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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 9341763" data-attributes="member: 22779">It's okay.&nbsp; I'm not offended.&nbsp; I see where the misunderstanding lies.You are putting the cart before the horse.&nbsp; You think that I started this way and I'm the one being the problem player.&nbsp; I can see why you'd think that.&nbsp; But, that's not the case here.&nbsp; This is the position I've ended up with after YEARS of endlessly watching campaign after campaign go up in smoke and never coming to resolution.IME, a campaign has about 6-12 months of half-life.&nbsp; From the time of Session 0 to that campaign ending, we've got maybe, if we're lucky, 50 sessions.&nbsp; Why do the campaigns end?&nbsp; Mostly real life stuff.&nbsp; People get jobs, kids, lose jobs, move, get posted, get paroled, go off to school, whatever.&nbsp; A year is a long time and people's lives change.&nbsp; Which means that there is always a ticking clock the second you start a campaign.It's not that I'm against the sidebar stuff per se.&nbsp; If there wasn't this countdown clock, they'd be fine.&nbsp; Because, well, who cares right?&nbsp; We've got all the time in the world, so, let's really sit back and enjoy the ride.&nbsp; Great.&nbsp; Fantastic.But, that's not realistic for me.&nbsp; For those of you who have stable lives and groups that can play year after year and not see the campaign fizzle?&nbsp; Great.&nbsp; I'm happy for you.&nbsp; But that isn't me.&nbsp; And I suspect there is a significant percentage of the fandom that are in the same boat as me.&nbsp; But, all the advice that gets dispensed is &quot;oh, you should enjoy the journey&quot; or &quot;if you don't cater to every little thing, you hate role playing&quot; or &quot;you're a bad player for feeling this way&quot;.&nbsp; Not because I'm a bad player but because I cannot play the way you folks do.&nbsp; It's literally impossible because of that ticking clock.So, my advice for speeding the game up, skipping the sidebars, skipping the stuff that isn't all that central to the campaign, isn't for you.&nbsp; You don't need that advice because it's not helpful to you.&nbsp; No, my advice is to those DM's who, like me, know that there is a ticking clock on the campaign.&nbsp;&nbsp; If I spend too much time on X, I will not have time for Y.&nbsp; Something has to be cut, not because it's not fun.&nbsp; Not because it's anything.&nbsp; But, because we simply do not have time for it.It's like making a movie.&nbsp; No matter what, something is going to end up on the cutting room floor because a movie has a fixed run time.&nbsp; Doesn't matter how great this scene is.&nbsp; Doesn't matter how fun it is.&nbsp; None of that matters because of that great ticking clock.I am in absolute awe of [USER=3586]@MerricB[/USER].&nbsp; He recently posted a thread about how his group did the entire Shattered Obelisk adventure in like 10 or 11 sessions.&nbsp; :wow:&nbsp; You can't do that if you have a bunch of sidebar stuff.&nbsp; There just isn't time.&nbsp; As a DM, my personal compromise here is doing stuff between sessions on the game's forum.&nbsp; Do some play by post stuff between sessions to do deep dives into personal sidebars.&nbsp; Got zero problems with that.&nbsp; Love that actually.&nbsp; Doesn't run down the Doomsday Clock and allows for all sorts of the really fun character growth stuff.But, in game?&nbsp; During session?&nbsp; Sorry, but, no.&nbsp; We just ain't got the time.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 9341763, member: 22779"] It's okay. I'm not offended. I see where the misunderstanding lies. You are putting the cart before the horse. You think that I started this way and I'm the one being the problem player. I can see why you'd think that. But, that's not the case here. This is the position I've ended up with after YEARS of endlessly watching campaign after campaign go up in smoke and never coming to resolution. IME, a campaign has about 6-12 months of half-life. From the time of Session 0 to that campaign ending, we've got maybe, if we're lucky, 50 sessions. Why do the campaigns end? Mostly real life stuff. People get jobs, kids, lose jobs, move, get posted, get paroled, go off to school, whatever. A year is a long time and people's lives change. Which means that there is always a ticking clock the second you start a campaign. It's not that I'm against the sidebar stuff per se. If there wasn't this countdown clock, they'd be fine. Because, well, who cares right? We've got all the time in the world, so, let's really sit back and enjoy the ride. Great. Fantastic. But, that's not realistic for me. For those of you who have stable lives and groups that can play year after year and not see the campaign fizzle? Great. I'm happy for you. But that isn't me. And I suspect there is a significant percentage of the fandom that are in the same boat as me. But, all the advice that gets dispensed is "oh, you should enjoy the journey" or "if you don't cater to every little thing, you hate role playing" or "you're a bad player for feeling this way". Not because I'm a bad player but because I cannot play the way you folks do. It's literally impossible because of that ticking clock. So, my advice for speeding the game up, skipping the sidebars, skipping the stuff that isn't all that central to the campaign, isn't for you. You don't need that advice because it's not helpful to you. No, my advice is to those DM's who, like me, know that there is a ticking clock on the campaign. If I spend too much time on X, I will not have time for Y. Something has to be cut, not because it's not fun. Not because it's anything. But, because we simply do not have time for it. It's like making a movie. No matter what, something is going to end up on the cutting room floor because a movie has a fixed run time. Doesn't matter how great this scene is. Doesn't matter how fun it is. None of that matters because of that great ticking clock. I am in absolute awe of [USER=3586]@MerricB[/USER]. He recently posted a thread about how his group did the entire Shattered Obelisk adventure in like 10 or 11 sessions. :wow: You can't do that if you have a bunch of sidebar stuff. There just isn't time. As a DM, my personal compromise here is doing stuff between sessions on the game's forum. Do some play by post stuff between sessions to do deep dives into personal sidebars. Got zero problems with that. Love that actually. Doesn't run down the Doomsday Clock and allows for all sorts of the really fun character growth stuff. But, in game? During session? Sorry, but, no. We just ain't got the time. [/QUOTE]

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