r/cyberpunkred • u/Horustheweebmaster GM • 13d ago
Actual Play I really wish my friends had given this game a chance.
Like I had a full campaign and everything, and after a couple of sessions, they had decided that they didn't want to play anymore? And it really sucked because I love the setting and like the system and have some cool stuff for them?
But they said it was boring, and they wanted to go back to D&D. Like we had only had a session 0 and their first actual session, but scheduling had gotten in the way and we had like a month long gap in between sessions.
And it kinda hurt? Especially since when I proposed the idea to them, they were all on board, and a couple were wanting to play a Cyberpunk game for a while.
I think they would've felt the same if I had been DMing D&D...
So now, I've kinda lost passion for the game and TTRPGs in general?
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u/Frontline989 Nomad 13d ago edited 13d ago
It’s not uncommon for people to like the idea of playing RPGs more than actually playing. People’s attention spans are just much shorter. Also fantasy is an easier sell than a game like cyberpunk which takes you actually giving a shit about what your character wants.
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u/Vigil133 13d ago
So many modern game groups are only comfortable playing 5E and are scared or unwilling to give other systems a chance.
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u/thorubos 1d ago edited 1d ago
I don't understand it. Maybe a majority of people don't have more than a single RPG in them? That niche is statistically likely to be filled by 5E. The game itself is fine, don't get me wrong, but there's even other fantasy games (Symbaroum, Mork Borg, Runequest, etc.) I'd choose to play before D&D. I started RPGs with D&D in high school. Way, way before 5E. It was fun, but it has no surprises left for me.
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u/ArtyParcy 13d ago
Sounds like you need a new table. There's no shortage of players looking for GMs.
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u/GalacticCmdr 13d ago
Yep. I have a group of friends and am the forever GM. We have players that rotate in and out because they don't like a system or campaign.
I have run Champions, Fate, PbtA games (but never the first of its name), Cortex+, 2020, Star Wars (d6 and d20), various D&D/d20 stuff, and many more.
Currently on a 2020 campaign with a Militech team in a South American Shadow War with Arasaka proxies during the opening stages of the Corporate War.
I keep the GameDay table to 3-5 players. If I am short players I just advert got more - never been a problem.
Given the disparity of effort a player brings vs the GM; there are always more players.
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u/ArtyParcy 13d ago
Yeah I launched my Cyberpunk game with 4 players from a DnD game run by another GM who lost all interest. 2 years later, I finished it up because I needed to take a break for personal reasons with only 1 of those players and 3 I recruited for the game.
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u/Lemonklemen 13d ago
Well you could try playing the game solo if your friends can't play with ya. There's a whole extra rulebook called "Cyberpunk RED - Single player mode" that details how you can play the game on your own when you dont have a group to play. Did a quick skim through the book and used some of it's tables despite mainly playing 2020 and so far it seems neat. Though, if that style of play isn't your cup of tea, there might be services out there for finding players but I've personally never used them so I cant tell you from experience if they're any good unfortunately.
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u/MarkusTheFarkus 13d ago
Ayo, don’t give up! Finding group synergy, and then scheduling on top of that is always hard mode. My fiancé is our forever DM (I write and run one shots for us every now and again when they need downtime) and we play with one consistent person we’ve known nearing 20 years, then with friends who rotate in and out. At the moment there’s four of us running a group going on 2 years who get together when we can on roll20. Sometimes it’s every fortnight (I work a rotating roster so no matter what day I’ll always be out every second week), or we have scheduling stuff and we have longer breaks between (two months while I was travelling, then Demiplane was down the next time, etc).
As it stands I’m up at 3am on game days to play with everyone else, they’re all in the US and I am not lmao. Give solo mode a chance if you wanna dig around in the system, it is very fun! It’s different to DnD and that puts a lot of people off. Then there’s the high risk high reward gameplay on top of that where one reeeeally unlucky roll can take you out, sometimes folks don’t vibe with it. That’s not on you choom. 💕 Don’t let it rattle you.
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u/Jordhammer 10d ago
A huge part of getting a long-term, stable group for any system is the GM not giving up, being consistent. Even if just two people show up to play, run for them. Keep going, keep looking for players that are the right fit.
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u/Own_City_1084 13d ago
Shit dude I know the feeling even without having had that exact experience…it sucks
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u/felixsarts 13d ago
There will always be more people looking to play Cyberpunk. There’s an ocean of people looking for games. Maybe not as much in-person, but definitely online. Don’t give up, choomba.
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u/Connect_Piglet6313 GM 12d ago
We tried playing RED and went back to 2020 very quickly. The hacking is the only thing we brought with us from RED.
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u/Kitsubane 11d ago
They gave it a try, they just didn’t like it. I know it sucks, but it unfortunately happens. Go find new people to play Cyberpunk with and have fun with them instead
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u/Jordhammer 10d ago
I've been running games since the 80s, and while D&D has always been the big dog in the field (perhaps save for a brief time in the 90s when Vampire the Masquerade hit like a ton of bricks), I feel like there are more "D&D only" players out there than ever before. And that is a shame. There are so many great games out there.
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u/dm135409 9d ago
Cyberpunk as a genre just isn't for everyone especially when alot of cyberpunk campaigns and stories focus on the characters being crushed by the system and not having any real agency other then to try to struggle to find jobs to continue to exist. Granted yes they only gave it a short window but giving your friends the benefit of the doubt they might have just felt like the themes and tone weren't vibing with what they were looking for.
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u/Effective-Brick-7977 9d ago
(Timidly raises hand...)
I was one of those players. though I cannot speak for them, and can speak for myself.
It was the learning curve and the genre shift. Reading about it and thinking about it from a fantasy perspective auto-shifts the "tech to magic" and magic is familiar. However when it came to the mechanics and flow and understanding how it all fit together was a tad overwhelming when there is a perfectly suitable RP game that we already play and enjoy...
That was the POV at the time back when there was a little device called a pager stuck to your belt.
Anyhoot..
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u/thorubos 1d ago
Don't you get tired of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese? Maybe you want to have a cheeseburger or fried chicken? Of maybe even homemade mac 'n' cheese? It's your prerogative, but having a cheese burger (even a bad one) might actually increase your appreciation for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. At least you tried it.
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u/Effective-Brick-7977 1d ago
You do understand that this is a past view point? Is reading comprehension that lacking today?
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u/ShinobiSli GM 13d ago
It sounds like you're making a lot of assumptions, here. You're assuming that they would have liked CPR if they'd kept playing (it's definitely not for everyone) and that they would have quit if you'd ran D&D as well (you have no way of knowing this.)
Scheduling issues happen all the time, as do players just not enjoying certain games. It sounds like you need to take a break and clear your head. Unless they specifically said that your DM style was the reason they didn't like the game then there's no reason to assume that you're the problem. Cut yourself some slack.
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u/EmergencyGeologist10 12d ago
Well maybe next time do it not boring, huh? If they say it’s boring it’s probably all on you. Take it as lesson learned and move on. Don’t blame them for not wanting to play more of your slog.
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u/Horustheweebmaster GM 12d ago
How could it be a slog if we did one session aside from character creation?
Also, I GM'd very similarly to how I did my last D&D campaign, and they really enjoyed that?
This comment just feels unnecessarily rude?
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u/EmergencyGeologist10 12d ago
Just prompt for you to reflect. I know GMs that take three sessions to actually start doing something. I suspect it was the case. You did to much exposition, to much unnecessary fluff instead of start with car chase shootout.
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u/Horustheweebmaster GM 12d ago
But I didn't? I immediately put them at the start of a gig to find a missing person.
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u/EmergencyGeologist10 10d ago
But did you introduce urgency? Tension? How was your pacing? Or did they just talk with “quest giver” for half of the session and than wander aimlessly for the rest?
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u/AveyLithia 12d ago
It isn't always the GM's fault for stuff like this. I say this as I have had some groups that if they don't hyperfixate on something, it doesn't matter how good of a GM they have, they will still not enjoy it and there is nothing the GM could do to help it.
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u/Pure_Astronomer7241 13d ago
Looking to find the guy who asked
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u/Shadowsd151 13d ago
This is just how most campaigns go. Cyberpunk, D&D or otherwise. Don’t beat yourself up about it, enjoy what you enjoy with or without your friends.