- Method of Play
- Play by E-Mail (PBEM) games on this site follow the Advanced Star Frontiers
rules as specified in the Alpha Dawn and Knight Hawks rule books.
In some situations, these rules may be simplified and/or modified
to better adapt to an e-mail environment.
Every half month, a new chapter in the game will be posted on the
internet. Each player in the game will be notified by e-mail
when the chapter is available. Each player is then to read
the chapter and formulate the next actions for his/her character
in as much detail as possible. These actions should then be
sent to
layne@xmission.com
- Deadlines
- Player response is due by the last day of the half month
(i.e. by the 15th or the last day of the month).
If a player fails to respond by that time, his/her character
will default to being a non-player character (NPC) for that half month.
No experience points will be awarded for actions performed
by a character in NPC mode. If a player fails to respond for
three consecutive half months, he/she may be replaced by another
player on the waiting list.
- Communication Between Players
- Players are free to send e-mail among themselves prior to
sending in their decided actions. In the game, this is
considered to be simple conversation, and can be useful
when coordinating efforts. Even if two player characters (PCs)
are not within talking distance of each other, they can
still communicate via chronocom--and therefore are still
allowed to send e-mail among themselves.
If a player would like his conversation to be overheard (and recorded
on the web site), the e-mail need simply be carbon copied
to layne@xmission.com. E-mail sent as conversation among players
does not count as a player's character response for that half month.
- Ammendments
- Once a player's actions have been sent in, it is permitted
for the player to change or add to those actions with a second e-mail,
provided the second e-mail is sent before the deadline.
- Combat
- Since player interaction occurs only twice a month,
combat cannot be interactive on a turn-for-turn basis.
It is recommended that a player describe in detail
his/her battle plans to be carried out for the duration
of the fight. Combat will be resolved according to
the Alpha Dawn and/or Knight Hawks rules, as closely
to the player's battle plan as permitted, given the events.
- Experience
- Experience Points (XP) are awarded regulary once every month.
XP can only be spent during the turn that XP are awarded.
(In other words, you can't stock up a supply to buy yourself
an instant level 1 computer skill when you suddenly find yourself in a bind
with a computer.) This means that if there are XP that you
do not spend right away, you will have to wait one full
month before you can spend them.
Because the rate at which a PBEM storyline progresses tends
to be slower than in a live game, Experience Points are usually
given out more generously to compensate.
The two areas that are looked at most closely
when awarding XP are ingenuity and good role-playing.
- Payment
- A character's salary is typically determined by his/her
trade skill, as outlined in the Alpha Dawn rules.
Payment is received at logical moments in the game,
and can be spent either between adventures or at any
moment in the game that the character enters a store which
sells what he/she would like to buy.
- House Rules
- Since PBEM players tend to come from diverse areas and
backgrounds, I try to avoid customization by staying as close
to the actual rulebook rules as possible.
There is, however, on house rule I have developed
that I do use in my PBEM campaigns, since it adds value
to otherwise rarely used abilities like intuition (INT) and logic (LOG).
Most skill uses have a success rate based on a flat
percentage and the associated skill level.
For example, the chance that an evironmentalist has
of finding his/her way when lost in the wilderness is
50% plus 10% times his/her environmental skill level.
So if the environmentalist has a level 3 skill,
the chance of success is 50% + (3 x 10%) = 80%.
For most actions that can be performed with a skill,
I have designated an ability that is most needed.
Half this ability (rounded up) minus 25 is used as a modifier in the success percentage.
For example, if the same environmentalist has an intuition (INT)
score of 35, a modifier of ((35 / 2 =)18 - 25 =) -7 is used.
This way, the chance of success is 50% + (3 x 10%) - 7% = 73%.
The lower chance of success reflects the environmentalist's
less than average intuition.
Click here for a list of actions that are modified by abilities.
- Tips
- For best results, players should be as specific as possible
when describing what their characters are to do.
It is a good idea to describe courses of action to be
taken depending on upcoming conditions.
For example, a player might say, "Toxica runs into
the flaming building and looks for the assassin.
If the building seems to be holding up and she can
see the assassin, she will follow and try to stop
him with her tranquilized needler without killing him. But if she cannot
find the assassin after a minute of searching, or if
the building beings to collapse or become too dangerous,
she will give up the search and run for her life."
Players should take advantage of communication among themselves.
Two players united at a task are more likely to succeed than just one.
This is a role-playing game, and players are most heavily
rewarded with Experience Points for demonstrating good role-playing.
Most of all, have fun!
