The Fine Art of Quitting a Bad Game

[Wraith Form]

-Oh, and the GM charges for people to play. it's a few dollars a week, and it supposedly all goes towards "set pieces" (i.e. increasing the DM's minis collection).

That'd be the deal-breaker for me. I mean, paying for the DM's share of pizza in appreciation for his work is one thing, but......wow. Screw that garbage.

It's better to play a sad game of Neverwinter Nights than pay for a D&D game, which (IMHO) should be free.

 

[Chaldfont]

Walk away.

Your time is waaay to valuable to waste it doing something that's no fun. So you won't find a gaming group for a while? Do something else for a while. Then come back to RPGs later when you have good people to play with.

 

[Glyfair]

That'd be the deal-breaker for me. I mean, paying for the DM's share of pizza in appreciation for his work is one thing, but......wow. Screw that garbage.

It's better to play a sad game of Neverwinter Nights than pay for a D&D game, which (IMHO) should be free.

In defense of this in theory, it can be quite annoying to be the GM in a ongoing long-term game and be expected to buy everything. Buy all the supplements, buy the miniatures, buy the battlemats, etc. when the players get the PHB, maybe a splatbook or two and their PC. The DM is doing all the work, spending a lion's share of the expenses and everyone else is benefiting.

Sometimes it's quite reasonable for a group to set up a "help supply the game with materials" kitty to help defray these costs. I wouldn't expect a new and possibly trial member to jump in with two feet, though.

 

[Nyaricus]

Well, I have to say that it soudsn like your group is in a bit of a pickle. Agent Oracle, I'll echo the others here by saying that you shyould try to get the good players in a group of your own. I would imagine you call them 'good' mainly because they match your style of play better - so that's a start.

When I first read that the DM was charging you to play, I was pretty much *jawdrop* but I can definitly see Glyfair's defense of that - heck, I'm a broke GM myself I thin there should be a leeway however, but lets not get into theoretical debates.

It's obvious that you don't see eye to eye with this grousp style of play, so do what you can and jump-start a new group. Even a couple players will do - I am running Tomb of Horrors with my 2 friends and myself with 4 characters (Dwarven Fighter, Elven Wizard, Halfling Rogue and Human Cleric - SERIOUSLY) and it's fine.

Best of luck and take a serious look at BaldHero's post.

Peace.

 

[kikai]

So, I want to quit. Here's the thing, If I just up and quit, I know for a fact that I won't be able to find another group for some time... perhaps too long.(I'm an addict, it's true.) I want to break ties with just the bad players, and make better friends with the good ones. Any suggestions for a good way to get through to the good players?

Are you sure that you won't find another group? Have you searched players via internet, rpga, advertisement at a gaming-store, maybe asked the others if they know a different group, checked the college (if it fits due to age-aspects), considered starting a group on your own as the others proposed or just play online...

Regards,

kikai

 

[delericho]

-Oh, and the GM charges for people to play. it's a few dollars a week, and it supposedly all goes towards "set pieces" (i.e. increasing the DM's minis collection).

While I'm not inherently against the idea of a DM charging, it does mean you can leave easily. Just say you're not having enough fun to justify paying for it.

The best way to bring the 'good' players from the old group with you is probably to send them an email in the days just after you leave, saying you're setting up a new game, and would they be interested in playing. In said email, you probably want to mention that you're going for a slightly different play-style, which is why you haven't invited everyone (as otherwise they're liable to invite the others without realising).

Finding new players is a bit of a tricky one. I should try all the usual things - ads in the FLGS, a thread here, and your circle of contacts from work etc. Beyond that, I've got nothing.

 

[Chimera]

In defense of this in theory

Sometimes it's quite reasonable for a group to set up a "help supply the game with materials" kitty to help defray these costs.

You know, in this situation I'd be willing to buy some things for myself, then LOAN them to the group for the sessions. Bring a battle mat, pick up some minis, loan people the occasional book.

But I'm not pitching in to buy game materials for someone else to keep.

 

[merelycompetent]

In defense of this in theory, it can be quite annoying to be the GM in a ongoing long-term game and be expected to buy everything. Buy all the supplements, buy the miniatures, buy the battlemats, etc. when the players get the PHB, maybe a splatbook or two and their PC. The DM is doing all the work, spending a lion's share of the expenses and everyone else is benefiting.

Sometimes it's quite reasonable for a group to set up a "help supply the game with materials" kitty to help defray these costs. I wouldn't expect a new and possibly trial member to jump in with two feet, though.

Sidetracking: I agree - it's very aggravating for the DM to be expected to have deep pockets in addition to running the game (a discussion I recently had with a couple of my own players). The problem with setting up a game fund is this: Who owns the stuff? Who is responsible for taking care of it, making sure it gets to the game session, and so forth? Gaming groups break up, people move, college starts/ends, etc. So who gets to take what? If it all ends up being owned by the DM, that's the same as paying the DM.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any good solutions for this. Some work-arounds that I've used in the past are:

* One person buys the stuff for the group to use, but packs it up himself at the end of every game session. Our group has had good success with miniatures on this one (my painting skills leave much to be desired).
* Holiday and birthday presents (group chips in to get a gift for one person - used this a lot when I was a starving college student).
* Long-term loan: Player gets the cool new supplement that the DM can't afford yet, and loans it to the DM for a few months to review. This one really only works between good friends.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

"I'm sorry, but I'm not having fun in this game."

Exactly, right to the point. No shady dodging, just point blank honesty.

 

[DragonLancer]

-Oh, and the GM charges for people to play. it's a few dollars a week, and it supposedly all goes towards "set pieces" (i.e. increasing the DM's minis collection).

This isn't nessecarily a bad thing (Ok, in this case it is). My group used to do the samething about ten year ago. Every week we all (myself included) put £1 into a pot and that was used to pay for game munchies (one player was a trained cook and would do a proper dinner every session), photocopies of character sheets, and as DM I could dip into it (as long as every member of the group agreed) to put towards a new book.

So it can work out.

But in this case, I would just walk out and not come back. Its not worth it.