Play-By-Post Games

They're Role Playing Games and they're online. How cool is that?

These aren't MMORPGs like World of Warcraft or Eve Online. They don't have fancy graphics. Instead, they rely on the imaginations of the players. Quite simply, you're taking an online bulletin board and you're running an RPG on it. Some are free-form, others use systems like D20, or GURPS (or create their own system based on one of these).

If Dreaded Real Life takes the GM into its dreaded clutches, depending on what manner of game it is, the game may survive. If it's an open-ended world, then the players will just play, with the players enforcing the rules (so long as there isn't a Small Name, Big Ego running a massive crime orgaization/cult/paramilitary group amongst the experienced players; he gets his way) and disciplining the newbies who break them. Also, you have the benefit of being able to ignore their posts if they refuse to change. Alternately, someone else might take over as the GM.

However, if it's a set story with a predefined goal or you're in combat with the Dragon Guardian of the Lost Treasure of the Order of High Knights of the Crown, and the GM disappears, then you can pretty much decide that the game's done until he comes back.

Postal gaming predates both computers and role-playing games, incidentally -- long-duration play-by-mail chess is an old tradition going back at least to the medieval origins of modern chess, if not further, making this at least Older Than Steam. If you ever see an old movie with a rich guy standing next to a mid-game chessboard with no opponent, he's probably got a postal chess game going with an unseen character. Play-By-Email, obviously, is the electronic version of Postal Gaming, and is easily as prevalent as Play by Post games using bulletin board software.

See also Journal Roleplay, which is essentially the lovechild of Play by Post with Character Blog.

In addition to all the various Tabletop RPG tropes, you see a few others prevalent in Play By Post Games, including:

 * God Moders and Munchkins: Since Play By Posts are more likely to have informal or diceless systems, or sometimes no systems at all, godmoding (using out-of-character knowledge to make in-character decisions, or calling the actions of something controlled by another player) can pop up at times. Playing on a poorly-regulated forum RP is one of the few times you'll wish for Min Maxing - since on some forums, there's no minning required.'

These terms mean very different things in these games. A Munchkin tends to be a Heinz Hybrid or a God Mode Sue in games where numbers don't matter. God Mode is when a player writes the other character as reacting in a certain way or acting in a certain way without their consent. The former is bad writing, the latter is a breach of ettiquette.
 * Long Runners:
 * The Global Guardians PBEM Universe was begun back in 1994, and continued until 2006. You can count the number of these games that have lasted twelve years on one hand, and you'll have fingers left over.
 * If you thought nine years was impressive, try Aelyria.com forum boards (previously known as Alleria). The game was formed back in 1989 and since then has crossed between three different boards to keep up to date. It now has its own site and is still running strong twenty-one years later.
 * Freedom City Play By Post just celebrated its third anniversary and still has about 75 active player characters at any given point in time.
 * US Gov Sim is a long running game based on American politics. The game originally began on AvidGamers before moving to its own IPB Forum. It has been running continuously since the early 2000s and is in its 8th "reset", or round.
 * Orphaned Series: Online GameMasters seem a lot more prone to dropping their campaigns without warning than people who game in person; or perhaps its simply that records of the dead games persist in forum archives. The average lifespan of a Play By Post game is around three months. The lucky ones last a year. A tongue-in-cheek guide to creating a Pbp forum stated, "Once you get your first post in an IC [in character] area, it's time to close up shop. Be sure to blame the members for being annoying and unfaithful."
 * Webcomic Time: after a fashion. Face-to-face RPGs tends to be played for several hours at a shot on a regular basis; Play By Posts usually get much shorter updates whenever their players and Game Masters are available. A six-second combat round can take weeks if someone doesn't log in regularly.

Adult Content and/or Sexual Roleplaying (possibly NSFW)

 * Elliquiy Adult Roleplaying for those who don't like fading to black when the action is getting good. Rather high-class and extremely active. It was created when its founders were kicked unceremoniously out of RPoL for being too naughty.
 * House Eros Sexual and Adult Roleplaying a new roleplaying site focusing on Adult, Erotic, and Sexual Roleplaying. It was created when the site admin got tired of Adult Websites that lacked the feature sets to rival the more mainstream websites.
 * Elysium Adult Yaoi Role playing a new Yaoi roleplaying forum created when a group of roleplayers decided to leave a website where the Admin was drunk on power.
 * Blue Moon Role Playing a website that was created in 2007 when the website of its birth came down a time too many for some users to handle, it was built with the casual adult roleplayer in mind while at the same time introducing you to a message board unlike any other of its caliber, complete with a steady yet broad user base that have many different styles that many will enjoy.

Regular Roleplaying (i.e. Safe for Work Content) Without Their Own Pages

 * Blurring the Line Between Reality and Fantasy is a multiverse-setting RP community (with like 3 players), and is essentially a massive crossover between many universes. Including: Bleach, Naruto, Kim Possible, Pokemon, the Soul Series, Elder Scrolls, DC/Marvel comics, Kingdom Hearts, and some original worlds....and the list actually goes on. And on. And on.
 * Hidden Village is a warm, active RP community for NON-CANON Naruto-based role-play. All level role-players are welcome! Besides Naruto, we have games running in Fairy Tale, One Piece, Tenjou Tenge, Bleach, Air Gear, and so on. Come in and hop onto the chatbox to get to know a few of us before you make a commitment to the forum. The site has its own massive jutsu database, __ of the Year awards, marketplace system, and much more. The admin team is very welcoming and wants to make you feel comfortable. Come on in and have a look around. Note: broken URL is fixed! Sorry about that, we're still around!
 * Darkness Incarnate An active community with Dungeons and Dragons style characters. What sets it apart, are the requirements for each class, and the importance of combat (it is the main part of the game)
 * Coloholics Anonymous is a large play by post RP forum where the roleplays are divided into massive RP forum worlds separated by genres such as Anime, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Nation-Building, and Modern and Miscellaneous. The name "Coloholic" comes from "Colosseum-oholic", meaning people who are fans of roleplaying.
 * Virtual Hogwarts has been an active Harry Potter-based RP for nine years and boasts a heavy emphasis on writing and a friendly atmosphere. Structured stat-based games are optional, limited to quidditch and duelling.
 * A New Dawn is a forum with an entire section devoted to RP'ing, although the rest of the site is a regular forum, mostly of friends. It has a wonderfully creative Space Opera going on called Beyond the Stars that borrows liberally from Mass Effect.
 * Age of Intrigue is an historical RPG set in Restoration England, specifically 1676, at the Court of King Charles II, the Merry Monarch. It's relatively small but with active mods who give a good deal of personal touch to the game, and give players a wide array of NPCs to interact with. It's highly active and has been running for about two years at this point. The roleplay is for 18+ only, but so long as one is in that age range adult themes can be avoided per member request.
 * AJJE Games AJJE Games is a role-playing community offering a unique play-by-post system and a wide range of genres, ranging from Sword & Sorcery to Star Wars and Stargate, as well as member-created sims. Started in 2005, the club offers a rich and deep role-playing experience.
 * The Aurora: A His Dark Materials RP is one of the biggest RP's online based on Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials/The Golden Compass. It is set in an alternative Victorian world, where humans' souls walk beside them in the form of animals, where there are worlds within worlds and where a revolution against the ruling Magisterium is being orchestrated by the Republic of Heaven.
 * Disney World of War is an RPG that features, you guessed it, Disney characters. The RPG focuses on a war fought by three armies: The Heroes who are led by Simba, The Animal Villains led by Scar and the Human Villains led by Frollo.
 * Ich Dien is an historical RPG set in Regency England. Set in the year 1812, players can immerse themselves in the world of Jane Austen and meet such diverse characters as the Prince Regent, the lady patronesses of Almack's, members of Parliament, and the Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, while playing out the effects of war with Napoleonic France and the United States upon London society. Though a small community, it's run by a group of dedicated mods and follows the same basic play strategy as Age of Intrigue, listed above. Another game for players 18 and older, players have complete control over the types of themes and stories they wish to explore.
 * Code Masters. Take on different forms and abilities as you fight for fame or for power. Will you be conceited and care for only your own benefit or will you protect those around you. Will you join those who hunt the innocent or the guardians of the helpless. Will You Stand alone to obtain the power that is Code Eve.
 * Strange Lands: A Pandoran RP is an Avatar based RP. It was moved to its own board but is now dead and the site was replaced by War of Discord.
 * The UCaG, a land on the forum of Artix Entertainment that attracts all kinds of roleplayers, you can find a game from a FSG (Forum Stratagy game) To an A&R (Action and reaction, like roleplaying without dice.)
 * The Vast Empire is a Star Wars based RPG set in the Thrawn Era, and one of the better quality Wars play by post ones. It has a sizable community, a IRC channel, and a video game subgroup.
 * The Star Wars RP A long-lasting and highly active Star Wars role-play in its fourth timeline. Originally set in the Knights of the Old Republic era, the story now takes place thousands of years earlier, in an era called the Hutt War developed by the site. Arguably one of the most successful, with roughly 2600 registered members.
 * Star Wars RPG Star Wars roleplaying set in approximately 22 ABY. 8 Years Old in at least current incarnation.
 * And last but not least, we have Jedi vs. Sith. Originally stemming from a Facebook app, the site wound up popular enough to warrant its own space on the Internet proper. Like The Gungan Council, there is no set timeline (mileage varies site-wide as to whether this is good or bad), and the site features an entirely player-driven economy and faction system. Lacking the longevity of the other sites, however, it is still plagued with problems despite the best attempts of the moderators; powergaming is a common occurrence, godmodding slightly less so, and the site is rife with Expies (not all of them bad). On the bright side, the community spirit is near-unmatched, and for every bad RPer, there's at least one stellar one.
 * Nation States is not itself one of these, but many player like to play them using their nations, either on the official forums or on the numerous forums created by players for various regions. And, amongst very vaguely and distantly similar lines, Never Ending Stories at the CivFanatics forum.
 * Steve Jackson Games at one time ran a BBS on which a number of such games were played, including the free-form no-rules roleplaying forum which evolved into GURPS Illuminati University.
 * Pattonis a website dedicated entirely to games like this. The main focus is on a play-by-post adaptation of Chris Crawford's Balance of Power, but at any time a half-dozen to ten games are running. Some are roleplaying games, others are strategy, but everyone is welcome, especially tropers (most of the old members are tropers).
 * Roleplayer Guild is a forum dedicated to pbp roleplays. Rps are sorted into three categories: Basic, Casual, and Advanced.
 * There is an entire site devoted to this known as RolePlay Online, or RPoL. It has a built-in software dice roller, among other features, allowing one to use dice in such a game seamlessly; however, quite a few of the games run there are still freeform.
 * One of RPGnet's forums exists for this purpose.
 * Pretty much the purpose of GreatestJournal until Boldthrough 2007 on LiveJournal.
 * Live Journal hosted quite a few. Most have since moved to InsaneJournal or Dreamwidth.
 * Many of the GreatestJournal players have moved to InsaneJournal.
 * The Giant In The Playground forums, for the D&D-based webcomic Order of the Stick, feature a fairly large section devoted to PBP games. The board, like RPoL, even has its own dice roller. Some games have individual pages further down.
 * Plothook.NET, another site devoted entirely to this.
 * Myth-Weavers, again, is solely for this purpose, and is known for its plethora of useful built-in software and message board mods, including a very popular XML Character Sheet database.
 * Hundreds of other forums have threads or subsections dedicated to roleplaying or cooperative storytelling, particularly on Fan Sites where the games deal with the forum's particular subject.
 * Prodigy is a superhero-based play-by-post, made out of original characters and played in the City of Adventure of Prodigy, New Jersey.
 * Stargate: Aftermath. A Stargate Verse based RPG, creating an alternate universe after Stargate SG 1 season eight. Started with a Earthshattering Kaboom and has survived one Goa'uld assault and one earthquake.
 * Muse Academy. Only readers of Muse Magazine understand half of what happens, but it's the special crazy sort of randomness that comes from having no real GM.
 * The Birthright campaign setting for AD&D and D&D has a large number of games running. The PCs of Bithright campaigns where not adventures but rulers. A given party might consist of The Duke, his Court Wizard, the High Priest, the Master of the local guilds etc. As well as normal adventuring stuff the game system had domain rounds, where PCs administered various holdings, collected taxes and fought wars. Which translated quite straightforwardly to play by post play in which most if not all of the different kingdoms are take by PCs. As well as the default campaign settings the 'engine' has also been used to run similar games set in Fantasy feudal Japan, post Arthurian Britain, etc.
 * There was an impromptu one on the Game FAQs Mega Man Battle Network 5 Team Protoman board, reffed to the Battle of Light and Darkness. A fight broke out and turned into one of these.
 * The Game FAQs Mega Man Battle Network 6 boards also went through a similar phase with the (insert character here) RPGs of Some Sort, although most of them took place on the Gregar board instead of the Falzar board. The one that started this phase involved Protoman, and a lot of Wild Mass Guessing and/or Fan Wank followed.
 * BZ Power has a Bionicle-themed roleplaying forum, it being a Bionicle fan forum, but don't expect to just walk in and make a new RPG-only three RPGs besides the BZPRPG can ever be occurring at once. They have to place 3rd or better in a polled contest every three months to even get started, and to avoid being closed they have to enter the contest again and place 3rd or higher again. Thankfully, there is an official planning topic to refine RPGs and RPG concepts.
 * There are also a few RPGs active in Lego General Discussion and Completely Off Topic forums. While more than three can be active at once, the former requires approval from an LGD forum leader (who acts as a quality control for incoming RPGs), while the latter requires 7 RPG judges, and Sisen, the RPG Leader, to approve the RP (which acts as a more strict quality control.) Thankfully for COT, there is ALSO an official planning topic for refining COT RPGs and COT RPG concepts.
 * Mafia is a game seemingly made for this format.
 * Indeed, there are quite a few sites dedicated to forum Mafia, which, given the nature of Message Boards, are much longer and involve much more detailed analysis than other formats. MafiaScum is perhaps one of the best known sites devoted to the game.
 * Mafia is also known as Werewolf. There's a very active Werewolf PBP forum on BoardGameGeek.
 * Suzumiya Haruhi no Yakuasobi, literally the RP of Suzumiya Haruhi. A relatively new forum that's Exactly What It Says On the Tin.
 * Zelda Elements RPis a friendly, Zelda-based RP. Turned me on to RPing and tropes!
 * Dating back to 1995 is the Final Fantasy 3 RPG (3 being the initial English numbering for VI). It was essentially collaborative fanfic: there were no rules save that you couldn't stomp on something that had already been written. There were moderators, but they were pretty lax. The game involved characters from pretty much anything Square made, as well as the home-grown variety. It died after a while, but the archives are still available. The quality is inconsistent (as one would imagine), but give some of them a read. Particularly the ones following Celes and Sascha&Akfek.
 * Simrtk is a very large Play by post sim based off of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms video games, with some dashes of Dynasty Warriors thrown in.
 * The Third Dawn is a High Fantasy RPG with an original setting, and built-in rules. Unlike most sites, it plays more like an MMO; you level by posting, and you attack and defense values are actually used in rule-driven on-site combat. There's a bit of a learning curve to learn the rules and mechanics, but once you learn them, it's a very rewarding experience.
 * Star Army features an original space opera/sci-fi setting created by its members and characterized by sleek, powerful starships, power armor, cute catgirls, and heavily armed men of action. Star Army has run continuously since 2000 and has up to a dozen or so individual games within the universe's main factions at any given time.
 * Kiseki, which is a CLAMP-based RP at Insanejournal. There's a mod who tosses events out every six weeks or so, but she doesn't really act as a GM per say and the gaming is very freeform.
 * Ninja Academy, a Naruto RPG with an active player base, an elaborate, custom-made game system and a solid pipeline for user-created content. 7 years old, yet still active and developing.
 * Retribution Games sprung from forum-based games History of the World and Divided We Stand played on the Something Awful Forums.
 * Time To Pretend, an Academy RPG where characters have the spirits of Disney or other fairy tale characters.
 * Online-Roleplaying is yet another site, most active with D&D gamers but willing to host anything. It also has its own dice roller.
 * Super Hero Rpg is a rpg where you can design your own hero/villain/regendgae. It constantly updates and goes through Chapter Arcs. There have been 4 so far, but it's easy to come in the middle of one too.
 * This fictional commercial advertises a service that allows FPSes to be played this way.
 * MSF High has one on its forums (which gets more attention then the actual webcomic.) http://www.msfhigh.com/forum/index.php
 * Link to the TV Tropes page: MSF High Forum
 * Characters from the forum have even appeared in this comic, and a good few of the moderators are tropers.
 * The Gaming Steve Forums have one: The Gaming Steve Universe. The game itself can be found here. While the individual creations' pages can be found here. This is actually an offshoot of a Spore 2005 Fanfic; when Spore failed to live up to the expectations of the universe that was created, Origin became its own story. Especially notable are the Nauceans, a race so well-built that Will Wright himself CANONIZED them.
 * Oberon and Salvation are two linked games, each following one of the eponymous ships in the Firefly 'verse. Like several examples listed above, these games emphasize writing as well as roleplay, and a general outline of the plot for each "episode" is worked out in advance, although there is a great amount of flexibility in the outline and deviations are generally accepted if they lead to good story.
 * Digimon RP A board based on Digimon Tamers, but as if it continued from Digimon Adventure 02, and later Digimon Frontier. Digimon Savers is planned to be adapt later. Also included are Original Characters, and characters based from the mangas. This RP has lead to a spin-off, Pokemon & Digimon RP Unlike the previous RP, it isn't set in a universe mixed together, but a Multiverse which also includes a universe of Pokemon.
 * Pokemon: The Three Relics A Pokemon roleplay of over six years of activity, boasting over 1400 pages of posts and a slew of well-developed characters mixed in with established NPCs.
 * The Global Guardians PBEM Universe is now defunct, but over the course of its run it had close to a thousand players and over forty separate campaigns.
 * Lightning War is World War II-era game that mashes together multiple canons, mostly Harry Potter, Heroes and Supernatural.
 * Rescue Force RPG is an RP set in a slightly Darker and Edgier alternate continuity 10 years after Tomica Hero Rescue Force. Where Rescue Force and Rescue Fire have disbanded. It follows the adventures of the recently recruited fourth generation, the third generation having been killed in a Mach Train disaster.
 * The Unified Wrestling League is a professional wrestling PbP with the distinction of running 11 years and counting without closing. `
 * Neverending Struggle RPG, a massive crossover RPG with an unfortunatly low number of players. The story is about a war between 6 factions composed of characters from fictional media but the plot is pletty loose and it has no specific rules.
 * There is now a Neverending Struggle V2 and a normal-life massive crossover called IMAGINE but the same person.
 * Where Worlds Collide features a collection of RPs based on various settings, the main ones being a Kingdom Hearts one, an Avatar: The Last Airbender one and a Superhero school one with elements of both the Marvel and DC universes.
 * Superhero!Hype RPGs also features a collection of RPs based on the various superhero comics, including World of Heores (a DC RPG), Heroes vs. Villains (a Marvel RPG) and the One Universe RPG (an RPG that combines elements from both canons).
 * Monochrome Black is a new mystery-horror role play, featuring an intricate plot, a crap sack world, and a variety of characters and character types.
 * Persona: Project Rebirth is essentially an an original RP based on the Persona universe, mostly Persona 3 and Persona 4. There's original characters, an original story; generally everything is original except the entire universe it takes place in. It has recently started back up again, after a period of inactivity.
 * Keeping with the subject of Persona, Persona Heaven is a friendly casual RP environment which welcomes all new members.
 * Island Eight is an RP based on the titular Island, a place where creatures of myth and legend are thrown into along with humans who can use magic. It's rather new, and is looking for members to come and join.
 * Thar Shaddin is a fantasy freeform PbP RP, known for its relatively high standards of literacy and commitment.
 * Struggle Against Mecha Insano: A long running free form game run on the Spoony Experiment Play by Post Forums. It concerns a resistance group fighting against the evil Doctor Insano (Yes that one.) It spans over twenty years in game and has several generations of the family fighting against Insano. Is known for large time skips lots and lots of drama and intense violence, putting characters through everything imaginable.
 * Hogwarts Extreme (also known as just HEX) is a rather popular Harry Potter forum-based RPG. It also works as a regular messageboard and general online networking community for Potter fans. Each individual roleplay thread is stand-alone, so it's a good site for beginners who don't feel ready for a more traditional Play By Post site.
 * Multiworld Madness is a "derelict flagship" of the Roll to Dodge game type. Having recently "celebrated" its second anniversary, spanning three mini-universes as of this writing, with six more to come, this action epic has pretty much drove the Roll To Dodge games forward, causing their explosive growth within the confines of the Bay 12 Games forums and being influential in their spread across the internet. Although progress in the game has slowed from two updates a day to one update a week (at most), it still remains the largest Roll To Dodge forum game on the internet.
 * The MS Paint Adventures forum Collab/Roleplay section has a lot of these, the vast majority of them based on Homestuck.
 * Video Games and Hair Dye is a Scott Pilgrim roleplay that's active and always welcoming of new members, although most action takes place on the in-character chatbox.
 * Gallega is a new Sci-Fi RP with a small but dedicated group. The RP focuses on user made content while the staff design most of back story. The RP itself follows the story of a crew exploring unknown space. Of course players can easily start their own stories.
 * Totally Awesome Random Robot RPG the mechtalk story that took on a life of it's own. Pilot a massive Mecha of your very own for either the Mighty Fandom or the Determined Earth Sphere Union. Lots of Gundam and other Anime influences collide in the titanic struggle for the Earth Sphere.
 * The Malkavian Madness Forum is focused on both World Of Darkness settings, and is fairly new. Many of the members are active on Deviant ART, and the forum was going to host a collaborative story-writing project (sadly discontinued).
 * Transformers: Deadzone is a multiversal Transformers RPG where Transformers from different universes and times are being pulled to the in-game universe for a currently unknown purpose. The Cybertron of said universe has been destroyed, Unicron's running loose, and it seems that no-one knows of the Transformers as a race. Very highly active, and has been in action since early 2007. No Megatron, and the only Optimus Prime is the most untested one. To go with one of the most-used taglines, "It's kind of like Lost, but with giant robots. And no, we don't know what the hell's going on, either."
 * Shared Worlds on Alternate History Dot Com bears host to several RPGs and collaborative works (such as stories); more often than not, they tend to converge. The works themselves. however, vary, from Nation States-esque fare to Mecha RPs, Red Dawn "sequels" and even stuff based out of Axis Powers Hetalia. It's split into Large Games and Sandbox folders.
 * Naruto Creation is a Naruto RP that has a dedicated playerbase, and is recovering from a population decrease after the forum switched boards.. A lot of the players have a thinly-veiled distaste for the series, and it tends to deviate from the series at times.
 * Star Wars Universe Rpis a Star Wars RP with very loyal member base that is still going strong. This is the second incarnation of the site and averages anywhere from 40 to 60 active members a day. Their shortened version of the plot is:
 * 3602 BBY. The galaxy has been thrown into upheaval as the forgotten Sith rise from the ashes of their ancestors. No one is safe from the effects of this political unrest as the Republic is forced to take the defensive against this dark tyranny.
 * Dimensional Clash is a multi-series crossover RP that takes place on an island in another dimension. There's no overarching plot, and much of the individual R Ps on the site are about the interactions of various characters from various franchises.
 * The Tandy Arena An arena based Play by Post game set in a town called Tandy.
 * Overclocked is a story-heavy roleplaying game inspired by Persona 4 Set in a small town in Japan, players assume the role of highschool students whose investigation into a fortune telling rumor leads them into a strange parallel world  In addition to tradition public roleplaying on the forums, there's also the private message "cellphone calls" players can receive, containing information they can share, keep to themselves, or blatantly lie about. The game is currently looking for players.
 * Doujinstyle, an english-speaking website dedicated to, in their own words, "doujin stuff, doujin music and Touhou", possesses several roleplaying sections. One club in particular, Shifting Worlds, deals primarily with Gensokyo but also involves a few other dimensions, some original, some not. The club has established its own very special alternate continuity, one in which, along the course of the roleplays, the Scarlet Devil Mansion has turned sentient and also doubles as a Humongous Mecha, Cirno Took a Level In Badass and gained control of a huge castle within the Forest of Magic, our universe (or at least the one Gensokyo is in) has turned out to have been created and protected by a spider Goddess, among other gods/goddesses... and that's only scraping the surface of the insanity.
 * Aeterna Roma is an alternate timeline ancient Rome RP set in about the 50's AD. The plot revolves around (what else?) the tumultuous lives of the people living within Rome's reach, specifically focusing on the inner workings of Rome itself. While a wide variety of main plots are made available, the game is generally player-focused - meaning that members can worry about their specific character's (or characters') plot(s) without needing to dive into any major site plots. Ae Ro, as it is affectionately known, has been running since 2008 and has an active and friendly member-base.
 * Along with a thriving Mafia community, Smogon has Create a Pokemon-Anime Style Battling, using both official Pokémon. While there isn't any sort of universal plot of any type (there ARE smaller roleplays within it that have plot-like structures, though,) it can be played with either a roleplaying combat mindset or a more strategic combat mindset.
 * Wuality Clob is a roleplay using characters from any fandom you want. Most of the fun comes from the IC Livestreams they do. Notable for the fact that anything goes
 * Santharia is a fantasy world-building site with two separate forums: one where the Dreamers help develop the world, and the other focused completely on Roleplaying within Caelereth (the world created). Recently there has also been development of an interactive game.
 * Star Wars: Rebuilding of Empires is an ongoing Star Wars AU taking place after the reborn Emperor Palpatine and virtually every major character in the series was killed in action above Coruscant, forcing Imperial and New Republic planets to form their own interstellar powers in order to survive. Each player leads an interstellar polity with a stable of characters. Highlights include politics, Loads and Loads of Characters, epic conflicts of Dark and Light, and philosophy. The game is an example of Long Runners, with thirty years of in-game history, and has been ongoing since 2004.
 * Sonic: Darkness Eternal Zone is a Sonic the Hedgehog RP set years after Dr Ivo Robotnik, in a final act of cruelty, dropped the Space Colony ARK on the Earth setting off a nuclear winter. The old heroes are dead but new ones have risen to defend the only remaining vestige of civilisation, the Teams of Neo-Tokyo. They are faced by the numerically superior Gangs of Osaka. Taking Sonic, injecting a large dose of Grim Dark and Fallout this equates to one hell of a setting. On its third revival, the original incarnation was so good it was plagiarised!
 * Virtual Warrior World is an active Warriors RP that is for all roleplayers, from beginner to intermediate.
 * War of Discord is an active RP that takes place in an original setting. It is closed to new members at this time.
 * Mega Man Oblivion is an RP that is set in the Mega Man Battle Network, X, and ZX worlds. It is fashioned in the style of an MMORPG with a slew of missions, boss battles, and character customization along with the main plot.
 * Devil Survivor: Dark Gates is a brand new RP based on the Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor games that current;y is need of new members.

Play By Post Games hosted on the TV Tropes Fora:

 * The Massive Multi Fandom RPG: A Mega Crossover wherein various characters get trapped in a strange City with no way out. Easily the most popular and active RPG on the Fora, despite its original creator's disappearance.
 * Several Maid RPGs
 * A Game of Gods: A Mega Crossover where several characters from different universes are kidnapped by mysterious celestial beings called the Nomads. From there, the characters are forced to complete a set of challenges for the Nomads' entertainment. Each challenge is different, and characters frequently clash over their moral views and methods, though they are often forced to cooperate in order to complete a challenge.
 * A couple of D&D-based games
 * OBJECTION! A roleplay set in the Ace Attorney universe post Apollo Justice.
 * The World of Skara Brae, a (currently running) low fantasy RP. The unique thing about this one is its Darker and Edgier Deconstruction of a lot of fantasy tropes.
 * We Are Our Avatars
 * Radio City, otherwise known as Evil Mastermind RPG. Like the Massive Multifandom RPG, the original creator has disappeared from the game, but it's still ongoing with the new GM SukeSho.
 * Kagami Hiiragi Snuggling After Sex, and its spinoff, Kagami Hiiragi Snuggling with Onions. It started out as an IJBM discussion thread, ran completely off the rails as Lucky Star characters started appearing in it, got deleted, and came back stronger than ever.
 * Kingdom Hearts Twilight of the Stars
 * Fabled Albion - A literate, extensive roleplay based on the Fable games - now into its second season with a welcoming community-base. Everyone seems to love everyone here.
 * Sporum Dimensional Clash while not the first role play series with the premise or the name, this role play is one of the largest on the Sporum, or the Official Forum for the game Spore.
 * Mythril Aces, an original Real Robot RP. Focusing on the Conflict between the Earth Federation and the Centauri Confederacy, players can be either a Federation Ace, or a Centauri Knight, piloting an Armored Mobile Frame in the war to conquer the planets of the Lambdadelta sector, in search of the precious material known as Mythril.
 * Jellyneo Random Roleplay is a roleplay in the Jellyneo Forums about... well, random things.
 * Cowboy-Man. It was basically a homage to MS Paint Adventures.
 * We Are All Pokémon Trainers
 * Fate Corruption: One of several Fate Stay Night R Ps, this one takes a slightly different approach than the norm by setting the action in Berlin during the final days of World War II.

Play By Post Games with their own pages:

 * Absit Omen (A Harry Potter RPG)
 * Active Duty (Actually mostly IRC roleplay, but we have no index for that yet. Based on the SCP Foundation universe)
 * Advance Wars Eternal War
 * Advance Wars Role Play
 * Adylheim
 * Aeterna Roma
 * After the Academy
 * Age of Intrigue
 * AJJE Games
 * Althanas
 * Ambassadors of Liberty
 * Anime Dream Space
 * Anno R Evangelion
 * Anything Agency vs. Lawbreakers RP
 * The Arrancar Wars
 * Ather City
 * Aut Omnia Aut Nihil
 * Avatar Adventures
 * A World Beyond
 * Behind the Veil
 * Big Damned Crossover
 * The Blackthorn Corporation
 * Blaz Blue 3 RP
 * Brand New Days
 * B Zp B
 * Create a Pokémon Anime Style Battling CAP ASB]
 * Celestial Refresh
 * Cerberus Daily News
 * Character Development Thread
 * Chronicles of Rathya
 * Clashing Hearts
 * Comic Fury Werewolf
 * Create a Pokémon Anime Style Battling
 * Crinoverse
 * Crystal Rave
 * Culling Tides
 * DC Nation
 * DDC Games
 * Danger Time
 * Dango Daikazoku
 * Darwins Soldiers
 * Deadly Mistakes
 * The Death Series
 * Demon Hunter Guilds
 * Dept Heaven Apocrypha
 * Destine Enormity
 * Devils of Mortechaine a Mystery
 * Digimon RP
 * Pokémon and Digimon RP
 * The Disappearance of Class 12 C
 * Disney World of War
 * Dive Quest
 * Doctor When
 * Dorf Quest
 * Dragonblood
 * Elfen High
 * Endless Gravestones
 * Endless Time
 * Enter the Arena As Your Avatar
 * Equestria Chronicles
 * Escape to Gates Glorious Glittering Guard Dome (In progress)
 * Evil Mastermind RPG
 * The Extraordinaries
 * Fallen Angel RP
 * Fate Moon White
 * Fate Nuovo Guerra
 * Fate Regalia
 * Fate Silence Broken
 * Fate Stay Double
 * Final Fantasy IX Scars of Terra
 * Fire Emblem RPG
 * Fizzy Bubbles
 * For the Spirit of Creation
 * Freedom City Play By Post
 * A Game of Chance
 * A Game of Gods
 * The Gamers Alliance
 * The Grand Battle
 * The Gungan Council
 * Hakoniwa Gakuen
 * Heart of Desire
 * Henshin Heroes
 * High Fantasy the Grey Order
 * Honorable Hogwarts
 * I Antivirus
 * Imperium Offtopicum
 * Insane Cafe Series
 * The Insane Quest of Unfathomable Randomness (Now called The Insane Quest)
 * The Insanity Roleplay Series
 * In the Power We Trust
 * Ironheart Trilogy
 * Jellyneo Random Roleplay
 * John Quest
 * Journey Through the Multiverse
 * Kamen Rider Hour of the Void
 * Ride Alone Complex
 * Kingdom Hearts the Unsung War Trilogy
 * Kingdom Hearts Twilight of the Stars
 * Knight Pokémon University
 * The Lands of Evelon
 * Lightning War
 * Lost Among the Stars
 * Lord of Azure Flame
 * Lords of Shadow
 * Lunatic Inc
 * Lynching ITP
 * The Mad Scientist Wars (posts organized into fanfic format)
 * Magical Girl No Civil War
 * Magus Wars
 * Mahou Shoujo Troper Magica
 * Mall Fight
 * Mariglenica Records of a Multiversal War
 * Marvels RPG
 * The Massive Multi Fandom RPG
 * Mercenaries
 * Mirrorcemented RP
 * Modern Day Alchemist
 * A Modern World
 * The Mortal Realm
 * Mortal Wills Mortal Hearts
 * Mudy Quest
 * Nan Quest
 * Naruto ITP
 * Netland (And its sister game, Hell Desk)
 * Nexus Gate
 * New Game Plus the Rpg
 * Ni GHTS Games Roleplay Forum
 * The Official Unofficial Ouendan EBA Formspring RP
 * One for Sorrow
 * Open Blue
 * Orkinet
 * Our Avatars Are in A Room Together
 * Our Avatars Are in A Room Together The Forum Game
 * Pandora
 * The Paradox RP
 * Una Pequena Muerte
 * Persona Disappearing Dreams
 * Persona Rebirth
 * Phoenix Roleplaying
 * Planes and Mercs
 * Pokémon Creations Egg
 * Portal Breach
 * Power Academy
 * Prophesies Destinies and Killing Gods
 * Rebuilding the World
 * Red Dawn Plus 20
 * Resonating Spirits
 * Return of the Banned
 * Return of the Emblem
 * Reunions Dark Summer
 * Ruby Quest
 * Sburb Patch Notes
 * Shadowlack (Previously known as Ramath-lehi)
 * Shadowside
 * Shapes in The Dark
 * Shifting Worlds
 * Shin Hyakuji High School
 * Skylessia
 * A Slice of Life
 * Smile for The Camera
 * Sonic RP
 * Sonic Spindash RP
 * Sorting Hat
 * Sporum Dimensional Clash
 * Star Army
 * Steelglade
 * Step City
 * Super Robot Wars G
 * Superhero Hype RPGS
 * Survival of the Fittest
 * Tales of the Visitors
 * The Biogate
 * The Tandy Arena
 * Teenage Wasteland
 * The Third Dawn
 * The Never Ending Dungeon
 * Thorns Uprising
 * Time Travel and Tea
 * The Town
 * Troperia
 * Twilight of Equestria
 * TV Tropes the Adventure
 * ''Under a Blank White Sky
 * Unicorns Visions
 * The Unlikely Chronicles
 * US Gov Sim
 * The Video Game Edition Series
 * Viridian Dreams Quests (15 different Quests currently running, some more sporadically then others)
 * Warrior Cats RPG (Has a multi-genre area for miscellaneous roleplay and discussion as well as Warriors)
 * The Wastes
 * We Are All Pokémon Trainers
 * We Are At a Teen Sleepover
 * We Are in A Moe Anime
 * We Are Our Avatars
 * We Are Our Adventuring Avatars
 * We Have All Been Gender Flipped
 * The Weaver
 * Weekend Warriors
 * Welcome to Eden
 * Wild Pokémon in The Big City
 * Wildcard
 * Wizards vs. Muggles -- (Crossover with Kingdom Hearts Twilight of the Stars.
 * The World
 * The World Forged By Powers
 * A World of Heroes
 * Wu Xing Interdimensional Fantasy Adventure
 * X Project
 * You Have 7 Days
 * Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Academy Second Year