D&D 5E How many players would use a service like this

[Oofta]

While I get high praise from my players for my DMing style (I think they're just sucking up because my wife likes to cook so we almost always provide lunch), personally I wouldn't want to go pro. I would be too self conscious and I tend to be selective of my players to make sure we have a matching style and expectations.

On the other hand, I have no problem with others doing it nor do I think there's an issue with providing a service people find valuable. It's not the death knell of the hobby, it's just one way of commoditizing time and effort. Being a DM can be a huge investment of time, for every hour of play some DM's will spend 1-2 hours of prep time. Especially if you're doing detailed set pieces prepared ahead of time, most professional DMs aren't exactly getting rich.

As others have stated, just because there are restaurants, people still eat at home. Just because there's professional sporting teams, it doesn't mean that people don't play in local leagues or pick-up games. It's not the beginning of the end of gaming as we know it. It's just one more entertainment option for people that desire it.

 

[Slit518]

I was directed by another DM friend to a website and he asked me my thoughts.

I don't want to promote these clowns, so not giving the website link, but it promotes itself as: "the largest online platform for players to find tabletop roleplaying games and professional GMs for any game system and any virtual tabletop! " I scrolled through their various GM's, and found one guy who thinks he is worth 40 bucks US a session, per player. At those rates, it is almost a gig that pays the mortgage. The average rate seems to be 25 bucks per player per session.

Not asking for any poll, and I don't even know if a fan website is actually an unbiased source, but this kind of thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I have never charged for my DM'ing skills, nor ever will, and never paid, and never will. But apparently there is enough demand to justify it, or at least some think so.

What I find truly egregious, is that many of these vampires are running a module, not even their own stuff.

I never knew folks paid to play D&D until several years ago when I friend told me about it. He said in some instances some folks will pay up to $600 per game.

The only way I would see folks seeking a "professional" DM is because of a few reasons:

1. They don't know anyone else whom plays and this is the easiest way for them to find someone who runs a game and players willing to play.
2. Less likely to miss a date if you're paying.
3. Probably less schenanagins at the table and more focus on gameplay, perhaps even role playing.
4. The DM I assume has more resources, such as terrain, minis, perhaps a place to host, and even provides the character sheets, pencils, dice, and even extra books.
5. Setting the atmosphere, such as music, lighting, sound effects, etc.

I am still not sure how the whole "professional" DM thing works, but I assume they either charge per player for X hours, or charge per group $Y for Z hours and the more folks in the group the less each member pays with a minimum amount of members to a maximum amount of members.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Paying for a service reasonably entitles the buyer to a certain degree of expectation that the service paid for will be up to an acceptable standard

This is exactly why I don't do it myself. It puts a lot more pressure on you to not suck. That's a stress I would rather do without. But I'm impressed by those who do do it.

As for how much, given the amount of time I spent prepping a game, I would have to charge at least £10 per head to get anything approaching minimum wage. Plus cost of venue and food if I was expected to do those too. And taxation, if I passed the threshold, which would be a real pain to calculate.

I do tutor semi-professionally. For that I charge £30 for a one hour one-to-one lesson. I provide the venue and resources.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

is the DM there to "entertain" the players?

That seems to be the main role of the DM to me. Entertain themselves too, of course.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'm going to Rome next month. I wasn't planning to catch a movie - but I didn't realize it was such a good investment! Of course I don't speak italian.

You have a month, that's plenty of time to learn a language!

 

[dave2008]

You have a month, that's plenty of time to learn a language!

Well, I should have started 2 years ago when this trip was originally planned!

 

[beancounter]

It. Fills a gap, and if people are willing to pay for it, I don't see the problem. However with AL games everywhere, you would think that the demand for paid DMs wouldn't be that strong.

 

[pukunui]

I’ll add my voice to the list of folks who have no problem with the idea of pro DMs.

I have at times considered it myself but I think I’d rather stay in the realm of the free hobby with friends. I don’t begrudge those who do charge (or those willing to pay), though.


On a side note, what happened to the OP? Looks like they got banned …

 

[Stoutstien]

It. Fills a gap, and if people are willing to pay for it, I don't see the problem. However with AL games everywhere, you would think that the demand for paid DMs wouldn't be that strong.

I love AL. It's like a filter for players I want at my tables lol.

 

[Oofta]

It. Fills a gap, and if people are willing to pay for it, I don't see the problem. However with AL games everywhere, you would think that the demand for paid DMs wouldn't be that strong.

Doesn't it kind of depend what kind of game you're looking for? I've supported AL in the past* (as player and DM) but my home game is very different from an AL game. I have more in-depth PC character development, more RP, more individualized stories. Public games can be fun, but it's different. That, and DMs can go from very average to stellar, you never know exactly what you get or who you'll be sitting next to.

*It's fallen off since COVID