Tewligan
First Post
Jesus, are you serious?!
Great DM, crappy friend vs. good friend, crappy DM
- Thread starter awesomeocalypse
- Start date
TarionzCousin
Second Most Angelic Devil Ever
But your username says you're a doctor! The internet lied to me!!!
Apparently he is. And don't call me "Shirley."
Holy Bovine
First Post
See us humans have these things called "emotions" and when something traumatic happens, like a loved one being in a terrible accident, we tend to get upset and may not want to do the thing we normally do. How do your people handle these situations?
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the Jester
Legend
To those of you sympathizing with Gary, if he were the OP's boss at work and he fired someone for visiting an injured sister in the hospital, and then everyone walked off the job because of it, would you still sympathize with him?
Oryan77
Adventurer
Not really. With the economy the way it is, Gary could just rehire some new people, pay them a lot less just because will accept the low pay, and at the end of the day he is better off than he was before
Sorry, my wife has had 5 jobs in the last 1.5 years because employers here keep doing that exact thing. BTW, I don't sympathize with Gary
It also says I'm clueless!But your username says you're a doctor! The internet lied to me!!!
Starfox
Hero
Well, around here (Sweden) he could not fire his employees and hire new ones without legal repercussions. I guess that might be coloring my views.
But overall, I guess my answer to this hypothetical question would be no. Which is not really relevant to the discussion, since this is not what happened. The relation between employer/employee is quite different from that between gamemaster/player.
delericho
Legend
It is possible for a mediocre DM to learn to become a good or even great DM with time and patience. It is exceedingly rare for an adult to learn to be a better person. So, forget Gary and move on.
Some thoughts about Ted, though:
- Firstly, it makes a big difference why his games aren't up to scratch. Is it because he just isn't very good at DMing? Is it because he doesn't really want to DM, but feels he should because someone has to? Is it because he just doesn't have the time?
If it's the first cause, then you can work with him to improve the game. If it's the second or third, then he's probably not the guy to run the game long term. In this case, you should either rotate the DMing duties and require everyone to take a turn (to see if there's a 'natural' amongst the group, or at least someone who actually enjoys it), or advertise for a new DM.
- Next up, from the OP it seems like Ted's basically taken over the existing campaign, with the existing world, the existing PCs and the existing storylines.
If this is correct, you should immediately wrap up the campaign and start over. By trying to carry on, all you're doing is weighing Ted down with a whole lot of unfair expectations. He isn't Gary and he's never going to be. Let him start fresh.
- Also, you expressed a preference for "sandbox" games. In my experience, these games are harder to run (and much harder to prepare) than more scripted games. An Adventure Path would be a better choice (where "War of the Burning Sky" is regarded as the best of the existing 4e paths).
But, actually, even that is rather ambitious at this point. I would instead recommend that Ted should start by running an adventure or two, to get used to running games. Then he should graduate to building/running an interconnected campaign, and not really consider a sandbox until he's comfortable with running campaigns generally.
Start small, learn to walk, and then try to run.
Some thoughts about Ted, though:
- Firstly, it makes a big difference why his games aren't up to scratch. Is it because he just isn't very good at DMing? Is it because he doesn't really want to DM, but feels he should because someone has to? Is it because he just doesn't have the time?
If it's the first cause, then you can work with him to improve the game. If it's the second or third, then he's probably not the guy to run the game long term. In this case, you should either rotate the DMing duties and require everyone to take a turn (to see if there's a 'natural' amongst the group, or at least someone who actually enjoys it), or advertise for a new DM.
- Next up, from the OP it seems like Ted's basically taken over the existing campaign, with the existing world, the existing PCs and the existing storylines.
If this is correct, you should immediately wrap up the campaign and start over. By trying to carry on, all you're doing is weighing Ted down with a whole lot of unfair expectations. He isn't Gary and he's never going to be. Let him start fresh.
- Also, you expressed a preference for "sandbox" games. In my experience, these games are harder to run (and much harder to prepare) than more scripted games. An Adventure Path would be a better choice (where "War of the Burning Sky" is regarded as the best of the existing 4e paths).
But, actually, even that is rather ambitious at this point. I would instead recommend that Ted should start by running an adventure or two, to get used to running games. Then he should graduate to building/running an interconnected campaign, and not really consider a sandbox until he's comfortable with running campaigns generally.
Start small, learn to walk, and then try to run.
TerraDave
5ever, or until 2024
I feel bad about Gary. But there is no f#$*%g way I would play with him based on your description.
As for Ted. To DM even decently, you really have to want to do it. As you know, its actually sort of a pain in the ass, and to just to do it out of obligation is not a good thing.
The idea of having an alt-nite, where you rotate GMs and games, is something I would find to be great (along with the regular game), but its up to your group to decide.
As for Ted. To DM even decently, you really have to want to do it. As you know, its actually sort of a pain in the ass, and to just to do it out of obligation is not a good thing.
The idea of having an alt-nite, where you rotate GMs and games, is something I would find to be great (along with the regular game), but its up to your group to decide.
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Thornir Alekeg
Albatross!
A lot of good advice here.
As a once really crappy DM, who became better with time and the patience of friends, I say give Ted some time. I started out doing it because I felt our regular DM needed a chance to play as well, so it was more obligation than desire. My first few adventures were pretty terrible, but I started to find my way after some time getting to know the PCs and what their players wanted from them. After a couple of sessions with some honest feedback, and then some great responses, I started feeling better about my DMing and actually started to look forward to it.
Be patient and honest with Ted, and try to keep your expectations in check.
Last note - you may just want to take a break for a while. It may give you time to forget about the awesomeness of Gary's game, let you figure out is you really miss the Sunday game, and maybe give Ted some time to prepare some stuff up front if he really is interested in DMing.
As a once really crappy DM, who became better with time and the patience of friends, I say give Ted some time. I started out doing it because I felt our regular DM needed a chance to play as well, so it was more obligation than desire. My first few adventures were pretty terrible, but I started to find my way after some time getting to know the PCs and what their players wanted from them. After a couple of sessions with some honest feedback, and then some great responses, I started feeling better about my DMing and actually started to look forward to it.
Be patient and honest with Ted, and try to keep your expectations in check.
Last note - you may just want to take a break for a while. It may give you time to forget about the awesomeness of Gary's game, let you figure out is you really miss the Sunday game, and maybe give Ted some time to prepare some stuff up front if he really is interested in DMing.
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