The Monetization of D&D Play

FrogReaver · Mar 9, 2018

MichaelSomething said:
What if there's not enough player slots in free games for everyone? Is no game better then paying for a game?

But it's not like we are ever going to be in a shortage of DM's. If people want to play the game then at least 1 player in a group can find time to DM. Players can become DM's and DM's can become players at any time. Players can be added to already existing games quite easily as it's only the groups personal feel for what is too many players.

AngryTiger · Mar 9, 2018

MichaelSomething said:
What if there's not enough player slots in free games for everyone? Is no game better then paying for a game?

If you want to play but can't find a game, then you can start your own. That's how i got started on DM'ing, and i suspect it's the same for many others.

Hussar · Mar 9, 2018

ehren37 said:
Probably for the same reason I don't monetize all my friendships. If someone invites you over for dinner, do you ask how much you owe them? Maybe Denmark is super different, but that's weird to me.

By the same token, I would never show up empty handed either.

Hussar · Mar 9, 2018

Iry said:
For the DM attempting to make a living off their skills, $5 is unfortunately "I'm about to be homeless because of crushing poverty" money. Even $10 for 4, or $20 for 8 is extremely low for that level of entertainment depending on the number of players at the table.

Heh. I pay a teenager more for babysitting that amount of time and he/she certainly has a lot less to do than a DM.

ART! · Mar 9, 2018

Sorcerers Apprentice said:
On the other hand, TV programming back then was almost unimaginably bad compared to what's available now. The few good shows were swimming in a sea of absolute drek. It used to be that people were looking forward to that one good program for the whole week, now there are so many good shows that few people have time to watch everything they like, but instead have to pick the best among the good.
You get what you pay for.

Yes, I pay for a lot of content, but I don't think the ratio of good stuff (or stuff I want to watch) to dreck (or stuff I have no interest in) has changed. Sturgeon's Law still applies, sadly.

Warpiglet · Mar 9, 2018

I do not understand the concept of righteous anger about paying for a nonessential.

skinnydwarf · Mar 9, 2018

I can understand people not liking paying for a home game, but paying for space at a store or other public place is not unreasonable. Magic players need more cards all the time, and thus will probably buy stuff at the store. RPG players don't have as much of a need to buy new stuff, so it makes sense to charge to use the space.

My store used to charge $2, which went to the gm as store credit. They recently upped it to $5, but you get some back yourself in store credit to use on snacks or whatever. The idea there was people kept buying $1 sodas with credit cards, and the transaction fees were killing their margins. $1 for soda is honestly a super great price around here.

Celebrim · Mar 9, 2018

Table top gaming is probably not going to survive without some degree of monetization. So much of the itch that table top gaming used to scratch is available now from a superior computer based platform, so that a lot of concepts that used to be big are hardly ever played any more because its better to let the computer handle the book keeping.

The biggest problem that table top gaming has always had is that GMing a game is hard and takes a lot of work. Not everyone has to skill and talent to do it well. Not everyone has the time to do it well, and at some point it can come to feel like a really thankless job.

Monetization of an activity is a way to preserve it. Monetizing things is all about sustainability.

A space to play that is convenient for everyone is a thing that has value. I've been really lucky in that so far, but if I lost my current space it would probably be worth it to think about paying for a space in some fashion (either building a space at home or renting a space from someone).

Likewise, I think that professional GMs are a thing that has value because GMing is a thing that has value. The two things overlap. It's entirely possible that a really successful play space would be willing to pay workers (initially say at a minimum wage) to run tables so as to increase the number of people paying for a space and attract people to it. If that is financially viable, then those workers will eventually gain economic leverage to start demanding more premium wages.

At one time I would have thought this impossible, but the growing success of D&D podcasts where people watch D&D being played suggests there is more demand than I would have believed.

jasper · Mar 9, 2018

Hussar said:
Heh. I pay a teenager more for babysitting that amount of time and he/she certainly has a lot less to do than a DM.

Objection! Your honor until "Said Babysitter" enters the thread to talk about Hussar's hellion(s), this is hear say (or Hussar say) and is leading the readers. :devil:

FrogReaver · Mar 9, 2018

Celebrim said:
Table top gaming is probably not going to survive without some degree of monetization. So much of the itch that table top gaming used to scratch is available now from a superior computer based platform, so that a lot of concepts that used to be big are hardly ever played any more because its better to let the computer handle the book keeping.

The biggest problem that table top gaming has always had is that GMing a game is hard and takes a lot of work. Not everyone has to skill and talent to do it well. Not everyone has the time to do it well, and at some point it can come to feel like a really thankless job.

Monetization of an activity is a way to preserve it. Monetizing things is all about sustainability.

A space to play that is convenient for everyone is a thing that has value. I've been really lucky in that so far, but if I lost my current space it would probably be worth it to think about paying for a space in some fashion (either building a space at home or renting a space from someone).

Likewise, I think that professional GMs are a thing that has value because GMing is a thing that has value. The two things overlap. It's entirely possible that a really successful play space would be willing to pay workers (initially say at a minimum wage) to run tables so as to increase the number of people paying for a space and attract people to it. If that is financially viable, then those workers will eventually gain economic leverage to start demanding more premium wages.

At one time I would have thought this impossible, but the growing success of D&D podcasts where people watch D&D being played suggests there is more demand than I would have believed.