ast semester I had my first successful campaign. After many miserable failures, while running Exalted I managed to finally get things right. The game had its warts and disappointments, but it managed to limp its way through the semester.
THis semester I decided to do something different. I decided that I'd run d20 Modern, the game system I first cut my teet DMing. Needless to say, it was a disaster the first go-around, but I wanted to give it a shot again.
I could see the disappointment in my friends' eyes when I told them my plans. One of them had been in that previous game, and two of them were dyed in the wool White Wolf snobs. "D20 sucks! Bah! I'll give it one session to impress me!"
Well, I never got that one session wiht them. Three days before the game was to start, after I'd already began to work on ways to work their characters into the plot, all three of them (out of 6 players) approached me and quit the game. They said they'd rather play something, anything else, but I already had my plans made and wasn't gonna change them.
So then one of those players decided to start a game of Mage. I tried not to take it as a direct challenge to me when she scheduled the game on the exact same night and time as mine, but it's obvious she was trying to send me a message. It was especially obvious when she started ranting at me about how d20 Modern "stole" Mage's idea of "awakened" beings and the concept of hidden magic in the modern world.
She even designed her game along similar lines: Players don't really know jack but do have vague idea, then they have their first true magical experience in the first game. She also decided that all PCs would be college students or professors working in the same department, which was exactly the plot hook for my game.
Well, both games happened last night.
My players got to fight bugbears and save a powerful elven mage. They picked up some phat loot in the process too. In the climactic battle they all just barely managed to survive, only making it through on perseverence and planning. Everyone had fun and we were laughing and screaming so much that the RA had to come quiet us down, and we were in a supposedly soundproof study lounge. It was an absolute blast.
However in my friend's game, no one did anything. When confronted with magic for the first time, they seriously decided that an explanation was secondary to getting to class on time. It eventually degenerated into pointless arguments over whether the technocracy or virtual adepts had more control over the internet and whether they could use magic to heat their coffee in the morning. In her own words, it sucked.
I mean, she is the one who convinced the others to drop. All the others are in her game too, but I've had and played in too many failed campaigns to wish a trainwreck of a game session on anyone, player and GM alike.
What is your experience with rival gaming groups? Also, is it wrong for me to feel a bit of schadenfreude over this?
THis semester I decided to do something different. I decided that I'd run d20 Modern, the game system I first cut my teet DMing. Needless to say, it was a disaster the first go-around, but I wanted to give it a shot again.
I could see the disappointment in my friends' eyes when I told them my plans. One of them had been in that previous game, and two of them were dyed in the wool White Wolf snobs. "D20 sucks! Bah! I'll give it one session to impress me!"
Well, I never got that one session wiht them. Three days before the game was to start, after I'd already began to work on ways to work their characters into the plot, all three of them (out of 6 players) approached me and quit the game. They said they'd rather play something, anything else, but I already had my plans made and wasn't gonna change them.
So then one of those players decided to start a game of Mage. I tried not to take it as a direct challenge to me when she scheduled the game on the exact same night and time as mine, but it's obvious she was trying to send me a message. It was especially obvious when she started ranting at me about how d20 Modern "stole" Mage's idea of "awakened" beings and the concept of hidden magic in the modern world.
She even designed her game along similar lines: Players don't really know jack but do have vague idea, then they have their first true magical experience in the first game. She also decided that all PCs would be college students or professors working in the same department, which was exactly the plot hook for my game.
Well, both games happened last night.
My players got to fight bugbears and save a powerful elven mage. They picked up some phat loot in the process too. In the climactic battle they all just barely managed to survive, only making it through on perseverence and planning. Everyone had fun and we were laughing and screaming so much that the RA had to come quiet us down, and we were in a supposedly soundproof study lounge. It was an absolute blast.
However in my friend's game, no one did anything. When confronted with magic for the first time, they seriously decided that an explanation was secondary to getting to class on time. It eventually degenerated into pointless arguments over whether the technocracy or virtual adepts had more control over the internet and whether they could use magic to heat their coffee in the morning. In her own words, it sucked.
I mean, she is the one who convinced the others to drop. All the others are in her game too, but I've had and played in too many failed campaigns to wish a trainwreck of a game session on anyone, player and GM alike.
What is your experience with rival gaming groups? Also, is it wrong for me to feel a bit of schadenfreude over this?
