(Interest check, seeking co-GM) D&D inspired wilderness exploration and survival

[shroom]

Right, here goes.

So I have this idea for a game that I've explored very briefly in the past and wish to do more with if there is interest to do so. I'm willing to GM it myself but as I am new to Elliquiy and still finding my footing, I'm looking for a co-GM to help not only run the game but also with the technical side of things.

The Setting: It starts in a land of magical abundance, but calamity strikes and threatens to destroy everything. The players live in a small town that has always opposed the overuse of magic, and the mayor sets into motion a contingency plan made just in case this sort of thing happened. The villagers have no more than a day to gather their things and prepare themselves before fleeing to the wilderness, settling down in a mostly untamed and unexplored new area. The meat of the game will be low magic and low power level, with a focus on exploration, town development and inter-character relationships.

The Characters: I'm pretty open in terms of details, but I'm willing to work with a group as small as three and as big as however many are interested. The players will all be villagers of this low-magic town and as a result any who can use magic will be of exceptionally low power, about equivalent to a level 1 character in D&D terms. They will each have a role in the town, and any key professions not filled in by the players will be assigned to NPCs with the option of taking a small number as GMPCs if interested. The characters will already at least know of each other before the start of the game, with plenty of opportunity for pre-established relationships. I also plan to let them have NPC family such as a significant other or children if they want.

The You: I'm looking for someone familiar with the way Elliquiy works, at least more than I am. Bonus points if you've run a group game here before. I'm certainly going to need help actually setting the game up, like making a proper recruitment post and (if it actually gets off the ground) setting up the forum and threads. Other than what I've outlined above, I'm open to suggestions and collaboration. In particular, I'm not sure if I'd rather run the game in a system, or go freeform and focus on the RP. My natural inclination is to lean towards freeform, but I'm open to whatever will be likely to work best.

If you've read all this and either want to express interest in joining and/or have some concerns or feedback you'd like to voice, feel free to reply to this post. If you're interested in co-GMing and/or want to know more details, reach out to me through a direct message and we can talk more about it. Thanks for taking the time to check out my idea, even if it doesn't interest you!

[AndyZ]

I've been on Elliquiy for over a decade, though I wouldn't call myself a true expert.  Are there specific questions you might have that you hope to get answered, or are you just nervous about starting out?

[shroom]

I've been on Elliquiy for over a decade, though I wouldn't call myself a true expert.  Are there specific questions you might have that you hope to get answered, or are you just nervous about starting out?

Mostly just nervous about starting out honestly.

[AndyZ]

I'll tell you right now that a lot of games just fail.  I got really lucky on one of my first group games where it lasted for over a thousand posts all told (which was what Big Game Status used to take), but haven't had anywhere near that kind of performance since.

With a tabletop game, you can see everyone around the table and recognize what's going on.  If someone looks bored, asleep, or whatever, you have an easier time seeing it.  Conversely, when someone ghosts in a tabletop game, you often have no idea.

The best way I've seen to handle it is that when the GM feels that things are stagnating, they'll mention that they'll be advancing things soon and offering others the chance to post before then if they want to.  That way, you're not calling out any individuals but are also making it clear that you're about to continue on.

Beyond that, the first thing to accept is that if a game just doesn't kick off, it's very likely not at all your fault.

Some things you'll want to note are the OOC Thread (where people can post OOC stuff), though some games just have a Discord group for that exact purpose.  Likewise, you'll want a Character Thread so it's easy to find all the different characters in one easy place.  The reason for a separate Character Thread is that you may well have new people joining in later.  Some GMs like having a separate thread for smut (this is an adult RP server, after all)

Headers are common as well.  Most often they have the name and the picture of a character, but they may have stuff like tagging individuals so that it's easy to see who you're talking to.  They're less necessary in a small freeform game, but system games often use them so that stuff like the HP is easy to see for everyone, and in a large game with lots of people but only one IC thread, everyone likely won't be reading everything (which is why the Tagging helps).  Depending on your game, some like to have a header area for trigger warnings.

My strongest recommendation for learning how group games work is to join one.  Seeing a lot of it in action will help explain so much of what I've already said so that it's concrete examples and less abstract theory that can be hard to understand.

Any other questions?

[RedKnight]

Hello Shrum and Welcome to Elliquiy.

I’ve been here for a couple of years, and I’ve been GMing on another site for loner than that. Let me give you a little general advice and them some specifics.

AndyZ is right, must PbP games (not just Elliquiy) tend to peter out before their completion. I’m part of a GM group on another site (RPGCrossing) and we run an Open/Shared World where players are free to join at the begining of each adventure. I would say that typically we lose about 2 of 6 (33% failure rate) on a six month adventure. Although, I’ve see games that have lost about 4/6. Also, we tend to have a lower rate, because typically one or two of the players are long-term GMs.

My suggestion is that you treat each game as a ‘learning experience’ and be able to take away points regardless of how the game turns out.

To the specifics of your post. Typically, most of the players here are looking for ‘freeform’ adventures. See D&D folks might miss that it is a freeform game. You might want to try a title a bit more like Freeform Survival Fantasy game. Second, a majority of the players are here for the smut. So, be specific about the level (or lack thereof) you’re looking for. 

In terms of creating an Advert, a perusal of the GMs/Group Seeking Players would be useful. One thing I might suggest is what you’re looking for in terms of player applications - it sets the tone for the game. Some common stuff people as about are name, race, sex, profession, etc. I’m a little bit different in that for my Urban Shadows game, I asked players for a notable NPC, location and object. I like to run collaborative games and want players comfortable helping craft the world.

You’ll see OOC threads for a number of games, but I’ve seen more and more games going to Discord for OOC and some for play as well.

[Laughing Hyena]

You want a game to last in a play by post? Make certain you keep going and have a concept that can keep putting in new players to fill in gaps and never commit yourself to just one rigid destination. I'm running a hollow world game that does not have many of the original group including the player who requested me. It takes work but you can do it as DM.