Play-by-post Role-playing Game - Rules

Rules

Unlike other forms of online role-playing games such as MUDs or MMORPGs, the events in play-by-post games are rarely handled by software and instead rely on participants or moderators to make decisions or improvise. Players create their own descriptions of events and their surroundings during play. Results of combat, which may include Player versus player encounters, may be determined by chance through dice rolls or software designed to provide a random result. The results of random chance may need to be provided to the players in order to avoid disputes that may be a result of cheating or favoritism. Alternatively a forum may be diceless and rely on cooperation between players to agree on outcomes of events and thus forgo the use of randomisers.

In the latter case, combat and other measures are handled by requiring players to avoid detailing the results of their actions, and thus leave an opening for a response by other involved players. Consider the following possible post from a character named Bob attacking Joe:

Bob punched Joe in the chest, knocking him over.

This post makes the assumption that Joe takes no further action to avoid the attack from Bob and that he will drop as a result. These types of actions are often called "autohits" as they "automatically hit" without allowing for a response by the affected character, and there may be rules against such actions. Alternatively, Bob may be required to write something like the following:

Bob swung a punch at Joe's chest, attempting to knock him over.

This allows Joe to respond to the action without contradicting the post.

Depending on the rules established on the forum, role-playing and story can be pushed forward through moderation by a gamemaster, specific rules (often existing role-playing game systems), or by mutual agreement between players.

Some games allow members of any writing proficiency to join, while others may require members to provide a sample of writing for review before allowing participation. In addition, a minimum word-count for each post may be required in order to encourage more detailed writing. Forums that cater to all levels of role-playing may have specific sections for various difficulty levels.