DM Burnout.

[inexorabletruth]

I'm starting to run out of steam. I don't know why; well I know why, but they aren't good reasons. I've got the perfect setup:

• Great players
• Captivating characters
• No OOC drama
• Great story line that the players are really getting into
• No major schedule conflicts
• Only a teensy bit short on free time.

5 out of 6 isn't bad; it's more than most DMs get in one game. Still, I can't help but feel "meh" when it's time to play. I'm just not having fun anymore. But I hate DMs who bail on a game and I don't want to be that guy... especially not with these players. So I'm looking for some advice:

Is it bad form to hand over the game to a surrogate DM? Would a person even be willing to take over someone else's campaign? I would... and have, but that doesn't mean most people are chill with that kind of thing.

OR

If it is bad form... then have any of you ever lost that spark as a DM? How did you rekindle it so you can get back to running the campaign your players deserve to play?

[SiuiS]

Take some time to play a bit.

Tell The players you're going to wrap up the chapter for now, so take copious notes. Take notes yourself. Develop a suitable Demi-ending, get there, and break it off. Keep track o all the game's info.


Have someone else take the wheels, preferably with a different game style. And when you're feeling better, Truro schedule bringing that campaign back into focus. Maybe puh time forward a bit, give ills some downtime and behid-the-scenes development room.

[Logic]

A system that worked for my old group was having a couple of concurrent but thematically different campaigns by different DMs*. It let one DM rest, recuperate, and play while the other DM runs a game. Alternating every other session may not work for everyone, but a two-on, two-off system usually works for most involved.

*At one point we even had a round-robin type system of DMs running an Epic-level game, WITHOUT DMPCs.

[WarKitty]

My personal trick?

Take a session or two out. Play paranoia. Kill everyone repeatedly.

[Exediron]

Do I ever get burned out DMing?

Sure, all the time. I take a couple of weeks off and then I'm fine. What gets to me is the demands of everything depending on me, being required to facilitate every happening, etc. A few weeks in someone else's game has always fixed it for me.

I wouldn't hand over one of my campaigns, but if you can find a new DM who is comfortable with it and whom you believe will carry on the spirit of the game properly, I don't see anything inherently wrong with it. Make sure your players would prefer that to ending it, however.

[inexorabletruth]

My personal trick?

Take a session or two out. Play paranoia. Kill everyone repeatedly.

What is this "paranoia" of which you speak?

[Winter_Wolf]

5 out of 6 isn't bad; it's more than most DMs get in one game. Still, I can't help but feel "meh" when it's time to play. I'm just not having fun anymore. But I hate DMs who bail on a game and I don't want to be that guy... especially not with these players. So I'm looking for some advice:

Do you want to be that guy, or that other guy? "That guy" needs to take a break and recharge. That other guy starts acting in a way that he eventually ends up in a thread about bad GMs, because he's burnt crispy, but grimly plows on and ends up either hating gaming or becoming so bitter that he makes the whole group suffer with him.

Clearly those aren't the only two options, but history of GM burnout is not on your side for things going any other way. Take a break; if things are going as well as you say they are, you've earned a breather. Play something else for a few sessions, or at least play a different campaign where you're a player.

[inexorabletruth]

The general consensus is to take a time out. I suppose that makes sense. And you're right; I don't want to be a cranky, surly DM who half-a*ses his way through the campaign because he's burnt to a crisp.

Thanks for all your advice, guys. It's good to know that I'm not the only one who goes through DM burnout. I've been DM'ing for two years, and this is my first time feeling this way about the game. Usually, if I'm not DM'ing 3 games, and playing in 5 others, I'm looking for more games to play... so it's kind of an unexpected turn of events for me.

[Anxe]

If you really don't know what Paranoia is and weren't joking in your post, you can go here to take a look. It's a game set in a dystopian future. Everyone plays a sort of policeman serving THE COMPUTER. Everyone also gets a six pack of clones, so when their character inevitably dies several times each session, they can still play. My Paranoia DM ran it where we each had secret agendas and super powers. We died a lot when showing off our powers, or trying to accomplish our agendas. Lots of laughs and fun.

As for my advice. I also suggest taking a break. Let someone else DM for a bit. In a few months you should be ready to start your campaign where you left off. I've done the same in the past as well.

[DontEatRawHagis]

What is this "paranoia" of which you speak?

Paranoia is a good roleplaying game that has three play styles. Zap, Classic and Straight.

Zap is what people say is a good pallette cleanser. Players are a group of ill-equipped clones who are tasked with tracking down communists, mutants and traitors. The storyline is meant to be as weird as possible. To get an idea look up Paranoia RPG

You can usually find a book on the shelves of your local games store, if not ask for them to order for you.


I highly recommend it because it allows for a lot of 4th Wall breaking hilarity. Each player gets 6 lives and boy do they need them. As a GM you have to learn not just about making encounters to fight or monsters to create, you have to learn how to give your players enough rope that they strangle each other with it then zap each other with lazer rounds.

You can actually play a game pretty fast because the character creation is Randomized. There is a website that makes character sheets which i use a lot when I want to do one shots. Then I make up side missions that the players should do based on their Secret society and then I make the Main mission.

In the end it plays like "Whose Line is it Anyway?" the Roleplay edition. Good Pallette cleanser and makes you think differently than a DM should. Its a good challenge and highly recommended. It pops up so frequently here as a suggestion it should get its own sub-forum or sticky thread with the words "One Shot Pallette Cleanser " in bold friendly letters.

[WarKitty]

Paranoia is a good roleplaying game that has three play styles. Zap, Classic and Straight.

Zap is what people say is a good pallette cleanser. Players are a group of ill-equipped clones who are tasked with tracking down communists, mutants and traitors. The storyline is meant to be as weird as possible. To get an idea look up Paranoia RPG

You can usually find a book on the shelves of your local games store, if not ask for them to order for you.


I highly recommend it because it allows for a lot of 4th Wall breaking hilarity. Each player gets 6 lives and boy do they need them. As a GM you have to learn not just about making encounters to fight or monsters to create, you have to learn how to give your players enough rope that they strangle each other with it then zap each other with lazer rounds.

You can actually play a game pretty fast because the character creation is Randomized. There is a website that makes character sheets which i use a lot when I want to do one shots. Then I make up side missions that the players should do based on their Secret society and then I make the Main mission.

In the end it plays like "Whose Line is it Anyway?" the Roleplay edition. Good Pallette cleanser and makes you think differently than a DM should. Its a good challenge and highly recommended. It pops up so frequently here as a suggestion it should get its own sub-forum or sticky thread with the words "One Shot Pallette Cleanser " in bold friendly letters.

Pretty much, this. It's a game in a scifi setting where the world is run by a paranoid computer with multiple personality disorder. Zap style is quite silly, and generally involves giving them enough rope to hang each other while trying to figure out how not to hang themselves.

[Totally Guy]

What is the gameplay itself like?

The last time I burned out it was because I was deceiving my friends into making them thing they were gaming when really I was just pulling strings to make them think that they were. For the last few years I have made sure that they actually are gaming and it's been a whole lot more satisfying.

[DontEatRawHagis]

What is the gameplay itself like?

The last time I burned out it was because I was deceiving my friends into making them thing they were gaming when really I was just pulling strings to make them think that they were. For the last few years I have made sure that they actually are gaming and it's been a whole lot more satisfying.

Normal GM setup for the game:

• Create a Fake Mission for them to go on. Usually something either completely boring or too awesome to be true.
• Create the real mission that is going on underneath. Usually about someone doing something wrong and keeping it under wraps. Like an R&D guy made a robot that runs on Soylent Green, but accidently shipped it to INTSEC as a food processor.
• Create Secret Society missions for each player, usually conflicting missions like Steal X or Destroy X.
• Make a list of equipment for the party. Then the R&D special equipment.

Normal Player actions:

• Get secret society mission.
• Get mission.
• Get standard equipment(Laser Proof armor and Lasergun) and R&D equipment(Something that doesn't work or works differently than its supposed to)
• Try and complete Secret Society Mission.
• At the same time try and kill your other players.
• Keep an eye out for Treasonous actions, such as having high clearance equipment or being a mutant.
• Everyone is a mutant, but no one knows that.

Gameplay is reversed d20. Roll below the number you have in that skill to succeed.

[inexorabletruth]

Paranoia sounds pretty cool, actually.

@ Totally Guy: No... we're gaming. They're great players and they really get involved. Actually, they always make my stories better. I think I'm just going to play out to a solid breaking point, go on a two week hiatus out in the real world, and come back refreshed. I don't think I get enough sunlight these days, anyway.

[Tyndmyr]

Is it bad form to hand over the game to a surrogate DM? Would a person even be willing to take over someone else's campaign? I would... and have, but that doesn't mean most people are chill with that kind of thing.

OR

If it is bad form... then have any of you ever lost that spark as a DM? How did you rekindle it so you can get back to running the campaign your players deserve to play?

It's not bad form. I've had groups where we frequently trade off DMing duties. I've also taken over for others.

Burnout happens. Part of life. When it does, a break is quite reasonable, and helps immensely. It's sometimes great just to be able to play a bit. Sometimes, even just taking a week off is what you need to get back in the groove.

And don't hesitate to groom your players to take a shot at GMing. It gives players a much better understanding of the game, and gives you a lot more diversity in campaigns. I really think almost everyone should take a shot at DMing sometime. =)

[Remmirath]

Is it bad form to hand over the game to a surrogate DM?

I don't think so, no. Unless your players or the person you would be handing it over to object, of course.

Would a person even be willing to take over someone else's campaign? I would... and have, but that doesn't mean most people are chill with that kind of thing.

That depends. I've seen situations where a DM handed over their campaign for a session or two and was not quite happy with the results, but I'm sure that it could work well. I, personally, would probably not be willing to take over someone else's campaign any more than I would want to take over playing someone else's character or writing someone else's story - it would feel odd, and I wouldn't know where they were intending to go with it.

If it is bad form... then have any of you ever lost that spark as a DM?

Fairly frequently. I find it happens more often when I am too busy with other things. When I was very busy with college and directing a play at the same time, for instance, I didn't have much enthusiasm for the campaign I was DMing; it started to feel like one more thing I had to do that was eating into my very scarce time to do things on my own. Also, I didn't have enough time to plan things for it, so it started to bother me that the quality was slipping.

How did you rekindle it so you can get back to running the campaign your players deserve to play?

I usually take a week or two off. Particularly if part of the problem is that I've got behind on planning encounters and such things, because that gives me time to catch up on planning.

If you still want to be playing, but just not DMing, seeing if one of the other people in your group would like to run a short or one-shot campaign sounds like a good idea.

[WarKitty]

What we've done sometimes is "dream sequence" or sidequest sections, if a substitute DM is called for. The substitute DM doesn't touch the main plot, but does something that lets the PC's gain some nice XP and loot.