Bored DM to strung out DM [Archive] - Wizards Community

Bored DM to strung out DM [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
JamesDruidDM
02-16-06, 02:37 PM I have been playing DnD for a long while ( 1989 ) and I have been a DM for a good number of those years. I run a game on sat nights for 6 people, all good friends in a game thats been running about 7 months, and for the first time in my DnD life, I am FREAKIN BORED out of my skull. ITs a homebrew world that I have been developing for about 6 years, some very low magic areas a few high ones and some extremely advanced tech in one very small area. Its big I enjoy working on it,, but games as of late just seem to drag and my brain wants to escape through my ear. I cant reallt take a break because no one else wants to DM. What do you guys do when you are feeling burned out?

As an example of being burnt out - The next game session was going to be the round up and capture of escaped "dust" and "grease" bunnies in the city

..........
Ealrion
02-16-06, 02:56 PM when i started to get burnt out, i just said to my players that we could all notice the quality of my games going down a bit, so i was taking a hiatus from DMing. I even went as far as to tell them that i was VERY comfortable DMing 50-75% of the time, but i enjoyed playing too.

they got the hint, and have taken turns DMing for the past few months, and now i can't wait to get back into the chair. did me a lot of good, too. b/c everyon'es style is different, i got to see how things can be done differently, and even better.

Another plus is that all the folks that have sub DMed have a MUCH better understanding of the job and what one can do as a player to make the game better.

As for the others not wanting to DM... most would rather DM than not play at all.

good luck
Bruunwald
02-16-06, 04:17 PM There's no cure for this that I know of but to stay away from it for awhile. You can try little things to interest yourself and excite yourself, and they might work temporarily, but burn out is burn out and should not be ignored.

If the others don't want to DM, just kindly let them know that you need a break and that taking that break is important to your continued enjoyment of the game - and theirs.

Then don't think about it anymore. Do things you've been putting off. Enjoy your other hobbies, relax, watch some movies, get some sleep. I know that I can't be happy unless I'm being creative, so I use that time to indulge in other creative ventures. After those things work themselves out, I usually find myself in the gaming mood again.

But when I come back to it, I definitely need to mix it up. I usually try to work in some new creative thing, such as modelling terrains, or actually trying to get to where I can play a whole session with fully painted miniatures. Or a new campaign idea more trap-heavy than monster-heavy. Or a new style of mapping or writing or new tiles. Something that helps me use the game to express myself.

My players appreciate that. It keeps it new for them, too.
mike_beavers
02-16-06, 05:40 PM change systems, do another genre. I have done this in the past. I have switched from D&D to traveller or call of cthulhu. This has helped to revitalize me.

do different things with the group, multiplayer boardgames, miniatures. Just do something different for awhile
ctuttle
02-16-06, 06:00 PM The first follow up poster to your question is dead on.

I took a break for something like 3-4 months. I literally told my players "I am taking a break from DMing. I would like to PLAY for a change so if anyone has something to run... now is the time to do it."

I then stuck by my guns. It sucked cause I love playing D&D - but no one ran. Finally the group, out of desperation to play ran something. Well one person did. The game wasn't the best, but I also started playing in another group I located.

Neither of the games were particularly my flavor - but I learned things NOT to do that I saw in their game from a players perspective. Not long after I started playing I got that old "I feel like running a game." Feeling coming back. Even then I stayed away for another month before returning.

Not only did this give me some tme to straighten out a few things I had been neglecting in my personal life, but it gave me time to be REALLY ready to run again.

This is the only solution I have found to DM burnout.
pres_man
02-16-06, 06:07 PM Me and my crew took a two month break, official for me to get work on my school work and my job, unofficially for me to take a break from DMing. During our normal gaming time, people came over and we would watch a movie or two and hang out. We always picked "D&D" movies (fantasy, usually bad) to watch to keep us in the mood.

If you don't want to take a break you might just try to change the feel of the game for a while. Instead of all of the roleplaying, just throw encounter after encounter at the PCs with very little story between them, do some rollplaying.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
JamesDruidDM 02-16-06, 02:37 PM	I have been playing DnD for a long while ( 1989 ) and I have been a DM for a good number of those years. I run a game on sat nights for 6 people, all good friends in a game thats been running about 7 months, and for the first time in my DnD life, I am FREAKIN BORED out of my skull. ITs a homebrew world that I have been developing for about 6 years, some very low magic areas a few high ones and some extremely advanced tech in one very small area. Its big I enjoy working on it,, but games as of late just seem to drag and my brain wants to escape through my ear. I cant reallt take a break because no one else wants to DM. What do you guys do when you are feeling burned out? As an example of being burnt out - The next game session was going to be the round up and capture of escaped "dust" and "grease" bunnies in the city ..........
Ealrion 02-16-06, 02:56 PM	when i started to get burnt out, i just said to my players that we could all notice the quality of my games going down a bit, so i was taking a hiatus from DMing. I even went as far as to tell them that i was VERY comfortable DMing 50-75% of the time, but i enjoyed playing too. they got the hint, and have taken turns DMing for the past few months, and now i can't wait to get back into the chair. did me a lot of good, too. b/c everyon'es style is different, i got to see how things can be done differently, and even better. Another plus is that all the folks that have sub DMed have a MUCH better understanding of the job and what one can do as a player to make the game better. As for the others not wanting to DM... most would rather DM than not play at all. good luck
Bruunwald 02-16-06, 04:17 PM	There's no cure for this that I know of but to stay away from it for awhile. You can try little things to interest yourself and excite yourself, and they might work temporarily, but burn out is burn out and should not be ignored. If the others don't want to DM, just kindly let them know that you need a break and that taking that break is important to your continued enjoyment of the game - and theirs. Then don't think about it anymore. Do things you've been putting off. Enjoy your other hobbies, relax, watch some movies, get some sleep. I know that I can't be happy unless I'm being creative, so I use that time to indulge in other creative ventures. After those things work themselves out, I usually find myself in the gaming mood again. But when I come back to it, I definitely need to mix it up. I usually try to work in some new creative thing, such as modelling terrains, or actually trying to get to where I can play a whole session with fully painted miniatures. Or a new campaign idea more trap-heavy than monster-heavy. Or a new style of mapping or writing or new tiles. Something that helps me use the game to express myself. My players appreciate that. It keeps it new for them, too.
mike_beavers 02-16-06, 05:40 PM	change systems, do another genre. I have done this in the past. I have switched from D&D to traveller or call of cthulhu. This has helped to revitalize me. do different things with the group, multiplayer boardgames, miniatures. Just do something different for awhile
ctuttle 02-16-06, 06:00 PM	The first follow up poster to your question is dead on. I took a break for something like 3-4 months. I literally told my players "I am taking a break from DMing. I would like to PLAY for a change so if anyone has something to run... now is the time to do it." I then stuck by my guns. It sucked cause I love playing D&D - but no one ran. Finally the group, out of desperation to play ran something. Well one person did. The game wasn't the best, but I also started playing in another group I located. Neither of the games were particularly my flavor - but I learned things NOT to do that I saw in their game from a players perspective. Not long after I started playing I got that old "I feel like running a game." Feeling coming back. Even then I stayed away for another month before returning. Not only did this give me some tme to straighten out a few things I had been neglecting in my personal life, but it gave me time to be REALLY ready to run again. This is the only solution I have found to DM burnout.
pres_man 02-16-06, 06:07 PM	Me and my crew took a two month break, official for me to get work on my school work and my job, unofficially for me to take a break from DMing. During our normal gaming time, people came over and we would watch a movie or two and hang out. We always picked "D&D" movies (fantasy, usually bad) to watch to keep us in the mood. If you don't want to take a break you might just try to change the feel of the game for a while. Instead of all of the roleplaying, just throw encounter after encounter at the PCs with very little story between them, do some rollplaying.