Professional GM: Possible Return

[Captain_Commando]

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.

 

[PaulofCthulhu]

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.

 

[timbannock]

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]

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.