Running Adventures (A GM Experience & Insight)

[Laerun]

A GM Reflection (2022–2023)
In 2022–23, during covid-19, I ran a game of my own that was paid, and after about a year, no one paid for it anymore. The game dragged on, largely due to my own mistakes. I had picked one of the not-so-well written WotC settings, Rime of the Frostmaiden, and we spent our weeks wandering through ten towns with no clear direction. I tried to prop up the content by adding my own story arcs, but over time, I used less and less of the actual material, moving towards a more sandbox style sprinkled with homebrew.

Chapters 1–3 did not bring the main story arc together quickly enough. By the time we started the actual adventure, I think the players had lost interest, and even DMing felt like a chore for me. One player dropped out because of his kid's baseball season, and we had some arguments. We even had a player who kind of tried to backseat GM—not in an overbearing way, but it added to my frustration. The adventure itself was poorly written, so the whole thing quickly lost its appeal. In hindsight, I should have run a series of episodic one-shots focused on combat with a bit of roleplay and exploration.

I blame myself, honestly. Can't blame Fantasy Grounds. The players just burned out. It wasn't a complete waste of effort and time—there was some value—but the overall experience was underwhelming. It made me realize that I no longer want to run anything longer than a few sessions. People just don’t seem to care, and those who do quickly burn out. Out of six players, we had three good ones, one who left, and me—too new to be angry but still somehow apathetic and crushed.

The paid aspect did solve some quality issues, but if I ever run a long-term game again, it won’t be anything published. By then, most players already know the outline of the adventure and story arc. At one point, a player actually asked if something was in the adventure because it didn't sound familiar at all. He wasn’t wrong, but I ignored it.

Looking back, my campaign was pretty standard, but it makes me cringe now. One-shots are all I can handle at the moment. The game was a dud, mostly because of my own doing, though we did have a few good sessions. Another challenge was that we played twice a month, and if we missed a session, it was hard for the players—and me—to get back into the groove.

Despite all my experience, prep, and hype, I’m far from perfect. I’m not always the best leader for my group, and I make mistakes. I’ve realized that I’ve changed, even if I didn’t fully recognize it. The industry is changing too, whether I embrace it or not. Today’s players aren’t my old friends from the '80s and '90s—they have different needs, values, and priorities. You can’t prepare for people as much as you used to.

YouTube Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/PvqX5_g...cLOcoFQTnutDf4

[Draykor]

As a GM who's sole income is paid games I would advise to try not to get discouraged. I've had more players come and go then I have regular customers. Some of them, when I finally hang up my hat, I fully intend to invite to private friendly games. I look at myself as an entertainer first and foremost, a Dancing Monkey Bartender. Cultivate the good players and change them into loyal players. Let the bad players go and understand that not all tables are for all players. Some of those bad players are just bad fits.

In the end, even as a business GMing should still be fun. If you run a scripted adventure and it is not fun for you then it won't be fun for them so don't be afraid to be like "hey guys, this looked great on paper but sucks in practice, want to try something else?"

Last of all, it's not you. Only in very few cases is there issue with either a GM or a player. Frustration happens, bad days happen, writer's block happens, and yes - assholes happen. Those friends from the 80's and 90's? They're still there... maybe they have different faces and names... but they are there to be found again.

[Jaxiom]

I'm surprised Rim of the Frost Maiden had issues from a DM perspective. I played in person at one of the pay to play society games, and our group had a good time. I did look at the content and noticed the DM changed things and we missed a lot of content. I have very little DM experience, but as a player that has used cantrips to really muck up DM plans (before they got more defined and less awesome/flexible), I can say that flexibility is key. The audience won't always know if you blow a wrong note, if you keep going and adapt. Our DM didn't make new things up (that I could tell on my own read through), but he seemed to edit or relocated some clues if we seemed a little too much off course.



I would recommend asking players, post game, what moments shined and were memorable for them. Getting feedback can help fine tune whatever you're doing (in game or in your work profession) and keeping it positive helps to set the tone. Also ask what they're most looking forward to in the next session. This can help you prepare and even amp up a little whatever they're focused on and what is interesting them. I had a DM that identified that half the group wanted to hit things, and the other half wanted to make some friends with every goblin or creature they ran into. He ended up splitting the group and running two very different campaigns.

You may also want to check in on how players think you're doing as a GM. After managing hundreds of people over the years, I've learned that people are most likely to say "fine" if you don't go for specific questions. They also need to feel comfortable providing feedback and that can take time as people HATE hurting feelings and tend to not be fully honest. "What's something you'd like to see me do more of?" is an open ended question that doesn't come off as negative but might provide feedback.

The last thing I'd recommend is to always get and set expectations at the start of a new game and with new players. I find employees get upset when expectations aren't met. I like to let everyone know what expectations I have, find out what their expectations are (sometimes they don't fully understand who has responsibility), and also provide a path to communicate that expectations aren't being met and how they can expect to see that being addressed. No one else lives in our heads or has our exact experiences and I often find, at work, that assumptions are made that may be completely misaligned with reality.

[DaddieCat]

I’ve started using a QR code at the table or sending out an anonymous survey via email if I have the address. The survey is super short, usually no more than 10 questions, and takes less than 2 minutes to complete. I mention this upfront to encourage more people to fill it out. If it’s too long or has too many questions, people tend not to respond.

I typically ask about the session or one-shot, though it seems like we’re doing more one-shots than campaigns these days. I include “stars and wishes” type questions to get a better understanding of the participants. Lastly, I ask for feedback on something I could improve as a GM to enhance the experience for both the individual and the group.

With enough responses, I hope to gather actionable insights or at least get a sense of where to focus my efforts for improvement.

[The Decepticon]

I have a group that I found on the forums here that I have DM Mines of Phandelver then into Storm King's Thunder and now we started over and did Stormwreck Isle into Dungeon of the Mad Mage. I do not charge for my games as I am not an expert and make mistakes time to time.

The group is fantastic, with very minimal arguments or rule challenges. Thursday nights are something to look forward to because of my players. My initial feedback from the group after I ran Mines of Phandelver was stop giving us outs, if we get in too deep, you need let us suffer the consequences. I have since then killed off a few PCs of theirs all in fair fights and bad dice rolls and they have been fine with it.

I challenge this group as they are veterans and have been playing for a long time. Dm'ing this group is hard, especially in the Dungeon of the Mad Mage, and they have had several side quests to get them out of the dungeon as it can be a slog. Fantasy Grounds makes this so much easier to do especially with the maps and lines of sight. Session 72 is this Thursday and we are only on level 6!