We used to have several more people. Right now it’s 3 players and a DM. The DM is my cousin, and our rule right now is if one person can’t make it, the whole thing is called off. They really don’t want to just have 2 players, which I can understand.
This has been the only group I’ve ever played DnD with, but I’m not enjoying it at all. Part of it is the DM’s style, and part of it is another player.
I feel like I can’t do anything as a paladin without being yanked away from it. My first few sessions literally any time I tried to cast something, this other player told me I really shouldn’t. They’re so terrified I’m going to run out of spell slots. I never have.
At a certain point I just started doing nothing but regular attacking. That’s it. Just sessions on end of attacking as a paladin and nothing else without any complaints. I’m bored out of my mind.
I’m still a new player and I’m just trying to enjoy the game. But Any time I try to cast something, I’m being told not to, or given like a 5 minute thesis on how ” actually Bless isn’t as useful as this other thing, but hey if you WANT to use bless I don’t GUESS it would hurt…”
Also the DMs themes just don’t relate to me at all. The best way I can describe the game is like some mix of analog horror, SCP, and the backrooms. We never ever just meet some bandit or goblin. It’s always some unexplainable entity that the DM must use esoteric language to describe. It’ll be some object or being that is cognitively distressing to witness yet impossible to comprehend. And I’m having to roleplay a reaction to it?
Not to mention the crunchiness of the campaign is just wearisome to me. Our last campaign we spent an hour and a half just going over inventory, crafting, quest progress, and stats. All above the table; never in character.
It’s just such a boring campaign to me with a player that’s about to make me rip my hair out. But it’s also my cousin’s game, and I’m fairly certain it will have to disband - at least for a long while - if I leave.
Not going to tell you what to do, just helping you brainstorm a little.
You could leave, maybe try to find a different group, or perhaps try the same group in a few months but with different characters and/or change who’s DM:ing. The reason you’re playing is probably to have fun, and it’s just wasting your free time if you actively dislike it. I’ve been in a group where the DM just hated everything about a divination wizard, so she was never allowed to do anything. He thought half her spells and abilities were OP, and he had no clue how to respond to Augury. Sometimes it just doesn’t work.
Alternatively, you could try talking to your group, and telling them how you feel. If they can’t handle it, see previous option :) Perhaps you have tried already, but I think you didn’t mention it so perhaps you haven’t really sat down with the other players and tried to find practical ways for all of you to enjoy the game.
Or a third option, trying to make these sessions fun, if you value hanging out with your cousin and friends more than finding a D&D session you actually enjoy. If they indirectly force you to only fight with your sword, instead of simply declaring “I attack the goblin” every turn, add a ton of flair and tell a story. Describe the way you swing your sword, how you move around, what your character is feeling, unimportant small things like wiping sweat from your brow, etc. Write down some cool one-liners your character can shout out every now and then. Turn your co-player’s desire to save your spell slots into your character’s motivation, invent a backstory for why they are afraid to use spells, perhaps they’re haunted by a tragic event in the past caused by wasting them at first opportunity.