OngoingWorlds blog

News & articles about play-by-post games, for roleplayers & writers

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Don’t set your world in stone

This article was written by Katie who runs Elenlond, a free-form fantasy RPG.

octopus city

When I first started play-by-post roleplaying, people just made things up as they went along. The websites where these threads took place had a roleplaying subsection with little else—there weren’t any pinned topics about races, countries, or social hierarchies. Read More

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Meta-gaming is Good

sarcastic wonkaThis article was written by Crimsyn from the USS Portland in Obsidian Fleet.

Meta-gaming is good

There, I said it.

I say this a lot, whether I’m playing tabletop games or play-by-post RPGs. And when I do, I’m invariably met with blank stares. After all, since Gygax first met the d20, it’s been common knowledge in the role-playing community that meta-gaming is one of the greatest sins that a player can commit. Read More

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Improvisation Challenge

improv-o

Improv!

I just recently experienced something truly fun and thought provoking at the same time on Facebook. It started off with the phrase “He walked into the bar, he found a seat and ate from the bowl of stale pub pretzels as he waited for the bartender to come his way.” and ended up being a random story about a man named Major Major and a woman with blue hair and time traveling to rebuild something called the Consulate. It was truly comedic yet it also kind of opened my eyes to a true challenge for a writer. Improvisation.

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Don’t keep your game a secret

keeping your rp a secret

I know advertising is horrible. I know it’s a ball-ache. I know it’s horrible being advertised AT. But it doesn’t have to be, it’s just about letting people know what they want to know. Read More

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10 TV shows that could make good roleplaying games

This article was written by Chris Kentlea from Ennead Games and a veteran player of Blue Dwarf

Warehouse 13 - A good world to roleplay in?

First let me start off by saying this is all personal opinion. If you disagree with my choices, agree or have more ideas to add, the please use the comment section.

As you will probably guess the shows I mention are amongst my favourite TV shows. Read More

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4 Step Recipe for Creating Great Campaign Seeds

Pant-wettingly freaky castle

This article was written by Johnn Four and published on his Roleplaying Tips blog, and republished here with permission. Johnn writes advice for GMs running tabletop roleplays, but this article applies to the process of creating story arcs in play-by-post games too which is why I asked to share it here.

roleplaying tips logoA friend once told me his philosophy on work and projects: “Begin as you would end.” Read More

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Labyrinthine and Immersion Storylines

I've had those nights of writer's block before

This is a screen shot from the game. I posted it because it’s like one of the many nights we’ve all had with the dreaded blank computer screen when trying to post with writer’s block

I have just recently played a demo for a very interesting game created last year by Galactic Cafe and released on the Source Engine. The game was called the Stanley Parable. The Stanley Parable is completely based off of choice and decision where you only have a few controls. WASD to move, mouse to look around, and the mouse 1 button to press buttons or open the occasional door. The game features three main factors. Stanley, the silent protagonist of the game. The Narrator, the faceless man with the British accent that narrates the story and Stanley’s actions. Read More

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Who is the main character in your game?

Post apocalyptic roleplay

Sorry for the misleading title, because it’s actually a misleading question. There should only be one main character in your game and that’s… Read More

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Adding infinite depth to mediocre game characters

XCOM characters

Boring game characters? Write your own backstory

I replayed XCOM: Enemy Unknown recently, where you recruit lifeless characters and equip them to fight aliens in a pseudo-realistic game of chess. In the game, characters are nothing more than lifeless puppets that you dress up in armour, then toss a dangerous weapon in their arms, and send them out into the battlefield. Read More

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Knowing Which Genre To Pick

Different genres, star trek, star wars, harry potter etc

Experience has proven that there is no cut and dry formula for success. There is no genre that one can pick to have instant, guaranteed success, as there are no guarantees at all in roleplaying games. But we do know that certain genres do and don’t lend themselves well to roleplay, and that others may never be as popular. Read More