White Wolf Community

Online play by post games

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Question Posted: 26 May 2009 7:05 AM
Thought a sticky of online play by post games set in the old world of darkness would be helpful.

This is what i know of at this point(Link manager not working for me ATM) :

Vampire : The Masquerade

The Embrace : Set in the fictional town of Castle Dell, Georgia on the east coast of the US. STs are in the US.

Whitehaven By Night : Set in White Haven, UK. ST is in the UK.

Bishops Island By Night : Dont really know much about this, just saw the link in an old post.

Vampire : The Dark Ages

Kiev: Dark Ashes, Bright Fires : Set in Kiev, after mongols sack the city. ST is in US.

Mage : The Ascencion

??? : Not even sure what this is called, but someone appears to want to start a mage game here : http://www.myth-weavers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=13683
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We have a general WoD play-by-post site currently hosting Vampire and Changeling chronicles at the Hunting Grounds, a subsite of Shadowland Six (www.shadowland.org).
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You guys dont actually use dice or any rules there right?
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No, we do.
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Which is to say, it's not free form.  Things are run pretty close to canon.  There is a dice rolling engine, and it is used.  But there are also many times when, especially if you are talking about a few users with long experience interacting with each other, dice are disposed of as cumbersome or undesirable.
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Ahh, i did check out the site, though the FAQ and such seemed to imply there was no ST and it was close to freeform with little reliance on dice...and there doesnt appear to be any character creation rules.
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This actually bears some explaining, because it can be a little confusing. 

I know most sites have a committee of STs (or in some cases just one) who actually are "in charge."  At our site, we don't have anyone user with authority over others.  Our chronicles get run because people step up and introduce characters and storylines and help enforce the rules or resolve conflicts, but they aren't STs per se because they don't have the universal authority you'd expect of an ST at a tabletop session. 

We're kind of like WoD's version of an anarcho-syndacalist commune.  We're all aggressively protective of freedom, but the best way we've found to ensure it is to enforce canon rules.

Also, unlike some other sites, we don't have specific character creation rules beyond the rules established by canon.  We don't have banned merits and flaws or bloodlines, but we rely on consensus and common sense to make that work.

All this sounds sort of freeform-ish, but if you look at our games, the reality is it's almost always by-the-book and almost all essentially normal starting characters.  We just get that way by relying on communal norms rather than trying to enforce hard and fast rules.
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Sorry for the double post.  The following language comes from our FAQ:

What is a plot runner?

In place of a traditional storyteller, HG has numerous seperate and simultaneous plots running. Some of them are small and end quickly. Others are as involved and intensive as any table-top chronicle. Generally there is one user out in front. They tend to introduce the most characters to it, guide the revelations, and handle the resolution. That person is what I call the plot runner, and he or she is a kind of storyteller pro temp. Plot runner isn't official nomenclature, and in fact storyteller would typically do fine, except that I avoid it because it tends to have authoritative connotations that are not entirely accurate. While most storylines will have identifiable leaders (generally, but not always, the people introducing new plot elements or running centrally involved characters) not all threads will have a plot runner, and in those cases the results are typically handled on the fly in a kind of creative consensus, with the rules there for back-up. When all else fails, consensus is the strongest form of resolution, and it is used widely here on HG, but everyone respects the game rules as well. In short, we all play and we all storytell, and that way we get a lot done at the same time. As a new user you wouldn't be expected to run plots, though you would be more than welcome to do so.

Wait, so is this place freeform?

No! All of Shadowland, HG included, is based on a firm, gritty realism made possible by ultimate recourse to the rules. However, dice rolls have historically been sparingly used because the core users here have played together for years, and have grown adept at managing the stories in ways that avoid the need to slow down for dice (which can take some time in online games). We govern by consensus, and use the rules where needed. Some people (though I am bitterly opposed to the process) work out OOC what will happen. That is acceptable too, however much I may dislike it. Ultimately, the goal is to have fun. But one way we can do that is to provide a way to meet people's expectations, and an ultimate recourse to the rules is what provides that foundation. If you try to use Dominate on someone and it becomes necessary (for whatever reason; you may not like their diceless response, you may not trust them to handle it dicelessly, you may even just like dice), you are perfectly entitled to invoke a roll, and the roll is determinitive.



And from our character creation guide:

Like the rest of Shadowland, HG is governed by the principle of self-determination. The site was founded on the premise that nobody has the right to tell other people how to play. Thus, the various guides both on this page and others are suggestions. However, while with the exception of certain very general parameters (please see the Playing on HG page) we will not forbid something, that doesn't mean that a new (or really any) user should just disregard what advice they may find en masse. SL in general, and HG in particular relies more on communal norms than hard and fast rules, so that we can maintain a gaming environment that is both flexible enough to permit a wide range of action, but stable enough to provide a foundation for many different voices.

Unlike some other online role-playing sites, there is no official character creation method. We don't have a list of banned merits and flaws. We don't have an xp max or attribute limits. Like we said before, we aren't interested in spending our time policing what other people do. However, this system works because those who play here have seen Spider-Man before, and they know that with great power comes great responsibility.

The only absolute rule we enforce is canon adherance (as defined by offical WW materials set before the Time of Judgement lines). There is a lot of awesome fan made material out there, and we welcome people who wish to use it to do so in Private Campaigns, but in the World of Darkness folder, canon rules. I'm sorry if Highlander is your favorite movie/show, but if you want to play an immortal you're going to have to make a Private Campaign to do it in.

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My retardation prevents me from actually finding anything on that site so take that as you will.

The ones in the OP seems a little... dead, but for a vampire game that's to be expected [/bad joke]

The idea is good though, if i stumble across any active games i shall give you the links
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If you've checked today (or yesterday) the site is temporarily down for an update.  It will be back up soon though, and we'd love to have you stop by when it is (I'll post here to let you know).
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Dixieboy:
My retardation prevents me from actually finding anything on that site so take that as you will.

The ones in the OP seems a little... dead, but for a vampire game that's to be expected [/bad joke]

The idea is good though, if i stumble across any active games i shall give you the links


They are active. Maybe you cant see the game boards?
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Dixieboy:
The ones in the OP seems a little... dead, but for a vampire game that's to be expected [/bad joke]


I'm the Storyteller for Whitehaven By Night (http://whitebynight.darkbb.com) and I can assure you that the game is up and running.  All of the roleplaying areas are locked to new members until their characters are approved.  Even then, the game is split up into districts, with a character only capable of being in one district at a time.  I have had a couple of new registrations over the past couple of days, and I've approved the accounts so, if yours was one of them, you should be able to see a little more, and when you submit a character, even more again.

I know The Embrace (http://embrace.darkbb.com) runs on a similar mode of operation, so the same would apply for that site.
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As does the Bishops Island by night game.
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Does anyone knows anything about how you join the Kiev chronicle aforementioned? I've been following a few of its posts and it looks good, the Storyteller posts are well-done, but there isnt any information for whoever would like to join. I created an account there to try and PM him but seems like it needs activation, so no go. If anyone has an idea on how to proceed, or if maybe one of its players post here, let me know.
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Lipe82:
Does anyone knows anything about how you join the Kiev chronicle aforementioned? I've been following a few of its posts and it looks good, the Storyteller posts are well-done, but there isnt any information for whoever would like to join. I created an account there to try and PM him but seems like it needs activation, so no go. If anyone has an idea on how to proceed, or if maybe one of its players post here, let me know.


Hi there, all you need to do is wait for activation, and then PM the admin afterwards.
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