Shadows Lengthen PBM
<keywords content="pbm rpg, single character pbm, play by mail rpg, play-by-mail rpg, pbm role-playing game, pbm roleplaying game, mandragora pbm, the Mandragora series pbm, Mandragora series shadows lengthen" />
At one point I was quite an avid Play-by-mail gamer. These games are played by sending in turns by postal mail or email (PBeM). Inevitably, I decided to run a few games of my own as part of Nova Games (see the FAQ).
The first game I created, the Mandragora series: Shadows Lengthen, was a single-character hand-moderated game that was incredibly time-consuming to run (during 2002-2003), and I eventually had to shut it down after a few months. It is worth pointing out that most hand-moderated PBMs do fold - the time involved is considerable if you're not doing as a full-time job. Even then, the financial returns tend to be minimal. The original blurb is reproduced below:
The Mandragora series is a role-playing game set in the island kingdom of Lonaraban, a place of intrigue, treachery, and dark magic. In it, players take the role of one of the inhabitants of the Isle, the Mandragora.
The Mandragora are a race magically created centuries ago to participate in a devastating war, by the War Wizards of the Etruscan Empire. With a need to create highly magical yet tough soldiers, the spell-casters turned to the most feared and magical creatures on the planet: the Dragons. The creators were wiped out in the War That Shook the Earth. However, their creations, the Mandragora survived, and in the years of famine and war that followed they roamed the lands searching for a place where they would no longer be persecuted or slain by a human populace that feared and mistrusted them. Eventually, their travels led them to the island of Lonaraban, a heavily forested isle of steep cliffs and towering mountains. As their SpellWind craft skimmed into the bay, the Gold Mandragora Matriarch leading the expedition named it Kal'ashiraah, or Bay of Hope, in the High Mandragora speech.
Over the years their culture developed and cities were built. Their numbers increased, and each sub-species found their own caste. With the Gold Mandragora as their leaders their society flourished - and their Dragon heritage became more apparent. To this day, greed ambition, and treachery define a Mandragor's standing in their society.
Choose from a variety of different roles - from the deadly Black Mandragora TunnelRunner to the mystical Silver Sacred Ones - and experience a whole new world...
This is the world of the Mandragora Series.
The series is a new type of play-by-mail game, split into months-long 'episodes'. Each player takes the role of a single character, leading to a far more in-depth and detailed development. The world is dynamic, and your character's actions can affect future episodes in a variety of ways.
Downloads
- Shadows Lengthen original game manual
