Help! we cant keep a game going...what do we do

[corcio]

for the longest time we havent been able to run a good game. barely a one shot advneture here and there...but they get stale very fast.
i envy all who talk of playing in games that run for a year or more...i would be happy if we could even manage to go from lvl 1 past lvl 5 ever...(nope hasnt happened ever)
we want a long campaign. something fun and flavorful and hopefully someday epic.
but it just seems someone is always unhappy. what would be a good way to start up a long campaign?
ive aready tried setting up lists to determine what everyone wants for a good game. once its done ill compile it and try to come up with something that will please everyone. and then well try to play....but i dont know if this will fail also.
IS there any advice someone can give me ? how did you keep games going for so long? WHAT WERE THEY....WHY CANT WE HAVE FUN.

 

[InVinoVeritas]

It all depends on what you and your group likes to do. Could you describe how your games always fall apart?

 

[corcio]

it just seemed like some people got bored
disinterest or sometimes
futility
one time we just never could beat a part in the campaign. even when we had advanced knowledge of it. and we had no other choice really. so it just seemed hopeless

 

[Stormborn]

Why do your games die? Does the DM loose interest or the players? Is it lack of planning or over planning? Are you having fun now? If so why change?

My group played for years doing short campaigns that only lasted a few levels/weeks. This was mainly due to wanting to try everything. Later we settled down a bit and I have been running longer games. This is also in large part due to the fact that I have gotten better and DMing. But typically we take a break every few weeks for someone to run a one or two-shot to keep me from getting burned out.

Based on your answers to the above questions my advice will change but here are some options:

1) Play a campaign like Red Hand of Doom designed for multiple levels. This is good practice for seeing how you can run a longer campaign. I suggest using the advice given on these boards to do a lead in from 1st level, Sunless Citadel might be a good place to start. EDIT: IIRC WotC is comign out with one that starts at 2nd level designed for new DMs, that would be your best bet.
2) Try a set up w/ a round robin DMing system. Everyone has a PC and everyone DMs an adventure. Set up a travel campaign so that the PCs can go from one region to another. When a player takes over as DM his PC says "I have something to take care of, I will meet you guys in the next town." Everyone gets the same base XP for the session, so that even the PCs not "on stage" get XP and the DM can award extra for roleplay and the players can award the DM extra for running the game. Establish a standard for this, like 1-5 stars being "y" XP * level of adventure.
3) Just plan on playing short campaigns. Nothing wrong with that if people are having fun. It can be frustrating for things to just disolve, but if you plan for it then that frustrations gone. It also allows for interesting situations. ormally a Paladin wouldn't adventure w/ a necromancer but it the cities in danger and the gods have chosen this party to go on a quest to find the relic needed to end the plague he might do it temporarilly, w/ a dispensation from his god/church for the duration to do so.

 

[edemaitre]

Short-term games

I agree that there's nothing wrong with short-term campaigns, if that's what your group prefers. Here are a few more suggestions:

-Hang on to your Player Characters records. Perhaps, at some point, have each role-player bring his or her favorite fourth-level P.C. and create a "best of" party with an especially challenging and fun scenario. What would bring the members of Marvel Comics' Avengers or D.C.'s Justice League together?

-Start at midlevel. Try starting with a scenario at fifth level and see how high you go from there.

-Accept lower power levels. Maybe your gamers prefer the excitement of lower-level scenarios and don't like the complexity of managing D&D3.5 skills, feats, spells, and magic items, not to mention followers, animal companions, strongholds, and the like. Try stretching out the scenarios without advancing in level as quickly.

-Engage the players. Use plot threads from each P.C.'s background, as well as something to motivate the entire group. Maybe they have to save their hometown from marauders, but they can't do it until they're able build their own castle in the area. Maybe they have to avenge a fallen comrade, but they won't be able to get an audience with the villain until they've accomplished some great deed... More heroic characters, such as Paladins, often have strategic goals (defeat a devil, redeem a fallen ally, or retrieve a lost relic) that take many levels of adventuring to come to fruition.

-Try something different. Like the rotating Dungeon Master suggestion, try taking a break from standard fantasy. Maybe a steampunk scenario, horror, superheroes or space opera. That way, when you go back to D&D3.5, you won't be suffering from story fatigue.

-Try a longer-term module. Some of the newer modules go from levels 2 to 20. Of course, your group may still lose interest in the meantime. Or, try a series of short ones that are somehow connected, i.e., defeat the Goblins, learn of their Hobgoblin masters, fight the Hobgoblins' Giant allies, infiltrate the Drow stronghold where the alliance was created...

-Get some fresh blood. Even if you have enough players, a new perspective never hurts.

-Build out your world. If you're using a prepublished setting, such as the Forgotten Realms, there's an overwhelming amount of material, so focus on what makes each area different. Start small. If you're running a homebrew, think of how each planet in the "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" universes represented a different type of terrain and culture. For example, Tatooine was a desert planet, and the Vulcans are pacifist psions.

Good luck, and happy gaming!

 

[Lord Zardoz]

Logisitcal issues

As I have posted in other friends, many campaigns simply fall apart due to logistical issues. Once you get out of high school / university, you and your friends probably no longer have the exact same schedule. And other responsibilities take time away from gaming (wife, children, work).

Here are my suggestions for getting around logisitical issues.

1) Plan on having 4 hour games. Trying to guarantee games that run longer will usually not work, simply because life happens, and people end up needing to be somewhere else. It also makes it easier to run the game (see point 3).

2) Allow for no-show players. How often do you have your players call at the last minute telling you how something came up? I will bet its usually the same people who frequently have the scheduling issues. As a DM, avoid adventures or campaigns where one of the PC's is the chosen one and must be present to advance the plot. Allowing a revolving door for players makes things easier.

3) Do not run the game on Friday and Saturday night. Sure, they are the best time to run a long game. They are also the best time to do most other leisure things, like go out with women, or attend parties. Keeping to a 4 hour or less time frame will let you run the game on a week night. Another safe time to run the game is on the middle of the day / afternoon on Sunday. For most people, if your going to have 4 or more hours of free time, it will be Sunday. You probably wont be out in the evening, and many place are closed on Sunday's. Wrap the game up around dinner time, and all is good.

4) Make sure everyone can get to and from the game more or less on their own. If player A always gets a ride from player B, and player B ends up a no show, than you also lose player A. If everyone can conveniently get to and from the game, you end up with fewer last minute no shows.

END COMMUNICATION

 

[sckeener]

Two options I'd also recommend

Either keep the group small to focus on their needs....the advantage is greater/richer detail to the world or

Keep the group large, ignore anyone that gets bored (since you can't please everyone,) and keep with the story...

I prefer option 1....my prefered group is no larger than 3 though my last game had 10.

 

[Nyaricus]

I think this all sort of depends on how old you are, and what's happening in your life; corcio, How old are you and the rest of the group?

 

[Michael Silverbane]

If you and your players come to something that is not fun, or that you cannot figure out a way around... skip it. You do not have to play out every single instance that occurs in a game for it to be a fun and rewarding campaign.

If you've built a dungeon maze and your players are fumbling through it, getting bored with deciding if they should go left right or straight... skip to the end, so that they can fight the big bad guy. If they can't make their way past a trap or puzzle, handwave 'em to the other side. If they get tired of talking to the locals to discover who the murderer is, just tell them. If they get a dazed look at the third time you told them that its time to make camp while traveling between two kingdoms, fast forward to their destination.

Not all aspects of game play appeal to all players. Some folks like to jibber jabber all day long and become deeply immersed into the personas that they are playing. Others like to hack and slash at monsters and scenery in order to gain new heights of power. Others still like to solve problems and discover new areas to explore. Figure out what parts of the game your players like, and focus on those things. Find out what parts of the game they dislike and put them aside.

Also remember that, if you want to have a game get past level five, one easy way to do so is to start the characters at 6th level. You do not have to go through all of the rigamarole of those first few levels for every single campaign. Some games work well at lower levels, some games work well at higher levels. All levels are equally valid to play at.

Later
silver

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I would try asking everyone what they liked/disliked about the previous "campaigns". You may see a common theme of things that people have either liked or disliked. From this you can adjust where you go and what you do in future campaigns.

You may also find that people are after different styles of games. Fred may be after a grim and gritty, low magic campaign while Joe want an epic, high magic campaign. Sometimes a compromise can be reached, other times you just have to go your seperate ways.

So my first suggestion would be to get together as a group and talk about what you all want in the game and go from there.

Olaf the Stout