[Rant] I burned out last night...

[KenM]

I know how you feel. There is a player in a game I play in (not run), He plays a mage, He is always summoning the same monster. EVERY GAME He has to look up the stats for the critter instead of just writing them down. This is also the player that bought a whole new computer system so He could open another EQ account and play EQ on 2 computers at the same time.

 

[jasper]

I'm beginning to wonder if pen-and-paper RPGing has had its day.

It just seems that unless you get a magical combination of DM and players, than it's an exercise in frustration for the most part.

When was the last time you guys actually had a fulfilling session or campaign?

I don't know if modern society is lending itself to RPGing anymore - too many distractions, too hectic of pace, etc.

oh please modern society. All the problems mention in this thread could have been mention in 1982 with the people I played with back then, or in 1990 with the people in college, or the people in the army.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I don't blame modern society, I do think that more people want thier table top games to be more like CRPG's, which is a bad thing in my book. But that's neither here nor there.

 

[billd91]

I think there's a lot of ripping on players going on here (as well as other good advice about avoiding burnout by doing other things from time to time) but I see another possible reason for burnout.

Your expectations.

If you've been playing with these guys for some time, you should know how they play and what style of game they want. While that may not be exactly what you want, that shouldn't prevent you from having some relatively decent, lite-entertainment, beer-and-pretzel gaming going on. One problem I see with your story is you're trying to run the kind of game YOU want, not what your players want (for the most part). If these things are very different, then yes, you will get frustrated and burn out.
What kind of games your players want is beyond your control. But what kind of game you try to run and your expectations of your players is something you can work with. After you take some time off from running and feel the urge to sit behind the screen again, I suggest you adjust your expectations with these players a bit.
In the meantime, to fuel your need for a somewhat different game, set aside some time to be a player with another group and do your best to find one.

 

[Norfleet]

If a player consistently cannot remember what the stuff he uses constantly does, dock his XP rewards. He's clearly not learning, so doesn't deserve full experience. It's one thing not to remember what some obscure thing you loaded up with because you had a hunch you might need it does, it's another thing to forget what Fireball or your sword does. This would be like a soldier who can't remember how many bullets go in a magazine. He's not going to last terribly long.

The other helpful solution is to quietly get the offending player's character killed. Don't do it in a way that makes it seem like you're out to get him, but do try and get him killed. Then pin the reason for the death on his own incompetence and ignorance. That way he feels like he was responsible for it, and perhaps makes a better effort to learn the rules next time. Even if he doesn't, you'll still feel better every time you kill him.

Do your players pelt your minis with dice? If they refuse to quit after you tell them to stop it, start pelting their characters with very large rocks every time they do it. It's even better if the player manages to hit the mini representing his character, or a partymember, with one of the dice: Have that character immediately hit by a very large rock. It might even work better when you punish another player's character for it, since then he'll immediately become angry at the player who caused this to happen. In the meantime, you feel muich happier.

Remember: Beatings will continue until morale improves.

 

[Gadodel]

The last time I got burnt out, I took a break. It lasted nearly three years. 3E came out and I was excited again, for awhile. I took another break, that lasted nearly a year. Finally, I not only switched to Modern-but also decided to not play with a few people...ever again.

 

[isidorus]

I am actually burnt out myself, and have taken a long break on Dming. Since I have not had a chance to play anything and have Dm various d20 games for 2 years now; just tired.

Right now I am writing a Article for La called "Evil Priests in La" and playing a little Magic for fun.

Seems to be helping and I can keep the creative juices flowing without all the player problems. Now when I start up a new campaign I would like to steer them from DnD to maybe La or one of my favorites Shadowrun.

Of course a smoke, beer and a good book seems to help.

 

[Crass]

I've tried posting stuff on various BB's saying I'm looking for a group, BD&D, GURPS, LA, WFRP, 1e, or 3e would do.

<snip>
The group has been in the same nation for two years of real time. I don't think a single one could name it. They have been battling Tharizdun's cult for quite a while but half the time they don't know what his name is and what he stands for.


We play Foozeball all the time and hangout a lot when we aren't gaming so if I tell them I'm not playing anymore we will still see each other a few times a week.

Sounds like you're doing RTTTOEE... perhaps see if you can get your players more motivated, as a first step. I'm sure Hong won't mind if I include a link to his write-up of RTTTOEE from when we did it: http://www.zipworld.com.au/~hong/dnd/royhg1.htm
Maybe get your players to read this chronicle of the module. I sympathise with you, though - I "burnt out" of BattleTech/MechWarrior about 3-4 years ago, to the extent that I have only played one session since (helping a mate run a monster-sized battle). If you cannot get more motivation out of your players, suggest a short break until you feel re-motivated to play/DM again yourself.

(A bit of self-aggrandisement: I was Brathariel, the necro. on angry pills...)

 

[Treacherous]

About 2 years ago, I was getting close to a burnout situation very similar sounding to yours, Flexor. Then I discovered the RPGA, got to play 3e instead of just DMing it, and I've been gaming happily ever after.

Check out www.living-greyhawk.com. Also, there's a big RPGA convention in your area next month (Weekend in the Velverdyva).

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

That's a good point about expectations. I expect one type of game, and they expect another.

But I just can't waste my time running a game for people who are only playing to hang out with the boys and have a beer and really don't care much one way or another if we play D&D or shoot fooseball. If they are going to play the game half-assed then I'm just going to have to walk away. I don't expect them to show up in frilly shirts and makeup but I do expect them to give some effort into getting into character. One guy makes all his PC's Irish, and thier religion is always Gaelic Paganism, whatever that is. No effort at all to get into the game world. There are no IRISH ON OERTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I'm going back into ranting mode so I'll stop here.

This sucks. Well, off to talk to my brother about it.

Thanks for the advice everyone.