Can You Go Home Again? +

[Warpiglet-7]

No, I don't think so, at least speaking for myself. As you say, you aren't the same person now as you were then, and neither am I. I know for myself there are things I enjoyed doing in the past that do not appeal to me as much as they used to, whether that's playing RPGs, going to concerts, having a BBQ and drinks with friends, going out to bars and shooting pool, etc. Not that I don't still do those things but it's just more infrequent. As I get older, I found other interests and realized that there is no sense living in the past, and the only way to truly grow is to move forward.

I played mainly D&D in the 80s through 2005 that's when I consider the time that I had my best games and look back on them more fondly than any others. I ran various other RPGs In the 2010's after a period of not playing for a while. These campaigns didn't last too long, weren't very memorable and were more just a way to kill time rather than being as fun as in years prior. I didn't run a 5E game until June of 2015 when I could find a couple players and this didn't last but a few games. Then I got a regular 5E group together with players coming and going from 2016 until late Feb/early march of this year, which recently broke up. During this time, we also played Modern AGE, & Shadow Dark briefly as well. Don't get me wrong they were fun at times but not as good as they could have been at others. A few months back we did a few sessions of AD&D 2E, and I can definitely say the experience was a pale comparison to our glory days, and I'd suspect you may have the same the outcome. A lot of why I lost a lot of interest in playing stemmed from that I found prepping and scheduling games more of a chore than fun as people have families, jobs, & other commitments. So, it was a lot different than when we played marathon sessions in the 90s multiple times per week, which is what I found so fun, and impossible to recapture now. Within the last year or two it was pretty difficult to get our group to figure out a time and day to play which ended up being once every few weeks.

I'm not trying to sound like a downer, but I think that change is just a natural part of getting older.

Damn so right.

The days of whole weekends and late nights are mostly gone. But…

Back to playing 1-2 times a month with pals and…since things change with time…the kids. It’s not all the same but there are fun moments for sure and hearty laughs.

My friends take turns DMing and I do for the kids and occasionally—-the group.

Less frequent. Less obsessive. Less booze. But a new normal…

Reading your post reminded me of playing outlaws and marauding across my friends homebrew campaign map…posterboard with construction paper features! It was a wide open world and we won’t probably have that level of fun chaos again…

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I think it's possible to experience some of that same joy and the subsequent nostalgia. But it can never be the same as that original experience, that newness. That doesn't mean it's not worth doing, however. It's a different happiness.

A few years ago, I returned to 1e for a year-long campaign and it made me so happy. But I was changed. The adventures I ran were different from the ones I designed when I first ran 1e; I had decades more experience. I suspect, that if I had set out to design adventures like I had back when I was first running 1e, it would not have been as satisfying for myself or the players.

 

[Meech17]

Damn so right.

The days of whole weekends and late nights are mostly gone. But…

Back to playing 1-2 times a month with pals and…since things change with time…the kids. It’s not all the same but there are fun moments for sure and hearty laughs.

My friends take turns DMing and I do for the kids and occasionally—-the group.

Less frequent. Less obsessive. Less booze. But a new normal…

Reading your post reminded me of playing outlaws and marauding across my friends homebrew campaign map…posterboard with construction paper features! It was a wide open world and we won’t probably have that level of fun chaos again…

Priorities shift as we age.

When I was 16-17 D&D was very high on the priority list. Calling in sick to work at my job at Taco Bell to go play? Sure. Staying up late and playing all night even though I had school the next day? Why not.

Now I can't even fathom staying up late on a work night. If we can't schedule our game for a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (And not too late on Sunday mind you!) we're not playing.

 

[thullgrim]

One thing I really miss -- and this is 3 year old Nostalgia, not 30 -- is playing a regular game in person. I run games on cons a couple times a year, which is fun and cool, but I want my weekly in person game back. Unfortunately, for my local group at least, the move online due to covid has been permananet.

Same. My weekly group moved online during COVID and we haven’t been able to go back person.

I’ve tried running a second game, in person, at the FLGS but that games has been intermittent at best. My fault really.

On thread…my current weekly campaign has gone back to PF1because I wanted to try and capture some of the 3.x experience again. It’s been fun but definitely not the same experience. Nostalgia glasses definitely didn’t remember alot of the rougher edges.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

Priorities shift as we age.

When I was 16-17 D&D was very high on the priority list. Calling in sick to work at my job at Taco Bell to go play? Sure. Staying up late and playing all night even though I had school the next day? Why not.

Now I can't even fathom staying up late on a work night. If we can't schedule our game for a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (And not too late on Sunday mind you!) we're not playing.

Haha same! We played Saturday and us old folks ended at 10 pm! Ha!

 

[Laurefindel]

I think it’s a situation like when you return to your small hometown after a long absence, you find that your town has changed.

Some things are there as you remember, some things are still there but you see them differently now, and some things are no longer there at all.

 

[Lanefan]

I think you can to a great extent "go home again" (though more easily as a player than GM) by simply doing your best to think like you did back in the day, i.e. with fewer restraints both social and rules-based, which usually means more gonzo actions in play and a lot more laughter around the table. In other words, think like college-you again.

One thing IME people tend to do as they grow older is to take everything - including their hobbies and recreation - far more seriously; which in gaming IMO can tend to very much dampen the fun of it all. Take it seriously enough to show up on time for the games, sure; but then leave that seriousness at the door when you get there.

The other trick is to play with like-minded (and perhaps thick-skinned) people, if you can find any.

 

[bloodtide]

Question: has anyone tried forming a new group with players just getting into the hobby? I'm wondering if running a game with folks in junior/high school/college might be a lot of fun. I know my friend is running a game for his kids, but not sure it's the same as folks who are jumping in with enthusiasm.

Yes, and it worked out so great I have done it ever sense.

Set the Wayback Machine for a couple of years ago. I'm running games at the rec...but it's hard to find players....and worse it's hard to find good players that show up to game. So one day I'm at IGA, in the long line to get some meats. Next to me is Mary, a fellow parent I knew a bit. We chat as we wait. Turns out she is a big fantasy fan. I mentioned the "game" and she was a bit intrigued. I told her she should stop by and play a game....she said she would think about it.

A week later she came to the rec....with four other moms, who had never gamed before...but all wanted to. As so, The Mad Moms, were founded. And they are some of the best gamers ever. They don't know any cartoon anime and don't know endless houserules some old DM did(but my old DM let me roll 6d20 for each attack!). They knew the rules, but also understood how to role play.

A little while later....I was approached by a young girl, Miranda. She had a group of girls ready to play that had never gamed before, and her mom told her to ask me for tips. Her mom was Mary, and Miranda asked me to DM for her group. As this was a group of 8th grade girls, they were my youngest gamers. And they made great gamers. Miranda quickly became my DM Apprentice, or as she would say "my Number One". I found lots of the ancient Dungeon adventures perfect for their group, the Chick Clique. And after the 'legend' of Asflag’s Unintentional Emporium made it's way around....there was a huge rush of girl gamers.

Mary and Miranda did not game together...as Miranda was a kid...and Mary was in my 'unrated adult' game. Except for one Very Special Game:

The Chick Clique was up against the lich Bzallin, from Bzallin's Blacksphere. They put of a good fight...and gave it there all...and failed. The lich had all the characters down, and the end was near. When Mary...who was two doors down at a book club meeting...sent me the text 'Special Guest Star? Y/N' And I typed 'Y'.

And the girls were all surprised when a moment latter Mary came into the room, to a "mom I'm gaming!"......and Mary gave a smile and had her character...a seven foot tall Rakasta Paladin 'port in...for two rounds. Two rounds of distracting the lich...enough time for Miranda's character to free her group...and strike the final blow to the lich.

​

 

[Scribe]

I'm generally against chasing nostalgia; to this day there's a ton of media from my youth I don't watch rewatch precisely because I have no desire to sully my childhood memories with my jaded adult eye.

So, I just experienced a bit of this with my son (adult now, well...almost 20) as we watched the '86 Transformers Movie. Plot holes abound, cheesy lines, but you know, there was still some smiles, as we watched something together, that I watched when I was a kid. I'm pretty easy when it comes to my viewable media, I still play a ton of old games as well, maybe I'm just not that discerning.

 

[Distracted DM]

Question: has anyone tried forming a new group with players just getting into the hobby? I'm wondering if running a game with folks in junior/high school/college might be a lot of fun. I know my friend is running a game for his kids, but not sure it's the same as folks who are jumping in with enthusiasm.

Yes, I have. But they weren't college age, they were in their late 20s and 30s.
It's great, but enthusiasm isn't restricted to new players. I have old hat players that are just as enthusiastic... Any I've had new players that take to keep playing and yet did not have that vital enthusiasm.

But I'll say one of the best parts when teaching new players the game are the moments when they realize that this isn't a video game with a railroad track- that they can really follow whatever lead or do whatever (albeit with consequences), that it's powered by creativity and inspiration and improvisation (at least for me it is).