Hybrid Play by Post Game - Brainstorming
As I work on recruiting players for a game, I am starting to brainstorm ideas of a hybrid approach as described here. These are my starting thoughts.
Domain Level Game, Play by Post first. Offer the opportunity for live group play to overcome specific goals and help the domain level play. Players can interact with either or both styles of play.
Ideas:
Troupe style
- Domain play characters not necessarily group play characters. Players generate multiple ‘tiers’ of characters. There is also a pool of NPCs players can assign actions to.
- Players have a command level, support, and combat level character. Players are free to take whatever role they want, having certain roles filled provides certain bonuses or actions (ex. Engineering Officer allows for field fixes and jury-rigging, Quartermaster gives bonuses to prevent mutinies, Science Department Head allows for reverse engineering weird tech).
- Character roles and NPC allocation are handled through inter-player means.
- Having more roles than players encourages players to recruit more players.
Why have group games if domain play exists?
- Missions requiring covert actions or too sensitive for that level of play (diplomatic missions, dungeons into enemy or neutral territory). Bringing a full expeditionary force into an urban center is basically a declaration of war.
- Logistical issues - feeding or transportation (limited ship space).
- Domain level actions handled in the abstract while group play are handled directly. An example of a domain level action might be players deciding they want to scout out the price of goods at three different port. The players tell the GM who will do the scouting and the level of information they want, the GM does all the rolls and informs the players what they learn. Group play would provide much finer control over the above.
Why not a cataphracts style game?
- Cataphracts style games seem mostly about logistical issues and asynchronous information. Unless I start the players off as a full regional power style faction where they need to immediately take command of their own divisions, they will lack the asynchronous information piece.
- Maybe something to consider as players gain domain level power and transition to a regional power.
Setting Ideas
- Scifi setting. Players have a ship and a home base. They start off as a fresh small scale power, similar to a mature Traveller group. Economic power, mercenary actions, piracy, etc all offer venues towards increased power.
- Mausritter. Whole campaign takes place in the Palace of Versailles. Different factions have taken over the mansion and grounds. Players must carve out a place for themselves room by room, garden plot by garden plot.
- Age of sail. Players are either pirates or have a letter of marque. Similar to the scifi setting but immediately prioritizes players are pirates (instead of only being one option in the scifi setting).
- Weird Conspiracy. Alt past where in the 80s Reagan privatized the espionage industry. As a result there are multiple agencies competing with each other for government contracts. Some times this competition is direct action. Add in a dash of Tim Power’s Declare for fun. Play map would be DC.
Resources
- Jenx’s PbP Advice
- Yochai Gal’s PbP Advice
- Lar’s Thoughts on Rogue Trader as an OSR game. Includes thoughts on incorporating different layers of play into the same game.