My experience with homebrew and truths
New to TTRPG, Play by post & D&D - Townhall
You’ll need some dice
Play by post style guide
Understanding of The Basic rules and source of truth
What is TTRPG and Play by post mode of play
Tools we’ll be using and how we’ll play
Play by post - Setup and examples
Response Time: Aim to respond within the agreed timeframe. If you’ll be unavailable, let the group know in advance.
OOC (Out of Character) Communication: Use a separate thread or designated format (like brackets or spoiler tags) for any questions or comments outside the game narrative.
Flexibility and Patience: PbP games move more slowly than in-person games, so expect a slower pace. Be patient with others, especially if life events delay responses.
Posting Frequency: Set a clear posting schedule—like once a day, every few days, or weekly. This keeps everyone on the same page and helps prevent delays.
There is some rules for Play-by-post setup:
_These are the general PbP rules but we’ll work out how this work in Kinopio for 5e - It be easier if I just show an example space (See right section)
Most play either by: - Forums - Discord - Private messenger We’re doing Kinopio
Play-by-Post (PbP): A TTRPG format where players write out actions and dialogue over text, often in forums or chat apps, letting the game unfold slowly.
The coming of new technology - ala internet, we can now communcate and play via:
Play-by-Mail (PbM) was a method where players sent their game actions through postal mail, often in wargames or RPGs. Turns took days or weeks as players waited for letters, creating a slower but suspenseful game flow that allowed for deep strategy and storytelling.
In-Person Play: A TTRPG format where players meet face-to-face, allowing for real-time interactions and a more immediate game flow.
Traditionally it was played in two modes:
Quick guide from the source:
TTRPG (Tabletop Role-Playing Game): A game where players gather around a table, using dice and character sheets to tell a collaborative story guided by a game master (GM) or Dungeon master for D&D (DM).
- 🎲I rolled a 15 (11 + adding my modifier of +2)
, make a check to see if you awaken from the shouting (DC 10). Otherwise, the banging will be enough to wake you up
- DC stands for Difficulty Challange. You need to beat 10, else you fail. So roll me a D20 (20 side dice) + add your Modifier, which is located on your character sheet
Give me a roll for (Dex) DC 10 (Easy)
“Hi”
He said nervously
Seeing he hasn’t noticed me ...
will then attempt steal a sandwich
DM & Players - Out of character:
Player In character
Your shouting awakens other patrons, some of which peek out of their rooms to see you heading down the hall. Toblen notices the sudden ruckus and makes his way upstairs.
“Is everything alright?”
he asks .
The room is filled with the warm of fresh baked bread, and there is fresh sandwiches by the counter. The baker is preoccupied with a flour merchant, and has not noticed you walk in.
DM - In game
: Totally fine if would take down that door, but there’ll be consequences.
Example:
Casual writing - not too long, short and sweet
: Is it OK if I end up casting a fire bolt on the door, or will that totally derail things?
For players
Character dialogue would be set in using:
In game:
Heading 2 with quotations
+ assigned colour card.
Optional: Add Italics for emotion (adverbial modifier).
Out of character:
Tag + card at 50% transparency
Reading orientation
You post your cards vertically and any OOC would be on the side.
stretches awake in bed surrounded by his spellbook and scrolls. His other adventuring gear litters a corner of the room. He turns over in bed and reaches for his pants, or he would, if they were where he’d left them. Finding them missing, he leaps out of bed, his cheeks flushed.
“Joey! Where are my pants?”
He hurriedly grabs his shirt, wraps it around his waist, and rushes out of his room and down the hall to ’s room.
“I know it was you! You’re always stealing my pants! Come out before I burn down this door!”
What does fireball do?
How do I short rest?
Roll me a D20
Out of Character cards - Questions and Dice rolls
Player 2 card colour
Player 1 card colour
DM card colour
In game card - Dialogue
The Card Posting Style Guide
The sun rises over the Stonehill Inn in Phandalin. Downstairs, Toblen Stonehill helps staff ready the tables for breakfast. , the sun rises on the window of your room, awakening you. It’s a warm day and that strange wound on your arm shows no signs of healing. You also find that your pants are missing. , because you rolled so high on , your thievery did not seem to alert anyone last night.
Example II :
Medium detail writing - A little more detail but not too much.
Read vertically, with out of character + dice rolls done on the side of the cards
Sectioned into Sessions or chapters
This is a work in progress, but would be how a Play-by-post would look in Kinopio
Some dice info here
Or just google “roll me a d20”
Once you’re comfortable, the next section below is “creating a character and adventure choices”
Read in this section Horizontally
You don’t need to know all the rules, as you’ll begin to learn the flow as you play. Plus we’re playing Asynchronously, which we can look up (If you’re got a copy of the Players handbook 2024), or ask me.
I’ll pick out bits of rules you may need // be useful as players.
Not impossible to do to work things in, just need upfront scaffolding - which is the perk of TTRPGs. Anything can work, as long as we all have an agreed buy-in and set the “Truth of the world”
You may have questions about D&D and TTRPG in general, so I’ll rattle off a few things - but please add your questions in this space if you got some.
Welcome to the space.
Classic example is a fantasy based world with magic, but then we also have creatures that have guns, laser guns, walking ghost races. This will then lead to questions on what kind of power the player has over people that don’t and how the world used that technology. And how do civilians react to walking ghosts races. Is this common or a non-phased scenario? This will then impact how death works in the game etc etc.
We’ll work together on what kind of game we want. From my experience, limiting races and classes hones in on a particular world tone. I’ve had games where I opened all races - this included intergalactic races + homebrew (Things created outside of the official rules // Think modding in the video game space) This is great but can easily break immersions if you’re trying to fact check the reasoning.