Ever had a game stolen from you?

[Achan hiArusa]

You are the spambot assassin.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

No, no. I am but a spotter for the REAL spambot assassins.

 

[MrMyth]

For a GM to cancel a game? On the day?

With good reason, then... yeah, absolutely. If they have a big test coming up, and hoped they would be more prepared, and realized they need one more night of study... your education and future career definitely trumps gaming. Having an old friend who you haven't seen in years turn out to be in town on gaming day? Again, that's a pretty good excuse.

Now, calling five minutes before the session? Yeah, not really cool. But usually you've got at least a days notice on these sorts of things, if not more. And honestly... these are your friends. If something really big is happening that you just found out about, and you call and explain things, friends will generally be understanding!

I mean, it may be that there are just completely different styles of gaming going on here. For me, it is something I do with my friends. The approach you seem to be describing sounds more like a job, and nothing would kill a game for me faster than it turning into a task I must do rather than something do for fun. (I learned that lesson with WoW...)

Now, if this is a regular occurence with a DM - cancelling things last minute - that seems a good reason for the players to talk with him or figuring something else out. And nothing says that a group without a DM can't have someone else step up to the plate for a night and run something random! And a DM who cancels does not have any right to get upset if someone runs a game without him. Now, if the group ditches the DM over that one incident without talking about it, I can see that being frustrating - but again, if they already were looking for a different style of gaming, sometimes that is just the way it goes.

In the end, you can't always plan for everything. As long as a DM isn't making a habit of ditching his group - and gives them the heads-up when something is going to get in the way - then that's seems perfectly acceptable to me.

 

[pawsplay]

So, I had had some problems with my players over play styles (they are more gamist and I'm more narrativist). We abandoned a story rich game for an established game universe and I lost control of which house rules to use. To top it off, I decided to cancel the game today because of bad weather, and they decided to run anyway, without me. And I have been generously invited back as a player. Joy!

That's what happens when you try to make other people do stuff you like that they don't. From what you've said of your playtests and such, it sounds like playing in your games would be frustrating and that many people would find your style dictatorial, arbitrary, and (hmm, can't think of a better word, so...) selfish. Admittedly, I don't know the whole story, but just knowing you tried to make someone playtest a class against their will gives me the creeps. The story sounds like a case study in bad GMing... not because you lack the capabilities of a good GM, which I do not know, but because you ran a bad game.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

My position would be that he knew or should have known he had the exam that day, he should have scheduled around it - either not scheduled a game that day, or did his revision in advance. Obviously if the game is a late night session with much beer the not-scheduling option is best.

Yeah, I didn't realise you meant cancelling on the day. My group tend to plan things out at least a little in advance so there would not be a session scheduled if the DM had an exam the next day. If I knew that my DM (in a fictional situation, since I am the DM of the group) had organised a game with the full knowledge that he had an exam the next day I would be talking to him and getting him to consider resheduling or cancelling the game.

So in my group this situation wouldn't even come up.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

The OP should consider himself flattered for having created a game world which the players at least wished to see continued in play - even if they wanted to continue down a different road than the DM cared to drive it. I would only note that if players are going to relieve the DM of his duties, for whatever reasons, that it would be rude of them not to FIRST inform him of their collective decision and preferrably explain why. That the DM/OP was invited to join as a player indicates only that the players are thoughtless, not intending offense. The DM/OP is at least somewhat justified in being miffed - but also definitely needs to let it go.