D&D General Professional DMs making $45k/year off it?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I personally couldn't run 10 4-hour games per week and have them actually be good games - even if I wasn't also working full time at a day job. But maybe someone could.

I think it's doable if you kept everyone to a very tight timeline and using the same material, similar to running convention games or AL games at a store. This week everyone is starting chapter two of Witchlight, next week, everyone will finish it. After that, everyone moves in step to chapter three, etc. Then you'd only need to master one set of material at a time. The big challenge would be backfilling with other content as needed when one group blasts few faster than expected.

 

[Burnside]

I think it's doable if you kept everyone to a very tight timeline and using the same material, similar to running convention games or AL games at a store. This week everyone is starting chapter two of Witchlight, next week, everyone will finish it. After that, everyone moves in step to chapter three, etc. Then you'd only need to master one set of material at a time. The big challenge would be backfilling with other content as needed when one group blasts few faster than expected.

Oh, yeah, I think a person could do it, but I think I personally couldn't because I would burn out and be miserable running that much. And if I'm willing to burn out and be miserable, there are more lucrative things I could do than DM.

For me, I can comfortably run 4 or 5 4-hour sessions per week and feel confident that I'm running good games. Anything beyond that starts to feel like I'm in a Beckett play.

 

[CubicsRube]

I would pay for sessions of games systems I haven't been able to get to the table.

Coriolis, blades in the dark, the Sprawl, etc.

I've tried looking through roll20 available games and it's all D&D.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I would pay for sessions of games systems I haven't been able to get to the table.

Coriolis, blades in the dark, the Sprawl, etc.

I've tried looking through roll20 available games and it's all D&D.

I found GenCon Online very useful for that last year. I would jump on there the day they open up registration and snag those game sessions, if I were you. (In fact, I might join you on a few of those games.)

 

[CubicsRube]

Problem is that I'm in Australia. Time zone is not friendly for me, or my wife

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Problem is that I'm in Australia. Time zone is not friendly for me, or my wife

I hope that someone, or lots of someones, will decide to make something like GenCon Online a regular occurrence around the world. Especially in regions of the world where travel time and expense can be a challenge, moving at least a portion of cons online just makes too much sense.

 

[CubicsRube]

I think there'd be a market for it over here. Great for a number of expats in Asia who miss their RP groups from back home.

 

[Helldritch]

Never did and never will have players to pay to play at my table. That said, I do understand those that wants to get paid and those that are ready to pay. I had a former player turned DM that changed area to live in Montreal near one of the universities over there. He works as a part time mechanic and he DM for money.

At the time in the beginning of the 90s he was asking for 10$ per players per session and he usually had 6 groups. Now he asks for 20$. My last contact with him was about five years ago at the funeral of his father. He still had 6 groups, of 5 to 6 players and was often forced to say no to many others. So I guess there always was a market for paid DM's skills. I wonder if, with the pandemic, he is still playing...

 

[ECMO3]

Now lots of people are willing to DM for free because they enjoy it. So I can't see it becoming a big moneymaker except for a few people.

Free online games are not the same though.

I started playing online during COVID and there are plenty of free games but I have found many of the players that sign up for those games are not invested in it. It is also difficult to do a campaign in a free game because most free gamers are looking for something this Friday, not every Friday. One game in particular I played I did not have fun. The other three players in what was going to be a campaign wanted to murder hobo and just be "silly" for lack of a better word. There is nothing wrong with those kind of light games on occasion but it is hard to find a good game that is free.

As such I no longer play free games, I will gladly pay $15-$25 a session as the games are worth it.

On roll20 it seems you have a lot of full paid games and a lot of DMs waiting for players and not a lot in between.

 

[Zardnaar]

I'm thinking if doing this due to lifestyle basically. And injury. Early retirement.

Some here are doing it and charge $25 a head (almost $20 usd). Another group was advertising for a DM willing to pay $25 each for 7-9 players.

House is paid for so rent/mortgage doesn't matter. I wouldn't charge for friends, anyone else maybe. Or if it's a larger group pay me. Generally I cap my groups at 5-6.