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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder James" data-source="post: 1298663" data-attributes="member: 14789">As interesting as it sounds to be paid to run a game for some folks, I find myself wondering about the nature of such a game.To quote a couple of things from the main 'classified advertisement' <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> which can be viewed <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1295619" target="_blank"> here.</a>Fair enough.  After all, the GM is getting paid so he/she should be expected to make more than a decent effort.  But then things start to waver a little...Hmm.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.  It would depend on what those house rules were.  Any GM running a game needs to be able to veto any House Rule, or make up any House Rule on the spur of the moment in order to be able to keep his or her game running smoothly.  But that last quote continues thusly:Ah.  So if you are paying me to run your game then my decision as a GM is not final, but rather the decision on the rules rests in the hands of the players?  Who is actually running these games?So basically you want to control the game, but not actually run anything yourself?  To have the power of the GM but not actually be the GM.At first I was intrigued by the possibility of being paid to run a game for a group, but now I find myself put off by this idea.  I'm of the school of GM thought that thinks along these lines:There are but three rules in my game.  The first rule is, the GM's word is final.  The second rule is, the GM is always right, even when he is wrong.  The third and final rule is, the GM may change his mind on any ruling he has made previously whenever he sees fit.A controlling and possibly overbearing way for a GM to be you might think.  But the reason I follow this school of thought is because to me, being a GM is not about looking up every single rule in a rulebook and making sure all the saves and attack bonuses for NPC #126 are all in order, but rather it is about telling a story in which the PC's are the heroes (or anti-heroes if the PC's prefer).  This sometimes requires ignoring rules of any kind, even House Rules.  And in order for any GM to really be able to shine and provide his players with an outstanding session, he needs to feel secure in his judgement calls.  He shouldn't have to worry about whether or not the players are going to re-interpret some rules, and he shouldn't have to change any judgement call he makes simply because the players are paying him to run things the way they want it.  However, that said, I'm sure you'll find a GM somewhere who is willing to run things your way.  In the meantime, you should try running a session or two yourself.  Who knows, you may even find that you prefer being on the GM side of the screen. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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