Am I a crappy DM?

[Vorpalbob]

During our last gaming session, my group of lightheartedly rowdy players sat down at the table, ready for the next adventure. Normally these guys can tank away at SWSE for nearly five hours, but an hour in it kind of just died. I don't understand.

I tried amping up my storytelling (as an actor/writer I can usually improve people's mood that way), there was Star Wars music playing in the background, the combat was fine...

I'm not sure what I did wrong.:smallfrown:

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

What did the players say?

Edit: Sometimes groups have off days. This is what game consoles are for.

[Radiun]

And the events leading up to it were?

There's little to go on.

Was anything different?
Did they all arrive in a bad mood?
Is the some internal feud between players?

[Rettu Skcollob]

Well for starters you seem to be asking us instead of your players.

[FoE]

Did one of the players bring his New, Shiny Thing to the table? I find that kills most sessions as a group can be easily distracted by New, Shiny Things, most players being dimwitted creatures who can focus on one thing at a time.

[Katana_Geldar]

Tell me a bit more about the style of game you are playing, is it political, fringe, military? Star Wars Saga can be played quite a number of ways and you need to find a style as well as campaigns that suit the way your players and you want to play.

Not enough encounters? Too many encounters? Did you take on more than you could handle as a GM, like a huge battle that seemed too much and you threw in the towel?

And storytelling in a game is slightly different from telling a story on paper. The players are your main characters and you need to find a story that suits them. They also are beyond your control, so you need the slight balance of taking them along your plot without railroading them.

[Kylarra]

Odds are entirely probable that you are not a bad DM, assuming this situation is a deviation from the norm, as you seem to be saying. People have off days, unlike in games, and sometimes sessions just can't be salvaged. It happens.

[Gralamin]

Did one of the players bring his New, Shiny Thing to the table? I find that kills most sessions as a group can be easily distracted by New, Shiny Things, most players being dimwitted creatures who can focus on one thing at a time.

This. Just This.

Having said that, I love bringing my New Shiny Things to the table when I'm playing or DMing. It just so happens most of those are programs so other people don't care.

[Vorpalbob]

There are (as far as I know) no between-player fueds, the only New and Shiny Thing was one players' bag of obsidian dice, The characters are commando/undercover agents for the Old Republic (as in KOTOR). They seem like they enjoy this style of play.

As to events leading up to the game dying, the characters were working on finding clues as to the whereabouts of the main baddy's hideout. The game died, interestingly enough, right as they were about to begin the final conflict.

The players said they were, "Kind of bored" which, as I mentioned earlier, is strange as they seemed to lose interest right as they were meeting the main baddy.

[Katana_Geldar]

It meant that you're game was not stimulating enough for them, this is when you try and find some motivation in the players themselves. Like the Big Baddie kidnapping one of the PCs or an NPC close to them.

You could also use the "rival adventurers" group that tries to beat them to the punch.

Also, throwing out wierd random things can make people go strange places...as long as you're willing to play by the seat of your pants.

How much were the players involved in the operation? Did they plan it themselves or was the execution part of your plot? One of my favourite sessions I GMed was when I gave players a goal, tools and information as well as a few hints here and there, then left the table so they could plan and told them to surprise me. Even though part of their plan failed, it was still great as it was not what I had thought of and we all were able to wing it.

[Tyndmyr]

Yes. You're a bad DM, and you should feel bad too!

I kid, really, sometimes it just happens. There's really not enough info here to know for sure, but sometimes people are, for entirely non game reasons, not really into the game. Not a big deal, really.

[bosssmiley]

You have the sense and self-awareness to ask this, so no.

You had an off session is all. Happens to the best of us.

(This is why you should always have a thinking-lite standby game around, just in case. :smallwink: )

[Name_Here]

There are (as far as I know) no between-player fueds, the only New and Shiny Thing was one players' bag of obsidian dice, The characters are commando/undercover agents for the Old Republic (as in KOTOR). They seem like they enjoy this style of play.

As to events leading up to the game dying, the characters were working on finding clues as to the whereabouts of the main baddy's hideout. The game died, interestingly enough, right as they were about to begin the final conflict.

The players said they were, "Kind of bored" which, as I mentioned earlier, is strange as they seemed to lose interest right as they were meeting the main baddy.

Don't know if it's normal but if you couldn't convince your players to stick around for your plot... You were. There may be many reasons outside of your control why they couldn't fully get into the game but it's the shoddy carpenter that blames his tools.

But it's something that happens the trick is learning how to salvage the session. Sometimes you just have to realize what isn't working and find a way to cleanly cut it out of the game. Sometimes that means they stumble across a bit of information that you meant for them to find after a long a puzzling search. Or maybe the intricate puzzle fight you were planning suddenly becomes a more straight up battle. Or maybe it just involves you ramping up the level of praise you give your players so that they feel like they actually accomplished something.

It's all about adaptation and changing as you get a read on what works and what doesn't.

[Sliver]

Well for starters you seem to be asking us instead of your players.

This. Yeah.

I had a DM that we told him what we didn't enjoy, he just sorta nodded and ignored us.. At least you want to know.

But you should ask your players. They know what they enjoy and what happened.

[elliott20]

nah, doesn't sound like you're a bad GM so much as you just seemed to have had an off day.

[Raum]

I'm not sure what I did wrong.:smallfrown:A few questions to ask yourself and the players: Were the players involved / engaged in the story? How was the pacing? Is everyone interested in playing the same type, style, and genre of game? How many choices did the players need to make during the game, too many, too few, or about right?* Were you expecting players to be proactive while they expected to be reactive?

Ask questions and figure out what you can do better. Even the best can improve. :)

*Choices tie in to style - you'll have more choices in an investigative game than a combat fest. So you need to ensure everyone is on board with the type of game you're planning on running.


The players said they were, "Kind of bored" which, as I mentioned earlier, is strange as they seemed to lose interest right as they were meeting the main baddy.Pay attention to your pacing. When it gets too slow, initiate some sort of action or dilemma.

[Volkov]

Yes you suck a lot. I kid.

Try asking your players as to why they are bored. But try to be polite about it.

[UglyPanda]

What time of day was it? Did you take any breaks? Did you order pizza? Were your players watching The World Series the night before?

There are plenty of external factors to a game that don't involve the game itself.

[Faramir]

As others have said, it just sounds like an off day. But it doesn't hurt to ask (one on one might be preferable) if they're able to identify which parts of the game they've enjoyed more in the past and which parts leave them cold so you know where to focus.

One possibility (and I'm not saying this was the case) is that in the lead up to the big event you might have fallen into the old "railroad plot" syndrome. Of course while this drives me crazy many other people don't mind it. And I well know how frustrating it can be when players decide to ignore the shiny clues you're dangling in front of them.

[Foryn Gilnith]

Sometimes groups have off days. This is what game consoles are for.

Yes, indeed.

[Vorpalbob]

Thanks guys. I should really just ask the players.

We probably just did have an off day, but i'm a novice Dm, i just got kind of feaked out. Thanks for the help.

[The Dark Fiddler]

bag of obsidian dice

If I were there, I wouldn't have been able to concentrate at all.

Obsidian = awesome.

Polyhedral dice = awesome.

Obsidian polyhedral dice = beyond awesome.

[Blackfang108]

Did one of the players bring his New, Shiny Thing to the table? I find that kills most sessions as a group can be easily distracted by New, Shiny Things, most players being dimwitted creatures who can focus on one thing at a time.

Oddly enough, this is never the case for my group. The players usually just beat on Luke when he starts playing his PSP or watching movies on his laptop.

(My one houserule is simple: if I'm DMing and you're using electronics to do something else, especially during combat, It's mine. "No, I don't care if you were too much of an idiot to print out your charater sheet before hand, give me my new Laptop.")

[Crowbar]

Did one of the players bring his New, Shiny Thing to the table? I find that kills most sessions as a group can be easily distracted by New, Shiny Things, most players being dimwitted creatures who can focus on one thing at a time.

Oh, god! The last time I ran some Shadowrun, one of my players brought a New, Shiny Thing in the form of a Nerf gun. None of my 'tards could understand the simple house rule of not shooting people in the face. Good men died.

*sniff*

[Katana_Geldar]

Pay attention to your pacing. When it gets too slow, initiate some sort of action or dilemma.

Chandler's Law (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Ptitlepblp18h5?from=Main.ChandlersLaw) can help you out if you're stuck sometimes.

[Vorpalbob]

Blackfang108's rule is something I use quite often (one of my players is addicted to his Crackberry) and it usually works.

[Blackfang108]

Blackfang108's rule is something I use quite often (one of my players is addicted to his Crackberry) and it usually works.

I applied it in the fourth time in one session I noticed him watching NGe and holding up combat because of it.

After Gibbs Slapping him didn't work. (tried on the third time.)