[The Lord Inquisitor]

For those new to forum-based RPGs, this post is (intended) to be a bit of a primer, something to let you know how the actual play goes, than any of the story or other ancillary elements.

First things first: You need a character. Usually, this will be a character who fits the setting of the RPG you want to join, so the exact creation mechanics will vary from game to game, and even from GM (Game Master, essentially the 'moderator' of the game) to GM. But the most basic items will always be the same: A name, gender, probably an age, some background info, a description (encompassing appearance, personality, equipment, skills, and so forth, as applicable), and any additional features you can think to add. Sometimes statistics will be required - either randomly generated or selected, and these will be noted by the GM beforehand. Some characters can work equally as well in one scenario as the next, too, so if you wanted to re-use an old character, that would be OK in some situations. Helps build your character's history, too.
Best practice is to PM your character info to the GM for checking, along with any questions, and they'll post the character in the associated game's "Character Sheet" if it's fine.

Right, that out of the way, you can finally get to playing. Depending on how the game is being run, you may have a central location where all characters can gather and then introduce themselves and chat or whatever, or all characters may be "old hands" banded together, though this is hard to do, or elsewise the introductory post will explain where the characters are, how they've come to be there, and possibly introduce them in brief to each other. An introductory post is usually fairly simple, though it can get awkward if everyone is just thrown together at the same time - twenty characters saying "Hi, I'm X and how are you?" is just plain silly, I think we'll all agree, so usually if that method is adopted a staggered entry is required.

Now, this brings us to the crux of the matter: play-by-post, and how it works. Assuming the scene has been set, each player will take turns posting as their character: what the character is doing, what they're saying...sometimes what they're thinking. I (Silencer) prefer to run my games where post order doesn't matter. As long as you aren't double-posting, you're welcome to be the next player to step up. Though it is best to take care if numerous players are on at once, as this can lead to cross-posting - often hilarious, but equally often impractical. Editing can sort this out. Some GMs, however, will no doubt prefer to have a set order, though I always find this to be tedious and detrimental to the action. It is also good practice to indicate who you are talking to - even if it's not directly specified in text (after all, how often do you refer to your friends by name in casual conversation?), but is referenced as narrative, it can be very effective at guiding the action. Though this by no means precludes players from interrupting - it depends on the character and the situation.

Obviously, time zones can lead to 'dead hours', or 'busy hours', and both of these can hamper good RP, but it's best to just soldier on, and not let things get bogged down in semantics. Try to reference when another player is meant to be on (a time zone list should be supplied by the GM), before leaving an open question directed at someone (though cross-time conversations are quite possible, if necessary).

What you'll no doubt be noticing, is that a lot of this is very, very vague. Why is that? Much of the 'rules' of play-by-post are freeform. It comes down to the players themselves to work out good systems for moving dialogue and action forward, though if necessary the GM may step in. But it's best to try and see. However, to aid your understanding, I've provided a small sample below, for your reference:

q21, on Mar 18 2009, 12:06 PM, said:

"Magic is feared, reviled," Tankloc explained. "Hated. Witchcraft is anything they can't explain. Witches get burnt at the stake. The funny bit is that most of the magic users worth a damn are impossible to catch or detect, so its usually just innocent kids who get burned."

Morrigain, on Mar 18 2009, 01:54 PM, said:

"Glad to see law enforcement is just as competent there as it is back home."

OOC@Silencer: Ah. Right. I knew that.

q21, on Mar 18 2009, 08:13 PM, said:

"They burn wizards in Nirm, too?" Tankloc asked, trying out the name of the place.

Morrigain, on Mar 19 2009, 01:51 AM, said:

"No." Aradhel looked vaugely horrified by the thought. "No, the Legion just tends to miss whatever's sitting right under their nose." Like assassins. And liches.

q21, on Mar 19 2009, 02:30 AM, said:

"I've found, in my various travels, that ineptitude is frighteningly common amongst most military organizations," Tankloc said with an offhand shrug. Seems I got the name right. Excellent.

Morrigain, on Mar 19 2009, 08:21 AM, said:

OOC: See? This is where writer missteps make for more fun later on. It's like when Aradhel walked in on Reina and Dominic. :laughing2dw: Anyway, I'm out of inspiration, so here we go.

"Mmm." Aradhel absently scanned the room. The man's eyes were disturbingly bright, and he obviously wanted something, and god damnit, after all this running around she'd forgotten how to make small talk.

q21, on Mar 19 2009, 07:24 PM, said:

"Nothing," Tankloc said, "You've already given me more than I was hoping for." Tankloc stood and turned away from the table. "Enjoy the mead."

The above provides several good examples of: time discrepancies, use of the "OOC:" prefix, and so forth. It's pretty basic, but it flows fairly well, and isn't too detailed for the situation (in this case, it was established already that the two characters were at the same table, and weren't really doing much else. Most RP here will be slightly more motivated, but I did kinda just pick this out at random, half-way through a conversation. I also skipped out a bit of OOC banter there, as evinced by Morrigain's seemingly pointless "@Silencer" there. Yes, that is q21 posting, ).

I hope the authors don't mind me stealing their stuff as an exemplar.

In any case, further queries can be directed at the Lord Inquisitor account, or to Silencer. Enjoy!