[amrogers3]

I've been away form SR for 10+ years. I want to get back into the game and found this site. Sorry for the newb question but how does this particular sub forum Play-by-post work?

[Xzylvador]

Basically, you wait for a GM to start recruiting (watch out for threads labeled [recruiting] or something like that) and post that you want in.
Alternatively, you could look at some already running PbP's where player activity may be low and contact the game's GM to see if s/he's looking for new players.
(Or, hey, run a game yourself! Just start a thread for recruitment, players will sign up!)

As for the actual playing, well, GM's post what they'd normally tell players, players post their characters actions. Rolls are usually done through invisiblecastle.com. For examples of play, just read some of the IC (in character) and OOC (out of character) threads.

[amrogers3]

Thanks for the reply. Seems like that would take forever!

[HydroRaven]

It does take longer than a tabletop game, but it's just as enjoyable in my opinion.

[Necrogigas]

In some ways it can be more enjoyable than an a flesh-and-blood game because it lets players really get inside the heads of their characters and for everyone else get a look at the underlying reasons for other PCs' actions.

[amrogers3]

Interesting, I may have to try this out. So, basically I just generate a character, background, and post that I am looking for work?

[Crossbow]

You can create something character wise, even post it for commentary around here somewhere, but it is usually best to either make some with easily changed options or wait to hear what a GM is looking for.

Most GM have restrictions on what they want to do.

[Necrogigas]

You can get the forum based character sheet code from here and you post it here.

[Valashar]

I haven't done any PbP games here, but a few years back I was active in a couple games on one of the BattleTech fan forums. To me, it's very much like a drawn-out form of MUSH roleplaying and is so much easier for me to be clear about my PC's actions not only to the other PCs, but to myself as well. And as someone who is uncomfortable enough speaking in a group to make chronic stage fright look like a positive improvement, the text based format is a godsend. Really, the only thing keeping me from joining a game here is a lack of time. Maybe when my tabletop campaign reaches its hiatus point.

[Xzylvador]

So, basically I just generate a character, background, and post that I am looking for work?

No, that's not how it works...
I wouldn't count on getting in a game like that.

How it works:

GM's starting a new game, do so by starting a recruitment thread and then wait for interested players to find that thread and post their interest, character concept or whatever else is required.
GM's (afaik) do not browse through all the posts in the Black Book and then PM each and every player that's posted a character the past several years.
Consider it the first "test" to select between what players to pick; there's usually far more interested players than open spots. Players that don't show interest in a reasonable amount of time most likely aren't active and/or motivated enough to get selected in favor of others.

[Devil]

It's best to have a character or two ready, but sometimes a GM will ask for certain roles to be filled, in which case you will have to create one on the spot. Watch the forums for interest checks and recruitment and other such things. A new game starts every month or two. Make sure you get into a good one, since some are not really for everyone. Like weird concepts that don't really belong in the Shadowrun setting. Most the GMs here are quite skilled though, and create some great games. We just don't have enough GMs to go around at the moment.

I just got into a great game, which is filled mostly with awesome players. The difference between tabletop and P-b-p is that a lot more roleplay and detailed writing should go into P-b-p, which is made possible by the relatively slow pace. so long as everyone remains active and has posts of decent length it is almost always extremely fun. It's also roleplay that you can do from anywhere anytime of the day, which means that people that don't have a physical group or a lot of time can still fully participate. I spend about 30 minutes a day on it. There is a certain level of responsibility to the other members of a game though. If you go inactive you are screwing the other participants over.

It can be incredibly fun if you like to write. equally enjoyable, but in a different way. If you play Shadowrun just to shoot stuff then you might not like it quite as much, but, personally, I play Shadowrun for the roleplay, which is enhanced by this format in numerous ways. Read some IC threads (IC stands for "In Character") and see what you think. Here's a link to the one I am in that just started.

http://forums.shadowrun4.com/index.php?topic=9719.15

If you have any more questions I would be happy to answer.