When you give up on RPGs because you hate the system.

[ccs]

Sometimes. But this is why it pays to be a gamer with multiple tastes & several groups of players.

It's true, I love D&D (specifically 1e & 5e, but PF works for me as well). But it's by far not the only flavor of RPG I'm willing to play.
And RPGs are certainly not the only type of gaming I limit myself to.
I've got a handful of friends that I play board-games with.
And another group I play miniature war-games with (a lot of WWII recently, but I'm equally up for Warhammer, WH40k, X-Wing, Battle-Tech, Areodrome/WWI bi-plane games, historical stuff with Romans etc, Pirate ship battles, the up-coming Game of Thrones stuff, etc)
Heck, I can even dig out some Magic cards if it comes to it. I'll be nowhere near current, & some of my stuff is older than 1/2 the players at the local shop....

So while I might not always be playing D&D (or even RPGs), I'm always gaming.
The only real problem here is that there's not enough days in the week to do all of these + adult life (you know, job etc).

Go make more friends. Expand your gaming interests.

 

[MarkB]

Run a game. I hav found that there are folks out there of all stripes and sometime you need to be the change you want to find them. Or run and they will come. It might not be immediately and you might have a few false starts, but patience and persistence is the way.

Sometimes that can feel like a bit of a trap, though. I loved Star Wars Saga Edition and owned most of the books, and I ran a number of campaigns in it which my players had a lot of fun with, several of them investing almost as heavily in the rulebooks as I had. But my greatest regret was that I never got to experience the system as a player aside from a couple of one-offs at conventions, because there were lots of people who wanted to play it, but nobody who wanted to run it.

 

[Aldarc]

It is a shame, I like a tone of the people that play, but the system is so overly complex that I have decided to quit gaming again. Anyone ever feel like this?

Most definitely. But I have found it helpful to explore other RPGs that may be available (e.g., AGE, Savage Worlds, Cypher System, Powered by the Apocalypse, etc.). It may be more difficult to gather a game group, but that just requires a little patience and perseverance.

 

[Morrus]

I’ve usually found that most game groups will happily play whatever the GM wants to run. The enjoyment of a game is rarely linked to the system, but more to the people and the enthusiasm.

Have they tried 5E? If not, ask them to give it a shot. They may like it — and if not, you haven’t lost anything.

 

[Blue]

I'm with the "If you build it, they will come" crowd - in other words run a game. Player ecosystems are self-reinforcing. If the only games in town are PF, people play PF.

If you want to try to make it catch on so you get a chance to play, make sure to invite a few DMs. Because next time they start a new game it'll be in their wheelhouse and it could be picked.

EDIT: And yeah, there are systems I'd rather not play at all then play with.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

While I agree that most times, players will play what a GM wants to run, that isn’t always the case. I was designing a M:tG fantasy campaign in HERO, and announced this to my buddies. They liked the first part of the idea, but no-one wanted to try HERO.

 

[Aldarc]

While I agree that most times, players will play what a GM wants to run, that isn’t always the case. I was designing a M:tG fantasy campaign in HERO, and announced this to my buddies. They liked the first part of the idea, but no-one wanted to try HERO.

Did you offer to provide pre-made characters? I sometimes find that helps when it comes to introduce players to alternative systems, especially given what you told me of HERO's complex character-creation.

 

[darjr]

One more thing. Step out of your group to run that game. Go to a local con or store or post online that you'd like to run a game at the local library. Basically spread out of your local group into the community of gamers. And run games. I count myself lucky in that I love to run games. In fact I'd rather. But even just running a few, especially in a public venue for other folks, especially at local conventions can do wonders at expanding the group of good players and DM's in your circles.

But don't get frustrated or give up to early or easily. A friend of mine ran a particular style of game, that, frankly I didn't appreciate, and it took him a long time to find folks that did, but find them he did.

 

[doctorhook]

Then you missed out on the greatest role-playing universe ever created. Unfortunately the system it ran on was terrible and overly complicated, which caused people not to want to play.

Ah I see. Without derailing this thread much further, one followup question: Is it out of print? A couple of LGSs near me seem to have large shelves of Rifts books, all of which look new(ish).

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Ah I see. Without derailing this thread much further, one followup question: Is it out of print? A couple of LGSs near me seem to have large shelves of Rifts books, all of which look new(ish).

Rifts is still in print, and still releasing new supplements. Moreover, it is still in its first edition, so every supplement is still current and valid!