If DMing was a job, how much should you get paid?

[JustKim]

I don't bum money off my friends. Scruples, you know.

 

[Hellefire]

other

A friend made a fantasy RPG, named Saga. Its still my favorite RPG of all time. A large part was the way he ran games. At one point I was making a lot of money, and he needed a place to stay, so I gave him a room in my house, paid all the house bills and for food, and paid him something like $500 a month. To work on the materials and run games 3-6 times a week. There was no exact schedule, just when we all had time. Of course, most of the die hard Saga players lived either with me or within 10 minutes drive. I was working on trying to ge the game published. Maybe back to that one day, I'd like to see it happen. Just not my particular specialty.

Aaron

 

[ceratitis]

while i got no problem with people getting payed for running a game i wouldnt like mine to be like that. a friend of mine teaches kids to play which is fine for him and the kids but in our game we play with friends so we all share the cost of snacks and coffee ect. DM included. i can understand those who feel getting paid for it will ruin the feel, when i was a student several times people wanted to pay me for private lessons and i refused, i'd help them if i had the time but getting paid for it would be like looking down on them and neither one of us deserved that.
Z

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I'd punch any DM who actually wanted to get paid.
Figuratively of course.

Literally here. I'd pay in pain. Pay comes from pain, right? No? No matter.

Seriously: If anyone ever said that he's expecting us to pay him to be the DM, I'd stop playing with this guy altogether.

I'd never think about demanding money from my friends, either, even if I DM. If it's so far that I think I need to get paid to continue DMing, I quit.


Bottom line is: DMs are never paid. They may be bribed.....

 

[BlueBlackRed]

How often do you DM, anyway?

Once per week, usually 3 out of 4 weekends.
And I put a lot of work and money into the games I run. Probably more than I should (especialy if you ask my wife ).
And I even have started podcasting the games recently (link is in my sig).

But asking for money to run a game feels offensive. I can understand asking for money to aid in paying for paper, pencils, and other communal needs. But trying to make money of running seems way too presumptive that your games are so much better than everyone else so you deserve to be paid.

I've never met a DM who is that good.

 

[BlueBlackRed]

Bottom line is: DMs are never paid. They may be bribed.....

My players bribe me with Gummi Savers

 

[shilsen]

Actually no.
It would ruin it for me.
I'd go from looking at the game as a game to looking at it as an obligation. And eventually I'd lose interest in it, if not get burnt out.

I don't want to come to ENWorld and do a post like I've seen recently about how D&D is bad in this way or that and that I'm done with it.

Different strokes. I love teaching. I've been teaching for 7 years and probably like it even more than when I first began. And the fact that I get paid for it doesn't make it any less a pleasure.

 

[Maggan]

I'd never think about demanding money from my friends, either, even if I DM.

I don't think peopla are looking to get cash from their friends. I think it's more of a "if you offered DM:ing as a service that anyone could buy, much as any other service provided, and it was a job (full or part time), then what should it pay?".

I personally would have no problem charging for DM:ing, but a lot of other stuff would have to be in place for that to be feasible; a proper place to play, a consistent quality of performance from me as a DM, high quality handouts and proper rules mastery. Also, it would not be done with friends, but with people who woud hire me as a service provider.

For a DM that would accept money in exchange for DM:ing, the demands to consistently deliver at least a good experience could become a difficut hurdle. But if a DM feels he can provide this, and people would feel ok paying for it, I don't see why it shouldn't happen.

Now, don't get me wrong here. The above criteria apply when I DM for my friends as well, but I don't have a contractual obligation to live up to. If I stink one night, that's that. If I would charge for it and be bad, they would be in their right to demand money back if I did a bad job.

Making it into a "job" is not only charging for it. There are many other things that go with putting yourself forward and saying "this is so good you'll want to pay for it".

/M

 

[diaglo]

I think we actually have a professional DM on this very forum.

Why don't you ask him what he gets paid

(I'd link, but no CS)

Pro DM

 

[jinx crossbow]

I voted other!

GMing is like programing open source software.
Yopu are paid in values like honor and cake not in bucks!

I dont want to have money for my GMing because
i do it for fun.

In return i would not pay someone for GMing.

Jinx Crossbow