GM Meta-burnout

[hawkeyefan]

I have that exact same situation. IME it is the level of commitment; to be a player, you just have to show up once a week.

To be a GM you have to build a campaign, and then handle adjustments in it every week. It requires a lot of time away from the table. Not many people are willing to undertake that level of effort.

This can indeed be the case, but I think it’s largely. dependent upon system.

Pathfinder absolutely burned me out. It’s just an exhausting system with so many sources for rules and so much to track in play and a high level of prep. That game nearly ruined RPGs for me....it had become a chore to run instead of something I looked forward to. I’ll never run Pathfinder again.

When 5E came out, I found it to be a reminder of what I first enjoyed about RPGs. It’s far from perfect, but the way it’s designed works for me, and the blanks that it has are ones I don’t mind filling.

It also got me thinking more about rules and the play experience at the table. And that led to me looking into other games and rules systems, and I’ve found several games that I really like. And many of these do not require the level of prep that D&D and Pathfinder and similar games do require.

Not all games require so much burden on the GM.

This is why I recommend a change in system. First step might be to step away from GMing and to just play, but I think the OP mentioned that wasn’t likely. So second step....try a new game. And by that, I mean and actually different game, not just a different edition of the same game.

Trying something that works differently. See if it captures that spark, see if it can excite you. I mean, when facing burn out like that, something needs to change, right? Try a system that doesn't focus on the elements of the game that don’t excite you. Just continuing to do the same thing and hoping for different results seems like it would only frustrate even more.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Trying something that works differently. See if it captures that spark, see if it can excite you. I mean, when facing burn out like that, something needs to change, right? Try a system that doesn't focus on the elements of the game that don’t excite you. Just continuing to do the same thing and hoping for different results seems like it would only frustrate even more.

I think this is maybe not a great plan, because to me it sounds like system-based excitement is a big part of the problem the OP has, not the solution to it. The OP's story makes it very clear he can get very excited about a system, very hyped to run a system, but then when he actually gets to running it, he's no longer excited, because he's already burned through the system-based excitement.

I've experienced the same thing, a number of times. I get really excited about a complex or weird/unusual system, it sounds really good. I'd read the book, I'd learn the system, I'd maybe build a campaign (or buy an AP or whatever), and by the time I'd got it all ready to go, and made people generate characters and so on (which was often quite exciting), I just rapidly lost my excitement/interest with the system.

Changing systems fed that rather than fixing it. It made it a cycle. My group ended up trying about 8-10 systems in under a year because of it, none of them actually going on for more than three sessions, because I'd lose interest and say "Wouldn't it be great if we tried X? Just for a session or two!" (I was quite convincing). They eventually rebelled and refused to create any more characters for any more games, and I kind of agreed - my brother took over as DM.

So I think do the opposite. Find a system that isn't mechanically exciting, but that does look like it works decently, don't mess with it, and just try and run really basic adventures without leaning on complex rules or pre-generated stuff.

 

[atanakar]

I think this is maybe not a great plan, because to me it sounds like system-based excitement is a big part of the problem the OP has, not the solution to it. The OP's story makes it very clear he can get very excited about a system, very hyped to run a system, but then when he actually gets to running it, he's no longer excited, because he's already burned through the system-based excitement.

I've experienced the same thing, a number of times. I get really excited about a complex or weird/unusual system, it sounds really good. I'd read the book, I'd learn the system, I'd maybe build a campaign (or buy an AP or whatever), and by the time I'd got it all ready to go, and made people generate characters and so on (which was often quite exciting), I just rapidly lost my excitement/interest with the system.

Changing systems fed that rather than fixing it. It made it a cycle. My group ended up trying about 8-10 systems in under a year because of it, none of them actually going on for more than three sessions, because I'd lose interest and say "Wouldn't it be great if we tried X? Just for a session or two!" (I was quite convincing). They eventually rebelled and refused to create any more characters for any more games, and I kind of agreed - my brother took over as DM.

So I think do the opposite. Find a system that isn't mechanically exciting, but that does look like it works decently, don't mess with it, and just try and run really basic adventures without leaning on complex rules or pre-generated stuff.

That's me after quitting d&d 4e. I tried gurps, brp, gumshoe, savage worlds, dungeon world, numenera, the strange, the list goes on. It was like rpg-Tinder night! I stop DMing for a while, playing wargames instead.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

That's me after quitting d&d 4e. I tried gurps, brp, gumshoe, savage worlds, dungeon world, numenera, the strange, the list goes on. It was like rpg-Tinder night! I stop DMing for a while, playing wargames instead.

Did you swipe right on any of them?

 

[atanakar]

Did you swipe right on any of them?

Numenera was a Match but the group disbanded after a few hook ups!

 

[hawkeyefan]

I think this is maybe not a great plan, because to me it sounds like system-based excitement is a big part of the problem the OP has, not the solution to it. The OP's story makes it very clear he can get very excited about a system, very hyped to run a system, but then when he actually gets to running it, he's no longer excited, because he's already burned through the system-based excitement.

I've experienced the same thing, a number of times. I get really excited about a complex or weird/unusual system, it sounds really good. I'd read the book, I'd learn the system, I'd maybe build a campaign (or buy an AP or whatever), and by the time I'd got it all ready to go, and made people generate characters and so on (which was often quite exciting), I just rapidly lost my excitement/interest with the system.

Changing systems fed that rather than fixing it. It made it a cycle. My group ended up trying about 8-10 systems in under a year because of it, none of them actually going on for more than three sessions, because I'd lose interest and say "Wouldn't it be great if we tried X? Just for a session or two!" (I was quite convincing). They eventually rebelled and refused to create any more characters for any more games, and I kind of agreed - my brother took over as DM.

So I think do the opposite. Find a system that isn't mechanically exciting, but that does look like it works decently, don't mess with it, and just try and run really basic adventures without leaning on complex rules or pre-generated stuff.

My suggestion wasn’t about being excited solely by the system so much as being excited by something new. A different system than the one that he’s burned out on.

Playing something new seems to me to be a reasonable suggestion. As I said, it was a big part of what worked for me. But ultimately, what works for any specific person is gonna vary.

Either way, I’d suggest making a change of some sort.

 

[Shiroiken]

This is an extreme case of burnout! Honestly, I see two options.

The first, and most obvious one, is to quit entirely. Don't freak out! Seriously pull back from GMing entirely, either playing in games or finding other hobbies. Once something you love becomes a job, it's no longer worth investing in (relationships can be an exception). Maybe you feel the drive to GM again, maybe you don't, but you're no longer killing yourself over it. People change over time, and it seems you might have too.

Second option, which might follow option one after some time, is to take a short break, and reassess. Instead of focusing on a system, devise a story you would like to run. Figure out the starting point, desired climax, and various routes to get between them. All of this should be setting agnostic, focusing entirely on concepts. This might be tricky for a technical mind, but think of this as a puzzle to be solved: go from A to Z, using various paths B through Y (extra tricky if you want to use some of them twice). After working this all out, which will probably take months depending on how much mental free time you have, THEN consider what system you think would work best to tell the story. Due to your technical mind, it will probably be a more technical system, but since you've avoided any system during the process, you may find a system that fill the stories needs that you might not have considered.

 

[GMMichael]

...as soon as I commit with my players and sit down to start working on a game, though, BAM! Any enthusiasm dies, and it dies hard. I want to GM. I love GMing. I love the moment to moment expression of the craft. But at the same time I've found myself miserable.

Short version: I'm a long-time GM who is losing the fun because he can no longer take joy in the technical aspects of the game while at the same time being locked by his nature into a technical mindset that makes non-technical games very difficult to run. And yet I still love and need the creative elements that you can't really find anywhere else, and don't want to give up the hobby.

This first part tells me that A) you don't actually like GMing anymore, or B) you want a different way to GM than you've been attempting.

Try some game design. That's technical (see lewpuls's article). And if you can figure out how you actually want to GM, maybe you can design the game in that direction.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Ghosted by the OP?

 

[wagonicfolding]

Weirdly enough, the thing that helps me recharge as a DM is watching others play, reading stories of games, or watching fantasy movies. It's not FOMO, but rather getting inspired by their ideas to implement my own. The technical setup of it can still be a bit of a slog, but once I get to the actual gameplay session, my excitement takes over, and it's worth it every time.

Not sure if it'll work for you, but might be worth a try.