Depressed DM not getting it right...(depressingly long, very long...)

[Mistwell]

I think you meant the Orang Utans..., the komodos are down south in Indonesia.

The komodo dragon is found on the islands of Indonesia, Malaysia and komodo. It is not exclusive to Indonesia. It might not be found near where HE lives, but they are found in Malaysia.

 

[Ds Da Man]

Hey there questioning gm. You might want to sriously try another game system. Give Savage Worlds a spin ( www.peginc.com ). Its sourcebook covers fantasy to sci-fi, is easy to learn and plan for, and takes the emphasis off of the numbers.
I have played/dmed for a long time, and 3E really has had this effect with me also. Even the newest campaign we have started has turned into a numbers game, and I bet it doesn't last long. I will not DM 3E again, and am thinking of taking a break from D&D because of the min/max aspect that I feel from 3E. Anyway, just saying we had a lot of fun in Warhammer, and I will either use it or Savage Worlds next time. Just try one of the other games. Good Luck....

 

[Satori]

I'd seriously consider using OpenRPG. You type very well, and you've already planned a number of campaigns. If you can speak and type at fluent speed, then you'll have absolutely no issue playing online.

I've found that playing online with OpenRPG tends to weed out the Rollplayers (not that Rollplayers are bad!), since gameplay is much slower and more elaborate descriptions and dialogue are necessary. Munchkin players typically get bored with the slow pace and in-depth conversations, while "Deep Immersion" players eat it up.

Online games are typically much more "In Character" as well, since typing "In Character" is often much easier and comfortable than speaking "In Character".

The only downsides are the requisite technical know how to scan and "Fog" maps, minis, and other types of pictures/paraphenelia you'd want to include. Gameplay is often slower, and can be screwy depending on connection speeds...but anyone willing to join an OpenRPG game is well aware of that and prepared.

Good luck!

 

[Treebore]

Here's your choices:

While in Rome do as the Romans do.

Keep wanting to play a christian (or one of the many other classifications of people) while in Rome and keep getting fed to the lions in something called a Colliseum.

Leave Rome and find a place more to your liking.

Like you they don't show up to play this game your way, they show up to play it in the way they consider to be fun. So find a way to have fun with them or go your own way and hope you get lucky enough to find another group of people who think it is fun to play the same way you do.

I have never DMed or played in a group where anyone else liked to play exactly, or even close, to the way I do. Some were so far off of what I wanted in a game I moved on. When I DMed my "style" wasn't one everyone could always enjoy, so those who didn't like it moved on.

So I consider your difficulty just another part of "the nature of the game". Good luck with whichever way you go.

 

[Nightfall]

At least your gaming group doesn't want to roll back to the clock to 1989...

Sorry to you 2nd edition fans, but this SL guy doesn't want ANYTHING more to do with 2nd edition. I did it. I had some fun with it. I laughed. But now it's 3.5, and I'm ready to keep on trucking.

 

[Aikuchi]

...
I have never DMed or played in a group where anyone else liked to play exactly, or even close, to the way I do. Some were so far off of what I wanted in a game I moved on. When I DMed my "style" wasn't one everyone could always enjoy, so those who didn't like it moved on.
So I consider your difficulty just another part of "the nature of the game". Good luck with whichever way you go.

I'm inclined to agree with the above.

I live in Malaysia too Questing! *waves a big hi!
But I'm on the peninsula.

The region I live in is seasonably well populated by gamers although lets say that RPG usually means computer games and cybercafes. Mention tabletop and more likely, it ends up with ideas of tabletop wargaming, models, Warhammer and other stuff. RPG is generally popular but fades out really quickly as they discover the more prolific and pretty models of WH and the like.

After awhie in my region and playing for ... wow, 14 years I think, perhaps maybe 15, but who's counting- it seems like I've heard of every prominent DM in the area and the next. These I've heard of are DM's who have at least been running their games and campaigns for years. Others have stepped up but theire mostly players who stop DM'ing and who'd rather play at tne end of the day.

I've had ... players from other games recycled through other circles I've heard of. I guess living so close to the capitol city still makes the gaming circle feel small. Sometimes ...

I'd still rather play with friends, although I have a good influx on new players every now and then with the occsional who stay.

But I digress.

I have so many half-concocted to fully plotted and outlined campaigns and worlds to try out on unsuspecting players!, but truth be told I don't expect many of them to see the light of day. I treat that as part of the nature of the game. I have so much crap unused, inspired probably for me and myseld alone, driven to sharing them but finding little to none who are interested. But hey, I love doing it. I take the occasional break but I still do it!

I'm lucky to have 3 players (coming to a 4th) who's been playing with me for at least 6 years now. Some of them in a single campaign that lasted 4 years. The come for fun - I feel like I do all the damn work sometimtes. They meta-game when iot suits them, some min/max, but its all really coz they want to have fun.

Right, fun.

Although I did take a years break (okay, it was 1.5 years), because it became less fun for me. Tehy played how they wanted and what little neat detailings and backdrops and stuff fell flat, unused in the scenery and plotlines lost and ruined in the background. But hey, they were my friends, we don't all do what we would like. But they had fun.

I'm amazed they still talk about the adventures they've had during my campaign that I didnt enjoy so much. So it makes it meaningful for me that they did some some kernel of effort in between the hack slash and plunder. (let's not forget magic item shopping and crafting!)

I'm still at it, and I'm coming out of my DM break now. I've joined other games from other DM's but only to see if I could do anything different with my own styles. I can gauge on whether I've been a good or bad GM, I can see if I were treating my players fairly (all this of course with a huge grain of salt, coz every group dynamic is built different per the players and DM style). Now I know I'm decent (lol).

I've also started to learn to be more picky with my players.

The campaigns in which I want to try and specifically get a kick out of running my personal concepts, I select only a few and run them for short sessions. If it works out, then I include more players - or perhaps just expand the world if the original players are still interested.

Its ever changing and I cant keep up - so many books ... so many things ... so little time.
So little players, (LOL), but hey ... the spirit of the game is still in playing it and having fun, even if you feel you aren't - remind yourself why you play.
It about being creative with your friends and creating memories fantastic.
Anything else if a personal exercise in imagination and you can only choose to have fun or not.

((apologies- I don't mean to sound harsh in that last paragraph at all, just trying to be helpful. Its taken me a while to realize that its about me and my friends playing a game then satisfying my own desires sometimes to run what I want explicitly))


edit// Oops, sorrie I posted so long.

 

[questing gm]

Hail to Aikuchi, a fellow Malaysian~! Malaysia boleh...lol

It's good to hear from another player from the west side

 

[Nightfall]

Maybe you need to vacation in the US. I could use a new player.

 

[questing gm]

Thanks for the offer Nightfall and i would loved to but unfortunately i think it would some years before i could even earn and afford a plane ticket to the US just yet....

 

[Aikuchi]

(giggles) --
I earn just enough to keep afloat much less even try to save for a 4000+ (low end) plane ticket to the U.S.A
And yes, even I'd like to go .. i hear nice things about the weather