D&D General How Was Your Last Session?
- Thread starter doctorbadwolf
- Start date
ccs
41st lv DM
That’s terriblewhat’s curtailing such a long running campaign?
It's not a campaign that's ending. It's the group.
Individual campaigns come & go. The "Sunday Game" has hosted at least 9-10 campaigns, some consecutively, some alternating weeks/months, dozens of short one-offs, about 7 systems, & the occasional board game sessions. Sunday evenings were when everyone in this group could get together game-wise.
It was a fatal combo of:
1) Republicans.
2) One of the other players burning out of gaming (we've all been there at some point).
3) The current DM being really bad at running anything but combat. Wich has accelerated #2.
4) Not enough of us left after 1 & 2. There were four of us. Now there's only two.
Explanations in reverse order;
For many years (since before "The Sunday Game") the core of this group was A, B, & Ccs. Plus a variable # of others rotating in/out over the years. The three of us were friends prior to & aside from gaming.
A has always been a bit of an naughty word. But it was at an acceptable degree & balanced out by others (especially B).
Summer of '18 the game was running nicely with 5 of us - then B passed away leaving the group at 4. We played throughout the fall & '19 with us four + the occasional 5th sitting in for an adventure/few weeks at a time. We were just discussing adding an additional player or two - & then 2020....
Well, 2020 has not been an ideal environment to recruit new gamers for a live game. So as we know the four of us are reasonably + staying safe (three of us work from home & one has a super low contact job) we figure we're OK to get together for a few hours each Sunday.
4 people total though doesn't offer much padding though if something goes wrong.
Current group was;
R = DM
A
Ccs
L
The current DM (R) is really bad at running anything but combat. And has chosen to run a PF AP where downtime & non-combat NPC interaction is a very prominent feature. I'll give him credit for trying something beyond generic combat Dungeon Crawl. But he's completely failing, resulting in a phenomenally boring campaign. The result is that we'll play half a book, some one else will run an adventure, then we'll pick up the AP again, wash rinse repeat.....
One of the players (L), the "new guy" at 5 years with the group, is suffering gaming burnout. Like I said, we've all experienced that.... It's been building for the past year. He's also rather stressed out about the pandemic & it's been tough for him to even come out of his hole. But damn it, your only social interaction cannot be waiving to the Door Dash driver!
A main campaign where 1/2 of any session is extreme tediousness + making a new character every 6-8 weeks isn't helping.
On top of that he'd just relocated last fall for his job - and now has a 40-45 minute drive. For very little payoff.
The Republicans.....
At his best, player A has never been too concerned with being on time. 15m/20m has been pretty normal over the years. Then it's been 30-45 minutes. Recently it's been 45-65 minutes....
This is easier to deal with within a larger group. Not so easy when he's 1/3 of the party.
He also often makes the most 2d mono-trick characters. Always has. As with his callous approach to timeliness this is best absorbed by a larger group.
But then there's his politics. Like I said, player A has always been a bit of an ass. But since 2016 he's become ever more the example of all the bad things about the current Republicans. He's willfully ignorant and completely indifferent to reality/the needs of others. And he's forgotten that the place for trolling Dems/others is on-line, not at the gaming table with your friends whom you know don't share your views.
So 3/4 through the session he derails things & begins gloating about the death of RBG, spewing Republican nonsense about the epidemic, etc. (seriously, he's become about a step away from being a Bleach drinker. At this point I consider him mentally ill)
This leads to direct conflict with the DM/host & effectively ends the session.
After he's gone the DM tells L & I that he'll keep gaming with us, but not with A.... That he just can't associate with A anymore. I'm forced to concur on that.
L decides that this was the final straw & that he's out & not gaming anymore {my opinion: for now anyways}
That leaves just me & the DM. Not enough to run a decent RPG & he doesn't play miniature or board games.
So the end of the Sunday Game.
All isn't lost though. We three are still friends & will see each other. Well the DM & I will. We might have to take a road trip & dig L out of his apartment now & then. Like I said, your only interaction cannot be limited to DoorDash. I'll still see A every few weeks for Warhammer.
And I'll see if the Thur 5e group is open to another player (we've got 4.5 players atm & room at the table). If they are I'll extend the invite to the DM. None of them could make the Sunday Game, but maybe R can make it on Thur....
A has always been a bit of an naughty word. But it was at an acceptable degree & balanced out by others (especially B).
Summer of '18 the game was running nicely with 5 of us - then B passed away leaving the group at 4. We played throughout the fall & '19 with us four + the occasional 5th sitting in for an adventure/few weeks at a time. We were just discussing adding an additional player or two - & then 2020....
Well, 2020 has not been an ideal environment to recruit new gamers for a live game. So as we know the four of us are reasonably + staying safe (three of us work from home & one has a super low contact job) we figure we're OK to get together for a few hours each Sunday.
4 people total though doesn't offer much padding though if something goes wrong.
Current group was;
R = DM
A
Ccs
L
The current DM (R) is really bad at running anything but combat. And has chosen to run a PF AP where downtime & non-combat NPC interaction is a very prominent feature. I'll give him credit for trying something beyond generic combat Dungeon Crawl. But he's completely failing, resulting in a phenomenally boring campaign. The result is that we'll play half a book, some one else will run an adventure, then we'll pick up the AP again, wash rinse repeat.....
One of the players (L), the "new guy" at 5 years with the group, is suffering gaming burnout. Like I said, we've all experienced that.... It's been building for the past year. He's also rather stressed out about the pandemic & it's been tough for him to even come out of his hole. But damn it, your only social interaction cannot be waiving to the Door Dash driver!
A main campaign where 1/2 of any session is extreme tediousness + making a new character every 6-8 weeks isn't helping.
On top of that he'd just relocated last fall for his job - and now has a 40-45 minute drive. For very little payoff.
The Republicans.....
At his best, player A has never been too concerned with being on time. 15m/20m has been pretty normal over the years. Then it's been 30-45 minutes. Recently it's been 45-65 minutes....
This is easier to deal with within a larger group. Not so easy when he's 1/3 of the party.
He also often makes the most 2d mono-trick characters. Always has. As with his callous approach to timeliness this is best absorbed by a larger group.
But then there's his politics. Like I said, player A has always been a bit of an ass. But since 2016 he's become ever more the example of all the bad things about the current Republicans. He's willfully ignorant and completely indifferent to reality/the needs of others. And he's forgotten that the place for trolling Dems/others is on-line, not at the gaming table with your friends whom you know don't share your views.
So 3/4 through the session he derails things & begins gloating about the death of RBG, spewing Republican nonsense about the epidemic, etc. (seriously, he's become about a step away from being a Bleach drinker. At this point I consider him mentally ill)
This leads to direct conflict with the DM/host & effectively ends the session.
After he's gone the DM tells L & I that he'll keep gaming with us, but not with A.... That he just can't associate with A anymore. I'm forced to concur on that.
L decides that this was the final straw & that he's out & not gaming anymore {my opinion: for now anyways}
That leaves just me & the DM. Not enough to run a decent RPG & he doesn't play miniature or board games.
So the end of the Sunday Game.
All isn't lost though. We three are still friends & will see each other. Well the DM & I will. We might have to take a road trip & dig L out of his apartment now & then. Like I said, your only interaction cannot be limited to DoorDash. I'll still see A every few weeks for Warhammer.
And I'll see if the Thur 5e group is open to another player (we've got 4.5 players atm & room at the table). If they are I'll extend the invite to the DM. None of them could make the Sunday Game, but maybe R can make it on Thur....
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Sorry to read about the collapse of your group.
For what it's worth, I've done some good 1:1 RPGing over the years. I don't know if D&D is the right system for it, but it's certainly possible. (I've mostly done it with Burning Wheel.)
But I wouldn't recommend 4 hour sessions. More like 2 hours is enough.
jasper
Rotten DM
Lame. I forgot some props which would have stretched out the game. It was the third in Pipyap Hell guide. Another fetch quest. WITH a logic puzzle. After 8 minutes on the puzzle we moved on. Change from cult busting to union busting help get the players into it. We were done in 90 minutes.
ART!
Deluxe Unhuman
I'm starting to suspect our DM either doesn't have much DMing experience, or is running something very high-concept and very locked-down.
Basically:
I'm surprised I'm not more frustrated, but that might be because I made a somewhat surly character who can express my mild frustrations in-character. And the DM is a great guy who's been with the group as a player for years. So, I'm not mad or anything. I'm very close to messaging him with my concerns, but I don't want to crush his high-concept.
Anyway, we always have fun socially, so it's been okay.
Basically:
- the PCs are 1st level, so we have as little ability to affect or control things as one can have
- the game started with us suddenly appearing in a mysterious land none of us could identify, and with none of our equipment, weapons, armor, etc.
- there was a puzzle that we didn't have enough information to figure out, to the point that the DM eventually told us the answer after a session and the ensuing week between session of trying to figure it out
- all the NPCs are very cagey and controlling
- in the most recent session, one of the major NPCs informed us that we're dead, and that's where that ended.
I'm surprised I'm not more frustrated, but that might be because I made a somewhat surly character who can express my mild frustrations in-character. And the DM is a great guy who's been with the group as a player for years. So, I'm not mad or anything. I'm very close to messaging him with my concerns, but I don't want to crush his high-concept.
Anyway, we always have fun socially, so it's been okay.
ccs
41st lv DM
Actually A doesnt realize that things are finished.
The session ended on a sour political disagreement & things decided after he'd left.
Wasteland Knight
Adventurer
Well, that's an unfortunate tale of woe. Sorry it worked out that way. I'd like to think people who have been friends for such a long time could leave their politics at the door.
Maybe consider trying a VTT game? It took me a few sessions to get the hang of it, but I have a game running now with players in 3 different states.
Levistus's_Leviathan
5e Freelancer
Yeah. I don't care about your politics at my D&D table, but gloating about the death of a supreme court justice will get you kicked out of my games in a heartbeat.
Levistus's_Leviathan
5e Freelancer
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