As for what I would want from a paid session. Commitment. $5-10 would just be preparation, some backstory stuff and a willingness and desire to make it fun. You can spend that on a coffee and this person is running something for multiple hours, with likely time between sessions preparing. That’s not even minimum wage in a lot of places over that many hours.
frankly if it’s fun and provides smiles and laughs that’s worth the entry fee. Honesty this sort of fee should buy the commitment and punctuality and not masses more.
$15-20 I am expecting a little more. Maybe some acting/Voice acting skills, the use of tech, music, animated maps. Some or all of the above. Just that extra bit. Assuming 5 people that’s $100 at the highest tier for probably a three hour session and conservatively 1 hour prep. That’s $25 an hour. Honesty seems reasonable pay for the work most normal dms put in. (Frankly the amount of work dms do for no pay is astounding and the fact we do it for free is the only reason people put their nose up at paid dms. Supply and demand shows their value here)
$25-30 I am expecting experience. I am expecting something creative. Whether that’s minis, fairly expansive homebrew, an impressive foundry setup, art, physical props, custom settings, or something like that. I wouldn’t even say all of this is required to warrant this. If the story teller is good enough, and the systems are fit for purpose, and there is the little extra on top then it is worth this.
anything beyond 30 and I feel we move into requiring a more professional setup with terrain, minis, heavily custom stuff. Things like that.
I do think at a certain point, a person should be able to make a living off dming and even at $40 a game per person, that would be a BUNCH of games the person would need to run just to survive. That would be at least 5 full games a week for 5 people, not inc costs for running.
I get paid $5 session for DMing AL games at my FLGS. Players pay an additional $5 entry to the store. I have to pay the coordinator a fiver so if it’s a small party I only see $10. I mostly do it when they’re running low on DMs. I love DMing but wouldnt say I’m great at it. For that I‘ll prepare battle maps and bone up on the module but I dont have a lot of minis and have to use stand ins frequently. People seem to enjoy the games all the same.
Pay-for-play DM here. Granted it's mostly via 3rd party... I am the house DM for my FLGS but I also run private games in client provided venues.
For the public games at the store ($5usd per player per session) all the players expect from me is competence with the rules; the ability to ajudicate with authority; and a good tale/plot. The store expects much the same plus I am expected to push product.
For my private games ($100usd for a minimum 4 hour session; $25usd for each hour after that. Max of 10 players) the players expect (in addition to everything the public games provide) a few props (handouts, town/world maps, etc...) and at least some prepared battle maps.
For anyone looking to make a go of full time "paid DMing" I recommend ensuring you have enough material to run multiple unique campaigns; incorporate yourself (here in the states you need to file taxes on income over $700 per year); remember books, minis, maps, dice, fuel, vehicle maintenance, etc... are tax deductible; make sure your fees are within the income bracket of your target area; and above all else do not expect to make more than a subsistence income (this is not a path untold wealth).
For me the Pay-For-Play DM gig makes a nice supplement to my retirement income; and keeps me at least mentally active.
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As for what I would want from a paid session. Commitment. $5-10 would just be preparation, some backstory stuff and a willingness and desire to make it fun. You can spend that on a coffee and this person is running something for multiple hours, with likely time between sessions preparing. That’s not even minimum wage in a lot of places over that many hours.
frankly if it’s fun and provides smiles and laughs that’s worth the entry fee. Honesty this sort of fee should buy the commitment and punctuality and not masses more.
$15-20 I am expecting a little more. Maybe some acting/Voice acting skills, the use of tech, music, animated maps. Some or all of the above. Just that extra bit. Assuming 5 people that’s $100 at the highest tier for probably a three hour session and conservatively 1 hour prep. That’s $25 an hour. Honesty seems reasonable pay for the work most normal dms put in. (Frankly the amount of work dms do for no pay is astounding and the fact we do it for free is the only reason people put their nose up at paid dms. Supply and demand shows their value here)
$25-30 I am expecting experience. I am expecting something creative. Whether that’s minis, fairly expansive homebrew, an impressive foundry setup, art, physical props, custom settings, or something like that. I wouldn’t even say all of this is required to warrant this. If the story teller is good enough, and the systems are fit for purpose, and there is the little extra on top then it is worth this.
anything beyond 30 and I feel we move into requiring a more professional setup with terrain, minis, heavily custom stuff. Things like that.
I do think at a certain point, a person should be able to make a living off dming and even at $40 a game per person, that would be a BUNCH of games the person would need to run just to survive. That would be at least 5 full games a week for 5 people, not inc costs for running.
I get paid $5 session for DMing AL games at my FLGS. Players pay an additional $5 entry to the store. I have to pay the coordinator a fiver so if it’s a small party I only see $10. I mostly do it when they’re running low on DMs. I love DMing but wouldnt say I’m great at it. For that I‘ll prepare battle maps and bone up on the module but I dont have a lot of minis and have to use stand ins frequently. People seem to enjoy the games all the same.
Pay-for-play DM here. Granted it's mostly via 3rd party... I am the house DM for my FLGS but I also run private games in client provided venues.
For the public games at the store ($5usd per player per session) all the players expect from me is competence with the rules; the ability to ajudicate with authority; and a good tale/plot. The store expects much the same plus I am expected to push product.
For my private games ($100usd for a minimum 4 hour session; $25usd for each hour after that. Max of 10 players) the players expect (in addition to everything the public games provide) a few props (handouts, town/world maps, etc...) and at least some prepared battle maps.
For anyone looking to make a go of full time "paid DMing" I recommend ensuring you have enough material to run multiple unique campaigns; incorporate yourself (here in the states you need to file taxes on income over $700 per year); remember books, minis, maps, dice, fuel, vehicle maintenance, etc... are tax deductible; make sure your fees are within the income bracket of your target area; and above all else do not expect to make more than a subsistence income (this is not a path untold wealth).
For me the Pay-For-Play DM gig makes a nice supplement to my retirement income; and keeps me at least mentally active.