GMs of the Unseen Servant
It might not be a bad idea to formally introduce yourself on the forums in the Introductions and Welcomes thread, especially if you are fairly new to The Unseen Servant. Give potential players some idea about how you lead a game, if you're comfortable with it or just starting out, if you've ever GM'd a PbP game before (it's definitely different from a FtF game, in case you haven't) or if you're a PbP DM Veteran. No need to go into any game specifics here - just talk about yourself and what you like or don't like in your PbP games.
If you want your GM information posted in the linked thread, then follow the instructions contained within.
Looking for players or games
Whether you have something specific in mind, or just want to gauge interest in an idea, this is where you start up a game.
One thing to keep in mind is that you generally have no idea what kind of gaming background the rest of the people on the forum have. What might seem commonplace to you, as far as terms or settings are concerned, may be completely foreign to another. Therefore, it is always a good idea to include a few paragraphs of detailed information in your LFP (Looking For Players) thread.
For example, your first paragraph could be a quick rundown of the game mechanics and rules. Be sure to include the gaming system (1E D&D, Labyrinth Lords, B/E, D6, TMNT, Battletech, Chainmail, Star Frontiers, etc.), how extensive your house rules are, and how often you expect to post as well as how often you expect your players to post. If you expect a response from your players every 24 hours or less, then someone who can only respond three times a week is not going to fit in your game. Likewise, if you only plan on moving the game forward two times a week, then someone who wants a faster-paced game might not want to join. Don't forget to indicate if you will be allowing players to make most of their own dice rolls or if you will be doing all of the rolling. Certainly feel free to take advantage of The Unseen Servant Dice Roller, in either case.
Then it wouldn't be a bad idea to include a few paragraphs about the campaign you want to run. Will it be a published module? A sandbox campaign of a new world you've created? Or maybe an established sandbox campaign in a world you've been running people through for 10 years? Or maybe you've written a module and you're looking to playtest it before publication? Since a lot of The Unseen Servant participants have never delved into anything older than AD&D 2.0, if your campaign is going to take place in a more contemporary fantasy setting (e.g. Dark Sun, Eberron, etc.), you might want to provide a brief overview of the setting.
Pro Tips
To let other community members know exactly what your post is for, begin the Thread Title with "LFP" to indicate you are Looking For Players. (Likewise, if you are a player looking for a game to join, you should start your Thread Title with "LFG" to indicate you are Looking For a Group.)
After it is created, you can modify the title of your LFP thread by changing the subject in the first post on that thread. You might want to consider adding one of the following phrases after the thread title (and modifying it as necessary):
"STATUS: OPEN (NEW)" - meaning you are accepting new players in your game
"STATUS: OPEN (REPLACEMENT)" - meaning you are looking for someone to take over an existing character
"STATUS: CLOSED" - meaning your game is not currently accepting new players
"STATUS: CLOSED (WAITING LIST)" - meaning your game is currently closed, but that you have a waiting list a potential player can sign up on
(This is certainly not an exhaustive list, so feel free to add your own status to the mix! If you add it below, I'll append this post to include it.)
Play-By-Post Campaigns
Once you've gauged interest, and have a likely number of players ready to join, you can get your campaign started by sending a PM to the Site Administrator, ToniXX. Let him know the exact name you'd like to use for your PbP game. He will create the appropriate campaign folder and set you up with DM access for that campaign adding a request in the Admin Requests forum. You can set up your Campaign ID to be used in The Unseen Servant Dice Roller, so that all players can display their rolls for the DM to easily see, if you chose to let them make their own rolls (or at least some of them).
Then go about making up your various threads/topics for your campaign and go! Here is a list of topics you might want to use to get started:
Campaign Background
Maps
House Rules
Player Characters
Non-Player Characters
OOC Thread
Strategy Thread
Action Thread (1, 2, 3, etc.)
You can set certain threads as Sticky Notes, so they will always remain at the top of your campaign folder; otherwise, they will sort automatically to shift topics with the most recent posts in them at the top of the list. Some DMs like to keep their Action threads short, so they will create a new action thread after it is seven or eight pages long. Others will create a new thread as the scenes change or if parties split up. Of course, you should certainly feel free to run your game however you want; these are merely suggestions.
[Administrator Note: We prefer if you keep all threads in your campaign to under 20 pages.]
General Play-By-Post Forum Tips
- You basically have ONE form of communication available to you in a forum PbP game, and that is written text. 99% of the members of the forum don't know you in real life, so they have no idea if you have a jovial personality, a serious personality, or a sarcastic one; they don't know if you're laughing when you type something or fuming smoke out your ears. The only point of reference they have is the words you write. So choose them wisely.
- It is also good to remember that a player in one game is a lurker in every other game. And a lurker in your current game is a potential player/GM in the next. So a snarky comment about someone (or a group of people) might seem funny at the time, but it also creates an impression of YOU as a Player/GM that carries over to other games in which you might participate or lead. Again, choose your words wisely.
- Finally, always remember to be respectful of the other members of the forum.