Subj : Re: New To The echo
To   : Ariel Sibal
From : Scott Adams
Date : Sun Nov 11 2001 06:58 am

 -=> Quoting Ariel Sibal to All <=-

 AS> Hello Anyone?

 AS> If I may ask a question...How do you play AD&D online? Do you play
 AS> here on the echo or just talked about it here and play somewhere else?
 AS> I was just wondering because my gaming group is in different locations
 AS> because of school. The group I got left here is still playing once in a
 AS> while. I would like to see if we can find help and ideas on how to play
 AS> online. 
 AS> Oh, BTW, my name is Ariel and I have been playing AD&D on and off
 AS> since 1985. My group are also playing White Wolf's Vampire/Mages,
 AS> Robotech and CyberPunk. I DM before also, but I rather be a player.

        Depends on the term online.

        There are four modern ways:
        ICQ (instant messaging]: Some try this but
          it can be erratic and unless you do chats
          or many messages it may be slow.
        IRC: Many prefer this where its everyone
          in a chat room and you game like a real
          game session.
        E-mail: or play by email (PBEM) Where a GM
          judges everything, does all the roles
          and characters just fill in with actions
          and dialogue.
        Echomail: Play by Echomail (PBEM)
          Like e-mail but you play in a echo like this one.

        I've run pbems since the early '80s and was
        one of the first in fidonet to do so successfully
        and still continuing.

        Basically the GM controls most of the stuff. He
        keeps up with characters (skills, experience).
        He makes all rolls and the players just sit
        back and react normally to situations and
        fill in dialogue.

        It becomes more a story than a game in some
        aspects.  Table gaming and echo gaming
        have strengths and weaknesses.  The strength
        is pure environment.  The echo gives a GM
        a chance to flesh out characters and scenes
        with great detail a table GM might not want
        or have time to describe things.  Dialogue
        is far more detailed.  Entire conversations
        may be ommited in table gaming but detailed
        in echo gaming.

        Course inflextion and emotions are hard to
        dictate in echo gaming.

        I THINK I did a website page on this stuff
        on my site
        http://users.cybermax.net/~longshot
        check out the rpg page it might be there
        been awhile since I worked on that so
        not sure if its still online or not :)

        But that's the jist of it.

        Any questions?

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