Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Messer 01-04-06, 11:18 AM	Now, I been Hard Core DMing for well, 1 year now, and I mean hardcore, 2 games a weeks most times, sometimes 3, and constant crazyness. I had player fights, Multiple deaths, players quit, players join, Campaign scerw-ups, Players threaten eatchother with thrashings ICly, and some OOC learing... All of these things I have handeled, quit well, actually. Anyways, this brings me to my question. I am now Running both an Eberron and Forgotten Realms game. Two games a week. I haven't been a player now for well over two years, and while I itch and yearn to play, I dont mind, and dont have any problem with comming up with new, interesting, challenging, and fresh adventures for the guys, heck, it doesn't take long, and as a matter of fact, its usually the kind of thing that I can do in the night after the game, just come up with some notes, roll up some bad guys, goto bed, next week, play. Two games isn't shaping up to be too much more difficult either. I know the rules better, everything is going up and up, and it makes me ask the question. Is DM Burn-out a real phenomenon? My College DM experienced it a few times, and I have seen a few other people suffer from it as well. Now, I don't feel any stress about being a DM, sure, I'd like to sit on the other side of the screen, but ATM I dont feel that I have a good candidate to be a DM that I wouldn't "challenge" out of some uber-geek-respect. I mean, I am the reigning geek in Sendai Japan. Atleast, forigen one. So, here are the questions. Have you ever Experianced DM Burn-out? What were the symptoms? Signs? Seriously, did you eat all the turkey? How did you deal with your DM Burn-out, if you did suffer? Why did you eat all the turkey, it you did eat it? well, thanks for reading, and please excuse questions 1, 2, and 4. (p.s. I ate all the turkey)
Freedom 01-04-06, 11:31 AM	Have you ever Experianced DM Burn-out? My current group has been gaming on a pretty solid once a week schedule for over 5 years. In that time we've played some different systems and a had a few GMs, it is most oftem D&D with me running the game. I do get burned out on occassion. What were the symptoms? Signs? Failing to prepare adequately for sessions, forgetting NPC names, messing up timelines, and worst of all: skipping sessions entirely for any excuse that might crop up. How did you deal with your DM Burn-out, if you did suffer? Well I'm still dealing with it, really. The best way is to have the players really get into one of your games, as their enthusiasm is the best cure. Another way I've done it is to run a published module to relax. I've found that if you're not putting enough effort into your own material, the players will stop trusting its validity, and a printed adventure will get you (and them) back on track. Another trick that we've used before (and plan to use in our current game), is to have a rotating DM. What this means is that I even though I will be running the majority of the game, on occassion a player will take over and run a few sessions between large adventures. This allows me to make a character and advance him with the party and allows me to take a break from time to time. The one downside is that it is difficult and distracting to roleplay a DM character, so I make sure to make a character that will spend a lot of time away from the group when I am the DM.
High Octane 01-04-06, 12:07 PM	Seriously, did you eat all the turkey? You can't prove anything.
Gnome_Dragon_Disciple 01-04-06, 12:42 PM	>>Have you ever Experianced DM Burn-out? Yes, yes I have. >>What were the symptoms? Signs? Generally, the only important sign of burn-out is not being unable to come up with new and inventive storylines. It's not caring enough to put forth the effort to do so. >>How did you deal with your DM Burn-out, if you did suffer? Generally, DM Burn-Out (really it should be called DM Apathy) is not the fault of the DM. The real cause is when the DM begins to feel (sometimes rightly) that his or her efforts are unappreciated. It's pretty damned hard to come up with great material session after session when you don't feel as though you're getting anything out of it. But how is it dealt with? Well, I fortunately get paid by my FLGS to DM there (as well as run TCG tournaments and supervise other games), so I don't forsee it being a problem for me :P But seriously, I used to simply tell my players how I felt. Not just that I was feeling apathetic, but WHY. The players would literally BEG me to keep DM'ing. It's amazing what a good ego massage does to get your head back in the game. Other than that, playing the game is another big help... Just make sure to go easy on whoever DMs you. It's sometimes tricky for former DMs to let another DM's ruling go by when you don't agree with it, and it's even trickier to realize that all of that mental muscle-flexing done when DMing makes for an incredibly focused player that few DMs can effectively challenge. Fortunately, if you're just looking to get back into the DM groove, often the "I can do better than that guy" impulse is a pretty good kick in the pants to shake off the DM Apathy.
mike_beavers 01-04-06, 02:15 PM	yes GM burn out does exist. I have experienced it a couple of times. Symptoms- For me not wanting to get anything ready for the game and mostly doing very little during a game. For me I changed systems a couple of times. I did Traveller and Call of Cthulhu instead. I played other games -board games or miniature games. Thankfully the burnout was short lived in all cases. I would recommend however no more than one game a week. I am running two games but they meet every other week so I can relax and still have some prep time.
Spike_Fightwicky 01-04-06, 02:32 PM	Have you ever Experianced DM Burn-out? Nope. 4 years of DMing and nothing yet. I think it's because I'm not a good player. Whenever I'm a PC, I can never roll anything good, ever. The only exception is when my character somehow ends up in water (don't ask... for some reason, I start rolling 20s as soon as my PCs end up in a river or lake). As such, I don't really miss playing a PC. Also, I'm a patient individual, and that helps. What were the symptoms? Signs? For a while I started to get disenchanted with everything (a couple of my players are blantant munchkins, whereas 2 other players are the opposite... the first 2 would treat everything with a "one-upmanship" attitude and there was no party cohesion so everyone ended up dying). I just grinned and bared it. I started up a d20 Modern/Call of Cthulhu game, and it's MUCH better, IMO. No god strength characters after level 10. Most obvious symptons/signs are: - You don't look forward to the game - You don't have a good time while DMing (regardless of how your players feel) - You make up excuses to skip out on the game (I've got a test to study for and it's really important...) - You don't listen to your players when they try to explain how a rule works - You seem exasperated during the course of a game - You try to waste time during a game so that it'll end with little accomplished and you're satisfied because you didn't have to do much - You go out of your way to make plans that end the night early (Oh, tonight Alias is on, so I can't play too late) Seriously, did you eat all the turkey? I only at most of it. The rest was sent to the Yukon to stay frozen until next year. How did you deal with your DM Burn-out, if you did suffer? Not applicable. However, a couple of my friends suffered from it (both weren't very experienced DMs, whereas the players were all experienced, so everything ended up either as a TPK, or a TMK (total monster wipe, where barely any damage was done to the party). They got disenchanted, burned out, and swore never to DM again. Not an enchanting tale, but that's what happened. Why did you eat all the turkey, if you did eat it? It came down to me and the turkey. It was the bottom of the ninth, 2 outs, 1 minute left in the third period and they were up by 2 goals. I was one card away from a full house when the River was revealed and BANG, it was a complete hat trick. I kicked a perfect field goal and won the gold medal. In his shame, the turkey told me if anyone were to eat him, he would be proud if it was me.
SnowbearK 01-04-06, 08:11 PM	Have you ever Experianced DM Burn-out? What were the symptoms? Signs? How did you deal with your DM Burn-out, if you did suffer? Yes. After 8 years of non-stop DMing, 4 games a week, 2 each on the weekend for around 16 hours each, etc. etc. etc... That was the first time. It's happened a few times more over my gaming "career" as my buddies call it (3 decades, yeah, I'd almost call it a career also). Burnout happens. Symptoms are different for everyone. For me, I notice myself starting to view DMing as a chore, as a job, and the game is just blah. More than that, I have no feeling to put into my NPCs, any interactions, etc. Nuthin'. I deal with it by stopping the game, and either shifting to another game system for a bit, or having a movie night, usually themed (last one we did was lord of the rings...extended editions...all 3 movies, next one is the Star Wars sextilogy), and we stop gaming for a month or, kind of like a vacation from the campaign world. Oh, and GIVE ME BACK MY TURKEY!!! :D
Edymnion 01-04-06, 08:23 PM	next one is the Star Wars sextilogyDude, count me in! Do I need to bring my driver's liscense to prove I'm over 18? ;)
Arak the mighty 01-04-06, 10:09 PM	I know burnout's coming when I'm scrambling to get an adventure ready the night before, and I come up with something lame and contrived because I'm not motivated to put in the effort. Usually it's caused by players I don't want to DM for. When I have good players, it's easier to make up adventures. I recently was DMing for a group with a loud, abrasive, tv watching, non roleplaying player, who was only interested if he was rolling attack dice. Then he'd complain if cobat occured, and due to positioning, or let's say, his character being stunned for d4 rounds, or whatever, he wasn't the focus of the combat he'd complain about how "boring" it was. Well, just thinking about game night with this guy really brought my enthusiasm down, and it showed with the adventures I was putting together. NPC's with just bare bones sketches for stats. Attack bonuses, damage, AC, and hit points, and that was it. Once he dropped out of the group, things got easier, and I re-focused.
SnowbearK 01-04-06, 11:39 PM	Dude, count me in! Do I need to bring my driver's liscense to prove I'm over 18? ;) Sure. Oh and Bubba gets out of the slammer that same morning, coincidentally...be sure to wear the Leia slave outfit. (would saga have been a better word, I wonder?)
fatal error 01-05-06, 12:47 AM	Hmmm, I think I have the opposite of DM burnouts, I have DM-ADHD. Preparing for only one session only takes like, a day, maybe two, the other four my mind wanders to other roleplaying things. I have like a dozen settings in various stages of developement sitting in my my documents folder. Unfortunately I'm also a perfectionist and so never think any of these settings are ready for play, when at least one or two are more than ready. Symptoms? When you are happy for a TPK so you can start up a game in system/world X rather than Y, and your players never make it past level 7. Starting at level 3.
weasel fierce 01-05-06, 12:47 AM	When a game feels like work, rather than something you're looking forward to, odds are you are burning out. Usually the best advice is either: A: Play instead of GM B: Run another system C: Do something else alltogether.
Dark_Druid 01-05-06, 07:41 AM	What I did when I got like this, I took my group and loaned out my DM guide to the smartest, wittiest, most in touch guy with his imagination. I said: "Son, it's time to be a man, one day I won't be around, and you'll have to carry on the game." I gave him some homework like "draw me 3 maps with 10 room each by next session with backstories" gave him some of my notes, and a couple sessions later I had him assist me as DM rather than play his character. Then I went to college and he ran an adventure or two before they all got caught up in life. But in theory, it works. Plus, you get a fresh new world from this new guy.
evilgenius 01-05-06, 11:19 AM	Have you ever Experianced DM Burn-out? I hit burn-out plaing a multi-year once a week World of Darkness campaign. In retrospect, I was burned out for the last two years of that campaign. What were the symptoms? Signs? I sat back, let the players run rampant, and didn't bring any consequences to them. We were running a reactive campaign, where the PCs set the agenda and it was my job to make the NPCs react. Occasionally, before burnout, I had directed plots, but after a while I just gave up. How did you deal with your DM Burn-out, if you did suffer? One evening, they had a near-TPK. Their own fault, but there you go. Rather than put the plot on a new direction, I had them make up new characters and try to pick up in the old campaign without really incorporating the changes - that's how lazy I was. So, that one game sucked, and I asked for a couple weeks off to think of something new. I never hosted a game again. After being the party "storyteller" (DM) for about 6 or 7 years, I just stopped. I didn't roleplay AT ALL for about 5 years after that. I kept up on systems, would occasionally buy a book, etc... But I just got back into role-plaing a year ago.
Sir Knight 01-05-06, 12:03 PM	DM burn out is VERY real in my experience. I have been DMing for a very long time (15 years give or take) and I have suffered from the burn out a few times. I used to run 3-5 games a week (when in school) and after I graduated I used to run one weekly, one bi-weekly, and took turns DMing in another campaign. Believe me, it gets old (even when you enjoy it). Your ideas dry up, you get a bit goofy... your games start to suck. It's classic burn out symptoms! :) I find that getting a few sessions as a player now and then recharges me.