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The May 15th date was to get us going. I didn't want to put it back a couple months and have us never get to things. You all get grace, and I hope I do too. I'm working on getting you all your information for the character sheets. I liked all the backgrounds I received so far. They'll work great to lend to the next chapter of the story we develop together. I think I'll roll and have you all choose and place the rolled numbers in the attributes you desire. From there, you can choose, report back to me, and I'll send you the modifiers and information which will be based on your attributes. For example, your HIT POINTS will be affected by your chosen CONSTITUTION. I'll roll all this and have it to you this night. Just place and send back via PM your desired setup. I'm also planning on starting you at level three, and this will be reflected by the points you receive to sort. This will be a good start. I'll also post up the inventory options for you all to take a look at at this point, and when I get your information back to you, I'll allot the booty for you all to choose stuff with. The items took a while to type/convert to a format I could post here.

Don't worry. Chickens will be available to purchase. Only 2 copper coins each!

You're all welcome to post your appearance and basic information, but don't necessarily post all your background. That will be for your character to divulge or not divulge in-game. You know, keep the suspense and whatnot. I have successfully fixed my main computer. Sometimes its the easy methods that work best. The post of inventory will be up soon. Part of the delay is simply digitizing the massive amount of character creation information. I am working on getting a post to each of you one at a time. We'll do a little back and forth action in the PM department, then it will all be ready. This is hopefully the longest and most work of this type we'll have to do. Once the characters are figured out and we have all the stats for them, things should move faster from there. Thanks all for the patience and interest so far. One way or another, this is going to be interesting.

Hmmmm.... I think I'll need to make another thread that details equipment available to you all. I'll start working on it.

Yes. PM me your backstory, which would include relevant life information like the major events in your character's past, previous employment experiences, and reasons for being in Northwestern Faerun. This is between you and the DM. The others will only know if you make their characters privy to the information in the game. It doesn't have to be an essay. Simple English to get your ideas across to me is fine I'll ask for clarification if anything seems confusing or needs to be exposited for the game. That's splendid actually. You'll balance things out this way. Everyone else will get pwnt by the iron golem I'll set up at the end of act I.

Is my idea oked or do I need to think up another character? If all is well I'll write up the backstory and have it to you by the end of this week, if not I'll come up with a new race/class combination. The Tiefling Rogue? Accepted.

After the vote, it's 3-2, winner is 2.5e. (My vote counts for 2 since I'll be using the rules the most as DM). I'll look for free, legal resources you guys can find online. For now, I'll start sending each of you the information for the builds of the characters you selected. This may take a little time though, so please be patient. Rough time-frame for starting the game, May 15th. I approve of the half-orc cleric for worstusername. Though quirky, the game allows for such a selection. When you guys meet up in game, you will be the craziest looking bunch.

Thanks Gfted. Since we haven't really gotten too far into it, we should vote on it. What do you guys think? It might help you all to have those resources there. On the other hand, 2e revised is a better version in my opinion.

My advice is steer clear. Knowing you you'll fix up with someone else. This one sounds a bit mad. I have to side with Walsy on this. If your observations are true, it sounds manipulative of her, and at the very least unstable. I wouldn't let things with her get romantic until you had a green light in those areas. Until then, help her out as a friend if you care about her, but don't get your emotions involved beyond that. Until she learns patience, giving in to romance with her will just make things worse for her, and will bring her insecurity into your life.

At WorstUsername, ask me any questions about the system you have that you need clarification for. I can type out some this stuff for your personal reference quickly enough, and collect them on MS Word for the future if I ever do this again. Alignment will be private, and it'll come into play as much as you guys make it come into play. There are some situations where it would definitely affect gameplay. For example, if someone played their character in a chaotic evil style, and they told me the next time they level up they want to train as a paladin, such a thing would not work. I'll probably start you guys at level 2, but I will tell you more about how I'll handle leveling up later. For now, my main computer got a virus and I'll be using the majority of my time to work on getting it back together. So far my primary method has been making a boot disc for Knoppix, but it's not really a walk in the park for me. I had a lot of useful programs for this stuff on my main computer, so this will slow me down until I fix it. I'll keep you posted on that. Conclusions: temporary halt to my distributing information for your characters. Keep fleshing them out. I approve of Walsingham's gnome illusionist, and Awesomeness' half-elf mage, but if the rest of you try to be magic users too, calculations and whatnot might get exponentially tricky for me. Not impossible, but remember that I'm an amateur here.

Thanks! That's really good feedback. I appreciate it.

Yeah, I'll do the same... EDIT: How is the dice situation going to work out? Are we going to be rolling, or are you? Also, are you planning a more combat-focused campaign or a more character-driven one? Alright. To answer some of the questions so far, I will be rolling when it's required, and I promise it will be truly random and fair (although random doesn't always feel fair). It will take place behind the scenes, unless there is a particular detail that needs explaining (for example, your character was offended by someone at the bar, and you want to sucker punch him when he walks away. If a 0 is rolled, perhaps I will note such a thing, and explain how you horribly fail. If a 10 is rolled I will simply explain the damage done to him, and you can guess what you rolled based on the strength of your character. I'll be using the Combat and Arms option for the game to make things more strategic and fun). Tigranes is right, combat can get slow if someone who has initiative doesn't post for a while, as I'd like it to be in turn for battle, but if your actions don't affect things, for example, if you're after Iwanttehkotor3, and you just want to duck behind a rock in battle or something, as long as Iwanttehkotor3 doesn't do anything like blast the rock into nothing with his magic missile, your actions can remain canon. In non-combat situations, you can post in any order after the DM's post. But wait for my next post until you post again. If you are in a way different location than the other players during the story, and they still haven't gotten back to me, I might just post for you an individual update if it's taking them too long, so that your story doesn't necessarily have to be put on hold if you're simply talking to people in the market or something. If you're in other players' presences, that can't really work. But PM me secret things you are doing that other players shouldn't see. Like when Walsingham kills a guy, Tigranes will PM me to tell me he sneaks some loot from the dead guy while Walsingham is killing the next one, but on the public in-game thread he will say he does something like check the dead guy's pulse. Sorry to give away your plans Tig. AD&D 2e Revised is the golden edition in my opinion, compared to the preceding editions and the following abominations, the good parts of the latter being based on this edition. I'm pretty much sold on the Forgotten Realms setting now, specifically the Sword Coast. I do know it better than others, and probably likewise for the majority of you. There are a ton of possibilities and innumerable things that can happen there. I'd personally enjoy a mixed and rich character-driven story and combat campaign. It depends on how you all will play, but let's try and have an entertaining, quality game here. It would be failure in my eyes if all that happened was fight after fight after fight, and no character development. As I mentioned earlier, this correspondence style of D&D has some strengths when it comes to these elements, e.g. you have the time to read the post about your character, think through what you will do, and write a fitting response as to what your character would do. This even compliments the combat. Now, I don't want you all severely metagaming, but if your character is an experienced warrior, perhaps in a certain situation you might research some tactics that your character would probably know, and then use them. I will be flexible on how you get things done, or even where you go in this realm, and I'll reward you guys for thinking through this stuff. At Awesomeness: if you're feeling confused, I recommend that you play some NWN or NWN2 and get yourself acquainted with the setting. Take some looks at the window on the bottom left of the game's screen, which details the game's equations and mechanics that take place behind the scenes, though most of the game mechanics are common sense. For example, you can guess why a character with higher dexterity points would be more likely to hit a guard's head with a rock she threw from thirty feet compared to the character who has less dexterity, or why that character with less dexterity but, say, more strength, would be more likely to knock out said guard if he succeeded in the lower chance he had to hit him. I have the basic information for our classic game here of AD&D 2.5e. Pick a combination that strikes your fancy and I'll PM you the details so you can get creating. I think I'll be pretty open with your choices; I'll try to be as eclectic as NW2. The basic race choices are Human, Dwarf (includes hill, duergar, mountain, and derro), Elf (includes grey elf, wood elf, drow), Half-elf, Gnome, Halfling. Considering I have access to the Monstrous Manual, maybe I'll even allow an unusual choice like a tiefling, centaur, half-ogre, or even a kobold if you give me a good case for one taking up adventuring in the Sword Coast, but be aware that not all populations you come into contact with in this area will be extremely welcoming of creatures stereotyped as hostile. For example, if there have been kobold raids on human travelers on a trade route, as is known to happen, the towns which are connected by such trade routes may potentially treat you with disdain and even hostility, attacking you on site if they feel threatened. For class, I'll likewise open the possibilities. Express your interest if you have an irregular choice. Basic choices are Warrior (includes fighter, ranger, and I have kits for some others like barbarian), Wizard (includes mage, illusionist, etc.), Priest (includes cleric, druid, etc.), Thief (includes rogue, bard). Be aware that your choices for race can restrict what class you choose. For example, the illusionist class is only open to humans and gnomes. The purpose of this restriction, as the DM guide explains, is to be accurate as to what the races and their cultures are inclined to. As dwarves hold contempt for magic and its users, you probably won't be able to convince me that your character should be a dwarven mage. Though I am not so close-minded as to eliminate all exceptions, let's try and keep choices true to the setting we've selected. PM me if you are just dying to be a dwarven wizard and cannot play the game otherwise if I do not grant you such a thing. Let me know if I forgot anything. In conclusion, PM me once you have your character and selection, I'll get you the details (like age, rolling your attributes), then you'll build your character, I'll PM you the equipment, decide with me any special items you think your character reasonably already has in possession, and I'll allot you realistic amounts of bacon, some of which will be in the form of your gear and equipment. If there's any leftover money, you can purchase things later in the game, or use however you see fit. Also, once your selection is approved by me, PM your background. Or if you are trying to convince me of your Dwarven wizard or kobold gladiator, send a background that supports your case. I might reward you if your creativity demands it of me. If all of you try to do this though, I will definitely get more stingy about character choices, but for now, this is the deal.

Awesomeness and Iwanttehkotor3 makes a full party. If anyone else desperately wants in, please PM me and I will discuss with you possibilities. For now, though, consider this closed to the six players who have posted in this thread already. The DM I referred to above has kindly agreed to provide some help if I need it. He already let me know what resources I will need. I'll be working on procuring them and building our setting, as well as trying to get you all the information you need to build your characters.

Once again, that's the spirit. All right we have 4 players confirmed. I'm trying to tap into a legendary DM I know who is my inspiration. I'll let you know what I learn.

Don't expect me to either, and we have a deal. You're in as our 4th player. Maybe one or two more and we're good to go when I get the material. Start discussing settings and ideas you have on this thread.

You know what worstusername? That type of reckless attitude is just the thing we need. If you have at least 10 minutes once every week or two, I'm sure that's enough time to make a post. Let me know, but for now I'll put you down as potential 3rd player. And I just verified Walsingham as 4th player. He hasn't found us here yet, but I'll let him know we made a thread. So that's four players. I think one or two more, but I am extending special exception to forum best mates such as Llyranor, Nick_I_am, and thepixiesrock should they appear again one day and decide to join.

Alright team, this is it. I'm starting my first foray into the world of DMing with a game we'll play by corresponding here on the forum. I will probably be investing in resources shortly. I'm scouring ebay amidst writing this, looking for deals on material. I tentatively would like to use AD&D 2.5e, since I played a game in it once and enjoyed it. If anyone else has other suggestions, or cheaper alternatives, let me know. Tigranes and Deadly Nightshade are recommended a seat in this, as they were first comers. I think I can handle 3 or 4 more people, so let me know quickly if you're interested. If we're full up and you're desperate, PM me and I'll consider. No matter what, I will accept Pixies if he would finally talk to me again (we had a nasty breakup when I learned about his two-timing ways with the Architect and Hell Kitty. After I confronted him that rainy Saturday night, he stormed out, kicking over the statue of Krookie we sculpted together out of styrofoam, and I didn't hear from him since. He hasn't responded to my multiple texts or voicemails. I'm starting to worry. I think he has lost motivation. He stopped pursuing his dream of making music, and Hell Kitty says their son doesn't even ask for his other daddy anymore. I mean, I'm mad at him, but to see him go off the edge like this is too much for me. Come back, thepixiesrock, don't do this to me. Don't do this to us.) So Deadly Nightshade suggested the Forgotten Realms, specifically the Sword Coast, which would be fitting since Obsidian set their game there. I'm open to other ideas though. If anyone has advice for me as a completely rookie DM, please offer it here. Any resources are welcome to that end too. I plan on running this game with the following model: there will be two threads in the PnP section. Ater getting character sheets and backstories from the participants (public information can be on the OOC thread, private information will be PM'd between me and the player), I will then post an initial post in the in-character game thread, which describes where everyone is at, as per the usual Pen and Paper games. This is where the correspondence comes in. Players will read the post about their character and take their turn. When everyone has responded, I then post the next round of information. Try to respond within a week of the DM posting. If it's been an unplanned number of weeks and we can't get a hold of you, I'll simply temporarily play for your character and assume status quo actions for you that round. Let me know if you won't be able to post for a while and we can make arrangements. A strength of this style of game is our flexibility, which benefits a lot of the students with crazy schedules/projects, or other busy people around here. One might complain that this is slow, but I feel it enriches story quality. Let me know any other ideas you all have that might make this better

I'd be interested. A game set on the Sword Coast might be good since that's a fairly well known setting. That's a top candidate so far. You and Tigranes are in. It looks like I'll be DM unless we get another volunteer. I'll make a thread in the PnP, where I will have further questions and recruiting.

Thanks buddy. I'm relieved to hear that actually. I was worried it'd be complete crap.

Depressive, yes. Uncharacteristic, no. Sweet gibbering Jesus, if _I'M_ normally depressed then what the hell does cheerful look like? The day you quit killing puppies for entertainment value. BTW, anybody want to be in the correspondence DnD game I'm trying to start on the forum here? If we can't get a DM I volunteer myself, though I'm a complete novice and wouldn't know where to start. Ideas for settings, game type?

Depressive, yes. Uncharacteristic, no.

I hope you're feeling better tomorrow. Don't die on us. You're an inspiration.

Good work, Starwars.

Word. Or like I said, if it's easier, a correspondence is fun.