A Comparison of Play-by-Post Forums

I’ve been keeping an eye on this page of our GMing Wiki for several weeks now, and it’s time to give it a wider audience.

The Play-by-Post Forums page compares 14 sites dedicated to PbP gaming based on a range of criteria, and it packs a ton of data about each site into a relatively small space. Props to the authors, Blayz, LeeCHeSSS, Lilac, Nerwen, PointSingularity and WeaveWarden — you’ve done a great job at making this page into a useful resource.

If you’re considering starting a PbP game, looking to join one or just interested in what’s out there, this page is an excellent place to start.

Do You Give Bonuses/Penalties to Skill Checks for Roleplaying?

Via email, TT reader and RPG freelancer Walter Ciechanowski (Walt C. in the comments here, and author of the recent guest post Cheating: What to Look for, How to Handle It) suggested a great question to ask the TT community:

Do you award bonuses/penalties for good/bad roleplaying when players make social skill checks?

And, of course, why or why not? (Thanks, Walt!)

Introducing RPGs to New Players, Part 2

This is Part 2 of a guest post by TT reader bignose (Ben Finney). In Part 1, Ben covered prep and what happened during the game; now it’s on to what he’d do differently, what worked well and the resources he used. Thanks, Ben!
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Things I’d do differently next time I need to introduce GURPS and/or role-playing to a new group:

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Introducing RPGs to New Players, Part 1

In the same vein as I Was a Virgin Convention GM and How I Lost My Play-by-Post Virginity comes Part 1 of this detailed after-action report on starting a group with new players, written by TT reader bignose (Ben Finney). Thanks, Ben!
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After talking with some friends about getting a role-playing group started, and gathering a small group of interested players, I planned an adventure to introduce them all to the game and find out their play styles.

The adventure was run today, in a single afternoon; it was proclaimed a success. I thought I’d write this message to share some details of how it worked out to help others in a similar situation.

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Cheating: What to Look For, How to Handle It

Today’s guest post is by Walter Ciechanowski (Walt C. in the comments here), author of Thrilling Tales: Dragon Island, d20 MasterKit: Fantasy Occupations and numerous other Adamant Entertainment products, as well as the long-running RPGnet column Keeping Kosher. In it, Walt tackles a topic that hasn’t been covered on TT before: dirty, dirty cheats. Thanks, Walt!
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One of the biggest problems any game master can face is the issue of cheating. Whether it be a player that “rolls” improbably high ability scores, routinely makes target numbers that he only has a 25% chance of hitting, or adds extra bonuses or points to her character sheet, cheating can certainly whittle away at the integrity of the gaming experience.

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Fudging Rolls: Are You Playing a Game or a Sport?

This guest post by TT forum moderator and veteran GM Patrick Benson (AKA VV_GM) comes at the topic of fudging die rolls from a new angle, with solid results. Thanks, Patrick!
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The topic of fudging die rolls seems to be one of those hot button issues that bring about heated debate amongst gamers. Why is that? Is it really that big of an issue whether or not a GM fudges a die roll?

It is not as if someone will be physically harmed as a result of the GM’s decision to ignore the rules and go against the roll. On the other hand, choosing not to fudge die rolls does not mean that the players and GM are mindless slaves to the system either. To fudge or not to fudge is just a decision as to what tactics a GM should use. Yet this relatively minor point seems to unleash ferocious attitudes amongst some gamers.

Perhaps the issue is not with fudging die rolls itself, but with what fudging die rolls implies about what is actually happening in the game. Whether or not you fudge die rolls is an indicator of what you are trying to accomplish at the table. Are you playing a game, or are you playing a sport?

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Improvising an Encounter

Every GM improvises, but not every GM is comfortable winging important encounters. Here’s one way to make running an improv encounter a breeze.

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Ninety Minutes is a Good Start: An Open Letter to Peter Adkison

Dear Peter Adkison,

After sending you Peter Adkison Hates Us: An Open Letter About GenCon Registration last year, and reading your responses, I decided to give GenCon another chance this year.

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