Most of my normal games are on summer time breaks too. Nearly all my players head off for the summer. So, like I said, It's just me and maybe two other DMs...and like 20 players that are "left" for the summer.Why would you run a game for people that either dislike or hate you?
I don't agree with all the "stuff", but that's why I'm asking for more detail.So...they defined what player agency was but you think it's all "word salad"...that's not a great sign. That you think it's all "internet buzzwords" and "word salad" suggests you're not interested in players having agency in your games.
Not for the summer games...but I've been known to set up model train tracks on a table to pass notes, dice and such around.That all sounds great, except the bolded part.
They do talk about video games often....I kinda hope it's not this...Sounds like your players want a spoon-fed video game experience. Clearly not a great fit for you or your style.
Only if that was simple....At it's most basic, player agency is the players’ ability to make choices for their characters and for those choices to actually matter to the unfolding story of the game. It's really that simple.
I can not stand sitting there and doing nothing, so the "common idea" of a sandbox where the players just do random, dull, boring stuff is not my sort of game.2. Run games as an open-world sandbox and simply react to what the PCs do. They will always surprise you and it's only slightly more prep than trying to run a module, plus it's infinitely less stressful because you never have to try to force anything on the players.
I can answer if you need some clarification. I think lots of players and DM shortage covers it.the weirdest dynamic. I'm not sure whether to take you seriously. If serious...I have many questions.
If am anything, it's blunt and very clear.If a player asked me that question, I would emphasize the things that would be very obvious to their character - i.e. the lava is extremely hot and looks pretty deadly. Just to make sure they understand the situation (see 1, above). Then if they want to insist in diving into lava, that's on them (see 2, above). Again, it's kind of hard to take you seriously because in my experience real people don't talk or act that way, but giving you the benefit of the doubt.
I use the bulk of the D&D and related third party lore and information from the last near 50 years. So, read such a book, and you will have a leg up in my games. The adventures themselves have a ton of lore, but 99% of it is not freely given. The players must take actions to learn it.So, define "loaded with lore and information." Because it's your thing, so if it is "loaded with lore and information" by your standards, then it is likely overwhelming to most players who have not been in your campaign for a long time. If they are bombarded with information, it will be very hard for them to discern what is important.
And I do do the "loaded with information" vs the other way of "the information void where the only things randomly found are super hard core important. "
I do think the DM should be just as entertained as the players.I dunno. Your stories are so extreme that it is hard to really understand what is going on. They make me wonder whether you are just trying to entertain yourself.
No sandbox here....I'm a Railroad DM.The objections your players are voicing don't seem like what they're truly objecting to.
Based on what you're saying, I would like to know how hard it is for the players in this game to sit down to play and get to the adventure. Do they know where the adventure is and how to get to it? Lots of sandbox games suffer from what I call "quicksand box play." Where the adventure is isn't obvious and it takes forever to figure it out and get to the action, which wrecks the pace and player engagement. Not sure if that is happening here, but I have my suspicions.
Yes, this is me. But not for any of the summer games: I know they would not read any of it. So, why bother?is it, "Here is this fifteen pages of setting material, 99% of which is not relevant to you right now. I want you to go home, read and memorize this on your own time".
My play style is not the Cinematic Way or Video Game Way. My game is full of lore, but it's more for the players that want it and will use it. It's not the pure "action/combat" stuff like random being told a weakness of a foe. It's more a player can learn about a foe as a character in the world, and maybe use some of that somehow in some clever way.It's one of those terrible mistakes writers and critics constantly make: 'Exposition bad!' they scream, ignoring the fact that in spec-fic, you need to explain things and there are good ways to do it and bad ways to tell it on top of prioritizing what needs to be explained.
In a general sense I give the players a lot of lore they can use for "real", not the "oh here is what you need to know for Act 3".
Three of the games, are all the same adventure: a custom kill the dragon adventure. As an old, often used adventure, it has a ton of lore, added over the years. I'm not sure if anyone has figured out it's the same adventure and they can share notes yet....we will see. The 4th game is a custom Spelljammer adventure against the negoi slavers, and it has much less adventure lore.
We do. Axis and Allies is a popular summer game for all of us. Or just Risk. And Ye old ancient Dungeon! But D&D is by far the most popular...Holy moly.
Have you considered just playing a board game or something?