Post by Julius Quintus on Mar 21, 2009 17:24:37 GMT
GM POSTS
Before a mission even begins, the Marines will be briefed in detail regarding what their objectives. Hopefully, we will also have a crude map of the area so that everyone has the same bearings. But once the missio is underway, Deliverence or another designated Game Master will begin making GM posts describing the setting and any other important details the Marines will come across as they enter the Area of Operations.
Once the Marines have arrived and are deployed on the ground, the Game Master will make a clearly labeled post to describe the location. Once Marines have taken their actions, the Game Master will make other GM posts as needed to tell Marines the results of their actions. For instance, if a Marine is ordered to search a room, and in his/her post he enters the room and begins to look around, the GM will make a post alerting that Marine to what he/she finds within the room; it WILL NOT be the job of that Marine to make up whether or not the room is clear or what's in it – that’s the job of the Game Master.
Also let's say, for example, that the Marines are surveying a section of land for enemies. The designated Game Master will make a GM post when the enemies appear, including where they are and who, if anyone, they're attacking specifically. The Marines will then post their responses to that, and either Deliverence or another designated Game Master will post the results of their actions. Note that Marines should not say in their posts that they shoot and kill an enemy, but instead should say that they shoot at an enemy and let the GM determine their success or failure in the next GM post.
This way, there will be a clear post with information regarding who has done what and what's going on.
POSTING LIMITS / THREE POST RULE
In some PbP RPGs there can be regular instances where a player had posted five times in the span of twenty minutes. This kind of enthusiasm is greatly appreciated but can lead to a lot of confusion. Many posts get edited because, while the author was writing his response, 1-2 other short posts were made that affected that which the author was writing about.
In order to try and curb this from happening, we are issuing a posting limit during combat operations, which begins from the time the first GM post is made and lasts to the time they are informed that the mission is complete. The posting limit is THREE POSTS PER GM POST. Here it is in greater detail:
Earlier we described what a GM post was – it's a post made by either Deliverence (or a designated Game Master) that gives details about locations as well as results of actions taken by players and enemies, and again, they will be posted regularly during missions. The post limit comes into play like this: whenever a GM post is made, each player may make three posts after that GM post in the thread. The player may make less than three posts if he or she wants to, but cannot make more than three. Then, whenever the next GM post for that Marine's group is made, the Marine is allowed to make three more posts. By limiting the number of posts in this manner, this will allow for fewer responses to come in and should make things somewhat less confusing. Here’s an example of how the post limit will work:
Let's use this example where the companies scout contingent is investigating the cave entrance of an abandoned mine. In this example, the fireteam will consist of Quintus, Calpurnius, Taranius, and Dax. This is one way the scene could progress, using the posting limit we've set.
- The Thunderhawk brings the Marines to their location and Deliverence makes a GM post describing the setting and location for them, as well as the current Time/Date and weather conditions.
- Quintus makes a post exiting the Thunderhawk and ordering everyone to move toward the caves - this is the first of three posts Quintus is allowed to make before the next GM post.
- Dax copies Quintus's orders and begins to move forward. This is Dax's first post of three possible.
- Calpurnius takes a position behind and beside Quintus as he advances, covering him. This is Calpurnius's first post.
- Dax makes another post, making a comment over the vox link to Taranius about how the cave smells. This is Dax's second post, and since Deliverence has yet to make another GM post, he only has one more post left to use.
- Quintus tells Dax to pay attention - this is Quintus's second post.
- Suddenly, Deliverence makes a GM post saying that Taranius is picking up motion on his Auspex from inside the mouth of the cave. Because of this GM post, everyone in the squad can now make three more posts.
- Taranius posts, alerting his the squad that he's picking up motion from inside the cave – this is Taranius's first of three possible posts he can make.
- Quintus responds to Taranius's picking up motion by ordering the squad to take cover and watch the entrance - this is really Quintus's third post in the thread, but that doesn't matter now. Since Deliverence just made a new GM post moments ago, this is the first of the three posts Quintus is now allowed to make.
- Calpurnius takes cover behind a large rock and aims his bolter at the cave entrance. This is Calpurnius's first of three posts he's allowed to make since Deliverence's last GM post.
- Quintus posts, ordering Dax and Taranius to move forward and investigate the entrance. This is Quintus's second of three posts.
- Taranius acknowledges and moves forward while thumbing the safety off on his bolter, thus making his second of three posts.
- Dax follows Taranius and tells him to stay alert - this is Dax's first post.
- Taranius responds by telling Dax the same – this is Taranius's third of three posts, so Taranius cannot post any more until Deliverence make a new GM post and the rotation begins again.
- Calpurnius continues to cover the other two Marines nearby, writing what his character is seeing and thinks that it might be nothing but remains vigilant nonetheless. This is Calpurnius's second of three posts he can make.
See how this works? Sometimes the responsibilities of making GM posts will be given to another Game Master (usually a co-admin with a character currently present in the appropriate thread), but the concept is generally the same. The point of this is to try and eliminate the 2-3 line quick posts that are common in a lot of games. Hopefully using this kind of post limit will help us not only keep the scene running smoothly, but also keep the quality of role-playing high.
POSTING FREQUENCY
Please remember that missions can, and will take some time to complete, because not everyone will be online at a time and players will have to wait for other people to post. Please keep a few things in mind:
1. You don't want to use all your posts up right after a GM post. In the event that another Marine says something to you, if you've used up all your posts, you would be unable to respond until after the next GM post. And keep in mind that the Game Masters will be counting posts to make sure no one goes above the limit, and if you do, that post will be deleted. It's hard to maintain order when the rules aren't being obeyed, so try your best to stick to them.
2. As stated before, these missions aren't going to take place in just one night. More than likely, they will be spread out over a number of days, even longer than that perhaps, depending on the complexity of the mission. Therefore, there's no need to rush your posts in and expect things to happen within the next ten, twenty, or thirty minutes. By taking our time, we will have a better chance of eliminating confusion.
3. This has been stated before, but please keep Out-of-Character posts in In-Character threads to a bare minimum. Any OOC comments / questions can and will be deleted at the Game Master's discretion since it not only makes the thread look messy, but makes it difficult to follow what everyone is doing. If you have an Out-of-Character question with regards to a GM post, please ask in either an In-Character post, over in the General Discussion section of the board or over Private Message.
Finally, we're all supposed to be here to have fun. We don't institute these rules as punishment, and if we delete a post or ask you to edit something, it shouldn't be taken personally. We're looking out for the quality of the RPG, and trying to make it as successful as possible.
Again, if you have any questions, feel free to ask by PMing any member of the board staff – we’re all here to help.
Before a mission even begins, the Marines will be briefed in detail regarding what their objectives. Hopefully, we will also have a crude map of the area so that everyone has the same bearings. But once the missio is underway, Deliverence or another designated Game Master will begin making GM posts describing the setting and any other important details the Marines will come across as they enter the Area of Operations.
Once the Marines have arrived and are deployed on the ground, the Game Master will make a clearly labeled post to describe the location. Once Marines have taken their actions, the Game Master will make other GM posts as needed to tell Marines the results of their actions. For instance, if a Marine is ordered to search a room, and in his/her post he enters the room and begins to look around, the GM will make a post alerting that Marine to what he/she finds within the room; it WILL NOT be the job of that Marine to make up whether or not the room is clear or what's in it – that’s the job of the Game Master.
Also let's say, for example, that the Marines are surveying a section of land for enemies. The designated Game Master will make a GM post when the enemies appear, including where they are and who, if anyone, they're attacking specifically. The Marines will then post their responses to that, and either Deliverence or another designated Game Master will post the results of their actions. Note that Marines should not say in their posts that they shoot and kill an enemy, but instead should say that they shoot at an enemy and let the GM determine their success or failure in the next GM post.
This way, there will be a clear post with information regarding who has done what and what's going on.
POSTING LIMITS / THREE POST RULE
In some PbP RPGs there can be regular instances where a player had posted five times in the span of twenty minutes. This kind of enthusiasm is greatly appreciated but can lead to a lot of confusion. Many posts get edited because, while the author was writing his response, 1-2 other short posts were made that affected that which the author was writing about.
In order to try and curb this from happening, we are issuing a posting limit during combat operations, which begins from the time the first GM post is made and lasts to the time they are informed that the mission is complete. The posting limit is THREE POSTS PER GM POST. Here it is in greater detail:
Earlier we described what a GM post was – it's a post made by either Deliverence (or a designated Game Master) that gives details about locations as well as results of actions taken by players and enemies, and again, they will be posted regularly during missions. The post limit comes into play like this: whenever a GM post is made, each player may make three posts after that GM post in the thread. The player may make less than three posts if he or she wants to, but cannot make more than three. Then, whenever the next GM post for that Marine's group is made, the Marine is allowed to make three more posts. By limiting the number of posts in this manner, this will allow for fewer responses to come in and should make things somewhat less confusing. Here’s an example of how the post limit will work:
Let's use this example where the companies scout contingent is investigating the cave entrance of an abandoned mine. In this example, the fireteam will consist of Quintus, Calpurnius, Taranius, and Dax. This is one way the scene could progress, using the posting limit we've set.
- The Thunderhawk brings the Marines to their location and Deliverence makes a GM post describing the setting and location for them, as well as the current Time/Date and weather conditions.
- Quintus makes a post exiting the Thunderhawk and ordering everyone to move toward the caves - this is the first of three posts Quintus is allowed to make before the next GM post.
- Dax copies Quintus's orders and begins to move forward. This is Dax's first post of three possible.
- Calpurnius takes a position behind and beside Quintus as he advances, covering him. This is Calpurnius's first post.
- Dax makes another post, making a comment over the vox link to Taranius about how the cave smells. This is Dax's second post, and since Deliverence has yet to make another GM post, he only has one more post left to use.
- Quintus tells Dax to pay attention - this is Quintus's second post.
- Suddenly, Deliverence makes a GM post saying that Taranius is picking up motion on his Auspex from inside the mouth of the cave. Because of this GM post, everyone in the squad can now make three more posts.
- Taranius posts, alerting his the squad that he's picking up motion from inside the cave – this is Taranius's first of three possible posts he can make.
- Quintus responds to Taranius's picking up motion by ordering the squad to take cover and watch the entrance - this is really Quintus's third post in the thread, but that doesn't matter now. Since Deliverence just made a new GM post moments ago, this is the first of the three posts Quintus is now allowed to make.
- Calpurnius takes cover behind a large rock and aims his bolter at the cave entrance. This is Calpurnius's first of three posts he's allowed to make since Deliverence's last GM post.
- Quintus posts, ordering Dax and Taranius to move forward and investigate the entrance. This is Quintus's second of three posts.
- Taranius acknowledges and moves forward while thumbing the safety off on his bolter, thus making his second of three posts.
- Dax follows Taranius and tells him to stay alert - this is Dax's first post.
- Taranius responds by telling Dax the same – this is Taranius's third of three posts, so Taranius cannot post any more until Deliverence make a new GM post and the rotation begins again.
- Calpurnius continues to cover the other two Marines nearby, writing what his character is seeing and thinks that it might be nothing but remains vigilant nonetheless. This is Calpurnius's second of three posts he can make.
See how this works? Sometimes the responsibilities of making GM posts will be given to another Game Master (usually a co-admin with a character currently present in the appropriate thread), but the concept is generally the same. The point of this is to try and eliminate the 2-3 line quick posts that are common in a lot of games. Hopefully using this kind of post limit will help us not only keep the scene running smoothly, but also keep the quality of role-playing high.
POSTING FREQUENCY
Please remember that missions can, and will take some time to complete, because not everyone will be online at a time and players will have to wait for other people to post. Please keep a few things in mind:
1. You don't want to use all your posts up right after a GM post. In the event that another Marine says something to you, if you've used up all your posts, you would be unable to respond until after the next GM post. And keep in mind that the Game Masters will be counting posts to make sure no one goes above the limit, and if you do, that post will be deleted. It's hard to maintain order when the rules aren't being obeyed, so try your best to stick to them.
2. As stated before, these missions aren't going to take place in just one night. More than likely, they will be spread out over a number of days, even longer than that perhaps, depending on the complexity of the mission. Therefore, there's no need to rush your posts in and expect things to happen within the next ten, twenty, or thirty minutes. By taking our time, we will have a better chance of eliminating confusion.
3. This has been stated before, but please keep Out-of-Character posts in In-Character threads to a bare minimum. Any OOC comments / questions can and will be deleted at the Game Master's discretion since it not only makes the thread look messy, but makes it difficult to follow what everyone is doing. If you have an Out-of-Character question with regards to a GM post, please ask in either an In-Character post, over in the General Discussion section of the board or over Private Message.
Finally, we're all supposed to be here to have fun. We don't institute these rules as punishment, and if we delete a post or ask you to edit something, it shouldn't be taken personally. We're looking out for the quality of the RPG, and trying to make it as successful as possible.
Again, if you have any questions, feel free to ask by PMing any member of the board staff – we’re all here to help.
