Hiya!
Phew! Ok, so I was wrong on multiple counts...bad assumptions on my part I guess.
That's a
good thing...it means I don't think you guys have a DM and Player issue.
Right. My new contention is that maybe your players are just kind of getting bored with the whole "D&D play-style"? The base premise and baseline for D&D (especially 5e), is exactly what you, the DM, are presenting:
"The PC's fight monsters and take their stuff...sometimes just for material gain, sometimes for the greater good, sometimes because they are being paid/asked/forced to...but it's still 'kill monsters, take stuff'."
If you look at the focus of the rules...PC "abilities", a large focus on 'combat', and very little in the way of PC/Campaign "downtime" detail, it's pretty obvious it's focusing on the "Dungeons" and the "Dragons" part of the name (er...yeah...). If you look at some other Fantasy RPG's out there, some have distinctly different focuses, with rules and support for other things in the game. Taking a look at
A Song of Ice & Fire, for example, has specific rules, classes and other things that cater to 'social' role=playing. If you take a look at
Hackmaster (yeah, I said Hackmaster...), it has a plethora of skills, abilities, rules and even entire books dedicated to all the "downtime" stuff. But with 5e D&D? You get a small section in the DMG that has a simple presentation of 'things a PC can do when not adventuring'. There aren't really any skills, spells or abilities for classes that support any of this "downtime" stuff directly.
I think your players are suffering from the "Been there, done that" syndrome. In short, to use a video game analogy, they have "hit level 80" with other characters...now when they play new ones in a new campaign they still "know" what the end-game will be like. They know what it's like to "be level 80 and fight the worlds BBEG". There are no new surprises or things to do...from a game perspective. Sure, the setting may be different, the characters certainly will be, but that "awe and wonder" that they had when they first cast
Meteor Swarm after striving to acquire it (and the levels to cast it!)...that's gone. When they see another PC in the group cast it, it's not "special" anymore.
Ok, now what to do about it? Switch to a different game system. Others have suggested this as well, and I think it's something you guys should seriously look at doing. It doesn't have to be a "permanent" thing; just a temporary hiatus from the D&D grind. It can be fantasy, but maybe try a different genre...Sci-Fi, Super Hero, or Horror (or whatever genre you guys are interested in). This will bring back that sense of "first time" for much of the experience. If you all really still want to play a Fantasy game, make sure it's
really different from the standard premise of D&D. Go try
Talislanta,
Skyrealms of Jorune, or
HARN Master, for example. All still fantasy, but all quite different.
Talislanta:
www.talislanta.com
Jorune: ...hmmm... try Amazon (3rd edition is probably cheapest; one book, $15 - $20)
HARN:
www.columbiagames.com
If everyone is still set on 5e...well...I don't know what to tell you. I don't think it's going to get much better without some serious changes. Maybe try using rules (or not using) you guys haven't? Don't allow multiclassing, no Feats, a few things from the DMG like 'lingering wounds', or maybe longer healing periods (short rest = a day; long rest = a week), or switch to a completely different campaign world; Greyhawk, Birthright, Mystara, or even Kingdoms of Kalamar (
http://www.kenzerco.com/hackmaster/setting.php ) or Calidar (
http://bruce-heard.blogspot.ca/ ). Or, yes, even Forgotten Realms....I guess....if you want...maybe...
Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide!
PS: Optionally, just say "screw 'em!", and create your own fantasy world the way you want. Do it for fun. Do it for yourself. Who cares what "they" want, or what "they" think is cool or not. Don't do it for anyone but yourself. Let your creativity loose and just go with it! Personally, I've created 5 fantasy campaign settings (three of them, quite fleshed out, one sort of fleshed out, and one is very loose still...but it's supposed to be that way). The oldest is about 33 years old, the youngest about 2 years old. I create 'world's all the time...most don't stick, but some really do grab me and I keep on working on them when the mood strikes me. Maybe they (your players) are getting a bit bored with your current world? Maybe you are and don't even realize it yet? At any rate, a whole new world to explore is always fun and exciting!
^_^
Paul L. Ming
