[Snowpocalypse] Basic Game Info

Rich

Hi there, welcome to the Basic Game Info page for the Apocalypse World play-by-post game setting of Junk World 30. I'm Rich aka orklord, the MC for this campaign.

Rich's Rules, Tips and Tricks for PBP for this game:

Stolen from RPGGeek
Q: What is Play-by-Forum (PbF) [A.K.A. Play-by-Post (PbP)]?

A: Play-by-Forum is a style of playing a role-playing game, or certain other types of games, on message board forums where the GM and Players alternate posting actions and events.

Q: It seems like a PbF is a little slow.

A: PbF can go fairly slow at times, especially if players aren't able to post for a few days. Try to stick to the GMs minimum post requirements and be sure to notify your GM if you won't be able to post within those requirements for any reason.

Though slower, PbF games have a tendency towards much more depth in role-playing. As GMs and players are not pressured to convey large amounts of information in compressed time. Details and flavor can be added to each post with time. Also, rules referencing is much less a detraction from the game as everyone involved can take a few moments to look something up between posts.


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Now this is me talking. It's rambling, sorry. I am scatter-spraying thoughts as they come to me. We can clean it up later, if you have suggestions.

Where do I put my Character?
I'd like for each of you to create a thread for your PC. It's your own space, spruce it up how ya like. If you don't know how, check out the PC threads from other games, use the "quote" feature to see the code behind it and STEAL, STEAL, STEAL.
Here are some PC thread examples from another forum called Snails Pace:
* Rustin's Gunlugger Grekkor
* Scott's Battlebabe Merry
* Trevis's Chopper Brick
* My "Wronged" Rue Wakeman

Okay, how do I "play"?
I do my best to emulate a face-to-face game. I will have one out-of-character thread, which I'll call Table Chatter. This is where we will handle non-game stuff (schedules, kibbitzing, links to fun stuff, pictures, whatever), and also rules questions, HX changes and highlights. Table Chatter is THE place for atta boys, encourage each other, give feedback.
There will be "live" threads for each "scene" of the game. This is where you will post your character's actions and dialog.
Say what you do. I'll ask you questions, lay out scenes and you answer and say what you intend to do or what is going on in your head. If I see a move, I'll tell you to roll.
I'll speak for all NPCs... I know, I am SELFISH! But I have a decent ability for dialog. Hopefully we can make up some cool folks together.

Whoah, wait a second, Rich.... Apocalypse World doesn't give me this much narrative authority, does it?
Okay, sometimes I'll ask you to answer questions outside your character's skin. I love the First Session world-building aspect of AW and I don't stop doing it after first session. I am in love with the "Mountain Witch trick". I use it like a crack fiend.

First or third person?
Up to you, I've seen them both. You can start off one way, flip to another if it sucks. I recommend trying to stick to one mode once you're comfy, it will be easier to get in "posting headspace" that way. There are lots of variations. In one game, I wrote everything as if it were written in a journal by my character after the fact (that was tough). I tried once to write everything in third person as if it were a book and the author couldn't read the PC's mind, but then later added in diary journal entries for the PC so they could express their innermost thoughts. I've seen one very skilled player who writes as if he's sitting at a table with you and he dances in and out of character in this delightful way I've never captured before.
PRO TIP: If this is your first game, try something straight-forward. Don't go for purple prose. Just play a dude or dudette. It's cool, you aren't getting paid per word, just have fun.

How much do I write?
Since we're posting frequently, I'd say a paragraph or so, a bit more if its juicy content.

Wait, scott puts all his dialog in bold? WTF?
Scott likes to bold his dialog because its easier for a skim. I copy him because he's smart. I'll probably also use text color for major NPCs. Its silly. I like it.

Okay, but really, how do I roll dice?
It's pretty easy!
You open the die roller by typing <roll>
Then put in the die equation, which is simple for AW, just "2d6" and the modifier. So, it would be "2d6+1" or "2d6+2", like that.
You end it with </roll>. No quote or spaces. Feel free to practice this once below. It's FUN!
PRO TIP: the post where you roll dice should ONLY have the die rolling info. If you go back to edit anything in that post after the fact, a note will pop up stating that potential cheating has been detected and I will mock you mercilessly for a while. Okay, not really. But if I didn't see the die result before you edited, I will most likely ask you to roll again.

Who starts scenes?
The MC (me) starts scenes. I will open new threads for scenes. I like how in other games that the scene thread lists the characters and what session/scene they're in. I will replicate that for this game, plus add in tags for the PCs involved. Scenes will have your PC's first initial in the suffix as well as the session and scene number. I often go with memorable or silly scene titles, they're just a shorthand to help me keep them straight.
For example, if I kick off a scene in the infirmary where Navarre and Gabe are in his infirmary for first scene (just an example, mind you), it might be titled:
[Junk30] Better Get that Looked At (N 1.1, G 1.1)

What if I want a specific scene?
Any player can ask for a scene at any time. This is actually a good idea for times when player activity is out of sync and you want to keep going (as long as I can keep up). Ask for it in Table Chatter thread and I'll start up a scene with a new thread.

How do we help each other?
I'm going to allow players to Help AFTER the roll here. Players can ask before they hit the dice, if they wish.

What if I'm not in a scene, but I have a cool idea for something to happen? Or, what if I am in a scene and I have a cool idea for something for the MC to do to another Player Character that my character wouldn't do?
First of all, both situations are great! I welcome input and collaboration. Please post the ideas/suggestions in the Table Chatter thread. I may ask questions, I may throw it into an active scene thread whole cloth, I may modify it. But I love the feedback and I will do my best to foster collaboration because this is *our* game, not *my* game.

Rich

When does a "game session" end?
This is important because Apocalypse World has mechanics for session ends. I will call end of session based on feel, taking into account how much real-life time has passed, how much game time has passed and how many events have occurred. If you feel a session has come to a natural end, please say so on the Table Chatter thread, I will take it into account. I've found that seven or more scenes per PC is about right normally.

How often do we play?
The game is basically always live, which is for good or ill. I post frequently during weekdays, (meaning a couple times during weekdays if work is light, sometimes at night unless I have offline fun/responsibilities happening). My weekends are primarily for my family, so expect light posting then. If I am going to be offline for more than two days, I will note it in the Table Chatter thread.

What if you will be away for a couple days?
Note it in the Table Chatter thread if you'll be away for more than a couple days. If you don't note it and a day has passed and we're holding up for you, I reserve the right to move on and let your character fall into NPC status until you pick it up. NPC status means I will play your character based on my interpretation of how the character sheet reads plus anything I see you have done in the game (that I can remember). You won't get XP, you won't help other PCs, you won't use Moves. I won't do this lightly. I don't *want* to play your character for you, it increases my workload and steals some of our collaborative efforts. I have two primary goals for taking this action, if I choose to do so: 1) I don't want to keep the majority of the players waiting in limbo 2) I don't want the game to die on the vine: I really want to play this story to its completion.

Rich

Okay great, but how do I put in images?

Go to Imgur (it's free!). You can link to web images or upload from your own PC. Once you load the image, it will offer some text under the heading on the right: "HTML Image (websites & blogs)". You can copy that straight out and put it in a thread and it will post the image "as is".

Rich

PRO TIP:
Stolen from Petals and Thorns.
"Another important thing to take into consideration before joining a new PbP is the amount of time that you have to devote to the game. A lot of work goes into setting up and creating game – often the plot hinges on the number of players and the types of characters they bring into the game. DMs will set rules as to the number of posts/week they expect from their players and you should be certain that you can meet those quotas before you even think about signing up to play. Nothing is more frustrating, for DMs and players alike, than slow-to-post players who consistently don’t meet the posting quotas. They slow down the pace of the game and ruin everyone else’s fun. Remember that when you sign on to play in a new PbP you are making commitment not only to the game and the DM, but to the other players as well. "

In Rich's words:
It's a game, not a job. But, you're making a social commitment to fellow gamers. Don't disappear. If life gets hectic, let us know in the Table Chatter. If you need to drop out, that's cool. Don't leave us hanging in limbo. It's rude. If you were playing a face-to-face game, would you just not show up to play for a couple game sessions? I bet not.

Rich

Snowpocalypse Names List:
(feel free to steal if you need to make someone up in a pinch. Try not to use what I've used. I'll put names used in bold):

A zeach, Academy, Air-to-fakie, Analog, Andrecht, Aolomon,
Arbor, Armada, Artec, Atomic, Avalanche, Backside Misty,
Backside Rodeo flip, Beef Carpaccio, Bloody Dracula, Bluntslide,
Blunt-stall, Boardslide, Board-stall, Disaster, Bond, Bonk,
Burton, Butter , Cannonball, Capita, Cappel, Chicane, Chicken salad,
Cork, Crail, Crippler, cross bone, Cross-rocket, Deeluxe, Disaster,
Double McTwist, Doublechuk, Drake, Eggflip, Eggplant, Elguerial,
Endeavor, Evol, Fakie ollie, Feeble, Flail, Flow Darwin, Forum,
Foursquare, Fresh, Frontside grab/indy, Frontside Misty,
Frontside Rodeo. Gnu, Grenade, Haakon flip, Handplant, Hard Way,
Head, Hitec, HoHo, Holden, Invert, Jeenyus, Jib, Jones, J-Tear, K2,
Kemper, Killer Stand, Lamar, Lando-Roll, Layback, Lib Tech, Lien air,
Lipslide, Manual, Marmot, McEgg, McTwist, Melancholy, Melon,
Merrell, Method, Michalchuk, Miller flip, Mindy, MJ, Morrow,
Mule kick, Mute, Nedd, Never Summer, Nike, Ninety Roll, Nitro,
Nollie, Nomis, Northwave, Nose-block, Noseblunt, Nosegrab,
Nose manual, Nose-pick, Nosepress, Noseslide, Nose-stall, Nuclear,
Oakley, Omatic, One-footed, Orage, Palmer, Patagonia, Penguin Walk,
Perfect, Poke, Poptart, Power method, Pretzel, Quiksilver,
Revert, Ride, Rippey flip, Roast beef, Rocket Air, Rome, Rossignol,
Roxy, Rusty Trombone, Sad plant, Sameway or Bagel, Santa Cruz,
Sapient, Sato flip, Seatbelt, Sessions, Shifty, Sierra, Signal, Silence,
Sims, Slash, Slides, Slob, Smith, Smokin, Special Blend, Squirrel,
Stalefish, Stalls, Steak Tar Tar, Stiffy, Stink-bug, Stormtech, Suitcase,
Swiss cheese air, Switch ollie, Tail roll, Tail, suicide, or tap off, Tail-block,
Tailfish, Tailgrab, Tailpress, Tailslide, Tail-stall, Taipan air, Tamedog,
Technine, The King ,Thirty Two, Tindy, Trespass,Tuck knee, Tweak,
Union, Vans, Volcom, Wildcat, YES, Zeach