Flow of Play

How Play-By-Post Works

Our biggest goal in PBP is to reduce the number of back-and-forth clarifications, dialogues, calls for skill checks, etc. Time is money here, and while that will make things feel a bit stilted sometimes, it will also give us a chance to flex our RP muscle and stick by the rules as much as possible. With that in mind, here's how play will go:

1. Skills: I'll automatically roll any Perception checks needed to spot something (e.g., opposed Perception to spot a trap or hidden enemy, Perception to see loot or notice a suspicious section of wall) using your modifiers. You can roll more specific checks at any time--Sense Motive, Stealth, Knowledge, etc.
   
2. Description: I'll strive to give you enough of a description of salient features in the environment to let you make quick, informed decisions. For example, in a normal game, this exchange might happen: "You see a high, stone wall." "Could I climb it?" "Roll Perception...okay. You think you could climb it, but there are some loose stones that would make it more difficult." "What if I used a rope?" "That might work." "Okay, I'll use the rope and grapnel to get over it." We obviously can't bog down PBP with an exchange that long, so instead I'll say something like: "You see a high, stone wall. An experienced climber might be able to reach the top unaided, but the loose stones and mortar suggest that a rope and grapnel might be safer." That way, all you have to do is tell me whether you want to climb it.
   
3. Combat: In combat, all players will act as a single unit, and all enemies will act as a single unit. I'll roll initiative for the PCs and enemies individually, then take the highest roll on either side as the initiative for the "teams." In this way, I'll be able to post all enemy actions at once; when we reach the player "phase," I'll resolve actions in the order that you post them. Enemy's ACs will be posted so that you can immediately calculate whether an attack was a hit, then roll damage if appropriate; saves will be kept private. If one player's action obviates another's (e.g., Firyali wanted to attack an enemy, but Halmier just bull-rushed it over a cliff) I'll give you the opportunity to re-post before enemies go again.
   
4. Rolling: I'd like to be able to use the "rand" function here on the forums, but it unfortunately returns a different number every time you go in to edit a post. You can roll physical dice or virtual dice, your choice; as with real life, my trust in the veracity of your rolls is complete.   Just tell me what the roll was and what you're adding, and we should be good to go! Do remember to check out the "Combat Quick Toggle" portion of your character sheet to see whether you have any active buffs that shouldn't be there, or any inactive buffs that should. Activate any abilities by typing "x" in the box.
   
5. Combat Map/Grid: I still don't have this one figured out. I'd like to use a grid layout, as Pathfinder has a whole host of rules for flanking, attacks of opportunity, etc., that don't work outside of a grid. Any tool I find will ideally have coordinates so that everyone can specify which space they're moving to.
   
6. Experience: I'll post your current progression toward next level after every event that would give you XP. (XP 800/2000) means that everyone in the group is 40% of the way to Level 2.
   
7. Loot: In a normal game I might have us use Appraise rules, but again, PBP is already slow enough. I'll add whatever you find to the group loot stash, along with the expected sale value. Whenever we get back to a town, I'll check which pieces of equipment you want to keep, then liquidate the rest.
   
8. Resting: The formal rule on resting in Pathfinder is that you gain back your level in hit points per eight hours of rest unless using the Heal skill to treat deadly wounds. Brutal! ...and way too slow: we're going to go with the old standby houserule that everyone regains all HP when resting. That said, I would highly discourage you from resting in dungeons--as the game progresses, enemies will have more and more resources to throw at you, including Divination magic to know exactly where you are, and it's ludicrous to think that they would pass up the opportunity to ambush you as you slept in their home turf.
   
9. Overworld Exploration: Sometimes, choices involve more than just a yes, no, or skill check. In cases where the world is fairly wide open for exploration (e.g., in town, when choosing between multiple doors, etc.) I'll ask for courses of action. If a consensus emerges, we'll do that; if it doesn't, we'll discuss a little more.
   
10. Dialogue: Characters will mostly speak in longer monologues. If you've got multiple questions to ask, ask them all in one post to save time. As always, social interaction is a great place to show off character and develop backstory, so really let loose--there's no need to act, use funny voices, or do anything else here. Just write!