Lately I have noticed very few player in the welcome to the shadows section, and a significant ebb of the posting with games. Now I know PbP SR has always been problematic, and difficult to finish. But there used to be 10 games at any given time going strong. I am just curious to see if the majority is still interested in playing, or just talking about playing.

From what I've seen of the posts, I wasn't aware that that section of the forums were games as such. There are no dice rollers or saved character sheets... Why would I want to game on a forum when there are sites made specifically for it? (Correct me if I'm wrong. If there ARE dice rollers and character sheets and all the tools needed for a good PBW, I'd be very interested.)

I am starting a non-traditional game where anyone can control the hero or any of the npc's/villans ect. A first post wins concept. I then roll the dice and post the results. I have the beginning almost complete. The idea is to create a forum friendly game where all can participate without having to submit a character.

The Great Escape Game

I just started playing here about two weeks ago, but I've been having a blast, so I keep joining more games. I just joined my 4th game.

Considering al the pros and cons, just so long as you've got honest players, playing Shadowrun over the boards is not bad at all.

Nezumi, do enlighten me as to other PbB sites.

Dumpshock doesn't work at school, and that's where I suspect I'll be doing a majority of my postings, considering I don't have an afternoon period on Wednesday and Friday.

Damn filtering software!

shadowland.org the one i play on. despite a reputation to the contrary, it's pretty open to newcomers--as long as you don't try to play a shadowfurry.

Play by web is descent, though not perfect. I haven't played there in ages. Also, you sometimes see SR games come up as PBEM or PBP on PBEM.com.

i know there's also a place called macray's keep, or something like that. i used to go there every once in a while, but it seems like a lot of its games tend to sputter out.

I'd like to play, but none are opening...

None are opening where, Voorhees? There is at least one game accepting applications on DSF (A Walk Among the Dead). PBEM.com has them few and far between (and even fewer where they stay alive for any length of time, myself being guilty of that one). playbyweb.com I am not knowing about seeing as how I haven't been there in ages.

there are, indeed, many opportunities to rp online.

Actually, I didn't realise until recently that you could play online. I'm completely unfamiliar with the way the mechanics of such games work but was interested in finding out as I'd be tempted to run an SR campaign.

i prefer it because you tend to get better rp. even the most unimaginative lug can get a good in-character thing going, if he's got a day or so to think about it. the drawback, of course, is that it's slower--but as you can see from the picture above, the way to make up for that is to get involved in as many games as possible.

So, it's not a more-or-less instantaneous online game? (Like I said, I'm not at all familiar with the game mechanics of online role-playing)

Not like ... GM bangs out a narrative, players type out their responses, GM rolls dice or uses a dicebot thingy ...?

not on shadowland.org, and not--as i understand it--on dumpshock. you post, you wait for the next guy to post a reply, and you post again. if the other guy isn't on, you wait; in a good game, you won't have to wait more than half a day or so, but things can bog as real life intervenes. for dice, shadowland has a built-in roller; i guess dumpshock players use other online rollers, or just trust each other to roll at home and post the results honestly.

my reccomendation would be to check out the games at dumpshock, and check out the games at shadowland--lurk for a week or so, see if it looks like fun. shadowland also has a general chat, which anybody can jump into and hang out in (ooc).

Kewl beans! Thanks, MFB!

There are a lot of different ways to play SR online. The one we've been talking about is the play by email or play by post model wherein one person makes thier post and waits for someone to reply, etc. These games are generally fairly slow, but have their advantages in that you don't have to commit a whole lot of time to them (< 1 hour a day in all but the most prolific games).

There are also other methods, including the MU* (MUD, MUCK, MUSH, MOO) method where everyone logs in to a central server and plays games there, or the chat room model where everyone plays in a chat room. In general, chat room games are done with a set group of players at a set time every week, day, two weeks, or some other time interval. A chat game tends to take somewhere between 1.5 and 2 times the amount of time it would take to do the same thing in a table top environment, if my experiences are any indication. An MU* tends to involve a large playerbase which can revolve in and out through various games.

I've no idea where to find a chat game (I'd imagine looking for chatrooms on your favorite IM program that start with "Shadowrun" would be a start), but you can find many MU*s here. Just select search and punch in shadowrun. There are also drawbacks to these types of games.

MUDding is an interesting experience, if you haven't tried it. I've only heard of one SR MUD, and as of a year ago it was still under construction and getting mediocre reviews (you can find it by googling Shadowrun MUD, probably). Unfortunately, the nature of the beast generally requires karma/XP rewards are largely from combat more than anything, but that doesn't mean you can't still roleplay for fun : ) I've spent many, many hours MUDding. I'd give 'em a whirl if you haven't tried them before, but it's more fun if you go in with a friend. You can connect to MU*s using telnet usually, and some MU*s will have a java client on their web site. But I *DEFINITELY* recommend getting a specialized client like zmud.

I just don't have the time. I've tried one or two, but when I look back in the story has charged off a couple of pages and I'm hoplessly left out. I don't want to intrude by clibing back in.

i haven't played a successful tabletop game in years, but i'm participating in--as a GM or a player--fifteen SR games, one D&D game, and one Aberrant game. they even managed to trick me into playing a Vampire game, the sly bastards.

Well, I'd like to play online, as I'm our groups main GM. But somehow I just don't feel like playing on boards, as it takes so long to finish, if it ever finishes. I'd like playing over IRC/chatrooms if possible. Are there any other people that would refer playing IRC/chat games?