I've tried talking to them about it some, and that's helped for a little while, but frankly I think they find it amusing to watch me try and shepherd them when they wander off or start side-conversations. It's hard to get them to listen to me about this when they actively enjoy making me exasperated. I'd impose consequences, but a) this is a school club and I don't really have that authority, and b) I don't want to make this seem like a class. People want to play this for fun, so I'm looking for a way to have it be a focused fun without being strict.
Agreed to boundaries that are set for the good of the group are far from being strict. But the main point here is that the group, not just you, not just them, need to agree to the social norms that govern behavior. If the group cannot agree to these things, then disband the group. You are there to have fun as well as they are. It's a team event, and part of the team is not being valued. I would strongly suggest that you go start a new team, one that is more in line with your playstyle. As a second recommendation: Session 0 is your friend. Openly stating expectations prior to the beginning of character generation and gameplay is a good way to vet potential group members.
You can be a leader without being an authoritarian.
No D&D is better than bad D&D
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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
The problem is, like I said, this is a school club. I can't really disband it without putting undue pressure on others to start a new campaign, and they know it.
Because it's a school-sanctioned club, I can't just say, "Sorry. No more D&D." The club has to go on. I could resign my role as DM, but that'd mean making a new (and less experienced, I'm the most senior member) DM come up with a campaign immediately with no warning. That wouldn't be cool.
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Will everyone stop calling him "The Demogorgon"? It's his name, not a title!
I played with a friend once who simply didn't take part in the game unless it was combat. This was allowed to go on because he was a lot of fun otherwise, but really, we should have simply kicked him. We should have told him, dude, this is the activity we're doing together, and if it doesn't actually interest you, we'll do something else with you that does.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Because it's a school-sanctioned club, I can't just say, "Sorry. No more D&D." The club has to go on. I could resign my role as DM, but that'd mean making a new (and less experienced, I'm the most senior member) DM come up with a campaign immediately with no warning. That wouldn't be cool.
If this is a mandated event, hosted by the school administration, one might expect there to be some type of oversight built in. Maybe in the form of an administrative member or maybe a teacher that might be able to provide the structure that is required? And while I empathise with you about feeling like you have to do this, understand, you don't. One shouldn't be made to feel like a prisoner to a game. Additionally, from your description, it seems like the other "club members" might need to learn how to DM regardless. What happens when you can't be there? Does the club not happen? If you have a dentist appointment or some such, someone should be able to take over and lead the game in your place. You being the singular point of failure in the system isn't a reason for nothing to change, it's a reason to get more people prepped to DM. Even for a one-shot, or West Marches style game.
Additionally, if you are *made* to be the DM, and only a DM, because you are the only one willing to do it, will eventually wear on you. Get someone else prepped to take the seat, if only for a week.
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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
Because it's a school-sanctioned club, I can't just say, "Sorry. No more D&D." The club has to go on. I could resign my role as DM, but that'd mean making a new (and less experienced, I'm the most senior member) DM come up with a campaign immediately with no warning. That wouldn't be cool.
Okay, so with my teacher head on, is there a member of staff supervising the club? If not, why not?
Frankly, I wouldn't expect a student to be DMing in this situation. Most schools (granted I'm in the UK so may be different where you are) that I know of which are running D&D groups have a member of staff DM and the students are the players. This is done so that there is a degree of supervision in appropriate subjects, tone and other such stuff. This is why a staff member for supervision is kind of essential. What if you touched on something that was triggering or stressing for one of your players? The school would be the ones hearing the complaint from the parents, which...well let's just say working in education has real drawbacks when you dig into the politics. In short it's not a great idea for the school to be letting you do this without supervision (assuming we're talking about a school where everyone is under 18). If we're talking about a university or similar, then quite frankly, it really doesn't matter what the school say it would be no different to any other group of adults playing D&D.
Of course there's supervision and everything, it's just that the teacher usually grades things while we're playing. At our next meeting, which is today, I'm planning on telling each of my players that they'll be DMing a one-shot over the next few weeks. That'll probably lead to a few mediocre sessions, to say the least, but hopefully it'll impress upon them the responsibilities of being a DM. We'll see if it works!
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Will everyone stop calling him "The Demogorgon"? It's his name, not a title!
Mediocre sessions are far from your primary concern. Objectively, expecting someone to DM and be as good or better than the person that is currently DM-ing isn't impossible, but it is a bit of an unrealistic expectation. The idea isn't to show them how bad they are at the thing you do. It's to make them good enough that you can take a break when you need to.
Regardless, Best of Luck. Let us know how it turns out!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
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Agreed to boundaries that are set for the good of the group are far from being strict. But the main point here is that the group, not just you, not just them, need to agree to the social norms that govern behavior. If the group cannot agree to these things, then disband the group. You are there to have fun as well as they are. It's a team event, and part of the team is not being valued. I would strongly suggest that you go start a new team, one that is more in line with your playstyle. As a second recommendation: Session 0 is your friend. Openly stating expectations prior to the beginning of character generation and gameplay is a good way to vet potential group members.
You can be a leader without being an authoritarian.
No D&D is better than bad D&D
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
The problem is, like I said, this is a school club. I can't really disband it without putting undue pressure on others to start a new campaign, and they know it.
Will everyone stop calling him "The Demogorgon"? It's his name, not a title!
Because it's a school-sanctioned club, I can't just say, "Sorry. No more D&D." The club has to go on. I could resign my role as DM, but that'd mean making a new (and less experienced, I'm the most senior member) DM come up with a campaign immediately with no warning. That wouldn't be cool.
Will everyone stop calling him "The Demogorgon"? It's his name, not a title!
I played with a friend once who simply didn't take part in the game unless it was combat. This was allowed to go on because he was a lot of fun otherwise, but really, we should have simply kicked him. We should have told him, dude, this is the activity we're doing together, and if it doesn't actually interest you, we'll do something else with you that does.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
If this is a mandated event, hosted by the school administration, one might expect there to be some type of oversight built in. Maybe in the form of an administrative member or maybe a teacher that might be able to provide the structure that is required? And while I empathise with you about feeling like you have to do this, understand, you don't. One shouldn't be made to feel like a prisoner to a game. Additionally, from your description, it seems like the other "club members" might need to learn how to DM regardless. What happens when you can't be there? Does the club not happen? If you have a dentist appointment or some such, someone should be able to take over and lead the game in your place. You being the singular point of failure in the system isn't a reason for nothing to change, it's a reason to get more people prepped to DM. Even for a one-shot, or West Marches style game.
Additionally, if you are *made* to be the DM, and only a DM, because you are the only one willing to do it, will eventually wear on you. Get someone else prepped to take the seat, if only for a week.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
Okay, so with my teacher head on, is there a member of staff supervising the club? If not, why not?
Frankly, I wouldn't expect a student to be DMing in this situation. Most schools (granted I'm in the UK so may be different where you are) that I know of which are running D&D groups have a member of staff DM and the students are the players. This is done so that there is a degree of supervision in appropriate subjects, tone and other such stuff. This is why a staff member for supervision is kind of essential. What if you touched on something that was triggering or stressing for one of your players? The school would be the ones hearing the complaint from the parents, which...well let's just say working in education has real drawbacks when you dig into the politics. In short it's not a great idea for the school to be letting you do this without supervision (assuming we're talking about a school where everyone is under 18). If we're talking about a university or similar, then quite frankly, it really doesn't matter what the school say it would be no different to any other group of adults playing D&D.
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Of course there's supervision and everything, it's just that the teacher usually grades things while we're playing. At our next meeting, which is today, I'm planning on telling each of my players that they'll be DMing a one-shot over the next few weeks. That'll probably lead to a few mediocre sessions, to say the least, but hopefully it'll impress upon them the responsibilities of being a DM. We'll see if it works!
Will everyone stop calling him "The Demogorgon"? It's his name, not a title!
Mediocre sessions are far from your primary concern. Objectively, expecting someone to DM and be as good or better than the person that is currently DM-ing isn't impossible, but it is a bit of an unrealistic expectation. The idea isn't to show them how bad they are at the thing you do. It's to make them good enough that you can take a break when you need to.
Regardless, Best of Luck. Let us know how it turns out!
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad