The Unseen Servant forums

Posted: **Sun Aug 29, 2021 6:18 am**

Leitz wrote: An issue would be describing the style well enough so that more of the challenges could be avoided.

I think this a very important observation and why many games fail to gain traction. I think the most common way to address this is a detailed recruitment post defining the style of game and its parameters. Granted, many still wouldn't necessarily read it to understanding. Another tactic I've seen is an introductory thread for new characters as a test drive before inclusion into the main group(s).

Leitz wrote:Another issue is having things already in process. When I play, I like to find out what's going on and connect with that, if possible. When I run a game, things are going on and the PCs have the option to get involved.

Yeah, this is definitely a very common issue and I think is exacerbated by the slow turnaround of the format, but it's certainly prevalent in table games, too. In the absence of player initiative, the DM must constantly poke and prod to herd the cats, so to speak. I'm not quite sure about more elegant solutions. In any case, it can be demoralizing as the game devolves into work more than entertainment.

Posted: **Sun Aug 29, 2021 10:49 pm**

Leitz wrote: ↑Fri Aug 27, 2021 5:27 pm
Rex wrote: ↑Fri Aug 27, 2021 5:17 pm Your style would fit in well at my FTF HarnmMaster game, but I am not sure its really suited to PBP.
One of my most terrifying failures happened here. I started a game, and just shy of the first full week one of the player's had his character shoot himself in the head. He posted late at night, and I spent hours trying to contact him and scared to death that he had acted out what he had written.

He was fine, but felt the game was going too slow. I try to communicate a little better when I leave a game.

I was in that game. I thought it had potential to be fun. The player you mention had their own games on a forum of their own, which I was also in. Not long after that incident he took down the entire site, representing many years of online gaming over several campaigns. It was probably because yet another game there was stalling, but it was a shame. I wonder if perhaps the frustration of their own game running down may have coloured their engagement with the game here on US.

Posted: **Thu Sep 02, 2021 11:04 pm**

Paladin wrote: ↑Fri Aug 27, 2021 4:43 pm I think I get lost trying to translate my style from the tabletop to the forum. It works great with a dozen people around a big table throwing dice all at once. I can rule on the fly, call for random rolls, and keep it rolling. Somehow it falls flat in pbp. I haven't been satisfied at all. Despite having some very talented players (including you).

I just want to highlight this sentence. This is exactly why a lot of PbP games fail. PbP is as different a genre to F2F as RPGs are to LARP. A great deal about the way you play has to change. Not all, but a great deal.

I have had tremendous success with PbtA systems, by the way. They are paced perfectly for adaptation to asynchronous play.

Posted: **Fri Sep 03, 2021 12:37 am**

SilverBen wrote: ↑Sun Aug 29, 2021 1:47 am @Gomez, I havent played Midland or this rule set but am happy to play in a low fantasy game in PbP, learning as we go. My experience is limited to D&D in 1st and 2nd editions (I did not like the direction they took the rules in 3rd 4th and 5th edition) but I am flexible to learning new systems if you need players.

I like this guy already.

Posted: **Fri Sep 03, 2021 5:01 am**

Thanks for the vote of confidence, @Zero. If there's interest, I would be happy to run the following games using 2nd edition AD&D (or even BECMI) rules in play by post which have been truly successful in the past. These games are intended for a range of 2nd to 4th character levels but can be scaled up or down reasonably easily.

1) Survival horror/protect home base theme - an old priest anxiously hires the party to protect his village graveyard and church from any trespassers. He recently had an unsettling encounter with what he originally thought to be a typical visitor describing herself as "just visiting with her friends." As the visitor's demeanor quickly descended into madness, he forcefully drove from the church property. Before dashing off into the forest at the edge of the grave yard, she swore to return and exact her vengeance on him.

2) Explore new area, get captured, and escape alive theme - the party settles in at a local vilage inn and observe the inn keeper setting a small table with a glass of wine and plate of cake. When inquired, he explains he is appeasing the "wee people" that cause many unlucky mishaps if the arrangements are not regularly made. He mutters that he'd do anything to rid himself of the cursed "wee people."

3) Right past wrongs theme - the party is travelling from a nearby coastal village when they take shelter from a powerful storm in a sea cave. After the characters drift off to sleep, they simultaneously experience a vivid dream. However, one of the characters awakens first and is drawn towards an abandoned lighthouse at the end of a rocky jetty, while the others endure disturbing images in their sleep. The rest of the party awaken together and discover their fellow is missing, but share an understanding that their dreams will direct them to the lighthouse and the evil that awaits there.

Do any of those pique your interest for a Play By Post using 2nd edition AD&D rules? These are all basically short, one-shots than can be extended - if the players remain dedicated, and the DM's family doesn't drive him as crazy as last year's COVID school year.

Posted: **Sat Sep 04, 2021 7:23 pm**

SilverBen wrote: ↑Fri Sep 03, 2021 5:01 am Thanks for the vote of confidence, @Zero. If there's interest, I would be happy to run the following games using 2nd edition AD&D (or even BECMI) rules in play by post which have been truly successful in the past. These games are intended for a range of 2nd to 4th character levels but can be scaled up or down reasonably easily.

1) Survival horror/protect home base theme - an old priest anxiously hires the party to protect his village graveyard and church from any trespassers. He recently had an unsettling encounter with what he originally thought to be a typical visitor describing herself as "just visiting with her friends." As the visitor's demeanor quickly descended into madness, he forcefully drove from the church property. Before dashing off into the forest at the edge of the grave yard, she swore to return and exact her vengeance on him.

2) Explore new area, get captured, and escape alive theme - the party settles in at a local vilage inn and observe the inn keeper setting a small table with a glass of wine and plate of cake. When inquired, he explains he is appeasing the "wee people" that cause many unlucky mishaps if the arrangements are not regularly made. He mutters that he'd do anything to rid himself of the cursed "wee people."

3) Right past wrongs theme - the party is travelling from a nearby coastal village when they take shelter from a powerful storm in a sea cave. After the characters drift off to sleep, they simultaneously experience a vivid dream. However, one of the characters awakens first and is drawn towards an abandoned lighthouse at the end of a rocky jetty, while the others endure disturbing images in their sleep. The rest of the party awaken together and discover their fellow is missing, but share an understanding that their dreams will direct them to the lighthouse and the evil that awaits there.

Do any of those pique your interest for a Play By Post using 2nd edition AD&D rules? These are all basically short, one-shots than can be extended - if the players remain dedicated, and the DM's family doesn't drive him as crazy as last year's COVID school year.

I would def go for number horror being very keen in my likes (Love Ravenloft)

Posted: **Sun Sep 05, 2021 2:56 am**

Thanks for being the first to taking me up on it @Tarlyn. I'll post this in the main Looking for Players forum. We just need a quorum of players, between four and six would be ideal for any of the three games I suggested I could run.

Posted: **Sun Sep 05, 2021 2:00 pm**

No problem

Posted: **Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:53 pm**

Bait: I've seen some interest expressed for Paranoia.

Now here's the switch: what about a horror-investigation-based Paranoia-like, set in the (near)modern day?

You're all servants of an organization that detects, investigates, and suppresses paranormal entities and mortals who deal with them. The paranormal entities and their mortal friends are Bad Chaos Stuff that want to Undo the World. You hold the line.

But Bad Chaos stuff can be powerful and dangerous and will make deals if it's sufficiently frightened or whimsical.

One (or more) of you has made a deal, sometime in the past, and you're now bound to a PE by a Pact. The Pact gives you power, but it also endangers you, and it makes you a Heretic in your organization. If you're found out ... well, your buddies have to hold the line.

Your team has just arrived near the scene of your new investigation. It's a weird blue thing that looks like a very big beanstalk, which erupted out of the ground near a small town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1994. The locals ... don't seem to notice it, mostly.

Any interest?

Posted: **Mon Sep 20, 2021 4:46 am**

what ruleset?

Posted: **Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:31 am**

cybersavant wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 4:46 am what ruleset?

At the teaser post, you can see the rules.

Posted: **Tue Sep 21, 2021 11:37 am**

Tossing out a couple of possibilities of games I would be interested in running. I generally run fairly rules light. If any of these are of enough interest I'll post a recruitment thread.

Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures. My all time favorite D&D and I really like the collaborative world building.

Empire of the East. The setting, if not the DCC rules. The Goodman Games sourcebook is nice, I just prefer other rules, could even try it with BtW rules...

Pirates & Dragons. From Cakebread & Walton. Pirates, Dragons, monster, magic, a fun setting. I would probably use the OneDice version of the rules for simplicity for PbP.

Rocket Age. 1930's pulp scifi. Either classic Vortex or 5e rules.

Posted: **Tue Sep 21, 2021 2:14 pm**

Never played Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures, but it looks interesting. I didn't know anyone did an Empire of the East setting or rules but I loved all the books. I might be up for playing in one of those.

Posted: **Wed Sep 22, 2021 9:20 am**

DavetheLost wrote: ↑Tue Sep 21, 2021 11:37 am Empire of the East. The setting, if not the DCC rules. The Goodman Games sourcebook is nice, I just prefer other rules, could even try it with BtW rules...

can you elaborate a little more on this?

Posted: **Wed Sep 22, 2021 11:57 pm**

Empire of the East is a series of short novels by Fred Saberhagen, collected into an anthology titled EotE. It is mostly fantasy, wizards, demons, magic, swords, etc, but set in a world with a few science fiction elements in it. The titular Empire is the antagonist of the setting. A massive empire trying to dominate the continent, if not the world, through technology and magic. The heroes of the novels are the Free Peoples, guerilla fighters who stand against the Empire. The world is a post apocalypse one. The apocalypse was a cataclysmic war the energies of which brought about the Change, releasing demons and magic back into the world.

Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures is a D&D varient, inspired by coming of age young adult fantasy such as the Hobbit, Earthsea and Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles. Characters all hail from the same village and are the locals with the potential to become heroes. Th egame includes a number of collaborative elements from character generation onwards. Part of the character generation process is also generating the village, its places and people.

The two seem a good fit to me. EotE follows a similar story arc although in a more adult style.

Posted: **Thu Sep 23, 2021 4:27 am**

@DavetheLost, I would be interested to play in one of the games you proposed. My only hesitiation is that I am unfamiliar with DCC rules, Goodman Games, or OneDice. I would not want my inexperience to slow the pace of your game. Nevertheless, I'm open to learning a new rule set - I'd be happy to join you if you could patiently bear with me.

As one piece of unsolicited advice, D&D 5E rules are not ideal for PbP unless they're significantly simplified.

Did any of the games I proposed earlier in this thread pique your interest as a player?

SilverBen wrote: ↑Fri Sep 03, 2021 5:01 am

Posted: **Thu Sep 23, 2021 4:49 am**

I could be talked into any of them SilverBen. I actually played in one of them with you before. It was the very first game I played in on this site.

Posted: **Thu Sep 23, 2021 9:10 am**

the setting is intriguing

i'd have to look into those rules first though

Posted: **Thu Sep 23, 2021 3:21 pm**

Beyond the Wall has always interested me.

Posted: **Fri Oct 22, 2021 4:13 pm**

Anyone interested in running Warrior, Rogue, Mage in the Glorantha setting?

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