My DM paused our campaign because I step away for Iftar during Ramadan. Should I just leave the group?

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I'm a Muslim, and right now it's the holy month of Ramadan. To put it simply, we fast from sunrise to sunset, and we break the fast at sunset with a meal called Iftar. The problem is that both of the D&D campaigns I play in take place around that exact time. That means I either have to join a few minutes late or step away for about 20–30 minutes to go eat with my family. To avoid confusion, I'll call the campaigns Group A and Group B. I'm also the only Muslim in both groups.

Group A is the campaign where I sometimes show up a few minutes late because we start either right around Iftar or sometimes even 30 minutes before it. The players in that group are people I've known for years, and they're completely fine with me stepping away briefly if I need to break my fast.

Group B is different. It's an online group I joined more recently, so I haven't known them nearly as long. In that campaign, I usually have to step away about two hours into the session to go break my fast. Before it ever became an issue, I asked everyone if that would be okay. The players were totally fine with it. The DM, however, apparently wasn't.

He posted an announcement saying "I think it's best if this campaign is placed on hold. If you have an outside matter or other commitment that cuts into the campaign then I cannot have you partake within the module." I'm the only person in the group who has had to step away for something like this, so it feels like this might be directed at me, but he didn’t explicitly say that.

I'm the only person in the group who has had to step away for something like this, so it feels like this might be directed at me, though he didn’t explicitly say that. For context, the sessions usually last around 4 to 4½ hours, so the most I’m gone is about 20–30 minutes once per session. If I was missing half the session I’d understand the concern, but this is a pretty small chunk of time and the group keeps playing while I'm gone anyway, which I insist on them doing regardless.

Since the campaign has now been put on hold over this, I'm not really sure what the best move is. Ramadan obviously won’t last forever, but if something like this is already a big issue, I’m starting to think it’d just be better for me to step away from the campaign entirely.

TDLR: I have to break my fast during Ramadan and usually have to leave for a little because of it. The players were fine with it and the group keeps playing while I’m gone, but the DM paused the campaign saying he can’t have "outside commitments" interrupt the module. Should I just leave the campaign?

Posted Mar 6, 2026, 4:06 AM UTC

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