DM Burnout

>>54532007
Ask to be player for a campaign?

>>54532037
I'm in the middle of DM-ing one though. Can't just leave the players high and dry.

kill off the player's mary sues and end it, then start up a new adventure that isn't your own homebrew

>>54532007

Sometimes, all you can do is give yourself time. Find a place to bring the campaign to a close, or at least a temporary hiatus, taking a month off. Ask a player to run a short campaign or a few one shots, and take some time to remind yourself why you started GMing in the first place. Go back to your most loved media, seek out new sources of inspiration. Be good to yourself, because if you aren't having fun your players probably won't be either.

>>54532070
Just let someone else run a one-shot inbetween.
After that you will realise that no-one but you can mantle the responsibility of being the DM.

Every 3 months of playing one system, switch to a mini campaign, lasting 2-4 sessions, with your team that has another very different system and setting. From medieval fantasy d20 to 1900s d100 detective-mystery Call of Cthulhu. Something like that.

>>54532081
There are no Mary-Sues. I had players roll for stats in order. I'm playing an official module too.

>>54532121
Ha. That's funny, but probably not true. This is my first time DM-ing.

>>54532186
That's an interesting concept.

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>>54532199
>I had players roll for stats in order.
You had my simpathy. But after this, not anymore

>>54532391
Well I didn't want Mary-Sues for my first time! Also, that's not how you spell sympathy.

>>54532440

Rolling stats does nothing to stop mary sues

>>54532007
Try a system that doesn't actively work against you.

>>54532488
Sure it does. The players have to develop their characters in-game.

>>54532516
What's that supposed to mean? You don't even know what I'm running.

>>54532540

That is entirely irrelevant to whether or not the characters are mary sues

>>54532546
I disagree. It's far easier to develop a Mary Sue if you've come up with the character going into the game than if you develop in-game.

>>54532567

If someone really wants to make a mary sue, that isn't going to stop them. The only thing it does is limit a players freedom to make the character they want to play.

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>>54532121
>tfw forever gm for years
>a competent friend expresses interest and starts looking into videos and asking for advice on being a gm
>you could soon be a player in a decent game with 0 fetishes run by someone who's goal is to make sure you all have fun
Exciting times.

>>54532574
>limit a players freedom to make the character they want to play
That's exactly how it discourages Mary Sue's, fucknuts.

>>54532007
Just play OSR, that feel when that cheeky players dies to a handful of kobolds at the first encounter is priceless

>>54532540
>What's that supposed to mean? You don't even know what I'm running.
You're using "DM", it's your first time running anything and you had your players roll for stats.
There is little to no chance you're not running D&D 3.5 or 5e.

>>54532601
That still doesn't help me. I'm mid-campaign. Can't just up and quit.

>>54532616
Okay, 5e. But how is my system working against me?

>>54532592

You're throwing the baby out with the bathwater, and not even getting rid of the dirt you think you're removing.

There are reasons to go with rolled stats. 'Stopping mary sues' is not one of them. Unless you're wilfully misusing the term 'mary sue', like most people do it seems.

>>54532567
If a player wanted to play a Mary Sue and you told them that they have to roll for stats, they are going to come to the table with a character that has three 18s, two 16s and one 14 for their worse stat.

Other than that, a Mary Sue will not be dissuaded by bad stats: if a player is bad, they will be bad regardless of what you do. And if a player is bad and you don't enjoy the game, you will get burned out.

Because if you had good players, that you had fun playing with, you would feel it's worth it to play with them. And you would not get burned out.

>>54532619
What you can do is wrap things up short term and say that you need a change of pace and propose another system for you and your players.

>>54532631
5e made me have a burnout too, didnt know how to handle the system or the players, could seem to feel inspired by, it eithers need to be played like an OSR to feel great and tweak some rules or use a good campaign setting to ground the story

>>54532637
>misusing the term 'mary sue'
>an idealized and seemingly perfect fictional character
Nope.

>>54532642
The stats are rolled IN ORDER, not just rolled.

>>54532650
Not really an option at this point. It would really end everything.

>>54532662
Maybe it's just laziness. But I'm not super good at RP, and I"m playing online, so I need good ... talking... and visual material.

>>54532619
Just ask for a couple weeks off. If your players are not bunch of silly people they will understand and accept that. And yeah, remeber that you probably wont finish most campains you have started. Dont beat yourself too hard.

>>54532567
>>54532546
>>54532574
It is impossible to make a mary sue without being the author.
The central disgusting point of a mary sue is that it is an author wanking to an audience about their awesome self-insert.

This literally cannot happen if you are a player, unless perhaps as a lesser version if you are sucking the GMs dick.

>>54532685
Your second point is fair. We've been off for three weeks already.

>>54532688
But the player is the author of their character. That's the point of RPGs.

>>54532683
Just end it then, if they are your friends talk to them that you are ending it sooner or that you watn to swtich DM because you dont have time or whatever, also you could do something excting for the end

>>54532592
Gonna be real honest with you here, my half-angel kitsune everyone hates for being so beautiful is going to happen whether I have a 20 in Cha or a 9.

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>>54532664
>The stats are rolled IN ORDER, not just rolled.
Pic related. Did you actually have them roll for stats in front of you or..?

Anyway, 5e has the problem of meatpoints, caster supremacy and the fact that it is a d20 system, meaning it's incredibly swingy if you start rolling godlike and your players roll like crap or vice-versa. The thing it excels at is combat and even there, other systems are better because of the aforementioned meatpoint problem.

>>54532703
It's online people. I'd feel guilty for wasting their time.

>>54532704
Well I try not to let faggots into my game anyway.

>>54532712
>Did you actually have them roll for stats in front of you or..?
Yes.

>meatpoints
What's that mean?

You gave me a good idea then. I could just intentionally TPK them.

>>54532702
Oh, well in that case maybe it's time to acknowledge to yourseld that you are probably not that interested in continuing. Just don't beat around the bush with players. It is disheartening, but better in a long run. You will fell even worse for keeping their hopes up, knowing you aint gonna filfill them. Just be honest.

>>54532734
A+ for spelling.

>>54532731
>Well I try not to let faggots into my game anyway.
Then you shouldn't have a Sue problem in the first place. Either way, rolling for stats does nothing to stop it.

>You gave me a good idea then. I could just intentionally TPK them.
What no

It's an out of game problem, talk to your players out of game about it. Throwing bullshit at them until they all die is not going to be more satisfying than just telling them the game is over.

>>54532734
You're probably right. I'll see how tonight goes, then make a decision.

>>54532741
LOL.

>>54532631
By not working as advertised.
The CR system is busted, classes don't do what they're supposed to do, rules are not presented clearly...

The underlying issue is that 5e was not devised as a functional system. It's a loose collection of largely ornamental elements that are supposed to appeal to the fanbases of past editions who are already used to effectively building their own systems out of D&D.

>>54532731
I'm going to be level with you here: why would you limit the fun of players who have the potential to be good when you can boot whatever problem player arises instead? Because rolling in order limits the options of what the players can play and if they wanted to play a cleric of Selune who heals and bolsters their allies but they are unlucky and get a bad wisdom score, they can't play that and have to settle for something else, making the game less fun for them... which will probably reflect on the game and make it less fun for you too.

Meatpoints is a derogatory term for HP, because it is annoying when you have an enemy deal ludicrus amounts of damage to one of the PCs but they still have half HP and they go on fighting like nothing happened.

Especially if it's described as such
>The warlord throws his mighty Thunderspear at you, Grognak the Barbarian
>He hits you and you take 45 points of damage
>Oh, that's half of my health... I guess now I have a spear stuck in me, do I

Many people take offense to this mental image, because having something stuck in you would somehow hamper you in someway and certain descriptions are just out of place in the game.

Also
>I could just intentionally TPK them.
I advise against this, unless you want to look like a dick to your players.

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>>54532007
>DM

>>54532762
Just be aware of that quasi-romantic "Maybe, just maybe if we give it another try" broken-relationship wishful thought getting in a way. Mind over matter.

>>54532772
I have not found any of that to be the case, sorry.

>>54532780
>Many people take offense to this mental image, because having something stuck in you would somehow hamper you in someway and certain descriptions are just out of place in the game.
I don't. That's how I describe things. I also roll lingering injuries when they get knocked out.

>I advise against this, unless you want to look like a dick to your players.
I would look like more of a dick if I just stopped the game. A TPK could easily be passed off just the book having too hard of an encounter (I'm playing a 5e module).

>>54532816
>Maybe, just maybe if we give it another try
That cuts deep, anon. I've been living like that since 2012.... where did I leave that noose?

>>54532820
>I have not found any of that to be the case, sorry.
Yeah, because you have no base for comparison.

>>54532820
>A TPK could easily be passed off just the book having too hard of an encounter (I'm playing a 5e module)
So it's either
>look like a dick for stopping the game
>look like a tool for misbalancing an encounter
At this point in time, cutting all the time required to get to the big bad and having the final showdown with him would probably be the best way to end the game. Just, you know, go all out and say "alright, so you go through the dungeon, finish some more adventures, level up more and reach the villain that has been a pain in the ass since y'all got together" and finish it with a bang instead of having them wipe against a group of nobodies.

But ultimately it's up to you.

>>54532688
This. Sues are DMPCs.

>>54532820
Don't TPK them on purpose. You will probably feel like a complete shit afterwards. There are a lot of things wrong with giving up, but there are even more things wrong with killing PC for selfish ill-intent.

>>54532837
>you have no base for comparison.
So? It works for me.

>>54532864
Thanks, but that's just not possible right now. The way the book is set up they don't even really have a BBEG yet.

>>54532868
Your dumb.

>>54532888
Well I don't WANT to... that's why I made this thread. But I'm at a loss for what else to do.

>>54532889
What's the situation, then?

Can you work out that they reach their goals and give them a "your character retires for the time being" epilogue instead of killing them off?

>>54532889
>Your dumb.
>points out others making grammatical errors

>>54532932
So, I'm running Princes of the Apocalypse. They're right in the middle of figuring out what's going on (elemental cults and whatnot). Basically they're chasing a goal (finding the lost delegation) that never really gets resolved in the book. I wouldn't even know where to start to change that.

>>54532946
>2017
>Not understanding irony.

>>54532889
>So? It works for me.
If it did, you wouldn't have made this thread.

>>54532899
Lad, its your first time, nobody thinks you to be able to run marathon, it was...foolhardy try to begin with. And if players know that it is your first time, they probably never expected you to be amazing at gming either. So its just 'shit didn't work out' sutuation. Now you know your threshhold and can plan campaings better. Not saying END EEEETTT ALL, but gracefully admiting defeat and that things got beyond your capabilities is not a worst-case scenario. At least you players deserve honesty.

>>54532973
It really has nothing to do with the system. It's the work that goes into setting up for the session.

OH, here's a thought. Maybe I'll just have the game bi-weekly instead of weekly. I was going to do that in the first place anyway, but somehow it morphed into a weekly session. Damn... I think I just solved my own problem.

>>54532963
I don't know anything about PotA so you might want to go to the 5e general and ask for how you can tie up the game and as many loose threads as you can at this point in time over there.

Just tell them the delegation has reached this destination and that the elemental cults have been dealt with and that the adventuring party dissolves as they have finished their current adventure, each going their own way... or not, if PCs want to marry other PCs and shit.

Anything but TPK, unless your players are into tragedy in which case eat your heart out but make sure that their deaths are poignant af.

>>54532963
>>Not understanding irony.
>using irony on the internet
>what is Poe's law

Fucking newfags I swear

>>54532990
>At least you players deserve honesty. (sic)
Very true. Like I said, I'm really going to have to see how tonight's game goes.

>>54533000
Good points. Thanks.

>>54532996
You can always just hand them the module and let them decide what to do. Maybe someone will step up and continue without you, if thing get too depseperate.

>>54533010
>newfag
I've been here for over a decade, faggot. It's not my fault you can't recognize an old ass joke. I think it's usually "your an idiot," but still...

>>54532996
>It's the work that goes into setting up for the session.
Because that totally doesn't depend on the system, right.

>>54533044
... no, it doesn't.

>>54533030
If you had been for over a decade, you would have known to lurk and you would have known that the answer to all your problems is talking with your players famalam.

>>54533047
Again, no base for comparison.

>>54533053
>famalam
And he calls me the newfag.... fucking cancerous kids. When does school start again?

>>54533055
Either explain what I'm missing or fuck off! The system I'm using works just fine for me.

>>54533066
No need to get your jimmies rustled desu senpai

it will only make your game worse

>>54533092
>desu senpai
You go to hell. You go to hell and you die.

>>54533066
What you're missing?

The knowledge of other systems.
The willingness to read rules.
The wisdom to consider that you may have made a bad decision.
The spine to end your current campaign.

>>54533116
Typical millennial double-speak, pretending you're saying something whilst providing no actual information .

>>54532007
Stop playing for a while

>>54532963
>i was just pretending to be retarded

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>>54533259

>>54533129
Oh, sorry. Was that too complicated for you? Let me put it into words you can understand.

>The knowledge of other systems.
You don't know shit about RPGs.
>The willingness to read rules.
You're a lazy fuck.
>The wisdom to consider that you may have made a bad decision.
You're a stubborn and daft fuck.
>The spine to end your current campaign.
You're a spineless fuck.

Drugs?

>>54533129
dude, stop being so rude, this people are just trying to help you and you are driveing them mad at you.
not cool.

>>54532199
>my first time DM-ing.
>DM burnout

DMing isn't for you I fear