Professional GM: Possible Return

[PIM68]

You can make money at running roleplaying sessions, it's becoming more common in business training, but it's usually not to play D&D.

Follow the money - as mentioned, computer games companies could be a good target.

There are also (semi?) professional storytellers who work with young people. If you're good at telling stories that could be an option through schools - interactive storytelling as part of your English classes? (subject to all the usual checks we all go through etc.).

Heck if I were doing it, I'd be offering "Murder Mystery" party evenings - perhaps with a tentacular twist. - but I don't.

Roleplayers are quite parsimonious and already play the games, reach out to potentially receptive audiences who don't.

[Captain_Commando]

Originally Posted by PaulMaclean

Follow the money - as mentioned, computer games companies could be a good target.

Heck if I were doing it, I'd be offering "Murder Mystery" party evenings - perhaps with a tentacular twist. - but I don't.

Roleplayers are quite parsimonious and already play the games, reach out to potentially receptive audiences who don't.

There are lots of possibilities. Trial lawyers might be a good target group as well. Money in hand + lots of stress + a love of role-playing for an audience + penchant for learning rules systems.

I may end up organizing special game events once I'm settled. My first idea is to organize a DnD tournament.

I believe a sizable chunk if not most of my potential clientele will be new to tabletop role-playing. I'll be adjusting to make sure the business is more and more beginner friendly as I'm setting up.

[PIM68]

The issue with roleplaying sessions with the like of professionals (in this example, Lawyers) is the kind of roleplay they're usually after is not tabletop roleplay, but playing through imaginary scenarios dealing directly with difficult and often sensitive aspects of case law (as Ive mentioned elsewhere) - those are usually run by legal consultants or members of the Judiciary - i.e. acknowledged experts in their field.

I suspect you may fare better in the schools/English studies sector though. If your focus becomes only D&D-style tabletop roleplay I think you'll have a tougher time of it than you possibly could othewise. Up to you.

[neuronphaser]

You're much more likely to find new roleplayers among teen/college folks, rather than targeting Law Firms. You keep going after this "money in hand + whatever" crowd, but I really don't think that's where you'll find your market.

If that were the case, I wouldn't be looking for a job out in LA, where everyone's an actor. I'd be running D&D for Vin Diesel and Steven Colbert, and making mad monies.

That ain't happening, yet, so take from that what you will.

If you make that market successful, though, I'll be the first person to license your business name from you and start the West Coast branch. I'm saving my pennies as we speak!

[Captain_Commando]

In any case, the business is still in setup mode. Once all the services are ready, things should get interesting. I'll have testimonials and more partner businesses by then.

The battle graphs still haven't come in. Perhaps I should send another e-mail. According to the site, there seemed to have been a problem with some orders.

TODAY'S UPDATE

I'm altering War Games into Epic Encounters. The client/client group will play a party of PCs against monsters of their choice on battlefields of their choice. This is for anyone who wants to spend their session just fighting monsters in interesting environments.

EDIT: Battles without context may be too boring for an entertainment service. I've decided to just focus on creating a menu of adventures and storytelling. No War Games or Epic Encounters service unless someone requests it through customized adventures.

[Captain_Commando]

UPDATE (5/24/09)

I think limiting my updates on the forums to once a week will be best. Sunday is a good day so every Sunday should be fine.

I've got a start on my client incentive package. A popular Manhattan deli not far from Grand Central station is backing me with $5 coupons. On Tuesday I may be able to get $5 coupons from a popular Chinese fast food place near Penn station as well. A chocolatier, several restaurants, a bakery, a coffee shop, and an ice cream/frozen yogurt shop will round out my culinary incentives. Toys, games, and other services like a spa, bowling alley, or skating rink are also planned for the package.

Dungeon Delves and Teaching Games are now available. I'm delaying the performance storytelling service until sometime in June.

I'm going to be putting up a separate site for a default setting for the pre-made adventures that is fully compatible with most DnD material.

I'm planning to make another setting that may interest fans of the MMO genre.

I've devised a "block" format for designing adventures. Each block will have a certain amount of narrative, a skill challenge, a combat encounter, and a story encounter (teaching game is the exception). A block is 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours of play time. Most adventures will be at least 2 blocks long.

By the end of this next week, I am hoping to start the main phase of my advertisement.

[Noumenon]

Just make sure you don't spend so much time marketing that your core product suffers -- you don't want to have to wing it because of forgotten materials or run with no sleep every time!

[catsclaw227]

CC -- You are spending an awful lot of time changing your services, but you haven't had one paying group (as far as I know). Maybe you should focus less on your peripheral offerings and go out and DM a few games for some customers.

[marcobravo]

To Captain Commando. I wrote a response to you once in the official forums for D&D and in a pure mule like stubborness, you deicded to keep on going. Listen, I have a very viable suggestion to you that you may have missed which will let you do your writing of adventures and get paid. Look all the way to bottom of this page, you will see a link to "SERVICE Experienced D&D Player, DM, Designer Seeking Freelance Writing and Editing Opportunities" which takes you elsewhere in the forums. If you don't see it, the link is SERVICE Experienced D&D Player, DM, Designer Seeking Freelance Writing and Editing Opportunities - EN World D&D / RPG News - This guy says he will pay "a minimum rate of $0.005 (one-half of one cent) US, per written word, for articles of 2500 words or less, and $0.01 (one cent) US, per written word, for articles of 2501 words or more."

You'll be more sucessful making $5 off of a 5000 word project then trying to sell your service to partners of law firms who will only laugh at you when they go drinking after they get their next divorce settlement.

[Fifth Element]

Originally Posted by marcobravo

To Captain Commando. I wrote a response to you once in the official forums for D&D and in a pure mule like stubborness, you deicded to keep on going. Listen, I have a very viable suggestion to you that you may have missed which will let you do your writing of adventures and get paid. Look all the way to bottom of this page, you will see a link to "SERVICE Experienced D&D Player, DM, Designer Seeking Freelance Writing and Editing Opportunities" which takes you elsewhere in the forums. If you don't see it, the link is SERVICE Experienced D&D Player, DM, Designer Seeking Freelance Writing and Editing Opportunities - EN World D&D / RPG News - This guy says he will pay "a minimum rate of $0.005 (one-half of one cent) US, per written word, for articles of 2500 words or less, and $0.01 (one cent) US, per written word, for articles of 2501 words or more."

That's a link to someone looking for writing work at that rate, not offering to pay for work at that rate. You've got it backwards.

[marcobravo]

I stand corrected.

[Captain_Commando]

I actually got a commissioned project for 2 cents a word (using the 5,000 word example that would become $100).

I was told to playtest it as well before submitting it so I'm currently looking to make a playtest group or I might just fit in quick playtests of parts of it just before or after meetup games that I run.

Afterwards, I'll be writing a book supplement for 4e.

I've been taking my time setting up the business because it's on the side while job hunting. I've been waiting to finish the setup before getting serious with the marketing. I may have to start this week since it's getting tighter with each passing day.

[Captain_Commando]

WEEKLY UPDATE

I'm going to be overhauling the way I do customized adventures so no new requests will be taken on that until then.

I'm going to be putting up a special menu website for the pregenerated characters (sorry no power cards or power text - that would be a no-no - heehee) and a website for the default setting(s) for the standard adventures and dungeon delves.

War games may be making a come back but not in the way I imagined them before.

I may have stumbled onto a very real demand for a particular type of game day and a way to get players to pay...

I'll be putting up some goodies for GMs on the site this week.

[Captain_Commando]

WEEKLY UPDATE

I tried doing a paid LFR session on Friday. Friday was a bad choice for a paid LFR session, plus I should have given more advance notice. 4 people RSVPed but 1 cancelled at the last minute so the game had to be cancelled. Ah well. I now know that people are willing to pay at least $5 each for an LFR game with enough incentive (I'd given up on even trying this once before when there were less LFR players). I'm planning to try again with more advance notice and a 6 RSVP minimum, maybe in a few weeks. I'll be posting dates when I'm more confident about my schedule.

It was suggested earlier on that I organize special paid game events. The problem was finding the right location and incentives. I may have that problem solved because of Old Bridge gourmet deli. Something really cool in July...

At the monthly meetup, I DMed for a gamer who runs a web hosting service and he's willing to charge me considerably less than other web hosts to make Storyteller Solutions into a .com instead of a .webs.com in exchange for DMing games for him and his friends. This was pretty lucky.

At the very same meetup I ran a level 30 combat encounter. I designed the monsters myself. It was a very enlightening experience as a DM and as a game designer for 4e material.

Due to computer-related technical problems and busier than usual job hunting/application submissions, I haven't been able to do much for the site this past week. By the next weekly update, I hope to get things running again. There is a big add-on I've been working on little by little and it will be something that could boost the value of my services significantly.

[lejanius]

I have been reading this thread, and the others, for some time without comment but something finally made me have to speak up.

so you had a game, with four people, willing to pay you and you canceled?

not only is that a poor business decision but also reflects poorly on your ability to follow through with clients.

You need to re-think that, at this point you are growing a business (in theory) you should be bending over backwards to make anyone willing to give you money happy

[Captain_Commando]

Originally Posted by lejanius

I have been reading this thread, and the others, for some time without comment but something finally made me have to speak up.

so you had a game, with four people, willing to pay you and you canceled?

not only is that a poor business decision but also reflects poorly on your ability to follow through with clients.

You need to re-think that, at this point you are growing a business (in theory) you should be bending over backwards to make anyone willing to give you money happy

First of all, it wasn't a serious business game. It was a test run with people I know from the local meetup group. Technically I didn't cancel. One of the players did so the game was automatically cancelled. It is an official RPGA rule for a sanctioned Living Forgotten Realms game to have a minimum of 4 players. The players were fully aware that this game was just a test to see what needs to be done in organizing pay-for-play LFR on a regular basis.

[Captain_Commando]

WEEKLY UPDATE

I've started work on the site for Legends of Matia, the first default setting for Storyteller Solutions adventures. I've decided that how gods and the afterlife are handled will be a bit Bleach-inspired. The text I have up so far still needs editing so for now it's a place holder. The setting is at http://legends-of-matia.webs.com

I've decided to have Storyteller Solutions closed until August while I get a handle on my work hours with the theatre and possibly with a 24-hour deli I recently applied to.

[Captain_Commando]

SPECIAL UPDATE

I gave up waiting on the theatre job and am still waiting for return calls for other jobs (sigh).

After many months of rejection, I finally managed to get some work though (huh?!). Yesterday was my first day as a movie extra on the set of Disney's Step Up 3D. I'm in the audience for the final dancing scenes. There's three more days of this gig and it's pretty cool. I'm getting to see some really awesome choreography and dance battling on set.

On the way home, a mysterious individual known only as "Antenna Man" regaled the subway passengers with a jazz performance on his saxophone. He was "from outer space, not from Mexico..."

I've changed my mind on how to do the pantheon of legends of matia. I'll get to it when I can. I've extended the down time for Storyteller Solutions through to September.

My next update probably won't be for a while but it should be a good one. There will be at least one update in August and I'll return to doing weekly updates in September. To everyone who's contributed so far, thank you very much for your interest and advice.

[neuronphaser]

You mentioned in at least 2 updates previously that there would be "goodies" for GMs (and possibly players as well). These haven't come yet.

Any word on the video of your GMing?