GM insecurity thread

Invited my girlfriend into a campaign (2nd time inviting a gf), we're 3 sessions into a new campaign with just her and my brother to ease her into it.

So far she's "awkward and nervous" as she describes it; she's a good player too, just not very comfortable with actually playing the role yet and seems a little disconnected. I told her she shouldn't feel like she's obligated to play if she doesn't want to, and while she hasn't said she wants to stop/leave yet it seems like she's not having fun in the same way my brother and I are.

I assured her that new campaigns, especially for "virgin" players, can often start a bit rocky and pick up momentum and suck you in after a bit.

Anyway. I guess I'm just afraid I'm running things poorly, and I don't know whether I should alter the way I'm doing things or not to try to entice her into staying as she's fun to game with, or just let whatever happen. Maybe ramp up the excitement factor somehow?
She mentioned that she played in a game once before, and that she didn't like combat much but thought the story and character aspects were enjoyable. So I'm also trying to bring her character backstory into it, but I don't want to force it.

Anyone else been in this situation of trying to get someone hooked on RPGs and possibly failing? Any advice?

Also, GM inadequacy general I guess.

Get another player or two in there. As it stands, she may feel less like this is time for the three of you and more like this is her intruding on bonding time between you and your brother.

Another one or two players will make it clearer that you take this as a group fun activity and that she's not a third wheel. It will also allow for more character dynamics with more people, which would pander to her love of story and character aspects.

This is good and thoughtful advice, thanks a lot. I do have a potential third waiting in the wings who was a good player in a previous campaign, so I may get some brief input on that from the group first and then bring them in.

DONT
DO
THIS
seriosly
dont do
you re gonna be cucked

That really depends on the gf and on the people he brings in.

Found the Muslim

I'd love to run a campaign in D&D, but I don't know if I'm good enough. Simple problem, not so simple solution. My early years playing D&D were spent being told I was the worst player ever, repeatedly, in multiple campaigns. My characters were bland and borderline edgy, and I had no idea how the game worked at first and was mocked for it.

Note, all of this was my older brother's fault because he was shit GM who liked making 12-year-old me mad.

I didn't even bring up Hijabs this time!

Exactly. The female must be completely isolated if it's to be reasonably controlled, otherwise the vagina can and will consume every male genital in its sight radius. You're already taking a risk having your brother there but I assume that's just an exercise in discipline he's in on. Maybe he's holding the spray bottle. How you restrain your woman is up to you, really.

This is you, this is what you sound like.

OP here, I kinda doubt your prediction but I guess who knows (or cares; it's a little out of scope)?

>beta alert

where do you think we are?

Set up a simple game in the gamefinder thread. Explain that it's your first time running a game and that you'll probably start off with modules. After all, that's what they're there for.

Stick with a small group, three to five players, and be prepared for newbies to take you up on being a new DM.

Make sure you've got everything prepared, including notes on the stuff you think is simple enough that you couldn't forget (because you might forget when it matters and a quick reference is useful), and don't sweat it if you stumble once or twice. Just apologize and adapt.

Don't get your players involved in a grand campaign before you've found your feet. Instead, find your stride with smaller adventures until everyone's comfortable, THEN start your story.

Going with this route means you run the possibility that she may bow out because her presence is no longer needed to allow the game to continue on.

I would suggest following your own advice, and making the game a little more centred around the two characters in your game. With low player population, you get more mileage out of making the game about them, as opposed to having them interact within the world you've created. My thoughts any way.

>Used to be alternating GM with another guy in my group.
>Other guy is WAY better than I am.
>However, he hasn't "felt the spark" for the better part of 3 and a half years now, in that time only running a single oneshot.
>Rest of group is still kind of waiting for him to get his shit back together and run again, especially since for 3 of us, we've had this long, long running campaign arc that they (and I, I suppose) want to see concluded.
>Know that my campaigns can be cut short at any moment by him saying "Hey guys, I'm ready to roll" or the equivalent.

Not sure if this counts for the thread's topic but I was planning on GMing my first campaign with some friends. I had this fun idea to start the players all being arrested/interrogated after getting into a fight. I'd have an NPC question them one at a time about what happened, and to do this I would actually pull the player into another room and question them there while the other players talked among themselves.

Is this too gimmicky? Is it a bad idea to basically split the party/ignore the table for a while just for the sake of creating an atmosphere? I'm worried that the players not currently being interviewed will just get bored.

>My early years playing D&D were spent being told I was the worst player ever, repeatedly, in multiple campaigns.

That's harsh. Did multiple people tell you this, or just your brother? Was it just because your characters were boring?

As long as you explain to your players before hand that the first session is going to take place like that, it should be fine. Just pitch it as a one time session 1 thing, but afterwards it will be a more conventional style game.

Splitting the party in general should only be done if you've prepared for it to happen. You may want to explain to your group that, although you can handle it every so often, if they constantly split up and do their own thing, it can drag the game on longer because sessions and arcs get dragged out longer because you have to attend to everyone's individual motives, where as sticking together, the both of you can better progress the story. It really depends on what kind of games you plan on running, and what system you're using to do it.

I think its okay to move on without him, but you should give him the heads up first. Knowing that a game is about to start might rekindle his interest. If it doesn't, you shouldn't be too worried about him changing his mind after you started a campaign.

Don't let your friends just sit around and wait for something that might never happen, take initiative.

What? No, I've run 2 campaigns in the meantime, and am currently plotting out a third. He just plays these days, doesn't run.

I just meant it in the sense that I know that if he said that he has his new one worked out, the entire group would desert my game en masse. And I'd probably join them.

I guess it depends on whether OP's girlfriend is there to make him happy or there to give it a serious shot.

but is that wrong tho?

>being this insecure that you think your GF interacting with another male makes you at risk of cucking

Get a job

>she feels awkard
>calls other males
>there's some charismatic chad between them
Yeah i never witnessed what it lead to...

I miss GMing so badly, but I don't think I can run a game for my regular group without it escalating into OOC drama and shouting matches. I had to can my last game, which everyone really enjoyed, because interplayer tensions were getting really bad (two of the players are sisters who don't work well together). I can't run a game with both of them, but they both insist on being involved, so I can't run a game without both of them. The other groups I am/have been involved with are either out of state now, or aren't looking for yet another game, and I'm too nervous to run something for people online.