[Rant] I burned out last night...

[Arnwyn]

I'm tired of idiots asking me how something works when they have played the game for two damn years! I'm tired of players who have played the damn game for that long not knowing half their damn abilities and where anything is on the character sheets.

Dude, I can commiserate. DMing is a tough, thankless task. If the players are lazy and/or idiots, it can be even worse. You really need your heart in it to continue on.

I can't offer any help, I'm afraid. For me, if the players stick too much to the "idiot" role, I just kill the characters of the overly annoying players, interspersed with comments that usually end with "pie-hole".

*shrug* Works for me and my group, but I don't think I can recommend it to anyone else!

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Tell your players how you feel, and then play something completely different. Heck, play Scrabble every week if you want. Or, create an EverCrack account, and get sucked into that. I think it's time that you pick up a player's handbook. I find that I get my DM'ing juices rolling when I play in a really bad game of D&D, because I keep sitting there thinking, "I wouldn't have done that, I wouldn't have done that..."

Seriously, tell your players, and come up with an alternative. You're just going to end up losing your friends if you continue down this path.

I told them after the game I'm tried of Dm'ing. The new guy who had read tons of FR novels but never played would get and idea and go, "You know what would be cool..." then I would finish, "If someone else ran the game".

I told them last night I was bored and tired. The game will be on hold for quite awhile.

 

[Zogg]

Well it's too bad you don't live near Dallas, Flexor. I'm gearing up to run an AU game and I'm looking for attentive, focused players. Maybe you could move!

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Well it's only a 13 hour drive....

 

[DonAdam]

I'm gearing up to run an AU game and I'm looking for attentive, focused players.

When?

I've gotten to play some in the past few years, but rarely does a DM do anything but just run a pre-published module. I use modules all the time and love them, but I always try to make them relevant to the players.

That said, I guess I'm bucking the present trend... the semester's about to start up, which means my campaign is about to hit year three. I think taking the summer's off might help, but they're too long. I'm ready to get going again, and so are all the players.

 

[ZSutherland]

Flexor

I feel your pain. One of my ex-players (ironically the girlfriend of the group's rules lawyer) after two years of playing a ranger still couldn't remember that, "No, you can't move and make two attacks." God, it was frustrating. I've suffered near burn out a time or two, but luckily my fiancee stepped in and ran a game for a while (don't tell her, but I actually think she's a better DM )
If you're ever in the DFW area, let us know. You're welcome to come by and play with us (Zogg included, since he just joined my group this week)

Zogg

I've got dibs on a spot in the AU game.

Z

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

One player is constantly telling me that I'm screwing him when he does a move action and then can't do all of his attacks.

 

[Arnwyn]

One player is constantly telling me that I'm screwing him when he does a move action and then can't do all of his attacks.

Jeebus, man... no wonder you lost it. Can't you just stand up, point, and tell him to read the *&#@! book you #*%$ idiot?

I'd be burned out too if I had to deal with that sort of incompetence.

 

[Tabarnak Smokeblower]

Sorry to hear that Flexor...

Don't be afraid to talk to your friends. I know that after every game we play, we make sure to thank the DM, and we discuss the things that we didn't like / problems we might have. Of course, you need good, mature friends to have really open discussions. I hope you and your group can settle this.

I also understand the point about un-dedicated players. Of course you can tell him to learn the goshdarn rule, but some players just want to play, and don't want to bother with preparation. I guess you have to find a way to make them understand that their attitude towards the game makes its less fun for everyone. One thing you can also do, is becoming a little less "dedicated". By what your were saying, you seem to put a lot of time on mini's. That's fine if it's a hobby of yours, but if the other players don't appreciate the time you spend on painting mini's, then just don't paint them. Don't even buy pewter figurines if you feel it's not worth it. Use counters. Use bolts, nuts and coins. I know running a game not at your highest potential isn't as rewarding, but it's still a game.

I hope you can find a game to play in, that everything gets resolved with your friends, and that you find the energy and will to start up another campaign in the future.

 

[Zogg]

Yea, you just need a change of scenery.

For those interested, I probably won't run an AU game until the Diamond Throne comes out - and as DonAdam knows I'll be playing a one-shot AU game in September at a meetup, so I can get a feeling of the setting there. I don't mean to turn this into an advertisement for the setting but it's very cool - though there will inevitably be a learning curve for the players and DM (which, if you are burnt out on incompetent players, might be hard on you Flexor).

ZSutherland - duly noted!