So, I've posted a few items on these boards related to my play-by-post game, regarding conflict tracking and rules and dice rolling, and ceremonies. Some other players in the game have gotten interested and posted over here as well recently (Malthusian, The Bane). We've gotten through character creation and our Initiation conflicts for three of the four characters in the game. I thought some people might be interested in checking out how it's been going.

Game Summary:

"Hard Haul to Bitter End" is a game of supernatural horror set in the old West. The PCs are hired by the town of Surrey, Colorado, to help them move their town by wagon train to a patch of desert called Bitter End, Utah, in hopes of finding prosperity at the site of a future railroad crossing. Along the way, the PCs and the people of Surrey find trials and horrors in the wilds of the Utah canyon country.

The PCs each have some sort of experience with the supernatural, which makes them well-suited to lead the people of Surrey through their crises.

The game uses a bit of a hybrid between DitV and Afraid rules. Conflicts with the supernatural and the environment are handled more like Afraid, but it has that nice DitV Western flavor. The Game Information thread provides a more complete summary, as well as links to the info I have on our Wiki, including information about managing conflicts, rolling dice, house rules, etc.

Current Status:

We've finished three of the four Initiation Conflicts. Each was very different. In one conflict, Gussie Walker tries to save his momma from a fire on a Georgia plantation. In another, Moss Wolder struggles to keep his cool in the face of some racist bullies in Oaklahoma City. In the third conflict, Lukyee Kuyiedi possesses the body of a condor, his spirit guide, and tracks The Darkness over mountain passes to find an agent of evil in Surrey, Colorado.

Come on over and check it out if you're interested. I'd be happy to take any feedback you have on the game. One bit of self-criticism: I overlooked the rule about the standard dice used for Initiation conflicts and used a random roll to determine the level of challenge. This didn't always work out well for the players. :(

It's taken a few tries to figure out the most efficient way to run conflicts in a play-by-post environment, but I think we're getting there. We use an online dice roller and some materials that are on the wiki on the site.

As a note for Vincent, I've put up a few good plugs for the DitV rulebook, and I believe at least five people, including me, on the site have picked it up recently. Thanks for being there to make that PDF available.

Cheers.
Archer (Douglas)

The Bane here,

Wanted to echo in on Archer's prays to Vincent!  I was one of the ones that picked up a copy the the rules in PDF format for his game and so glad I did! They rock! Very well written. So well that I have become bold enough to venture GMing a game of DitV myself via PbP. I haven't been comfortable enough to start a PbP in systems that I have played for many years, but DitV for me was understandable and motivating on my first read through. I knew I had to run a game.

Come on over and check it out! Archer is a great GM.

The Bane