Gamer ADD is there a cure?

[Gundark]

no I'm not taling about AD&D . I just can't seem to stay with one game before something cool comes along and I want to play that. It wasn't too bad before (I played the same setting/rules for 2 years), now I'm a setting/rule slut...I wanna try it all out. I want to be like some of you guys who are able to stick to a game setting/rule set but I can't seem to. Is there a cure? advice?

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

There is no cure. I'm in the same boat.

 

[caudor]

My cure is my budget

 

[Gundark]

I'm the DM/GM...I guess I'm just not satisfied. I'm thinking that it's because that I have been using pre-published settings and I just feel that the creativity is not there. The times that I was able to stick to a setting was when it was my own. I feel guilty about going back to homebrew because I have spent the $$ on the books.

 

[Crothian]

I dive into the game and find ways to use the new things I want to play in the current game...it can get a little ocmplicated but it works for me.

 

[Frozen DM]

Count me as a victim of this horribly debilitating curse...

There are periods where our group will go from one game to another, crafting characters and running introductory scenarios, only to switch to a new game as soon as its released. In the last month we've switched from D&D to Warhammer FRP to Arcana Evolved. And I'm getting ready to pull the plug on AE so we can play Mutants and Mastermids 2nd edition.

My second gaming group is a little more stable, but we still switch every few months. We were playing MM 1st Edition, then switched back to D&D and are now in a somewhat stable d20 Modern game. Unfortunately, at GenCon, me a couple of that groups players started Shackled city (we had nothing to do Wednesday or Sunday evening) so the rest of the group would like to switch to that soon.

Having 2 different groups to play in helps alleviate some of the symptoms of Gamer ADD, but as a DM I still find myself switching from one campaign idea or setting to another. The other DM in our group is likewise having the same problem, trying to decide between continuing his d20 Modern game, or running us through a 3.5 conversion of Temple of Elemental Evil, Against the Giants and Slavers series.

I agree with Crothian though, sometimes you need to see how you can incorporate new interests into the current campaign. I've been planning on running a Planescape-like game for a while now, just so I can experiment with different settings and rules, all the while keeping a consitent campaign going.

 

[Crothian]

I agree with Crothian though, sometimes you need to see how you can incorporate new interests into the current campaign. I've been planning on running a Planescape-like game for a while now, just so I can experiment with different settings and rules, all the while keeping a consitent campaign going.

Ya, planscape might be one of the besat ways to do it. Through the next gate, anything can lie and anyplace.

 

[Ferrix]

Planescape is a good option.

I'm often a victim of this as a player, and it can happen as a DM too.

If you're feeling uncreative with your current campaign, talk it up with your players, maybe you can put it on hold and take up the mantle of a player for a bit, or run a one-shot.

Additionally, sometimes it can really help to read a bunch of different sources. Then just jot down all your spontaneous ideas and then walk away from them for a couple days. Go back, look at them, scratch out the ones that you don't understand or think are silly, whatnot, and focus on the ones that while might have been random could become very interesting threads to work with.

Also, on a rules standpoint, I find it very easy to bounce from one cool thing to the next, but I find if I make the character/personality/setting/feel first and really put myself into it, then I find when it comes to the crunchy rules bits, I'm a lot less flaky and can hold to the original concept alot better.

 

[Threedub]

Planescape is a great idea for letting you try out all your D&D worlds. Modified Spelljamming works too.

If you're playing modern, a time-travel/parallel universe game will also let you play around with all those settings.

The method I use is to share DM duties with one other person. He usually runs the long-epic D&D games, that's what he likes to do and is great at it. I like to run new settings/game types which will usually last from 3-9 months.