Professional GM Diary: Aftermath and Revelations

[Captain_Commando]

I regained some of my sanity on the subway ride to Café 28. I regained the rest while waiting there for nobody.

I'm pulling the plug on Caravan of Blades. My business plan from beginning to the near end was never going to work. My new business plan might have worked but it's too risky and would require more time than I can afford.

There were too many problems going in and I knew it. I still went forward like an idiot. I am an idiot.

When my father was alive, he was the one always taking care of things. Ever since I dropped out of a chemistry major I'd been kind of wandering lost, not knowing what to do with my life. I was also afraid of responsibility. When my father died several months ago, I got hit with the responsibilties of life pretty hard. In hindsight I think it was my fear of something I never really had to deal with that precipitated the whole mess of this debacle.

There are a lot of things that would be needed to make paid GMing work.

-credentials
-a website made just for the campaign
-video footage of my "methods"
-ads that make $ whenever a hit is made on the site
-a campaign design that didn't need too much work to maintain
-ads in the papers or magazines
-a financial safety net
-sessions that can be cancelled easily

There's certainly more.

I think I was desperate not to face the harsh reality of my father's absence, and the pressure it puts on me to be a breadwinner.

A pay-for-play campaign is a risky venture if you don't already have a stable financial situation. Gming for hire probably requires knowing the right people.

It was an epic crash and burn but I think I'll be okay now. There are jobs I'm going to go look at to tide things over.

I went a little nuts at the end. I'll leave the funny stuff up on the ff d20 website while I take down the business stuff.

 

[Scribble]

Hey man, don't get your spirits down. Sorry to hear about your dad. Loosing a family member is tough. Just keep walking and you'll march through it though ok? (I lost my mom somewhat recently, so I can feel you.)

You had an idea, and an interesting one. Don't let other people tell you something won't work, there are loads of things that worked and went on to be profitable for people when others said it wouldn't.

No one can go faster then the speed of sound!

I'd say don't give up. Take what you learned and apply it. It'll take work, just like you said, but are the rewards worth it?

That's the entrepreneurial spirit.

Now I'm not saying just look for a get rich quick thing and ignore all other responsibilities, but that's where the hard work comes in. You might have to find yourself doing more then one job at a time.

Don't know the right people? Find them.

If you're serious about it, don't give up!