GM Meta-burnout

[Umbran]

People are saying play boardgames and stuff, but I think your problem is more severe than that, and if want to enjoy this stuff again, you need to dial things back, and focus on being capable of what you need to be able to do to DM. Which is "make things up". If you can't make things up, if you're reliant, in the way you've described, on pre-gen adventures and following rules, you've basically lost what it takes to actually be a good DM.

I think RE here may be on to something. I will make a couple of alternate suggestions of things that might help...

1) Find a simple system that isn't mechanically too complex, and where you don't spend too long learning or engaging with the mechanics. You want to be kind of bored with the mechanics before you even start writing/running. If you're overly engaged with them, you're going to get the moment that ceases, and you'll lose all enthusiasm.

So, there's a class of games in which the process of play actually generates a significant amount of the content, and the process actually hands the GM the moment in which they have to make things up.

Cortex+ games are an example. If you are a fan of the Leverage TV show, there's an excellent and really simple game for it. When a character tries to do something, they pick up one die for an Attribute, one die for the Role, roll them, and add them together. If one of the dice comes up a 1, that's a time the GM may choose to make up a complication.

The adventure itself is just an outline, and dealing with the complications actually fills in most of the details.

Or, you can take one step back from that. Once Upon a Time, from Atlas Games, is a card game in which you build a story out of prompts on the cards. Don't worry about rules and characters - get back into practice of generating cool stories from elements at hand.

2) Write your own campaign.

Or, alternatively, don't. Run a game that does not call for a "campaign". Like, say... Toon! Or Paranoia. Or an episodic superhero or Star Trek game. You may find it constructive to revive and explore the fun of individual sessions, and not worry about generating or maintaining a campaign as a whole.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Or, alternatively, don't. Run a game that does not call for a "campaign". Like, say... Toon! Or Paranoia. Or an episodic superhero or Star Trek game. You may find it constructive to revive and explore the fun of individual sessions, and not worry about generating or maintaining a campaign as a whole.

Yeah I think this is a particularly good suggestion and actually, despite my advice, how I approached fixing the problem for myself, when I think about it (I didn't actually come up with a campaign until I'd run a number of sessions).

 

[Retreater]

If you like writing and creating the worlds, maybe try writing something for another GM to run? The GM might be in your group or maybe you could post it on the DMs Guild? Or try designing rules subsystems just for fun? (I have done both to satisfy my technical play desires.)
Try looking for online games, if that has any appeal to you. Maybe find a DM on a service like Roll20 who can run for you and your players. Hell, I would be willing to help a hard-working DM for a one-shot or something.
I also love GM-less dungeon crawling board games. Maybe something like Descent (which does have a GM-like player) would be okay to try?

 

[Umbran]

Yeah I think this is a particularly good suggestion and actually, despite my advice, how I approached fixing the problem for myself, when I think about it (I didn't actually come up with a campaign until I'd run a number of sessions).

I can see that. If an idea of a storyline that really grabs you just sort of shows up, that'd be very much in line with the exercise.

 

[Campbell]

The main through-line that I am seeing is your instinct to making sure you are doing things right. It seems like you are putting undue pressure on yourself to make the right call. The game does not ride on your shoulders. You have to learn to be alright with making mistakes or it is always going to be extremely stressful to run a game.

Changing systems will not really get you there. It actually seems to be triggering an impulse to make sure you are doing it right. Instead I think you should try sticking to one game for awhile that you are comfortable with and slowly work on letting go. Try making more rulings without looking up the exact rules passage. Try doing more flexible prep over time. If your running a prepackaged adventure and things go in an unexpected direction try running with it the best you can. Do this slowly - bit by bit.

Most importantly just try to cut yourself a break man.

 

[MNblockhead]

Yeah, I pretty much have to be the DM or the group likely fades away. And getting groups of players who aren't bleeps in a town of under 4k isn't just hard, it's a process that takes years.

Try VTTs. Run and play one-shots. Roll20 makes it easy to find and start pick up games. Put your technical-orientation to learning the software and making cool VTT experiences and let the VTT worry about the math. With COVID, you shouldn't be meeting with your group in person anyways.

 

[Retreater]

Try VTTs. Run and play one-shots. Roll20 makes it easy to find and start pick up games. Put your technical-orientation to learning the software and making cool VTT experiences and let the VTT worry about the math. With COVID, you shouldn't be meeting with your group in person anyways.

@MNblockhead - a little off topic - I've seen elsewhere you're a fan of Rappan Athuk. Have you tried putting it into Roll20? (It's something I've thought about working on when I get more time, between running 4 games, writing another, etc., I just don't have a lot of hobby time left these days.)

 

[Ovinomancer]

I’m gonna suggest a trick I use to do the parts of my job I don’t like doing:

Give yourself a reward for performing onerous tasks. An immediate reward.

It may sound fairly basic, but you can trick your brain into focusing and working on things it doesn’t want to for the promise of a reward. And that reward actually does increase satisfaction for completing the task.

For daily work, I give myself 10 minutes on twitter for every 2 hr project I do. For monthly work, I get myself a double bacon cheeseburger. Works like a charm.

Dear god, man, twitter as a reward?! Give yourself permission to like yourself more!

 

[MNblockhead]

@MNblockhead - a little off topic - I've seen elsewhere you're a fan of Rappan Athuk. Have you tried putting it into Roll20? (It's something I've thought about working on when I get more time, between running 4 games, writing another, etc., I just don't have a lot of hobby time left these days.)

Roll20 was the first VTT I tried for RA. Before COVID, I was working in the mid-east. Roll20 was the only hosted platform that was working there. I did one session as a player using my Google Fi 3G connection with Fantasy Grounds but it was not a good experience. The problem with Roll20 is that the Rappan Athuk maps are large and there are many. I don't mind paying the higher price to host the data, but Roll20 was just so laggy with my maps, especially if I try to add lighting effects. And it isn't quick to load a map on the fly.

Map Tool remains my main VTT. But I also bought Foundry and am paying a hosting subscription to The Forge to host my license. It works very well for maps prepped for lighting and is the easiest tool to apply lighting to. Also the third-party add-ins for importing content from D&D Beyond and World Anvil are amazing.

The only thing that keeps me from making Foundry my main VTT is that it does not offer what I've come to think of as base-line functionality. That is to load a map with fog of war and be able to "erase" the fog layer to progressively reveal the map as the party explores. That's what I love about Map Tool. I load a map and it is ready to go. Tokens can't be moved into areas not yet revealed. I can live without the lighting effects. Now if you prep a map with walls and lighting in Roll20, Foundry, etc. it makes it a easier to run than manually erasing the fog as I do not, but I just don't have time to prep all maps for Rappan Athuk in advance and I never know where the party may end up next.

Most VTTs are better suited for more modern adventures that are on rails, or are less combat focused. It makes sense to put in the time prepping maps when you may only need a couple battlemaps in a session. But in my 8-hour sessions the party may move among multiple levels, each having large, complex maps. I need to pull up a map quickly, plop some counters on it and go. I really wish Foundry would add this capability, it would easily be my go-to VTT. I'm very happy with it otherwise.

I cancelled my Fantasy Grounds Unity ultimate subscription because I was paying USD 10 per month and never used it for a single game. It would frequently hang and crash and while I had very high hopes for it, and was hoping I could buy all the 5e rules and run everything in Fantasy Grounds, the performance was just too awful.

Map Tools may be ugly, but I continue to be amazed that such an old, free tool remains the most stable and best performing VTT for my needs.

 

[Retreater]

Roll20 was the first VTT I tried for RA. Before COVID, I was working in the mid-east. Roll20 was the only hosted platform that was working there. I did one session as a player using my Google Fi 3G connection with Fantasy Grounds but it was not a good experience. The problem with Roll20 is that the Rappan Athuk maps are large and there are many. I don't mind paying the higher price to host the data, but Roll20 was just so laggy with my maps, especially if I try to add lighting effects. And it isn't quick to load a map on the fly.

Map Tool remains my main VTT. But I also bought Foundry and am paying a hosting subscription to The Forge to host my license. It works very well for maps prepped for lighting and is the easiest tool to apply lighting to. Also the third-party add-ins for importing content from D&D Beyond and World Anvil are amazing.

The only thing that keeps me from making Foundry my main VTT is that it does not offer what I've come to think of as base-line functionality. That is to load a map with fog of war and be able to "erase" the fog layer to progressively reveal the map as the party explores. That's what I love about Map Tool. I load a map and it is ready to go. Tokens can't be moved into areas not yet revealed. I can live without the lighting effects. Now if you prep a map with walls and lighting in Roll20, Foundry, etc. it makes it a easier to run than manually erasing the fog as I do not, but I just don't have time to prep all maps for Rappan Athuk in advance and I never know where the party may end up next.

Most VTTs are better suited for more modern adventures that are on rails, or are less combat focused. It makes sense to put in the time prepping maps when you may only need a couple battlemaps in a session. But in my 8-hour sessions the party may move among multiple levels, each having large, complex maps. I need to pull up a map quickly, plop some counters on it and go. I really wish Foundry would add this capability, it would easily be my go-to VTT. I'm very happy with it otherwise.

I cancelled my Fantasy Grounds Unity ultimate subscription because I was paying USD 10 per month and never used it for a single game. It would frequently hang and crash and while I had very high hopes for it, and was hoping I could buy all the 5e rules and run everything in Fantasy Grounds, the performance was just too awful.

Map Tools may be ugly, but I continue to be amazed that such an old, free tool remains the most stable and best performing VTT for my needs.

I used MapTools way back in the early 2000s. I'm sure it's improved since then, but it didn't impress me much at that time.
I then tried Fantasy Grounds about 2 years ago and found it to be way too clunky for my liking. I attempted to delve into it, but even after months of research, tutorials, and more, it was still a big challenge to get it up and running.
When COVID hit, I tried Roll20. I mastered skills on it in a fraction of the time to learn basic functions on Fantasy Grounds. I can do most things pretty well on Roll20, even if I don't touch dynamic lighting (it's way too fiddly for what I like - I'm find with just manually revealing areas as needed).
Couple that with about half my players (and myself) using Android devices like Chromebooks, and anything that requires a Windows install (like Fantasy Grounds) is just a non-starter.
I was trying to import maps and encounters from Rappan Athuk into Roll20 and found (like you) it's really big to put into the system. I'm thinking that doing it in chunks might work, but I'm unsure.