D&D 5E How many players would use a service like this

[Oofta]

Yeah, but he takes ages to finish.

But people will be amazed by it for ages to come, so it's probably a decent trade-off.

 

[BRayne]

It would actually be pretty cool for a new celebrity pro-DM to emerge who not only has folks pay big money to play with him but also has a strong Twitch/YT following.

BDave Walters used to have a patreon where he would run around 2 games a day for members. But that clearly wasn't sustainable.

 

[overgeeked]

This is a good thing, though. As much as I love Critical Role, my friends and I could never afford to hire Matt Mercer to run games for us.

That would be like hiring Rembrandt to paint my house.

I don’t think he’s as amazing as all that. He’s great, sure, better than any DM I’ve ever had, certainly. But man, he loves his pointless lore dumps, long-winded descriptions, and session padding. Shopping, extended pointless dialogs, etc. And damn is he addicted to pointless skill checks. “I look at the harbor. Are there any ships docked?” “Roll perception.”

If I was ever going to pay a DM, it would be Mercer (or Ashley) but I’d pay him extra just to get on with it.

 

[Jer]

And damn is he addicted to pointless skill checks. “I look at the harbor. Are there any ships docked?” “Roll perception.”

I suspect that this is actually an example of a GM practice that a lot of us have - which is using the random roll result to help us improvise and also getting the player to fill some time while we think of a response.

I'll respond with a "roll some skill" as a reflex when a player asks about something I didn't think to put into my notes both to get a random result that isn't just me rolling and then having to also interpret what the results mean and to fill time with something other than me looking up and muttering "I dunno, would there be ships docked here" or something like that. A player result gives me something to riff off of and also a short bit of time to get my act together and figure out an answer. I know I'm not the only GM to do things like that because it was pretty common advice when I was a baby DM.

 

[overgeeked]

I suspect that this is actually an example of a GM practice that a lot of us have - which is using the random roll result to help us improvise and also getting the player to fill some time while we think of a response.

I'll respond with a "roll some skill" as a reflex when a player asks about something I didn't think to put into my notes both to get a random result that isn't just me rolling and then having to also interpret what the results mean and to fill time with something other than me looking up and muttering "I dunno, would there be ships docked here" or something like that. A player result gives me something to riff off of and also a short bit of time to get my act together and figure out an answer. I know I'm not the only GM to do things like that because it was pretty common advice when I was a baby DM.

I suspect you’re spot on. Doesn’t make it any less groan worthy when it’s stuff that shouldn’t be gated behind a roll though.

 

[Reynard]

I suspect you’re spot on. Doesn’t make it any less groan worthy when it’s stuff that shouldn’t be gated behind a roll though.

It isn't gated, it's informed. Huge difference.

 

[overgeeked]

It isn't gated, it's informed. Huge difference.

Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe.

 

[Reynard]

Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe.

Just because you assert something doesn't make it true. Especially when it is demonstrably wrong.

 

[overgeeked]

Just because you assert something doesn't make it true. Especially when it is demonstrably wrong.

Just because you assert something doesn’t make it true. Especially when it’s demonstrably wrong.

 

[MarkB]

Sure. But no “pro DM” is going to become the next Critical Role. At best they’re going to burn themselves out scrambling to run more and more games to make a few extra bucks. This is a gig, at best. Not Critical Role. LOL.

Some may see it as a way into the more streaming-based GMing market, though. If they have a portfolio of successful paid GM gigs with positive feedback from players, that could be a useful thing to have on the CV when looking to get into one of the various groups / companies that run organised streamed play these days.