Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Owain" data-source="post: 4858996" data-attributes="member: 84467">Hi Enworld (first poster here),&nbsp;I have been DMing this 3.0 group for 1 year and the process is slowly burning me out. I'm a DM that prepares a lot for the sessions. I usually take about twice as long as we actually play (which I consider a lot). We play in my self-created homebrew world and I write my own adventures. I invest a lot of time in our wiki which details the world and it's NPCs and I create side stories that involve the player character's backgrounds. With three of the players, everything is fine. I like them, they like my DMing style, they enjoy the game and give me the feeling that they're generally appreciative.&nbsp;The two other players constantly give me the feeling that they take everything that happens in the game for granted. Whereas the other players accept my rulings and generally respect me, these two guys always criticise, as if nothing I prepared was ever good enough for them.&nbsp; Slowly, my table has shifted towards a 'DM vs. players' atmosphere since these two are the most vigorous players and often control the mood. I really hate that atmosphere and it's something I have never had with other groups. These two dislike the pace of the game, complain that the monsters are too tough (although no character has ever died or even came close), they don't have enough magic gear, I am unfair and always rule against the group when something in the RAW is unclear and that generally their expectations aren't met. I try to be a DM that doesn't rule over the players. I am sometimes convinced that something I ruled was wrong and then I change course. But what I really miss is some respect for the work I invest. Just something like &quot;Thanks, the last session was really cool&quot; instead of a &quot;yeah, that sucked again. Aw well, let's see what he'll be dragging us through next time&quot; (not spoken out directly, of course).&nbsp;This is really frustrating me. Should I just end the campaign? That would be like giving up for me. Also, I couldn't throw these players out, as they are friends.&nbsp;I'd be really thankful for your recommendations on how to go from here. Maybe someone has had similar experiences? Cheers,&nbsp;Owain.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Owain, post: 4858996, member: 84467"] Hi Enworld (first poster here), I have been DMing this 3.0 group for 1 year and the process is slowly burning me out. I'm a DM that prepares a lot for the sessions. I usually take about twice as long as we actually play (which I consider a lot). We play in my self-created homebrew world and I write my own adventures. I invest a lot of time in our wiki which details the world and it's NPCs and I create side stories that involve the player character's backgrounds. With three of the players, everything is fine. I like them, they like my DMing style, they enjoy the game and give me the feeling that they're generally appreciative. The two other players constantly give me the feeling that they take everything that happens in the game for granted. Whereas the other players accept my rulings and generally respect me, these two guys always criticise, as if nothing I prepared was ever good enough for them. Slowly, my table has shifted towards a 'DM vs. players' atmosphere since these two are the most vigorous players and often control the mood. I really hate that atmosphere and it's something I have never had with other groups. These two dislike the pace of the game, complain that the monsters are too tough (although no character has ever died or even came close), they don't have enough magic gear, I am unfair and always rule against the group when something in the RAW is unclear and that generally their expectations aren't met. I try to be a DM that doesn't rule over the players. I am sometimes convinced that something I ruled was wrong and then I change course. But what I really miss is some respect for the work I invest. Just something like "Thanks, the last session was really cool" instead of a "yeah, that sucked again. Aw well, let's see what he'll be dragging us through next time" (not spoken out directly, of course). This is really frustrating me. Should I just end the campaign? That would be like giving up for me. Also, I couldn't throw these players out, as they are friends. I'd be really thankful for your recommendations on how to go from here. Maybe someone has had similar experiences? Cheers, Owain. [/QUOTE]

Verification