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<blockquote data-quote="Linus Lennox" data-source="post: 3109677" data-attributes="member: 45855">Dear Enworld Dudes:Long time lurker, but this is my first post.&nbsp; I'm deeply impressed with the supportive/encouraging atmosphere of this place, and so I figured you could help me.&nbsp; Read on.****It almost killed me.Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but it certainly burned me out.&nbsp; Without wasting your time with my entire life story, I’ll say that I started playing RPGs at age nine in 1980 with the Tom Moldvay D&amp;D Basic boxed set, and played sporadically until I returned for real in 2002 at the ripe old age of 31.&nbsp; What drew me back, as apparently happened to many of us, was D&amp;D, third edition (not yet rechristened “3.0”).Three years of intense playing and Dming followed, in which I found myself immersed in not only D&amp;D 3.0/3.5, but d20 Modern, GURPS third and fourth edition, and a wealth of others.&nbsp; I even went through a retro phase of sorts, digging out the AD&amp;D 1e and 2e books, dusting off the Rules Cyclopedia, you name it.&nbsp; But through it all, D&amp;D 3.5 kept calling, and I kept answering.&nbsp; Or at least trying to.But something went wrong, terribly wrong.&nbsp; I burned out, if you’ll excuse the cliché.&nbsp; I found myself lying in bed at night studying my Player’s Handbook as if I were a third year medical student with a massive textbook, cramming, without joy, for an endless series of exams.&nbsp; I found myself tormented by an endless stream of statistics and terminology that paraded through my head like ghosts at the oddest times.&nbsp; Looking at my daughter I heard the words, “Size, Small.&nbsp; Race, Human.&nbsp; Class, Commoner.&nbsp; She can run 20 feet per round.&nbsp; She—“ You get the idea.&nbsp; I stopped enjoying playing the game (in spite of being in a great group) and I enjoyed running it even less.&nbsp; It became work; I dreaded Dming the way a person will dread public speaking or a job interview.&nbsp; At a certain point in time I woke up realizing two things: (1) D&amp;D 3.5 (and, by extension, all RPGs) are not fun.&nbsp; (2) D&amp;D 3.5 and other RPGs have no potential to ever be fun (for me).&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; I thought I was finished.&nbsp; I sold off a lot of my books and, with the proceeds, bought a PlayStation 2 with a good set of games (I’ve also been a videogamer since the early days of the Atari 2600).&nbsp; This past summer was supposed to be the final nail in the coffin of my RPG career, as I had planned to sell off my remaining books: D&amp;D 3.5 core books, Ravenloft and Planescape boxed sets (2e), a stack of DUNGEON back issues—you get the idea.&nbsp; &nbsp; But then something funny happened in August.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; I started to think about D&amp;D again.&nbsp; Suddenly all of those people who told me “Don’t sell off your books, bro—you’ll regret it!” didn’t seem quite so out of touch.&nbsp; The familiar stirrings began within me.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Next thing you know, I’m combing through back issues of DUNGEON, scribbling up stats for a fighter/illusionist, and emailing my gaming group to tell them, in no uncertain terms, that I’m back.&nbsp; As a player, anyway (I’m going to need about six months before I feel ready to DM again).&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; In some ways this will be a test of whether or not D&amp;D 3.5 (and RPGing in general) really is for me or not.&nbsp; But I have a few ideas about how to do things differently this time, which I’ll summarize in my next post (I'm still typing up a list of ideas).Linus</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Linus Lennox, post: 3109677, member: 45855"] [FONT=Arial]Dear Enworld Dudes: Long time lurker, but this is my first post. I'm deeply impressed with the supportive/encouraging atmosphere of this place, and so I figured you could help me. Read on.[/FONT] **** It almost killed me. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but it certainly burned me out. Without wasting your time with my entire life story, I’ll say that I started playing RPGs at age nine in 1980 with the Tom Moldvay D&D Basic boxed set, and played sporadically until I returned for real in 2002 at the ripe old age of 31. What drew me back, as apparently happened to many of us, was D&D, third edition (not yet rechristened “3.0”). Three years of intense playing and Dming followed, in which I found myself immersed in not only D&D 3.0/3.5, but d20 Modern, GURPS third and fourth edition, and a wealth of others. I even went through a retro phase of sorts, digging out the AD&D 1e and 2e books, dusting off the Rules Cyclopedia, you name it. But through it all, D&D 3.5 kept calling, and I kept answering. Or at least trying to. But something went wrong, terribly wrong. I burned out, if you’ll excuse the cliché. I found myself lying in bed at night studying my Player’s Handbook as if I were a third year medical student with a massive textbook, cramming, without joy, for an endless series of exams. I found myself tormented by an endless stream of statistics and terminology that paraded through my head like ghosts at the oddest times. Looking at my daughter I heard the words, “Size, Small. Race, Human. Class, Commoner. She can run 20 feet per round. She—“ You get the idea. I stopped enjoying playing the game (in spite of being in a great group) and I enjoyed running it even less. It became work; I dreaded Dming the way a person will dread public speaking or a job interview. At a certain point in time I woke up realizing two things: (1) D&D 3.5 (and, by extension, all RPGs) are not fun. (2) D&D 3.5 and other RPGs have no potential to ever be fun (for me). I thought I was finished. I sold off a lot of my books and, with the proceeds, bought a PlayStation 2 with a good set of games (I’ve also been a videogamer since the early days of the Atari 2600). This past summer was supposed to be the final nail in the coffin of my RPG career, as I had planned to sell off my remaining books: D&D 3.5 core books, Ravenloft and Planescape boxed sets (2e), a stack of DUNGEON back issues—you get the idea. But then something funny happened in August. I started to think about D&D again. Suddenly all of those people who told me “Don’t sell off your books, bro—you’ll regret it!” didn’t seem quite so out of touch. The familiar stirrings began within me. Next thing you know, I’m combing through back issues of DUNGEON, scribbling up stats for a fighter/illusionist, and emailing my gaming group to tell them, in no uncertain terms, that I’m back. As a player, anyway (I’m going to need about six months before I feel ready to DM again). In some ways this will be a test of whether or not D&D 3.5 (and RPGing in general) really is for me or not. But I have a few ideas about how to do things differently this time, which I’ll summarize in my next post (I'm still typing up a list of ideas). Linus [/QUOTE]

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