The Monetization of D&D Play

[Warmaster Horus]

Room isn't free anymore. I think $5 for 3-4 hours of game time is fine. The typical cost at Cons I go to are $1/hour on top of the Con gate cost. As for should the DM get money even if they're no good? Well, let the market decide. If you're any better, step up and make some of that fine, fine D&D lucre.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

I'm against it. I don't play or DM AL, and I also don't play at my FLGS. As [MENTION=8803]Aria[/MENTION]chQ said in the OP, one of the great things about RPG's is that once you have saved and spent your cash on the game box/books...you're set for life. I paid about $15 for my 1ePHB back in the early 80's. I still use it today, 35'ish years later. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I consider second-to-none "bang for your buck"!

Charging for space in a FLGS? Sure! Go for it! People should expect to have to pay a business when the business is providing something to you. Some businesses do this by slightly raising prices on some items, others do it at cost to them, banking on the participants buying more food/drink as they play, and some figure the good-will of the gaming community is worth it. And some charge per hour. It's their business and if you don't like it, don't go.

HOWEVER...seeing as this seems to be going down the path of "micro-transactions...but for TTRPGS!", that I wholeheartedly disagree with. Nothing good will come of it if bigger companies see the gaming community at large paying for stuff they didn't pay for before.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[LordEntrails]

I used to GM for D&D Encounters. Life changed and I couldn't do it anymore. Then a couple of years ago, I looked into DM'ing for AL league. And when I learned that as the DM I was expected to buy the AL module, I decided no, I wasn't going to pay to have the privileged to DM an AL module. (Now, doesn't mean I'm opposed to the authors getting paid for their work, quite the contrary.)

New ways of paying and rewarding those who add value to the hobby is a good thing, but not sure the "best" solution has been found yet.

More thoughts on this topic on this blog; https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/entry.php?303-Why-I-Oppose-Paid-Games

 

[ccs]

And anytime a hobby is getting to be real money, you can't afford the hobby.

That's called mismanaging your budget....

Because I'm positive that my miniature war-gaming hobby counts as having real $ invested in it.
I'm positive that my hotel room bill for GenCon costs me real $ each year. (If I weren't so damned lazy I'd have more to spend on the miniature war-gaming )
That I can afford them doesn't make the $ spent any less real. Just properly budgeted.

 

[pogre]

(even though I have way more mini's than I need!).

You have sinned. More minis than you need? Blasphemy!

 

[akr71]

I don't mind if a store charges to use their facilities. $5 for a 3 or 4 hour session seems reasonable - still far cheaper than going to a movie. However paying for XP or even paying the DM is ludicrous! I hope that my players bring snacks, but that's about it.

I would approach the father and 2 sons about starting your own home game...

 

[antieon]

My game store which is amazing (The Game Annex in Fort Wayne, IN) the owner prides herself on 20% retail, and 80% play space. They have about six private rooms and a main large open area for play - the store is super clean and she manages it very well. They charge $5 a night to play for a 3-4 hour block of time and that pay doesn't go towards credit but helping to pay for the retail space she provides. At first she was afraid charging would make her lose customers, but oddly enough it actually increased people coming in to play because she was able to expand the store. On a typical Wednesday Adventurer's League play she will have 25-30 players. Depending on the game store and situation people will or won't find value in a fee being charged to play D&D. In her case she has been able to provide an extremely friendly and clean environment that people are willing to pay to play.

 

[Mallus]

"Pay to win" microtransactions in a live tabletop game is something that needs to be nipped in the bud. Preferably with copious amounts of fire. I can't imagine this is a commonplace occurrence.

However, paying to play D&D in some kind of public commercial space is entirely reasonable. And five dollars a head for several hours represents a great value. Try sitting in a bar, cafe, or restaurant for that length of time while spending five bucks or less.

Even "free" home games aren't free. Unless you freeload.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

"Pay to win" microtransactions in a live tabletop game is something that needs to be nipped in the bud. Preferably with copious amounts of fire. I can't imagine this is a commonplace occurrence.

However, paying to play D&D in some kind of public commercial space is entirely reasonable. And five dollars a head for several hours represents a great value. Try sitting in a bar, cafe, or restaurant for that length of time while spending five bucks or less.

Even "free" home games aren't free. Unless you freeload.

I'm getting a bit concerned about the pay-to-win situation, too. There's a system of reroll tickets (say 5 for $10) at some of our local games, ostensibly for charity but extending into our normal games as well. I understand it being tolerated for special events but it's not something I want to insinuate itself as common practice in general public play.

 

[CapnZapp]

What does everyone else think about this apparent trend in our hobby?

It means only D&D is getting popular enough that people are willing to pay money.

Otherwise it's not anything to get worked up about, it's just things working as intended.

You can always not play in any non-free games. What you can't do, is demand that things should remain as they have always been or that games should remain free for ever, unless you like going back to the time when nobody had heard of D&D.