MATT: Hello, my name is Matthew Mercer. I am a voice actor and the dungeon master for Critical
Role here at Geek & Sundry. And today’s episode of GM tips touches on the spooky topic of
game master burnout.
[intro music]
Game mastering burnout is a fear and real issue for many folks who run ongoing games. As
incredibly fun and rewarding as it is, you need quite the time commitment to continuously write,
organize, and run an RPG campaign on a regular schedule. I know many who have lost interest or
just simply lost inspiration. And I’ve been there myself a number of times and there’s nothing wrong
with that. It’s part of being a person. Life circumstances change, other things have to take
priority, or you’ve just grown tired of the responsibility. So let us discuss some ways to
help alleviate any oncoming burnout or how to comfortably deal with it if it should hit.
First off, don’t force yourself to do it if your heart isn’t in it. Writer’s block kicking in?
Found a tangle in your narrative thread? Step away from your notes for a while and take a walk or go
play some board games with friends. Watch a movie at your local theater. Enjoy some fun space to not
concentrate on your GM-ing duties and return when the inspiration strikes. If you’re supposed to be
running your game really soon and you have no idea how you’re going to finish prep in time, consider
letting your players know and postpone your game session until you are ready. No one wants you to
kill yourself over it, trust me.
On that note, if it’s getting bad, let your players know. Be honest about your worry and
exhaustion and discuss among yourselves how to best lend to your comfort. Consider if the regular
schedule is just too difficult to balance among your other life commitments and perhaps roll back
to a more sparse gaming routine. Playing weekly? Try playing bi-monthly for a while, or once a
month. This will give you more time and less stress to be prepared for the next session.
Players, please be respectful and understanding of your GM’s fatigue. They are busting their ass
every week to bring you joy. So just be as supportive as you can.
You can consider taking a break from the campaign for a little while, allowing yourself to recharge.
Talk with the group about this and if all is cool, find a way in your current story arc to bring it
to a temporary halt. Either the adventurers complete their current task and you can close the
chapter cleanly. Or perhaps they fall into an elaborate trap that locks them away for a time.
Consider a story beat you can end on that allows you and the party to step away for a few weeks,
months, or longer and not feel like you’ve left mid breath. This way players won’t return to your
table down the road super confused trying to remember "Wait, but what was going on? Shit.
Right. Wait. No, I thought there was a guy with that cursed thing. Didn't someone kill my dog? No,
no, that was John Wick. Sorry."
Players, any of you itching to try your hand at GMing a game for a while? How about gifting your
hard working GM with some time off and offering to run a short term campaign for the party and letting
them play in it. Not only is that a wonderful way to help them relax a while and offer them the
opportunity to play in a game. But you yourself may discover how much you enjoy running
your own game.
Well, thank you so much for watching this episode of GM tips. I hope it was helpful for you. This is
actually kinda cool. Before we filmed this the crew let me know that they actually went into the
prop closet and found actual magical items which is fucking crazy. This is apparently a War Mage
wand. It's +3 against spell attack rolls. I think it's great. We have what looks to be a Vorpal
sword. Which is a little shorter than I expected but apparently pretty functional. You should look
it up. It's pretty powerful. Legendary weapon. And oh [beep], this one can be fun. I think this is a
Girdle of Giant Strength. Which I'm wondering what giant it is.
[small bang and music]
SATINE: I should probably read some labels before I start putting things on. Girdle of Gender
Changing. Well then. Hello. I am Satine Phoenix and I'll be taking over for the next run of GM
Tips. Stick around and prepare for my perspective on game mastering ideas. See you on the internet.
[music]