Solmyr of the Azure Star wrote:
>
> GeeMan wrote:
> >
> > I apologize for the length of this one, guys. You know how it is when your fingers just
> > get to flyin' and you don't have much of a *real* life to attend to....
> >
> I know :)
>
> > 1. Alliances: I think both Kenneth Gauck and I [the BR Message Board resident version of
> > bickering historians if there is such a thing ;-)] have argued that there really was
> > quite a lot of alliances formed back in the medieval period. From well before Von
> > Clauswitz said "War is politics by other means" people have employed diplomacy as the
> > primary means of settling their disputes. Diplomacy has always preceded warfare since
> > the formation of large nations. Diplomacy goes on before, after and during warfare. In
> > fact, diplomacy is sometimes considered the never-ending form of warfare. Sometimes
> > diplomacy averts warfare, sometimes it doesn't, but diplomacy happens MORE than war by
> > its very nature.
> >
> Yes. However, as said, such diplomacy in BR PBEMs too often takes the
> form of huge, NATO-like alliances that are not medieval at all. How are
> those allies going to communicate and coordinate their plans across the
> continent (they don't have e-mail, you know)?

That would be the error of the DM's who tend to make communication in
their PBEM's much to easy and modern. Sure, a message board and
chat-room are great for roleplaying, but they do tend to create a modern
feel. Those DM's complaining the hardest (Solmyr :-) ) have just as easy
a communication between players as those that don't complain. Players
also know each other E-mail adresses, which not only makes it possible
to send messages to each other without risk of interception, but even
gives hard-core PBEM players a feel on how the other will play (only a
very few players play distinctively differently between different
characters). My suggestion would be to remove the E-mail adresses and
the message board and introduce a forum in the newspapers and send all
messages through the DM. This way people can send messages under false
names to initiate plots or can prevent messages from arriving. When I
want to fake a message now, I have to do it through the DM, which will
automatically rise suspision. It will mean more work for the DM, but it
does create more realism and that is what you all want!

Pieter SleijpenTo unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com
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