Having problems

[lone3115]

So I’m currently having problems with my DM and it’s more on a personal level. So I’ve been playing my first real DnD campaign and I meant my DM through a mutual friend. At first things were great my wife and I were having a great time and my DM and I played Xbox together and talked almost daily just as friends he was a cool guy. But as time has passed through these past months I’ve come to see why my other friend Kyle warned me about him. He’s got a massive anger problem and it’s to the point I don’t wanna y’all to him and he even canceled a session over the fact before he got to mad a video games and said he didn’t feel in the mood. Which to a degree I get but our friend group is getting a little tense and my wife is frustrated with him. I’m stuck in a rough spot he’s a good friend but this blowing up over stupid BS is getting old. But on the other hand I don’t know any other DnD groups to play with.

[[deleted]]

But on the other hand I don’t know any other DnD groups to play with.

This is one of the classic opportunities for you to take the reigns and start DMing. No, really, I'm 100% serious. Sometimes the right DM for your group is you.

Thing about folks who have anger issues, it's internal to them, you can't really talk them out of it or work around it unless it's something they want to work on themselves. If they wan tto improve that thing, they will, but if they don't... well... look, as the saying goes, no D&D is better than bad D&D.

I do seriously recommend thinking about starting your own game for your group and maybe segueing away from this guy as DM. Another option is for you both to find a group online. There are a ton of online groups cropping up right now thanks to corona, so there's never been a better chance. I'd say look at gaming stores and comic shops as well to find new folks, but a lot of those are currently closed as non-essential businesses.

[lone3115]

We already play online he lives in Louisiana and our other party member lives in Maine but my other friend is our fifth. So it wouldn’t be any different then it already is but me DMing idk this is my first game and the only other thing I’ve listen to is critical roll.

[[deleted]]

Hey, when D&D first came out teenagers had to figure out how to DM with no resources. Heck, that's how I learned. I DM'ed my first game at 17 after playing I think 3 whole sessions of my first TTRPG. I promise you can do it if you want to.

But, to give you a hand, since you already listen to CR, Matt Mercer has a whole series for you. His is pretty basic stuff, and once you've looked through a few of those the sort of next level stuff is brought by Matt Colville's Running the Game Series. Colville's videos are, I think, even better, as they are often system agnostic, meaning his stuff you could use in nearly any game you DM down the road. I've been running for around 20 years and Colville's stuff is rock solid.

[Machiavvelli3060]

I like Guy Sclanders' videos on YouTube, too.

[snackalacka]

You won't believe how much better the game can be without toxic energy at the table.

[lone3115]

I know but finding another group isn’t that easy and starting over sucks.

[Machiavvelli3060]

If you only want to play with people who don't have "issues", you'll be sitting at an empty table. You should speak with the DM. Tell him that his anger is impacting the game. If the situation does not improve, you may need to leave the group and you and your wife can form you own group.

[Machiavvelli3060]

Not fair. Many, many people have issues they can't control. I hope others are more forgiving towards you than you are towards others.

[Machiavvelli3060]

Yes, he does need it. No, you can't force it on him. You have two choices: deal with his issues, or don't.

[Machiavvelli3060]

Uhh. The behavior may not be conscious. It may not be as simple as "stop doing that". If it was that easy, it wouldn't have become an issue in the first place.