PbP Games - What the hell do we want?

[GoatBoy]

Our forum history is a mess of attempted forum games which barely got off the ground, only to crash before even taking flight, piles of flaming hopes and broken dreams. There is the occasional shining star, but it only serves to illuminate the mangled masses of failure and death.

Maybe it's not that bad, but there's a lot of interest in play-by-post games, despite the fact that very few have gone anywhere. Rather than starting up yet another one, I figure that first we could check and see what everyone expects from them.

So, here is a list of topics upon which I'd like people to comment. I often list extreme cases as examples, but do say so if you are in the middle or veer only slightly to one side. Please offer detailed, helpful feedback, such that we can develop and run ideal games, and guarantee good times for all*.

*Guarantee not guaranteed

Competitive or Co-operative?
Do you want all players to be working for the same goal, or do you want a competitive game where you can enjoy the thrill of victory and lament the agony of defeat?

Turn Frequency?
Do you want to be able to post as often as the mood strikes you and the GM is available, or do you want to make a single, detailed post with your actions for the next turn, every 2-3 days?

Rules Enforcement?
Do you want gameplay determined by the results of random rolls and clearly defined rules, or will you trust in the judgment of the GM?

Your Role?
Who do you want to be? A single adventurer? A team? A conscript? A peasant? Ruler of a nation? A corporate shill? A deity? Jerry Lewis?

Degree of Roleplay?
Do you want to define your character as you play and let their personality evolve on its own, or do you want a detailed world history and a clear description of your character's place within it?

Setting?
Any preferences? Heroic fantasy? Plague-ridden medieval? Futuristic? Plague-ridden modern day? Alternate history? Plague-ridden alien planet? Hospital infectious disease ward?

Degree of Player-Player Interaction?
Do you see this as a team effort, or do you not want people all up in your shit? That is, do you want the actions of other players to bear directly on your experience, or would you prefer at least a modest degree of isolation, such that you can develop your serfdom into a totalitarian theocracy without interference and place yourself at its head as the god-king of the pathetic, snivelling masses?

Character Statistics?
Do you want your character's strengths and weaknesses to be quantified and an exact count of how many widgets you are carrying, or are you Tordek, son of Tordek, in it for all the bitches and that's all you need to know?

Anything Else?

[kultz]

Competitive or Co-operative?
Cooperative. Competitive games make every player want to play Mary Sues to cover all their bases. Cooperative games facilitate interesting characters.

Turn Frequency?
Loose is better.

Rules Enforcement?
Simple set of rules. Results are arbitrated by DM if necessary. I want to be fighting plot, not numbers.


Your Role?
A team of some sort, preferably gathered by force so skip long-winded "you meet in a bar" scenes.
Low powered makes for better roleplay. A collection of dirty peasants or Soviet conscripts tends to come up with more 'cunning plans' than a team of Spetznaz Wizard Princes.

Degree of Roleplay?
Simpler the better. I don't wish to read a wall of text explaining someone's penchant for cherry pies.

Setting?
Small town. Simple problem.
"Shotscreek, Colorado. Demons are spewing out of an outhouse."

Degree of Player-Player Interaction?
Lots. Beef McSmackgood's fumble with his axe should affect Snivel McWizard's concentration.

Character Statistics?
Tordek, son of Tordek. DM arbitrated outcomes based on character and roleplay is all the stats I need.

Anything Else?
I enjoy settings where people die. Preferably violently.

[Iron Wall]

Competitive or Co-operative?
Co-op.

Turn Frequency?
Probably once or twice a day.

Rules Enforcement?
Rolls-lite, I don't want to have to read a book to understand the game. A simple explanation should suffice.

Your Role?
A town guard/police detective/law enforcement individual.

Degree of Roleplay?
Defined through play.

Setting?
Futuristic, or alternate history. Fantasy is cool though, though Iron Heroes-esque fantasy would be more enjoyable.

Degree of Player-Player Interaction?
The modest degree of isolation with the possibility of teamwork would be nice.

Character Statistics?
Some statistics, but not an overwhelming amount. I'd rather let play, rolls, and DM fiat decide what happens.

Anything Else?
Sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll.

[captaincommunism]

Competitive or Co-operative?
>good with either, so:
--> IF competitive, then NOT D20 BASED. Pantheon worked, more or less. has to be ALL THE WAY COMPETITIVE THOUGH.
--> IF COOPERATIVE: fully cooperative.

Turn Frequency?
Once per day updates would be sufficient. once per two days is probably more realistic. note that that should be one day players post --> next day dm posts.

Rules Enforcement?
Simple rules, DM arbitrates complex actions. Less randomness than d20+1 would be nice, though.

Your Role?
DEFINITELY JERRY LEWIS AND/OR WOODY ALLEN. I mean... Conscript with 1-2 specialties.

Degree of Roleplay?
Isaac level. ACTIONS DEFINE YOU.

Setting?
ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. or velocirapture. No magic, or if not, low magic.

Degree of Player-Player Interaction?
When necessary. characters should feel like a team. characters should not be mary sue in order to necessitate team based game.

Character Statistics?
Only a few major things that are important. weapon, armour, interesting widget #1 and maybe #2. otherwise, specialize in two or three things, and get reasonable bonus in them.

Anything Else?
GOD DAMMIT CRAIG THAT WAS GOING TO BE MY LINE.
also: scenario should be lethal enough that we may probably die with poor teamwork, but not so lethal that good teamwork doesn't matter.

[greencloak]

Competitive or Cooperative?
Coop lets players develop characters that are specialized for a certain role in a group, whereas competitive players make Mary Sues that can cover any possible weak point to avoid backstabbing.

Turn Frequency?
Not so strict that players feel forced into keeping a tight schedule, but not so loose that players can duck out for weeks at a time.

Rules Enforcement?
Simple rules, nothing requiring a textbook worth of background knowledge.

Your Role?
Something that allows diversity and some degree of customization.

Degree of Roleplay?
Simple enough, but if players want to elaborate a little, let them. Nothing LOTR level, though. Also, there should be laughs, but this shouldn't be Derp RPG.
 
Setting?
Sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy, zombie apocalypse, anything that isn't normal by everyday standards.

Degree of Player-Player Interaction?
There should be some, but the game shouldn't be dependent upon players assisting each other to stay alive. The actions of players should also have some rudimentary cause-and-effect towards other players (within reason).

Character Statistics?
Not too many, just things like a weapon, some armor, a skill specialization, maybe some health and other random statistics, and we're good to go.

Anything Else?
I liked Men At Arms Quest, due to its structure that allowed players to jump in at any time, as well as the fact that the storyline wasn't dependent upon one player's posting schedule. I'm not saying you should make Men At Arms Quest 2.0, I'm just pointing something out and bouncing around ideas. Aside from that, I have one humble request.

MAKE
THE
CAMPAIGN
AWESOME

[Jfan999]

Ok here is a game pitch based loosely on what everyone who's posted so far seems to want. I'm playing with the order of questions so that the game will be easier to understand

Competitive or Co-operative?
Co-operative game play.

Setting?
Planet AU794, a uninhabited planet that you have been sent to colonize. You must survive one year until the next supply drop arrives.

Your Role?
You a member of the first 100 colonists of Planet AU794. You could be a engineer, agricultural expert, ect

Character Statistics?
Pick a specialization, you roll an extra die for any task that is involved in your specialization.

Degree of Player-Player Interaction?
There will be major events that effect all players, but any other interaction is up to you.

Turn Frequency?
Post when ever you want, if you're not posting its assumed that your character is off doing something relating to their job.

Rules
Any time you wish to complete a complex action roll a D6, if your specialization applies roll 2d6 and take the higher of the two numbers.
6: critical success
5: success
4: success but something goes wrong
3: failure but something goes right
2: failure
1: critical failure


Degree of Roleplay?
Keep all your actions at the top of your post, I don't want to have to read through all your fluff to find out what actions you're taking. Also try not to write a novel for each post.


Anyone interested?

[TurtleClaw]

Anyone interested?

Yes.

[Iron Wall]

Totally yes.

[Fatso]

Hell fucking yes.

[GoatBoy]

Fo' shizzle.

[NauticalMongoose]

HARLANDO MARRAS: SPACE EXPLORER! Space shall be brought into the wondrous Iberian Civilization! For honor, glory, and the space-pope!


(Actually I think I'll play a different character for a change)

[splinterchaos]

Competitive or Co-operative?
Company?

Turn Frequency?
How many turns does it take to make your shower warm?

Rules Enforcement?
He who rules?

Your Role?
A good one, probably a critical hit.

Degree of Roleplay?
Hot, very hot. No wait... cold.

Setting?
No, rising.

Degree of Player-Player Interaction?
THIS is the hot one.

Character Statistics?
Lies, damn lies..... and this.

Anything Else?
Cheezeburgers?

[greencloak]

Anyone interested?

(As John finishes saying this, I step into the room, rendered nearly unrecognizable by the massive space suit I am wearing.)

Perhaps.

[kultz]

Me three.

[Cataphrak]

Jehoshaphat "Hossie" Aaron Jameson: Actin' Gov'nor, proud gun collector, and member in good standing of th' Church of Latter Day Saints, reportin' in!

[Gaming]

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