D&D General My Requirements to Run a 1-20 Adventure.

[Zardnaar]

Are people really paying 20$ per session to play d&d with strangers online? I mean, that's not cheap. 40 sessions totals to 800 bucks for 160h of gameplay. I guess some people really really love to play.

Can be more than that. Its $5 an hour for the player.

DMs in more than 160 hours.

 

[Zardnaar]

The main part that I think you will have trouble with is the up front buy in. I can't think of anyone I have played with that asked for this. Many DMs actually offer 1st session for free or at a deep discount as a test drive to see if it is your style of game.

I am not saying it is unreasonble to ask for money up front and certainly at $20 per player, per session with 5 players you are probably only making about $5 an hour after expenses, prep time and drop outs. That said, I think a lot of people will look for a less expensive alternative.

Up front woukd be if you wanted me to run something I don't own. Or if you wanted to use a specific adventure or whatever.

 

[Iry]

I reject the notion that running from a published adventure is easier than making up your own. I personally find it more difficult, because most published adventures are written and designed to be read, not played. Very few publishers do an actual good job of providing format that lets the GM "read and make tweaks." This is especially true of both WotC and Paizo, who know the majority of their customers never actually run the adventures they buy.

I cannot agree with you more. Modules are great for those who like them, but I can literally create a campaign faster than I can memorize a module unless I'm just running the module blind, which I would never do in the first place. The encounters I create will be better tuned for the way I run battles, the entire thing better balanced for the party I'm running for, and in the event I actually forget something I can either check my notes (same time it would take to check the module), or just make up a new detail with absolute confidence because it's my own campaign.

The only thing I really miss out on is pretty maps.

 

[Distracted DM]

I cannot agree with you more. Modules are great for those who like them, but I can literally create a campaign faster than I can memorize a module unless I'm just running the module blind, which I would never do in the first place. The encounters I create will be better tuned for the way I run battles, the entire thing better balanced for the party I'm running for, and in the event I actually forget something I can either check my notes (same time it would take to check the module), or just make up a new detail with absolute confidence because it's my own campaign.

The only thing I really miss out on is pretty maps.

I love improv and responding to whatever choices etc. the players make, riffing on their ideas, and emergent storytelling from random tables... but I found that while I like improvising the majority of my adventures, I do benefit from having an outline/framework to work off of. I may end up using 10% of an adventure, but that 10% helps anchor me.

 

[Iry]

Are people really paying 20$ per session to play d&d with strangers online? I mean, that's not cheap. 40 sessions totals to 800 bucks for 160h of gameplay. I guess some people really really love to play.

I never had a problem finding people willing to pay. I honestly pay more than that to Patreon to support artists I love every month. The real problem I had was vetting players, because a paid spot brings a lot of expectations, entitlement, and potentially toxic behavior that even a decent entrance interview and trial period doesn't necessarily catch.

I've had some really sweet people. Many sincere folk who just wanted a good game, wanted to support me as a creative, or wanted to guarantee attendance because their own games kept falling through or getting cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. I've met couples trying to introduce their partners to the game, old lonely folks who just needed friends, etc.

I've also had lots of bad experiences with it. Many absolute jerks who were paying to be there because nobody else would take them. Some people who seemed nice, but flew into a rage if they ever lost anything (one guy literally declaring the whole battle was lost when he got to 50% HP), a rampaging mother for a grown adult who didn't get their way, a few couples where one partner obviously didn't want to be there, and all the other usual customer service job related issues.

And the real clincher? Even $20 per person per session is below poverty level income for the time invested.

 

[LordEntrails]

And the real clincher? Even $20 per person per session is below poverty level income for the time invested.

There are many things in life that we can chose to do that do not pay a living wage. That's why they are called hobbies by most people.

 

[DrJawaPhD]

Are people really paying 20$ per session to play d&d with strangers online? I mean, that's not cheap. 40 sessions totals to 800 bucks for 160h of gameplay. I guess some people really really love to play.

I don't understand the part about wanting to play DnD with strangers online even for free (not for me!), but if you're having a good time then $20 for 4 hours is pretty cheap. That's less than the sandwich I had for lunch today and that only took 4 minutes to eat

 

[Kromanjon]

I don't understand the part about wanting to play DnD with strangers online even for free (not for me!), but if you're having a good time then $20 for 4 hours is pretty cheap. That's less than the sandwich I had for lunch today and that only took 4 minutes to eat

It might sound cheap compared to a sandwich but when other people are having just as much as fun for free, $20 becomes quite the ask. Add to this the requirement of 40 sessions in a year and a minimum required presence of 75% putting the total cost at a minimum of $600/year or $800/year for full attendance. It's like a punishment for showing up more often to game.

Let's not compare this to food but to another form of gaming instead. I can sign up for playstation plus for $10/month or a one time cost of $80 dollars per year. This gives me access to on-line play and three free games each month that I can play whenever I want for any amount of time I want. Suddenly $800/year seems quite a lot.

And like I said to begin with, I play ttrpgs for free. It doesn't bother me if we play high or low-level games they're just as free either way. So let's compare $800/year to $0/year and decide from there which one lets me grab that sandwich for lunch and which one has me skipping lunch because I have to pay some web GM.

 

[Zardnaar]

It might sound cheap compared to a sandwich but when other people are having just as much as fun for free, $20 becomes quite the ask. Add to this the requirement of 40 sessions in a year and a minimum required presence of 75% putting the total cost at a minimum of $600/year or $800/year for full attendance. It's like a punishment for showing up more often to game.

Let's not compare this to food but to another form of gaming instead. I can sign up for playstation plus for $10/month or a one time cost of $80 dollars per year. This gives me access to on-line play and three free games each month that I can play whenever I want for any amount of time I want. Suddenly $800/year seems quite a lot.

And like I said to begin with, I play for ttrpgs for free. It doesn't bother me if we play high or low-level games they're just as free either way. So let's compare $800/year to $0/year and decide from there which one lets me grab that sandwich for lunch and which one has me skipping lunch because I have to pay some web GM.

It's really how badly you want to play high level D&D.
I cam do it I've run lvl 30 and have 500-1000 adventures including high level ones.

 

[DrJawaPhD]

It might sound cheap compared to a sandwich but when other people are having just as much as fun for free, $20 becomes quite the ask.

And like I said to begin with, I play ttrpgs for free.

Well duh if you have a great group of people to play with for free then that's infinitely better. To be Captain Obvious for a second here, not everyone has a group to play with for free.

You can do all the apples to oranges comparisons you want, $20 is just not particularly expensive to do something that you consider really fun. Personally I wouldn't do online DnD even for free but I've paid more than $20 per session for in-person DnD with a great DM, and it was some of the most worthwhile money I've spent