[Sigh] Retiring from RPGs. Here's why.

[Biohazard]

I started gaming back in 1980 with the D&D red box Moldvay set. Since that time I've played tons of games and systems, up to and including D&D 3.5. But lately (in fact, for the past couple of years), I have to say that my heart just isn't in it. And I've realized why.

1. I usually DM. And it's so much work that it just isn't worth the time involved. Preparing a new adventure for my group is, in my experience, akin to creating a new board game for them every session. And once they finish the adventure, it's over, never to be used again (at least not by that same group).

2. I don't enjoy being a player, because RPGs are so completely dependent on the personality and experience of the DM. Unlike, say, chess, where the game itself is completely independent of the personality of the players (two people can play chess even if they don't speak the same language, for goodness sake), RPGs are only fun if you have a good DM. I haven't played under a good DM in a long time, and don't have the desire to run out trying to find one.

3. Lately I've been getting into something I never thought I'd enjoy: board games. We've been playing Settlers of Catan, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Arkham Horror, Attack! and Risk 2210. I'm finding that board games, for me, are just as much fun as RPGs (often more; see #1 and #2) and are FAR less work to prepare. You simply set up the board and play--your mind free from churning over the various aspects of the game between sessions.

4. Video games. I also started video gaming in 1980 with the Atari 2600 and a recently bought a PS2 and a GameCube with tons of cool platform and survival horror games (my two favorite genres). It recently hit me: why spend hours preparing a cool horror scenario for my group as I try to master the rules for new WoD when I can just sit down with a bag of chips and play Silent Hill 3?

I haven't been able to answer that question yet.

***

In short, it's been a good, long run, but I'm not enjoying DMing anymore. It's more like a job than a game. And I'm definitely not enjoying playing--I usually haven't. It's only fun if you have a great DM, and there ain't enough of those. And in the time that has passed, other things have emerged that are, for me, far more fun and far less work (no work, really): video games and board games.

I think that RPGs themselves have changed; contrast the simplicity of OD&D (1974) with the monster that is D&D 3.5, with its two DM's Guides and two PHB's! I think it takes a certain kind of person to play, and especially DM, an RPG nowadays. Back in the old days, anyone could do it (and did it)--hell, I was 10 years old when I DMed my first game of Moldvay basic. Today, however, it's a full-time job, almost. You have to be a university student without a family who spends hours of times studying the rulebooks to master the game. I'm 35, married, and a father. And I just don't want to devote the time and energy anymore.

Anyway, I bid you all farewell. And maybe one day we'll meet again for a session of Star Munchkin.

Biohazard
Old School Gamer, 1980-2006

 

[Mark CMG]

Don't get rid of your stuff. At least not the core books. You'll probably want them down the line either to run some adventure that strikes your fancy (less work with pre-fab adventures) or to pass along to a younger family member.

As for boardgames, I'd suggest you check out RuneBound, Pirate's Cove, Mystery of the Abbey, and Shadows Over Camelot.

Farewell wherever you fare!

 

[I'm A Banana]

I think that you will be missed.

But your problems are not just yours; these are issues that a lot of game companies are wrestling with right now -- easing the burden on the DM, making DMing a job anyone can do with some consistency, etc.

And I would say that, unfortunately, complexity is ALWAYS going to be more than videogames and board games, simply because in RPGs you make a world and a story, a creative, constructive task. In videogames and board games, you don't have to build anything, just interact with objects that already exist. It's always going to be easier to move a table than build a table.

But it sounds like you're going to have more fun for now with what you have. Still, I'd keep an ear to the newsfeeds and see if someone doesn't come out with a system that minimizes DM impact and DM effort (I know FFZ is trying hard to do that). You may be out for now, but a lot of times this goes in waves, so you may convince yourself to come back in later, with perhaps a system simple enough to be easy to DM well.

 

[Thanatos]

I think that with any hobby, if you spend too much time doing it, you burn out and it goes from being something fun to being something blah. I don't agree with your thought that D&D is a monster though and so much more complex then OD&D, I think the rose colored glasses have come out for it (I know they do for me!).

I often find myself stuck DM'ing for similiar reasons (I've been playing since 1978)...though I did enjoy occasionally playing...and it definitely did eventually lead to me not really doing much gaming for a period of time while I played on my X-Box and PS2 (Halo and .hack FTW!).

Anyway, I sympathize withyour plight and hope you enjoy your break and find your way back once you feel the creative energy and need to DM consume you again.

Good luck, have fun and stay in touch -- just because you aren't playing doesn't mean you can't visit

Shade and Sweet Water!

 

[the black knight]

Giving up D&D to play Risk and Video Games?

Okay.

To each his own. Now sell me your stuff.

 

[Agamon]

Once a gamer, always a gamer. You'll get the itch again, it never fails. A break, not matter how long, is the cure for this.

I could be wrong, though, and I understand. It's tough as an adult to do this, especially run the game. But the fun aspect counters the work for me. And while I play a few PC games, it's a different kind of fun (usually the non-social kind).

Good luck to you.

 

[Faraer]

Your points explain why you aren't playing any RPGs right now, but not why you'd quit entirely. Would you stop going to see films for ever because a lot of them are bad?

I think it takes a certain kind of person to play, and especially DM, an RPG nowadays. Back in the old days, anyone could do it (and did it)--hell, I was 10 years old when I DMed my first game of Moldvay basic.

Original D&D required some kind of wargaming background to decipher the rules and how to play. But D&D in principle, I agree, is of wider appeal. Current D&D is niche-marketed in a different way to self-defined, rules-focused 'gamers', and this is perhaps the game's biggest problem in the long term.

 

[C.W.Richeson]

Topic is being discussed on RPG.net as well.

Hey Biohazard,

I just wanted to let you know that a thread sprung up about your statement over on RPG.net. http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=283841

I never like it when a thread is discussed elsewhere without the OP knowing, so there ya go!

Hope your decision meets with more fun,
- Chris

 

[Geron Raveneye]

I can only repeat what Mark CMG already said: don't get rid of your old books. You either might be getting the itch again at some point, and then you can simply break out the boxes instead of having to scour Ebay for them, or you might simply want to keep them as the memories of a part of your life. I know there's so many damn memories attached to all my RPG stuff I wouldn't know where else to look for them.

 

[Treebore]

I started gaming back in 1980 with the D&D red box Moldvay set. Since that time I've played tons of games and systems, up to and including D&D 3.5. But lately (in fact, for the past couple of years), I have to say that my heart just isn't in it. And I've realized why.

1. I usually DM. And it's so much work that it just isn't worth the time involved. Preparing a new adventure for my group is, in my experience, akin to creating a new board game for them every session. And once they finish the adventure, it's over, never to be used again (at least not by that same group).

2. I don't enjoy being a player, because RPGs are so completely dependent on the personality and experience of the DM. Unlike, say, chess, where the game itself is completely independent of the personality of the players (two people can play chess even if they don't speak the same language, for goodness sake), RPGs are only fun if you have a good DM. I haven't played under a good DM in a long time, and don't have the desire to run out trying to find one.

3. Lately I've been getting into something I never thought I'd enjoy: board games. We've been playing Settlers of Catan, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Arkham Horror, Attack! and Risk 2210. I'm finding that board games, for me, are just as much fun as RPGs (often more; see #1 and #2) and are FAR less work to prepare. You simply set up the board and play--your mind free from churning over the various aspects of the game between sessions.

4. Video games. I also started video gaming in 1980 with the Atari 2600 and a recently bought a PS2 and a GameCube with tons of cool platform and survival horror games (my two favorite genres). It recently hit me: why spend hours preparing a cool horror scenario for my group as I try to master the rules for new WoD when I can just sit down with a bag of chips and play Silent Hill 3?

I haven't been able to answer that question yet.

***

In short, it's been a good, long run, but I'm not enjoying DMing anymore. It's more like a job than a game. And I'm definitely not enjoying playing--I usually haven't. It's only fun if you have a great DM, and there ain't enough of those. And in the time that has passed, other things have emerged that are, for me, far more fun and far less work (no work, really): video games and board games.

I think that RPGs themselves have changed; contrast the simplicity of OD&D (1974) with the monster that is D&D 3.5, with its two DM's Guides and two PHB's! I think it takes a certain kind of person to play, and especially DM, an RPG nowadays. Back in the old days, anyone could do it (and did it)--hell, I was 10 years old when I DMed my first game of Moldvay basic. Today, however, it's a full-time job, almost. You have to be a university student without a family who spends hours of times studying the rulebooks to master the game. I'm 35, married, and a father. And I just don't want to devote the time and energy anymore.

Anyway, I bid you all farewell. And maybe one day we'll meet again for a session of Star Munchkin.

Biohazard
Old School Gamer, 1980-2006

Why the heck do you think I switched to Castles and Crusades? You don't HAVE to give up RPG's, just switch to C&C. Seriously. Plays like your using 1E again, just better. A LOT better.

You are EXACTLY the kind of RPG player that needs to switch to C&C.