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

[Paul Farquhar]

Right, but not every work someone is willing to do is going to lead to payment.

Which is fine. No one is forced to buy anything. But that doesn't mean they have a right to have it for free. If you don't want to pay for something, you don't get it.

You don't know if someone is willing to pay for something, or how much, until you offer it for sale. Which involves risk, and probably cost. Gygax didn't know D&D would sell until he tried.

 

[CleverNickName]

Sure. But no “pro DM” is going to become the next Critical Role. At best they’re going to burn themselves out scrambling to run more and more games to make a few extra bucks. This is a gig, at best. Not Critical Role. LOL.

This is a good thing, though. As much as I love Critical Role, my friends and I could never afford to hire Matt Mercer to run games for us.

That would be like hiring Rembrandt to paint my house.

 

[CleverNickName]

OP opened by calling pro DMs (ie me) “vampires” who are “blighting and poisoning” the game. I found it more amusing than offensive, but honestly we’re supposed to care that his feelings were hurt? He earned it. So many actual things to be upset about in this world, and this dude is irate that there are pro DMs.

Judging from some of his other posts in other threads, he also has a major axe to grind with Wizards of the Coast as well. And the internet as a whole.

 

[Mort]

It's also an amazing way to find success. Work can be enjoyable and fulfilling, after all.

I don't think the cast of Critical Role feels bummed out because they have turned their Thursday-night game into a multimillion-dollar gaming company enjoyed by tens of thousands of people every week. I could be wrong, I don't know them personally and they are talented actors, but they seem pretty interested.

But there's a very key difference. A Pro DM generally DMs for strangers.

This is hugely different than DMing for friends. And their "job" isn't to collectively (as a group) entertain an audience; it's to ensure the people paying them (the players) are entertained.

 

[Reynard]

Sure. But no “pro DM” is going to become the next Critical Role. At best they’re going to burn themselves out scrambling to run more and more games to make a few extra bucks. This is a gig, at best. Not Critical Role. LOL.

It would actually be pretty cool for a new celebrity pro-DM to emerge who not only has folks pay big money to play with him but also has a strong Twitch/YT following.

 

[overgeeked]

It would actually be pretty cool for a new celebrity pro-DM to emerge who not only has folks pay big money to play with him but also has a strong Twitch/YT following.

You and I have polar opposite views of what’s “cool.”

 

[Reynard]

You and I have polar opposite views of what’s “cool.”

Okay.

I don't think pro-GMing or celebrity streamers hurt my D&D game in the slightest.

 

[Oofta]

This is a good thing, though. As much as I love Critical Role, my friends and I could never afford to hire Matt Mercer to run games for us.

That would be like hiring Rembrandt to paint my house.

I heard about this guy, Michelangelo? Does a great job with ceilings.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I heard about this guy, Michelangelo? Does a great job with ceilings.

Yeah, but he takes ages to finish.

 

[CleverNickName]

I heard about this guy, Michelangelo? Does a great job with ceilings.

Yeah, but he takes ages to finish.

That's fine. I would need that extra time to raise the money to pay him.