How to Start a Play-by-Post Campaign as a First-Time Game Master

What makes play-by-post different for a new GM?

In play-by-post (PbP), the GM and players communicate through written posts, often at different times. Players can take turns when available, but the game advances only when someone writes and others have enough context to act. A brief question, reply, roll and ruling that might take seconds at a live table can stretch over hours or days. D&D Beyond’s introduction to PbP describes the format as written play and emphasizes clear descriptions, room for others to respond, and the need to allow time for players to contribute. Play-by-Post: Playing Dungeons & Dragons in PbP Forums and Discord

That changes the GM’s main preparation job. You still prepare a setting, characters and challenges, but you also make the next useful action obvious. A focused opening prompt, a consistent place for questions and a predictable update rhythm can do more for the first week than a large world history document. Play-by-post advice commonly recommends separating in-character story from out-of-character coordination and choosing a posting expectation the whole group can sustain. Play by Post Mechanics for Discord/Slack: A How-To Guide, Play-by-Post Gaming - Some Notes and Advice

How should you choose a campaign idea and rules?

Start with a premise that can be explained in a few sentences and naturally produces decisions. For example: “The village’s lantern festival is three nights away, and the bridge to the neighboring town has vanished. The characters are hired to find a safe route before the visiting musicians arrive.” This gives players a place, a shared reason to cooperate and an immediate problem. It leaves room for their ideas without requiring them to invent the campaign’s direction from scratch.

Pick a game system you can run reliably and explain the rules needed for the opening. If you are choosing freely, consider whether common actions can resolve without repeated back-and-forth. A system with several steps for each action may be fine for your group, but can be slower to adjudicate when every exchange is asynchronous. A PbP GM writing about system choice observes that systems with fewer required rolls can reduce delays; that is practical advice from one GM, not a universal rule that complex systems cannot work. Play-by-Post Gaming - Some Notes and Advice

For your first campaign, prepare only what the opening needs: the starting location, a few notable details, one or two non-player characters (NPCs), and the problem in front of the group. You can add background as characters encounter it. A discussion of successful PbP techniques on RPG Stack Exchange similarly recommends beginning with clear direction and pacing setting information instead of front-loading a large exposition dump. How can I run a successful play-by-post/play-by-e-mail game?

What should you agree on before the first post?

Hold a short setup conversation in your out-of-character (OOC) space before starting the fiction. Ask each player to confirm the following in writing:

Ask each player to make a character with a reason to join the group’s shared problem. If a character concept depends on extensive setting details, work out only the needed facts together. The D&D Beyond guide notes that PbP groups often state setting, character creation requirements, platform and post frequency when recruiting; making those expectations clear also helps players decide whether the game suits them. Play-by-Post: Playing Dungeons & Dragons in PbP Forums and Discord

How do you organize the game space?

Make the latest situation and the next action easy to find. For a simple setup, create:

Keep the structure modest. A forum might use separate threads; a chat server might use channels or threads. Gorgon Bones recommends at minimum distinguishing in-character play from OOC discussion, while SimpleDnD describes optional dice channels and encounter threads. Those are examples of ways to organize the game, not required features of every platform. Gorgon Bones’ PbP notes, SimpleDnD’s PbP guide

Pin or post a short “start here” note with the premise, player characters, posting agreement, rules procedure and location of reference material. After a scene, add a compact recap that records established facts and unresolved questions. This is a useful GM workflow: it gives a returning player a path back into the story without asking them to reread every post.

What should the opening scene look like?

Write a scene with three parts: an immediate situation, a few actionable details and a direct invitation to respond. Avoid opening with a page of lore or a vague question such as “What do you do?” before players know what is happening.

For example: “At dusk, the ferry reaches the far bank, but the stone bridge is gone. A line of wet footprints leads from the river toward the old bell tower. The ferryman says he heard the bell ring once, though the tower has been empty for years. The village lantern festival begins in three nights. What does your character inspect or ask first?”

This fictional opening offers a shared problem, visible clues, an NPC to question and a clear first choice. It does not prescribe how players must solve the mystery. End your post with a question tied to the scene, such as “Who checks the riverbank?” or “What do you ask the ferryman?” A D&D Beyond example of PbP play shows how a GM can present narrative opportunities and how player posts can provide openings for other characters to join in. Play-by-Post: Playing Dungeons & Dragons in PbP Forums and Discord

Give players enough room to decide, but not so many unrelated choices that they cannot tell where to begin. If one character is investigating the tracks and another is speaking with the ferryman, you can acknowledge both in one GM update when the rules and scene allow it. Keep each result clear: what the character learns, what changes in the situation, and what decision is now open.

How can you keep posts clear and the story moving?

Model the kind of post you want to read. A useful player post can state what the character does, what they say, and what outcome they are trying to achieve. For instance: “Mira kneels beside the muddy tracks and compares their direction with the river’s current. ‘These came from the tower, not the road,’ she tells the others. She wants to see whether the prints continue into the reeds.” This leaves the GM room to decide what she finds and invites other characters to respond.

As GM, avoid making every post a separate permission request. When several actions can be resolved without one changing another, answer them together in an organized update: “Mira finds that the tracks turn toward the bell tower. Jory asks the ferryman about the sound; he remembers it came just after sunset. Len watches the ferry landing and sees no one approach.” If an action could change what another character can do, pause for the affected player or clarify the order first.

Use a consistent way to distinguish fiction from table discussion, such as a labeled OOC note. Make calls for rules checks explicit: what action needs a roll, who rolls, and what the result means. Where your system permits it, ask players to include a plausible follow-up action (“If the window is locked, I’ll look for another entrance”) so the scene does not stall on a predictable branch. D&D Beyond’s advice specifically recommends clear intent, room for other players, OOC coordination and conditional actions as approaches PbP groups may use. Play-by-Post: Playing Dungeons & Dragons in PbP Forums and Discord

How should you handle combat and missed turns?

Combat can involve more sequential decisions than exploration, so decide how to handle it before the first fight. Use the normal initiative and action rules if those suit your game, but make the process visible: post the current order, ask for each player’s action, give a response window and say what happens if a turn is missed. A practical PbP guide describes initiative lists, deadlines and default actions as one possible combat structure, while cautioning that the exact mechanics vary by game. Play by Post Mechanics for Discord/Slack: A How-To Guide

A default action should be simple and agreed in advance, such as “take cover” or “defend an ally,” rather than a decision that spends a rare resource or changes the character’s goals. If a player misses a turn and there is no agreed default, use a low-impact option consistent with the rules or pause and ask. Do not assume silence means permission for a major character choice.

You can also reduce unnecessary delays by resolving straightforward actions in batches, keeping status information in one place, and allowing players to state routine tactics in advance if the system supports that. But do not skip meaningful decisions just to move faster. The GM writing at Gorgon Bones presents simplified or abstract combat as options and notes that these methods should fit the game; they are not universal PbP rules. Play-by-Post Gaming - Some Notes and Advice

What should you do when the campaign slows down?

First check whether the next post is clear. If players are waiting on a rules answer, a missing detail or a decision that feels too broad, resolve that blockage directly. Ask one concrete question in OOC or summarize the available information in the story thread. If someone has been away, follow the group’s agreed absence procedure rather than silently moving their character through an important choice.

If the group has simply lost momentum, shorten the next step. Introduce a timely clue, bring an NPC into the scene with a specific question, or move the characters to the next decision after summarizing what they have already learned. Do not add a sudden emergency every time the pace dips; a quiet prompt can be enough. A Stack Exchange answer based on one GM’s experience recommends active communication about interruptions and a clear initial direction, but the group should decide its own pace and expectations. How can I run a successful play-by-post/play-by-e-mail game?

Check in with the players after the first scene or two. Ask whether the post frequency is realistic, whether the amount of detail is comfortable to read, and whether the procedures are clear. Adjust the schedule or channel structure by agreement. The first setup is a working arrangement, not a test of who can post fastest.

A first-week checklist for a new PbP GM

Before opening the campaign, confirm the ruleset, premise, shared location and expectations for posting, rolls and absences. Create a separate place for story and OOC discussion, then post a short reference note and character introductions. Prepare one opening scene with a specific prompt, and leave room for players to choose how they approach it. As the story proceeds, answer related actions clearly, recap useful facts and check whether the agreed pace is working.

A first play-by-post campaign does not need an elaborate setting or a perfect posting schedule. It needs a manageable problem, clear procedures and a next step players can answer when they have time. Start with one scene, learn from the group’s actual rhythm, and build the next part from what the characters do.

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