# I Will Post No More Forever



## Tom Cashel

Dear EN World,

Last week I figured I'd simply fade away, but today I've opted instead to transmit this final missive.  (It should probably be in the Meta forum, but I'll leave that up to the friendly neighborhood Modsters.)  I turned 31 yesterday.  I have given up D&D*.  I'm moving on.

Don't think this is a sad letter, or an angry letter, or a whinging letter, or even a troll.  It's just a simple goodbye, and a thankful shout-out for a couple years of great discussions.

Anyway, I'm off to do a lot of reading and a lot of writing that's been patiently waiting for me to get around to it.  You can use this thread to say goodbye, to say good riddance, or to say any darn thing you like.

We Discordians must stick apart.

Fondly,
Thomas Cashel Fitzmaurice O'Boyle O'Flynn

*To answer the inevitable question: I quit D&D because my campaign reached critical mass.  There was no escape.  My players refused to take a turn DMing.  My players refused to take a few days off from the combined live meeting/message board format.  My players refused to focus on anything but the rules in the PHB, to the detriment of their own success and my fun.  When I failed to check the boards for even two hours or so, my players decided that they would DM themselves online.  At the end I was expected to DM 24/7.  Cue up your copy of _Misery_ to witness my DMing experience during those last few months.


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## alsih2o

"any darn thing you like."


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## Maldur

Good luck with what ever you plan to do!

If you ever want a chat, know that we will be here !


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## BiggusGeekus@Work

Ouch.

Take care, Tom.  Sorry to see you go, but I'm a strong believer in walking away with as many happy memories as possible rather than running away in loathing.  I left gaming for about seven years and thought I'd never play again, so I'm not going to say "good bye forever" but rather "so long for now".

-BG


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## Belen

Hey Tom,

If it's true, then I'm sorry to see you go.  I went 6 months without gaming once.  It was not that fun.

Whatever makes you happy though.

Dave


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## Davelozzi

hey Tom,
I hope the hiatus works for you.  If you change your mind about its permanency later, drop on by and say hello to us.


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## GnomeWorks

You will be missed.  And remember, too, that if you get back into the hobby sometime later... EN World will be waiting.


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## Piratecat

What Dave said. You don't need to make it so formal; next time you swing by, we'll be pleased to see you.


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## King_Stannis

Take care, Tom. Drop by every so often anyways...don't make it a permanent thing. Maybe you just need some time away...perhaps another group will spring up from the ashes like a Phoenix.


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## Rashak Mani

hhmm... burned out DM... I have seen this before. 

  Get another group where you can be a player only. I have "saved" two burned out DMs from quitting totally by getting them into our campaigns. Both were great players.


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## thundershot

This reminds me of when I used to play Fortress Maximus in a Transformers MUSH. It got to the point where they needed me ALL the time, and if I was missing for a night, people freaked out and went on without me, causing me to get lost. I'm talking MAJOR plotlines that didn't need to be done. My wife would be upset because I was always on the MUSH whenever I was home, and I couldn't get out... (It WAS fun, and man, I was Fortress freaking Maximus, leader of the Headmasters!) So... my vacation was coming up, and I took it... and never returned... just disappeared... It was hard at first, because I wanted to know what was going on, but eventually I moved on...


And returned to Dungeons & Dragons.

Yep. Giving up MUSHing got me back into D&D (after some time off), and I've been gaming ever since. This was 7 years ago.



Chris


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## Zogg

Oh, the horror!

Ok, fellow enworlders, place your bets. Will Tom Cashel be true to his word? Will he adopt a new hobby like bowling or spelunking and never return to RPGs? Or will he enjoy a brief vacation and then, much like the Tell-Tale Heart, hear that incessant knocking, "louder! louder!" and tear up the planks in order to return home to enworld? 

My money is that he'll be back before Christmas.


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## Ashrem Bayle

Sad to see anyone go. I know where you are coming from.

My suggestion? Do what I did.

Tell your players you are taking 3 months off. Let your mind cool. Rest. Sleep.

Reboot...

Start a new campaign. Set up a schedule. Stick to the schedule. Game every other weekend. It will give you time to cool down before you need to start thinking about the game. 

Thats what I did, and it worked wonders. By the time the 3 months was over, I had ideas coming out of my ears!


Also, every DM likes to play now and again. Thats what you should be spending your message board time on. Run a game every other weekend, and play in a good messageboard game. Sometimes being a player, even on a PbP game, really helps you as a DM.

Just my two coppers. Take from it what you can.


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## Ysgarran

Enjoy the reading and the writing.   

If it isn't too presumptuous please come back in a few months and let us know what you've been reading....

Ysgarran.



			
				Tom Cashel said:
			
		

> *
> Anyway, I'm off to do a lot of reading and a lot of writing that's been patiently waiting for me to get around to it.  You can use this thread to say goodbye, to say good riddance, or to say any darn thing you like.
> [/SIZE] *


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## hong

Dear Zogg,

Tom Cashel does this better than you.


Y0r Fr3ND,


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## Hand of Evil

We shall see.  

You can always be a Game Theorist!


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## WizarDru

Tom Cashel said:
			
		

> **To answer the inevitable question: I quit D&D because my campaign reached critical mass.  There was no escape.  My players refused to take a turn DMing.  My players refused to take a few days off from the combined live meeting/message board format.  My players refused to focus on anything but the rules in the PHB, to the detriment of their own success and my fun.  When I failed to check the boards for even two hours or so, my players decided that they would DM themselves online.  At the end I was expected to DM 24/7.  Cue up your copy of Misery to witness my DMing experience during those last few months. *




Is there an actual game being played in there?  "Live Meeting/Message Board format"?  Huh?

Well, OK, then.  TTFN.


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## Darth Shoju

Yeah. I understand how you could get burned out on D&D. It happens to everyone. But even if you never pick up the dice again I hope you still drop in from time to time. I really enjoy your posts and it would be a shame to never see you around here again. 

Take care Tom.


"Sometimes you get the bear....sometimes the bear gets you."


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## jgbrowning

Gaming's an inverse square relationship: the farther away from it you get, the more you want to do it.  

joe b.


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## Desdichado

jgbrowning said:
			
		

> *Gaming's an inverse square relationship: the farther away from it you get, the more you want to do it.  *



I've been a living example of that principle lately; my actual  gaming has been extremely skimpy the last four or five months, and I've got a jones to game like you wouldn't believe.


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## Emiricol

You don't know me, Tom, but I'll miss your posts (or a lot of them, anyway   ). 

 I'll echo some other advice given here, and say step back, maybe find a game to play in for a while, then *if* you choose to get back into it as a DM, do so only on a schedule.

And of course, stop by from time to time


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## Henry

Dear Mr. Cashel Fitzmaurice O'Boyle O'Flynn:

You shall be missed 'round here. Do not be a stranger forever.




Sincerely,

Henry Link Fitzpatrick-O'shaughessy-Hamaterasu-O'Callahan-Smythe


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## Geoffrey

I hear you, Tom. I am without a gaming group because the only gamers I know of want to do late-night, 10-hour sessions every week.

I want weekly or biweekly 4-hour sessions that end no later than 10 pm. Job, wife, and other hobbies preclude me from wanting to make D&D a way of life rather than a pasttime.


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## Viktyr Gehrig

Damn. Not only did the Rangers get the shaft, but they're losing their primary supporter 'round here.

This makes me sad.


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## Umbran

I'll join the voices that say that being formal and permanent about it is hardly necessary. It's even bordering on slightly silly - you let a handful out of the three million or so gamers drive you from the hobby _forever_?  "Don't ever say never," as my sainted father used to say.  

A bad experience can surely burn you out, and make you want to step away for a while.  But, if you step away forever, in a sense the turkeys win.


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## Nifft

Even if you don't have a current game, you can still enjoy wast-- er, spending time here.

 -- Nifft


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## hellbender

Too bad to see you go, you were one of the people I wanted to game with in the 'Who do you want to game with?' thread. I hope you decide to come back. Take a break, find a new group, and tell us joyous tales of their buffoonery.


hellbender

 [Since you quoted Chief Joseph (roughly), I will carry on a Nez Perce tradition and not say good-bye, as there is no word in the Nez Perce language for good-bye]


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## BigFreekinGoblinoid

Hi Tom,

Never say "forever".  Remember that the boards are a great source of entertainment/community even if you are not an active gamer at any given time.  

C'mon back when you can,

BFG


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## MeepoTheMighty

So..uh..can I have your D&D books?  


Oh, c'mon,  you were all thinking it....


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## Zogg

MeepoTheMighty said:
			
		

> *So..uh..can I have your D&D books?
> 
> 
> Oh, c'mon,  you were all thinking it.... *




I call dibs on his dice!


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## Sixchan

MeepoTheMighty said:
			
		

> *So..uh..can I have your D&D books?
> 
> 
> Oh, c'mon,  you were all thinking it.... *




Actually, I wasn't.  But now that you mention it...


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## Malicene

jgbrowning said:
			
		

> *the farther away from it you get, the more you want to do it*




Can u please spell the word A.D.D.I.C.T.I.V.E  

So a lucky gamer I am, being in a group with 3 DM (including me!)


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## diaglo

Take care, TLC.


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## d20Dwarf

Bowling would be so appropriate, wouldn't it Zogg?

Also, do you think it's killing Tom Cashel not to be able to respond to this thread?

Me, I've got my eye on a 1-postcount poster just popping by to say how he wishes he could have been exposed to Tom's brilliance.


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## Emiricol

LOL!


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## Edena_of_Neith

*Farewell*

Farewell, Tom Cashel.
  Good luck, happiness, and health in your life.


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## Dakkareth

Some things are hard to quit completely ... but to each his very own.

Good bye ... or rather Auf Wiedersehn.

-Dakkareth


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## Teflon Billy

*Billy tries to get Tom back for one more post*

"well, at least we don't have to listen to the "The NY Rangers will Prevail" claptrap anymore


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## Mark

Tom Cashel said:
			
		

> *Anyway, I'm off to do a lot of reading and a lot of writing that's been patiently waiting for me to get around to it.*




Go Rangers!


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## Bloodstone Mage

It's hard to see a gamer quit gaming. But then, some of them come back.

Tom, your picture still resembles Jim Martin of FNM to me.

Cheers!


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## Ferret

BiggusGeekus@Work said:
			
		

> *Ouch.
> 
> Take care, Tom.  Sorry to see you go, but I'm a strong believer in walking away with as many happy memories as possible rather than running away in loathing.  I left gaming for about seven years and thought I'd never play again, so I'm not going to say "good bye forever" but rather "so long for now".
> 
> -BG *




Well put, my friend.

So long for now.


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## TheAuldGrump

Tom, take a year or so off, let the players get used to your absence.

Then get new players, and play at the tabletop like god intended 

Seriously, I have encountered the online gamer geek with way too much time and caffiene syndrome before. Getting out was the best thing you could do given the circumstances.

Get your sanity back.

Go to the beach.

Climb a mountain.

Go camping.

Sing songs. (Folk music is best for this...)

Get your head back into your own space...

Then get back to gaming when and if you feel like it.

The Auld Grump


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## pogre

I enjoyed your posts Tom. Enjoy your break from the game - even if it is for the rest of your life


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## ruemere

_... not with a bang but with a whimper ..._ 

Don't worry, Tom, everything is going to be just fine. This is just a case of GMBS (GM Burnout Syndrome), a malady common to all who overextend themselves.
It will pass eventually and, hopefully, you'll feel like taking a swim in RPG ocean again.

Again, don't worry. 

Regards,
Ruemere

PS. Meanwhile, consider yourself being missed.


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## hunter1828

Burnout sucks.  I DMed on a very regular schedule from 1977 to 1987, then suffered horribly from burnout.  I didn't pick up a single D&D book for the next 13 years.  Luckily, I found a good group and we have had good, regular (but not too regular) games since then.

hunter1828


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## Welverin

What, no more the Rangers are broken posts? What will we do?


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## William Ronald

Tom,

Sometimes it is best to walk away from something in peace and with good memories.  It is possible to continue something too long, to the detriment of your fun and personal relationships. So, give up the game ... at least for a while.

I think it might be best to think of this as a break.  Perhaps after a few months or years, you might wish to find another group. Set down some rules, and stick to them.  Insist that others take turns DMing.  Also, remind people that you also have other priorities.

Take some time now for rest and relaxation.  For the most part, the gamers I have meet have proven to be good people.  I hope that you will at least visit this site, and perhaps return to the hobby.  You will be missed, Tom.  May your path in life be gentle and peaceful -- with very few potholes or roadbumps.


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## madriel

I'm sorry to see you go, Tom.  Even if you never return to gaming, at least return to the boards.  We'll miss you.


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## Darkness

I'm sad to see you go, Tom. Fare well and maybe you can drop in every once in a while...


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## jdavis

Hey you could post in Fantasy & Sci Fi


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