When you give up on RPGs because you hate the system.

aramis erak · Feb 21, 2018

Dannyalcatraz said:
No nearby malls other than strip malls. Our malls- even in the bigger cities to which my community is a suburb- have been closing due to the loss of anchor stores. The closest one- in another city- doesn’t have public seating areas with table except at the food court. The next closest one is in a neighborhood that has gone so far downhill that my friends on the police force let me know they regularly post sharpshooters on the roof.

No Safeways, either. Though there are grocery stores with seating areas, the seats & tables in most of them are attached to the floors. Hardly ideal.

Basically, if I want to game off-premises anywhere nearby, room rental fees will be involved.

If they let you play for free, it's better than nothing. And there's no harm in asking. If you don't ask, you'll never know for sure.

And don't forget the libraries.

Churches might also be willing. I used to run a group at a Roman Catholic cathedral. I've played in a boardgaming group at a local methodist parish.

pogre · Feb 21, 2018

It can be hard to find a group in later life. I lucked into one a few months ago. I also play games regularly with my kids, especially my three sons. Will be a big life change as they are all going to be out of the nest in the semi-near future.

I have been tempted to play or run an AL game to expand my gaming friends.

Seems like I see most of my old gaming friends at funerals more than the gaming table...

Dannyalcatraz · Feb 21, 2018

aramis erak said:
If they let you play for free, it's better than nothing. And there's no harm in asking. If you don't ask, you'll never know for sure.

And don't forget the libraries.

Churches might also be willing. I used to run a group at a Roman Catholic cathedral. I've played in a boardgaming group at a local methodist parish.

My first game ever- I was a player- was in a school library in 1977. I was an army brat, so we moved every few years, so over time, I’ve played in other libraries, created a RPG club at a Catholic private school, run games at pizzerias, etc. I know what options are available in my vicinity. Right now, the options just aren’t good.

Hell- if I asked nicely, I could probably join the group my cousin is in. They play a lot of wahoo games in Amber, L5R, and so forth, and he often asks me for tips. But despite the praise my role-playing advice has gotten as he put them in practice and/or passed them along, I really have little desire to intrude on his time with his friends. They’re also all half my age, at most. It would kind of be like having an older relative ask to join your garage band- regardless of who that person was, eventually, styles would be cramped, mellows harshed, feelings hardened.

pogre said:
It can be hard to find a group in later life. I lucked into one a few months ago. I also play games regularly with my kids, especially my three sons. Will be a big life change as they are all going to be out of the nest in the semi-near future.

I have been tempted to play or run an AL game to expand my gaming friends.

Seems like I see most of my old gaming friends at funerals more than the gaming table...

I just turned 50, so, yeah, I can relate. The last time I saw my (now former) game group together was for a funeral for one guy’s mom.

Lanefan · Feb 21, 2018

Dannyalcatraz said:
Expanding on this a bit...

I remember there was a time when “hosting” didn’t necessarily mean “at your house”. A good pizza parlor or neighborhood burger joint would work just as well. But those places are disappearing too.

Most of the pizza places around me are delivery only. Of the two that aren’t, one has max seating of 4 per booth, because booths are all they have. The other would work, but it’s small AND popular, so you’d be rolling the dice every time you went that you’d be able to find enough contiguous seating.

And pretty much the same story exists with burger joints etc.

Except BBQ places. They still have all the features that would make for a decent place to host a game...but they have the obvious drawback of BBQ sauce.

You really need to move to Vancouver BC - there's a pub over there that's RPG-themed: the menus are on something that resembles the map to B2 Keep on the Borderlands, for example; and their shots menu has 20 selections - you get a buck off if you roll a d20 to make your choice for you.

It's called the Stormcrow Tavern. And that's where to run your game.

Here in Victoria the closest we've got is there's a guy who runs once-a-month one-offs (usually gonzo 0e D&D) in a local pub. Loads of fun!

Lan-"wishing the Stormcrow would open a second locaiton over here"-efan

Dannyalcatraz · Feb 21, 2018

Lanefan said:
You really need to move to Vancouver BC - there's a pub over there that's RPG-themed: the menus are on something that resembles the map to B2 Keep on the Borderlands, for example; and their shots menu has 20 selections - you get a buck off if you roll a d20 to make your choice for you.

It's called the Stormcrow Tavern. And that's where to run your game.

Here in Victoria the closest we've got is there's a guy who runs once-a-month one-offs (usually gonzo 0e D&D) in a local pub. Loads of fun!

Lan-"wishing the Stormcrow would open a second locaiton over here"-efan

Believe it or not, I’ve heard of it! Some of the guys were talking about doing something like that as part of an evening of Gamers with Many Bottles of Booze LARP!

And Vancouver? Great city. We used to live in Tacoma, and we took the ferry into Vancouver on numerous occasions.

reelo · Feb 21, 2018

What if you suggested to DM a game of B/X D&D, or with the Rules Cyclopedia back in print, BECM D&D.

Not much build-optimizing to be done with those rules. *evil grin*

Flexor the Mighty! · Feb 21, 2018

I've been mostly playing with the same guys for 30 years and I still like it...but I'm not really at all interested in 5e which we are playing. ToA. Not a fan of 5e after running it for a couple years, and even less of one playing in it. The guys I play with don't mind if its easy since they can just make jokes about how they are kicking so much butt, to me its like they are bragging about beating a game on easy mode. Which is fine, if you are just there to have a few cans ands a few laughs while making stupid jokes. So I'm finding myself missing more and more sessions and caring less and less. I'm sure finally finding a wargaming club didn't help things either.

CubicsRube · Feb 21, 2018

I burned out on pathfinder long ago to the point where i refuse to play it. I'm an accountant by trade, so i juggle enough numbers during the day to make playing pathfinder just seem like more work.

To add to suggestions, have you tried suggesting savage worlds? There is the lankhmar setting so its an easy transition from a fantasy staple, and it has the advantage of having some level of complexity to character build choices and has tactical fighting. It might appeal.

Then if you get them into that, you can springboard into other genres, savage rifts, etc

GMMichael · Feb 26, 2018

XP to aramis erak, since playing in a Catholic church sounds pretty awesome.

Lanefan said:
You really need to move to Vancouver BC - there's a pub over there that's RPG-themed: the menus are on something that resembles the map to B2 Keep on the Borderlands, for example; and their shots menu has 20 selections - you get a buck off if you roll a d20 to make your choice for you.

But this sounds awesome-r!
[MENTION=19675]Dannyalcatraz[/MENTION] - just turned 50, still gaming? Glad to know gaming life goes on...

I think we lost the OP. Hope his problem is solved.

Yaztromo · Feb 27, 2018

There are simpler systems, but you need to find somebody that wants to play them with you (perhaps online?).
In alternative, there are gamebooks (think about Fighting Fantasy or Lone Wolf, for example) that can be the closest thing and you don't need anybody else to play them.

Anyway, don't worry: roleplaying often goes through highs and lows depending on players' life circumstances etc. and nobody ever said this is necessarily bad.