Have you ever wondered why someone quit a game on you? Often times it is due to a change in circumstances. The player might have moved away or have a new job with a new schedule and simply can’t make the game any more. However, people also quit games when they’re not having fun any more.
Over on a Facebook for D&D 5e fans the question was asked. This is a group with some 120K players so needless to say the answers came in quick and thick. There are 38 reasons below and each one of these entries was mentioned at least twice in the thread showing that nothing here is a unique pet peeve of just one strange player or DM.
Is there anything you’d add? Or anything you don’t think deserves to be in here? Let us know in the comments below.
Reasons why players quit D&D games
- Couple drama.
- DM’s 5-year-old kid in the group.
- DM who shoots down every cool idea a player has.
- Quoting 3.5 rules in a 5e games.
- DM being far less subtle about integrating his fetish into the campaign than he thought.
- The “No you can’t” DM.
- Arguing about the rules all the time.
- DM removing player agency.
- DM PCs that have a character sheet, get loot and level up.
- Poor hygiene.
- Metagaming
- DMs who don’t catch or stop cheating.
- Players refusing to learn even the most basic of rules.
- Chronic lateness and last minute cancellations.
- Murder hobos.
- Sexism in and out of games.
- DMs who name all the goddesses after their girlfriends.
- The player who takes the game way too seriously and ruins everyone else’s fun.
- Players who want their characters to do everything.
- Character on character violence.
- Player bullying.
- No good snack food.
- Lack of respect.
- Little to no actual role-playing.
- People getting angry for others making appropriate in-character actions.
- When you’re playing with a tight-knit group of friends and being on the outside, your character ends up ignored.
- Players and DMs who sexualise every female NPC or character.
- DMs who see the players as the enemy.
- DMs on power trips.
- Players who make characters specifically crafted as “get out of teamwork free” cards.
- Players who get drunk at the table.
- DMs and players who care way too much about keeping all characters heterosexual and cisgendered because ‘realism’ when the group just fought a dragon.
- Knowing the DM will never kill your character.
- DMs who obviously favour certain players.
- When combat takes too long.
- Edgelords who think every aspect of the game has to be grimdark.
- When player actions don’t have any impact on the narrative.
- Players who insist in historical realism in fantasy games.
Art by Axelle Bouet shared under Creative Commons.
I’d quit any D&D game if the DM plays D&D 4 or 5e scenarios. They totally suck. Nothing to do with RPG, everything to do with boardgames.
Yeah, people often have games or scenarios that they adore and others that they hate. I D&D4 and 5e scenarios are oddly specific, though. What in particular about the writing of these scenarios that makes the games feel boardgamey that D&D3e or Pathfinder don’t have?
Some of these are valid but players who wine about a lack of respect for their “cool ideas” and not being provided “good snack food” just for dragging themselves to the game? Well , they won’t be missed. I favor as much autonomy for pcs as posbible and want folks to be involved and have fun but insisting your cool ideas were overlooked is usually code for a whiny character who needs special treatment and can’t accept adversity.
You’re not wrong! A challenge for any GM is coping when players have ideas that might not fit into the game very well. Fortunately, those that stick around in the hobby tend to become better players and interject ill-conceived ideas less frequently.
I suspect the biggest sticking point is usually around ‘the type of character I want to play’ debates.
We Black list your post un France because picture of bad person.
I used to enjoy DnD but then the dm began canceling their game over and over which I understood at first as I knew they had stuff to do but now they say they’re busy but still have time to do other campaigns? That’s why I’m just leaving in the next session because the wait is boring and I literally don’t care for the game anymore. Why should I if the Dm clearly doesn’t?
“No good snacks?’ Bring your own maybe? If you leave a group because they got veggies instead of cheetos or its the off brand of cheetos then you should eat before playing and bring you own damn sugar.