I read the first post, and about a page of responses, but I'm just returning to EnWorld, so forgive me if this has been said already.
I've been DMing for 31 years now--and there's one thing screaming out at me as a good reason to walk away from that game. You *waited to start* longer than my group has to play each week.
We have 2 hours, from fart to flush. That's how long we have secured each week to get away from our wives/families before it's time to get back to reality and responsibilities. We start at 6:30 PM, period. If we don't start till 6:45 PM, then we play 15 minutes less. At 8:30 PM we're done--even if someone just rolled to hit--we'll roll damage next session. (Okay I'm kidding there--but I make sure not to start an encounter that won't finish it time, even if it means stopping 10 minutes early.)
Playing D&D with your friends isn't a job--that much is true--but it's 5+ people coordinating their FREE TIME to play a game together. If you're an hour late to our game and didn't give warning, you just let me know that you don't care about my limited free time. I work very hard, put in a lot of hours, and have to travel several times a month for my job. We're all adults and since the age of 16 I've had enough respect for other peoples time to not be late.
When your players can't show up ON TIME to the game session--THAT is how they are showing utter disregard for your prep time and away-from-the-table commitment a DM makes.
Going off track? Not playing fast enough? Not finding your adventure fun? That's D&D, and a sign that you should figure out where the disconnect is, or when you should just chill.
But if someone doesn't respect everyone's time enough to show up when they agreed to show up, that's something to get upset about, in my opinion.
I've been DMing for 31 years now--and there's one thing screaming out at me as a good reason to walk away from that game. You *waited to start* longer than my group has to play each week.
We have 2 hours, from fart to flush. That's how long we have secured each week to get away from our wives/families before it's time to get back to reality and responsibilities. We start at 6:30 PM, period. If we don't start till 6:45 PM, then we play 15 minutes less. At 8:30 PM we're done--even if someone just rolled to hit--we'll roll damage next session. (Okay I'm kidding there--but I make sure not to start an encounter that won't finish it time, even if it means stopping 10 minutes early.)
Playing D&D with your friends isn't a job--that much is true--but it's 5+ people coordinating their FREE TIME to play a game together. If you're an hour late to our game and didn't give warning, you just let me know that you don't care about my limited free time. I work very hard, put in a lot of hours, and have to travel several times a month for my job. We're all adults and since the age of 16 I've had enough respect for other peoples time to not be late.
When your players can't show up ON TIME to the game session--THAT is how they are showing utter disregard for your prep time and away-from-the-table commitment a DM makes.
Going off track? Not playing fast enough? Not finding your adventure fun? That's D&D, and a sign that you should figure out where the disconnect is, or when you should just chill.
But if someone doesn't respect everyone's time enough to show up when they agreed to show up, that's something to get upset about, in my opinion.