Combating Burn-out

Gundark · Apr 29, 2007

So we're seeing burn out threads ( which are a nice change of pace from the WotC hate threads).

We might have all experienced it at on time or another. So...what are the types of burn-out that you have experienced and what do you do to combat them?

For me I tend to get burned out if the game gets bogged down . For example my high level Age of Worms games ended prematurly as the game was taking way too long. Combats drug out over the course of the evening. Someone else here put it best "drags out 20 mintues of fun over 4 hours". Other times it was when I really hated the game rules.

For me the solution is playing different games. I am going to be test driving True 20 and giving that one a go.

Another area is game prep. I have a busy life. I need a game where I do very little game prep and we're good to go. I want no more than an hour (2 at the upmost) of planning. This also means coming up with a good idea on a regular basis. Sometimes it's the night of the game and I havn't thought of a good idea, which means I havn't preped anything....doesn't take long for me to burn out.

The answer for me is using published materials (APs, adventures, etc), as well as having the player come up with subplots for their characters. It's rare that I find a published adventure that totally is what I am looking for (in fact this has never happened) so I modify according to my tastes.

So what burns you out...and more importantly how do you combat it?

Dannyalcatraz · Apr 29, 2007

I get burned out doing the same thing over & over again. (And since my main group has been D&D only {but for a 6mo flirtation w/RIFTS}, WotC only for 10+ years...)

Solutions include anything that makes you change the way you think, if only for an hour or 2:

Rotating DMs: Regardless of system, changing DMs will get you a fresh take on things. New challenges, new HRs, new styles of gaming, new campaign worlds.

Rotating RPGs: When you change RPGS, even within a genre, things get shaken up. If you play something you're REALLY unfamilar with, you may find yourself at sea initially, but you'll quickly find your legs and get into it. Been playing FRPGs for a while? Try a Hard Sci-Fi or Supers game. Or try Paranoia!

Changing Character classes/types/archetypes: We've got a guy who only plays Ranger types, regardless of system, game or campaign world. Personally, I couldn't do that. If you've been doing that unintentionally, though, you're in a rut. Choose a different archetype for your next PC and you'll shake off the rust.

Playing boardgames or cardgames (M:tG or Poker, usually).

caudor · Apr 29, 2007

I tend to get that burnout feeling when, during the game, we drift too much into the crunch aspect of the game. As DM, it is usually my fault...I feel this need to conclude the adventure, and I tend to cut out the atmosphere.

To reverse this trend, I try to focus more on creating a sense of danger, add a bit of gritty description, and change my body language as well. I simply do those things that create drama...suddenly changing my voice to a hush tone as the players approach an area of danger. Stuff like that.

Most of the time, the players pick up on that and seem to become more involved in the game. Of course, if everyone is just tired, it's time to take a break, or finish the session later.

EricNoah · Apr 29, 2007

I burned out about a year and a half ago and took a six-month break. Some of the things leading to my burn out include 1) the self-created pressure to continue to top myself again and again; 2) the huge burden on the DM to make long campaigns "hang together" over months and years of real time; 3) player attendance issues; 4) mild depression and a general mid-life crisis that had nothing to do with gaming but everything to do with how I spend my free time. It never had anything to do with the 3E game system or rules or "too many supplements" or "people don't share my style of gaming" or some of the other reasons I've seen in some of the recent threads.

I solved the gaming-related reasons by running shorter campaigns. I ran "Torrents of Dread" and a heavily modified "Rana Mor" (both from Dungeon Mag) as a mini-campaign lasting about 4 sessions. I ran Red Hand of Doom. And I'm running a homebrew that is going to be all published adventures, very little stuff linking them, with no important details the players will have to remember again and again over the course of months and years. I no longer feel the need to "top myself" and by not having a huge "arc" in my campaigns, making the campaign "hang to gether" is unimportant. Will it be as satisfying as the other way? Time will tell.

rowport · Apr 29, 2007

Dannyalcatraz said:
...We've got a guy who only plays Ranger types, regardless of system, game or campaign world. ...

Danny-

I'm that guy, too! But at least I acknowledge it.

Still, I do try to mix in the mad template, weirdo class combos, which I know that you appreciate from other threads. So, I guess, I have all Rangers-- but some of them are darn oddball Rangers.

Sorry for the threadjack-- I just found this funny.

I'm A Banana · Apr 29, 2007

Sometimes I get "too much of a good thing." I play so much it ends up being a chore, a task I must do, rather than something I look forward to.

Usually I change this by saying: "Tonight, instead of D&D, I'm bringing over this new crime drama movie I saw." We spend the night watching that. By the end of the night, my gears are spinning for another D&D session.

Occasionally, the little D&D demon needs to be fed something creative and unique. This occasional sacrifice placates the demon and it gives unto me it's creativity.

papastebu · Apr 29, 2007

What led to my current non-gaming was a move, followed by the divorce of two of my group--married to each other--and the fact that none of the people I've encountered here in Alabama have been a) within 10 years of my age, and/or b) remotely interested in D&D, or any game. I still get up to Nashville, occasionally, but the people who I used to game with have very different lives than they had back then.
I went through a major slump, where everybody was in the process of becoming adult--I had already married and spawned, while these permanent attachments were just making themselves felt among my friends--and the only thing I could do was to start fiddling with the rules--pre-3e--to try and come up with something that addressed the problems as I saw them with the game. Just as I was about to put it away, along came 3e. I did get two new hobbies out of it, and that's what's keeping me going, gamewise, right now.

BTW, I read your "Now I know I'm getting old" thread, and I agree that it's really difficult to overcome the little aliens in your life.

smootrk · Apr 29, 2007

My periods of burnout seem to have more to do with 'real life' than of gaming. Work, Children, College (getting a re-education for Nursing RN), and the like seem to have taken the steam out of my gaming. That being said, it seems that when I get a break of sorts in one of the life-issues, my gaming stirs right back up to normal.

All being said, examine yourself to determine whether it is really gaming or something else that has changed your attitude of late. Addressing other issues may be your cure for gaming-blues.

Torillan · Apr 30, 2007

I resort to boardgames. Right now I play Runebound occasionally, and I'm waiting for FFG's Tide of Iron WWII game to release so I can "shake things up a bit".

Oh, and the occasional game of Uno with the kids can be more fun than killing things and taking their stuff..............

Dagger75 · Apr 30, 2007

For me it stretching a game to long. I try to drag out plots and add new ones but it become a chore.

Then there is also the way D20 breaks down at higher levels. Lots of options, lots of rules and generally long combats. NPC's take to long to make and it stops feeling dangerous.

I finally have a pretty good group, all older, some with kids, but ALL of us have Sat nights free.