End-of-Week What the Hell Happened to 2016?

"Whew, last year was ROUGH, man..."

Uh, hi folks.

Yeah, the end of 2016 got away from me...

Well, like an undead sorcerer-king, I'm rising from the dead and awakening to a new year...

How can I sum up the last bit of 2016 in terms of gaming?

Two words: unruly newbs.

Yeah, the newb campaign I started back in October...well, it fell apart.

Not really surprised by that development, actually. But what did surprise me is how quickly they seemed to become antsy about the pace at which the game was progressing.

Chalk it up to the accelerating pace of our society, maybe, but as of the second session most of the players were complaining about how slow the game seemed. I told them this was how table top roleplaying went, and it was being made even slower because two of the players were going full-on tactical planning and second-guessing over every decision point in the game.

Try as I might to encourage the players to not worry so much over every decision, things did slow down a lot.

By the end of the second session, it was clear from the "temperature" of the players' attitudes that the "magic" of roleplaying was wearing a bit thin.

Sheesh, guess it wasn't high-speed enough for them.

I was very patient with them, but have to admit to a bit of frustration. The group became somewhat combative and suspicious of my methods. I chalk that up to my attempts to be sinister and inscrutable. They took the bait, and were unnerved by it.

Mission accomplished, as far as I'm concerned. However, my players were all adults in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, and unused to encountering a sly and wily DM. I don't think they liked it. For people who don't have experience with the good old fashioned DM-player relationship, it can be off-putting, I suppose.

Ah well, it was an experiment. And not all experiments are successful, right?

So, not sure if we'll be roleplaying again any time soon. C'est la vie.

In the meantime, I'm sorta bummed about things falling apart, so much so that I can't muster the energy or interest to finish my recap of what went down.

I know, you're devastated by the news...

There might be some roleplaying in my future with some veteran gamers this year. I might be putting myself back into the DM's chair again.

Stay tuned. Until then, happy 2017 and happy gaming!