When I DM, it drives me bonkers that I have to wait for my campaign story to unfold naturally. I come up with storylines and encounters that I really want to share, and then you have to wait for your players to discover the threads. Don't get me wrong, it's amazing when things do eventually come to light but the waiting drives me nuts.
As a player, I hate waiting to play a new character. You come up with a great concept or compelling idea and you have to sit on it. It's even worse since I'm the only regular DM in my group. I might have four character ideas floating around, but none of them are going to see the light of day anytime soon.
I've been thinking about this for awhile so I wrote down my thoughts in a long blog post, but you get the idea.
One thing that helps as a DM is to focus more on the short term. Really dig into the smaller arcs that only take 1-2 sessions to complete. You still have your over-arching narrative with the big reveals and the BBEG waiting at the end, but directing some of that enthusiasm and energy into the long chain of smaller events that create the journey can make for less frustration and a richer campaign.
As a player, I will never be able to play all the PCs I put together. But some of them end up becoming NPCs in my own campaign if they turn out really interesting.
So im not the only one. I find it very hard not to tell my players what im doing in the background with plots and quests. I never get to use my great character concepts either, even if i turn them into NPCs
Well, one of my players agrees with the OP so much that he is in 4 different games -- mine, and 3 others he found on LFG posts at places like Roll 20. He couldn't wait 2 weeks or even 1 week it seems, to play some D&D... and wanted to play all his concepts for characters right away, I guess.
As a DM, yes, I often work several "adventures" ahead of the PCs and have some things thought up in my head as possible scenes for maybe many adventures in the future. Waiting to get there is... not super easy. But it's just part of DMing.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
For me the "grand ideas" for campaigns or characters are really theory craft. Like those concepts could happen in game, but you might not get there. At some point I dropped "the plot" so to speak, letting go of where I thought the story should go or even where "I" was going, and learned to play or DM in the moment, and prioritize playing or DMing my best in the present.
As a player, I hate waiting to play a new character. You come up with a great concept or compelling idea and you have to sit on it. It's even worse since I'm the only regular DM in my group. I might have four character ideas floating around, but none of them are going to see the light of day anytime soon.
http://thathitsrolldamage.com/2021/02/09/waiting-is-the-worst-thing-about-dd/
I spend way too much time thinking about D&D. So much that I had to start writing it down.
Dungeon Master, Blogger at That Hits, Roll Damage!
https://thathitsrolldamage.com/
One thing that helps as a DM is to focus more on the short term. Really dig into the smaller arcs that only take 1-2 sessions to complete. You still have your over-arching narrative with the big reveals and the BBEG waiting at the end, but directing some of that enthusiasm and energy into the long chain of smaller events that create the journey can make for less frustration and a richer campaign.
As a player, I will never be able to play all the PCs I put together. But some of them end up becoming NPCs in my own campaign if they turn out really interesting.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
So im not the only one. I find it very hard not to tell my players what im doing in the background with plots and quests. I never get to use my great character concepts either, even if i turn them into NPCs
Homebrew worth mentioning: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/1766726-pterofang
https://slyflourish.com/your_most_important_game.html
As a DM, this helped me refocus my mindset about having huge campaigns planned months before you start them.
Well, one of my players agrees with the OP so much that he is in 4 different games -- mine, and 3 others he found on LFG posts at places like Roll 20. He couldn't wait 2 weeks or even 1 week it seems, to play some D&D... and wanted to play all his concepts for characters right away, I guess.
As a DM, yes, I often work several "adventures" ahead of the PCs and have some things thought up in my head as possible scenes for maybe many adventures in the future. Waiting to get there is... not super easy. But it's just part of DMing.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
For me the "grand ideas" for campaigns or characters are really theory craft. Like those concepts could happen in game, but you might not get there. At some point I dropped "the plot" so to speak, letting go of where I thought the story should go or even where "I" was going, and learned to play or DM in the moment, and prioritize playing or DMing my best in the present.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Agreed.
I will get an idea and imagine what might happen if the party does X, but maybe they will, and maybe they won't. They surprise me quite often.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.