The Monetization of D&D Play
Zzz. It's not about "monetizing friendships", and if that was what you inferred then I can only roll my eyes in exasperation. I'd never ask my friends to pay what is essentially a salary, of course that notion is ridiculous to me, but if someone DM'ed a full campaign for me then you better believe I'd pay for snacks, pizza and ask to contribute to at the very least the adventure book. It's a tangible way of showing appreciation.
If someone invites me over for dinner, it's likely that I'll ask to help with the dishes, or setting the table; you know, contributing, like this whole discussion is about.
BookBarbarian
Expert Long Rester
This is true of every review system I've seen. Isn't the whole point to get an average based on aggregate data?
Still I find I use Google's reviews far more than yelp.
Warpiglet
Adventurer
OK then in that spirit...
I have typed histories for my characters. I spend lots of time thinking about them and draw or find a portrait for them. Further, I don't piss on the DMs parade and try to appreciate what was built.
And when we are done, I usually find a way to let them know if they did not already know, that I had a lot of fun. I even thank them for their work!
I don't reach for my wallet though. That would get a lot of laughs. We're friends.
However we do try to recognize the workload and take turns being the DM. The weird thing I found recently was how much I actually liked the task. No pay required...
BookBarbarian
Expert Long Rester
And I would for a really excellent DM.
Hmm, maybe in addition to having a yelp for DMs we have one for players too, and you can pay a premium to be paired with only excellent players and DMs?
We are in complete agreement then! Carry on, friend
Iry
Hero
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.
Myrdin Potter
Hero
The only DM’s that make more than beer and pretzel money all make it via streaming. Usually with hand picked players who are the actors in the show. And maybe one handful make any money worth mentioning.
Same for those who write and sell content. A few make ok money, the rest are lucky to make $100.
This is a game and a hobby. Get your CPA and Work for a big 4 firm if you want a job with good prospects. Stop dreaming that anyone will pay you any real money to DM. And, please, no “living wages required” posts.
The more I think about it, the more disgusting it sounds. If a store wants to charge for a room that's fine, but charging people to play AL when it's supposed to be free is not Ok. Stores get perks for participating in the program and get perks for attendance. I remember in season 1 the coordinator would offer raffle tickets, and with the money he got from the tickets, he would buy prizes, my store would also donate prizes so it was a win-win because there were always like 4 or 5 prizes. Well we had to put a stop to that because WotC didn't like that. The store I go to is a premiere store, which means we get everything first. Like a week or two early. They didn't want to lose that status, so they stopped. I've seen that WotC makes ppl pay for downloading AL adventures now (which sucks), not at my store. They will make sure all the DMs have what they need, certs and everything. This is how every store should operate. They shouldn't look to D&D adventures league, or pathfinder society for a stream of income, if they are, they are in trouble as a store, because when you think about it, most players are only going to be players, so they will probably only buy a PHB. Even the DMs really don't have a lot of books to buy. In the 5 years this edition have been going there has been 3 other player supplements that's come out so far, and 5 campaigns. That means a player will buy a book once a year and a DM maybe twice.
