Thinking of DMing again, how to overcome anxiety?

[jaappleton]

So, my whole table seems a little burnt out. The excitement just isn't there. From the players side, or the DM.

And being the DM is a thankless job. We all know that. So if my DM is feeling a bit burnt out, I 100 percent get it.

He's been our DM for years and overall has been wonderful.

I'd like to give him a break, and maybe this could revitalize the group?

I've DMed before. For years even. Not with this group, however.

And the prospect of truly sitting in that chair is.... It fills me with dread. Typically after the first 30 minutes I'm fine, but prior to that, the idea of making sure everyone is having fun and overthinking it is preventing me from even approaching the group about this idea.

Any thoughts?

[J-H]

Dive in. Start with a one-shot, perhaps Wild Sheep Chase?

[JonBeowulf]

I'm not unfamiliar with your posts, so I know you've got what it takes. So there's that.

You need to accept that you're not responsible for the players having fun or not. You're responsible for creating an environment that they can find fun in but not them having fun... that's on them. It's a subtle difference. Pay attention to how each player is reacting and tweak your style as things progress.

Oh, and Session 0 the heck out of it before you get started. You gotta know what they want if you hope to liven things up and they gotta know what you plan so they can build something they'll enjoy within the setting.

[Anymage]

I'll second the idea of running a one shot as a palate cleanser. It'll help everyone else cut loose without having to worry about long term thinking, and it'll help you because a one shot has less world/plot overhead. If you decide to continue that's cool, but oftentimes it helps to just take something small to start instead of looking at the big picture and overwhelming yourself.

[jaappleton]

I'm not unfamiliar with your posts, so I know you've got what it takes. So there's that.

Good to know I can BS my way through things XD

I've always found my DMing style to draw people in after a bit. I can only see this in retrospect, thiugh. After the fact.

In the moment, ai'm terribly frightened and anxious the whole time.

Players are seldom willing to come out of their shells and spread their wings, throwing inhibitions to the wind unless the DM coaxes them a bit.

In moments, I'll call on players and ask what their character is thinking of in a particular moment, and read the player to see how ready and willing they are to spread their proverbial wings.

I'm my experience, it's worked rather well. Also encourages players to take a more active role, while giving each character moments to shine. Prevents one player from taking the helm in every scenario, as often happens. Of course, if that's what they want, I try to read that as well by seeing how often they defer their moment in the spotlight to another player, or if they seize it and run with it while the spotlight shines.

So while I love helping to coax players out to find their character a bit, the whole time I am terrified about what happens if they don't enjoy it or want that.

[Kane0]

One shot/couple shot or even a different game (board, card, rpg, wargame, whatever) to set a clean slate and dont sweat the small stuff. You'll be fine

[No brains]

JonBeowulf tried to counterspell jaappleton's imposter syndrome and they counterspelled with their own self-deprecating comments, but I'm counterspelling the second counterspell!:smalltongue:

I think you've got this, jaappleton. Of everyone I see posting on these boards, I see the most actual love of the game coming from you. That appreciation of what you got is going to give your DM engine the torque to power over any obstacles in your way. I'm sure you'll make it fun even if it's not perfect.

And if you're really worried about it, just set up a comedic tone and get ready to laugh. It will use your natural BSing powers to your advantage. Indeed, what is DMing, but BSing with extra steps? Wild Sheep Chase is a decent jumping off point for some silly fun.

[Zhorn]

In the moment, ai'm terribly frightened and anxious the whole time.

https://i.redd.it/a7rpakm4a6481.jpg

[LordShade]

On a serious note... If people here haven't heard of Healthy Gamer, you should check it out. Here is literally a video where they talk through impostor syndrome and DMing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op1xW6eKEbU

[Hytheter]

So, my whole table seems a little burnt out. The excitement just isn't there. From the players side, or the DM.

If the whole group is burnt out on D&D, then I don't think the answer is to step up and run D&D. Try a new RPG, or a board game, or bust out a deck of cards.

[Christew]

Any thoughts?
Crank up the internal psych up mix and dive in!

DMing may be a thankless task, but it is one that most players are extremely thankful for someone else shouldering. If your table is stalling, chances are others are thinking in same vein you are. Mental calculus about whether they have the time and energy to shoulder the DMs mantle, do I even have a good story to tell, deciding perhaps the stalling game is better than the commitment, at least it's familiar, etc. Then, boom! A hero has arisen. Jaappleton is not only willing but excited to DM? Waves of relief, confetti, clarion horns. The burst of goodwill should be more than sufficient to carry you through any awkwardness of the first thirty minutes in the chair. Profit.

[kazaryu]

So, my whole table seems a little burnt out. The excitement just isn't there. From the players side, or the DM.

And being the DM is a thankless job. We all know that. So if my DM is feeling a bit burnt out, I 100 percent get it.

He's been our DM for years and overall has been wonderful.

I'd like to give him a break, and maybe this could revitalize the group?

I've DMed before. For years even. Not with this group, however.

And the prospect of truly sitting in that chair is.... It fills me with dread. Typically after the first 30 minutes I'm fine, but prior to that, the idea of making sure everyone is having fun and overthinking it is preventing me from even approaching the group about this idea.

Any thoughts?

for whats its worth, i actually recently just did a session 1 (not my first, but i don't think it really matters if its the first time or 20th..the nerves...), and i know i was fairly anxious...more anxious than i was recently moving halfway across country and getting a new job. All I can say is, what helps me in times like that (and specifically in this particular time) is to trust future me to know what they're doing, and trust that past me's planning was enough. All present me needed to do was start. doesn't matter how rocky, doesn't matter how hard...just start. I don't know if that helps...it might be too specific to the actual session 1...

for other, potentially more practical ideas:

-it also helps me if my audience knows that im nervous. i try to be open about it, then i (try to) trust that they're not going to judge me right at the start, but let things pan out.
-go in with an idea that you're excited about. i've never run a pre-written adventure, so im not sure how that all works. But, at least for this session i went in with what I thought were fun ideas, and a fairly cohesive progression of events. and then i just followed that. i suppose this kinda goes along with what a lot of more experienced DM/players say online. that if its something the DM is passionate about, it adds its own quality. But in my case, having written everything myself, it also helped to boost my own confidence. when i say go in with a plan, i don't even neccisarily mean a big one. basically all i had going into my session 1 was that the group was going to assemble in a small town called honeyvale, who were on the brink of celebrating a honey festival. the town would be busy, there would be lots of honey themed foods, and tons of flowers around. Once i got each individual person situated in the town, i'd draw them altogether via a zombie attack. (which i hoped they'd help fight)....beyond that i had some ideas for quests they could get offered, and a vrey basic outline of a story arc that would take them to level-ish....but like..that was all i needed for the session. and even that little bit really helped me get past my jitters

-

[arnin77]

If your anxiety stems from whether you think the players are having fun or not.... I wonder if keeping a list of their names and making a mark each time you think they had fun would work?

[OldTrees1]

And the prospect of truly sitting in that chair is.... It fills me with dread. Typically after the first 30 minutes I'm fine, but prior to that, the idea of making sure everyone is having fun and overthinking it is preventing me from even approaching the group about this idea.

Any thoughts?

Approach it in small steps.

1) Remember your situation is friendly
Reflect on how you have skills and the group is a good group

2) Unsolicited comments that you would be a good GM.
All evidence from your posts and concerns points to you being a good GM.

3) Grant the opportunity for the group to cheer you on.
Take the confidence from the unsolicited appraisal to overcome mentioning the possibility of GM to your group. You don't even have to technically offer yet. Just mention the possibility.

4) Say yes to a little.
Maybe a couple sessions (maybe a oneshot that could grow into a campaign?)

5) Everything is going great.
You already started GMing. Keep going!

[Kurt Kurageous]

And the prospect of truly sitting in that chair is.... It fills me with dread. Typically after the first 30 minutes I'm fine, but prior to that, the idea of making sure everyone is having fun and overthinking it is preventing me from even approaching the group about this idea.

Any thoughts?

I second all recommendations that say, "different system." I second all votes of confidence based on reading your posts here since I joined.

Further, I recommend KAMB (Kobolds Ate My Baby) in Color. It's cheap to start, easy to learn for both sides, and has a hilarious premise. Please check it out. It might be a perfect fit as a cleanser, a chance for unserious play, and will reset expectations about why a group forms to play a RPG.

I have no financial interest at stake here. None. Really.

[KorvinStarmast]

I'll second the idea of running a one shot as a palate cleanser. I'll +1 this and make another suggestion:
Play Microscope with the group for a bit to create the world that you eventually DM in. (Unless you are going to use an already published setting, in which case nevermind).

If the whole group is burnt out on D&D, then I don't think the answer is to step up and run D&D. Try a new RPG, or a board game, or bust out a deck of cards. Pandemic is a fun (albeit challenging) board game.
Honey Heist might be a fun change of pace.
Great Ork Gods is a hoot.

[Warder]

I thoroughly recommend giving Pathfinder 2E a shot. It's familiar enough that you won't have to relearn everything from scratch, but different enough in all the right areas to inject some much needed freshness and excitement into the group. It's not a perfect system by any stretch, but it's great for giving some variety to people who've played 5e for a long time. It worked for our group!

[jaappleton]

I thoroughly recommend giving Pathfinder 2E a shot. It's familiar enough that you won't have to relearn everything from scratch, but different enough in all the right areas to inject some much needed freshness and excitement into the group. It's not a perfect system by any stretch, but it's great for giving some variety to people who've played 5e for a long time. It worked for our group!

About three weeks ago, I sat down on a Saturday morning with two cups of coffee and cracked open the PF2e Core Rulebook.

And it has some excellent ideas. I thoroughly enjoy how it can give much more player agency to its styles and builds via feats, and I don't mind the three action combat system. In fact, I think the three action system is pretty nice.

Love the character creation and customization.

Where it lost me, and overwhelmed me, is the combat. It's incredibly crunchy. And that's not a bad thing! But to me, it's too much. While I very much like the weapons doing more than just changing damage die and damage type (like 5e does), it's all the other properties which I found very overwhelming. Trip, agile, free hand, disarm, it was a lot to take in.

-----

I don't disagree with anyone mentioning the possibility of a new system breathing life into the table.

Though I fear asking everyone to learn a new system for a one shot could be a rather tough sell.

[Warder]

About three weeks ago, I sat down on a Saturday morning with two cups of coffee and cracked open the PF2e Core Rulebook.

And it has some excellent ideas. I thoroughly enjoy how it can give much more player agency to its styles and builds via feats, and I don't mind the three action combat system. In fact, I think the three action system is pretty nice.

Love the character creation and customization.

Where it lost me, and overwhelmed me, is the combat. It's incredibly crunchy. And that's not a bad thing! But to me, it's too much. While I very much like the weapons doing more than just changing damage die and damage type (like 5e does), it's all the other properties which I found very overwhelming. Trip, agile, free hand, disarm, it was a lot to take in.

-----

I don't disagree with anyone mentioning the possibility of a new system breathing life into the table.

Though I fear asking everyone to learn a new system for a one shot could be a rather tough sell.

I agree with everything you said - in theory, at least. I had all the same concerns before we tried it, but in actual play things went pretty smoothly. The stuff we didn't know well, we just didn't use. The beginner box does a wonderful job at introducing things a bit at a time! It's not a system for everyone, but I can recommend trying it to anyone suffering from D&D fatigue, like our group was.

[Amechra]

If the whole group is burnt out on D&D, then I don't think the answer is to step up and run D&D. Try a new RPG, or a board game, or bust out a deck of cards.

This. Bust out something silly like Everyone is John (https://overlycommonname.github.io/john.html) or Risus (https://archive.org/details/RisusTheAnythingRPG) for an evening and have some fun. There's more to the hobby than just D&D.

EDIT: If you're worried about having to learn a new game for a one-shot... Risus is 3 pages long (4 pages if you count the Advanced Options), while you could print Everyone is John on a single sheet of paper.

If you want to do a more D&D-esque one-shot, there's always The Black Hack (https://the-black-hack.jehaisleprintemps.net/english/). It's pretty quick-and-easy.

[da newt]

Maybe a change of tone will help you believe that this is just a game, the stakes are low? Maybe it's time for a 'beer and pretzels' goofy campaign? Something lighthearted and more silly than serious. A game with plenty of puns, no worries about optimization or tactics, and very few death saving throws. A very simple plot can help too.

I find the best way for me to combat performance anxiety / nervousness is to spend a little time figuring out what the true consequences would be if my actions / decisions are ridiculously crappy. Usually I can convince myself that the worst case scenario is we'll all have a crazy story to tell about that time that XXXX ... No real harm - no foul. And then I can care less, wing it, and relax and enjoy the moment.

[jaappleton]

Good to know I can BS my way through things XD

I've always found my DMing style to draw people in after a bit. I can only see this in retrospect, thiugh. After the fact.

In the moment, ai'm terribly frightened and anxious the whole time.

Players are seldom willing to come out of their shells and spread their wings, throwing inhibitions to the wind unless the DM coaxes them a bit.

In moments, I'll call on players and ask what their character is thinking of in a particular moment, and read the player to see how ready and willing they are to spread their proverbial wings.

I'm my experience, it's worked rather well. Also encourages players to take a more active role, while giving each character moments to shine. Prevents one player from taking the helm in every scenario, as often happens. Of course, if that's what they want, I try to read that as well by seeing how often they defer their moment in the spotlight to another player, or if they seize it and run with it while the spotlight shines.

So while I love helping to coax players out to find their character a bit, the whole time I am terrified about what happens if they don't enjoy it or want that.

Yes I quoted my own post, but there is a reason. I will get to that momentarily.

As everyone began suggesting alternative systems, I did some digging. Looked up a few systems that I had heard of but never actually looked in to.

Based on my above post, where in my DMing style I often set the scene and ask a player what they do in the moment, have I accidentally been running Dungeon World? >_>

[Unoriginal]

So, my whole table seems a little burnt out. The excitement just isn't there. From the players side, or the DM.

And being the DM is a thankless job. We all know that. So if my DM is feeling a bit burnt out, I 100 percent get it.

He's been our DM for years and overall has been wonderful.

I'd like to give him a break, and maybe this could revitalize the group?

I've DMed before. For years even. Not with this group, however.

And the prospect of truly sitting in that chair is.... It fills me with dread. Typically after the first 30 minutes I'm fine, but prior to that, the idea of making sure everyone is having fun and overthinking it is preventing me from even approaching the group about this idea.

Any thoughts?

I have to ask: why is being the DM a thankless job?

I love DMing. Thinking about the world, its characters, what is happening, and the various ways the PCs may or may not influence things bring me joy. Bringing NPCs to life and see them interact with the PCs is awesome. Having the players come up with ideas and have reactions I didn't expect amazes me. My players tell me what they liked and didn't like, which I like. And even when I feel I did a **** job my players do thank me for my time and efforts (just like I thank them for theirs)

Not everyone will enjoy DMing and its challenges, for sure. It's a taste, just like some people like a game system or not

But if DMing is considred a thankless job by your group, I mean... aren't you the ones not giving thanks?

[jaappleton]

I have to ask: why is being the DM a thankless job?

I love DMing. Thinking about the world, its characters, what is happening, and the various ways the PCs may or may not influence things bring me joy. Bringing NPCs to life and see them interact with the PCs is awesome. Having the players come up with ideas and have reactions I didn't expect amazes me. My players tell me what they liked and didn't like, which I like. And even when I feel I did a **** job my players do thank me for my time and efforts (just like I thank them for theirs)

Not everyone will enjoy DMing and its challenges, for sure. It's a taste, just like some people like a game system or not

But if DMing is considred a thankless job by your group, I mean... aren't you the ones not giving thanks?

Perhaps it was a poor choice of words on my part.

I meant it more along the lines of many severely underestimate how much takes to go into being the DM, and how much work is involved.

[Demonslayer666]

Being a DM can feel like a thankless job. But remember, everyone is there to have fun. Ask for feedback at the end of the session or sometime between sessions. Don't ask if they had fun, ask them what they enjoyed about it.

Rotating DMs can be key to keeping things positive. We rotate between three of us and it works well.

Another thing we did to keep things going was identify what was wrong with our previous games. The #1 complaint was that they just trailed off and never had an ending. We'd get to mid level and just start to get powerful, and we'd stop playing - usually because of DM burnout. To help, we decided to run published adventures that would take us to higher levels, and have two campaigns going at once so the DM can take a break when it's needed. So far it is working great.

Being prepared is my key to relaxing enough to run the game. When I go in unprepared, it's stressful and little things get to me. Always have a couple random encounters ready to go, and an interesting NPC for them to meet.

Starting out, I recommend a session 0. Set expectations. Go over table rules and optional and house rules you will be using, plus the game setting.

[Unoriginal]

Perhaps it was a poor choice of words on my part.

I meant it more along the lines of many severely underestimate how much takes to go into being the DM, and how much work is involved.

Fair. And I'm sorry if I sounded harsh in my post, that wasn't my intent.

Now, the question is: do you feel anxious about DMing because of the amount of work before a session, or because of running the session itself?

[Entessa]

no one is gonna be perfect at Dming, but you can perfect yourself by having fun and asking your players for feedback. Talk with them, refluff some stuff if they ask, and just enjoy the ride. You should be having fun and you will have it. Just go for it - there are no bad sessions, only sessions that can be improved.

[strangebloke]

Cultivate a selfish, rude attitude.

Okay, not really. But sort of. You're DMing for your entertainment as well as the entertainment of others. You owe it to yourself to have a good time, and if you are having a good time, its likely that your players will as well. A confident, happy DM is LEAGUES better than a nervous DM who's constantly wringing their hands over doing things 'correctly.' DND is inherently fun and the system does a lot of heavy lifting for you. Even if your game is utterly basic and trivial and you are constantly making bad rulings, players will still enjoy accumulating loot and xp, building their characters, rolling dice, eating snacks, and talking with friends.

If you can add more to that, by carefully designing great encounters and thinking up funny NPCs and introducing recurring villains... great. Good for you! But think of it like working out. If its hurting a little to DM, that's a sign you're trying hard and that's good. If it's hurting a lot you're probably pushing too hard and you need to relax. Figure out what sorts of things you like to do as a DM, and try to excel in those areas. If you hate drawing detailed maps, don't do that! Spend more time on aspects of the game you enjoy, like... well, only you know what you enjoy.

Personally I love making NPCs and detective plots and encounters. My players know this, and appreciate my fixations as a unique 'flavor' of my table, but they also like it when my buddy DMs instead because they get beautifully detailed maps and puzzles and flowery descriptions.

No DM can do everything, and its not productive to try.

[loki_ragnarock]

Any thoughts?

Do you have a story that you'd like to tell?

And are the others interested in that story?

Make an elevator pitch. Reduce the idea to a couple of sentences at most. Then pretend like they're all in an elevator with you,and pitch it. Resist the urge to fart.

This can be easy. "Hey, y'all want to run through Storm King's Thunder?"
This can be hard. "Hey, so y'all want to run through a groundhogs day styled horror adventure set on a ghost train that serves as a metaphor for the corrupting influence of war and how it serves to pervert otherwise positive social traits, dealing with additional themes of PTSD and survivor's guilt, also it's tied to Eberron?"

If you get some interest, follow up with more paragraphs to unpack what you're thinking. If you can get people excited for the story you want to tell, or at least excited about the idea, then you've got real buy in. And real buy in is a confidence booster.

Okay! Off to a good start!
But now you're doing it. Imposter syndrome kicks in! Sure, they're all onboard with the idea, but what if I'm $%^&ing it up right now!?

Keep yourself grounded by actually addressing the notion. End every session with an exit interview; what did you guys think was cool, what did you guys think could be better, is there something that didn't happen you'd really like to see happen? And you can give feedback, too! When players do cool stuff, you can tell them. When you do cool stuff, they can tell you! And the reverse is also true; it's not all about stroking egos, it's about giving a line of communication to see how you can do better.

I'm sure you'll do fine, Bro. But I get how the anxiety that comes with not feeling like you're doing fine can undermine the whole endeavor. So address the anxiety head on with the most powerful tool of them all; direct, open communication. After a few sessions with initial buy in and critical exit interviews, you'll either feel pretty good about what you're doing or have solid ideas about how you can do better; enough cycles of that and things will be puttering along nicely.

[greenstone]

And the prospect of truly sitting in that chair is.... It fills me with dread.

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

Focus on the idea that, whatever happens, you still get an evening around the table with some mates. Even if the game goes pear-shaped, the current GM got a holiday, the other players got to see someone new in action at the head of the table, and you learnt some stuff. Being a GM is scary but the payoffs are worth it.

And if the game relaly, really, really goes pear-shaped… Take John "Bluto" Blukarsky's advice and start drinking heavily. :-)

But seriously, if the session does go to crap, just stop, look at your friends, say "Well that just happened. Want to play cards?"

[jaappleton]

So, a small update.

I approached a few people in the group, trying to gage individual interest before bringing it to the group as a whole.

I'd rather learn it's a terrible idea privately as opposed yo everyone saying it at once, so to speak.

My proposal was
If A, then B

Run a simple one shot.
I have selected Lasers and Feelings to run for a single session game.

I believe running such a simple game, which is incredibly pick up and play, will be enough to get my feet wet in thr DMs chair for this group and give them a sense of my DMing style.

If this is successful, and people want more, then the next step.

Remember: If A, then B.

B would be a short adventure. Maybe 4-6 sessions to start with, and possibly build out from there if people want to continue afterward.

So, here is the thing I need some real help with:
There's two sides of the group. We all play online. A few of us, including myself, are on the American East Coast. The rest is in the American North West. And the part in the North West also have another game on Thursdays, where they play 5e.

I very specifically would like the potential adventure to be Sci Fi or Cyberpunk, something a bit futuristic, and NOT use the 5e system. I want it to be a departure from 5e, as a breath of fresh and and revitalization. A stark contrast to 5e.

And you all know how much I love 5e. But I can't have this be more of the same.

So, I need recommendations for a system that is friendly for character creation, and easy to run over Roll20.

The people I approached were incredibly excited about the idea, so I just need some suggestions on a system.

[Sigreid]

The old Star Frontiers is a very simple system with a whole 100 page rule book for the advanced rules.

[Keravath]

So, my whole table seems a little burnt out. The excitement just isn't there. From the players side, or the DM.

And being the DM is a thankless job. We all know that. So if my DM is feeling a bit burnt out, I 100 percent get it.

He's been our DM for years and overall has been wonderful.

I'd like to give him a break, and maybe this could revitalize the group?

I've DMed before. For years even. Not with this group, however.

And the prospect of truly sitting in that chair is.... It fills me with dread. Typically after the first 30 minutes I'm fine, but prior to that, the idea of making sure everyone is having fun and overthinking it is preventing me from even approaching the group about this idea.

Any thoughts?

Jump in and just do it. Having done it previously (for years even), you know the things you need to juggle.

A couple things to keep in mind ...

Everyone will not have fun every moment. It isn't your fault or even related to the game. Sometimes folks have a bad day at work, an argument with a parent, spouse, sibling or offspring, maybe they aren't into it or maybe events develop in such a way that their character just isn't participating. These aren't your fault. Do your best to put on a good game, keep folks involved, don't play favorites and let the chips fall where they may. :)

I felt bad when DMing last night since I know one of the players was grumpy at the end of the session because they didn't get to do much in the last 30 minutes. It wasn't my fault that the party split and 2 of the 6 were 300-400' away when a combat encounter developed. They were close enough to become aware of it and decided to go to help the rest of the party but even dashing, these characters were going to arrive on the field on the 4th round of combat - we just got to the fourth round when we had to end the session due to time. I felt the players frustration but I don't really see what else I could have done except saying something like "Whoops - the bad guys show up before you can split up" - after they had already split and when the encounter was not happening until they moved up a road from where they split.

Details don't matter - but I sympathized with the player and felt a bad that it didn't work out better but honestly, as DM, you provide a fun experience but you also have to be an independent arbiter of the character interactions with the game world. The DM is neutral, they aren't on the players side and they aren't on the monsters. There is a world populated with creatures with their own plans and motivations and the DM adjudicates what happens.

Anyway :) ... the bottom line is to just jump in, do your best and let the players have a great time. Empower them while adjudicating fairly. Being familiar with the rules and having DMed before makes it much easier and remember that having fun isn't your sole responsibility - everyone contributes and there will be sometimes folks don't have a good time and 99% of the time that is not on the DM but something outside the game over which you have no control.

[Keravath]

So, a small update.

I approached a few people in the group, trying to gage individual interest before bringing it to the group as a whole.

I'd rather learn it's a terrible idea privately as opposed yo everyone saying it at once, so to speak.

My proposal was
If A, then B

Run a simple one shot.
I have selected Lasers and Feelings to run for a single session game.

I believe running such a simple game, which is incredibly pick up and play, will be enough to get my feet wet in thr DMs chair for this group and give them a sense of my DMing style.

If this is successful, and people want more, then the next step.

Remember: If A, then B.

B would be a short adventure. Maybe 4-6 sessions to start with, and possibly build out from there if people want to continue afterward.

So, here is the thing I need some real help with:
There's two sides of the group. We all play online. A few of us, including myself, are on the American East Coast. The rest is in the American North West. And the part in the North West also have another game on Thursdays, where they play 5e.

I very specifically would like the potential adventure to be Sci Fi or Cyberpunk, something a bit futuristic, and NOT use the 5e system. I want it to be a departure from 5e, as a breath of fresh and and revitalization. A stark contrast to 5e.

And you all know how much I love 5e. But I can't have this be more of the same.

So, I need recommendations for a system that is friendly for character creation, and easy to run over Roll20.

The people I approached were incredibly excited about the idea, so I just need some suggestions on a system.

I don't know about simple but if you are looking for Cyberpunk style/Sci Fi/Fantasy - I personally love the lore of Shadowrun. I've never had a chance to play but the mission oriented nature of it as an RPG provides a simple on ramp while once the players become familiar with the world there a large number of possible larger scale/larger impact campaigns or series of adventures that you can put together.

There appears to be support for Shadowrun on Roll20 too.
https://wiki.roll20.net/Shadowrun

For SciFi, I ran a Traveller campaign for years at one point (lol - 40 years ago now) and we had a great time with it. Much simpler character creation system - almost everything was based on 2d6 dice rolls - and it is a pure SciFi style world. There are newer versions of Traveller available (Mongoose Traveller?) but they still seem to use the 2d6 system. There also appears to be support to run it on Roll20 as well.

[jaappleton]

I don't know about simple but if you are looking for Cyberpunk style/Sci Fi/Fantasy - I personally love the lore of Shadowrun. I've never had a chance to play but the mission oriented nature of it as an RPG provides a simple on ramp while once the players become familiar with the world there a large number of possible larger scale/larger impact campaigns or series of adventures that you can put together.

There appears to be support for Shadowrun on Roll20 too.
https://wiki.roll20.net/Shadowrun

For SciFi, I ran a Traveller campaign for years at one point (lol - 40 years ago now) and we had a great time with it. Much simpler character creation system - almost everything was based on 2d6 dice rolls - and it is a pure SciFi style world. There are newer versions of Traveller available (Mongoose Traveller?) but they still seem to use the 2d6 system. There also appears to be support to run it on Roll20 as well.

Isn't Traveller the system where you can die DURING character creation?

[Kurt Kurageous]

Isn't Traveller the system where you can die DURING character creation?

Maybe. But you definitely can in Kobolds Ate My Baby. Which I still recommend, as I know nothing about Lasers and Feelings.

[jaappleton]

Maybe. But you definitely can in Kobolds Ate My Baby. Which I still recommend, as I know nothing about Lasers and Feelings.

I respect the hustle.

I'll give it a look!

[Tawmis]

I think a big thing is find out WHY the players are burnt out? (DM should have probably done that too, if they were seeing it)

I think, players, at higher end D&D, can get bored - because combat can take a little longer, often times, not as much "threat" to it all.

Also, find out is it because the players get strung along too much (not enough character interaction vs being guided by the nose by the DM)... is the group too big, so that players are waiting too long for their turn to come around?

Finding out what the players WANT is going to go miles for improving their game, and allowing you to cater to something they want.

I, personally, always find it fun to bend the rules, to tell better stories (just recently allowed a Paladin to do Divine Smite, no weapon, just fist, because of the situation - and it created a fun visual of this energy pouring out directly from his fist... won't always allow it, but the situation called for a great time to bend that rule, and create a fun visual).

I always take Barbossa's saying in regards to rules, "It's more of a guideline."

[Izodonia]

Remember, your job is not to make sure that the players have fun - it's to make sure that EVERYONE has fun, including yourself. In fact, I'd say first and foremost yourself. Fun is contagious, and if the DM is enjoying themselves, then the players eventually will too. So create a campaign that YOU think is cool and awesome, and bring them along for the ride.

Also, beer.