Three of my friends and I have been in a group for awhile that hasn’t been playing consistently. Our usual DM has been very busy with school and work and hasn’t been able to prepare sessions for the past 5 months. I have DM’ed a couple one shots before so I decided to plan one out since I knew everyone would have a little free time around Christmas. We have had various friends join us in the past for a small campaign appearance or one shots, and I knew everyone was going to be in town so I decided to invite 6 players to the one shot.
I started preparing and put a ton of time into the one shot. Planned a whole winter theme with appropriate monsters, puzzles, and roleplay encounters. I even called with each player beforehand and devoted time to helping them create their characters. I made all the character sheets and got everything set up so I was very excited. Everyone seemed excited and they all expressed that they wanted to play.
The night of the one shot finally came and multiple players were late but for understandable reasons. Everyone got really excited to see each other and started talking and hanging out. We started eating and having drinks but I was able to rally everyone to start playing. It was already late and I knew several of us had work the next morning. Once we started though I felt like a parent or teacher trying to rally a group of kids. People were talking amongst themselves or laughing constantly as I set the scene. Some of the players were constantly getting up from the table to grab drinks or talk in the other room. During our first combat, it took forever because players took forever on their turn or just weren’t paying attention at all. It seemed when I made certain rulings people would complain or express their frustration when I was just following the rules. One player kept asking over and over for free advantage or extra damage without offering any reason behind it. It was hard not to feel disrespected or discouraged because of how much time i put into it.
Fast forward to the end, we had a very anti-climatic ending that resulted in the players ambushing the final boss. I honestly could have made the ending a better finish but I got discouraged and was no longer trying to create a great story with the players. I now realize the group was to big, to chaotic, and to much for me. I didn’t have the experience necessary to control the group and tell people “No” when they wanted to do certain actions. I’m not the greatest DM and I certainly didn’t create the coolest story ever but I guess I was hoping everyone would just get super excited about it. I had hopes that this story would turn into a small campaign with everyone.
I think I’m just looking for encouragement or advice. I really feel like I don’t ever want to DM again. I also just feel frustrated and that I don’t want to ever play with that group again. Is it ok to feel that way and express that to the group? Next time someone suggests to play together should I just tell them I don’t feel like playing with them anymore?
submitted by /u/Powerful-Pumpkin-541
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r/DnD Three of my friends and I have been in a group for awhile that hasn’t been playing consistently. Our usual DM has been very busy with school and work and hasn’t been able to prepare sessions for the past 5 months. I have DM’ed a couple one shots before so I decided to plan one out since I knew everyone would have a little free time around Christmas. We have had various friends join us in the past for a small campaign appearance or one shots, and I knew everyone was going to be in town so I decided to invite 6 players to the one shot. I started preparing and put a ton of time into the one shot. Planned a whole winter theme with appropriate monsters, puzzles, and roleplay encounters. I even called with each player beforehand and devoted time to helping them create their characters. I made all the character sheets and got everything set up so I was very excited. Everyone seemed excited and they all expressed that they wanted to play. The night of the one shot finally came and multiple players were late but for understandable reasons. Everyone got really excited to see each other and started talking and hanging out. We started eating and having drinks but I was able to rally everyone to start playing. It was already late and I knew several of us had work the next morning. Once we started though I felt like a parent or teacher trying to rally a group of kids. People were talking amongst themselves or laughing constantly as I set the scene. Some of the players were constantly getting up from the table to grab drinks or talk in the other room. During our first combat, it took forever because players took forever on their turn or just weren’t paying attention at all. It seemed when I made certain rulings people would complain or express their frustration when I was just following the rules. One player kept asking over and over for free advantage or extra damage without offering any reason behind it. It was hard not to feel disrespected or discouraged because of how much time i put into it. Fast forward to the end, we had a very anti-climatic ending that resulted in the players ambushing the final boss. I honestly could have made the ending a better finish but I got discouraged and was no longer trying to create a great story with the players. I now realize the group was to big, to chaotic, and to much for me. I didn’t have the experience necessary to control the group and tell people “No” when they wanted to do certain actions. I’m not the greatest DM and I certainly didn’t create the coolest story ever but I guess I was hoping everyone would just get super excited about it. I had hopes that this story would turn into a small campaign with everyone. I think I’m just looking for encouragement or advice. I really feel like I don’t ever want to DM again. I also just feel frustrated and that I don’t want to ever play with that group again. Is it ok to feel that way and express that to the group? Next time someone suggests to play together should I just tell them I don’t feel like playing with them anymore? submitted by /u/Powerful-Pumpkin-541 [link] [comments]
Three of my friends and I have been in a group for awhile that hasn’t been playing consistently. Our usual DM has been very busy with school and work and hasn’t been able to prepare sessions for the past 5 months. I have DM’ed a couple one shots before so I decided to plan one out since I knew everyone would have a little free time around Christmas. We have had various friends join us in the past for a small campaign appearance or one shots, and I knew everyone was going to be in town so I decided to invite 6 players to the one shot.
I started preparing and put a ton of time into the one shot. Planned a whole winter theme with appropriate monsters, puzzles, and roleplay encounters. I even called with each player beforehand and devoted time to helping them create their characters. I made all the character sheets and got everything set up so I was very excited. Everyone seemed excited and they all expressed that they wanted to play.
The night of the one shot finally came and multiple players were late but for understandable reasons. Everyone got really excited to see each other and started talking and hanging out. We started eating and having drinks but I was able to rally everyone to start playing. It was already late and I knew several of us had work the next morning. Once we started though I felt like a parent or teacher trying to rally a group of kids. People were talking amongst themselves or laughing constantly as I set the scene. Some of the players were constantly getting up from the table to grab drinks or talk in the other room. During our first combat, it took forever because players took forever on their turn or just weren’t paying attention at all. It seemed when I made certain rulings people would complain or express their frustration when I was just following the rules. One player kept asking over and over for free advantage or extra damage without offering any reason behind it. It was hard not to feel disrespected or discouraged because of how much time i put into it.
Fast forward to the end, we had a very anti-climatic ending that resulted in the players ambushing the final boss. I honestly could have made the ending a better finish but I got discouraged and was no longer trying to create a great story with the players. I now realize the group was to big, to chaotic, and to much for me. I didn’t have the experience necessary to control the group and tell people “No” when they wanted to do certain actions. I’m not the greatest DM and I certainly didn’t create the coolest story ever but I guess I was hoping everyone would just get super excited about it. I had hopes that this story would turn into a small campaign with everyone.
I think I’m just looking for encouragement or advice. I really feel like I don’t ever want to DM again. I also just feel frustrated and that I don’t want to ever play with that group again. Is it ok to feel that way and express that to the group? Next time someone suggests to play together should I just tell them I don’t feel like playing with them anymore?
submitted by /u/Powerful-Pumpkin-541
[link] [comments]