As we get closer and closer to the conclusion of our War of the Weavers forum story arc experiment, it occurs to me that there’s another decent benefit of running major events like this in a format that’s unmoored from the rapid-fire nature of real-time RP.

A complaint I’ve heard in the past, especially in large-group activities in real-time events run by a single referee, is that some people pose actions or dialogue that get lost in the shuffle. Text scrolls off the screen as the scene rolls along. Refs try to catch what they can, when they can, but I admit that I’ve missed my fair share. Sometimes players call me on it and I’m able to loop back around to them. But sometimes they get frustrated and simply take it as another sign the admins have it in for them.

With the forums, the pace is much more manageable and it is virtually impossible for the ref to miss a scene participant’s contribution.

Furthermore, from the ref’s perspective, it’s actually nice to have some time and space to deliberate over the next scene pose, the next potential plot twist, instead of trying to cram it all into a two-hour session.