jagardner@watmath.UUCP (Jim Gardner) (06/10/85)
[...] Several people have requested that I post what I know about Play-by-MAIL FRP games (maybe because they want a change of pace from D&D, etc.). Here it is. [By the way, I want to make it clear that I don't have any sort of wide knowledge of the field -- if anyone else does, please, please, please write in and enlighten me along with everyone else.] There are a good many FRP PBM games out there, some run by fairly reputable companies and others run by people who happen to have a Macintosh in their basement and are trying to recoup some of the cost of investment. There is nothing wrong with the basement PBM games, of course, but you have less assurance that they're going to be here this time next year. There are many many professional PBM houses in the U.S. and U.K. -- about 30 listed in the last issue of Flagship, the only prozine I know of that is dedicated to PBM games. Of these, the only ones I have any familiarity with are Flying Buffalo Inc. (also manufacturers of Tunnels and Trolls) and Adventures by Mail (FBI and ABM for short). FBI's big Fantasy RP game is called Heroic Fantasy. It's a sort of arena game, as opposed to a campaign. Basic set up is a large dungeon, nine levels, many rooms per level. You start out with a party of 9 on the first level. This party enters at the Entrance Room and exits at the Exit Room if and when they find it. (You don't have to exit, but it sounds like a good idea and if I ever survive to find it, I think I'll take the money and run.) Each level has its own Entrance and Exit, and you have to Exit one level before you Enter the next. Party is made up of fighters and MU/thieves who begin with a limited set of spells. You get more spells as you venture inside. A turn consists of a movement (usually from one room to an adjacent one), possibly a minor spell (like loosening a lock on a door), possibly a major spell (like throwing a fireball into the next room), and a few special actions (i.e. improvised things that fall outside what the rulebook says you can do). Since the rulebook purposefully omits a number of things that are possible in the game, it really helps to be creative or to ask questions as your special actions. The more hidden rules you find out about, the better off you'll be. Of course, you aren't the only people in the dungeon. In addition to monsters run by the GM/computer, there are parties of other adventurers who may or may not be friendly. You are usually told the name/address and phone number of the person playing any party you encounter, so you can phone or write and negotiate what happens next. Of course, regardless of what you agree to over the phone, the thing that counts is the orders you mail to the GM; therefore, backstabbing is always a possibility. (Not a good idea most of the time, since word gets out about you; at the same time, if the other group has a LOT of treasure...) FBI also runs a number of SF-related games: Starweb, a game in which you can choose one of six different kinds of aliens, each with a different set of victory conditions; Starlord, a game in which all the players scramble to grab the reigns of power after the ruling emperor dies -- first to the throne world becomes the new emperor and plays for free as long as you can hold the others off; Nuclear Destruction, a game whose name says it all; and several other games whose concepts didn't catch my fancy, so I can't remember them. Costs for these games are in the $3-4/turn bracket (U.S. dollars). For Heroic Fantasy, you can choose to join a game with 2 turns/week, 1 turn/week, 2 turns/month, or 1 turn/month. Other games allow similar schedules. Original set-up for a game is about $10. FBI will send a package containing the rules for all their PBM games for only $5 (U.S.), a very good deal as far as I'm concerned. From that point onward, you can see if any of the games appeal to you. Sorry that I don't have the FBI address with me at the moment, but I'll look it up and post it in a day or two. At that time, I will also post more information about PBM games, in particular Crasimoff's World, a fantasy role-playing game from ABM. Jim Gardner, University of Waterloo