your evolution as a gamer

[GlassJaw]

There have been a few threads recently about play style, campaign variantions, new products, etc and it got me thinking about my evolution as a gamer, especially since 3ed came out.

I've played Basic D&D, 1ed, and 2ed but most of my gaming has been with 3ed. I took a break from gaming in college but got back into D&D with 3ed. I have played in many campaigns since 3ed came out and I've usually been in 2 in-person groups all the time.

I've played in and DM'ed low and high-level campaigns, played a multitude of characters, min/maxed and planned character builds, slaved over the rules, made my own houserules and campaign website, and bought everything under the sun.

I'm currently in a high-level campaign (15-16th level) that's been ongoing for 2+ years and we are nearing the end of this campaign but over the past few months, I've come to a realization: it's not as fun as it used to be.

I'm not interested in any new d20/D&D books. I don't want any new PrC's. I'm tired of house rules. I'm bored with character sheets 10 pages long. I'm bored with battles with dragons that take 2 campaign sessions to finish. I recently started a Shadowrun game and I got that excited feeling I haven't had in 3ed for a long time. I also want to run a low-magic campaign without all the crunch.

Am I alone? Is this a natural reaction to the direction 3ed is headed? Am I just "evolving" as a gamer and my interests are changing? Do I just need a break? I feel that I've done all I can with 3ed. Is this the nature of 3ed? Does it cause gamer burnout?

 

[EricNoah]

I don't think it's 3rd ed, it's you. You probably just need a break from the familiar. We all feel like that from time to time.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

Agreed. If anything I am getting BACK into D&D after a long hiatus. 2e pretty much ran me off. When 3e came out I was really interested and liked what I saw. As more and more interesting settings and so on came out for 3e I became more and more interested and for the first time in a LONG time I am going to run a D&D campaign (based in the Iron Kingdoms). So maybe the evolution comes full circle. It all seems new and fresh to me all over again.

 

[Henry]

Everybody goes through the same cycles - it's why our group plays different games now and then, because the same thing all the time will bug you.

One other note: from your post your group still seems to be playing the 3E rules. The 3.5 rules have a number of changes that could very dramatically impact how your group plays the high levels. If you aren't quite done yet with D&D, I'd check out the SRD to see if it offers any changes that might affect challenges to higher levels.

Past that, find some different games, or even a Non-RPG game altogether, and have some fun. Shadowrun is DEFINITELY a change of pace from D&D.

 

[WayneLigon]

Am I alone? Is this a natural reaction to the direction 3ed is headed? Am I just "evolving" as a gamer and my interests are changing? Do I just need a break? I feel that I've done all I can with 3ed. Is this the nature of 3ed? Does it cause gamer burnout?

People's tastes change throughout their lives. Everything from your love of buttered peas to your sexual identification moves along a continuum over time. My tastes in gaming have changed over the years, as well, and it has nothing to do with 3E or any other system - things just change.

They can evolve, or they can be pushed; a bad experience with something may put you off that thing you a short or long time. When I was small, I got sick after eating a particular kind of pudding. 35 years later I still can't eat the stuff. I played in perhaps one of the worst WWII games ever GMed by a human being and can't really convince myself that such a scenario would ever be fun again, even though I know it's not the fault of either the system or the subject matter.

 

[Wombat]

I started with OD&D. Dropped out when it shifted to AD&D.
Move on to Traveller and RuneQuest
Then Paranoia, Champions, and Pendragon
Fiddled with HarnMaster
Then found Ars Magica
Came back to D&D with 3e because moved and couldn't find an Ars Magica group
Slowly moving my current group into AM mode

 

[Umbran]

Am I alone? Is this a natural reaction to the direction 3ed is headed? Am I just "evolving" as a gamer and my interests are changing? Do I just need a break? I feel that I've done all I can with 3ed. Is this the nature of 3ed? Does it cause gamer burnout?

While what you mention might be "evolution" it could also be short-term burnout. In either case, a break from the ordinary is probably in order.

I don't 3e causes burnout at all. Burnout is generally caused by stress and/or repetition. Anyone can get burned out on any game if they play it long enough. Switching out to another game will fire up the creative juices. If you choose to go back, you'll bring things you learned from the other game with you.

Gaming is like cooking - yes, some folks have a favorite cuisine. But nobody likes a diet of only one thing. And the best of all foods come when the cook has a more broad experience to draw from.

 

[Kanegrundar]

I'd say that 3E/D20 doesn't lead to burnout any more than any other system. It's all in what you're wanting out of your time. Play some something else for a while. It's a game, if not having fun then it's time to find something that is fun.

My tastes change all the time. Sometimes it's a straight D&D dungeon-delve, other times I want to play just a simple boardgame, then the next week it's back to a game of D20 Modern heavy on the roleplay. Right now, I'm on a huge boardgame kick. (I've picked up Heroscape, Battleball, Talisman 3rd Edition, and Betrayal at House on the Hill just in the last month.) I prefer to play D&D/D20 when I'm roleplaying, but sometimes I need to play something else to have even more fun.

Kane

 

[WalkingDead]

Sometimes you just need a change of pace. I switch up games every once in awhile. For the most part, I run my D&D 3E Greyhawk campaign, but I'm working on some side campaigns for something a bit different (a Rifts game, as well as I'm thinking about running Mechamorphosis ... and I've been getting the itch to try out Traveller).

 

[GlassJaw]

Great comments all around. I think I kind of knew the answer to this but I just needed to hear it from someone else.

I've been reading the Grim Tales book and that's given me a lot of new ideas so I'm hoping my group will want to give a low-magic campaign a try. Another guy has been reading the Midnight book so that would be fun to try too.

from your post your group still seems to be playing the 3E rules

Nope, we play 3.5 all the way. I guess I throw around "3ed" as a generic descriptor.