Hey There

[Green Ice Cream]

Hey there. :) Green Ice Cream here. Though I'm quite experienced with D&D, I was hoping to host a few play by post text adventures. I'm just not sure if that's allowed in these forums. I noticed you could tag your rule system as 'freeform'. Would that suffice?

Well, for the time being, I have two important questions. Could a play by post text adventure be posted in 'Non-Sequitur'? And... would it be better if I posted this introduction in 'Support'?

To elaborate, two games I've created are mapped out to completion. Both text adventures, one takes place in the Star Wars galaxy and the other is a fantasy/adventure homage to the original Zork.

I understand most text adventures are created with the help of free online tools that work in your browser, but I prefer play by post campaigns. They seem to generate discussion and promote creative interaction in a unique fashion. Considering your commands are being responded to by an actual person, the creativity is bound by nothing.

Any information pertaining to these inquiries would be appreciated tremendously. Thank you for your time.

[Powderhorn]

Welcome, and text-based adventures are kinda our bread and butter here! However, you wouldn't do it in non-sequitur, you'd do it in "Games." You'll see in the upper left a button for "Start a Game" and well, then you just build it out as you want! As an example, this is a game I'm actively running.

Unless I'm terribly mistaken, of course, in which case, let me know if I didn't quite answer your question! But! As I read it, I think this site is exactly what you're looking for :)

[Green Ice Cream]

Thank you for the greeting and response Powderhorn. :) So text adventures are welcome in "Games". Ah, I see. If I could ask a follow-up inquiry... which 'Game System' would I choose for a standard text adventure such as Zork? If I set all the rules, would it be 'freeform'?

I'm checking out 'To Lands Unknown'. Thanks for the link. Wow, fantastic game! Most impressive. My games are far more simplistic, in terms of commands and responses. Again, think 'Zork'. I describe the environment. Players post their commands and I tell them what happens. The catch with mine is that anyone can post, at any time. In other words, everyone uses ONE character, the adventurer. It can be thought of as a team effort. Do you suppose something along these lines would be accepted here? Of course, I understand in most games, players will not want to share a character. I'd totally be willing to change it up if that proves to be an issue. To elaborate, I find it quite interesting to see how players act as a team. Sometimes they throw ideas off each other and forge ahead accordingly... other times their decisions conflict. It's challenging in terms of course correcting after someone's command has thrown the character off in an unexpected direction.

Anyway, I thank you again for the speedy reply. You answered my inquiries splendidly. If you see no issue here, I will definitely give this a try.

[Powderhorn]

Yeah, that would definitely work. Freeform makes sense. I can definitely understand the concern about how willing people are to share a character - I think if you were amenable to doing it as a group of characters, that would get the most interest, but a bunch of people sharing one character may also as well. A session 0 to hash that out would be worthwhile.

Glad I could help, feel free to ask other questions!

[Green Ice Cream]

Okay, so 'freeform' should be chosen if I'm not following any particular rulebook, correct?

Yeah, I'll hash things out before posting any adventure. Could you elaborate on 'Session Zero' please? I assume that's a planning stage, taking place prior to playing the game. Would I initiate a 'session 0' within the actual thread? I'm not sure of the etiquette.

Again, I must thank you for your time. Indeed you have helped! :)

[Powderhorn]

I mean, nobody is going to come down and say, "You have the wrong game type selected!" - just pick whatever you think fits best.

Session 0 is just as you figured it - you could do it once you have players selected, or as part of the selection process. There are lots of great resources out there for how to do a Session 0, and people swear by them. I personally can't really give much more than that, because... ironically... I never used one before :D

But typically, game flow is something like:

DM puts up an ad
Players apply over a set period of time
Once time expires DM selects X number of characters
(Session 0?)
Game starts

[Green Ice Cream]

Sounds good. :) Thanks for the game flow explanation... quite helpful.

I thought of two more (probably) important questions:
1. When posting my game that takes place in the Star Wars galaxy, can I tag it as 'Star Wars'?
I'm assuming I DON'T choose Star Wars as 'Game System', because I'm not using its guidebook/sourcebook. I'd choose 'freeform' instead.
2. As far as the application period goes, if I'm accepting all players, can I set the period to zero days?
In other words, considering there are no restrictions, can I start immediately?

Thank you.

[Powderhorn]

I don't know that you'd necessarily tag it as anything - you might use the freeform game type, but then in the description explain the setting (in this case, Star Wars). For advertising period - you don't have to advertise, but I think doing so is probably the fastest way to get people. I'd recommend advertising for a week or two to get some interested people, and then as you need more, re-advertise.

[Green Ice Cream]

I went with the 'freeform' game type.

Speaking of advertising, I decided not to, which proved to be an unwise decision. :) So, just out of curiosity, can I advertise, even though I've already posted the game? I couldn't find the answer in help sections. You mentioned re-advertising, so I'd assume it's okay, but I just wanted to make sure. Any information about advertising, and the advertising period, would be greatly appreciated. Specifically, is advertising allowed after a game has already been posted?

Thanks.

[Vladim]

11 minutes ago, Green Ice Cream said:

I went with the 'freeform' game type.

Speaking of advertising, I decided not to, which proved to be an unwise decision. :) So, just out of curiosity, can I advertise, even though I've already posted the game? I couldn't find the answer in help sections. You mentioned re-advertising, so I'd assume it's okay, but I just wanted to make sure. Any information about advertising, and the advertising period, would be greatly appreciated. Specifically, is advertising allowed after a game has already been posted?

Thanks.

It is actually. You can set the game to advertising from the game settings page.

[Green Ice Cream]

Thank you for the quick response. :)

I thought of another inquiry: If my character's application is NOT accepted, can I use that same character to apply to/join another game?

[Vladim]

36 minutes ago, Green Ice Cream said:

Thank you for the quick response. :)

I thought of another inquiry: If my character's application is NOT accepted, can I use that same character to apply to/join another game?

You can, but some GMs frown upon character recycling. Others are ok with it. In my opinion, it's okay with some redressing (to customise the character a bit to the game), but ask your GM to be sure.

Also, there are no hard community rules about this, so the worst you can get is another rejection, but that's all.

[Green Ice Cream]

Much appreciated. Thanks for the detailed reply. :)

---

Powderhorn and Vladim,

Thank you so much for all the help. 🙂 It really made running a game simple and fun. The community is amazing... absolutely polite and generous.

I thought of another follow-up question: As far as the 'Game System' goes, what's the difference between 'Freeform' and 'Miscellaneous'? Thanks again!

Edited March 16 by Green Ice Cream
Another follow-up question... (see edit history)