Why bother? If you¹ve ever spent a week drumming your fingers at the keyboard while a favorite MUX character sat idle because schedule conflicts kept the necessary players offline, or you¹ve moved to a neighborhood that¹s never heard of "table top roleplaying," it¹s not hard to see the charms of PBeM. No post-game debris to clean up, no more struggling to pronounce "Nyarlahotep" — although spelling counts — and no more players skipping sessions!
Stripped to the bones, PBeM goes like this: the Game Master (GM) e-mails everyone with a description of the current situation. On deadline, the players mail back their characters¹ responses, the GM makes any dice rolls, compiles the results and sends the updated scenario. Simple enough.
Quirks to consider: PBeM turns take a week to 10 days, hence combat is avoided whenever possible unless the game is a military milieu. Emphasizing storytelling and character interaction keeps the action flowing. At its finest, this sort of roleplay is like writing a serial interactive novel, one that keeps you anxious for the next chapter.
As a GM, you might prefer PBeM, because the pressure of time is gone. If clever players avoid a cunningly plotted encounter with the Lord of the Infernal Pit, the GM has a week to repair the storyline. Players choose PBeM for several reasons. First, since the players rarely know each other¹s style, anonymity adds spice to diplomatic manipulations — can you really trust someone you¹ve never met? And with no board or miniatures, each turn requires careful thought about the enemy¹s invisible maneuvers.
A note of caution, though, to those who are gnashing their teeth to sign on — be sure you can be around for the complete run of the story. Dropouts are blacklisted from the most popular PBeMs as a consequence. Lurk for a few chapters first.
Where to get started? The PBeM News: FAQs, indices and current openings. This site also has shareware tools for the GM, from mapmakers and moon phase calculators to dice rollers. Phoenyx: PBeM Roleplaying is a listserver devoted to every aspect of the game, including lurking. The newsgroup rec.games.frp.misc advertises open slots. Sign up fast, as games fill up within 24 hours.
If you¹re brave enough to think about running a PBeM, check out Andrew Fabbro¹s An Argosy of PBeM Advice and Harrigan¹s Running a PBeM. Be prepared to GM for at least six months, and get very familiar with your mail program. Knowing how to create mailing lists, aliases and folders will keep the most mechanical aspect of running the game straight forward.
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