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View Full Version : DM Help Combating burnout and too many story changes



lytokk
2014-09-18, 11:21 AM
So, my games been running for about a year now, and it dawned on me that the game became something a lot different than what I had originally intended to run. What was supposed to be a 4-5 session romp through no-mans land alongside a caravan meant to take pcs from level 2-6 has become a 5 act story with the pcs getting to level 10. Biggest problem with the story is after a year, they're only in act 2.

After the caravan the PC's were going to set up shop in the newly reclaimed port town, take on 1-2 session missions, and just general tomfoolery.

I had to take them away from the caravan because I couldn't actually come up with anything for the characters to do while there. Random encounters were completely out, since anything strong enough to challenge the caravan would be so overwhelmingly powerful it would result in the destruction of the thing. Or at least I couldn't come up with any missions. So I led them away from the caravan onto their own adventure, which just kept getting bigger and bigger and now I have far more than the basic skeleton of a plan. If we were playing every 2 weeks as intended it wouldn't be bad, but now we're down to once a month.

In previous threads I asked about speeding up encounters, and this week I'll be able to put that advice into practice. But, this morning I woke up with just a complete screw it attitude. The players are having fun, and I'm having an okay time with it, but the game isn't what I wanted to run. Its become something a lot bigger and more story driven I had intended. There's hooks being dropped left and right about the nature of the world, about who the final boss is actually going to be, even character subplots that just aren't being explored. Its becoming a little more than frustrating for me.

A good part of me wants to just drop the campaign and start over fresh. But I'd hate to do that. Some of the players have never seen a game actually end at the end of the story, and I want to give them that. There's also this nagging feeling inside of me to finish what I started. Well, less nagging more a conviction to actually finish things I start. Our groups first DM never finished things, always ending on a cliffhanger. I hate it when TV shows do it, and I can't let it happen to my creation.

I don't want the game to suffer. Maybe I'm just venting at this point. I'm not going to let the game end. Hiatus is practically out of the question, since we play once a month we basically have a month long hiatus between games anyway. Perhaps I just need to work on my pacing. Things dragged on in act 1 due to my own ineptitude, which I acknowledge. I wanted to showcase how dangerous this no mans land was, which lead to 4 sessions of just random encounters. One of those was due to the fact I forgot all of my notes and was unable to do what I had planned.

I think I'm just venting now. But a question is, what can be done to stop burnout? I need to increase my pacing, and perhaps drop all the subplots since no one's picking up on them, and that might help. Is there any other advice out there for this?

Red Fel
2014-09-18, 02:36 PM
I think I'm just venting now. But a question is, what can be done to stop burnout? I need to increase my pacing, and perhaps drop all the subplots since no one's picking up on them, and that might help. Is there any other advice out there for this?

First, the bad news: Burnout is natural entropy. It happens to pretty much every GM at some point, at varying rates. It sucks when it happens, but it's mostly inevitable.

The good news: It doesn't have to be permanent. There is help.

One of the most straightforward options is to find a logical breaking point, and take a small hiatus. Do some one-shots. Let someone guest GM. Just get your head out of GMing that particular game. Look, I love grilled chicken sandwiches, I love a particular restaurant, and if I got a grilled chicken sandwich at that particular restaurant every single night for the next month I would go even crazier. If you need a break, take a break, get the metaphorical equivalent of pizza or a steak or something.

Another strategy is to look back. Burnout is mostly inevitable, but oftentimes it's accelerated by something. Maybe you feel the players aren't appreciating your plot. Maybe the campaign isn't shaping up the way you visualized it. Maybe you're tired of running yet another tedious combat. Step back and look at two things: What you wanted out of this campaign (as GM), and what (if anything) you're getting out of it. GMing is a fairly thankless task, but you should be getting something out of it. I won't say you're entitled, but I'll certainly think it very loudly. If you wanted something specific out of it - say, a particularly epic storyline, or some fantastic laughs, or what have you - and you're not getting that, this could be what's getting you down. Alternatively, if something is coming out of it that you specifically don't like, that could be harshing your buzz too.

A major point is communication. You need to communicate with your players. Tell them you're feeling bogged down, burnt out. See if they offer any helpful advice or suggestions. Maybe one of them wants to guest GM. Maybe they've been taking you for granted, and want to thank you for your hard work. You need to communicate with them, and give them the opportunity to communicate with you. It's great that you're trying to keep this up for them, but a burnt-out GM isn't much fun for his players.

The thing to remember is that this is completely natural, and it's not your fault. Lots of GMs burn out. Lots of campaigns end without reaching an actual "ending." These things happen. What's important now is to figure out (1) how it happened, (2) what you can do about it in the future, and (3) what you can do in the meantime.

draken50
2014-09-18, 04:06 PM
Yeah, that's super common and nothing specific to you all told.

It really sounds to me like you just have a difference between the kind of game you want to run, and the game you're running. It also sounds like you're putting work into things that don't get used which can be pretty frustrating to experience.

In that case, yeah drop subplots if you're okay with it, and don't be so hard on yourself. If your players are having fun, even if a session was nothing but random encounters you've done something worthwhile. Don't worry about what you think the game should be either, I spent a long time trying to run games as complex and interesting and original as my first DM and eventually came to terms with needing to find my owns style, that plays to my strengths and abilities. She was very good at running multiple interesting and diverse NPCs that the PCS would often drag along just out of sheer interest. I can't do that, but I'm way way better at running and describing action scenes. I also don't need near as much pre-work and can off the cuff scenes my players all figured I'd put a lot of time and effort into.

I've also run some sessions that dragged horribly, and had no real point or cohesion. You learn from those times and do better.

If you have overarching plots and themes, another trick you can use is to figure out how to connect them to your off the cuff or player driven surprise stuff. The players decide to go check out an island, and you toss some cultists there to fight. Maybe your BBEG bankrolled the cultists. Players can find a note on a cultist courier or something later.

For my overarching plot I wanted my players to earn favor with a god of justice. They also had a run in with some dopplegangers.. Now I can use the dopplegangers for some kind of crime with a guilty man sentenced to death. Stop the dopplegangers, free the dude, happy god. They weren't originally connected, heck the dopplegangers were just something I threw in to add some excitement to a dull session, but now they are. Pre-written campaigns are useful, but by tying stuff into things you didn't expect or plan for, the players end up thinking you planned it all along.

Thrawn4
2014-09-18, 05:23 PM
Take the plot elements that you definitely want to finish and put them in one great adventure. You get a satisfying ending without wasting your good ideas.

Also, talk to your players.

lytokk
2014-09-18, 07:24 PM
Should I bring up the subplots with them? One of them, actually the biggest one involves basically a war in heaven leaving all the gods dead which united the forces of the abyss to march on the material plane ushering 1000 years of darkness which had just ended about a century ago. The apocalypse only ended due to dragons which hid themselves long enough to ascend and take over the mantles of several of the gods.

Dropped several hints toward this. Prb the biggest secret of the world I built and really wanted someone to figure it out. Important to me. Not to the story.

lytokk
2014-09-18, 07:28 PM
Also this week is supposed to start some of the things I've thought of to immerse the players deeper into the game. Music and ambience soundtracks. I'm hoping this also helps me too. If not we may have to put he game on hold for a little. One of the other players has wanted to run a game.

Nagash
2014-09-19, 03:15 AM
Taking a break can be good. I used to get burned out pretty regularly. Then about 2 years ago I made it a point to try to switch off with another GM in the same group. We run different stories with the same players and whenever possible entirely different systems.

Being a player every other game has made a big difference to me.

You said your whole group only plays once a month so that might not be an easy solution. But is it possible for just part of the group to get together more often for that sort of alternate game?

Curbstomp
2014-09-19, 05:07 AM
Don't forget that you can re-use the same setting and run a different campaign focusing on the subplots you seem concerned for at a later date.

BWR
2014-09-19, 05:21 AM
About 6 months ago I was really feeling burned out on D&D, both running and playing it. I loved the setting I was running, I had great plans for the game, had a lot of fun running it and my players had fun. But after years of nothing but the d20 system and little other than D&D in various guises I was getting sick of it. Even running published adventures was a pain. What worked for me (and several of my players who were also feeling the need for something non-d20/D&D) is just putting the main campaign on hold and running something else. New system, new setting, new genre. If you normally run D&D, try WoD or Traveller. If you normally run CoC, try Paranoia or Toon. Learn a new system, introduce a new world. Just do something completely different. Stay away from the system and setting you usually run, even if you decide to be a player.

Just make sure to let your players know what you intend and why. Most people are decent enough human beings that they will be fine with you doing this.

lytokk
2014-09-19, 06:41 AM
Taking a break can be good. I used to get burned out pretty regularly. Then about 2 years ago I made it a point to try to switch off with another GM in the same group. We run different stories with the same players and whenever possible entirely different systems.

Being a player every other game has made a big difference to me.

You said your whole group only plays once a month so that might not be an easy solution. But is it possible for just part of the group to get together more often for that sort of alternate game?

We had actually planned on doing this, with one of the other players running. I have some, issues with his setting, but nothing that can't be played through. The catch is that its been harder to find time to get together for this game than it has been for mine.

I'll try and push some of these subplots out of the game. Save them for later.

draken50
2014-09-19, 09:29 AM
Should I bring up the subplots with them? One of them, actually the biggest one involves basically a war in heaven leaving all the gods dead which united the forces of the abyss to march on the material plane ushering 1000 years of darkness which had just ended about a century ago. The apocalypse only ended due to dragons which hid themselves long enough to ascend and take over the mantles of several of the gods.

Dropped several hints toward this. Prb the biggest secret of the world I built and really wanted someone to figure it out. Important to me. Not to the story.

An important thing to consider too is, how would this information affect the players? Having developed backstory is neat and all, but if they don't have any reason to care beyond that it's backstory and you made it, there not going to really have a reason to pursue it. Having neat stuff created is cool and all, but if you want to show that kind of thing off, and have people learn it, there's gotta be motivation.

lytokk
2014-09-19, 09:54 AM
Probably not at all. One of the players is supposed to be helping the dragon which granted him psionic powers rise to godhood, but has done little to nothing in order to achieve it, other than having his inertial armor glow instead of having it be invisible. Though he has picked up a disjoined holy avenger to use as one of his weapons, hoping to use it. Was of another god, but it was/still is a divine artifact.

lytokk
2014-09-22, 08:47 AM
So, a bit of an update since the last game. I don't think I'm burning out anymore. And all it took was me having a couple of beers while running the game. That and the psywar is actually showing an interest in the ascending of the dragon that gave him psionic powers to godhood. Which is nice.

The drinks really loosened me, and everyone else up and contributed to some solid, fun RP, and the development of a new party "enemy".

Burnout avoided I guess then. And I'm happy someones picking up on subplots. Now I just have to figure out what the 4 books on the old gods and the 1 book on psionics is going to tell him.

Thanks for all the helpful advice btw. It did help to vent my frustrations.