I'm a seasoned DM (10+ years running 3.5 campaigns), but my one attempt at starting a campaign on Myth Weavers was confusing and didn't go well. I usually run games in GitP, and have great success there, but I like the GM tools on this site better, and would love to give it a second try.

Good morning and welcome. There have been several offers for apprentices/co-GMs lately. I'm sure someone will be along soon. I'm at max for games right now, but I'm happy to share some of the wisdom I have gathered from the last 10 years of PBP. You're also welcome to read along with any of the games I am running.

PBPs are different animals than tabletop games. They proceed slowly. There is a high rate of attrition. You have to find a group who can agree on pace, whether that is 1 post per day or 1 per week. If some people want 1/day and others can't commit to 1/week, your game isn't going to go smoothly. You will also have some people very gung ho at the beginning, and then they disappear for one reason or another.

So, back to you. You say you have run games on another site that went well, but the one you ran here, not so much. Why do you think that is? What happened to the game you ran here? Maybe a little deconstruction will help you figure out what went wrong and make a plan to prevent that.

Giant in the Playground is where I've run games since (I think) 2012. The game apps are less structured than what I've experienced here, which make it easier for a DM to log in and start running, but it comes with its own pitfalls too. Coming here, I just posted a game idea like I would on GitP. They call it a Big 16 on that site. Then I just waited for the applicants to file in and present their characters. That's when the private messages came in, letting me know that's not how games are set up here. I had to set up this post, and that app, and this link, and blah, blah, blah. I know they were trying to help, so I was grateful for the input, but it made the game frustrating to set up, so I decided to take a step back and post as a player for a game or two to get my bearings. Problem is... I'm a DM. I can build PCs, but only for low-level low-op campaigns, because I never really learned to optimize, so my PCs were, at best, vanilla, and at worst, dysfunctional. Therefore, I never got picked to play either. And since I've never played a game in Myth Weavers, I've never gotten to attempt (firsthand) to use the awesome tools this website has, nor have I gotten a chance to familiarize myself with the process.

I must sound pretty stupid right now. Everyone else on the website understands how to play games here, but for some reason, my brain just isn't wired to get it by reading the instructions. It's been a few years since I've even tried to post a game ad here, so I don't even remember precisely what I struggled with. But my one and only attempt failed by the first post, which I would describe as the "Recruitment Thread."

To add on to Tattered King, I have looked recently for a co GM that wants some training or just needs help. In fact, I have a current game (3.5) that has plenty of world building opportunities and other fun stuff. Send me a PM and tell me a little more about what you are looking for or want to do and maybe we can work together for a while. You can also find me on Discord for real time discussions

I've got some... limitations. But I've never heard any complaints about my game style. I only run D&D 3E/3.5 campaigns at the moment. I liked 2E alright, but it's really time to move on, and I just didn't like the feel of 4E, and I'm still too new to 5E to give DM'ing a worthy effort. I've never learned another system beyond D&D, and I'm content with that.

I tend to play rules heavy, by RAW (with the exemption of a couple of house rules), but I use those rules to their fullest extent, to create expansive open-world sandboxes, or tight, action packed dungeon divers, depending on the vibe of the group for which I'm designing a campaign. I tend to work within settings, like Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Eberron, or Dragonlance, because I love the richly developed maps, cultures, and background fluff, though I have been known to brew my own settings. I've never used a module, though I'm not opposed to modules, and I'm pretty flexible with builds, as long is it stays withing the confines of any published WoTC material from 3E or 3.5, which (I feel) is more than flexible enough.

My build knowledge is solid, but basic, because I usually just pull my monsters right out of the pages, and never attempt to optimize my NPCs or BBEGs (because it's not their show... it's the players' show). But my strength is in story design, fluff, and rules knowledge/adjudication. Plus, I never abandon my players. Life catches up to me sometimes. But I've updated posts from the hospital before... if nothing else but to say something to the effect of, "I'll post as soon as the doctors patch me up and the pain killers wear off so I can focus again." Mostly, I can be counted on to post at least once a day.

Every site that does play-by-post has their own means and methods. MWs is fairly similar to where I came from previously, Tangled Web, where setting up a Game Ad / Recruitment Thread is the general way of letting people know that your game exists in the first place, usually by posting a hook explaining the game. How you set up your own game forum is up to you, although most seem to set up a folder just for applications for the sake of organization.

I would suspect that since you're used to a different method of game set-up is why you were having some troubles. It happens. Honestly, I took some time to lurk around here before I started applying for games (and long before I made my own) to get a grasp of things. But that's just my mental set-up as is - I tend to lurk before posting.


On the note of character creation and optimization, I doubt many GMs will worry if you're not completely optimized. Most of Myth-Weavers, from my short experience, has a greater focus on roleplaying and writing than making some supped up badass that will break the game. Not to mention, if you really feel like you can't compete mechanically, just ask the rest of us for some advice. Many of us who enjoy the munchkin side of things like helping others figure out how to make concepts work.

On a side note, in response to a comment in another of your posts, I highly recommend looking over other game systems. Maybe not learn it to the extent of what you have mastery over as is, but ideas and inspirations are worth its weight in gold to us GMs. I'm not saying you should convert over to something like FATE, but there's much to be gained from looking outside the box.
*warning: that last bit of advice came from a crazy guy who's hobbies include reading RPG rulebooks for fun*

I think this is excellent advice to anyone. Other systems have a ton to offer, even if you just take one little thing away from them.