Once Bitten, Twice Shy

[Chaos_Kitten]

Well I finally decided to take the plunge and run my own, small D&D game. It was with people I consider good friends, because I'd figure they'd only laugh at my poor attempts in private. Spare my feelings and all that good stuff. It was also online, because they're all skattered across this country and our friendly neighbor to the north. The beginning adventure was pretty basic. Some creature was terrorizing a local village and the local lord would do nothing about it. So the mayor of the town hired put out a call for adventurers to help. The pay wasn't that great and so they got the PCs who were first level guys. The PCs would eventually find out the people were being killed by a wereboar. A wereboar that happened to be the lord's brother. Heroics would ensue.

The problem was that there was apparently some animosity between the players. No one ever told me this. No one made any protests when I commented who would be in the campaign. The game turned into the PCs basically trying to undermine each other at every turn. If one person made a suggestion, even if it was reasonable, the rest would argue. It was frustrating and made even trying to run it depressing. Once they finally just said what was going on I ended the game.

My first attempt at DMing just completely crashed and burned. Now I'm really wary about even trying again. Has something like that happened to you enworlders out there? How did you dust yourself off and get back into the saddle. I would like to try, but I'm worried I'll just fail again.

 

[Belen]

I would not worry about it too much. I think part of becoming a GM is learning how to manage group dynamics. I went through several years of having a horrible group because I let "friends" play without any thought of how they would interact with each other.

When you try again, set the ground rules of the game and only game with people who will buy into them.

 

[diaglo]

gotta be one of the worst hair bands ever...wrong topic.


oh, wait.... good luck on the new campaign. edit: meaning... get back on the horse.

 

[BlackMoria]

I would like to try, but I'm worried I'll just fail again.

But you didn't fail.....the players failed you, IMO. It is not the responsibility of the DM to ensure the players and/or characters get along. It is the responsibilty of each player to be respectful and mindful of the other players to ensure a quality playing experience when it comes to character interaction.

By all means, try again.

 

[Raloc]

Definitely. In-fighting is a failure of the players to resolve their OOC differences before sitting at the (physical or virtual) game table. That said, in party conflict can sometimes be fun, given the players all understand that it may eventually lead to one or more of their characters dying (this is only fun if you know each other well, and if this sort of thing doesn't happen in the first session, say, but best to avoid it unless you know how to handle it properly).

 

[Warrior Poet]

"Fall down seven times, stand up eight times."
~ Costanzo Sensei

Warrior Poet

 

[freebfrost]

"And why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up " - Batman Begins

It's an age-old story - bad player interactions bringing down a game.

You need to think about it, figure out how you'd best avoid that situation in the future, and get back in the saddle.

 

[Parlan]

gotta be one of the worst hair bands ever...wrong topic.

You're KILLING me Dialgo! That was my first album! (on cassette tape no less) I loved it (until my parents confiscated it for the "offensive lyrics that objectify women".



That said, they were pretty crap.


OP, if at first you don't succeed, kill 'em all and start again at first level. Or something. Seriously, get back on that hoss!

 

[Jdvn1]

Lemme see here...

Well I finally decided to take the plunge and run my own, small D&D game. It was with people I consider good friends, because I'd figure they'd only laugh at my poor attempts in private. Spare my feelings and all that good stuff. It was also online, because they're all skattered across this country and our friendly neighbor to the north. The beginning adventure was pretty basic. Some creature was terrorizing a local village and the local lord would do nothing about it. So the mayor of the town hired put out a call for adventurers to help. The pay wasn't that great and so they got the PCs who were first level guys. The PCs would eventually find out the people were being killed by a wereboar. A wereboar that happened to be the lord's brother. Heroics would ensue.

Sounds like a pretty good story, to start off with. It opens a number of possibilities, for sure.

The problem was that there was apparently some animosity between the players. No one ever told me this. No one made any protests when I commented who would be in the campaign. The game turned into the PCs basically trying to undermine each other at every turn. If one person made a suggestion, even if it was reasonable, the rest would argue. It was frustrating and made even trying to run it depressing. Once they finally just said what was going on I ended the game.

My first attempt at DMing just completely crashed and burned. Now I'm really wary about even trying again. Has something like that happened to you enworlders out there? How did you dust yourself off and get back into the saddle. I would like to try, but I'm worried I'll just fail again.

... Wait, what? How did you fail? A successful game is dependent on both the GM and the players. You held up your end of the bargain--it was the players that would bicker, killing the game. Online games are tough, anyway. Did you like the story? Try it again, on other players. Sometimes people you don't know mesh better than people you do know. Try something here on EN World. Sometimes things happen that can't be easily avoided. You did what any GM could.

If you want to try to be an even better GM, that's great! There are tons of books and pdf's and websites devoted to helping you out this way. Take advantage of them.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Try to avoid the online thing too. It's far easier to deal with conflicting personalities in person and it gives you a better idea of what everyone is doing and thinking through body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. It's easier to control when everyone is in one spot.