Anyone try Obsidian Portal?

[Ted the Flayer]

obsidianportal.com

I've been playing around with it. Seems like a neat way to get your campaign setting on the net. The game I was going to join is a bust, but I've been playing around with it.

Also, how does one do a play by post game? Since all my friends are scattered all over the world, and making new friends has been stymied by the fact that I think everyone around me is an asshole (and they don't tend to disprove that), I've been thinking of organizing one. I have a couple people interested, so I have some players...

[crasskris]

It's quite neat, but requires net affine players to really make sense.

It shines when used as a journal, providing campaign and npc information for the forgetful or new player in a convenient way.
In the other direction, the PC stats can help MCs to plan the next session, provided the players update halfway regularly.

The maps section is a nice feature, although I'd advise against large maps, since zoom in is limited. Better upload a small overview map and several region/country maps of medium size.

The markers can be useful, too, as they can provide links from a map to wiki or journal entries. Replacing every label on a map with a marker is a bad idea, however, since it can quickly become crowded, despite the different colored types of markers. I only use them for campaign trails and important settlements.

Using the wiki greatly profits from existing html knowledge.
Once the wiki reaches a certain size, it also makes sense create a page index on the starting page, so I'd do that from the start.

[Prak]

I used it for the last few games I ran, and it's definitely handy for providing house rules and world info. The only problem is when you have a player who refuses to use it. That's solvable in a number of ways based on how much you like that player.

Here are my campaigns, if you want to get a feel, or steal the tome material I've already formatted:
Asyeun
Kirth: Rise of Darkness

[Whatever]

Also, how does one do a play by post game?

On that site specifically, or just in general?

In general, you get some people together, have someone who's willing to put in more time as MC, and get started. A few tips:

1) try to simplify everything that would take lots of posts. Instead of having players act in turn order and meticulously roll out all their actions, just have players declare general actions and have the MC resolve everything--possibly multiple rounds at once. Doing something that requires everyone to post once can take a day+ of real time, requiring more posts from people makes stuff take approximately forever.

2) write longer posts. It's an extra couple minutes to add another paragraph of description, but it improves the game a bunch. Since each post is basically not in real time, there's no specific hurry to write it as soon as possible. The game is going to move slowly, might as well enjoy it.

3) but, it's better to post something short now than something longer tonight. Keeping the game moving is huge. Delays mean people stop checking for new posts, which means they don't reply as quickly, and so on.

4) be careful when posts call for replies. The game can freeze up if player A has their character post "Hey character B, what do you think?" and character B's player happens to be out that day. If they say "Let's do X, anyone object?" instead, you can just move the game forward after a reasonable wait.

5) if you can get everyone on at the same time, IRC or skype or similar real-time connections can work better than play by post. But if people have different schedules, pbp may be your only option.

[Ted the Flayer]

I used it for the last few games I ran, and it's definitely handy for providing house rules and world info. The only problem is when you have a player who refuses to use it. That's solvable in a number of ways based on how much you like that player.

Here are my campaigns, if you want to get a feel, or steal the tome material I've already formatted:
Asyeun
Kirth: Rise of Darkness

I sent a friend request, and am looking at your stuff now. I have the frowny cat as my avatar, because frowny cat is awesome.

[hyzmarca]

I used it for the last few games I ran, and it's definitely handy for providing house rules and world info. The only problem is when you have a player who refuses to use it. That's solvable in a number of ways based on how much you like that player.

Here are my campaigns, if you want to get a feel, or steal the tome material I've already formatted:
Asyeun
Kirth: Rise of Darkness

Did you ever get a chance to do anything interesting with the Vashar?

[Prak]

Not really, sadly. My players pretty much all love shitty overdone stuff, and I would have to set up a campaign with a house rule of "No PHB races or classes" to get them to do something outside of it, with only a handful of exceptions. With a couple of them "I wrote it" or "It came from the den" are tantamount to shooting the idea in the head and burying it in a landfill...

Edit: Ted, I'll accept once I get home and don't have to hack through a forest of possible passwords to remember which one I use.

[echoVanguard]

obsidianportal.com

I've been playing around with it. Seems like a neat way to get your campaign setting on the net. The game I was going to join is a bust, but I've been playing around with it.

Obsidian Portal tends to be more useful the more time you can sink into it. A particularly long-running game I was in had 10 pages of journal entries and a full wiki with writeups on all key NPCs, items, and events, but it took up a lot of time to keep it updated.

echo

[Bill Bisco: Isometric Imp]

Just make your own free wiki and fill it in the way you want to.

See my sig below for an example of one. There are several.

[Prak]

OP has a few other features wikidot may not, however, like player finder, forums, etc. Though a free wiki would have it's advantages too, like no limit on the number you can maintain, a forum can be acquired through the same means, and there isn't really a need for a player finder.

On the other hand, there is a huge difference in semiotics between "Hey, check out my campaign wiki, it's on this cool service called Obsidian Portal" and "Hey, check out my campaign wiki, it's my.campaign.wiki.com."

[codeGlaze]

What kind of games haev you guys started there?
I started making a DST (character sheet template) there a while ago, but never finished it.

So in a round about way I'm asking how you guys would percieve the perfect character sheet, I suppose.

[Meikle641]

I tried it and got frustrated. Tried entering a text file and it cut off after like, the first page. Never could figure out why. Plus it removed any sort of formatting. The only person I could possibly ask is a person who I dislike as much as Kaelik and PL, so it has languished ever since.

Otherwise, yeah, for people who get it to work, it seems to work well.