Volunteer DM's..no incentives? Conventions off our backs?

[Vanye]

I dunno. . .call me selfish, but I have never had enough encouragement (read: compensation) for me to DM at a large event, including GenCon. I think this is more of a result of my desire to play (I always DM at home!) than it is about the money. Wall St. tends to pay my bills, and while I love to DM, my real enjoyment is to play dozens of games at GenCon that one time each year. Priceless, I suppose.

Well, GenCon will refund your badge price (AFTER the show) if you run 96 player hours of games (6 4 hr games for four players, 4 4 hr games for 6 players, etc). Not a bad way to cover your expenses afterwords.

 

[themaxx]

I'm always interested in conversations like this, because for RPG focused conventions it is the judges that make or break the experience. Turning away players makes them not come back, and giving them a bad experience can do the same or worse.

At AnonyCon I'm not able to have a Volunteer/GM room with food and drinks, but we do have food for GMs at the registration desk and usually bring around a selection to give to GMs during each slot.

Besides the obvious stuff like food, admission and hotel rooms (when financially feasible), what other simple things would GMs and Volunteers like to make the convention experience easier and more fun while volunteering?

Is a special recognition appealing?
Some sort of party or social gathering?
Physical prizes?
Free badges for your friends?
Thanks in the program book and/or website?

I'm always on the lookout for new ideas.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Besides the obvious stuff like food, admission and hotel rooms (when financially feasible), what other simple things would GMs and Volunteers like to make the convention experience easier and more fun while volunteering?

Is a special recognition appealing?
Some sort of party or social gathering?
Physical prizes?
Free badges for your friends?
Thanks in the program book and/or website?

I'm always on the lookout for new ideas.

Hey, who dug up this thread?

Max, I had a really good time at Anonycon last fall. (Add it to my list of cons above where I've DMed.) Despite having never DMed an APL 14 group, I managed to do so and get invited to DM for them for the afternoon. I took that as a nice vote of confidence. The one game I played in was a total blast. The free t-shirt was awesome and I plan to wear it to Gen Con. Admission was nice too.

I have to say that if I had to choose, free snacks is great, but not expected. (I-Con does pizza every year for DMs.) Having a room to hang out in might not be bad, but then again I like being out where everyone is. I think actually that the DMs party idea is one of the best I've seen in a while.

 

[Swedish Chef]

I used to volunteer for Pandamonium here in Toronto in the early-mid 1990s.

I did it because I enjoyed running games. The benefits that were nice were a free t-shirt and free admission. I was allowed to play in any games that I wasn't already running (they would stagger start times for the same module to allow people to choose when they wanted to play another game that might interfere with an earlier start).

All in all, I had a great time. Then the con almost completely collapsed, and I no longer had free time.

Last I heard, it's still going, and doing okay. But I haven't been in about 10 years.

 

[der_kluge]

I'd like to know a better solution if you have it, Emiricol.

I mean, if you were the one trying to organize a convention - and make a profit, what incentive would you give to GMs who want to run a game?

Recognize that some people will show up to playtest games, or run "dream" scenarios they've come up with and do it just for fun. Is it worth it to pay all GMs when you can expect that some people will enjoy doing it for free?