Might be lurking for a while before I jump in...

I got started with TTRPGs as a teenager in the 90s at the same time I was running BBSes and MUD sites, but the satanic panic pretty much wrecked my ability to put together a group and play. I tried writing an RPG engine and some campaigns of my own, but never got very far. Being a neurodivergent teenager probably didn't help much either! So I pivoted to other interests (fantasy, philosophy, and general geekery). Fast forward a bit and I'm now a University professor with kids of my own and as they've started getting older I've tried to create a safe & fun space for them to enjoy gaming and creativity, which has provided a very nice excuse to pick up where I left off a few decades ago with TTRPGs. I'm an old school gamer, but as I've spent the last year reading rulebooks and campaigns really love the NSR vibe, which is probably a bit more my style. For 2025, I've really enjoyed reading and learning from the mechanics in One Ring 2e, Dolmenwood, Cairn, Loner, Delve, His Majesty the Worm, Ironsworn, Shadowdark, and a few others. I've also tried to catch up on some of the older engines I missed - Ars Magica, DCC, Cthulu. I have clearly missed a lot! I'd love to say in 5 years time that I've played, written campaigns and DMed for all of those platforms.

But where to start?! Having lived the transient life of an academic, it's hard to find a group to get playing with as my friends are scattered across the globe, my free time is limited and idiosyncratic and - especially when I'm just learning - I find the crunchy mechanics in real time more stressful than fun. So I've tried and enjoyed a bit of solo roleplaying this year. I didn't even know play-by-post/mail was even a thing until a week ago, and I wish someone had sent me this direction a couple decades ago as it ticks all my boxes! Many thanks to @Harrigan for the really helpful youtube introduction which I stumbled on a few days ago and the mention of this site. It's been awesome to read some of the public games and get a feel for how things can work from some experts, and I'll probably be lurking for a bit getting a feel for how things work. I'd love to eventually join in a game, maybe high or fae fantasy or a bit of magical realism? Or even just a one-shot to get my head around things. Looking forward to meeting and playing with folks on here in due course.

Welcome! That's pretty much how I got started in PbP too. I'm sure you'll find something before you get to lurk too long. The Games Tavern almost always has a few new games starting. We have a discord too, if that interests you. https://discord.gg/qdDSJY5q

Welcome jeremyk! Lot's of us found this place looking to play more (or at all). I've found it a boon simply for getting to try all sorts of games that my live troupe would never have gotten too - when you play campaigns that last years, you get to play less systems and settings in aggregate. GP has given me the opportunity to play scores of different games, and some of those I've since taken to my live group(s).

If you're interested in a certain game, give it a call out and who knows, maybe someone will start a game, or clear a spot for you in an existing game!

Welcome, hope you find a game you like soon! Is there a specific system you want to try in play-by-post?

Thanks everyone for warm welcome and reassurance that I have found the right place.

And thanks @quilltid for asking. I've been tinkering a lot with Cairn lately (writing a campaign for the future as a way to get to know the system) and would love to get some time trying out that platform. And I love the mechanics of shadowdark and ironsworn, but am not really into grim/dark/horror fantasy aesthetics that much (real life has enough grim dark as it is for me right now). Do campaigns tend to follow the vibe of the system on here? DND5e, DCC, and Ars all seem great, but I find the mechanic to be a bit too crunchy, at least for now. TBH I think I might need a bit of hand holding of gentle-GMing to start - is there a platform or crew that lends best to that sort of thing?

I will show up consistently and post regularly - I don't know *when* I'll have free time, but generally should have an interval I can access each day, and spend my day-job writing, so getting a flow won't be too hard (I hope!).

Welcome!

Welcome aboard jeremyk !

If you want to see how GP functions, here are links to the New GP Member Guide, the forum rules, this video introduction made by user Qralloq and a little helpful formatting guide made by user Adam. You might also be interested in looking through some public games as well to get a feel for the site.

If you have any questions about how to use the site, you can put them into our Questions and Help subforum.

To join a game, keep your eyes on the Games Tavern, where GMs advertise their games and look for players.

You're also invited to join us on the Discord server for some friendly conversation, about the site, RPGs in general or anything else!

If you have any concerns or questions, feel free to contact any of the following moderators:

BedzoneII
CancerMan
Dr_B
Falconloft
Harrigan
KCC
Keleth (site owner)
LightOfMidnight
Psybermagi

Happy gaming!

Welcome to GP,jeremyK!

Cairn plays really well over PBP, due to less back and forth over mechanics taking up time! Plus, it gets a decent amount of play on here! I’m sure something will pop up sooner or later!

Welcome!

Welcome to GP!

@jeremyk The links above are great starters and both Harrigan and Qralloq's YT videos are good at showing how GP works. I feel like campaigns more follow the GM's style than the system's style, but a lot of times a GM's style matches the system's style so it's a chicken and the egg situation. I am sure the veterans here can give a better idea on how things usually run. I'm in a Cairn game now that is public if you want to see some of how GP works and feel free to ask questions, people are very helpful around here!

Welcome to the site!

Welcome to the community, Jeremy! Glad that YT video didn't frighten you off! ;)

That's a lovely stack of games you mentioned, and many of them do indeed get played on GP. I've got a series of PbP OSR/NSR games that I run for people who are new to those systems, and I'm soon about to wrap up a game of Cairn and fire up something new. I expect I'll be recruiting for my next game in that series in the next couple of months. I'll keep you in mind!

Yes please do! I'll look forward to future adventures.

Welcome! Play-by-post helped me fill that need to play a whole range of games I wouldn't have had the chance otherwise, I'll bet some on your list will pop up here this year!

Welcome :)

Welcome to our community, jeremyk. We share a lot of game interests! Looking forward to playing with you in the future.

Welcome to Gamersplane.
There are many rules light systems, several on which get run here. The ones I am familiar with include TinyD6, a generic system that supports several settings, and Nimble, which is based on D&D5e but heavily stopped down making it a great way to become familiar with some aspects without the crunch.