What to do after a not-so-good session???

[Land Outcast]

Q: Bad, sucky session for everybody, and SURE of it?
A: If it didn't finish at some a.m. time, go out and do some stuff somewhere to spit out the sour taste the session left in everyone. At the same time, ask them one-by-one in a casual way what they think was worst of the session. It usually works.

A.2: Ask someone that either is my best friend among the group, or someone that I know will be just straightfoward and not save any criticism for himself (I've got one of those, whatever you think, he's a fine fella.

 

[Kheti sa-Menik]

You know, a lot of it is perception.
In a game I ran, part of the time, the PCs were on a hijacked chartered plane.
It was supposed to be an interlude into the next scene.
But the PCs decided they had no choice and attacked their hijackers. Thus followed a 44 round, knockdown dragout gun and fist fight within a confined (1 square wide, 8 squares long) pressurized space..3 PCs and 3 NPCs...talk about too close for comfort.

I didn't plan for it to happen, I had a lot more plot after the plane landed, but the PCs decided they couldn't wait. So almost the whole night was taken up with this midair combat. I was very chagrined and little disappointed with myself for not having planned for this contingency. That no plot had been advanced and one combat took up almost the entire session.

But at the end of the night, the players' faces glowed with excitement and voices rang with enthusiasm. They had loved it...the challenge of the environment, the grim and gritty combat the unusual setting had forced, the last minute strapping into parachutes and jumping from the crashing plane, still struggling with their hijackers.
They still talk about it, a year later.
That and a couple of other notable combats in wierd, unusual places with odd combatants have earned me the title of "Set Piece King." One of my players still says I can set up and run a set piece-style battle better than anyone.

So it's all about perception. I thought I did horribly and the PCs loved it.

 

[Black Omega]

I've never had a truly terrible session but if it happens, by the GM Code of Bushido there is only one thing to do.

More seriously, I agree with the crowd saying 'it happens, don't sweat it'. Talk to the players when you can. Prepare double hard for the next session. Bad sessions happen to everyone. I take them pretty hard but usually can redirect the bad feelings into something creative.

 

[Whimsical]

I always recommend reading the first chapter of the Dungeon Masters Guide II if you are looking for ways to improve your DMing ability.

 

[Haltherrion]

As others have said, it happens. Don't want to let it get you too down.

Since it seems to have really bothered you, after a little time for the initial emotion to subside, it might be worth doing a serious reflection on what you didn't like about the session. Fatest way to get better at anything is to recognize you aren't perfect and learn from your mistakes. These things in the long run can be great opportunities.

One approach is to jot down anything that comes to mind about what might have gone wrong. When doing this, it is good to put yourself in the shoes of the players as well as yourself (for instance, you might have enjoyed an extended solo bit with one of the PCs but the other N-1 players might have been bored out of their minds. this can make them much more prone to bad behavior such as rules arguments).

You might then need to refine what you have on your list. For instance, 2 rules arguments: was there anything that provoked it? Player grumpy about something else? You being too much of a stickler about something not really all that relevant?

Then you can prioritize the list looking for the top 2 or 3 things you really care about. (The rest is probably just the normal friction of a normal pen and paper RPG.)

Depending on what these items are, you might then either consider solutions on your own, solicit advice from folks on EnWorld, or if something seems missing from the analysis, you could get some input from a select player or the whole group. One thing I wouldn't do is go straight to the group with a "let's talk about what went wrong" without some analysis on your own part. I find that nearly all players are useless for that sort of feedback without you asking some very specific questions about specific issues.

I've had plenty of crappy sessions and an occasionally crappy campaign. Some of my finest improvements have come from reflecting on what went well, what didn't and what I could do about it.

You seem a seasoned DM but in addition to just learning the ropes of DM'ing better (always possible no matter how many years you've gamed), you also need to consider that the years bring many other changes:

* Your own preferences in fiction or gaming may change.
* Your group composition may change. (In college, I had many players who would spend hours on out of game stuff. That, unfortunately was long ago. I can either adapt my game or struggle with incomplete campaigns.)
* Your gaming frequency may change. More open ended, "players' write the game" styles work okay with the right group and frequent gaming. I find they are terrible with either gamers looking for more direction or less frequent gaming. Might be time to more consciously work a plot.
* Then there are the realization changes. In my youth I was a stickler for 'reality' (such as you can have in a fantasy setting ). Could have summarized my style as "fantasy simulation" first, "game" second. Now it is the other way around.
* A correlary to the previous: my gaming groups' satisfaction went up considerably when I realized that it was not in my interests to let the game take a "we are all in this together approach" and instead realize that I was providing entertainment. It was my job to deliver. Moreover, I am in competition with many other forms of entertainment (movies, CRPGs, online gaming, the list is endless). If I didn't strive to deliver each session, I was liable to have players drift away (scheduling problems are often a sign of diminishing interest.)

Anyway, take this as an opportunity. You might find a few tweaks to your game. Or you might even decide upon a more radical change. Regardless, self-critique is the path to more enjoyment.

 

[Lord Ipplepop]

Once we realize that the session is going to tank, we usually stop where we're at and take a break. Some of the players will go outside and have a smoke, others will go to the local convenience store, others will hang out and shoot the breeze. Whatever it is, we stop where we are and talk about anything except the game. Of course, we end up talking about the game in our little individual groups. Right before the game starts again, the adults (our group is 5 adults and a varyinig number of kids ranging from 4-8) will all end up in the same place and figure out what has to happen to get back on track. That small break seems to break the cycle, and the session picks up. IF the session doesn't get better, we stop.

After such sessions, the adults will hang out and... well, just hang out... accepting the fact that we weren't suppose to play that night.

 

[Odhanan]

I relax afterwards.

I take a break, and go back to the game when I feel inspired. It usually works.