LFG or even, am I able to?

[Magnus Pym]

I'm looking for a group to try PbP. It sounds interesting and I don't have any friends willing to play RPGs with me. They're too damn lazy.

Thing is I don't know if I can, since I have no actual material. I have dices, I have papers... but no Gaming System manuals such as D&D 4E or the such...

Am I still able to play in a game? Anyone can help on this?

[LD]

Someone else may post something about PbP, but you'll be interested to note that at the CBG we also have a thriving amount of games run over IRC (See link on the top bar next to Wiki.) on the CBG's chat channel. These games are real time typing and many are run in our members' own systems- like Vreeg's Steel Island Game (realistic and deadly DnD); and Steerpike's Cadaverous Earth (dark and run in Iron Heroes).

The threads for these may look a bit intimidating, but they're here in the Roleplaying section of the site if you want to check out their flavours.

[Weave]

Am I still able to play in a game?

I've seen diceless games, games that use a deck of cards like "dice," narrative games, and just plain old no-rules roleplaying; as far as I can tell, you can always play!

If you're looking for a system, there's plenty of free systems out there. This link has hundreds of systems (most of the links still work, I believe) that are all available for free:  List of Free RPGs.

There's also the one I'm most familiar with:  Pathfinder.

A fellow poster named Luminous Crayon has recently helped get me into the FATE system, which you can find here:  Spirit Of The Century SRD.

These are just a handful, of course. You could take snippets of any of those systems and make your own if you're up for it. Also, you could always try IRC*, which is offered through the CBG by the IRC tab at the top of the page. Honestly, when I was new I just clicked the tab, logged in as my board name (Weave) and just started talking to people. Everyone is super friendly and before I knew it I was playing a game with close to 9 other people! It's really that easy.

If you wanted to look into doing an IRC game then I'm sure you could find people interested. PbP works too, if you prefer that medium. I've done some PbP's back in the day (not on these boards, mind you), but it's always a bit slower than IRC. Nonetheless fun, of course.

Hope this helps!

*IRC is sort of like AIM or iChat, except tailored for gaming. There's a built in dice rolling bot, ways to message people and chat with them in secrecy from other party members, etc. It's very fun!

[Magnus Pym]

Alright thanks for the help.

Yes I've gotten to know the usuals on the cha already i guess. Well "know" is a big word... At least we all introduced ourselves.

Bleh creating mechanics takes up loads of time which I wouldnt be putting on the fluff of my campaign setting. Not worth it.

I'd prefer real-time (IRC for exemple) than PbP, but I guess there are advantages and disadvantages to both. My take is that IRC games can probably become chaotic quickly. I'm not into chaotic things seriously...

Thanks again.

[LD]

The IRC ones I've seen run very well. Then again I've only seen Vreeg and Steerpike run the games and they're both excellent hosts. Vreeg's use dice and sheets. Steerpike's current one uses dice and sheets. Previously, he ran a more freeform one that also worked out quite well; then again, part of the reason they run so well is due to the people playing them as well as the GM- the CBGers are always about the story rather than "power levels".

[Magnus Pym]

...the CBGers are always about the story rather than "power levels"...

I'm glad about that. Then again, it's kind of obvious, seeing this is a campaign setting community.

Thanks!

[Nomadic]

You might consider something we do around here occasionally called no stats theater. Basically no dice, no stats, just pure roleplay. Always turns out to be a very awesome way to get a taste of a member's setting.

[Magnus Pym]

That sounds great. Just creative play with no material. (Of course, you need a computer and internet connection, welcome to 2011 I guess)

[SDragon]

For emphasis:

you can always play!

There was even one time when I was involved with an impromptu freeform (that is, no stats) one-shot with... Nomadic, I believe? No dice, no character sheets, no rules systems, no preparation. It was short, but it was fun.