PDA

View Full Version : Help fo a DM who hates DMing



Rad Mage
2015-04-22, 12:31 PM
So after a long wait my group is finally making the move to 5th ed. As the member who advocated the switch and already owns all the books, It makes sense that I would be running the first adventure for the group. Here's the problem though, I HATE BEING THE DM.

To spare my sanity I purchased HoTDQ for our first adventure. We completed the first episode and I'm already feeling burnt out.

This not am isolated incident. I have DMed/GMed other games and systems and I always end up sick of it by the end of the first session. However I don't want to call it quits after the first session as that would be unfair to the rest of the group, but I don't want to let my frustrations end up ruining the game for anyone else.

Any advice on avoiding DM burnout?

malkarnivore
2015-04-22, 12:33 PM
So after a long wait my group is finally making the move to 5th ed. As the member who advocated the switch and already owns all the books, It makes sense that I would be running the first adventure for the group. Here's the problem though, I HATE BEING THE DM.

To spare my sanity I purchased HoTDQ for our first adventure. We completed the first episode and I'm already feeling burnt out.

This not am isolated incident. I have DMed/GMed other games and systems and I always end up sick of it by the end of the first session. However I don't want to call it quits after the first session as that would be unfair to the rest of the group, but I don't want to let my frustrations end up ruining the game for anyone else.

Any advice on avoiding DM burnout?

Do you like telling stories?

If yes: Approach it from that angle rather than "Oh crap I have to make a dungeon."

If no: Find someone else for the job. NOW.

Rad Mage
2015-04-22, 12:41 PM
Do you like telling stories?

If yes: Approach it from that angle rather than "Oh crap I have to make a dungeon."

If no: Find someone else for the job. NOW.

I absolutely LOVE telling stories. I just burn out when it comes to trying to tell a story while trying to keep it inline with a system AND keeping up with my players who like to think outside the box.

Since I'm the one who pushed for the edition switch and have had the books the longest (therefore know the system and the adventure best). The good news is after this adventure I will probably never have to DM again but I want to be a good sport and finish this adventure out, I just don't want to screw it up.

I guess the root of the problem is I am prone to feeling overwhelmed, and that does not a good Dungeon Master make.

Knaight
2015-04-22, 12:50 PM
Honestly, someone with sketchy system knowledge who enjoys DMing will probably do a better job than someone who knows the system extremely well and hates DMing. Hand the DM seat over to someone who wants it.

Red Fel
2015-04-22, 12:50 PM
Any advice on avoiding DM burnout?

Too late. It sounds like you've burned out. So instead of "how to prevent burn out," I'm going to advise you on how to cope with having burned out. Without any further ado...

So, you're a burned out DM. You're far from the first, friend, and you won't be the last. Lots of DMs burn out. It's basically inevitable. Less a question of "if" than "when." So the question is, what do you do now?

First off, talk. Tell your players - be upfront with them. "Listen, guys, I'm just tired of DMing. Can one of you run a few games for awhile?" If they're your friends, they'll understand and respect it. If they aren't or they don't, that might be part of why you've burnt out.

Second step, play. As a player. Don't run any games, just enjoy being on the other side of the screen. Remember what it feels like. It's valuable for a DM to play as a player in general; even moreso when one is recovering from burnout.

Now, at a certain point, you may feel ready to get back into the saddle. Some DMs can recover after a few weeks. Some take months, even years. Some are so badly burned that they never go back. Whatever it is for you, don't resume DMing until you're ready. A DM who isn't prepared to DM is a DM who will be frustrated and unhappy. An unhappy DM means unhappy players, and a quick trip back into burnout-ville.

Assuming you're ready again at some point, now we can address your question of how to prevent future burnout. Several things come up. Stagger your DMing. Don't be the only DM. Have a co-DM, or trade off periodically. Alternate campaigns where you DM and someone else does. But don't be the only guy running the show. Get your kudos. Part of burnout stems from feeling unappreciated. Don't beg for gratitude, but play with people who show their thanks. Having great players is a way to prolong a solid DMing streak. Communicate. A lot of grief at the table occurs when there's a lack of communication. That grief leads to drama, drama leads to stress, stress leads to the Dark Side DM burnout. Communication can prevent a lot of headaches, and save you from a mountain of stress. (ProTip: Communication includes, "Hey, guys? I don't want to DM.") Know thyself. Every DM has limits. Things they can do and things they can't, or won't; hours they can or can't put in; and breaking points after which their performance suffers. Don't force yourself to do something you can't; you'll make yourself unhappy, and when your performance suffers, your players will be unhappy too. Nobody benefits from a DM trying to do something he can't or won't do.
But, yeah. It sounds like you just need to stop. You aren't doing anyone any favors by being a miserable DM.

Segev
2015-04-22, 12:52 PM
Who in the group is most likely to be the next DM? Ask that person if they'd co-DM with you. You handle the storytelling and mechanics, but he helps you with the logistics of keeping track of all the monsters, and he learns the mechanics while you go. You can let him run more and more of the combats as he gets familiar with the rules.

When your players get clever and think outside the box, lean heavily on his advice and judgment. Let yourself be the rules expert, so that if there's a rule to help out, you can go find it, but let him handle the actual mental gymnastics to react appropriately.

Rad Mage
2015-04-22, 01:07 PM
My biggest concern is that we just started out. Everyone is really excited about their characters and are looking forward to what they will be able to do as they advance This is especially true of our regular DM who does not get the opportunity to sit on the other side of the screen as often as he should. I don't want to take that away form anyone at the table just to give myself a break. At the end of the day I am not comfortable in the DM's chair but I made a commitment to my group to run this adventure for them. I would feel like a jerk for wimping out on them like that, especially after one session.

Maglubiyet
2015-04-22, 01:47 PM
Honestly, someone with sketchy system knowledge who enjoys DMing will probably do a better job than someone who knows the system extremely well and hates DMing. Hand the DM seat over to someone who wants it.

I second this. Really, what's the payoff for forcing yourself to do something you hate?

Segev
2015-04-22, 02:00 PM
Okay. You're only doing this as a one-off, right? Not a one-session thing, but just this one module?

Try just saying "yes."

Don't worry about reacting with an eye towards game balance. If you know a rule for a situation, apply it. If you don't, and your players bounce something off-the-wall at you, roll with it. Let it work how they seem to think it will unless you have a brilliant idea in which you're confident.

The biggest risk in this approach is that it will get "out of hand" in the sense that they'll start thinking things are too easy. This is mitigated by how short this is: one module. So let them be crazy-awesome whenever their crazy ideas stump you.

If you're REALLY baffled how to react, just ask them: "What do you think will be the result of this?"

Then decide if that's what happens, or if you have something "better" in mind.


(Honestly, I've found "what do you think will be the result of this?" to work much better than "are you sure?" in terms of getting players to not only think through their actions, but realize WHY your instinct was to tell them something wouldn't work.)

Rad Mage
2015-04-22, 02:15 PM
I just finished speaking to one of my players. I voiced my concerns and we kind of came up with a plan. The idea is that I will run the next two episodes, (episodes 2 and 3 are a primarily social session and a dungeon crawl respectively) to let everyone get a handle on the system, then we will then start alternating turns in the DM's chair and acting as co-DM's. Due to some scheduling conflicts this week's session has become board game night and I will be able to approach other members of the group at that time to see how people feel about it.

I am grateful for everyone's advice and support.

Joe the Rat
2015-04-22, 02:29 PM
That sounds like an excellent plan. Since you're not long for the chair, having people rotate through to get a feel for both sides will be good.

Rad Mage
2015-04-22, 03:01 PM
Irony time.

When I told my player that I am not comfortable being the DM his initial response was, "Really? Because you've been the best DM we've had so far."

I don't know what that really says about our group.

malkarnivore
2015-04-22, 03:03 PM
Irony time.

When I told my player that I am not comfortable being the DM his initial response was, "Really? Because you've been the best DM we've had so far."

I don't know what that really says about our group.

it says your groups is fairly typical for gamers who play sober.

BayardSPSR
2015-04-22, 04:04 PM
How frequently are your sessions scheduled for? I doubt anyone will seriously complain if you want to spread them out more, on the logic that it'll go better for you that way. You're not a player; you're the person who does the most work for every session, so people should understand if you need to do that work on a looser schedule.

Segev
2015-04-22, 04:33 PM
it says your groups is fairly typical for gamers who play sober.

What does playing sober have to do with the not-usual-guy being perceived as the better DM?

kyoryu
2015-04-22, 07:30 PM
I absolutely LOVE telling stories. I just burn out when it comes to trying to tell a story while trying to keep it inline with a system AND keeping up with my players who like to think outside the box.

Since I'm the one who pushed for the edition switch and have had the books the longest (therefore know the system and the adventure best). The good news is after this adventure I will probably never have to DM again but I want to be a good sport and finish this adventure out, I just don't want to screw it up.

I guess the root of the problem is I am prone to feeling overwhelmed, and that does not a good Dungeon Master make.

What do you mean by "keeping up with my players"?

One of the problems, especially when running published "adventure paths", is that you have to simultaneously pretend that your players can do stuff and make things happen while guiding them towards a predetermined outcome.

Since these two goals are inherently contradictory, yeah, it can cause stress.

Is this part of the stress you're having?

malkarnivore
2015-04-22, 07:32 PM
What does playing sober have to do with the not-usual-guy being perceived as the better DM?
In my experience, the guy who doesn't want to do it for whatever reason winds up being the best because he doesn't want to crap all over everyone's fun, so he does it anyway and tries his best.

This is a sober group.

The guy who wants to do it, may not be the best man for the job, but if he's absolute trash at it no one will care if they're drunk or stoned enough.

Hence, fairly normal for a group of sober gamers.

BayardSPSR
2015-04-22, 09:25 PM
Also, OP, please don't take this the wrong way, but you sound like a Mary Sue.

"I do this thing, and everyone likes me and thinks I'm the best at it and wants me to do it more - but they don't understand the pain it brings me inside..." :smallwink:

I don't want to make light of your problem, but I do hope you've been typing with one hand so you can pat yourself on the back with the other one, because you're clearly doing something right.

tomandtish
2015-04-22, 11:23 PM
So after a long wait my group is finally making the move to 5th ed. As the member who advocated the switch and already owns all the books, It makes sense that I would be running the first adventure for the group. Here's the problem though, I HATE BEING THE DM.

To spare my sanity I purchased HoTDQ for our first adventure. We completed the first episode and I'm already feeling burnt out.

This not am isolated incident. I have DMed/GMed other games and systems and I always end up sick of it by the end of the first session. However I don't want to call it quits after the first session as that would be unfair to the rest of the group, but I don't want to let my frustrations end up ruining the game for anyone else.

Any advice on avoiding DM burnout?


I absolutely LOVE telling stories. I just burn out when it comes to trying to tell a story while trying to keep it inline with a system AND keeping up with my players who like to think outside the box.

Since I'm the one who pushed for the edition switch and have had the books the longest (therefore know the system and the adventure best). The good news is after this adventure I will probably never have to DM again but I want to be a good sport and finish this adventure out, I just don't want to screw it up.

I guess the root of the problem is I am prone to feeling overwhelmed, and that does not a good Dungeon Master make.

Let's look at your issue, because if the underlined statements are true, DM burnout is not the issue. For it to be burnout, you had to have a period of a reasonable length of time where you enjoyed being the DM. If every time by the end of the first session you are already hating it, that sounds like you never enjoyed it enough to be burned out. ("I can't be burned out on eggplant. I never liked eggplant in the first place").

It sounds like you are getting stressed enough from this that it isn't fun. It may feel too much like work, you may feel like you are't doing a good enough job, some combination, or other factors.

The important thing is to remember Rule 1: This is a game and it is supposed to be fun for everyone, including the DM. If you aren't having fun, something is wrong.

It sounds like you've figured that out, and are looking at trying to pass the torch. For this game, that may be great. Are you planning on doing this permanently (IE. trying to find another permanent DM in the group) or is it just this particular game? If just this one, your root problem is still there, and you'll want to figure out long-term how to deal with it.

Rad Mage
2015-04-23, 12:02 PM
Also, OP, please don't take this the wrong way, but you sound like a Mary Sue.

"I do this thing, and everyone likes me and thinks I'm the best at it and wants me to do it more - but they don't understand the pain it brings me inside..." :smallwink:

I don't want to make light of your problem, but I do hope you've been typing with one hand so you can pat yourself on the back with the other one, because you're clearly doing something right.

Lol. No offense taken. Honestly I think he was buttering me up so I wouldn't ask him to take over, as he is one of our groups regular DM's.

Rad Mage
2015-04-23, 12:27 PM
It sounds like you are getting stressed enough from this that it isn't fun. It may feel too much like work, you may feel like you aren't doing a good enough job, some combination, or other factors.

This nails it, especially the underlined. At the end of the day I feel responsible for everyone's fun and that is a major source of stress.

It's kind of a weird situation with our group. I am not the regular DM but I almost always run the first session whenever we try out a new system/edition because I'm usually the one to suggest the new system/edition.

I rarely, if ever run the game for more than a couple sessions.

Thrawn4
2015-04-23, 12:55 PM
This nails it, especially the underlined. At the end of the day I feel responsible for everyone's fun and that is a major source of stress.


Thing is, you aren't. It's a group experience. Sure, you have to establish the setting, but the overall game experience depends on how the players deal with it. You can be a kickass quarterback, but you still lose without a good team.

Take it easy. Give them a scene (maybe during travel or at the campfire) where they can talk to each other and let them play it out without any DM interferecne.

Rad Mage
2015-04-23, 01:28 PM
Take it easy. Give them a scene (maybe during travel or at the campfire) where they can talk to each other and let them play it out without any DM interference.

I do that pretty often actually. Unfortunately the game will have to get back to the action again and that's where things get dicey (HA, pun!:smallbiggrin:).

I just have a hard time handling all the work a DM has to do and I get overwhelmed easily, after a while I start to feel like I'm letting everybody down when things aren't running smoothly on my end.

hifidelity2
2015-04-24, 07:09 AM
I do that pretty often actually. Unfortunately the game will have to get back to the action again and that's where things get dicey (HA, pun!:smallbiggrin:).

I just have a hard time handling all the work a DM has to do and I get overwhelmed easily, after a while I start to feel like I'm letting everybody down when things aren't running smoothly on my end.

Thats DMing for you - the Swan principle - everything from their point of view looks cool , calm and planned out while you are frantically padding like hell because you never thought anyone would do THAT and had not planned for it

Yora
2015-04-24, 11:00 AM
What do you mean by "keeping up with my players"?

One of the problems, especially when running published "adventure paths", is that you have to simultaneously pretend that your players can do stuff and make things happen while guiding them towards a predetermined outcome.

Since these two goals are inherently contradictory, yeah, it can cause stress.

Is this part of the stress you're having?

I also get the impression that the real problem here is not GMing as such, but attempting the most possibly difficult style of GMing that even many experienced GMs throw away because it's just too much work, not really worth it, and actually not even that interesting for the players.
Story adventures are popular for some reason, but not actually a good idea. When the GM tells an already completed story while trying to make it look as if the players have any say in it, it rarely, if ever, turns out well. The best thing for new GMs is really to just start with a dungeon and let the players explore the place looking for treasure. The only thing the GM really has to do is to describe the rooms and control the monsters.

Rad Mage
2015-04-24, 11:08 AM
I also get the impression that the real problem here is not GMing as such, but attempting the most possibly difficult style of GMing that even many experienced GMs throw away because it's just too much work, not really worth it, and actually not even that interesting for the players.
Story adventures are popular for some reason, but not actually a good idea. When the GM tells an already completed story while trying to make it look as if the players have any say in it, it rarely, if ever, turns out well. The best thing for new GMs is really to just start with a dungeon and let the players explore the place looking for treasure. The only thing the GM really has to do is to describe the rooms and control the monsters.

Possibly, but this is not limited to this adventure. I burn out quickly no matter the game. The longest I have lasted was GMing Tenra Bansho ZERO which has no published modules aside from some fan made ones. I lasted three sessions, feeling exhausted after each one.

Segev
2015-04-24, 11:14 AM
That's actually pretty good advice. If you can, just run a dungeon or few. Even if it has to be run in a somewhat old-fashioned and non-realistic way with monsters more or less staying in their rooms and waiting for the PCs, it can be a fun little dungeon crawl and introduce people to the mechanics without stressing the DM overly much about the interconnected story elements which could be unraveled by PCs jumping the rails in unexpected ways.

Yora
2015-04-24, 11:17 AM
Well, if you don't want to do it, don't do it. No sense in having the rest of your group suffer through a dozen terrible sessions until they finally can get back to playing something that will actually be good.

Rad Mage
2015-04-24, 11:19 AM
That's actually pretty good advice. If you can, just run a dungeon or few. Even if it has to be run in a somewhat old-fashioned and non-realistic way with monsters more or less staying in their rooms and waiting for the PCs, it can be a fun little dungeon crawl and introduce people to the mechanics without stressing the DM overly much about the interconnected story elements which could be unraveled by PCs jumping the rails in unexpected ways.

But the storytelling is my favorite part :P. But that simple dungeon crawl does sound like a fun change of pace for our group, we're usually very narrative oriented. It should be fun to go full murderhobo for once.

Rad Mage
2015-04-24, 11:26 AM
Well, if you don't want to do it, don't do it. No sense in having the rest of your group suffer through a dozen terrible sessions until they finally can get back to playing something that will actually be good.

Which is the solution we reached. Its more of a situation where we wanted to play the game, but nobody else was willing to step up to the plate. My original concern was how to keep the game going without burning out until someone was willing to take over. We have agreed to take a tag-team approach with the adventure from know on and most likely later on.

The sad thing is I would like to actually DM a decent game, but my propensity for getting overwhelmed whether it be the story, mechanics, or player shenanigans tends to drain me of my enthusiasm fairly quickly.

Yora
2015-04-24, 11:49 AM
Despite what White Wolf claims, storytelling is not for GMs. It's actually contradictory to GMing. Player's don't want to hear someone elses story, they want to do things and accomplish something. When the adventure is "today you will go to that castle, where you will find a knight in the dungeon who will be your ally as you fight a dragon and kill it", there isn't really anything to do for the players, even if they don't know what will happen. But they will know that their involvement will mostly be rolling dice, but even those won't actually matter because the dragon will suddenly fall over dead if it seems they are losing.

Things get much more interesting when the players are told that this game is about a castle they are meant to search for treasure. They might encounter a knight in the dungeon or not. They might encounter a dragon or not. They could fight it or not, could ally with the knight or not, and defeat it or not. They might also ally with the dragon who is not from around here but looking for the knight and the players could help it finding him. It would all depend on what the players decide to do.
The only descision you would have to make is that they go to the castle and check it out, and that's not a lot to ask of the players and they are usually fine with that. But once they start exploring, they should be free to do what they want and many of the people and creatures they encounter should react to them depending on what they do or say. And when the player decide they got enough treasure and really don't want to go anywhere near that dragon, they should be free to leave and enjoy their loot.

Admittedly, that is a very simple setup that probably gets boring after two or three times. But you can expand upon it by giving the NPCs and intelligent monsters more background and complex motives. Maybe the knight was trying to rescue a princess from the dragon, but he got captured by goblins who still have all his weapons and armor in the chiefs room, and the princess actually ran away because she is wanted for murder, but it's so shameful for the royal family that the knight does not want to tell that to the PCs. And the princess claims the knight is an assassin send by her evil stepmother and the dragon saved her. So possibly the players decide to make an alliance with the goblins so thata goblin ninja gets into the royal chambers and spy on the queen?
The possibilities are endless, but at the same time you don't have to worry if the players go to the rooms they are supposed to go to, talk to the people they are supposed to talk to, surrender to the guards that are meant to send them to the prison cell where they meet that one NPCs who knows the truth behind the big mystery, or that no NPC dies before the scene in which he is supposed to be assassinated by another NPC, who must be successful or the plot can't continue. It's actually easier because you really only have to worry about the current scene and then just see what happens. Dragon is killed by a poisoned apple? So what, then there is no big dragon fight before confronting the princess. No big deal.

And there is no worrying about any shenanigans. If the whole castle burns down and the kingdom descends into chaos because the royal family is whiped out, that's all okay. Because didn't we really have a lot of fun when we dropped the burning oil barrels from the giant basket carried by the dragon on the horde of zombie halflings? It doesn't have to be silly, but when you are not trying to make sure that it all ends with a big ceremony where the king makes the heroes knights, pretty much any outcome will be interesting.

kyoryu
2015-04-24, 01:25 PM
But the storytelling is my favorite part :P. But that simple dungeon crawl does sound like a fun change of pace for our group, we're usually very narrative oriented. It should be fun to go full murderhobo for once.

So there's a middle ground. Usually referred to as "prep situations, not plots."

Basically, what you do is come up with a tense situation, with several different parties involved. Then figure out what these parties want, how they'll react with each other, and what their agenda is if not interfered with. If the parties are groups, give them at least one leader to make a character out of it.

Now, add players.

As a GM, what you can do now is figure out what all of the various opponents will do when the players do something. This gives you the next thing that they'll encounter with very little work.

This requires a bit of planning before the first game (but perhaps not as much as you think), and very little prep between games. It can be a bit scary going into a session like this (you'll feel like you didn't do your homework, probably), but ends up working quite well in the majority of cases.

It also takes a huge amount of work off of your hands, as the players will generally tell you what they're doing, so you don't have to come up with everything. You also don't have to figure out how to twist their actions so they'll end up where you wanted them all along.

tomandtish
2015-04-24, 03:38 PM
I'm going to be taking a bunch of your comments to address, because I noticed something interesting that you may not have realized yourself...



It's kind of a weird situation with our group. I am not the regular DM but I almost always run the first session whenever we try out a new system/edition because I'm usually the one to suggest the new system/edition.

I rarely, if ever run the game for more than a couple sessions.

Interesting. So to clarify, you are usually the one asking for a change (let's play X instead of Y), and that's why you've been ending up in the GM seat? Are you also the one initially buying the books (if applicable)?



Which is the solution we reached. Its more of a situation where we wanted to play the game, but nobody else was willing to step up to the plate. My original concern was how to keep the game going without burning out until someone was willing to take over. We have agreed to take a tag-team approach with the adventure from know on and most likely later on.

The sad thing is I would like to actually DM a decent game, but my propensity for getting overwhelmed whether it be the story, mechanics, or player shenanigans tends to drain me of my enthusiasm fairly quickly.


I do that pretty often actually. Unfortunately the game will have to get back to the action again and that's where things get dicey (HA, pun!:smallbiggrin:).

I just have a hard time handling all the work a DM has to do and I get overwhelmed easily, after a while I start to feel like I'm letting everybody down when things aren't running smoothly on my end.

So two separate but related questions.

First, is it actually the whole thing stressing you out (story, mechanics, or player shenanigans, or is the main culprit one thing (that may show in various ways)? For example, are you fine until the dice start rolling (and then worrying over every single ruling), or are you feeling stressed even when they are just talking to themselves or NPCs?

Second, do the bad feelings only start while playing? Or are you having them even before while doing prep?


My biggest concern is that we just started out. Everyone is really excited about their characters and are looking forward to what they will be able to do as they advance This is especially true of our regular DM who does not get the opportunity to sit on the other side of the screen as often as he should. I don't want to take that away form anyone at the table just to give myself a break. At the end of the day I am not comfortable in the DM's chair but I made a commitment to my group to run this adventure for them. I would feel like a jerk for wimping out on them like that, especially after one session.

Good to mention and recognize this. It shows that it is more widespread than just not liking "4.0" for example.

Kudos for giving your regular DM a break. That's always appreciated. At the same time, if it really makes you this unhappy, is it worth it in the long run?

Another point of clarification: This has been discussed in the context of games you seem to have switched to. That is: New game is available, you want to play, so you agree to GM a few sessions. Have you had this issue with any game you have been playing for a long time?

It sounds like you have a solution for your current game in place, and again, kudos. Assuming you are going to let someone else take over GMing for any new games, this doesn't seem like a pressing matter anymore.

However, if you are going to GM a new game down the road, or just still want to figure out why it occurs so you can keep options open, then I'll see what other suggestions I can offer based on your responses. It tentatively sounds like you get stressed when you aren't sure you know what you are doing, which is the norm when playing a new game. It's just that your stress seems severe enough that it is massively killing any enjoyment.

Rad Mage
2015-04-24, 05:04 PM
snip.

Yes I am usually the one who suggests the new game. I'm also the one who owns the books first, I read RPG books like most folks read novels.

Its usually along the lines of:
"Hey, you guys want to try (insert RPG here)?"
"Sure, but we don't really know it. You mind running the first couple sessions?"

As for the stress issue, it's not any individual thing. It's everything happening at once. I will be the first to admit that I am not a very good at multitasking. Prep isn't a problem and is usually when I'm feeling the most optimistic.

I'm usually only running a game when we are trying out something new or our regular DMs need a break, it usually isn't for very long but it's a position I'm in regularly enough that I can easily foresee myself taking up the reigns again out of necessity in the future. From what I've been told my players are enjoying themselves, but I'm not. That is something I would like to change.

Edit-I want to change the "me not having fun part". I want my players to still have fun.