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Fortuna
2010-02-28, 09:12 PM
D&D is losing its fun. I don't enjoy our Friday sessions as much as I used to, I don't enjoy DMing, I can't play a character for more than 2 or 3 sessions before I give up on them. The majority of my group is indifferent about D&D, there's one person who's in another game, and there's one person who agrees with me. Any ideas for things to do to make D&D fun again? Or should I move on?

Schylerwalker
2010-02-28, 09:13 PM
Everybody burns out on occasion. My recommendation is just giving up on it for a while and finding a different hobby. And, if you find that you are missing Dungeons and Dragons, give it a shot from a new approach.

Kylarra
2010-02-28, 09:14 PM
D&D is losing its fun. I don't enjoy our Friday sessions as much as I used to, I don't enjoy DMing, I can't play a character for more than 2 or 3 sessions before I give up on them. The majority of my group is indifferent about D&D, there's one person who's in another game, and there's one person who agrees with me. Any ideas for things to do to make D&D fun again? Or should I move on?Well, in a vacuum, I'd say it's time to try out a new system. Get the novelty back in gear and maybe you'll remember what things you liked better about D&D and want to go back to that, or maybe you'll find a new fun game that you prefer playing.

Thurbane
2010-02-28, 09:15 PM
Before dumping D&D altogether, try having a break. You might find you are just a little "burned out".

Maybe try another game, something very different from D&D (maybe even boardgames or cards) for a while, or have a break from gaming altogether.

...I've been where you are, and I found a change is as good as a holiday. :smallsmile:

Swordgleam
2010-02-28, 09:19 PM
It really depends what the problem is. Are the personalities in your group wearing on you? Find a new group. Sick of dealing with fiddly rules? Find a new system. Tired of pretending to be an elf? Try a different genre, maybe something radically different like cyberpunk.

valadil
2010-02-28, 09:31 PM
I have to take time off from roleplaying. Usually I do 6 months off after 3-4 years of gaming. Definitely due for a break in the next year or so. Whenever I start one of these breaks I wonder if it's time to hang up the dice for good, but each time I come back I end up having more fun than I had in any RPG.

Arti3
2010-02-28, 09:34 PM
Well, Exalted will (hopefully) heal you of this :smallbiggrin:

StoryKeeper
2010-02-28, 09:37 PM
It really depends what the problem is. Are the personalities in your group wearing on you? Find a new group. Sick of dealing with fiddly rules? Find a new system. Tired of pretending to be an elf? Try a different genre, maybe something radically different like cyberpunk.

This. If you just need a new twist to your current D&D stuff, however, you might consider finding a new supplement or two and doing a campaign focused on that. For instance, you could do an all-mages campaign with complete mage and arcane, or do an all psionic campaign.

ericgrau
2010-02-28, 09:38 PM
Find another group, invite the more involved players from your current group to join.

Mongoose87
2010-02-28, 09:39 PM
Spend a few months on a different system. Run a short Call of Cthulhu campaign, to mix things up, then go back to your DnDing.

herrhauptmann
2010-02-28, 09:43 PM
Take a break, when you're rested get a group going with some people you get along with.
Last few groups I was in, I was highly irritated by some of the other members, so I was having less fun. Even if you get along with them, don't invite people who 'win' at D&D. You'll just burn out all over again.

DabblerWizard
2010-02-28, 10:23 PM
Everyone's been giving some great advice above.

Let me just reiterate something others have been saying implicitly. There's nothing necessarily wrong with the system you're playing now. It hasn't necessarily permanently lost its appeal... The fact of the matter is, that anything can become boring with too much repetition. Listen to a song 10 times, 100 times, 1,000 times in a row, and tell me whether you still like it THAT much... Probably not.

Take a break. :smallsmile:

ClockShock
2010-02-28, 10:32 PM
Try out Paranoia?

Thajocoth
2010-02-28, 10:37 PM
Bring your D&D group snowboarding.

What? MY D&D group goes snowboarding... That's how I started snowboarding...

AslanCross
2010-02-28, 10:58 PM
Yeah, take a break. Pace your gaming so that it's something to look forward to. I've done it every week before, and I've also done it with intervals of 2 weeks to a month or more. I prefer the latter.

Solaris
2010-02-28, 11:01 PM
Spend a few months on a different system. Run a short Call of Cthulhu campaign, to mix things up, then go back to your DnDing.

There are long ones?

I'd also vouch for the "Take a Break" plan.

Terraoblivion
2010-02-28, 11:16 PM
Yes there are, Solaris. They tend to devolve into stupidity. I still remember the one some of my friends had as a teen that ended up with one of them as the angel of death who kept Cthulhu as his poodle, because he kept selling his soul to every cosmic horror he could find. Only heard about it, but was staggeringly stupid.

As for what to do, it seems to me that more involved players might be the key. But it also seems like the information given is a bit too limited to give very targeted advice.

yilduz
2010-02-28, 11:36 PM
Try a different game. If you're at all interested in anime, I'd recommend Big Eyes, Small Mouth d20. In fact, you don't even have to be interested in anime. My buddy just made a character based on Indiana Jones... and one time, my friends and I used the rules of this game to make Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario, Dora the Explorer, and many other characters from cartoons, video games, movies, and anything else we could think of.

Or, maybe your game needs a bit of comedy. Make it more fun.

Frosty
2010-03-01, 12:06 AM
D&D is losing its fun. I don't enjoy our Friday sessions as much as I used to, I don't enjoy DMing, I can't play a character for more than 2 or 3 sessions before I give up on them. The majority of my group is indifferent about D&D, there's one person who's in another game, and there's one person who agrees with me. Any ideas for things to do to make D&D fun again? Or should I move on?

I hope you'll stay in my game Random_person :smallsmile:

Fortuna
2010-03-01, 01:02 AM
Oh, don't worry about that Frosty: I just don't like playing sustained D&D anymore. No idea why, I just don't. Checking in once a day is still fun, although I think I've badly mucked up my build power-wise.

DarknessLord
2010-03-01, 01:12 AM
Try out Paranoia?

Citizen ClockShock must be correct, fun is mandatory.
Failure to have fun is treason.

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Frosty
2010-03-01, 03:21 AM
Oh, don't worry about that Frosty: I just don't like playing sustained D&D anymore. No idea why, I just don't. Checking in once a day is still fun, although I think I've badly mucked up my build power-wise.

I think perhaps that having *some* stealth skills in Baator is a good thing...just a thought. :smallwink:

absolmorph
2010-03-01, 03:40 AM
I think perhaps that having *some* stealth skills in Baator is a good thing...just a thought. :smallwink:
Bah, who needs stealth skills when you have Grease?

Math_Mage
2010-03-01, 05:59 AM
Bah, who needs stealth skills when you have Grease?

Someone who likes getting off Grease before his foes have a chance to spread out? :smallcool:

Lord Loss
2010-03-01, 06:53 AM
My advice? Do a one-shot adventure of a drastically different genre each time. For instance, if you've been playing a fantasy epic with epic level characters, try a gothic horror like expedition to Castle Ravenloft. In an urban roleplay campaign? Time for a good old crawl through nightfang spire (or another combat-oriented dungeon).

Another problem could be that your pcs are too high a level, you're getting sick of the omnipotence aquired whilst too powerful. perhaps it's time to go back to level 1?

Ankhman
2010-03-01, 07:03 AM
we had a similar problem .. D&D was getting just frustrating and wasn't fun anymore. so we just sat there one session and discussed the problem to come up with a solution.

for US it was the power of our characters .. there was too much power and too many options, so just just sit there and ponder, what to do. everything was really SLOW. we leveled down, restricted the usage of books .. e voila .. the game took up speed again aand started making fun again.

so ask your players, how to make it more appealing, take in their oppinions and act accordingly. taking a break isn't bad either. just go to the cinema once in a while with your friends .. don't let it all be D&D

Emmerask
2010-03-01, 07:56 AM
D&D is losing its fun. I don't enjoy our Friday sessions as much as I used to, I don't enjoy DMing, I can't play a character for more than 2 or 3 sessions before I give up on them. The majority of my group is indifferent about D&D, there's one person who's in another game, and there's one person who agrees with me. Any ideas for things to do to make D&D fun again? Or should I move on?

Well is it because of certain mechanics that you donīt enjoy your characters or dming?
Then a change of system might be a good idea.

If it is the campaign style you are bored with, a system change might not help at all (you can play high fantasy everything goes with most systems).
Look for a dm you who is willing to try a completely different campaign style with your group.
High fantasy sandbox -> very low fantasy, story driven (with a little railorading) style or vice versa, a change of pace can often spark new interest :smallwink: both styles can be played with d&d so using another system would not be required though could be used.

Knowing why you donīt enjoy your current games at the moment goes along way to fix it. :smallwink:

JeenLeen
2010-03-01, 10:05 AM
we had a similar problem .. D&D was getting just frustrating and wasn't fun anymore. so we just sat there one session and discussed the problem to come up with a solution.

for US it was the power of our characters .. there was too much power and too many options, so just just sit there and ponder, what to do. everything was really SLOW. we leveled down, restricted the usage of books .. e voila .. the game took up speed again aand started making fun again.

so ask your players, how to make it more appealing, take in their oppinions and act accordingly. taking a break isn't bad either. just go to the cinema once in a while with your friends .. don't let it all be D&D

My burn-out was the same as Ankhman; we were running a too high-powered D&D. We also had the problem that about half the party really enjoyed optimizing, so the idea of making low-power characters or not using the books we had procured was annoying.

So we took a break, doing board games or movies then a couple weeks for a Paranoia game, while the DM worked on a Mage: The Ascension game, which we're currently running and enjoying.

If you'd like to stay in D&D, I'd say break from RPGs in general for a bit or shift to another system for a few one-shots.

Fhaolan
2010-03-01, 10:44 AM
Switching genres or game systems can do a lot to aliviate burnout. Depending on exactly how burnt out you are, however, you might need to go a bit more... drastic.

For example, if your playing group are number-cruncher types, perhaps putting some time into a wargame might help. Get a rulebook or two, and instead of buying all those cash-sucking miniatures, just use carboard counters. If you decide you want to continue with the wargame, then get into the miniature collecting, but don't bother when it's for burnout rebound.

I also know a couple of people who use boffer LARP and paintball as burn-out fallbacks. They find that running around getting wiped out physically a great way of getting their enthusiasm back for more cerebral PnP games. While regular LARPs (not boffer LARPs) might work as well due to the change in scenery if nothing else, they personally prefer the more extreme physical forms.

Computer games can help, but the problem with console games and computer games is that it doesn't continue the physical get-together that is one of the benefits of local PnP groups. The number of good games that allow multiplayer or local LAN games is declining in favour of online offerings. Which I personally am very sad about because I have a LAN system set up for at home, and we're having difficulty finding RPG-style games that don't require everyone paying monthly subscription costs to use someone else's WAN servers. On our Friday night get-togethers, we're still playing Diablo II and Dungeon Seige II because we haven't found any more recent titles that allow local LAN games.

Tyndmyr
2010-03-01, 10:51 AM
Switching genres or game systems can do a lot to aliviate burnout. Depending on exactly how burnt out you are, however, you might need to go a bit more... drastic.

For example, if your playing group are number-cruncher types, perhaps putting some time into a wargame might help. Get a rulebook or two, and instead of buying all those cash-sucking miniatures, just use carboard counters. If you decide you want to continue with the wargame, then get into the miniature collecting, but don't bother when it's for burnout rebound.

You can also print out paper tokens that work pretty well, or use legos. If you've got em, legos make awesome wargaming figures. My local game shop sells a plastic cannon and crew for about $50. My local lego shop sells the same basic package for $6. That cannon actually fires, leading to all sorts of fun house rules.

Project_Mayhem
2010-03-01, 10:56 AM
You could graduate your game ... *ducks and runs*