In this thread I will discuss the formatting we will follow for this PbP game. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them below.
I will require at least one responding post from every player as I want you to choose which text color will be associated with your character. Character speech will not only be in quotations, but will also be colored, like "
red" for NPC speech. Character thoughts will also be colored and italicized,
like so. This will make distinguishing characters easier. Narration of character actions will be left black. If you want to say something OOC that should accompany your gameplay post rather than go in the OOC subforum, please stay in character by confining such text to spoiler buttons.
Otherwise, OOC chatter should go in a thread in the respective subforum. The gameplay subforum should be reserved for, you guessed it, gameplay. For those who don't know, the spoiler button is the one that looks like a hill with some clouds. All of the formatting options I've mentioned can be used by first highlighting the relevant text and then hitting the respective button.
We will not be using Min/Max Boards's die roller as Roll20 has an excellent one we will be using instead. Even if your die roll has nothing to do with a map, please be sure simply to log it in Roll20 to remain consistent. If your character needs to make indirect, tactical movements on the map, you can show which squares he has passed through by drawing a line of the color you chose for your character. The DM will delete this after he's seen it, but if you need to draw another line before the DM has gotten around to it, label the second line "2" the third "3" and so on. The line tool is accessed by clicking on the paintbrush icon. Of course, relying on Roll20 for die rolls and maps as we are necessitates that all the players have an account. If you don't already, free full membership can be acquired here:
https://app.roll20.net/account/create. Once you are a member, navigate to this URL so that you can join the Kingmaker game:
https://app.roll20.net/join/361170/hfLzLQ.
You may also want to get an account at Myth Weavers, as they provide excellent character sheets that practically fill themselves in. Free full membership can be acquired here:
www.myth-weavers.com/register.php. If you don't have or get an account at Myth Weavers, I highly advise that you fill out a full character sheet to make sure you haven't missed anything. I have a free fillable pdf form that is excellent. Let me know if you want a copy. Either way, your character sheet or a link to your character sheet should be posted in your individual thread in the Character Sheets subforum.
The only two remaining subforums will be filled by the DM to be used as references for the players. Copies of the maps used on Roll20 will be found in the Maps subforums, but will not be the maps we actively use. Pretty much everything else will end up in the General Knowledge subforum. Finally, ...
Some Good Rules of Thumb
1. Ask questions of nobody in particular.
The main death of PbP is a bottleneck and resulting lack of interest caused by one player who stops posting. Don't make the game more vulnerable to this problem. As much as possible, ask questions of the group rather than one particular person. Otherwise, the narrative has to wait for that person to respond. Understandably, this can't always be helped.
2. State contingent actions.
If your action is dependent on something else, state what your contingent action(s) will be, if practical. This is a good use of the spoiler button. You'll probably find yourself most often in this position when your actions depend on an NPC's (the DM's) actions. I'm sure he'll appreciate you streamlining the process, so go ahead and post contingent reactions.
3. Within reason, narrate party actions.
Instead of four people saying the same thing or four people waiting for each other to say it for them, try narrating mundane or expected party actions. For instance, if your party enters a tavern, it is not unreasonable when you're posting to narrate that your entire party walks up to the bar, even though you're only supposed to control your own character. Another example would be a situation where the party is voting on a course of action, and you're the last person to post your vote. If your vote confirms a unanimous choice, then go ahead and narrate the party's course of action. If you're not sure whether party narration is appropriate in a given situation, then don't bother. In any event, each player has the final say in what their character does and the DM always has the right to retcon and the ability to modify posts, so any contradictory narration need not be permanent. That being said, if you disagree with any narration for your character, you have to say so in the immediately subsequent post. If you don't the assumption is that you're OK with the narration and any consequences it might entail.
