Re: What about Judges & Coordinators?
denzoner said:
I think Judges and Coordinators are the most un-rewarded people in the RPGA Network. I've been busting my ass for the last few months putting together home & gamedays for the folks in LA, and burning out fast. Yes, the thrill of just playing D&D is worth it, when we find the time...almost. At least my judges get die-bumps. But what about me?
There are plans under way for a GM reward program as part of the general RPGA GM Program. I can’t talk about them openly yet, because the program is not complete. But it will be pretty cool.
With that said, GM/organizer burnout is a problem that can’t be fixed wholly by way of a reward program. The RPGA has done a lot to tackle the coordinator/GM burnout issue (going to free download was a major step), and is still looking to do more, but there is more to the equation than just us.
You have to ask yourself what’s burning you out.
Trying to do too much: This one we can’t control at all. Running events for the RPGA, or any other organization, is a lot like drinking—you have to know your limit or you'll end up totally pissed
If you feel frustrated because you can’t keep up with your events, or your events are getting in the way of your life outside of gaming, or you find that don’t enjoy playing roleplaying games anymore because it feels like “work,” find someone (or multiple someones) to help you run your events. Take a break, and find someone to run your events for the next session or two and relax some. In just about any organization there is always a number of “young bucks” that would love to take a stab at running things. Those folks are your best friends! Show them the ropes, and nine times out of ten your shows will run much smother with the extra help.
You really just don’t enjoy it: Start looking for those young bucks now. If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. Find someone who will enjoy doing it. Here is the trap—many times we stick with something we don’t like to do because we get it in our head that we are the only ones who can do it. Hogwash! It is better off in the hands of someone who wants to do it, enjoys doing it, than someone who feels only that they “have” to do it.
I am not getting enough out of it: It is this strain of the burnout bug that whatever GM rewards we cook up will help, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things that you can do for you to get more out of running events. There is a huge misconception that running roleplaying game events should be done entirely out of love of the game, and a selfless desire to promote it. It is good to have both of these traits, but let’s face it, running a D&D game is work. Love of the game, selflessness, and your players spotting your pizza when you spent too much money on game books the week before gets you though your home game, but when you are juggling an event with 3 to 300 tables, you have a little more on your plate. If you are not charging money for events--do it! Right this minute! Send the e-mail out to your local RPGA group. Tell them they have to fork out messily two or three bucks a table to play. Why? Because right now you are probably spending money so they can play, and you deserved to be reimbursed for that. Because at the very least they can buy you and your DMs some lunch for the work you put in, and some sodas too.
And because you can use any money left over to build bigger and cooler events.
Use that money to add some value to your events. Let’s say you are running a smallish game day with four tables of events over two slots. Charge $3.00 a table, $5.00 for a table in both slots, on average you will bring in about $160. You have no more than 8 GMs so order three pizzas ($40.00) and some pop ($10.00) and you still have $110.00. Some of that will go into photocopying and supplies, but some of the rest, throw into adding value to your events.
If you are running it in a game store, talk it over with the storeowner. See if he or she can donate some prizes. Did he or she order too many copies of this product or that? Those make cool prizes. Use money you have to buy gift certificates from him. Negotiate down to .80 to .90 cents to the dollar rate. That way your prize is flexible, but guarantees business back to your local game store. Usually when someone shops with a gift certificate, they buy more than price of the gift certificate, so your local game storeowner will usually go for it. If you are not running in a store, see if you can get the store to sponsor it. Hand out flyers, make sure to talk about the store and the stock they have, if the store is helping you out, you want to help them out as well.
Run special delves using MasterMaze. Take a look at the gladiator rules in this month’s Dragon magazine and run a gladiator session. Be inventive, be creative, and get people excited and your enthusiasm will rise also. As you draw more people, you will make more money, and you deserve a cut of that. Remember it take work to put together any game. Putting together an event takes more. Make sure your GMs are treated right, make sure you have everything you need, and, if you run it in a store or have a store as a sponsor, make sure they feel like they are treated well (i.e., paying customer are coming in the door, and not trashing the place, etc.), anything left over is rightly yours.
