System burnout

[Jhaelen]

Has this happened to anyone out there (where you are the only person in the group to not dig a game) and, if so, what did you do?

Sure did happen. I just took a timeout and stopped playing for a while.

My longest break from playing any rpg was about a year - this was after I was DMing my 2e Dark Sun campaign. Since I was the DM this also meant the end of the campaign for ten players...

After that year I tried a bunch of other systems (most notably Ars Magica, which was brilliant!) and it took several years (and the arrival of 3e) before I returned to D&D.

After 6+ years of DMing 3e I'm starting to feel the first signs of system burnout again. I'll probably need a couple of months before I feel ready to start a 4e campaign in earnest.

 

[TheNovaLord]

i tend to get genre burn out, and sometimes campiagn burn, out rather than system burn out

so sometimes after killing things with a sword, and taking there stuff, i feel the need to kill them with a blaster pistol, and take there stuff

this of course, doesnt help the OP

i guess what i mean is a like a big leap, a small tweak like a lite system, wouldnt recharge/rejuvenate me

 

[Stalker0]

It has happened to my group a few times. We switch to another game system for a while then come back.

Sometimes you just need something new.

 

[AngryMojo]

It has happened to my group a few times. We switch to another game system for a while then come back.

Sometimes you just need something new.

Seconded.

I got system burnout with 3.5 about two years before 4e came out. I had been running 3e since it came out nearly every week, and I was just up for something new.

 

[dvvega]

My thoughts on system burnout ... I personally have found that system burnout is not what is really happening.

What most likely has happened is that you were playing along and then suddenly you had an internal conflict that made you "hate" the current system.

Perhaps it was because the others seemed to optimise their characters and you thought that went against your RPer traits and you blamed the system. Or maybe the system did not allow you to do something you wanted desperately to do - like emulate a character in a book/movie/comic.

There is the possibility that you have outgrown your playgroup (it could be forever, or just a while). They may not be "right" for you at the moment, however there is always that feeling that you cannot betray them and stick with them. This outgrowth could be based on style of game you wish to play or run, or it could be based on the style that is run by your DM.

Solutions to this are varied:

Get a new system and try it out with your current group, offer to run a one-nighter. A lot of games companies now let you download test drive rules with a test drive adventure and characters. The one that comes to mind for me is Savage Worlds.

Find another group and try them out for a while - do not change systems just groups.

Find another group with another system so that you can still play with your current group/friends as well. It will be like having steak on Mondays and a nice roast on Wednesday. Basically the same food, but served two ways.

I have gone through the "burnout" three times in my 28 year roleplaying career. None of them have been because of system but rather players. The last big one saw my wife being insulted and that was the last straw for me. System has very little to do with what is really happening, you just want to blame it.

I've been playing D&D since I was 10 (so 28+ years). I've also played other systems. It is easy to change systems so burning out for them is not something that should be common. Rather you will find it is the people you are with. You want a change they do not. So your burnout right now is them not wanting to try something different.

D

 

[Diamond Cross]

Could try d20 Modern and Urban Arcana. It's pretty much D&D in the modern age.

 

[Wiseblood]

So, after playing 3.X for the last 10 years and 3.5 for the last 7 (?) years, I'm burnt out on D&D. I've tried, and failed, to dig 4th edition and have no interest in 3.X variants like Pathfinder, Conan, Iron Heroes, etc. What I'm looking to play is a simpler, more narrative/description-based game of D&D that isn't so bogged down with rules.

Sadly the guys that I've gamed with for the past 10 years still enjoy 3.X and don't want to play a stripped down version of D&D (like C&C or a retro-clone) that I'm hankering for, so I'm the sole "burn-out."

Has this happened to anyone out there (where you are the only person in the group to not dig a game) and, if so, what did you do?

Thanks in advance for any advice you have! I realize there are no simple answers... I'm just putting this out there for discussion and commiseration.

For me system burnout was the result of Marketing Fatigue or
Supliment-itis. Over the last decade designers have gone and gone beyond to write new rules and amendments to games. I like to play games. I hate shelling out money or worse spending my valuable time being plied with new rules for a game I already own. I do not want to be exposed to the horrors of the latest Ruleset-Mining abomination. I personally have a strong desire to get a game and be done getting that game. I want to learn the rules and expirience the game not constantly be bombarded with learning new rules for it.

For me I just had to change games and genres but sometimes I just get burnout on games in general. It is then I grab a book or movie.

 

[N0Man]

Try another game. Maybe something rules-light and easy to learn that you can pull off at least as a one-shot without having to spend tons of time teaching new players how to play.

I personally ordered Spirit of the Century for this very reason. I've played it once, and it's got a great game system that seems pretty flexible and easy to play. That's not the only game of course.

Maybe try other games that aren't RPGs on occasion as well. I do enjoy me some board games and other tabletop games once in a while... Agricola, Power Grid, Race for the Galaxy. But I just like games in general.

 

[Treebore]

I have been due for "system burn out" for about 2 years now. In the past I have dealt with it by playing other RPG's of other Genre, such as Shadowrun, RIFTS, Synnibar, Traveller, etc...

I think the reason I am past due for my burn out this time around is because I am already playing Aces and Eights, L5R 4E, CORTEX, EPICrpg, switching form CORTEX to Eclipse Phase next week, playing in a C&C game as well as running your (the OP's) AD&D 3 on Tuesdays. So I think I have avoided system burn out because I have been playing in a nice variety of games every week, or running a nice variety (Like I am currently running the EPICrpg game on Thursdays), so my brain isn't focusing on any one RPG enough to get burnt out. Overloaded, yes, but not burnt out.

 

[IronWolf]

When I was facing a little bout of burnout playing a different system didn't really help hold it off. Taking some time away from gaming helped the most. I came back quite refreshed and had a great first game back and moving back into DM'ing as well. Sometimes a short break is all you need.