Posting Guidelines
Online 3E Posting Guidelines
02/01/01
Greetings Woldians!
Below I will discuss the rules we have concerning posting as well as strategy points with regard to posting. I am more than willing to answer any questions you may have about posting at any time. Posting is an art, just like roleplaying is. It takes time to learn the nuances of playing D&D on a Message Board.
Read carefully below and I'll try to save you from many of the pitfalls that beginning posters often make.
Jerry Phelps
Campaign DM and originator of The Wold
Gericko@gmail.com
Contents
Posting Rules
Each character is to post only once each day. Watch for your DMs posts to know when the next day begins. If the DM obviously misses a day, (hey it happens to all of us) you may go ahead and post again the next day. Your DM has editing capabilities if things should get confusing.
We play weekdays. We don't play on the weekends. The reason for this is that some like to play from work rather than home. Also, we've discovered that people just don't tend to post on the weekends.
In all games, "consider" it Fri. morning until your DM completes his
"Friday" post. In that same vein, "consider" it "Monday" for the rest of the weekend after your DM completes his "Friday" post.
Turns are considered due at 5PM CST. The DM will post sometime between then and 8AM the following morning. This varies from game to game and you'll get to know your DM's habits soon enough.
Help! I'm too busy to post!
If you are going to miss more than one day of posting per week on a regular basis (including outside of combat), you should do the honorable thing and go inactive, for the good of the group. Going inactive is what we call quitting for a short period of time. We have another inside term for this which is "going walkabout." The other characters suffer in combat and role-play when one player is missing. When your schedule allows, you will be welcome to return to The Wold. A player in this situation, who does not volunteer to go inactive, but begins to miss posts on a regular basis, may be asked to do so.
If you are going out of town, on vacation, or are not going to be able to play for a short period of time, there's no need to quit or go 'walkabout" for that. Simply contact your DM and together you can plan for one of the other players to play your character until your return. Everyone needs to do this from time to time. It's normal. We'd rather you take the time off when you need it and return to us, than to try to squeeze everything in when you're busy and burn out. Real life affects us all and we all need a few days off from posting from time to time.
If your computer goes down and you can't email your DM to notify him, call Jerry at 940-691-1078 and he will get the message to your DM and fellow players.
Technical Problems
Notify your DM if you experience any technical problems.
Dice rolling on the Game Boards
You'll notice that there are dice rolling hot keys above the Action Field in the Posting Area of the board. Click on the dice you need and it rolls. It's that simple. It can get confusing for the DM, though, if you don't list your dice rolls in your post below.
Here's an example of how to add the dice results to your post in the message field:
Onrad takes a few steps back and full of confidence and determination, runs forward hurling his body across the 15' chasm. Time seems to stop for him as he reaches the apex of his leap. He pumps his feet and stretches his body, willing himself to the other side. He suddenly realizes (jump check of 17 and needing a DC19 or higher) that he's not going to make it. He let's the air out of his lungs hoping that the difference in weight will see him across. His fingers miss the far side by two inches. "NOOOOaaaaaauuuughhhhh!" His demented scream seems to echo forever as he falls into the bottomless darkness below.
Notice how the roll is included in the post by putting it in parenthesis? Sometimes several rolls will need to be made in one turn. Listing each number clearly in your message post keeps it simple so that the DM and other players can see what roll goes with what action.
Guidelines for role-playing on the board
1) Don't post a second time in a day. The new day begins when the DM posts. So you should only have one post for your character between each DM post.
2) Stay in character on the Game Boards. Out of character comments etc. are to be handled by email, private posts, or in the Loot 'n Booty Inn. Now, there may be an occasion where you feel you just have to say something out of character. If so, go ahead, but understand if your DM, after reading it, edits it out and send you an email asking you to strongly consider sending such comments via email.
3) Posts are considered to happen in sequential order.
This means that if one person posts that he drinks the potion sitting on the table, that the next person can't say that he's going to put the same potion in his pocket. Your DM may occasionally overrule sequential order for the sake of the story line. However, this should be a rare thing.
4) As in a "live" game, do not resolve your own situations. Many MUDS allow for the player to not only state his action, but to resolve it himself. Here in The Wold, we attempt to recreate the "live" game as closely as possible. So you may say that your character is going hunting for some food, and make your appropriate rolls to catch something; however, it is up to the DM to post the results of the hunt. Players post actions. The DM posts the results of such actions.
5) Roleplaying 101--It has been determined through trial and error that posting in 3rd person is superior than posting in 1st or 2nd person.
Example of 1st person posting:
Valdor:
I grab my sword, which is sticking in the spine of the dragon, and pull for all my might. (Strength check of 18+4=DC of 22) If I pull it free, I spin, trying to get out of the way of the poisonous spikes of the dragon's tail. (Dexterity check of 12+1=13DC)
Example of 3rd person posting:
Valdor:
Valdor grabs his sword, which is sticking in the spine of the dragon, and pulls it with all his might. (Strength check of 18+4=DC of 22) If he pulls it free, he spins, trying to get out of the way of the poisonous spikes of the dragon's tail. (Dexterity check of 12+1=13DC)
3rd person posting makes it easier to be descriptive with your post and to make it truly outstanding.
6) Role-playing 102--It has also been determined that a truly great character is one whose posts allow one to identify the character just by the style of the post. In other words, the character has a strong and simple "hook." Something simple that identifies that character's personality. A good hook helps to distinguish your character from the others in the group. All we have to communicate with on a Message Board are words. So what you write will determine the worth and notoriety of your character.
For instance, the character of Guido in Game 6 is a prime example of a character that has a strong "hook." You would know which posts were Guido's even if his name was not listed above the post.
Guido's hook is that he is sarcastic. Here is a typical Guido post.
Guido:
Guido sneers as the beggar crawls back into his corner. "Get a job," he mutters as they pass. He spots a nearby trashcan with trash thrown all around the can. Guido looks inside and sees that it is empty. He turns and shouts to the beggars up and down the street. "I've got a gold piece for whoever cleans up this mess."
DM Jerry:
Not one of the beggars moves a muscle. In fact only one or two actually turn their heads to look at the ornery Dwarf.
Guido:
"Figures. The Wold's going to hell in a backpack."
A good hook can be anything from being heroic, to an unusual outlook on life, to emphasizing a certain aspect of your character.
The Red Wyrm Inn
We've added a separate game board called The Red Wyrm Inn where the characters, not the players, from all the games (including JKF's now defunct Morantia campaign) can gather, meet and chat in character. There we talk, have shared adventurers and some occasionally are invited to visit The Maw, a huge dungeon underneath the inn. All posts in this inn are done in character. With permission from the Campaign DM, you may occasionally introduce or play an existing NPC on this board. You may begin to post here just as soon as you've sent the first draft of your character sheet to your DM. If you have some questions about using this page, email your DM.
All characters entering the RWI find themselves at the 6th level of experience, yet with their current equipment. The only exceptions to this are characters who have joined the ranks of the Dragon Consortium. They may enter the Inn at their current rank of experience. Any equipment gained in the Inn will probably be lost when the character returns to "real life." Hit points used in the inn are spent for real and are lost to the character in his "real" place and time.
No one ever seems dies in the inn. At least not permanently. This seems to be handled in various ways depending on the circumstances. But thanks be to the Gods of Wold that such is the case, because I've seen them dropping like flies in there, each disappearing only to walk in again the next day!
No one knows how characters from various games, places, and times all end up at the RWI together at the same time and place. It is a grand mystery. Some suggest that the Inn summons those who are restless in their sleep to it's comforting environs. Supporting this is the fact that several characters have noticed that rewards earned in the RWI have occasionally appeared the next morning in their bed roll or under their pillow. Someday perhaps this mystery will be revealed.
One thing is for sure and that is that if your character is searching for more adventure, and wants to meet the characters from other times and places, then the Red Wyrm Inn is the place to be!
The Loot 'n Booty Pub 'n Inn
We've also added a game board called The Loot 'n Booty Pub 'n Inn for out of character posting. You can access the L'nB from either the Main Games Page, or by selecting the button at the top of each Message Board. Here, at the L'nB, players from all Woldian games talk shop, or anything else we want to discuss from movies, to philosophy, to game rules. Note that this inn is readable only when you sign in. This keeps the conversations within private.
I strongly feel that all truly great and successful D&D groups evolve past being just playing buddies to being true life-ling friends. One of the things that I hope sets our site apart from others of it's type is that we work hard on creating an atmosphere where friendship and a feeling of community is encouraged and fostered. Please get involved in the site by participating in the L'nB and the RWI when you can.
