How I bowed out

[Peter Hollinghurst]

I tried doing some games with just one of the group, which worked ok until the others started turning up-however I tried to arrange it whoever played would tell the others even if they were told not to! As I said-they stick together like a herd of cows. When I have tried to discuss the issues with them, I just get accussed of being 'unreasonable', and the more moderate voices in the group go with the flow against me on it. As I said-the overall thrust is that they suggest Im crazy. What they want is for me to play trad games, the way they want it, when they want, where they want (which is more frequently and at my place). Preparation that I do for games is largely taken for granted. The more I tried in the past to make games special for them, the worse it got...

It has actually got to a point where, though the actual game may go ok (though many have been disasters) I have been really stressed by it all-which is not something Im prepared to have happen. Though I love gaming, its not worth loosing sleep over. No-I am ditching them lock stock and barrel-even the better ones since they have shown that they come as a complete package. It will mean that gaming for me will be more restricted for a while, which is a pain, but hopefully I shall be able to find some real friends that want to play rpgs-perhaps some with little or no previous experience to form hang ups about how or what or when we play. I suspect I spoiled the last bunch rotten by playing weekly dnd for a few years (which I hated). *sigh*

[Jasper]

I wish you luck with that, Peter.  It sounds like the way to go, since you can't get the more reasonable players on their own.  You have plenty of reason to ditch the group as a whole, given how absolutely rude and self-centered they've been -- if nothing else, they don't want the same things out of gaming (and from the other members of their gaming group) that you do.

If you manage to find some other gamers in the area, as oppose to having make converts yourself, guage their reactions to "avante guarde" games right off the bat: heck, maybe describe to them what your last group was like and why you left it -- if they seem miffed by your behavior, you know you can keep looking.  

I don't know where you live, but maybe you can make a post to Connections and find another Forgite (whatever) somewhere around you.