Players Decide to End Campaign

[Silver Moon]

Our D&D group began back in 1982 and continues on with four founding players and two other players who have been with the group since the mid-80's.

In the mid-90's the game began to get a bit stale and predictable, so I started a "spin-off" group with low-level seldom-played characters from the main campaign headquarted in a different location. We spent most of the next two years with that group, and in the decade since have continued to play them at least once a year (my back-up DM prefers to run them instead of the main group). We've done a few cross-over games with both and several characters now alternate between the two adventuring parties, so it has essentially merged back into a single unified campaign.

Around three years back the D&D campaign started to get a bit stale and predictable yet again. I had always wanted to run a Wild West game but the group didn't want to do anything except D&D, so I came up with a hybrid game combining both Boot Hill and D&D rules. It was a great success and everybody enjoyed it. We've since then alternated modules between that campaign and our D&D campaign.

Two weeks back I ended the most recent D&D campaign, which used several African-based modules from Dungeon Magazine. It went okay but not great. My back-up DM wasn't ready to run yet, so I decided to do a short module with our Western campaign this past Sunday. Then at the start of the game two of the five players suddenly announce they are tired of that campaign and don't want to play it any more. So I shortened what I had planned as a two-or-three night module into just one night making it our 10th and probably final module in the campaign and told my backup DM to be ready to run his D&D game this next week.

So now it's three days later and I'm still feeling totally bummed out. It's not like I won't get other opportunites to play Westerns. I'm running a Sidewinder:Recoiled game at the Central Massachusetts ENWorld GameDay this upcoming Saturday and also have a very active Play-by-Post Western campaign over on the Randomlingshouse board (posted to the Story Hour here). I guess I'm just disappointed at the abrupt ending of the second campaign.

 

[Henry]

It happens; however, it's wise to polish up the material, set it aside, and keep it around, because knowing most gaming groups, you WILL get a chance again to run that western. People get bored, want to try different things, and what doesn't appeal now may suddenly appeal in six months to a year.

 

[diaglo]

It happens; however, it's wise to polish up the material, set it aside, and keep it around, because knowing most gaming groups, you WILL get a chance again to run that western. People get bored, want to try different things, and what doesn't appeal now may suddenly appeal in six months to a year.

or 25 years later.

i'm using material i wrote for the OD&D campaign i ran back in the 70's.

 

[JoeGKushner]

With the way some people talk about other gamers, you're lucky they told you they wanted it to end as opposed to changing the gaming night without telling you.

 

[Psychic Warrior]

With the way some people talk about other gamers, you're lucky they told you they wanted it to end as opposed to changing the gaming night without telling you.

You could always advertise at a local games shop or library that you are wanting to runa Western based game for a group. You might get the gamers from hell but at leats you can size them up beforehand.

 

[CarlZog]

Henry and diaglo are right: Keep everything, and don't let the lack of players dissuade you from continuing to develop the rest of the campaign. Get it all on paper now, while the creative spark is fresh in your mind.


Carl

 

[shaylon]

I'm sorry to hear about that but I wouldn't worry too much. People get bored, and you have had pretty good runs compared to most people I know.

Use this time to think of ideas and maybe they will come back and you can keep it going strong for a few more years later on down the road.

-Shay

 

[Joshua Randall]

I recently re-started a D&D campaign that had been on hiatus for over a year. So you never know when you might need those western campain notes.

 

[Crothian]

Wow, sorry to hear this Silver Moon.

 

[Silver Moon]

Thanks,
It's not like the gaming group itself has ended, we still have our D&D campaign, just the campaign I was most excited about. I guess it just would have been nice to have known this before I went to the effort of historical research and prep for a module that I then had to shorten two-thirds of to wrap it up in one night. Oh well, at least I still have the Play-by-Post group to pick up where the other campaign left off.