I have come up with some rules for myself about running a PBeM game. (Play by e-mail game.) I'll only share the first few with you as I don’t want to make this article so long you fall asleep, if you haven’t already, have you? These rules can also be used for tabletop GMing for the most part and some are just a matter of using common sense.

Personal PBeM Rule #1:

Let the player characters have free rein whenever possible.

The one is pretty much self-explanatory but not always possible if you as the GM of a particular thread (storyline) have a specific idea, etc. you want implemented.

Personal PBeM Rule #2:

Keep your individual scenarios short and sweet.

This rule might be the single most important lesson I've learned GMing over the email airwaves. It has been my experience that long, drawn out scenario's just do not work well. They are to time consuming and the players get bored because it sometimes takes forever to get something accomplished due to the constraints of email, waiting to post, or for someone else to post, etc. Bored players normally end up leaving.

If your group is underground in the same dungeon for two months (real time) trying to achieve some goal then the play will become stale and boring. Same thing goes if they are waiting around for someone, or gathering information in a town/city and all they do is sit around drinking at some tavern while they wait.

Get them in the dungeon, make it within reason, and then get them out. Same with the city, get the info, or the person they are seeking and move the action along.

This is what I mean about short and sweet scenarios. A long-term goal is okay, just don't make all the particular parts of that long-term goal ~ last, and lag forever ~. Which leads me to my third rule

Personal PBeM Rule #3

Chaos can be a GM's closest friend and one of the best tools for GMing a PBeM game.

I love chaos (controlled chaos) and so don't adhere to closely to any one set of rules (like AD&D, though this is the closest system I use in my game). Predictability breeds boredom and boredom loses you players due to lack of interest, or things slowing down to a crawl. Try to push or guide the group into unforeseen situations and or directions whenever possible as long as this does not conflict to much with rule #1 of letting player characters have free rein whenever possible.

Personal PBeM Rule #4:

Always accommodate your players whenever possible.

Rule #4 is pretty much common sense. If what the player is asking for seems reasonable then you should do all in your power to make it so. If on the other hand it might disrupt, or even destroy your storyline, or interfere with another players character then try to explain the situation as well as possible to the player. If they don't want to listen, or won't give a little then boot them from the game because you don’t need the headaches.

It's surprising though that if something is explained to a player in just the right way most will come back with a 'I didn't stop to think about it that way! I see your point Don.'

Personal PBeM rule #5:

A PBeM game without sex is a mediocre game at best.

How can you possibly keep one of the strongest driving forces of the human or even animal condition/nature out of a game? It's absurd to think you can and boring if you do. Years ago I could understand sci-fi and fantasy writers keeping sex out of their stories and books because most publishers wouldn't publish them. But now, most show a lack of courage or simply can't write about sex to start with. There are a few writers who do like Lackey but even they are poor.

Keeping sex out of role playing is silly unless we are talking about young kids or an all male role playing group, and even with all males it’s still possible. Fortunately for me over a third of the 40 or so people in my game are females and they are:

More vicious than males.
Are usually more open about sex and how to write about it than males and are not afraid to do so.

I figure to get flack about this one. If you run a PBeM and don't deal with the sex thing maybe you should ask yourself 'why?' Is it because you as the GM are uncomfortable with it?

As the old saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained but leaving sex out of a PBeM is totally insane, <grin>.

Personal PBeM rule #6:

Try to stay as consistent as possible.

You need to stay within certain guidelines as to how things are going to work. If you say that a spell works a certain way then it should always work that way unless there are over riding factors. This can also mean how you as the GM will handle something. If the players realize you won't tolerate name-calling and cursing at another player then it should come as no surprise to them when they get booted.

Personal PBeM rule #7:

Endeavor to get your players to use their imaginations whenever possible, and

never try to stifle their creativity.

Also, try to never scold the player if they do use their imagination and then things don't turn out exactly as you (the GM) planned. Worse thing you can do is bad mouth a player over the email for trying to do something that you had not anticipated, or that surprised and shocked you because you weren't excepting it. They seldom try again, or worse quit because you couldn't go with the ~ flow ~! Which leads right into Rule #8.

Personal PBeM rule #8:

Do your utmost as a GM to be adaptable to any and all situations!

Learn to go with the ~FLOW~ are words a good GM should live by. It’s all-fine a well for you to set up the scenarios, the NPC’s and everything else. But if the players decide to head in a totally different, and unexpected direction then you should be adaptable enough to go with the change and not force them into something they just don’t want to do. (See Rule #1)

Personal PBeM rule #9:

Keep the action moving whenever possible.

Rule #9 sort of says it all and some of the other rules hit upon this topic but I thought it deserved its very own rule so I want to restate the obvious. Try to keep things moving so things don’t bog down to a crawl and become stale and boring. Try your best to make things exciting or at least interesting.

Hope you find these rules helpful.

Let the player characters have free rein whenever possible.
Keep your individual scenarios short and sweet.
Chaos can be a GM's closest friend and one of the best tools for GMing a PBeM game.
Always accommodate your players whenever possible.
A PBeM game without sex is a mediocre game at best.
Try to stay as consistent as possible.
Endeavor to get your players to use their imaginations whenever possible, and never try to stifle their creativity.
Do your utmost as a GM to be adaptable to any and all situations!
Keep the action moving whenever possible.

--Don Stephens (GM of Jendanni)

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