On being a Professional GM

[Janx]

If you're serious about this as a business, you'll probably want to model yourself after the other "team-building" companies out there, that provide team-building experiences.

Geo-caching has something like it (www.geocaching.com for info).

There's the ROPES course guys, plus lots of other stuff.

Most of those are intended as one-time events. The team goes, does it, and that's it. I think you'd want to sell it as an "ongoing" team building exercise. Then you'd hire yourself out as a consultant.

You'd probably want 2 plans for adventures: customer requested or customer friendly. If the customer wants something specific, then do what the customer wants. If they have no clue, then give them the "customer friendly" campaign that you think (after assessing the people involved) would make them happy. Not everybody who hires a professional GM actually knows what they want.

You're brochure would need to imply lots of buzzwords like "facilitator" and interactive-teaming. and other stuff...

Janx

 

[malichai]

@ Katerek, Malichai, and the rest of Online Financial Aid Services:

PLEASE some one of you should really contact some kind of professional business publication - or a journalist that writes for one. Your good experiences with "professional GMing" should become known to a wider business audience, so that other companies start hiring ProGms too!!!

Others want to live the same dream you do! Spread the idea!

That's a good idea, I think this would be a good experience for any size company and I'd be willing to write a glowing testimonial, as would everyone of our employees who's played in the game.

 

[d20Dwarf]

Katerek, please email me at wil.upchurch@gmail.com

EDIT: Or you, malichai! I'm interested in doing a piece on your story.

Thanks!

 

[Bugaboo]

Katerek, please email me ... Or you, malichai! I'm interested in doing a piece on your story.

Be VERY careful about what you say for publication. That's how the SEC caught me.

 

[Katerek]

The Securities and Exchange Commision? What in the heck did they 'catch you' on that would have attracted their attention?

 

[Katerek]

EDIT: Double Post

 

[Taren Nighteyes]

I haven't seen Bugaboo the troll-ster in a while

By the way - if you start a professional gaming service provider, I would like to send my resume to you. I live in Raymore, MO and applied for the same position you now enjoy. I couldn't meet the time commitments at that time, but was thanked for the resume.

Glad to hear it is going well

Taren Nighteyes

 

[Teflon Billy]

I've made money at DM'ing in the past, but nothing like a full-time job.

The community centre paidme $15+$5 per player/hour to run a game on Saturdays and Sundays for awhile.

I think most of the mom's thought it was cheap daycare more than anything. it confirmed my suspcions that kids are idiots

It took forever to get them to come up with names for their characters that were not akin to "I'mSuperTough" or "IReallyRule" or something like that. I just looked at them and asked if they had ever met someone named anything remotely like that in their lives. they didn't seem to understand what I was getting at.

The next wave of namings were direct lifts from Pokemon..."Bulbasaur the fighter" being my favorite :\

Eventually, I just had them use an online generator, except for one kid who insisted his guy's name be "Eminem". I told him he could name his character that if he could spell it.

He couldn't.

When we finally got playing, I was stunned at the level of idiocy present at the table...I kid you not, the average 8-10 year old at the table on any given day seemd to live for the idea that he would get to fart at someone in game. Farting came up a minimum of 3 times/session.

let's see, what else...

Characters who used inner-city black/rapper slang (Me: "...The king enters the room, and acknoweldges your presence". Kenny: "Wassup G?")

Kids who could not, under any circumstances, STFU. just couldn't Couldn't stop giggling, could stop babbling about bull, just couldn't get their minds around the idea of "Someone else's turn".

All told, though it was nice pocket money, it was not worth the effort involved.

 

[Conaill]

The Securities and Exchange Commision? What in the heck did they 'catch you' on that would have attracted their attention?

If I remember correctly, he's not allowed to talk about that part of his settlement...

 

[The Other Librarian]

I shouldn't laugh though. Fart jokes come up waay too often in my games. And that's just from the wife.

Eventually, I just had them use an online generator, except for one kid who insisted his guy's name be "Eminem". I told him he could name his character that if he could spell it.

He couldn't.