Have you ever felt like "restarting" a campaign?

[dreaded_beast]

For the DMs out there, have you ever felt like the campaign started off on the wrong foot? Not necessarily because of anything the players have done, but more along the lines of feeling unsatisfied at how you ran the first few sessions.

As a DM, I feel that the first few sessions should give the players both a feeling of the campaign world and of your style as a DM. In other words, this is a chance to differentiate yourself from other DMs and make the players feel as if they are playing in a different world.

The first session of a three session adventure didn't go as well as I liked. Granted, everyone had fun, but from my point of view, I don't think I portrayed the campaign world and setting as well as I liked. We are playing in the Forgotten Realms. In addition, I don't think I truly showed the players the type of DM I wanted to be. I would say that the old DM of our group (who is now a player in my game) had more combat and task oriented encounters, while I prefer a mix of role-playing and combat. However, I believe I failed to show that last adventure.

Our group has 2 more sessions to go before one of the other players returns from military training. As a result, I am going to try and wrap up the "adventure" after 2 more sessions. When the other player returns, we may go back to playing with the old DM. However, I am hoping that the old DM, wouldn't mind letting me be the DM for a while so that I can run a much longer campaign. If that happens, when the other player returns, I am thinking of just "restarting" the campaign and having everyone make new characters so that I can have a chance to portray the Forgotten Realms better.

Do you think I should start over or should I just deal with having a bad first session and keep on playing the current campaign once the other player returns from military training?

I was thinking that it wouldn't be so bad to start over when the other player returns, since it would have only been 3 sessions playing and it would give everyone a chance to start off together instead of having a player have to integrate within an already established group. Plus I think I can end the adventure on a satisfying ending within the next 2 sessions.

 

[Brandigan]

If the players are enjoying the current campaign then I think it wouldn't be a great idea to restart. They might feel frustrated restarting after only a couple sessions, at least my players would. Learn from the mistakes you made to make the next sessions all that much better, in my opinion.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

The first game of a campaign is like the pilot of a TV series. Everyone's a little unsure of their role and the writers slip things in that in hindsight was a bad idea. Remember in the first episode of the original Star Trek, Sulu was a mathematician. Just slowly work in the elements you like and "forget" about the ones you don't. As they say in acting, "if you make a mistake, keep making it".

The key thing: they had fun. That's important.

 

[jmucchiello]

Ditto. If they enjoyed the sessions why wipe them out like they never existed? You can always IMPROVE their impression of your setting over time. This will show them that you care about how the setting evolves. The longer their investment in the setting the more likely they will be to continue. If you give them the choice between the old DM's campaign (and I'm assuming they like his style) and your new campaign. They may pick the old dog instead of the new pup who doesn't even want to continue the setting he started 5 session ago.

 

[Crothian]

I've had thoughts of doing it, but I've never done it. We all have bad days and sometimes things don't go quite as we want. But just try to do better the next time and more then likely the players are going to have fun.

 

[Whimsical]

Don't look at your first couple of sessions as personal failures. Consider them "transition sessions" that has eased the players from the style that they are used to to the style that you want to do.

This may or may not be helpful, but I find that the best way to have the players care about your game world is to customize the adventure to be specifically for the characters and who they are. I once played in a game where the first adventure for our group was that my character's aunt and uncle asked for his help because their building (where they lived and worked and rented rooms) was haunted. Because of this, I felt connected to the game world right away.

Is there a cleric in the group? Then perhaps his church superiors calls him in to do a duty for them (which is more than than it first seems, of course). During the adventure, the group finds themselves going to the local mage academy to get some answers...which is where the wizard PC learned his craft, so he gets access to his old instructors right away who are happy to see him and chat about old times. Along the way they encounter the obligatory thug attack...which happens to be the old gang that the ex-criminal PC used to belong to. Then they finally find where the big bad is and they find...grandma? What are you doing here? Where's the big bad that we came to defeat? "Now, why don't you be a good boy and fail this Will save for your grangran, dearie."

 

[Psion]

Does anyone remember me talking about my sailor on the river of worlds campaign? I never got the players past their initial "normal sailors" portion, and we shifted gears before things got interesting. By the time we went back, I am sure they would forget their characters. I would gladly restart that game.

 

[Kalendraf]

Usually, when I start a campaign, it begins slowly with only minimal details getting revealed or foreshadowed. I realize that most of the players will barely remember these events months or years later when the campaign ends, so I usually don't bother putting too much out there in the beginning. IMHO, the best way to run things is to just slip in a hint here and there and not be overly heavy-handed about it. That way, not much can go wrong in the early going.

On the other hand, I have had several individual sessions where I would have liked a do-over. On any particular night of play, it's easy to forget a key rule or prior encounter which winds up messing up the story for the evening. But none of those screw-ups are bad enough to want to restart an entire campaign.

 

[sp00n]

Greetings everyone, long time lurker - first post.

I have the same problem. I guess I want things to go perfectly and my perception is different from my players. They maybe having fun but if I feel I missed pointing out something or giving them full details regarding a description I feel I may have let the players down. I've restarted campaigns but only on rare occasions and wouldn't recommend it. For the little good it does, it only confuses the players and makes things more difficult.

 

[Chronosome]

Ever forward, I say. This stuff isn't written in stone--and if you guys are having fun, you've met what should be your top goal!

I dig BG's "TV Series" analogy. Most characters will fill out with time.
Your character just happens to be the campaign-as-a-whole.