# Anyone up for an online role-playing game? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 26, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798 "2005-01-26T18:38:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/41 "2005-01-28T00:03:43Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > Really? Take my bribe, please! šŸ˜‰ But if there are other roles that need filling, like I said, Iā€™m flexible. Other roles that need filling, huh? Exactly, how flexible are we talking here? Oh and How YOU Doinā€™? šŸ†’ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/42 "2005-01-28T00:51:29Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > All I know about Meliem I got from your links above. It never ever occurred to me to, like, Google her or anything, but I might do that later. The only things I know came from the links you provided, so I hope itā€™s the real deal! Still think sheā€™s the one I want to be, though. All I could find on her online is what little I have in official texts ā€“ she pretty much controls access to the king, and has her finger on the pulse of all things in the royal castle. Pretty powerful, but not very informative. I wonder why she got the position instead of one of her older sisters. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/43 "2005-01-28T00:57:49Z")
> [@The Mad Hermit](#): > > Do you have space for a mad hermit? > > Iā€™ve tried online role-playing but never got very far, mainly because it was done through message boards and email. If there are specific times and guidelines to follow, Iā€™d like to try a chat or IM format. I think e-mail will be fine for the negotiation phases. For the actual councils, IM would be cool ā€“ and thereā€™s a snopester who has offered to hook me up ā€“ but weā€™d have to agree on a time when we can all play. That might be hard. > [@](#): > > I think the mad hermit role has appeal- I donā€™t necessarily fit in, but I can relate by bringing dire warnings or obscure information to the plot. Hmm, I donā€™t know. A mad hermit interacting with the most powerful people in the kingdom? Thatā€™s like giving a bag lady keys to the White House, donā€™t you think? ---
**Author:** ![sweetfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@sweetfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweetfreak)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/44 "2005-01-28T01:18:42Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > So, are you saying you want to play Cheselyne? šŸ˜‰ Hmmmā€¦very tempting indeed. I gotta say, though, I am very green when it comes to on-line role-playing. Also, how often would I be expected to play? I do have a lifeā€¦when I feel like having one. šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/45 "2005-01-28T03:23:03Z")
> [@sweetfreak](#): > > Hmmmā€¦very tempting indeed. I gotta say, though, I am very green when it comes to on-line role-playing. Also, how often would I be expected to play? I do have a lifeā€¦when I feel like having one. šŸ˜› Not really often. I expect your involvement would be no more than that of a moderately to very engaging thread on this board. There will be two concentrated periods of communication, which might last a couple of hours each, or a couple of days each, depending on whether itā€™s done on IM or e-mail. Youā€™ll probably also want to do a bit of research, which might burn an hour or two. I donā€™t expect the game to last more than a few weeks. As I said earlier, I played this game back in August in real time ā€“ it took about 5 hours. Double that time for typed communications, we get ten hours over 3 weeks. Add another two hours for reseach, it averages out to 12 hours/3 = 4 hours a week, or half an hour per day. Compare this to the time you spend on SDMB each day and see if it works for you. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/46 "2005-01-29T08:45:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Hmm, I donā€™t know. A mad hermit interacting with the most powerful people in the kingdom? Thatā€™s like giving a bag lady keys to the White House, donā€™t you think? Not if heā€™s a hermit by choice- a disgusted or disgraced former member of the nobility, for example, who has been out of it for a long time. It would make it easier to role-play without having to know a great deal of background infromation at the start, more could be added as needed. (I was a PnP DM for 20 years, so I have a few suggestions from time to time.) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/47 "2005-01-29T17:22:19Z")
> [@The Mad Hermit](#): > > Not if heā€™s a hermit by choice- a disgusted or disgraced former member of the nobility, for example, who has been out of it for a long time. It would make it easier to role-play without having to know a great deal of background infromation at the start, more could be added as needed. > > (I was a PnP DM for 20 years, so I have a few suggestions from time to time.) Itā€™s an interesting idea, and there are certainly some nobles who are not terribly well socialized. I can look around to see who these might be. But what we really need right now is voting members of the councils. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/48 "2005-01-30T16:48:01Z")
OK, we donā€™t seem to be recruiting anyone else. We have 9 players. I suppose I could both play and GM at the same time, though I kind of hate doing that. And with so few players, the balance is going to be way wacky, but I can try to tweek it a bit. Looks like we have a few choices: Play with what we have. Keep trying to recruit players. Scrap the idea. What say you? ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/49 "2005-01-30T16:50:11Z")
Iā€™d be willing to go with whatever you decide. ---
**Author:** ![RobuSensei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@RobuSensei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobuSensei)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/50 "2005-01-30T16:54:09Z")
Iā€™d say you should give it a few more days to find more people. I say this because this is the first time Iā€™ve seen the thread, and Iā€™m interested (I think). Is being in a radically different time zone going to be a problem? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/51 "2005-01-30T17:17:53Z")
> [@RobuSensei](#): > > Iā€™d say you should give it a few more days to find more people. I say this because this is the first time Iā€™ve seen the thread, and Iā€™m interested (I think). Is being in a radically different time zone going to be a problem? OK, why donā€™t we give it until, say, Wednesday or so? Then we can go with what we have. Looking over the characters, I think there is a way I can make it work. With 9 people, we can have 4 claimants, 4 tenants-in-chief, and one bastard. Anyone else who wants to play is just gravy on top of that. It could still be quite the interesting game. Waiting is also going to give me a chance to do some writeups, as I havenā€™t been able to contact the person with the electronic version. And typing up 9 or 10 characters is way easier than typing up 33! As for the time zone, shouldnā€™t be a huge issue. I just played **Jonathna Chance** ā€™s Diplomacy game, and I was submitting my moves at a different time than everyone else. It hindered me a bit, but that was largely due to my own laziness. Two more ideas: 1. I can let people play 2 characters each, probably allies to begin with. But this might be extraordinarlity difficult to pull off. 2. I can troll the Harn MB for players. But these are experienced gamers and they might want to snag the best characters, and my dominate the game. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/52 "2005-01-31T15:43:03Z")
Just picked up 2 more at snopes, so that gives us, erā€¦ 13 players? Far from ideal, but with that we can fill the roles of most major people, and have one rousing fun game! Woohoo! The original game has quotas for winning, 9 votes for the first council and 41 for the second. Iā€™ll just have to adjust these numbers for what we have. Missing members may have been waylaid due to weather, or pressing matters of state, orā€¦ Hey, nice new amulet youā€™re wearing! Baron Verdreth has one just like it! At this point, Iā€™d like to ask all players to e-mail me. My address is [nealtoddNOSPAM@comcast.net](mailto:nealtoddNOSPAM@comcast.net) (remove the ā€œNOSPAMā€), with the following information: E-mail header: ā€œSDMB/snopes Kaldoric Succession Councilā€ Body: -Your e-mail address that youā€™d like to use for this game (will be known by other players) -Sceen name -Handle or name, if other than screen name -Your gender (or gender youā€™d like to play) -Preference for position in court (Bastard son, Clan Elendsa, or tenant-in-chief, such as baron or earl) ā€“ No promises, but I will try to accomodate as many wishes as I can. -Availability ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/53 "2005-01-31T15:56:52Z")
Can I ask what the objectives are: Is it to become King (one winner)? To elect your representative as King (shared victory)? To enjoy the negotiations? Is it better to stay in character or elect the King (i.e. if an enemy offers me a deal, should I reject it?) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/54 "2005-01-31T16:27:28Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Can I ask what the objectives are: > > Is it to become King (one winner)? > To elect your representative as King (shared victory)? > To enjoy the negotiations? Yes. šŸ˜‰ > [@](#): > > Is it better to stay in character or elect the King? Both, if possible. The number one goal is to ensure a smooth transition of power while somehow increasing your own political power. If you play one of the earls or barons, there is little to no chance you will become king, yet you still have a stake in the outcome. You might consider it a victory if your new liege has promised to upgrade your holdings or arrange a favorable marriage. However, an ā€œUnstable times aheadā€ result means major concessions to earls and barons, and so could be condidered a victory for the tenants-in-chief, and a pyrrhic victory for the new king. A result of civil war might only be considered a victory for the player who can raise the largest army, but is generally considered a failure for all. Of course, the main goal is to have fun while staying in character. Even with a civil war result, if all players come back saying ā€œThat was a blast! Letā€™s do it again!ā€, then I think that counts as a successful game. Does that answer your question? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/55 "2005-01-31T16:46:52Z")
I should give an example of how I tried to achieve a personal victory when I played this: I played the baron of Ternua. Several claimants made promises to me to make me an earl, but I had two better motivations: If the eldest bastard son made a power grab, then he would remember both his friends and his enemies. And heā€™s a ruthless bastard. If the youngest bastard son somehow got the crown, then, well, heā€™s an incompetant boob. He would need to look to advisors for help, and his dear old father-in-law ā€“ me ā€“ would be there to, well, run things for him. So my strategy was to press for recognizing legitimacy and birthright of the sons. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/56 "2005-02-01T03:29:29Z")
The best parts are starting to fill up, but we still have no Maldan Harabor. Best role in the cast ā€“ sign up now! ---
**Author:** ![MindWanderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@MindWanderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindWanderer)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/57 "2005-02-01T16:08:48Z")
Iā€™ll play Maldan if you think someone new to this specific storyline can handle it otherwise Iā€™ll take some lesser character. Iā€™ve rped quite a bit in muds so I have some experience just would have to learn up about him. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/58 "2005-02-01T17:17:42Z")
> [@MindWanderer](#): > > Iā€™ll play Maldan if you think someone new to this specific storyline can handle it otherwise Iā€™ll take some lesser character. > > Iā€™ve rped quite a bit in muds so I have some experience just would have to learn up about him. If someone who signed up last week wants to play him, Iā€™d like to make it a lottery or something, but if itā€™s OK with everyone else, then youā€™ve got it. The one requirement for this character is an enormous set of brass cojones. Youā€™ll need the ability to defy others through sheer force of will. Or, I suppose, you could play him the opposite way. At any rate, can you send me an e-mail as per above? ---
**Author:** ![MindWanderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@MindWanderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindWanderer)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/59 "2005-02-01T18:48:42Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > If someone who signed up last week wants to play him, Iā€™d like to make it a lottery or something, but if itā€™s OK with everyone else, then youā€™ve got it. The one requirement for this character is an enormous set of brass cojones. Youā€™ll need the ability to defy others through sheer force of will. Or, I suppose, you could play him the opposite way. > > At any rate, can you send me an e-mail as per above? I sent the email. If youā€™ve got some other characters, I might go with them, not sure how well Iā€™d play that kind of character. Mostly Iā€™ve played a more reserved style before, but Iā€™m willing to get it a try if no one else wants to. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798/60 "2005-02-02T04:42:49Z")
Some major characters are still up for grabs. Not everyone who has expressed an interest has e-mailed me. **RobuSensei** you still interested? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-up-for-an-online-role-playing-game/286798.md?page=4)