Failed Campaigns

[R_J_K75]

Murdering the police officers fundamentally changed the nature of the campaign and I just didn't know what I could do to get it back on track short of just ignoring their actions. I'm not going to argue that they did something wrong, just that they moved the game in a direction I didn't want to follow.

Understandable. If its not fun for you or doesnt make sense then I think you guys did the right thing.

I pulled a street thief that was part of an ambush into an alley and intergoated him during a combat encounter. When he didnt tell me what I wanted to know I caved his face in with my war hammer and threw him out into the middle of the street as an example to his buddies. I know the DM wasnt expecting that so who knows we may be rolling up new characters before I know it. Campaign needs food badly, warrior is about to DIE!

 

[J.Quondam]

I'm not going to argue that they did something wrong, just that they moved the game in a direction I didn't want to follow.

Wise move to abandon that campaign.
Sometimes people forget that the DM is a player, too. But in fact, the DM's fun & buy-in needs to be recognized as a legit measuring stick for a campaign just as surely as the rest of the players'.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

The player argued that the book says PIs make anywhere between 100-300 credits per day so his pay should be considerably higher. I pointed out that the book notes that PIs don't have steady employment so that 100-300 per day doesn't actually reflect their monthly average. With this job you're in the employ of an organization and are getting a steady paycheck and your character is actually making a pretty good living. He was like a dog with a bone and just wouldn't let it go finally saying, "I don't know why my character would even leave Earth for Poseidon." I told him it was his responsibility to come up with a reason why his character would leave Earth but at the end of the day it soured me to the campaign and I decided not to run it. It's the only campaign I've had that failed after character generation but before game play.

No offense, truly, if this player was a friend, but this seems like an absolutely brutal, small-minded jerk move on their part. I don't know if I'd be able to play anything with that person after that. Did they really think their PC's daily rate was the point of the game? Yeesh.

But I feel like all of the stuff you're describing is in a similar vein, which I fully understand--the players just not buying in. I've noticed that in some newer games the designers explicitly recommend sitting down with players during session zero, or before, and discussing the tone, the concept, maybe the themes. I'm such a trad gamer that I never even considered doing that--I've barely even done session zeros of any kind. But thinking back to most of the campaigns of mine that failed for reasons similar to what you've described, I'm starting to think these whipper-snappers are onto something. It's a little corny, maybe, or a little awkward, but that initial communication could be a life-saver down the line.

 

[MGibster]

No offense, truly, if this player was a friend, but this seems like an absolutely brutal, small-minded jerk move on their part. I don't know if I'd be able to play anything with that person after that. Did they really think their PC's daily rate was the point of the game? Yeesh.

Eh, not really a friend so much as an acquaintance I gamed with on occasion. It wasn't long before he moved and I haven't hard from him in 15-16 years at this point.

But I feel like all of the stuff you're describing is in a similar vein, which I fully understand--the players just not buying in. I've noticed that in some newer games the designers explicitly recommend sitting down with players during session zero, or before, and discussing the tone, the concept, maybe the themes. I'm such a trad gamer that I never even considered doing that--I've barely even done session zeros of any kind.

I started doing session zeroes a few years ago specifically to make sure we were all aboard in terms of what we expected from the campaign. I've had a few campaigns spoiled because we weren't all on the same page so far as tone and what type of characters were appropriate. Case in point...

GURPS: I used GURPS to run a game of Delta Green. In DG, players are government agents involved in an illegal conspiracy to cover up supernatural/mythos events. I explained to the players that the game was "realistic" in that their characters were normal humans. Their characters were built with more points than your average person, but even an average beat cop could put a bullet in their asses killing them. GURPS is a point buy system and being generic it allows for a lot of oddities. I don't remember all the baloney one player tried to pull, but I do remember he tried buying the Strength in his arms to 16 because it saved points and allowed him to do good melee damage. I told him he couldn't do that or purchase any of the psychic powers he wanted.

In one scene, the PCs were exploring the house of a suspect when they decided to head into the basement. One player character pulled out his pistol and the other, Mr. Arm Guy, who was an FBI agent, pulled out his bolas.

Me: Bolas?
Player: Yeah.
Me: Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Player: What?
Me: You're serious?
Player: Yeah.
Me: Why would a special agent of the FBI be armed with bolas? You've got access to pretty much any weapons that might theoretically be confiscated by federal officers. Why bolas?
Player: I just thought it'd be fun and unique.
Me: How do you plan on swinging that thing in a basement? How do you even walk around with it concealed?
Player: Why don't you just play my character?

That campaign even came to an end because we lost our venue.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The oddest campaign failures I can remember were due to an unsatisfied GM.

In our group, in order to minimize the number of game nights lost to unexpected events, we made a rule: every person in the group was responsible for running a campaign- in systems of their choice- and every player had a PC for everyone else’s csmpaigns. And each week, we had a primary and a backup GM- each prepped to run their own stuff- so each person brought 2 PCs.

Well, one guy was a HUGE fan of anime. So he decided to run a campaign centered around a group of Mecha pilots which he ran when his turn in the rotation came up. We had fun for a few sessions, then it was someone else’s turn.

As the anime fan’s next turn to GM approached, he announced he was scrapping his campaign and starting a new one using a different system. So we all made new PCs, and had fun when he ran it.

…and weeks later, he announced he was scrapping his campaign and starting a new one using yet another different system. So we all made new PCs, and had fun when he ran it.

I have no recollection how many times this pattern repeated itself. For me, it was bittersweet: I enjoyed playing in his games. He was a pretty good GM. But of course, there was no grand story arc.

It was kind of like watching drag racing when you expected an endurance rally.

 

[bondoid]

Every time I watch a LotR movie and Gandalf pulls out his sword a part of me says, Hey D&D, you see what I’m seeing?

Those differences all sound great, especially the magic/patron stuff. The Dying Earth Kickstarter that just wrapped had me thinking I should check out DCC, so I was curious how much it diverged. Appreciate the rundown.

Gandalf,
Is super knowledgeable
Uses magic that is not flashy and is based on song
Has inspiring presence and personality
Can fight with a sword.

Gandalf is a Bard

 

[R_J_K75]

The oddest campaign failures I can remember were due to an unsatisfied GM.

I cant even wrap my head around this, Seems like a bit of mental instability here, but Im just speculating. Sounds like they were just buying new game systems every few months and decided the next was the best. Id hate to see him try and buy a car, yeah I like this one but can I test drive yet another?

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Gandalf,
Is super knowledgeable
Uses magic that is not flashy and is based on song
Has inspiring presence and personality
Can fight with a sword.

Gandalf is a Bard

Stop it. No!
Please stop.

Oh no. Is this what it feels like to fail a sanity roll for the dumbest reason possible?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I cant even wrap my head around this, Seems like a bit of mental instability here, but Im just speculating. Sounds like they were just buying new game systems every few months and decided the next was the best. Id hate to see him try and buy a car, yeah I like this one but can I test drive yet another?

I don’t know how many systems he had on hand and how many he bought over that time, so I can’t speak to that. But like I said, he understood each system very well- mechanically- and ran good games.

He definitely had his quirks, though, no question. But the only thing I would say was an actual issue was his temper. Certain things set him off- usually social etiquette breaches- and he would go off. Most things, though, he was super chill about.

In a way, he was like Ms. Manners combined with Granny Goodness…

Hmmmmm…maybe the problem was US. Perhaps we were a little too much like a herd of cats, and we kept unintentionally messing up his campaigns. Metaphorically pushing cups off of tables,,,

 

[werecorpse]

Gandalf,
Is super knowledgeable
Uses magic that is not flashy and is based on song
Has inspiring presence and personality
Can fight with a sword.

Gandalf is a Bard

I feel like I should be reporting you