Sam

ple

file

ContentsIntroduction - What is PBEM? 3

What PBEM is 5What PBEM is not 6Sharing Quest With Your Players 7

Getting Started 7Vanishing Acts and Drop Outs 10

Coping With thePBEM Grim Reaper 10

The Collective Introductory Email 12Resources 13

Quest V1.3 14Glossary of Terms 15Fine Play & Broad Play 16

Zooming In on the Action 16Example of Fine Play 16Common Problems With Fine Play 16Zooming Out of the Action 17Example of Broad Play 17Common Problems with Broad Play 17

The Act and the Chapter 18Acts 18Chapters 18Act Structure 18Acts in Action-

Examples of Acts in Use 20The GM and Keeping

Control of an Act 29The Unbreakable Rules of

Writing an Act 32Using Acts to Keep a Game Log 33Chapters 34Chapter Schedule 34

Learning Quest 40Troubleshooting-

When Acts Go Bad 40Format Tags and Ugly Chevrons 40Interjecting Response Tags 40Disputes and Disagreements

GMs vs Players 43Finagling 44GM Finagling 44Meta Gaming 45

Further Reading 46

QUESTversion 1.3

play by email system

Written by David Sharrock

Artwork by Ash Jackson

PlaytestersDavid Sharrock, Fred Fleury, Mark Jack,Andrew Scott, Wyn F Dawkins, MattyRhea, Suzanna Hope, Nick Davis, Ben

Finkel, Dennis Castello, Richard Scott,Phil Lanz, Chaim Haycombe.

Original Edition 2005 Forever People Games & RPGDigital Second Edition 2007 Forever People Digital Press

No unauthorised redistribution

www.foreverpeoplerpg.com

Sam

ple

file

Introduction - WHAT IS PBEM?

The 'play by mail' method of playing games is not a newconcept, in fact, as a gaming format play-by-post orplay-by-mail has been an integral part of the gamingcircuit long before the instigation of the modern fantasyroleplaying era back in the 1960s and 70s. Indeed,playing games by correspondence has been a recurringmethod of sharing and enjoying the experience of gamesfor many centuries.

Of course, only in recent decades has the play-by-mail orPBM method been adopted to the roleplaying and wargamingidiom. Previously PBM was reserved mainly to the playingof Chess, a game which lends itself particularly well tolong, drawn out gaps between turns.

The RPG/War/Strategy game phenomenon began in the 60s,around the same time as the emergence of wizards, dragonsand dungeons around tabletops across the world, with therise in popularity of a commercial game calledDiplomacy™, written by John Boardman. This simplestrategy game began life as a basic fanzine, laterevolving into a much larger and commercially publishedgame which involved players 'subscribing' to a certainnumber of turns. Players would send their turns into agame moderator who then processed their turn, based onvarious conditions, and replied with a response outliningthe results of their actions.

Sam

ple

file

The commercial success of Diplomacy, combined with therising popularity of games like Dungeons & Dragons™, saw the development of numerous similar games, some of whicherred away from the non-fictional aspects of Diplomacy,favouring instead the fantasy, sword and sorcery andadventurous elements of D&D. Strategy and wargamesprevailed, however, lending themselves better to theprotracted periods between snail-mail turns, but alsobeing more easily adapted to software, the mostattractive method of moderating a game, particularly onewith hundreds of players.

Play-By-Mail, more commonly referred to as PBM, reachedthe pinnacle of its popularity in the mid-eighties withthe creation of Gaming Universal and Flagship, the firstcommercially viable magazine dedicated to the PBM genreof gaming. At this time articles and advertisements forPBM also began appearing in mainstream gaming magazines,further enhancing the growing popularity of the hobby.

With the advent of the internet and more accessiblecomputer technology, PBM suffered greatly in the early90s, and has since been marginalised to near-negligiblelevels, with only a few thousand advocates worldwide.

However, interest in the play-by-correspondence methoddid not dwindle, instead shifting its focus from the slowand costly arena of snail-mail to the comparatively fastand free alternative - email.

Play-by-Email (PBEM) is sometimes referred to as play-by-internet (PBI) or erroneously as play-by-web (a technicalmisnomer since the world wide web plays no essential rolein the exchanging of emails- play-by-web has instead cometo refer to the practise of playing correspondence gameson internet forums). Whichever method is used, PBEM is away for geographically or circumstantially separatedindividuals to play a game together regardless ofdistance, time or cultural differences. Any game can by

played by email, from Chess toScrabble, Warhammer to Diplomacy,

Traveller to d20. However, thisfile focuses almost entirelyupon the practise of playingroleplaying games via email,and indeed the Quest systemis designed primarily foruse with RPG.

Sam

ple

file

WHAT PBEM IS

RPG based PBEM is an extraordinarily simple concept. As with face-to-face gaming around a tabletop, most games will include a handful ofplayers, a gamesmaster and a ruleset. Since PBEM lends itself well toless linear types of roleplay and can be slowed down by the necessityfor dice rolls and rules, many PBEM adherents prefer not to use aruleset at all, figuring things out with common sense, or basingtheir trust on the GM's judgement. Ruleset play and non-ruleset playare equally popular.

The GM is usually the instigator of a game, pro-actively recruitingplayers, then kick-starting the game with an introduction email.Games can be open-ended (equivalent to campaign play) or close-ended(single adventures or one off games). When players receive theopening gambit they will respond in turn with their actions anddecisions just as players around a gaming table will let their GMknow what their characters intend to do and say. Where the GM isplaying an active role as an NPC, moderating the outcome of an actionor setting a scene, he may play an active role in the subsequent to-ing and fro-ing of emails. Sometimes, however, the GM will take abackseat and watch as players interact together, just as sometimeshappens with tabletop roleplay.

There are certain glaring differences between face-to-face gaming andPBEM. A more formal atmosphere is generally prevalent. Players and GMrarely know one another as well as, say, a tabletop game groupcomprised of old school buddies; furthermore, comments that mightotherwise raise a smile in the real world could be easilymisconstrued in an internet setting. As with forums, newsgroups, chatrooms and other internet-based forms of correspondent settings, acertain level of etiquette is essential. For this reason, commentsreferencing real life, game rules, current events, the show on TVlast night, etc. are preceded with the abbreviation OOC (Out OfCharacter) while all roleplay related text is precursed with IC (InCharacter) so that both are clearly defined and no misunderstandingsarise. A sense of mutual respect, both for individuals and theactions of their characters, is essential.

A common misconception of PBEM when compared with traditionaltabletop roleplay is that PBEM is slow. This is incorrect. True,adventures played around the tabletop may take only a few gamesessions to complete where PBEM may take anything from a few monthsto a few years to complete the same thing, but the process is rarelylaborious. Because PBEM is textual, and because most players whoenjoy PBEM enjoy writing and like to take their time over each emailthey send, game play is much more involved than it is in atraditional setting. Where gamers around a tabletop may give asuccinct account of their character's intentions then move aminiature figure on a hex map, a PBEMer may wish to explore his/hercharacter's thoughts, or describe the character's actions as thoughwriting a paragraph in a story. Because time between turns allowsplayers to give consideration to situations and think on the actionsof other PCs or NPCs, they may take greater care than would playersunder the immediate pressure of the GM's "what do you do now?" As aresult, actions tend to be more measured, outcomes more in-depth andthe scope for studied roleplay much greater.

PBEM has other advantages besides. Players or GMs who may havetrouble sourcing likeminded friends in their local area are suddenlyexposed to a global village of eager players and game openings.Gamers who lack time or opportunity to enjoy prolific game sessionslasting hours, or full days, can still enjoy the hobby, partaking oftheir RPG in a piecemeal fashion. An ongoing game can lend a new andexciting spark to the oft-prosaic nature of everyday life. Working at

Sam

ple

file

your office PC is suddenly more interesting when a fresh game turnarrives in your inbox every few hours. Instead of looking forward tothat Sunday meet-up, every day now harbours a mini-game session!

What PBEM Is Not

Play-by-Email is not Play-by-Web, anotherform of online correspondence enacted inforums, newsgroups and Yahoo! groups.Though the same principals as describedabove apply in essence, the term PBEM doesnot correctly encompass these alternativearenas of play.

PBEM is not mutual, freeform storytelling,otherwise known as Simming. PBEM sometimesfalls under the category of Simming, butby and large Simming is considered to be aseparate entity and almost always playsout on forums or in newsgroups. Becausethese are sometimes serialised into weeklyor daily email digests, the term Simminghas become synonymous with PBEM. Simmingtends to attract writers who wish todescribe a story, each Simmer contributingto that story, either through a series ofcharacters, as a narrator, or simply as ageneral protagonist in developing theongoing tale. The use of RPG rulesets israre in a Simming game where writingability and imagination are far moreimportant than the restrictive andmoderating aspects of a game system.

PBEM is not a form of online gaming playedout through a software interface, such asNBOS' Screen Monkey. This method of gamingembraces the geographic and demographicspanning advantages of PBEM, but is muchcloser to the real-time tradition oftabletop roleplay, players and GM beingunder more pressure to write and thinkquickly than they would be if playing aplay-by-email game.

Quest relates only to RPG games played via email with human correspondentsand does not relate particularly well to boardgames or strategy games. Questdoes not lend itself well to web based games such as those played on Yahoo!Groups or other forums, however, the Quest system can be used for Simmingand has been proven to enhance Simming games, having been playtested withvarious Star Trek outings in the past.

This file attempts two things. The first is to introduce novice gamers tothe Play-by-Email arena, showing newcomers how to set up a game, sourceplayers, find a GM, configure email and get started. The second is to solvesome of the most commonly recurring problems associated with playing RPG viaemail, including common frustrations like contradicting threads, in-gametime anomalies, log keeping problems and transiting between detailed andgeneralised gameplay. Development of Quest is based on a protracted periodof playtesting lasting some three years (to date), thus you can be assuredmost of the problems have been ironed out and most of the common annoyancesPBEMers encounter have been addressed. In some cases, we have improved uponcurrent versions by removing unnecessary elements or ideas, thereby keepingthe system simple, but effective.

Sam

ple

file

In using Quest it is assumed that you are playing in a roleplaying gameusing electronic mail and that you are playing with a group of two or moreplayers and one moderator or gamesmaster. It is also assumed that theplayers and GM are posting as a group with all members of the game receivingall related emails.

SHARING QUEST WITH YOUR PLAYERSAs the proprietor of this file, you are restricted from freely distributingor sharing the file with others. However, if you are playing in a group andwould like to use the Quest system with that group, you will need yourplayers, or fellow players and GM, to have knowledge of the Quest system.For this reason, we have provided a link on our website where players ofyour group may download a free copy of the Quest file.

Cheap Seats Quest is a no-frills Notepad version of this file containingonly the most basic information (Acts and Chapters).

Alternatively, direct your players to...http://www.yourgamesnow.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=45where they can purchase the full PDF version for themselves.

GETTING STARTEDSo you have a great idea for a roleplaying game, or maybe you just boughtthe latest dungeon crawl PDF and you'd love to try it out on a bunch ofplayers. But you don't have the time to enjoy a Sunday session at your localgame-meet, or maybe there isn't a local game-meet, or maybe getting out andabout is hard for you. Maybe you simply don't know where to find likemindedroleplayers, or maybe you're trying out a new game system and you're nervousabout leaping into the deep end with players who already know the system.

Sounds like you've got a PBEM in the making.

Initially, you should ensure you have covered all the preparation necessaryin order to run your game, or game idea. You know the game system (at leastin theory). You have the rulebooks. If you've decided to put up a webpageregarding your game, the page is up and finished. Any graphics, writing, orpreparation work is done. If an interested group of players get in touchwith you, you can start the game straight away.

Expect the process of finding newplayers to take a few days, maybe

even a couple of weeks.

Your idea has hit you now! It's a great idea! You wantto play now! Avoid giving into that feeling ofimpatience and take your time to get everything ready

before you recruit players. Some GMs (most of whomshould know better) have an idea, log onto theirfavourite announcement site and start recruitingplayers, then set to working on the details of

Sam

ple

file