How do I recover from a DM burnout?

[Raven Crowking]

To the contrary, I usually get very positive feedback and compliments for work I post online; this is one of the reasons why I'm not burned out of world-building, but rather of pre-session prepping and running.

I wasn't necessarily thinking about criticism. There was a time, back when I first became active on EN World, where I was looking at all of these cool maps, and it made it that much harder to get fired up about drawing my own.

.....







I got better.


RC

 

[jbear]

It sounds like you might be being too critical of yourself and expecting too much of yourself.

I don't have massive amounts of time to prepare. So I go through other modules and rip out all the bits I like and throw around ideas how to weave them back into something cohesive. The encounters are all there, all done. I just change the why, when and how to make it make sense. Every now and again its necessary to build something from the bottom up but generally all the hard work is done already.

Theive ideas furiously with no sense of guilt. Theive entire modules!!! Your players will still have as much fun, and they are far easier to build upon.

I am running a 4e dnd campaign but am thieving from 2e and 1e ideas like nobody's business. I'm sure whatever system you run, all sources are valid in so far as story and encounters. You just have to twiddle with your mechanics to make it fit.

Also you could just try and find a game that doesn't rely on your wife DMing. I tried that with little success. I've got her sister into the fray now, they are going to DM together. Hopefully they will motivate each other to actually do it, not talk about it. Still, I know I wish I could sit at someone else's game table who wasn't quite so intimately close and didn't make me feel like I was forcing them to do something they don't really want to do.

 

[fba827]

this strikes me less as dm burnout (because, you still enjoy being dm and gaming) and more so writers block (in that you're over thinking it to the point of stumbling).

Why not make it simpler on yourself:
Have your main campaign (that can be with whatever frequency you're comfortable with) and then on the "off weekends" (or whatever) run single one-shots with simple premises and make it clear to players on those days that it is just a one shot to try out some new stuff. you could (if you wanted) tie the one-shots together with a loose story line (every day is a mission from the adventurer's guild, and then end each session back at the guild hall) and save the complicated interconnected plots for your main campaign.

 

[Mark]

How do I recover from a DM burnout?

Boardgames every other sessions for a while?

 

[Aus_Snow]

If this makes any sense to you, you might understand what I will suggest next: Go hiking, go caving, do something out of the ordinary for you, walk around the seashore, go through the city at night. Do anything that leaves you brimming with ideas you want to share.

I'll second this most excellent suggestion. It's worked wonders for my GMing more than once*, and for at least a couple of other gamers that spring to mind. Of course, travelling in general is great (e.g., to another country/culture/climate altogether). . . but yeah, that could be a bit pricey.

* Same goes for writing and composing too, but I suppose that migntn't be relevant. But hey, it might.

 

[Shades of Green]

It sounds like you might be being too critical of yourself and expecting too much of yourself.

I think you've hit the nail right on its head. If I can get rid of my lack of self confidence, and if I could get rid of my excessive self-criticism, most of my burnout would go away and I'll be able to roll on with a game every other week. The question is how I get rid of these disruptive feelings.

Also you could just try and find a game that doesn't rely on your wife DMing. I tried that with little success. I've got her sister into the fray now, they are going to DM together. Hopefully they will motivate each other to actually do it, not talk about it. Still, I know I wish I could sit at someone else's game table who wasn't quite so intimately close and didn't make me feel like I was forcing them to do something they don't really want to do.

That won't be a problem in my case as my spouse is very enthusiastic about DMing (and world-building, too!) and is ready to dive head-first into that exciting world.

The ideal model of play I hope to reach is DMing for her (and hopefully a few others, too) every other week while she'll DM for me (and hopefully a few others, too) in the week I don't DM in.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

One way groups I've been in have combated burnout is to have multiple persons responsible for running campaigns.

So, if you had a group that gamed weekly, and had 3 DMs, you could have 1 guy run for 3 consecutive weeks, then hand off to DM#2 for a similar 3 week arc, until its time for DM#3 to run his game before handing the torch back to #1.

That way, you have a constant stream of fun & inspiration, and you get a month and a half vacation.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

Boardgames every other sessions for a while?

I tried this a couple of years ago and no one would show up for boardgame night! Jerks.

 

[pawsplay]

Take a break. Devote your creative energies to projects that can be "finished" like freelance submissions, magazine articles, novels, or computer game mods. Take a look at your game shelf and see if you're playing what is most exciting to you right now. Journal your personal thoughts. And... take time to think about whether for a long time, gaming has been doing the job of keeping your self-esteem bolsterered, and now that you are developing other abilities and interests, you are becoming more aware that gaming by itself does not fully satisfy you any more. Writer's block is a very clear sign of stress, so you are probably stressed. Maybe some therapy would help, or a vacation.

 

[Wepwawet]

I tried this a couple of years ago and no one would show up for boardgame night! Jerks.

I wouldn't either
D&D night is to play D&D. If not, then I have many other things I rather spend my time with (reading, movies, preparing my campaign, going out, dating...)