PbP and online games Options

[Raiden]

Hey I want to play some SR4, cant find anyone in my area so I checked up on online games, how does PbP work? like, does the GM roll the dice for the PCs or does every one roll thier own? do people use video chat or chat things like mumble, or skype at all for it? just new to it and don't wanna go in blind as you say lol.

[Tanegar]

Invisible Castle is generally used for dice rolls, at least in the games I've played in.

[tisoz]

It varies game by game.

[Byrel]

While it varies quite a bit, what seems to be typical is GM rolls perception and player rolls everything else.

One thing that seems to be fairly common in PbP is some uncertainty on the player's part about what modifiers to apply to their dice roll. Conversations about dice pools can easily take a week to get things settled ahead of time. From what I've seen (primarily as a spectator; I've only played a few months PbP myself) the player will usually roll a high-ball number instead, and the GM can correct them by simply chopping a few dice off the end of the sequence.

So far as actual rolling, folks tend to use either Invisible Castle or PBE Games.

[nylanfs]

I have never really been able to get into pbp games. I like immediate (or almost immediate) reactions. I'd recommend looking into a virtual tabletop program like Fantasy Grounds, d20 Pro, or Maptool.

[Raiden]

Thanks for the info guys. I will check into some of the stuff you guys mentioned

[_Pax._]

Hey I want to play some SR4, cant find anyone in my area so I checked up on online games, how does PbP work? like, does the GM roll the dice for the PCs or does every one roll thier own? do people use video chat or chat things like mumble, or skype at all for it? just new to it and don't wanna go in blind as you say lol.

Depends on the GM. For any given game, any one or all of those questions could receive a "yes", or a "no". In any conceivable combination, too.

If you head over to Role-Play Online, which is a free forum for PbP gaming, you might be able to find a Shadowrun game or two advertising for players in the Wanted - Players forum. And RPOL has a built-in die rolling application that can easily handle the Shadowrun 4 system (and dozens of others).

[Gigapulse]

I recently found that there is a lot of people playing p&p RPG over google hangouts. I have been looking to play Shadowrun and Eclipse Phase through hangouts but haven't found a GM intrested in running the games. A good start is to circle tabletop forge and see who's using it, maybe you can find someone that using the app for shadowrun, and you could ask to get in.

[KnightAries]

I heard something about using google hangout on google+ and Tabletop Forge. I was also looking at maptool.
I never saw anything in fantasy ground that made it appealing for my online use.

I'm planning on running a campaign with my friends who are all spread across time zones.

[Speed Wraith]

I'd love to do a G+/Hangouts based game myself. With some of the tools Google has to offer (Docs/Drive, Sites, Groups, even using G+ to create a page for your character to do in-character blogging - Pito anyone?).

PbP is interesting, although the one I tried to get into lately stalled out as the GM hasn't been around for a while. The pace can be a bit slow, or too frantic from what I've seen, but it appeals to me personally because I like to write fiction anyway.

[Raiden]

If anyone is gonna do a google hangout game or anything let me know! I'd love to participate

[Speed Wraith]

If anyone is gonna do a google hangout game or anything let me know! I'd love to participate

I'd likewise be interested. Heck, I'd volunteer to run a game that way, but I just don't have the time to write material right now.

[_Pax._]

I too would be interested, as a player. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[bannockburn]

Generally, I hate the long, drawn-out sessions of a PbP or PbE adventure or campaign. It is tedious, it takes ages to complete one adventure, let alone a campaign and sometimes, players or GMs drop out somewhere in the middle. For inplay sessions, forums or mailing lists are fine, but in my opinion, not for real play. It's a matter of preference, though.
Me, I don't even have a RL group anymore (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)
Instead, I play over IRC, with a dicebot in a chat channel. It's real-time, cuts down on ooc-chatter (there usually is a lot of it in RL games, and I am not innocent of adding to this (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ) and gives easy access to log files. For sketches and floor plans, I use http://scriblink.com/ and it works out pretty well, most of the time.
The sessions tend to take a bit longer than a game at a table, so I give 1 Karma per session for ongoing motivation (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Raiden]

are you running a game at the moment with it?

[bannockburn]

Me? Yes. In German (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)
We're between runs at the moment (one player is on vacation), but will start again as soon as she's back.
I usually play with 2-4 players max, as it's easier to organize and gives more opportunities to shine for each one. The player characters are a pretty diverse bunch with a broad skillset.

[Speed Wraith]

Too bad my Deutsche is sehr schlect. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[KnightAries]

Me? Yes. In German (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)
We're between runs at the moment (one player is on vacation), but will start again as soon as she's back.
I usually play with 2-4 players max, as it's easier to organize and gives more opportunities to shine for each one. The player characters are a pretty diverse bunch with a broad skillset.

Too bad my Deutsche is sehr schlect.

Google translete??? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[bannockburn]

I'd rather GM in English than having to play with someone who uses this abomination (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Speed Wraith]

So is anyone out there thinking about running an English-language campaign using Hangouts and various tools scattered throughout the web and available through Google, 'cause I'd really love to try and get in on a bi-weekly game like this. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Man, if I had the time to write a campaign, I'd so do this...maybe I could find the time if folks wanted to get on board. Hmm...

[Raiden]

So is anyone out there thinking about running an English-language campaign using Hangouts and various tools scattered throughout the web and available through Google, 'cause I'd really love to try and get in on a bi-weekly game like this. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Man, if I had the time to write a campaign, I'd so do this...maybe I could find the time if folks wanted to get on board. Hmm...

I have myself and at least 1-2 people that would most likely be interested. hell, I could even help with the campaign if I had to, ( not the details if you are running, but like ideas, settings, goals, the like XD)

[Speed Wraith]

I'm going to go for it, I have at least a basic framework of a story arc in my head already and think this is worth trying out. Anyone intersted can check on my recruitment thread.

[bannockburn]

Best of luck and have a lot of fun (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
I'd play, but I don't want to make another character and I'm too attached to my current ones (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)
Will you write a review how it went?

[Speed Wraith]

If I have time, I will for sure share my thoughts, but my primary concern before committing to running a remote game was finding time to write original material (and I prefer running my own stuff over pre-printed, so I kind of have to!). I found a great link from someone in a different thread for a Tabletopforge app that works in Google Hangouts, so I'm going to end up playing with that a while to see how it goes.

[KnightAries]

If I have time, I will for sure share my thoughts, but my primary concern before committing to running a remote game was finding time to write original material (and I prefer running my own stuff over pre-printed, so I kind of have to!). I found a great link from someone in a different thread for a Tabletopforge app that works in Google Hangouts, so I'm going to end up playing with that a while to see how it goes.

I know I read about tabletop forge and also mentioned it in a forum.
I'm looking forward to using it myself.