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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Darth Shoju" data-source="post: 3692212" data-attributes="member: 11397">I've been thinking about this a lot lately in an attempt to recapture it for our games. I've come to the conclusion that one of the primary elements of Sense of Wonder for me was youth. When I was 12 all I had to worry about was taking out the garbage and cleaning my room. I had all kinds of time to read comics and D&D books and dream about worlds that didn't exist. I'll never forget the first time I DM'd for more than just my little sister (although we had some good times too!); up at my friend's cabin with his family, we were rained in for a whole weekend and luckily I had brought me D&D stuff with me. Next thing I know my friend, his brother, his sister and their dad were rolling up characters and I was running them through an incongruous wizard's tower of my own design. We played for hours upon hours that weekend (although their dad didn't last). We even took turns DMing and played numerous adventures. And this from a bunch of energetic country kids who loved being outdoors.And then we have my modern gaming situation. I've been playing in the same campaign for 7 years with mostly the same people. They are all talented, creative and intelligent people. We have a large pool of players and 4 campaigns running (although I only play in one). When we first started playing this campaign (with the advent of 3ed) I'd say there was some Sense of Wonder for me and we called it our "D&D Renaissance". However, while I've found it to be a lot of fun and still enjoyable, the Sense of Wonder didn't last long. We play roughly every 3rd Saturday and don't start until around 7 (but really don't get playing until 9ish). By the time I get there it always seems I've had a long day (getting up with my 2 year-old son, running errands, housework, etc) and it was a rush and hassle just to get there. When I arrive I find that all the other players have had similar days and we are tired and don't have the energy to jump into the game. When we finally do personality conflicts and differing play styles occasionally rear their ugly head and disrupt things. We have long earnest conversations to try to iron things out, but rarely permanently resolve things and I am often left commiserating that "this is supposed to be fun..."So for now, while the game is still mostly fun, I'd say my Sense of Wonder is dormant. I'm doing my best to rediscover it, but I think the naivety and uncomplicated life associated with youth are key components. I'm just hoping they don't prove to be essential.</blockquote>

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