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View Full Version : I Think I Need to Quit...



Burley
2008-12-17, 11:50 AM
I really do. I DM a group of great people, but I'm just not that good at it. I don't have the knack and the more I prepare, the lamer the session. I really do try, but it's become pretty apparent that I don't have the ability to keep my group's attention.
The only reason I'm DM is because our "good" DM wanted to game every other week, so he could prepare. That didn't sit well and I volunteered to take over the gap until somebody who actually wanted to DM would take over (there were originally interests, but they didn't feel familiar with the rules or something... I dunno...).
But, after last week's session, where I had them exploring some caverns (by request, mind you) one of the PCs died, and activated the re-incarnation clause that they were unaware of. We ended the session shortly after.

Two things happened when the PC died:
1) Two of the players stopped playing games on their phones
2) The player who died finally became interested in the campaign. I know this because he voiced it as everybody was leaving.

So, I'mma quit. I want to do it nicely, and I want to not get blamed for another failed campaign. This'd be the 3rd that has failed, though, none of them failed because of me, really...

Calinero
2008-12-17, 11:58 AM
If your players have been playing games on their cell phones and aren't interested, that sounds like more of a problem with you than with your DMing.

evisiron
2008-12-17, 11:59 AM
That sucks. :smallfrown:

Well, at least you put in the effort. Now you can relax a little and enjoy the game from the other side of the screen.

Athaniar
2008-12-17, 12:00 PM
If they get interested in the game when you kill them, then kill more of them! :xykon:

No, but seriously, people playing games on their mobile phones? Seems like they just are bored. They need excitement!

xPANCAKEx
2008-12-17, 12:02 PM
sounds like they're looking for challenges, and danger...

so give them more opertunities to kill themselves - don't make it "well, you'll need to roll 3 straight 20s to get out of this" - but make it difficult

valadil
2008-12-17, 12:21 PM
Have you tried getting feedback from your players beyond watching them yawn? I periodically check in with mine to see what they like and what they don't. It might be worthwhile to find out what you do well and stick with that.

Another option is to run a published campaign from a book, at least until you get a better grasp of GMing.

Fax Celestis
2008-12-17, 12:42 PM
Read the first chapter of the DMG-II. It helps. Seriously.

Burley
2008-12-17, 12:43 PM
Have you tried getting feedback from your players beyond watching them yawn? I periodically check in with mine to see what they like and what they don't. It might be worthwhile to find out what you do well and stick with that.

Another option is to run a published campaign from a book, at least until you get a better grasp of GMing.

Well, after every session, before everybody leaves, I ask how they felt about the session. Story, combat, rulings. Anything they felt I played incorrectly or illogically, and we discuss it. I send out an email every few sessions asking for individual feedback on how each player feels about their character's concept and mechanics, based on the current situation.
I usually get no actual responses. Just "It's fine" or "I think I'll get the hang of X soon".

As for pre-mades, yeah. I use published modules every once in a while, when thematically appropriate (which helps when I'm busy with work and school). The previous campaign was three or fours sessions of just module stacked on module, because nobody gave me backstories, so, I couldn't build a world or a legit campaign.
The pre-mades are a double-edged sword because some players like the fact that they don't have to remember what happened last session, because that module is over. Others don't like that what they're doing has nothing/little to do with their 'quest'.

I dunno. I like them all, and we're all friends and I hang out with most of them in non-gaming environments and we enjoy the company and all that good stuff. But, I feel like once I take the seat of DM-authority, they don't see me as that and it's just a chaotic cluster.

Kaliban
2008-12-17, 01:04 PM
Maybe you should try a change of style?
Rather than having the whole party at each session, make short session with a team of two or three, or with only a player.
Rather than a combat / action oriented game, make a more RP oriented session.
Take the "classic" modules you ar playing and change them to something unexpected and new.

When players act like yours do, it's either that the DM hasn't found his own "style", or that his style does not work with his team.

If your player liked his death and reincarnation, then maybe your team wants change and unexpected developments.

Another_Poet
2008-12-17, 01:17 PM
nobody gave me backstories...
some players like the fact that they don't have to remember what happened last session...
I feel like once I take the seat of DM-authority, they don't see me as that and it's just a chaotic cluster.

These statements make me wonder: do your players like D&D?

By that I mean, if you said from now on no more D&D, Fri night is movie night instead, would they even care? Or do they just want to hang out as friends and don't really care whether it's D&D, monopoly, mario kart or just talking?

There's nothing wrong with that, if that's what it is. But it does mean they will take the game a lot less seriously than you do. They probably don't realise how much work you put into planning each session. In fact, if you told them they'd probably say, well, don't put any work into it - let's just do something else.

I don't know your friends, but if you think that might be the root cause, then it might be time for you to join a group of gamers who actually love gaming, and do something else with your non-gamer friends. Or switch to a less serious game like Kobolds Ate my Baby.

I think that if you put this same amount of effort into a group that was willing to view you as the DM and take it seriously, you'd probably have a lot of fun. And you'd probably realise your DMing skill isn't the problem.

ap

valadil
2008-12-17, 01:36 PM
I hate to say it but it sounds like maybe your players are dismissing your game because it's secondary to the game they already care about.

Totally Guy
2008-12-17, 01:40 PM
Quit? Have you considered running two more sessions just to conclude all the loose ends? An ending usually doesn't have to be in the far far future. Allow the player a chance to create a trap for the BBEG to really get the thinking going as the players improve this trap with each thought iteration.

My players killed off the BBEG a good 3 sessions before we got to the actual end. The final conclusion was brought about by a choice, not a combat.

Vortling
2008-12-17, 01:43 PM
Don't get too down on yourself even if you do decide to stop DMing. It's possible you've got a style incompatibility with your group. DMing in a style that isn't quite yours can be difficult and unintuitive. It's possible that That can cause player interest issues.

I second the "get feedback" motion. It's possible you've just not ferreted out what gets your players interested in the game.

bosssmiley
2008-12-17, 01:54 PM
Read the first chapter of the DMG-II. It helps. Seriously.

+ "Listen Up You Primitive Screwheads" - the Cyberpunk 2020 GM's guide
+ any of John Wick's DMing advice in "Legend of the Five Rings"

If you ignore the system-specific advice these two books are the Gunnery Sgt Hartmann of Evil GMing Boot Camp. :smallcool:

You might want to look up the GMing sections of "Wushu", "Feng Shui", "Hong Kong Action Theatre" or "There is No Spoon" if you fancy pointers on pacing things a little more cinematically than normal.

The single best thing I can suggest is throwing several factors/plot hooks/events at the players at once, seeing which ones they bite at, running with those, and then throwing more complications on top. But then I'm an advocate of the "keep them too busy to be bored and, if in doubt, set fire to the scenery" school. :smallbiggrin:

TempusCCK
2008-12-17, 01:59 PM
You say your stuff is more lame the more you prepare, so don't prepare.

Perhaps your'e the type of person who can jsut make it work spontaneously and play off of your characters little nuances and the like.

BardicDuelist
2008-12-17, 02:35 PM
I'm going to agree that it seems like your group just doesn't really want to play D&D. A less serious game (I would recommend Zombies!!! or Munchkin) is probably a better alternative.

Devils_Advocate
2008-12-17, 10:27 PM
You say your stuff is more lame the more you prepare, so don't prepare.

Perhaps your'e the type of person who can jsut make it work spontaneously and play off of your characters little nuances and the like.
That's what I was gonna say!

Try just improvising on the fly instead of working from any sort of plan. The worst thing that can happen is that the session will wind up being an utter travesty. If you're planning on ending the campaign anyway, that's hardly a loss! At least you won't have wasted any prep work to produce something dissatisfying.

On the other hand, maybe you'll find that freeing yourself from preconceived notions about how the session ought to go is exactly what you need to allow you to create an exciting gaming experience.

Rockphed
2008-12-17, 10:57 PM
I think I will throw my weight in on the "Prepare less!" side of things. Except you should also prepare more. By which I mean you should just run with whatever is happening, but you should also prepare several interesting encounters ahead of time. By interesting I mean fights on bridges that get drenched in lava every couple turns or a battle in free fall. I think I will need to set up that Lava Drenching idea before too long.:smallamused: