DM Fatigue: List o' 101 Remedies

[Manave_E_Sulanul]

DM Fatigue. Many of us are familiar with it, and the common suggestions that people give out as remedies. (I'm suffering from a slight bit of it myself this week...)

Oh, and list threads are fun. So, why not a list of DM Fatigue remedies? I'll start out with the obvious one (and the one that is often the best solution, for me...)

001.Take a break. You do not have to have a/an [insert RPG name here] game constantly. It will still be there, in your imagination, and in your notes, when you get back!

[Lucky]

002: Red bull. 'Nuff said.

[LongVin]

004. Run a Tucker's Kobolds game or another player insanity inducing game to show them what they put you through by randomly deciding to kill plotcentric NPCs for no reason at all.

[Jimmy Discordia]

005. For a session or two, play your game in a different way. If you're playing an RP-centric game of intrigue among noble houses, have orcs attack the city and spend some time on hack'n'slash goodness. If you're having a real hackfest, send the PCs on a trek through a non-Euclidean puzzle dungeon (warning: if your players are real hack'n'slashers, they may mutiny if you do this). Actually, it's probably a good idea to warn your players before any sudden shifts in tone like this, but if they're agreeable it can give the game a different feel without even having to switch systems or campaigns.

[CrazedGoblin]

006 Break for lunch, works well to cure stress during a game session :smalltongue:

[banjo1985]

007Go play a board game or something. Crack out a game of Munchkin and leave off the DMing for a few weeks! Or (in honour of the number above) get James Bond to come and run for you!

[Xuincherguixe]

08. Play a game that's a complete farce. Orcs that quote Shakespeare, BBEGs that call themselves BBEGs. Acronym and everything. Basically go out of your way to create a game that makes no sense. Also, let the players do whatever they want. Sure to be memorable.

[Jimbob]

09
Character death, always cheers me up :smallsmile:

[Rob Knotts]

010: Grab a random fistful of old comic books (either your own or from the discount bin at a gaming store) and commit to reading everyone of them all the way through in one sitting. The older the comics, the better.

[Ceres]

011: Create roleplaying systems :D Get creative and construct the system of your dreams. When you're done, you'll be itching to DM it.

[Falrin]

12 : TPK


13 : Read the Paranoia Handbook. Incorporate ideas in d&d. Don't tell your players.


14 : Dopplganger, thievesguild & illusions. Nothing says fun like letting a player be replaced with a doppleganger without telling him.


15 : Horror survival game. Take a look at 28 days/Dawn of the dead, roll up some 5th LvL characters without clerics and drop 1000 zombies on them. For once the fighter might shine.


16 : Be a player again for a while.

[PlatinumJester]

17: Mountain Dew.

[Manave_E_Sulanul]

I love number 013...

018. Watch your favorite movie of the same genre as the game your playing...while playing.

[Nevar]

19 Play a video game

[Ashtar]

020 Reverse Dungeon! Ask the players to roll up 3 goblins each for the next session... and send adventurers at them !

[Prometheus]

021: Water gun fight.

[Telonius]

022. Say to your players, "Oh, could you hand me the Fiend Folio over there on the chair? Get the Book of Vile Darkness and Monster Manuals 2, 3, and 4 while you're at it. Hope I can keep up with all of them at once." Watch the looks on their faces and enjoy.

[Tengu]

023. Run a game of Risus, a superhero game, or an anime game.

[KoDT69]

024 - Show them the real meaning of the "giant dwarf with a hammer" solution. It's fun for the DM :smallbiggrin: Also you can replace any of Rich Berlew's genius ideas in this place, especially if your group doesn't read OotS. Ti elementals!?!?!?!?! :smallbiggrin:

[reorith]

025 play some dice games. there were some fun ones on the wotc site.

[Nevar]

026 Read a book, gives lots of niffty ideas for games.

[Dairun Cates]

027. Get a soundtrack for the campaign. Make it consist of really cheesy video game, anime, and rock music that you can find. Nothing spruces up a battle like Sentai music.

[valadil]

28 I can't take credit for this one. I saw it in my first 3.0 game. We were all laughing and having a good time, when the GM quieted down and a very serious look crossed his face. When everyone else was quiet he told one of the players, "Jeffy, I need you to make me a fort save." Jeffy rolled and got a natural 1. "Jeffy. I need you to run across the street and pick me up a turkey on rye, with lettuce and mayo.*"

*May or may not have been the actual sandwich he asked for, my memory is a little foggy.

For my own games, I haven't figured out how to cure fatigue, but I know how to plan around it so that it doesn't bring a game to a grinding halt. 29 Write the end of your game in advance. Or if not the end of the game, at least know how all the important storylines will end. When I come up with a premise for a game I usually try to figure out a big dramatic conclusion for that premise. The actual game is a matter of connecting intro to conclusion and watching the players get there however they may (and yes, I'm willing to change the conclusion but I've never had to so far). Anyway, I write the ending when I'm still planning the game and am still enthusiastic for it. When DM fatigue starts to hit, I queue the conclusion. It takes a couple sessions to get there usually, but once I do I've got a ton of material that was written with enthusiasm. Now I don't have to give up an afternoon or two writing, so I've got more energy to run the actual game. For me, it's a lot easier to run a game that I was excited to write than one that I was fatigued for. This trick is usually enough to boost me out of fatigue slump and finish the game in a memorable fashion.

[....]

28 I can't take credit for this one. I saw it in my first 3.0 game. We were all laughing and having a good time, when the GM quieted down and a very serious look crossed his face. When everyone else was quiet he told one of the players, "Jeffy, I need you to make me a fort save." Jeffy rolled and got a natural 1. "Jeffy. I need you to run across the street and pick me up a turkey on rye, with lettuce and mayo.*".

This reminds me of a game we were running once. The players were sitting across the table eating some chips:

DM: Hey man, could I grab a few chips?
PC: Hell no, these are my chips.
DM: Ok, roll initiative.
PC: Why?
DM: Pit Fiend.
PC: ...seriously?
DM: Yeah.
PC: Here's a chip...
DM shakes head sadly.