Greetings, gamers from all systems, places and timelines!
Whether you’re running a campaign or playing in one, it can be a huge commitment in terms of real-life time. Case in point, nearly all the games we are currently running have been going anywhere from a year and a half to three years. Over that time, it’s not hard to imagine how playing a character or even the world itself might start to feel a bit stale.
Not to mention, every time you turn around, someone else has a great idea for a new game in an existing world or entirely new one.
However, not all, or even most, of the members of the campaign may feel that way. They could still be having a great time. This is why we’ve composed a list of tips to help both DMs and players overcome the fatigue of their current games until it’s time to bring down the curtain.
1. Player: Focus on Your Character Goals
Not all characters need these, as some players love feeling free and are excited by what life might throw at them. However, if you’re not loving it and the game is a longer style one than you prefer, character goals can be especially useful.
Goals are what both drive the character forward in the story and make them feel invested in it. So, if one of your players says they’re bored with their current character, this may be a good place to start. Ask them what their character’s goals are and see how they can either be worked more into the story or given an opportunity to develop.
2. DM: Take a Break From the Main Plot
One of the hard realities of being a DM is that your idea for the game’s main plot may not be what the party was hoping for. Or perhaps it sounded good on paper and then a few games later things just aren’t clicking. All of this is ok because even the best DMs sometimes need to go back to the lab.
Regardless, taking a few sessions to do something else might just be what the doctor ordered. Run an existing module and see how it’s received by your group. Afterward, provided the main plot isn’t the world ending, ask the group what they would like to do next. If they want to see what’s cooking with your original idea, then great, it’s already there and at the ready. If the party still doesn’t want to be locked into something so long term, offer them some potential module choices and let them vote on it.
3. Player: Work With the DM to Make Some Changes to Your Character
Some players may find themselves deep into a campaign but bored with their character class. However, they also don’t want to just kill off their existing character or come in with someone entirely new – especially when the game is already 14 sessions in progress.
One solution is for the character to change classes at their current level, so they don’t have to come in with someone completely new. But if you are going to make that work, it should be part of the story in a way that also makes sense with the continuity of that world.
For example, you don’t want to ask your DM if your cleric could just walk into a mysterious waterfall and emerge as a paladin. Instead, express the interest in finding a mentor and move into their new class perhaps a few levels per game. Or seek out something magical like a deck of many things or even a genie that can grant a wish for their transformation. The last thing you want is the rest of your party finding out your cleric is now a paladin and their reaction being “WTF?”
4. DM: Identify the Player’s Pain Points
Maybe at the beginning of the campaign you were planning an exploration game on the high seas, but after game three, your party just wants to sell their boat. Or you took your party to Ravenloft, and the group really isn’t feeling that sun-never-shines, house-of-the-dead vibe.
If this is the case, perhaps roll back some of the aspects of the game your players find to be a slog. For example, if the party can’t stand the high seas and need to get to an island, allow them an alternative way to get there, like a teleport circle. If that type of magic isn’t available, perhaps just make the trip via boat quicker and more painless.
5. Player: Ask Yourself What Aspects of the Game Aren’t Working for You?
Perhaps your character feels like they’re being dragged along on a bunch of quests they couldn’t give a rat’s snot about? If you feel during the game that your choices are as limited as my high school lunch menu, then this needs to be communicated to your DM. Nothing quite makes someone want to go on a mission where they could literally die than to have next to nothing to gain.
Also, if this is the case, it may be time to consider how you can be properly
compensated. This can take many forms, but the important part is that whatever aspect this compensation takes, it helps your character further their own goals. Even if this compensation is that the party has agreed to take on a quest that your character couldn’t complete on their own.
6. DM: Choose New Aspects of the Existing Game to Introduce
If there isn’t anything wrong with your story or campaign world but things don’t feel interesting enough or feel too similar to the last game you were in, then it’s time to spice things up. Adding aspects to the campaign that make your world unique and interesting may just be what you need.
This could be introduced when the party comes across a magical city, a planar gate or even a wizard with phenomenal cosmic power. Here you have the opportunity to work whatever new ideas you like into the game from technological weaponry to spell jamming ships. Of course, it’s also a wonderful opportunity to toss out that plot hook or lore drop you’ve been saving. Either way, make sure your players have a story-based reason on deck to utilize the new wonders they have now acquired.
Final Thoughts
A game going on for months and even years is definitely not a bad thing, but it’s easy to see how things can get either too comfortable or stale. No matter how established a game world or character is, they should always be evolving as they move through the story so things stay interesting. Otherwise, the game itself can feel like a console game that you beat a while ago and are just chasing achievements on.
Are you in or running a lengthy campaign? If so, we would love to hear how you keep things new and interesting over the course of dozens of sessions.