Burnt out GMs

[ForceUser]

I thought about doing it that way, however, if all monstrous humanoids were neutral, then I would be forced to allow them as PC races.

Why? Because it would be logical? Pfft. That's what I like about being the DM: "Can I...?" "No."



That said, I'm actually playing an orc druid in the campaign I mentioned, and it is a hoot! My slant is Native American animism.

 

[Macbeth]

My solution (one that may be hard for others to use, especially if you lack DMs) was to play in a game with a rules system I was unfamiliar with and a DM I had just met. The game was GURPS, a system that I had had little experience with, I only knew some of the rules and I had never actually played GURPS before. But this game was just what I needed: since I didn't know the rules, all I had to worry about were the dice and roleplaying. Combat went by mostly with me making rolls and the DM telling me all these modifiers that wre being applied, with me not knowing what half of the modifiers were for. Essentialy, I got to stop worrying about the game and just have fun. The rules were there, but I didn't have to muck about with them.

 

[King_Stannis]

D&D is our main game, and I avoid burnout by:

A) Having a very good and competent DM in the player group. We usually play Star Wars in his time behind the screen (about 3 times a year for a month at a time or so). Soon we will be starting Call of Cthulu.


B) I also will actually run different games at odd times with just a few members of the group. I have done this recently with Deadlands and Pendragon, and we have really enjoyed it. It keeps my mind stimulated and is a nice change of pace. You would think that running more games would put more of a burden on a DM, but not so...especially in this case.

 

[Rel]

Actually, I have mentioned that they are free to GM on many occasions. My fiance seems the only person willing to try, although she has only been playing a year.

I debated a bit before posting this because I don't want to be perceived as hounding folks. But, you should come to the ENWorld NC Game Day.

It would give you a chance to play instead of GM, even if only for a day. Maybe seeing some of the games run there or chatting with the other ENWorlders would help to spark some new ideas.

Anyway, if you'd like to come, we'd love to have you. Bring your wife. Heck, bring your players too. Maybe they'll hate it and decide that since you're such a great GM, they need to make your life as easy as possible.

Hope you can make it, but even if you decide not to come, try and give yourself a break for a while or whatever you need to do to recharge your batteries. From the posts of yours I've seen, you sound like a good GM to me.

 

[Voadam]

What do you all do when GMing/ gaming becomes a burden?

I said "guys I really feel burnt out on DMing and would rather play at the next game we have."

They were disapointed but we moved on. Five out of the six guys in my regular group have been the DM of one of our campaigns at some point so it works out.

It's been a while and I've been in a great camapaign bringing back an old PC but I'm starting to feel the callings of the DM bug again more than a year later.

It is a lot of fun to play and use material as a player instead of from a world/story perspective all the time.

 

[LGodamus]

until not so long ago, maybe a few months..I had DMed 99% of the time for the past 13-14 years.....I was seriously getting burn out , especially near the end of 2nd edition. The turn of the new editions and getting to play every now and then keeps me going on though.

 

[TalonComics]

Most of my D&D burn out was due to the players pretty much demanding I run for them because "THEY HAVE TO GAME!" It didn't matter if I wanted to game or not it was all about them. Also, only one of my players expressed interest in DMing and got little or no response from the other players.
After taking a hiatus from D&D so I could run some Hero System I found out it was the players and not the system.
To alleviate burn out I would suggest taking some time off or, if you have access, find a new gaming group.

~D

 

[Skarp Hedin]

I'm in the same boat, more or less. Of my five players, two rarely attend, but play often enough I guess.. one acts as if the sky is falling if we aren't able to play on a particular week, one acts as if the sky is falling if he thinks someone glanced at him funny, or if, say, his 11th level character with a 12 AC takes a lot of damage in a round of combat, and one mostly just likes combat. He likes the other stuff too, but mostly he likes the combat.

These guys have been my friends for a long time, but I'm definitely burned out. Problem is, I know that if I tell them that, the solution will be that I'm a jerk for putting an end to D&D, heh. Eventually here, though, I'll just have to be a jerk.

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Hi, my name is Andrew, and I was a burned-out DM.

I was severely burned out for a while. But recently, I've been getting back into it in a huge way (maybe it was the release of 3.5 that kinda spurred it on, who knows). I've been playing in a couple PBP games and running one, and that's helped. Soon I'll be launching (running, natch) another PBP, and I'm redefining my homebrew in a fairly drastic way, replacing magic with psionics.

 

[Belen]

Rel,

As I have mentioned several times, I cannot go to the NC Game Day. You guys always have it on bad weekends for me. I have to attend a class with my fiance that day.

Besides, I cannot stand RPGA games.

Dave