System burnout

[ggroy]

When I was facing a little bout of burnout playing a different system didn't really help hold it off. Taking some time away from gaming helped the most. I came back quite refreshed and had a great first game back and moving back into DM'ing as well. Sometimes a short break is all you need.

I've had similar experiences. But I left rpg games altogether for 15+ years, where I completely missed 2E AD&D and 3E D&D. When I finally got back to rpg gaming after 3.5E D&D was released, a lot of stuff was quite different. For example, at the time I didn't know that TSR didn't exist anymore.

Nevertheless, everything felt new and fresh again until I eventually burned out on 3.5E D&D. 4E D&D was a fresh start, which I've slowly been burning out on recently.

For some reason, it seems like I "burn out" a lot more quickly on rpg games, as I get older. I'm not sure why exactly this is the case.

 

[S'mon]

Burn Out - sure. I try new systems, look for different players, play online. After a few years (anything from 2 years for 3.5 to 12 years for 1e) I find myself hankering for the old system and using it again! Eg after ca 12 years burnt out on AD&D 1998-2010 I'm loving my online OSRIC retro-clone game. After burnt out on 3.5 for 2 years 2006-2008 I ran a new 3.5e campaign which dealt with my previous issues with the system by radically changing NPC statting and campaign demographics, while leaving PC-side stuff untouched.

I think burn-out and taking a break can be very valuable. It lets you integrate your thoughts and ultimately return to the game with a fresh perspective and new wisdom.

 

[steenan]

I suffered a burnout once and changing systems definitely helped. But it was a drastic change. I burned out running a D&D campaign and after that switched to indie-style games: Polaris, Dogs in the Vineyard, 3:16. Totally different playstyle, different goals, different structure, much less preparation. It helped me find fun in rpg once again and widened my horizons a lot, making me a better GM overall.

The other thing that helped me recover was getting new fuel for my creativity. I read a lot, 3-4 books a month for several months. And it were good, inspiring books, quite varied in style and genre. I watched a lot of movies. I browsed various boards on the net to see what people played and how. I read about RPG theory and game design. After seeing that the world of (existing and potential) rpgs was much wider than I had imagined, and that my needs and concerns can be directly addressed, I could play and GM with new ideas and new energy.

 

[Boregar]

I'm in a similar position, in that the fortnightly 4ed game I have been running for the last has been becoming more and more of a slog recently (Its War of the Burning Sky, actually, and we're just reaching the end of the third adventure).

But I've managed to get my group to agree put our D&D game on hold for a bit, and to give Delta Green a go, and I'm more enthused about this than I have been for D&D for a long time.

So I agree with all the others who are suggesting a change - I hope you manage to get a game more in keeping with your preferences going soon.

 

[danzig138]

So look around your area and see what you can find in the way of other outlets for your gaming desires that might give you a break from what feels like the same old same old.

This above is wisdom. I don't suffer from system burnout for the most part, but genre/game burnout and GM burnout I get. If I get tired of a genre or game (say D&D fantasy), as a GM, I"ll tell the group "Hey, I'm really tired of running this game. I'm going to run something different for a while". As a player, I'll say "Hey, I'm just really tired of playing this type of game. I' going to sit out for a while."

Right now, I'm suffering from GM burnout. I've been the GM for many years in a row with no opportunity to sit in the player seat, and finally I just got tired of it and said "Hey, we're taking an indefinite break. I'll let you know when I'm ready to run again. And I'm up for playing if anyone else wants to run something." Which no one has. My schedule doesn't make for good going out and finding other gaming unfortunately.

So don't be afraid to step away from gaming for a while if necessary. You'll feel better when you come back.

 

[Treebore]

Stepping away for a while can definitely work. Over 25 years of gaming and I did that a few times. Just in retrospect I wondered what I missed out on, and in many cases knew what I missed out on, and it was all a lot of fun. Which is why I then started just doing drastic genre switches, so if I burnt out on Fantasy I went Sci Fi, or at least quasi sci fi. Which is how I found out I really like RIFTS, Synnibar, Aftermath, Shadowrun, Traveller, and eventually Legend of the 5 Rings, Pendragon, Chivalry and Sorcery, etc... Plus other people usually ran these games and they were the one looking for players. So I even got to play rather than GM!

Eventually I would know when it was time for me to return to my D&D fix.

Still, about a year ago in particular I knew I was reaching burn out on my D&D/C&C games. I was playing or running several a week. I did notice that I perked up after my Thursday game, which is the night my group is dedicated to trying out other games on a 6 week rotating basis. So I started thinking and wondered if I shifted the balance of my games from being C&C to other RPG's if I would get reinvigorated that way.

So I patiently waited. Eventually my Friday C&C game became CORTEX, and starting this week, Eclipse Phase. My home face to face game picked up people outside of my family and we started playing Aces and Eights with me as GM, and now we will be alternating it with L5R 4E, ran by my daughter. Plus the Thursday game kept alternating between Silhouette, Dragon Age, currently EPICrpg, and so on.

So now my "burn out" is gone, and I didn't have to walk away from any game for a long period of time to recover, I just needed to stimulate my brain with a variety of genre, and it has been working for me this time around.

Unfortunately for most of you gaming so much is not possible for you. If it is, give changing things up a try. It can work.

 

[scruffygrognard]

I am already playing Aces and Eights, L5R 4E, CORTEX, EPICrpg, switching form CORTEX to Eclipse Phase next week, playing in a C&C game as well as running your (the OP's) AD&D 3 on Tuesdays. So I think I have avoided system burn out because I have been playing in a nice variety of games every week, or running a nice variety (Like I am currently running the EPICrpg game on Thursdays), so my brain isn't focusing on any one RPG enough to get burnt out. Overloaded, yes, but not burnt out.

You're a lucky man to be playing, and enjoying, so many games!