PBEM Guidelines
TO LADY HAMILTON.
Victory, October 19th, 1805, Noon, Cadiz, E.S.E., 16 Leagues.
My dearest beloved Emma, the dear friend of my bosom. The signal has been
made that the Enemy's Combined Fleet are coming out of Port. We have very
little wind, so that I have no hopes of seeing them before to-morrow. May
the God of Battles crown my endeavours with success; at all events, I will
take care that my name shall ever be most dear to you and Horatia, both of
whom I love as much as my own life. And as my last writing before the Battle
will be to you, so I hope in God that I shall live to finish my letter after
the Battle. May Heaven bless you prays your
NELSON AND BRONTE.
October 20th. In the morning, we were close to the Mouth of the Straits, but the wind had not come far enough to the Westward to allow the Combined Fleets to weather the Shoals off Trafalgar; but they were counted as far as forty Sail of Ships of War, which I suppose to be thirty-four of the Line, and six Frigates. A group of them was seen off the Lighthouse of Cadiz this morning, but it blows so very fresh and thick weather, that I rather believe they will go into the Harbour before night. May God Almighty give us success over these fellows, and enable us to get a Peace.
Admiral Nelson's last letter to his mistress, Lady Hamilton
I've wondered for a while how to really combine PBEM games with FTF games. In most genres, I'm not sure there is a good way to do it. But for this game, I hit upon the idea of letter writing. Epistolary novels were popular during this period, and letter writing was the only way to stay in touch over long distances. It was also how a large part of how an educated woman spent her day.
The PBEM portion of the game will consist of letters between characters - PBEM PCs can correspond with FTF PCs, with other PBEM PCs, or with NPCs of both types. PBEM players will be largely responsible with coming up with stories for their characters -- while I as the GM am available for advice, suggestions (and overruling if it's necessary), you don't have to consult me for advice to determine how most situations/combats/problems resolve.
PBEM players will create
a character according to the same guidelines the FTF players used. PBEM
characters may be in the military - in fact, I'd greatly enjoy a naval hero
or two recounting sea battles for his mother/father/wife/sister/brother/fiancée/friend
back home in England! Characters may also be Americans, Britons in India (or
anywhere else in the empire), or somewhere in between. Diplomats - or members
of a diplomatic family - would make good characters as well, and would allow
the others to catch glimpses of what life is like in another corner of the
globe. But characters do not have to be further than the next shire. Roads
weren't good, and most people didn't travel more than five or ten miles from
their homes as a matter of course.
The FTF players are not required to participate in any PBEM letter writing
as part of the game, but I do encourage it (not only because they'll receive
extra experience points). I think this is a great way to expand the world
of the PCs, to set up subplots, develop primary plots, and to let the players
really determine the course of the game.
PBEM characters need to get their concept approved by the GM (that's me, Shelley -- scm@mactyre.net) before proceeding with writing a background and generating a character sheet.
PBEM turns -- the letters -- should be posted to the yahoo! groups list, and will be collected and posted on the website as well. Make arrangements with the other PCs who will be involved with your turns before you get started -- I can tell you from experience that Duke Warrington will never, ever participate in a PBEM turn (I love my husband dearly, but he doesn't PBEM, period). =) If you want to write to an NPC, that's fine, too! Just let me know.