Evil Game Master Society

All good GM’s have handouts of some kind, especially if the universe they run their games in are of their own creation. When running a pbem game these handouts become that much more important because the GM can’t just let the player look at the binder or book to refresh his memory. One of the best ways for a pbem GM to get the info to his players is through a web page. It doesn’t even have to be anything fancy - just a page with links to the data that the players need.

In this article I will be writing about how I create the web pages for my games, from the initial concept to maintaining them while the game is running.

In my articles about how to start a pbem, I discussed what information the GM would need. Here’s a quick refresher:

• Game setting & genre
• Game system
• Character creation guidelines
• Other game info, such as house rules, how turns will be handled, and so on

When doing a web page, two more items can be added to that list:

• “Handouts”, such as maps, fictional newspaper stories, etc.
• Archived game moves.

On my web pages, this information is divided up into the following sections: Background and Game Specific Information.

In the Background section I have links to the information the players will need about the world their characters live in. This includes a general world history, a timeline, an extensive who’s who page, and links to a web page that has information about the city the game is set in.

A starting GM does not need to have quite that much information on his web site especially if they are starting off in a brand new setting. A world history could be as simple as a paragraph or two about the campaign world, describing what it is like so players can get a feel of what kinds of characters they might want to play. The timeline and the Who’s Who pages are not necessary, but if the GM feels up to it, they will provide more insight into the campaign world.

The game specific information section would contain just about everything else that the GM would need to provide his players. The very basic files the GM will need are:

• Campaign Information - a description of the campaign itself (I.e. “a group of misfit heroes thrown together to save the world”), the setting and system, and so forth.
• Character Creation - anything the players need to create a character for the game, such as how many points they can spend (if it’s a point-based system), plus a list of anything that the players are allowed to/required to/not allowed to have.
• House Rules - any rules or guidelines you have for the game that are not “by the book”. This would include any interpretations of the rules that you use.
• Game Moves - this could include links to any supplemental information the players might need, including pictures of NPC’s, maps, letters they might have received/found, and so on, as well as copies of the moves themselves.
• The Archives - old moves and handouts that the players might want to refer back to.

Of all the information listed above, the only thing that absolutely has to be on the web site (and/or available to the players before they create characters) is the campaign information and character creation information. House rules, game moves and the archives can all wait until later. If you do have house rules, make sure that you tell people that you do have them so that they won’t be completely surprised when they come across them.

Below you will find examples of what I did for my Other Side of the Street pbem campaign. There are links to the House Rules for the games, but that information is not included here as the files are quite long.

Campaign Information

General Description

In the “Other Side of the Street” PBEM campaign, the PC’s will play supervillains that have been
brought together to, well, do evil.

The game is set in the metropolitan region of St. Augustine and its environs, using the Hero
System and modified by a series of house rules. The game will be run very much like a standard” hero game, except it will be the PC’s committing the crimes. And, just like the heroes, they’ll win some and they’ll lose some.

There will be spaces for 6 to 8 players, depending upon the characters which are submitted. Adult situations and language may or may not occur, so players must be able to handle this. Adult situations does not mean you can send me obscene email. No excessive vulgar language either. The provider of the web space has rules about what can and can’t go up on the web pages, and I don’t want to risk losing this account.

Crimes such as rape do occur, but I don’t want to see any of the villains in this game participating in it. If there are any other situations that arise that make me uncomfortable, I will let you know. Likewise, if anyone is uncomfortable about a turn of events or a plan that the team has, let me know and I will discuss it with the rest of the group.

Importance of PC’s: PC’s are supervillains.
Morality: Some cross-over between good and bad.
Realism: Neutral
Outlook: Mostly serious.

Continuity: Mostly serial, campaign continuity will be enforced.
Physical World Description: Set in the city of St. Augustine in the Quantum Universe.

Character Building Guidelines
Character submissions must be made in the following manner:

STEP ONE:
Submit a character concept to the GM, making it as detailed as possible. The GM will use this to determine whether or not the character will suit the game. Do NOT assume that since this is a Champions. game that it is set in that universe. Few characters or organizations from that universe exist in the Quantum Universe, but if they do, they will have been changed. There may be QU equivalents , so be sure to ask!

Just about all the information you need to create your character is somewhere in the St. Augustine or Quantum Universe pages. Make sure you read them all, especially the Quantum world history page. If you have any questions, please email me. Nothing will get your character concept bounced faster than a blatant disregard for the game universe history and background.

STEP TWO:
Once your basic concept has been approved, a full description of the character - including the special effects of power and explanations of all disadvantages - must be submitted before an actual character sheet is created. The description must also include what the character was doing before (s)he became a villain, why they became a villain, and what their current motivation is. The more detail you provide, the fewer the questions will have to be asked, and the faster your character will be finished.

This is the time to ask about power frameworks, packages, etc., as well as providing ideas and making requests on how the character might be built.

Once the final details about your character has been worked out, you will be asked to complete a Quantum Universe Questionnaire. This will be sent to you for you to fill out, or you can complete the online form.

STEP THREE:
Once your character’s background as a whole has been approved, it’s time to make up the character sheet. I would prefer the characters be submitted in Creation Workshop, Hero Creator or Hero Maker format. If you do not have any of these programs, characters can be submitted in text form in a single column text file. No fancy layouts. I want Characteristics, followed by Powers/Skills/etc., followed up by Disads, one item to a line, with all limitation values, Active Point and Real Point costs and totals shown.

All of the following requirements must be met for the character to be approved - no exceptions. You should also be aware that there are house rules which have been instituted for several powers, skills and so on. Be sure to be familiar with those house rules when creating your character.

Power Levels
Start Points: 100
Max Points per Disad Category: 50
Maximum Disad Points: 150
Normal Characteristic Maxima at 0 Points
No Normal Tech At No Cost: No

Power Levels Beginning Range
Attack 40 - 50 AP
Defense 18 - 25 AP
Other 40 - 50 AP
Skill Rolls —

Ultimate Super Mage and Ultimate Mentalist rules are being used. The Ultimate Martial Artist is also being used with modifications.

Campaign Rules
Combat uses Hit Locations Chart
No Knockdown Rules Used: No
Long Term Endurance Rules Used: No
Limited Push: No

Character Requirements
All characters must take Normal Characteristic Maxima unless their character takes the 5 pt. Distinctive Feature: Harbinger Disadvantage or DF: Mage/Magical Being. (In other words, for your character to have stats higher than 20 and not pay extra for them, your character must be a Harbinger or a magical being.)

This game is team oriented, so your character must be able to work in a group. No murderous loner sociopaths allowed, even if you think your concept is cool.

Everyman Skills

Climbing
Concealment
Conversation
Deduction
Paramedic
Shadowing
Stealth
Transport Familiarity (Automobiles)
KS: Computer Use, 8-
4 pts. English
AK: Home
PS: 8-
Skill Enhancers: Requires GM approval
Perks: Requires GM approval.

New Perks:
Esper Society Certification - 1 pt. (Highly recommended if playing “standard” telepath.)
Talents: Danger Sense, Find Weakness, and Universal Translator require GM approval.

Powers
Powers with the magnifying glass or stop sign symbols require GM approval.
Power frameworks require GM approval.
Any characteristics purchased as powers must have the limitation Doesn’t Affect Figured Characteristics (-1/2).
Duplication requires GM approval.
All advantages and limitations with the magnifying glass or stop sign symbols require GM approval.

Disads:
Berserk and Enraged are allowed, but require GM approval.
Normal Characteristic Maxima must be taken if the character does not have a DF: Harbinger, DF: Mage/Magical Being, or others at the GM’s discretion.
Cold-Blooded Killer and Casual Killer psych lims are not allowed.
Reputations require GM approval
Any character with superpowers that are innate must take the 5 pt Distinctive Feature “Harbinger”.

Packages: Allowed, but require GM approval.

Note: Bonus points for use in initial character creation may be awarded for unique and creative character backgrounds. Using background from the Quantum Unvierse pages in your character is more likely to catch my attention and get your character accepted into the game. Likewise, using groups and information that are not part of the Quantum Universe is likely to get your character rejected. Don’t assume anything. If you don’t see it on the pages, don’t assume it’s there. ASK!

NOTE: I reserve the right to veto anything and everything on the character sheet. I also reserve the right to make minor modifications to the characters at any time in the future. Any changes which may significantly alter the character will be discussed with the player in question.

Now, how to set it all up. I’m not going to discuss how to actually write the code for the web page as there are many good programs out there, be they commercial, share- or freeware, that can help you. I will be covering how to best present the information.

1. Keep It Simple
This covers everything from how the pages look to how they are linked together. I personally prefer to use a two frame page set, with a narrower left-hand frame that acts as a table of contents and a main frame where the information appears. I know, there are people who hate frames and want to see everything as text only. My response to that: tough cookies. I can update a frame set quickly and I’d rather spend my free time working on the game than fighting with a java-based navigation bar or a page done with tables.

If you’re going to use fancy fonts, make sure that it is something that can easily be read. If it a font that isn’t part of a “standard” set, such as one that comes with your typical word processing program, you need to make a choice: either choose not to use it, or put a link to where the viewer can download and install the font (legally) so they can see the page as you designed it.

2. Keep Them The Same
No, I don’t mean have the same information on each page. I mean the page should look uniform, like they belong together. This can be as simple as having the same colored background and text to using style sheets.

3. Keep Your Code Correct & Current

Validate your code. What does that mean? There are web sites (such as W3C HTML Validation Services (http://validator.w3.org/) that will check the html code you used to make sure that it meets with currently accepted standards.

Why is this a benefit? Because having a validated page means that 90% of the web browsers out there will be able to open the web page you created and display it properly. This is especially important if you did something fancy, such as using Java or style sheets.
To see how all of this fits together, take a look at my Servants of the Falcon web page at http://www.ifr-inc.org/egms/kolrath/. This page is the simplest of all the pbem pages that I have on the web, and shows you how I put into practice my “rules of web page design”. A word of warning - I used style sheets when I created those pages. It has been reported to me that people viewing the pages with Netscape on a Mac have problems opening the pages, so if you are one of these people, the pages might not open properly for you.

Take a look around at these pages and feel free to use them to get ideas for setting up your own pbem web page. If you do, please email me and let me know!

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