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I've seen worse. Sounds like a GM who doesn't have an ideal amount of time to devote to preparing the game or was expecting an on-the-rails AP-style game.
What would you guys do?
Is he in your game? If not, I'd invite him and show him by example how it's done.
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Personally, I'd drop out of the campaign. No gaming is better than bad gaming - and since you're already DMing another campaign, you still get some good gaming in. Also a pretty valid excuse for not playing in another campaign, especially with all the time and effort you put into your own.
I totally understand the uncomfortable political climate what with ruffling of feathers and whatnot. What does the rest of your party think about the situation?
Also, just imho, if a person doesn't have A) the motivation to or B) the time to properly plan their campaign - ESPECIALLY if it is a prewritten adventure they can't even be bothered to read through - then they shouldn't be DMing.
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Re point 2: I know that problem as a GM. Many times, information is scattered through the book and you have to look up details because you didn't expect the players to ask certain questions. The only way to avoid this is to memorize the whole book. The amount of information in those books can get quite staggering, too (although I don't know how it is in Legacy of Fire).
Going just on what is written:
1) This could be just experience or different styles of play. I've had lots of GM's that never tailor much of anything for the PC's. Honestly I don't tailor that much either. Instead we try to mostly make groups of characters that already fit the AP. Then the PC's tailor it more by what they do. (If they happen to have a particularly applicable villain in their back ground I might swap it for one of the NPC's.)
Some things you can do from your end are try to worm a place into the universe. Try and make a long term friend (or enemy) of one of the NPC's in the town. Go to the same shop/temple/hall and ask to meet with the same person. Make a medium big deal of it. During the discussion relate the current conversation to the previous dealings. "Look I'm obviously going to be a long term client of yours. What say we make a deal that is contingent upon future favors..."
But some people just don't play the game that way and are unlikely to change.
2) To me this is the biggest one. I understand 'things' crop up and accidents happen. But I find this incredibly annoying if it happens very much. This just says I don't care about the game or your time.
The only thing I can suggest that might get your point across in a non offensive manner is this. Not in an accusatory tone, but in an I'm offering to help you out of a tight spot tone. "Tell you what. Why don't we just play munchkin / poker / xbox tonight and you can prepare for next week."
If that doesn't work, I would drop the game.
3) Some people think running as written is what is expected. Especially if they don't have a lot of experience in PF. In previous incarnations of the game, that was often possible. In PF unless you have very inexperienced or non-optimizing players, it is rarely going to be a challenge to run published material with no changes.
Also some GM's are very nervous about modifying anything. Either because of bad experiences in the past or lack of experience, they don't know how to do it well.
However, there are things you can do as a player or as a group to make it challenging anyway. Make a low powered PC (or group). I was once in a group where I was capable of making much more optimized PC's than anyone else in the group. The GM was able to run pretty much as published because of their low powered characters. So I optimized a terrible concept. An elf true primitive barbarian rogue. I only used a club, blowgun, or bare hands in combat.
Even the entire group can do this.
It is an AP (Legacy of Fire). But running an AP doesn't absolve one from running a bore-fest.
I am very sorry to hear that Legacy of Fire is the AP in question.
It's probably my favorite AP because of the colorful locations and excellent maps (we play on a VTT) -- and it's a nice break from euro-centric fantasy.
But that AP has serious and deep construction issues. I would never recommend it to a GM who like to just run off the page like this. Book 3 is essentially unusable, and the transitions between books take a lot of finesse on the GM's part.
It does not bode well. If this GM is going to get through the campaign at all, it will require blind compliance from the players -- probably outright asking him what he'd like you to do next. It sounds like Runelords or Kingmaker would be a much better fit. Runelords because it is the most tightly constructed and time-tested AP, and Kingmaker because you pretty much HAVE to run that one off the page.
I agree it sounds like a poor-quality campaign, and as described sounds like a GM who isn't dynamic, to put it politely.
Why are you playing a campaign twice a week that isn't enjoyable?
I imagine that you don't have a great line of communication to this GM personally. Without that, there's no easy way to tell him that his style doesn't rise to the level of your need. Are you aware of that situation yourself?
The clear answer is to remove yourself.
Unless you're prepared to create conflict with this person in an attempt to move the campaign to a place that meets your need. That'd be like couples' counseling of a sort. No easy discussion...
When a GM doesn't respond to the need to adapt to the party, the party members' only recourse is to withdraw. If the GM then pursues the matter asking why, then you can start that dialogue about what your needs and expectations are. If the GM doesn't pursue your reasons for leaving, it's probably a good thing that you left when you did.
Roleplaying is a cooperative endeavor. I don't have time or energy for players or GMs who have a dedicated investment to another point of view on this matter.
I see nothing wrong with your expectations of a vibrant and prepared GM.
Fabius: I can understand that, but not for the next room in the dungeon (where we stopped in between sessions).
Fair enough. I'm still encountering the problem in Council of Thieves, which is very wordy and at several points gives the PCs quite a few options where they can go next. But if the GM knows what comes next, I cannot think of an excuse for that (except maybe time constraints).
I'm kinda new to the DMing game and I still can see that your DM isn't trying hard enough. Even when you are doing a pre-written adventure you should prepare ahead of time and try to.... I don't know... Roleplay, instead of just monotone reading.
Though my own personal thoughts aside, maybe you could give him some pointers. A roleplaying experience is between the DM and his players. If the players aren't satisfied with how things are running, they should talk with the DM and voice what can be done better. I had players with no reservations about telling me when I was boring them and had conversations with them on how I might improve their sessions. Being a new DM, that helped a lot, though I'm still not perfect at it I learn and adapt to my audience.
And about ruffling feathers, just explain yourself. Don't be a jerk about it. Show your concerns and also talk with the other players to see how they feel. A roleplaying experience is quid pro quo between the players and dm. The DM gets to weave a story and create a world (I have fun doing this very much) and the players get to experience this world.
I don't know what to tell you if he can't handle a little constructive criticism and remember, you share this with the other players, get their impute to. They might feel differently than you or the same. If they think its fine, there isn't much you can do. Good luck and have fun k!
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The willingness to GM at all is a beautiful thing. So rare and beautiful that it needs to be encouraged, no matter the shortcomings.
Some people just aren't all that creative. Some players actually LOVE the idea of playing an AP with as little interpretation as possible (a kind of "pure" form of the product).
My best advice is to find something you like about this style, and just focus on that to the exclusion of all else.
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Gee I dunno maybe use that orifice in the middle of your face and express your views? Or do you expect the GM to use telepathy to figure out your "ive got sand in my underwear" issue? :P
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Am I the only one who sees a thread title like this and the first thought that pops in to their head is, "crap, my players have finally decided to join paizo.com and complain about me!" ?
I cant be the only one, can I? :D
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Obviously this game isn't your perfect ideal, but it doesn't sound like there is anything horrible going on, just that it isn't as challenging, rich and focused as you would like. That makes it boring, but not an actual negative experience.
You don't mention either how far along in the campaign you are or how the other players feel about the game. You did volunteer to host this event, and therefore your backing out will have a major effect on other people as well. If others are having fun, the mature adult thing to do is just try and enjoy yourself as best you can and be a good host.
If you absolutely can't bear remain in the campaign, or can't remain in the campaign without sabotaging it, then simply inform everyone that you will be unavailable the evenings in question and that they will have to find a new place to play. Obviously it would be rude to invite any of the participants in that game to an alternate activity on the same evening until at least a couple months have passed.
If you think you can be mature enough and unselfish enough to continue playing even if the game isn't perfect, you might be able to improve things. I would recommend trying to make goals for your character that show why he is participating in this adventure and find RP ways to share them. Perhaps roleplay in character with some of the other characters to draw out their backstory and motivations. Be the best role player you can, and perhaps that will inspire your GM to become better. The more active, interested and grateful you are for him GMing, the more likely he will be to become invested in the campaign.
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You need to have a conversation about this. And not in-character. And not "I hope he will notice this problem I feel inside".
TALK. And probably the easiest place to start is "Hey, we're steamrolling the encounters. I've never even been injured, and it might be more fun if things were a challenge".
Lead that into "Why don't you go ahead and change things?"
And "Well, what DO you do to prepare, how do you get ready for a game?"
Would it be possible for you to inject your role playing into the sessions? Make your character's personality quirks overt, and encourage the other players to add their own. Ham it up.
Maybe then the GM will start adding flavour of his own.
It doesn't sound like a BAD GM to tell the truth...maybe not stellar, but not bad (BAD is the type that gets their own PC and then makes that PC the star of the show and everyone else [the players] the sideshow that he basically ignores, or other even worse things).
AS others have said, it's the style of game he/she is running. It may not be the right style for everyone, but it's not necessarily a bad way of doing it.
In some ways, it's more like a boardgame type style than a drama type style though.
Yeah, I agree that he doesn't sound BAD. He doesn't sound GOOD, but he sounds new to DM'ing and like he's either struggling or unaware of the dissatisfaction. The lack of research is the only thing that sounds BAD, but from what I can see here it looks like he had the misfortune to pick a complicated AP for it.
The mature thing to do would be talk to him, and figure out how you can help him improve. Especially if you claim to run such a great game yourself. It's your right to cancel it or try to start a mutiny... but that's ultimately a shittier course of action than at least trying to talk it out first.
I have experienced DMs like this before, and "boring" is probably the best word to describe the game. Personally, I need to be at least somewhat challenged to have fun.
I am both blessed and cursed though, because my first DM (who is also one of my best friends) is literally the best DM I've ever seen/played with. He has a fully fleshed out homebrew world lovingly crafted through both design and gameplay over the last dozen years, writes all his own adventures and campaigns, is an evocative storyteller/roleplayer, and maintains a strong grasp of the rules.
The only problem with all that is, I dont live anywhere near him anymore (only 2 of the 5 of our original main group still lives in the same town, him and one of the other players, the rest are spread across 3 other states). So I game at the FLGS with GMs who are good and solid, and run pretty enjoyable campaigns, but if Im being completely honest, just dont hold a candle to my buddy.
For your situation, if he is a new DM, I would kindly ask him if he would like some pointers, especially regarding the flow of the game.