A burnt out DM needs your help! [Archive] - Wizards Community

A burnt out DM needs your help! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Arisune
05-25-07, 06:06 PM I've been dming for damn near four years now, and until now, I have never had this problem before.

I'm burnt out. plain and simple. In the past, I've taken a break from my throne as DM and had a player take my place for a few weeks while I was a player to let my batteries recharge, but I've recently moved from where that group is, and I only have two players now, both of which have no interest in DMing, even for long enough to let me regroup mentally.

So, with all options within my mind expended, I turn to you, my fellow DMs for aid, before the DMing side of my brain overloads and kills the DM within me.

How do the rest of you recharge when the inevitable happens, and you just run out of DM feul?
King_Pellinore
05-25-07, 06:09 PM www.ddo.com it helps me recharge

:king: Pellinore
Arisune
05-25-07, 06:12 PM www.ddo.com it helps me recharge

:king: Pellinore

Unfortunately, my computer isn't quite up to that quality, and I don't have the time or money to invest in such an amazing looking game...:weep:

It looks like it would be a perfect escpae from my DMing duties, if only this computer wasn't made before 2000.
Dunsel
05-25-07, 06:17 PM Hmm, when I would get burned out, I would just stop playing and DMing for a couple months. Pack all my D&D stuff up and put it in a closet until the urge to DM brought me back to the table. One of these hiatuses lasted 9 months!

During my vacations, I would go fishing, go to parks, get a girlfriend :D, clean my car, but mainly fishing.

If you don't want to DM, don't DM. The worst thing you can do is DM because you feel obligated. Take some time off, you've earned it.

I hope this helps.
Arisune
05-25-07, 06:22 PM Hmm, when I would get burned out, I would just stop playing and DMing for a couple months. Pack all my D&D stuff up and put it in a closet until the urge to DM brought me back to the table. One of these hiatuses lasted 9 months!

During my vacations, I would go fishing, go to parks, get a girlfriend :D, clean my car, but mainly fishing.

If you don't want to DM, don't DM. The worst thing you can do is DM because you feel obligated. Take some time off, you've earned it.

I hope this helps.

It does help, but I really can't stop. Actually, as pathetic as it must sound, D&D is all I got right now. I live to play D&D, but I'm just running on empty mentally, and anything I try doesn't help me at all.

Usually, I can come up with something D&D related from any random thing. Hell, I was picking strawberries last year and I came up with an entire adventure and the start of a main campaign plot before I had picked two boxes. (Which surprisingly had nothing to do with strawberries...)
stefan_mi
05-25-07, 06:25 PM I think you are in a tough spot -- especially since no one else is willing to step up and do the job.
Advertise for more players and hopefully find one of them who wants to DM? Or you could peruse the 'players wanted' ads and find a new game of your own. I find playing to be a great deal of fun when I also DM.
Alternately, if you play once every week or so, use that time to play something else.
Arisune
05-25-07, 06:29 PM I think you are in a tough spot -- especially since no one else is willing to step up and do the job.
Advertise for more players and hopefully find one of them who wants to DM? Or you could peruse the 'players wanted' ads and find a new game of your own. I find playing to be a great deal of fun when I also DM.
Alternately, if you play once every week or so, use that time to play something else.

We usually play every weekend, seeing that it's the only time our, well, their lives match up with mine, where we can play D&D for a good 12-24 hours straight. (Last weekend I pulled our first 24 hour game day! It was awesome!)

I'm really suffering for games to play. I only have this old computer for my games, and i don't own too many games for it in the first place.

Oh, and for advertising, I have been looking around for other gamers, but the closest thing I've found is a group who play D&D minis at a local gaming store. I might bring the idea up next time I am there. Maybe a few of them would like to start playing if they don't already play...
funnymanmike
05-25-07, 06:48 PM hmm, so you need to recharge, and can't leave d&d for a while eh.

here is a few ideas

1) camp D&D, go camping with a few friends and play d&d out in the woods

2) movie geek fest, hey this is a long weekend for you americans, all weekend movie marathon. thanks to dvd player syou can skip all the slow stuff and get right to the battles, go through braveheart, LOTRx3, Star Wars, anythnig you like realy.

3) o.k. this is going to sound extremly weird, but you will be amazed (if it works) when it works. go buy yourself a new set of dice, new underwear, new socks, get a hair cut. Drive out of town to the next nearest game store, and find a game where no one knows you and just play. pretend to be a total noob. then head back and just try and enjoy yourself.

Good luck with the recharge copper top.
Lafarallin
05-25-07, 06:55 PM how about having each person, including yourself run one weekend or what not. Then the next person (players) runs for one weekend. Then the final person runs.

I know neither really want to run but just ask them to try it one time. Often when you get someone started they get ideas and really want to finish them.

I can't tell you how many times someone was against running, but one weekend they did just because nobody else was. Then bam, they were like fired up about their quests and ideas and four months later our old DM took over again. :)
weepingminotaur
05-25-07, 10:27 PM I've been dming for damn near four years now, and until now, I have never had this problem before.

I'm burnt out. plain and simple. In the past, I've taken a break from my throne as DM and had a player take my place for a few weeks while I was a player to let my batteries recharge, but I've recently moved from where that group is, and I only have two players now, both of which have no interest in DMing, even for long enough to let me regroup mentally.

So, with all options within my mind expended, I turn to you, my fellow DMs for aid, before the DMing side of my brain overloads and kills the DM within me.

How do the rest of you recharge when the inevitable happens, and you just run out of DM feul?

Take time off. Simple. And when I say 'time off,' I mean anywhere from 6 months to a year. Tell your remaining players you're burnt out and need time to do other things while your passion for D&D renews itself.

I've been DMing a group of my friends since 2002 and I've always made sure to take plenty of time off when I felt I needed it. Last year I took over 6 months off and it did me a world of good. In the fall, we played for a few months and into the winter of 2007, at which point I was burnt out again, and we stopped at the end of January (one of my players was expecting her second child the following month, so it made sense for everyone concerned to go on hiatus). In the past month, a friend has been DMing a short adventure, and already I can feel the DM juices starting to flow. Ideas for encounters and villains are coming to me, and I think I'm ready to get back in the saddle in a few weeks.

R&R is key. DMing is a wonderful thing, but it's time-consuming, draining, and tough. Take the time to do other things in life and you'll appreciate D&D even more when you return.
Magrus
05-25-07, 10:37 PM I'm in your position. I switched groups, and am learning to game with a few new programs online as a player now. I DM'd 3 games a week for about 2 years. I couldn't take it anymore. I miss it, but then, I don't. Take time off from the game completely I would say. Then try finding a game that you can play in if you can. Something to give you a fresh love for the game without the incessant work and stress of being the DM. That should kick things into gear for you.
Mystic Lemur
05-25-07, 11:05 PM I feel for you. What burnt me out was living in the same house as two of my players (my girlfriend and her mom). It got to feeling like all my free time went to planning or playing DnD. And if they don't know what to get me for my B'day or X-mas, I get a DnD book. Then I'd need to/want to read it and would have less time to plan/play. And Lord help me if I wanted to do something 'extracurricular' with my gf instead of staying up late playing/planning.

The worst thing was that I kept running the game even after I burnt out. It was awful. Now that I'm getting close to catching my breath, so to speak, I'm not sure how to recover from the sour taste that left. I can fix the overworked part, they have lives, too. They were just excited because it was new to them. They will be fine backing it down a bit. I'm just not sure I can make it fun like I used to be able too. I'm probably just being paranoid.

I'll let you have your thread back now. :embarrass
ELBUFO
05-26-07, 12:29 AM Close the game. Start over with the stipulation that each session WILL BE DM'ed BY A DIFFERENT PERSON. You can use the same game world each time to give a sense of continuity. Some players my balk at first, but learning to DM will pan out and make them better players. We try to end a session with a completed encounter but the rule applies even if we end in the middle of a cliff hanger. Who ever is next just steps in and runs with it.
Midrealm_DM
05-26-07, 11:15 AM I've been dming for damn near four years now, and until now, I have never had this problem before.
.
I'm burnt out. plain and simple. In the past, I've taken a break from my throne as DM and had a player take my place for a few weeks while I was a player to let my batteries recharge, but I've recently moved from where that group is, and I only have two players now, both of which have no interest in DMing, even for long enough to let me regroup mentally.
.
How do the rest of you recharge when the inevitable happens, and you just run out of DM feul?

Well if you can't get someone else to DM...

Well how often do you play? Every week?
Try switching to every two or three weeks instead,
You can still get together as a group and do something
esle, play video games, board games, go to a movie
do something else, throw in some variety.

I've gotten to that point several times, and it can be hard,
One time I used a random dungeon generator, made absolutely no changes and just threw the players into it.
It made no sense as there was no plot, just random rooms with random monsters. But it let us keep playing and gave me a break from thinking about the adventures for a couple of sessions.
Mind you, I would probably never do that again, because I felt it degraded my overall campaign setting. But sometimes a break is necessary.

Hope you get some useful advice
TTFN
Danflor
05-26-07, 12:31 PM Hmm, when I would get burned out, I would just stop playing and DMing for a couple months. Pack all my D&D stuff up and put it in a closet until the urge to DM brought me back to the table. One of these hiatuses lasted 9 months!

During my vacations, I would go fishing, go to parks, get a girlfriend :D, clean my car, but mainly fishing.

If you don't want to DM, don't DM. The worst thing you can do is DM because you feel obligated. Take some time off, you've earned it.

I hope this helps.

That is definately the best idea for a burnt out DM. Take a few weeks, or even a month off. DON'T FORCE IT!!!! If none of that helps, just get some graph paper and start sketching out a dungeon crawl. You could always buy a pre-made campaign. I would highly reccomend Expedition to Castle Ravenloft!

Worst case scenario:
Find a new gaming group with someone who wants to DM.
Loftower
05-26-07, 01:07 PM Get out; rub your eyes and step away from the gaming table. Even if you can’t take a long break, take one week off and do something _real_. Fishing isn’t bad advice (it’s not for me, but not bad). See more of the island, even if you’ve seen it before. Watch creatures (including people) do real things. Since D&D is your life, you will see D&D adventures in what they do. I build a series of adventures on watching ants. Listen to the local waitress complain about her ex, there’s an adventure hook in there somewhere. The real world is full of ideas. Confining yourself to fiction (even fiction as presented by the news media) is the easiest way to fall into a rut.
Phrennzy
05-26-07, 02:13 PM If they don't want to DM, switch to playing some board games and have a movie night on D&D nights instead.

I am blessed with players that let me take time off.

I recently begged and pleaded for my boyfriend to DM. I told him just one session, and just a dungeon with 5 rooms. Slap some monsters in and go.

Nothing fancy. New characters, they are there to kill and get stuff.

He did an AMAZING job, much better than what I asked of him. I think he really enjoyed it too.

Your players HAVE to help you or the game is gonna suck. Explain it to them like that. Beg and plead and finally say, "I am not DMing for a while, cause I am burnt out. Either someone else DM's for a bit, or we play games and movies and such and just hang out."
primemover003
05-26-07, 02:15 PM Take a week or two off, rest, recoup...

If it's just because you're stuck for material try some pre-made adventures. I would've recommended Dungeon magazine but it's being killed at the end of august. :weep: But I will recommend taking a look at Paizo publishing's new campaign world and adventure path products called Pathfinder. Check out Paizo.com, maybe it's the inspiration you need!
wizarddog
05-26-07, 02:29 PM If they don't want to DM, switch to playing some board games and have a movie night on D&D nights instead.

Play Call Of Cthulhu: Arkham Horror Board Game.

http://www.fairplaygames.com/gamedisplay.asp?gameid=2708&SERIES=1
taradusis
05-26-07, 02:36 PM Run a Minigame. Set up an arena where PCs engage in gladiator matches,talk players into running a monster,this will give them practice at Dming?If they read the monster the week before and you coach them it will limit problems?RANDOM THOUGHTS.
Arisune
05-28-07, 12:52 PM Thank you all for the advise. After reading through all of these, I found a way to recharge without dropping D&D.

As one of you suggested (can't remember who because i'm too lazy today to quote things) I ran a random dungeon. No plot, no connections to the campaign, no nothing. In fact, I had my players make characters for this dungeon only. It's supposed to be Diablo style (I mean Diablo 1, where it's a bunch of levels, lower and lower within the same dungeon, with no real story to it) and it worked. Without having to think about the cosmic impact them ripping through the dungeon had, I was able to enjoy it again.

I even got a little odd, throwing in something i read somewhere else on these boards. they ran into a McDonalds below ground, and some modern day firearms (A shotgun, a handgun and a 50 Cal sniper rifle) and I threw a 9 headed cyrohydra at them just for a luagh. They blew the thing away in only a couple rounds, but it felt GREAT!

I think I've recharged a bit, and once the diablo dungeon is done, I should be able to go back to my campaign.
Onikani
05-28-07, 04:15 PM www.meetup.com

within 1 month of joining, i found 2 games needing players.
Within a few more months i found 7 players looking for a dm and i now dm them all.

It brought a lot of people together, and as campaigns start in finish the players swap around, everyone takes turn dm'ing and playing.

It's amazing what this silly site has done for the gaming community in my town. I'm sure your not alone up there...
Good luck!
Winternova
05-28-07, 04:39 PM Changing up the game always does it for me.

When 2E got boring, I switched to Werewolf for a time. The darker, more lethal system made both RP and combat more exciting. Then I needed a break. Something lighter, so it was back to 2E.

Then I got sick of 2E again, and none of my players would DM - most said they 'sucked' at it, some did, and some just plain had no drive to be a DM. Then I switched to d20m, which has been my particular brand of poison for a few years now. A lot of repressed creativity sprung out.

Our flagship d20m game ran until the group broke up with very few interruptions. When it got stale, we went back to D&D - FINALLY making the switch to 3.5 - and then back to d20m. We even dabbled in the SWRPG, and Hunter.

Now I've got a constant once-a-week d20f game going on. I'm starting to get burnt out again. I'm also planning on starting a post-apocalyptic campaign. It's that apocalypse that's keeping me going right now.
Necrosis
05-28-07, 05:25 PM become co-writer helping someone else DM. Essentially you act as a soundng board for their campign ideas, provide your own cool ideas and critque (provide good and bad feeback). Play a PC in the campign and chill out. This allows yuo the creativity without haveign to worry to much.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Arisune 05-25-07, 06:06 PM	I've been dming for damn near four years now, and until now, I have never had this problem before. I'm burnt out. plain and simple. In the past, I've taken a break from my throne as DM and had a player take my place for a few weeks while I was a player to let my batteries recharge, but I've recently moved from where that group is, and I only have two players now, both of which have no interest in DMing, even for long enough to let me regroup mentally. So, with all options within my mind expended, I turn to you, my fellow DMs for aid, before the DMing side of my brain overloads and kills the DM within me. How do the rest of you recharge when the inevitable happens, and you just run out of DM feul?
King_Pellinore 05-25-07, 06:09 PM	www.ddo.com it helps me recharge :king: Pellinore
Arisune 05-25-07, 06:12 PM	www.ddo.com it helps me recharge :king: Pellinore Unfortunately, my computer isn't quite up to that quality, and I don't have the time or money to invest in such an amazing looking game...:weep: It looks like it would be a perfect escpae from my DMing duties, if only this computer wasn't made before 2000.
Dunsel 05-25-07, 06:17 PM	Hmm, when I would get burned out, I would just stop playing and DMing for a couple months. Pack all my D&D stuff up and put it in a closet until the urge to DM brought me back to the table. One of these hiatuses lasted 9 months! During my vacations, I would go fishing, go to parks, get a girlfriend :D, clean my car, but mainly fishing. If you don't want to DM, don't DM. The worst thing you can do is DM because you feel obligated. Take some time off, you've earned it. I hope this helps.
Arisune 05-25-07, 06:22 PM	Hmm, when I would get burned out, I would just stop playing and DMing for a couple months. Pack all my D&D stuff up and put it in a closet until the urge to DM brought me back to the table. One of these hiatuses lasted 9 months! During my vacations, I would go fishing, go to parks, get a girlfriend :D, clean my car, but mainly fishing. If you don't want to DM, don't DM. The worst thing you can do is DM because you feel obligated. Take some time off, you've earned it. I hope this helps. It does help, but I really can't stop. Actually, as pathetic as it must sound, D&D is all I got right now. I live to play D&D, but I'm just running on empty mentally, and anything I try doesn't help me at all. Usually, I can come up with something D&D related from any random thing. Hell, I was picking strawberries last year and I came up with an entire adventure and the start of a main campaign plot before I had picked two boxes. (Which surprisingly had nothing to do with strawberries...)
stefan_mi 05-25-07, 06:25 PM	I think you are in a tough spot -- especially since no one else is willing to step up and do the job. Advertise for more players and hopefully find one of them who wants to DM? Or you could peruse the 'players wanted' ads and find a new game of your own. I find playing to be a great deal of fun when I also DM. Alternately, if you play once every week or so, use that time to play something else.
Arisune 05-25-07, 06:29 PM	I think you are in a tough spot -- especially since no one else is willing to step up and do the job. Advertise for more players and hopefully find one of them who wants to DM? Or you could peruse the 'players wanted' ads and find a new game of your own. I find playing to be a great deal of fun when I also DM. Alternately, if you play once every week or so, use that time to play something else. We usually play every weekend, seeing that it's the only time our, well, their lives match up with mine, where we can play D&D for a good 12-24 hours straight. (Last weekend I pulled our first 24 hour game day! It was awesome!) I'm really suffering for games to play. I only have this old computer for my games, and i don't own too many games for it in the first place. Oh, and for advertising, I have been looking around for other gamers, but the closest thing I've found is a group who play D&D minis at a local gaming store. I might bring the idea up next time I am there. Maybe a few of them would like to start playing if they don't already play...
funnymanmike 05-25-07, 06:48 PM	hmm, so you need to recharge, and can't leave d&d for a while eh. here is a few ideas 1) camp D&D, go camping with a few friends and play d&d out in the woods 2) movie geek fest, hey this is a long weekend for you americans, all weekend movie marathon. thanks to dvd player syou can skip all the slow stuff and get right to the battles, go through braveheart, LOTRx3, Star Wars, anythnig you like realy. 3) o.k. this is going to sound extremly weird, but you will be amazed (if it works) when it works. go buy yourself a new set of dice, new underwear, new socks, get a hair cut. Drive out of town to the next nearest game store, and find a game where no one knows you and just play. pretend to be a total noob. then head back and just try and enjoy yourself. Good luck with the recharge copper top.
Lafarallin 05-25-07, 06:55 PM	how about having each person, including yourself run one weekend or what not. Then the next person (players) runs for one weekend. Then the final person runs. I know neither really want to run but just ask them to try it one time. Often when you get someone started they get ideas and really want to finish them. I can't tell you how many times someone was against running, but one weekend they did just because nobody else was. Then bam, they were like fired up about their quests and ideas and four months later our old DM took over again. :)
weepingminotaur 05-25-07, 10:27 PM	I've been dming for damn near four years now, and until now, I have never had this problem before. I'm burnt out. plain and simple. In the past, I've taken a break from my throne as DM and had a player take my place for a few weeks while I was a player to let my batteries recharge, but I've recently moved from where that group is, and I only have two players now, both of which have no interest in DMing, even for long enough to let me regroup mentally. So, with all options within my mind expended, I turn to you, my fellow DMs for aid, before the DMing side of my brain overloads and kills the DM within me. How do the rest of you recharge when the inevitable happens, and you just run out of DM feul? Take time off. Simple. And when I say 'time off,' I mean anywhere from 6 months to a year. Tell your remaining players you're burnt out and need time to do other things while your passion for D&D renews itself. I've been DMing a group of my friends since 2002 and I've always made sure to take plenty of time off when I felt I needed it. Last year I took over 6 months off and it did me a world of good. In the fall, we played for a few months and into the winter of 2007, at which point I was burnt out again, and we stopped at the end of January (one of my players was expecting her second child the following month, so it made sense for everyone concerned to go on hiatus). In the past month, a friend has been DMing a short adventure, and already I can feel the DM juices starting to flow. Ideas for encounters and villains are coming to me, and I think I'm ready to get back in the saddle in a few weeks. R&R is key. DMing is a wonderful thing, but it's time-consuming, draining, and tough. Take the time to do other things in life and you'll appreciate D&D even more when you return.
Magrus 05-25-07, 10:37 PM	I'm in your position. I switched groups, and am learning to game with a few new programs online as a player now. I DM'd 3 games a week for about 2 years. I couldn't take it anymore. I miss it, but then, I don't. Take time off from the game completely I would say. Then try finding a game that you can play in if you can. Something to give you a fresh love for the game without the incessant work and stress of being the DM. That should kick things into gear for you.
Mystic Lemur 05-25-07, 11:05 PM	I feel for you. What burnt me out was living in the same house as two of my players (my girlfriend and her mom). It got to feeling like all my free time went to planning or playing DnD. And if they don't know what to get me for my B'day or X-mas, I get a DnD book. Then I'd need to/want to read it and would have less time to plan/play. And Lord help me if I wanted to do something 'extracurricular' with my gf instead of staying up late playing/planning. The worst thing was that I kept running the game even after I burnt out. It was awful. Now that I'm getting close to catching my breath, so to speak, I'm not sure how to recover from the sour taste that left. I can fix the overworked part, they have lives, too. They were just excited because it was new to them. They will be fine backing it down a bit. I'm just not sure I can make it fun like I used to be able too. I'm probably just being paranoid. I'll let you have your thread back now. :embarrass
ELBUFO 05-26-07, 12:29 AM	Close the game. Start over with the stipulation that each session WILL BE DM'ed BY A DIFFERENT PERSON. You can use the same game world each time to give a sense of continuity. Some players my balk at first, but learning to DM will pan out and make them better players. We try to end a session with a completed encounter but the rule applies even if we end in the middle of a cliff hanger. Who ever is next just steps in and runs with it.
Midrealm_DM 05-26-07, 11:15 AM	I've been dming for damn near four years now, and until now, I have never had this problem before. . I'm burnt out. plain and simple. In the past, I've taken a break from my throne as DM and had a player take my place for a few weeks while I was a player to let my batteries recharge, but I've recently moved from where that group is, and I only have two players now, both of which have no interest in DMing, even for long enough to let me regroup mentally. . How do the rest of you recharge when the inevitable happens, and you just run out of DM feul? Well if you can't get someone else to DM... Well how often do you play? Every week? Try switching to every two or three weeks instead, You can still get together as a group and do something esle, play video games, board games, go to a movie do something else, throw in some variety. I've gotten to that point several times, and it can be hard, One time I used a random dungeon generator, made absolutely no changes and just threw the players into it. It made no sense as there was no plot, just random rooms with random monsters. But it let us keep playing and gave me a break from thinking about the adventures for a couple of sessions. Mind you, I would probably never do that again, because I felt it degraded my overall campaign setting. But sometimes a break is necessary. Hope you get some useful advice TTFN
Danflor 05-26-07, 12:31 PM	Hmm, when I would get burned out, I would just stop playing and DMing for a couple months. Pack all my D&D stuff up and put it in a closet until the urge to DM brought me back to the table. One of these hiatuses lasted 9 months! During my vacations, I would go fishing, go to parks, get a girlfriend :D, clean my car, but mainly fishing. If you don't want to DM, don't DM. The worst thing you can do is DM because you feel obligated. Take some time off, you've earned it. I hope this helps. That is definately the best idea for a burnt out DM. Take a few weeks, or even a month off. DON'T FORCE IT!!!! If none of that helps, just get some graph paper and start sketching out a dungeon crawl. You could always buy a pre-made campaign. I would highly reccomend Expedition to Castle Ravenloft! Worst case scenario: Find a new gaming group with someone who wants to DM.
Loftower 05-26-07, 01:07 PM	Get out; rub your eyes and step away from the gaming table. Even if you can’t take a long break, take one week off and do something _real_. Fishing isn’t bad advice (it’s not for me, but not bad). See more of the island, even if you’ve seen it before. Watch creatures (including people) do real things. Since D&D is your life, you will see D&D adventures in what they do. I build a series of adventures on watching ants. Listen to the local waitress complain about her ex, there’s an adventure hook in there somewhere. The real world is full of ideas. Confining yourself to fiction (even fiction as presented by the news media) is the easiest way to fall into a rut.
Phrennzy 05-26-07, 02:13 PM	If they don't want to DM, switch to playing some board games and have a movie night on D&D nights instead. I am blessed with players that let me take time off. I recently begged and pleaded for my boyfriend to DM. I told him just one session, and just a dungeon with 5 rooms. Slap some monsters in and go. Nothing fancy. New characters, they are there to kill and get stuff. He did an AMAZING job, much better than what I asked of him. I think he really enjoyed it too. Your players HAVE to help you or the game is gonna suck. Explain it to them like that. Beg and plead and finally say, "I am not DMing for a while, cause I am burnt out. Either someone else DM's for a bit, or we play games and movies and such and just hang out."
primemover003 05-26-07, 02:15 PM	Take a week or two off, rest, recoup... If it's just because you're stuck for material try some pre-made adventures. I would've recommended Dungeon magazine but it's being killed at the end of august. :weep: But I will recommend taking a look at Paizo publishing's new campaign world and adventure path products called Pathfinder. Check out Paizo.com, maybe it's the inspiration you need!
wizarddog 05-26-07, 02:29 PM	If they don't want to DM, switch to playing some board games and have a movie night on D&D nights instead. Play Call Of Cthulhu: Arkham Horror Board Game. http://www.fairplaygames.com/gamedisplay.asp?gameid=2708&SERIES=1
taradusis 05-26-07, 02:36 PM	Run a Minigame. Set up an arena where PCs engage in gladiator matches,talk players into running a monster,this will give them practice at Dming?If they read the monster the week before and you coach them it will limit problems?RANDOM THOUGHTS.
Arisune 05-28-07, 12:52 PM	Thank you all for the advise. After reading through all of these, I found a way to recharge without dropping D&D. As one of you suggested (can't remember who because i'm too lazy today to quote things) I ran a random dungeon. No plot, no connections to the campaign, no nothing. In fact, I had my players make characters for this dungeon only. It's supposed to be Diablo style (I mean Diablo 1, where it's a bunch of levels, lower and lower within the same dungeon, with no real story to it) and it worked. Without having to think about the cosmic impact them ripping through the dungeon had, I was able to enjoy it again. I even got a little odd, throwing in something i read somewhere else on these boards. they ran into a McDonalds below ground, and some modern day firearms (A shotgun, a handgun and a 50 Cal sniper rifle) and I threw a 9 headed cyrohydra at them just for a luagh. They blew the thing away in only a couple rounds, but it felt GREAT! I think I've recharged a bit, and once the diablo dungeon is done, I should be able to go back to my campaign.
Onikani 05-28-07, 04:15 PM	www.meetup.com within 1 month of joining, i found 2 games needing players. Within a few more months i found 7 players looking for a dm and i now dm them all. It brought a lot of people together, and as campaigns start in finish the players swap around, everyone takes turn dm'ing and playing. It's amazing what this silly site has done for the gaming community in my town. I'm sure your not alone up there... Good luck!
Winternova 05-28-07, 04:39 PM	Changing up the game always does it for me. When 2E got boring, I switched to Werewolf for a time. The darker, more lethal system made both RP and combat more exciting. Then I needed a break. Something lighter, so it was back to 2E. Then I got sick of 2E again, and none of my players would DM - most said they 'sucked' at it, some did, and some just plain had no drive to be a DM. Then I switched to d20m, which has been my particular brand of poison for a few years now. A lot of repressed creativity sprung out. Our flagship d20m game ran until the group broke up with very few interruptions. When it got stale, we went back to D&D - FINALLY making the switch to 3.5 - and then back to d20m. We even dabbled in the SWRPG, and Hunter. Now I've got a constant once-a-week d20f game going on. I'm starting to get burnt out again. I'm also planning on starting a post-apocalyptic campaign. It's that apocalypse that's keeping me going right now.
Necrosis 05-28-07, 05:25 PM	become co-writer helping someone else DM. Essentially you act as a soundng board for their campign ideas, provide your own cool ideas and critque (provide good and bad feeback). Play a PC in the campign and chill out. This allows yuo the creativity without haveign to worry to much.