The Ten Commandments of Play-by-Post Gaming

These are always great rules to go by. The only thing I really want to add is this:  Everyone is to play in third person.

At this time, you are allowed up to three characters unless given special permission otherwise. After that, if you'd like more, we can discuss. If we don't know you, we want to make sure you can handle three before you're allowed more.

The Ten Commandments of Play-by-Post Gaming
By Jason Crutchley

1. Thou shalt not play God.
You know the type: the ones that can fly, are invincible, can throw fireballs, are invincible, amazing with a gun, jumping around like they are in some kind of John Woo movie, are invincible, are a big shot, are invincible, loved by all the ladies, are invincible, and all the World Leaders bow at his feet. Oh, and did I mention he’s invincible? God characters suck. They offer no challenge, no adventure, nothing beyond the chance to say "I won." We all know this isn’t a game to win or lose.

2. Thou shalt not solve all the problems of the universe by thyself.
Your character is not the be-all and end-all of the universe. Say you need to hack into the computer systems of Insane Crazed Megalomaniacs IncTM, who are about to launch thousands of nukes to all corners of the Earth. You, being a thug, an expert in knocking heads together, who thinks that RAM is a male sheep, and a megabyte is something to be had at your local fast food restaurant… you aren’t suddenly going to become master hacker. You’ll obviously need help.

3. Thou shalt embellish thine writings to keep from the "road of tedium".
Put some life into your writing! You have a whole language at your disposal; if you need to use a dictionary or a thesaurus to make it interesting, do so! For example, instead of "Jim-Bob walked up to the goblin and stabbed him," try "Jim ‘Jimbo’ Jim-Bob, a man feared by many on the streets on New York, charged the short ugly goblin, a foul creature of Shadow. Screaming fiercely, the muzzles of his handguns exploded, hailing ammunition upon it, rending the previous silence on the deserted street asunder as bullets tore through the greenskin’s flesh." Which one is more interesting? Those who think the first is more interesting, please leave the room right now.

4. Thou shalt be true to the character of thy character.
If your character is a 70-year-old cripple, who practically lives in a wheelchair, sucking oxygen from a tube, he isn’t suddenly going to perform a commando raid on a Government building. Think about what you would do in the situation if you were that character. Keep in mind your character’s limitation as well as her abilities.

5. Thou shalt make sense.
Make it clear what your character is doing. If there are fifteen people in a room and you say, "Jim-Bob entered the pub and walked up to the bloke in the corner" your fellow players aren’t going to have a clue who Jim-Bob is going up to. Instead, try something more like this: "Jim- Bob walked up to the large half Orc bouncer, who stood brooding in the corner of the nightclub, watching for any signs of trouble." From that description it’s fairly obvious who you are going to (unless it happens to be coincidental that all fifteen of the guys are Orc Bouncers). If you still think extra clarification may be needed append your posts with an OOC (Out Of Character) comment, either by putting your text in brackets or a different colour.

6. Thou shalt not kill other characters or decide what damage they suffer.
You cannot decide what happens to another character ever! This applies especially to combat. If engaged in a straightforward fight, your opponents may dodge. If you are sneaking up behind someone, leave your post hanging at your attack rather than assuming the outcome. After all, they might hear you or otherwise detect the sneak attack. Even if it’s something that they would never dodge in a million years, still leave it hanging; good role-players will pick it up and take the licks they ought to take. For various exceptions to the rule, see "Thou shalt not decide thy neighbour’s actions, or his wife's actions, or his oxen's actions, or...." later.

7. Thou shalt be patient in waiting for thy fellow characters to post.
Nothing is more irritating than someone asking repeatedly for you to post. Remember, people have lives! (No really - stop laughing - people do have lives!) They may have work to do or family to be with. Just be patient. If they haven’t posted in say a week, politely get in touch with them somehow and remind them of the game. Be polite and don’t be too pushy. Manners cost nothing. Never forget, though, that the nature of play-by-post allows it to be played at a slower and more leisurely pace than a tabletop game. Don't expect white-knuckle, breakneck speed from a play-by-post game.

8. THOU SHALT NOT WRITE IN ALL CAPS AS IT IS HIGHLY ANNOYING.
NEED I SAY MORE?

9. Tho shlt nut oos fals spillin n gremmmer.
Learn to spell, damnit! N dnt use txt spk as tht is hily annoyin! It makes reading posts that much more difficult if you have to decipher wht sum1 hs sed cuz u cnt reed it. Remember, you don’t have a limit of 150 characters on your average message board. If you are unsure of a word’s spelling or proper usage, you have a few options. Microsoft Word works well enough for checking spelling and grammar. There are also a multitude of online dictionaries one may consult.

10. Thou shalt not decide thy neighbour’s actions, or his wife's actions, or his oxen's actions, or....
Listen carefully, as I will say this once, and only once. NEVER control another person’s character. It is The Most Annoying Thing Ever to have your character’s actions dictated by someone who doesn’t know your character. Especially when they are playing a weedy pizza delivery boy, and you are a powerful Drugs Baron, and they write it so that the pizza delivery boy comes off with more menace than your Baron. Above all, this commandment is most important. Follow these and your online travails will be most rewarding.