I think I’m done DMing.

I need to vent somewhere that isn’t my group chat, because I’m sitting here angry, hurt, and honestly, heartbroken.

I’ve been running this homebrew world for years. I’ve spent hours every week prepping not just encounters, but politics, lore, world history, NPC arcs, moral choices, everything. This wasn’t “just game night” for me it was art, storytelling, a way to make something meaningful for people I care about.

We ended up with eight players. That wasn’t by design it was because my brother and my uncle, who are also players, invited more people without asking me. Because we’re family, they just assumed it was fine. I told them multiple times that it wasn’t that I can’t properly run for more than six but they brushed me off. “It’s just D&D,” they said. But it’s not just D&D to me. It’s something I pour my soul into.

Lately, it feels like I’m the only one who even cares. People are half paying attention, playing other games on the side, or scrolling their phones. I’d build these sessions filled with story hooks, lore, moral dilemmas, and they’d just… sit there. Last night was the worst. They were physically present but mentally gone. I spent the whole session bored, trying to coax engagement from people who clearly didn’t want to be there.

Then my brother messaged me later, saying the game felt too real, like it blurred the line between fiction and reality for him. My uncle didn’t even engage because he was multitasking with another game entirely.

I walked away feeling like I’d wasted my time. Not just that night but years of building a world nobody seemed to respect. It hurts more because it’s family. The people who should’ve valued the effort the most treated it like background noise.

I think I’m done. Maybe not forever, but right now, I can’t imagine ever DMing again. I’ve gone offline everywhere, muted everything, and I don’t even want to talk to them. I feel like I built something beautiful and they trampled it out of indifference.

I’m not even sure I’m asking for advice I just needed to say it out loud. Has anyone else hit that point where you just… can’t anymore?