creatable travel food might come up with an idea for mini bread bowls?

Hope everyone had a good weekend! I hope we'll be able to start the game proper after this week, maybe sooner!

I went ahead and made the first post. I hope I'm not jumping the gun here, but it can sit until we're ready to start if I am.

As far as moving to the next post, should I wait for all players, or a majority of players to make their posts?

Totally up to you. There is a balance between allowing every player a chance to participate and moving the story along. Personally, since this doesn't seem like you need everyone's input, you could move on to the next post.

yea when it comes to the characters interaction thats where it gets a bit hairy cause your waiting for them to respond ya kow.

Hmmm... Is a good approach just to try to stick pretty well to the schedule?

You would have to make a judgment call on when to move on. In cases where there's NPC exposition, you can post without waiting for everyone to participate. Otherwise, if there's a situation where you think a player might want to do something, you can ask, "What do you wish to do?" If you have the sense that a specific character might (or should) do something, you can call them out based on the situation: "So-and-so, are you going to do anything about the bugbear that insulted you?"

During combat, I'll give people a couple of days if it's their turn, as I understand that RL sometimes gets in the way. If I feel that their absence is going on a bit too long and they haven't given me any news about why, I'll play their character for them.

I think sticking to your post schedule is a good guideline, especially since you've asked for just 2 per week. You decide whether to spur the posting on to increase activity, depending on the circumstances.

Writing all that down for future reference!

As far as combat turns go, one or two DM's on here have a system where everyone posts their turn when they can, without regard for initiative, but the DM narrates, figures effects, etc based on the initiative after the fact. How do we feel about that kind of system?