If DMing was a job, how much should you get paid?

[Cergorach]

Paying for DMs will eventually end up with either the DM slicing up his players with a real sword in some sewers or the DM will carve "help me" on his forehead... ;-)

My price would be 20 euro per hour (inc. taxes) and i would also pay folks for prep time (at 15 euro per hour). And that would be for hours from 08:00-18:00 from monday to friday, you want evenings, expect to pay 25 euro, weekends will cost you 30 euro. Prep time could be significantly shorter then for most regular sessions for one would invest in the proper tools (computer aids, etc.) and one could reuse a lot of material from other sessions, the customer is of course king, so if he wants a completely unique setting and adventure with all the bells and whistles, he's going to pay for it. Let's not forget travel expenses, unless of course you profide the room, then it would also cost extra... Payment would be upfront and non refundable (so that you won't be suprised by half the party not showing up).

20 euro/hour sounds expensive, until you realise that 19% of that is btw (sales/service tax), of what's left 30-50% is income tax, the rest you have to live on...

This is of course for the work DMing, i wouldn't charge for the for fun DMing with friends. The same goes for the computer support i get paid for and the help i give friends and family solving computer issues (for the first i get paid the second i do for free).

 

[airwalkrr]

I voted Other. If DMing were a job, it should be commission or sales based. In other words, you get paid for every player you bring to the game or something. The better DMs get better pay.

 

[Thotas]

I have to chime in with Umbran -- just 'cause ya love it, it's not a crime to expect to be paid to do your job. I am under the impression, for example, that multi-million dollar per year successful musicians generally like to make music. We don't expect them to do it for free.

The problem I do see with getting paid to DM is that knowing that someone is paying me is bound to cause me to second guess my judgement calls, especially when that call can make the diff between whether the character lives or dies. "Your 12th level character that you've been so fond of for the last 3 years is dead" is tough enough to say; it's worse when you follow it up with "That'll be $20, sir".

 

[Raven Crowking]

I don't know how much prep time the average EN Worlder puts into their game; I can say that I enjoy the prep as much as anything else. And I do a lot of prep. The biggest limitations to my prep time are family time and work. I adore family time, so that isn't a problem, but the big upside of getting paid to DM would be that work time would be spent either in play or in prep.

Right now I have a lot of people playing in my game, and a lot more who'd like to. If I knew that I could get paid, consistently and well enough to pay the rent/bills/put food on my plate, I would gladly spend my days prepping games and running games. If my games were enjoyable now, I can only imagine how much better they would be when DMing (including world building and NPC building) occupied an extra 40+ hours of my week.

I certainly wouldn't feel bad about it, because the time spent gaming would be worth more than the average movie ticket....unless you guys are watching some movies I haven't seen.

Heck, I would be happy to supply the space. Maybe under some form of monthly "membership fee" that allowed you to join in X number of scheduled games per week. You would also gain access to a rpg library and table space for your own games (because, if I were doing this, I'd treat it like a gymn or a spa, and also sell miniatures, dice, and other supplies at a hefty discount). And, like a gymn or spa, membership would have courtesy rules that all members would have to obey or have their membership suspended/revoked (with no refund).

It would be absolutely mandatory that members signed an agreement that the DM was in charge of the game. Although we strive for impartiality, we are not going to guarantee it (how could you prove it?), and character death is part of the game.

Anyhow, that's how I'd run it.

Now, are there enough players in the Toronto area ready to sign up? I'd be happy to quit my day job......

RC

 

[el-remmen]

I interpreted this question as not how much should it pay in general, but how much *I* would want to be paid. And I chose $21 to $25 / hour.

I think that if my friends could afford to pay for me to quit my job and DM full time they would. Just like I would pay for them to do something they love, esp. if it benefited me, if I could afford it.

 

[Emirikol]

In return i would not pay someone for GMing.Jinx Crossbow

Would you pay for a video game? I'm not implying that DM's should be paid, but how much IS a DM worth?

jh

 

[Teflon Billy]

Paying for DMs will eventually end up with either the DM slicing up his players with a real sword in some sewers or the DM will carve "help me" on his forehead... ;-)

Ha! The truth comes out

 

[arscott]

Let's see--GMing is something that takes a bit of talent but no formal training. I'd estimate prep time for an ongoing game to be aproximately the same amount of time actually played at the table. So assuming no pay for prep, and a competent and reasonable GM, I'd say that 3x minimum wage is a good rate (assuming minimum wage is a good indicator of what people get payed in your area).

One-shots tend to require a bit more prep time, so they should probably pay a bit more. Pre-written and re-used adventures require a lot less prep time, so they could pay a bit less. And specific systems that require different levels of prep should have corresponding increase or decrease in pay. There's some extra effort that the GM will have to put in at the beginning of the campaign (especially if he's got to tailor it to the desires of his paying customers), so that might entail an additional charge.

The GM should be expected to bring a PHB or DMG, and other common books. But for special books requested by the player, either they can provide them, or the GM should by them and charge for expenses. I'd figure out some kind of system that charges a percentage of the book's price based on how often you think the book will be reused.