advice

PBEM Advice

Since I've been maintaining the G3 website, I've had a lot of people ask me about the mechanics of running a PBEM game and how I deal with the problems which come up. This page is my own attempt to explain how I do things, and how I go from sending out bare-bones turns with one sided (NPC only) conversations to having pages upon pages of PC-PC and PC-NPC interactions.

If anyone has other questions they'd like to see addressed on this page, write to me and I'll update it. Thanks!

The Mechanics:

I write turns for the players, which are usually similar but slightly personalized (but not always), which I send out on Sunday nights. The players typically begin to resond to bits and pieces of converstation by Monday morning, and this continues for several days (the deadline is Thursday at 5 pm PST). For example, if I send out this:

...Getting a hold of Protector is a little trickier, but Cassie does have Maria Chow's pager number (Odyssey had left the night before with promises that the two of them would have lunch later in the week to discuss how things were going.) Leaving her cellular number, the call is returned in about fifteen minutes.

"Hiya, this is Silver Avenger Chow. I received a page from this number?" she asks.

Odyssey's player would write back with this:

"Good morning, Avenger, this is Odyssey," Cassie says, thinking at least I didn't call her from home. Well, I've probably blown that secret identity. How did Superman keep this up? Hmmm...I wonder if she'd believe me if I said I was a statue in the museum's Greek exhibit that could only come alive for 12 hours a day. Nah, that's too weird. Then again, who would believe that a "superheroine" had to hold down a day job to make ends meet?

"I have a lead on some information related to the kidnappings. A friend of the family may be able to help. I need to meet him tonight and he invited the rest of gang along as well. Now I've talked to Knightblade, but I don't have a number to call Protector. I was hoping you might know how I could reach him. Also, I thought perhaps Psynergie would like to come along. Do you know how I can contact her?"

Then I as GM would respond:

"Hmmm. Psynergie may be a tricky one, but I'll ask Agent Kestler. As for Protector, I know how to get in contact with him -- try this radio frequency." She hears papers being shuffled. "Ah, here we go." She rattles off another radio frequency...

And of course, this goes on and on. (The full conversation is available on the Turns page, under "Odyssey's Lunch with the Avengers.") This isn't as laborious as it seems -- typically in each e-mail message, several conversational threads are being pursued at once. "Odyssey's lunch with the Avengers" took three days of messages back and forth, and perhaps a collective hour or two.

This system also holds true for PC-PC interactions -- just make sure that the players cc a copy of everything to you as the GM. There are occasions when you might have to stop a player and say, "No, that's not true," and backtrack a bit, but it's quite a bit easier than if you filtered every tiny bit of conversation between players!

Random bits of PBEM advice from my own learning experiences:

Start small. Don't take on ten players without having some sort of idea of what you're getting into. I think three is the perfect number.
Be discriminating. I require a lot from my players, both in terms of good roleplaying and commitment to the story. If they can't handle the load -- twenty or so messages a week plus a three page turn response, then they'll drag everyone down and just frustrate you. If they're munchkins, they will drive you crazy -- see below.
Let the players help you. In my case, this means that I allow the players significant leeway in defining their lives outside of the immediate plot. Players in my game (usually) write for "their" NPCs (DNPCs and minor figures in their lives) in addition to themselves. This only works if you have mature roleplayers who won't use this opportunity to abuse your policy.
Keep the party together as much as you can. If you find you're being swamped with too much work in your game, get everybody together, and just let them talk for a turn or two. The players will enjoy the sheer interaction and opportunity for roleplaying, and other than writing for an NPC or two, you'll get a break. Also, if your players are doing their jobs with their turn responses, they'll give you jumping off points for your next turn.
Ask for help. If you're keeping everthing and posting to the web, ask a player to compile all of the messages for you, or ask everyplayer to keep track of their own interactions. Also, don't hesitate to ask HTML proficient players to assist you with your web site (eh, Jen and Tim?)
If it's not fun for you anymore, don't do it. No one's forcing you to run a game with a gun to your head, and if it's become too much work, then take a breather. I had to postpone my game for a couple of months when school came crashing down on me, and I'm glad for the break -- and looking forward to starting up again. PBEM is fun, but it's more work than a regular game is, in my opinion.
If a player has become too disruptive, kick them out and save your sanity. I'm a great believer in sanity (CoC influence?) Safeguard those SAN points!

Useful PBEM links, for additional advice: