MichaelSomething
Legend
Demand.... meet Supply!
D&D General Professional DMs making $45k/year off it?
loverdrive
Prophet of the profane (She/Her)
darjr
I crit!
No! Lots of us would do it for free!
AnotherGuy
Hero
Just for comparative purposes
As a DM who hosts, my average spend per session, since I primarily provide the primary meal (players provide drinks & snacks), is around $15 (translated as I'm not in the US). Pre 2020 we were playing face-to-face twice a month, so that was a dedicated $30 spend. These days I run 3-4 online sessions and 1 face-to-face per month.
When I'm a player and have to travel and purchase snacks/drinks I spend around $10.
As a DM who hosts, my average spend per session, since I primarily provide the primary meal (players provide drinks & snacks), is around $15 (translated as I'm not in the US). Pre 2020 we were playing face-to-face twice a month, so that was a dedicated $30 spend. These days I run 3-4 online sessions and 1 face-to-face per month.
When I'm a player and have to travel and purchase snacks/drinks I spend around $10.
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Lanefan
Victoria Rules
Exactly! So why on earth would I want to pay for it?
Come to think of it, I should start charging for the privilege...go ahead, kill my character, but it'll cost you a beer!
Neonchameleon
Legend
Given that in the pre-pandemic days we used to play at pubs I've routinely spent more than that on food and drink at most sessions. And on transport to get there.
Sorcerers Apprentice
Hero
That time zone difference could be ideal for some. One could live in Australia and host evening games for Americans during regular Australian office hours, and then have your leisure time at the same time as your mates who work normal jobs.
I would never kill your character.
All the fun comes from getting you to do it to yourself ...
Iry
Hero
I charged $20 per person back in the day, so a 5 man group was $100 a night.
The biggest issue BY FAR is getting decent people. I had to deal with some genuinely entitled, disgusting, and sometimes even abusing people. Don't get me wrong, there were some really nice ones as well, and those are the ones you want to court for regular sessions. But "building your business" really is the golden truth here. You have to spend months weeding out the bad ones to build up a roster of good people. And you have to do it over and over again to cover you for 5 days worth of players.
I ran the same campaign for multiple groups, to reduce the amount of planning it takes. Granted, each group tackles problems differently and goes in different directions, so there is still quite a bit to keep track of. What did surprise me is a few players showing up for the same campaign on another night just to play a different character and adventure with different people.
The biggest issue BY FAR is getting decent people. I had to deal with some genuinely entitled, disgusting, and sometimes even abusing people. Don't get me wrong, there were some really nice ones as well, and those are the ones you want to court for regular sessions. But "building your business" really is the golden truth here. You have to spend months weeding out the bad ones to build up a roster of good people. And you have to do it over and over again to cover you for 5 days worth of players.
I ran the same campaign for multiple groups, to reduce the amount of planning it takes. Granted, each group tackles problems differently and goes in different directions, so there is still quite a bit to keep track of. What did surprise me is a few players showing up for the same campaign on another night just to play a different character and adventure with different people.
Stormonu
Legend
Honestly, because of this article, I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. At least a couple years ago people at my local FLGS were crying about paying $2 for a spot at a game table. Attitudes certainly have changed and I’m not quite comfortable yet with idea of paying/charging for the game I do currently.
