Starting a PBeM...any ideas???

Greetings, and well met. I'm new, in case you haven't noticed. Carhouth is in Rohan, so I've been told. I haven't been there since I was about 5. Been traveling alot since.

Anyway, a bunch of my friends and I are trying to start a PBeM RPG (play by e-mail role playing game) centered around the War of the Ring. Does anyone have any pointers?

Welcome to Entmoot! (did I get it first??)
I wouldn't be one to ask since I didn't ever participate in one of those.
I just wanted to get the greeting first (an old trawdition here; race to say "Welcome to Entmoot")

Hey! You're from Canada too? Where abouts, if you don't mind me asking. I'm from northern Alberta. And yes, Niffiwan, you've had the honour of first greeting.

I've got the basics on the e-mail system and stuff, but I'm really in need of a scenario to start with.

If it's important to you to run your own, I'm afraid I cannot advise you, since I've never participated in such a game. But you might be interested to know there is already a professionally run PBeM game.

Check out www.xenite.org/channels/l...rings.html for the link (which I don't have memorized). That's the Lord of the Rings XML channel homepage. I maintain a list of mostly commercial links on the channel for Tolkien fans.

Thanks, muchly appreciated. I'll check it out. I haven't much time to do much of anything, between work and stuff, so it's still going slowly. Nobody wants to join by chance do they?

I certainly don't have time for any play-by-email games. Sorry.

i'd love to, but just got a job & already it's cutting into my Entmoot & fool-around-online time severely.

aryne *

That's perfectly ok. I'm just looking for more people to play, because the more people, the more characters, characteristics, and the more things that can happen. Therefore, more fun.

What I really need is someone willing to be the bad guy.

I doubt I have time for it, but could you tell me what PBeM means? And how time-consuming it is?

PBeM is short for Play By e-Mail. It's a role playing game in which you don a character, and join in the action. There is a moderator, to whom a copy of the e-mail is sent first before it is sent on to the next person. Incidentally, I'm the moderator for this one. As to time consuming, it is only as long or as short as you have time for. The reason it works for me is because I generally get fairly busy, and therefore I can have a week to plan out my next strategy or move. Some games have gotten so specific that players will conspire together, and send eachother hand drawn maps etc. I've heard it can be alot of fun, and am trying my hand at it.

If you ever get it started let me know, you do seem quite good at RPG's and I miss being the bad guy, it's boring being good in Camelot j/k

I would gladly join you up, it's pretty close to being started. Catch being I would need your e-mail address, and some people aren't comfortable giving it over the net. If you don't want to give your's, I post mine up. Generally I'm pretty trusting of people's honesty.
I'd have to get a character sheet to you, so the other players will know who you are, and for my "records".

I'd love to play--my email is dragongirl02@aol.com I already play T2T MUD, so I have some idea of what a roleplaying game is like, but I've never done an e-mail one.

Great, I'll get a character sheet over to you ASAP. With a copy of rules, scenario, etc. Anyone else?

darthtater@tolkientrail.com

If I have the time I'd love to be bad

Tolkien takes precedence over mind-dulling work...

arynetrek@yahoo.com (spammers will be shot!)

aryne *

Awesome, wow, this is going to turn out great. I'll get the stuff to you later today...hopefully. During my coffee break maybe.

Tater, you can be as bad as you want, saves me the trouble of being two/three characters at once.

brainiac@exotrope.net

I haven't role-played anything for many many years. I remember, back in the Elder Days, when we rolled REAL DICE and sketched everything with graph paper.

Back then, there were no Monster Manuals, etc. We had to walk uphill both ways in the snow just to sharpen our pencils (archaic writing instruments). I had to wrap barbed wire around my bare feet just to get traction in the ice. For mood music, I played VINYL RECORDS of classical and movie soundtracks on a PHONOGRAPH! Sometimes, we used 8-track tapes! Why, we used to PASS notes under the table (and many other things might happen under the table as well). We all had to physically meet IN PERSON.

You sheltered youngsters may need an old campaigner along!

Of course, I haven't played a truly evil character in a long time... Usually I'm good. (And when I'm good, I'm VERY good! When I'm bad, I'm even better!)

If this new-fangled email game gets off the ground, I should be delighted to spare a little time for it, if I may. Have you got a scenario in mind?

robertwgardner@hotmail.com

Wow, I didn't expect quite this response from people. This looks like it's going to get big, hayhap I shall appoint a co-moderator. Put your hands down, it will be one of my friends who've helped me think up the idea in the first place.
In fact, I will have to consult with them as to how big they actually want this to get. You guys shouldn't be a problem, but I don't know.
For a scenario I was thinking about where in the books (LotR) it had an unexplained or unfinished story. The only one I could think of was in Return of the King. The reason the elves couldn't come to aide in battle was because they were fighting one of their own. I believe they were surrounded by a couple of armies, to cut off their attempt in meeting with the others. If anyone has their book handy (mine are at home) and would care too, could you please look up the details for me?