Online Gaming: The Forums

Last week we looked at house rules. Now that we have our house rules how can we tell all of the potential players without spending hours talking to each player over the internet? There are several methods that I have found effective. A web page is a great way to let players know you have a gaming group and what your schedule is. It’s really easy to set up a simple web page these days, but if you use a lot of graphics and tables then things can get sticky. I know what your thinking, “I don’t know html I can’t make a web page.” Trust me here folks you can do it. If you learned how to play D&D then you can manage this because there are more rules and exceptions to the rules for D&D than html.

We have enjoyed using the services of Yahoo Geocities , Homestead and Angelfire . There are others that we have not used like 50megs , Domain Valet , Freeservers and Doteasy .

We have found many sites with simple code and other useful tips on sites like Lisa Explains It All , HTML 101 , Web Frontier , Freesites Web Editors and Webmaster Freebies. Don’t forget to check with your internet service provider to see what they offer to members who want to make web pages.

For those of you that don’t want to make a web page there are other options like mass email. You will have to put everyone on your e-mail contact list and mail them any info they need from week to week. Maps and visual aids should be mailed in advance so the players don’t have to download them during play because connection speeds can vary greatly depending on phone lines and the availability of faster connections such as DSL or Cable. Players and DM’s alike have to trust each other and remember that peeking at maps and visual aids before play only cheat themselves and the other players. E-mail is also a great option for working out the after game whisper campaign with the DM. An example would be the thief who wants to pick the fighter’s pocket while he is asleep; well a good DM could have the thief write him a letter of intent and during the week they can use e-mail to work out the details. This gives the DM enough time to consider if fighter wakes and discovers the thief and what actions should follow.

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