MechaPilot
Explorer
Oh, it was definitely not a practical joke. More like desperation on my part. We had just leveled up to 15th in his 4e game (of which I was the lone player) and though I enjoy 4e, at this point I was going crazy with having to play it in his game. I am never going to drop him as a son...but I needed something to give me a break from the 4e for once (what is it they say of too much of a good thing...can't recall...but in this instance too much of 4e was driving me insane!). So, yeah...hope that this makes it so he runs something different for once. Even better, if he goes along with it he may become the group DM again rather than me doing it by substitution (just to keep the group together) currently.
I agree that it wasn't a practical joke.
You mention what you did being an act of desperation. Desperation implies that rational and measured means have been previously attempted to no avail. However, your OP makes it sound like you never even spoke to him about changing editions, or even about him trying 5e (as a player or a DM). If you can't talk to your kid about something as trivial as a game (I love it too, but D&D is still just a game), I'm loathe to consider how you've handled more serious parenting issues where communicating with your child is vital. If this acting on your own selfishness (and you admit that it was selfish in your reply to [MENTION=23]Ancalagon[/MENTION]) is indicative of how you parent, then I'd suggest seriously re-evaluating whether either of your children will be inclined to support you when you're too old to move around (as you suggested to [MENTION=23]Ancalagon[/MENTION] that your son or daughter might do).
Last year, my father became so ill that he stopped eating and taking care of himself. I did what I could to help him, but he just refused to eat and dwindled away. I had to pump formula through his feeding tube, change his diapers, clean him up, and leave my job to care for him 24/7. He passed in late October of last year, with me at his bedside holding his hand while he passed. The whole experience was incredibly stressful and emotionally wracking, especially as his mental faculties left him, and he became irrational and abusive. It's only the strong bond I had with my father, and his example of giving of himself to do for others, that kept me from throwing up my hands and crying "no more, I'm done." I can't imagine I'd have been as inclined to look after him if his example for me had been one of selfishness.