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.
