What's a PBEM?
PBEM stands for "play by email," and is a particular type of play-by-post game wherein the writing largely takes place over email, or an email-based group. Specifically, we use groups.io.
What is groups.io?
Groups.io is an email-based, forum-like website where we aggregate the scenes/threads in our game. If you're an old school PBEM writer and used Yahoo Groups or Google Groups, it's similar to those.
Essentially, it's a space to collect and organize the posts in-game to each thread and then present them chronologically. If you were to begin reading the archives at the very first post, then you'd be able to read the entire RP history from start to where we're currently at.
You can post to Groups.io either via email or on the Group itself.
*For help navigating Groups.io, please ask a moderator.
What's a thread?
Sometimes referred to as a 'scene', a gameday is made up of a series of threads, which are themselves made up of a series of posts. Characters are separated into threads to interact with each other and meet the plot, or storytelling, goals of the gameday. These scenes are tracked on the Current Gameday page.
What's a gameday?
A gameday encompasses the scenes (or threads) currently being posted into on the Groups.io website. A gameday takes place on a single day, at a specific time, usually in one location or a couple of nearby locations. IRL, a gameday typically lasts anywhere from 2-4 months, depending on how fast the scenes are moving, whether the plot points have been hit, or just how much general interest the players have in what is currently happening.
"Open" gamedays may have a general theme, but allow players to create their own scenes and pursue their own plots or engagement with other characters. This is a perfect chance to dig into personal plots or write with a player/character you haven't had the chance to yet.
"Plot" gamedays will center around some event or events that further the current or overarching plot - sometimes action, sometimes investigation, sometimes something else entirely! Sometimes characters will be assigned a scene, meaning you'll receive information about the scene your character will be in ahead of time, often with a specific goal to work toward.
What's a time jump?
A jump is the period of time between gamedays, which can be anywhere from hours to months long. A jump often acts as a needed 'reset' for both the characters and the players. Usually, players are required to detail what their characters did during this time in a "jump summary".
What's a jump summary?
A jump summary is a written summary of what your character did over the stretch of time between gamedays. Typically, people write about their character's feelings. For example: how they feel about the previous gameday or current plot events, how they feel about their crewmates, or even how they're feeling physically if they sustained an injury. Other things that people touch on are notable interactions with other characters or things happening in their personal lives. Really, anything you feel is important can be added.
Most summaries are written in third person narrative form but we've also seen them written in first person from the character's perspective via a diary/journal entry or captain's log.
What's a JP/BP?
JP is a joint post, which is a scene written outside of the constraints of the gameday - usually it takes place in the past or over a time jump and is written privately and then posted to the io group in its entirety when it's finished.
JPs are great for relationship building scenes, 'getting to know you' scenes, or any scene that's not a plot relevant scene, really. JPs are also great for writing a potentially explosive scene, since they give you the freedom to purposely construct a scene and to edit or rewrite if things go too far awry.
BP stands for "back post" and is essentially a flashback post. It's written in a short story format by a single player and is then posted to the board in its entirety like a JP. This is a good way to flesh out something that happened in your character's backstory that none of the current characters were present for. We tend to see more JPs than BPs.
Where are the dice?
There are no dice! In the event of an interaction where, in other formats such as 5e, one might use dice, in this game we talk it out OOC instead. The result of inter-character conflicts are agreed upon between players, with mod assistance if needed. There is no godmodding or auto-ing allowed, so communication is key.
That said, if you would prefer to make character decisions by rolling dice, we're not opposed to it! A good example would be using dice to decide if a blow lands or misses in a fight scene and then using that outcome to write your post. If you choose to do this, please make sure your scene partner is aware.
How do you handle plots?
Think of it like a television show, where you have your long term plot that the characters will be steadily working through over the course of the show or season - or in our case, game. A mystery to solve, if you will. In the game we tend to refer to this as the 'overarching' plot - the plot that affects every character and maybe even every person in the universe.
In addition to this, each character will also have their own personal things going on. The moderators have 'plot docs' set up for each member - a private Google Document where both the mods and the player can make notes and keep track of their character's personal plots and goals. We use these to keep the communication flowing and to organize ideas as they're presented.
While the over arching plot is the responsibility of the moderators as far as which breadcrumbs are left for the characters to follow, personal plots are mostly the responsibility of the player. This doesn't mean that the mods won't help, because we absolutely will, it just means that we won't be driving those plot points for you.
Some gamedays - like some episodes of a show - will be focused on furthering the over arching plot while others will be more open to allow players to focus on their personal plots.
Because this game is small and the characters so closely entwined, it will be rare for a plot to stay contained to just one or two characters. This means that the moderators need to more closely monitor the types of plots happening at the same time and we need to be kept in the loop to a certain degree.
For example: a character may be struggling with a drug addiction. If another character ends up having a similar struggle, it diminishes the impact of the plot on both characters and splits the focus for the other characters who are helping and supporting the characters through it. This doesn't mean that two addiction plots can't happen, but it does mean staggering them. So if you have an idea for a plot or something that you'd like your character to deal with, please reach out to the moderators but keep in mind that we may ask you to wait or offer an alternate suggestion to avoid stepping on someone else's toes.
What about NPCs?
While each player has one Main Character who takes priority and gets the majority of the attention, occasionally we need NPCs. Most often this is just for a single scene or game day but some require a bit more commitment than others due to being recurring side characters. You are welcome to make NPCs as needed but any who are important to the story as a whole will need a mini bio so they can be added to the website and they should have a specific reason for being an NPC we're likely to see again.
We do have a crew of pirates who are recurring NPCs and every player is welcome to make a pirate to be a part of that crew.
Can I add to the universe?
Short answer: Yes!
Long answer: The universe is a big place and while we have a wide array of planets, space stations, and organizations that have already been developed and fleshed out, there is always room for more. If you have an idea for a space station or a planet, you are welcome to create one but the idea must be a fully realized idea, unique to the other locations. This goes for the mutation that affects a terraformed planet's citizens as well, if there is one, and also for any new organizations.
The moderators are willing to help you and you have to be willing to compromise if we need changes to be made.
Please use one of the templates found on the Locations and Organizations pages if you're submitting an idea for a planet, space station, or organization.