Ladies and Gentlemen this will indeed be a rant but I feel it must be said ,..has "paid game" become the new Influencer tag? I look on the LFG/LFP Forum and I keep seeing paid games with no justification as to why. I mean from what i can tell none of the DMs have a "name" to fall back on (they are not one of the handful of successful groups who stream or run massive game groups,..at least from what I can tell) or give any legitimate reason to charge (charging $1 per player per session so you can keep the subscription to mapping software/page you use for the game would make sense). I mean face it folks,.. most likely none of these paid games will have you gaming with Matt Mercer, Kelly (Dork Tales), Mc Stabber, or others ,...its usually (but not always) just some schmuck with an inflated ego and an equally inflated sense of entitlement. So yeah if you are running a paid game and post LFP maybe put int he post why you deserve to be paid for this,... covering subscription to assistant programs, background, etc,... so people can judge of your legit or just a "Gaming Influencer looking for a free meal "
While I’m not personally a fan of it, I don’t think it’s a big deal. There are lots of people who want to play but can’t find a DM. This helps fill that void. Market economy and all that.
It is not that hard to be a DM with basic competence—and you do not need to be Matt Mercer before you can ask for money. The simple reality is that players drastically outnumber DMs by substantial margins, creating a market for DMs. There is nothing wrong with folks trying to capitalise on that market. DMing takes a whole lot of work—and work means time you could be spending on other profitable endeavours.
Now, would it be better if they listed their qualifications in their posts - of course, but, for the most part, these are average folks who are just trying to make some money to compensate for their time investment, not professional marketing folks who know how to construct a consumer-centric advertisement. Plus, if a player is curious about it, they can always ask—then they can make up their own mind based on the type of response they get.
Plus, it isn’t like anyone is forcing you to pay—I did a quick look at the LFP forum section, and the paid tab doesn’t appear on the majority of recent threads seeking players. If this upsets you so much, you could easily ignore the paid threads entirely.
Really not seeing the reason why you felt inclined to rant against something that can easily be chalked up to general marketing incompetence, could easily be rectified with a quick direct message to the DM, and is pretty easy to avoid in the first place.
WOuld “I pay my personal bills and live off DM’ing” be what you want to see in there?
I also note that all the names are, themselves, Influencers. So seeing you use the term in a way that suggests a negative association with it makes me wonder why you see the people you mention so negatively.
I only DM, and have been doing it since 1e, so I was already familiar with paid games, which are at least something that goes back to 1982, in my personal experience, and I wouldn’t be surprised if not longer.
Running a game as a Game master for any game (well, almost any) takes time, energy, effort, knowledge, skill, experience, creativity, a bit of theatricality in some cases, and commitment. Those are also all the same qualities required for a lot of other jobs, and so personally I don’t see anything wrong with anyone wanting to charge for a game (streamed or not) for the simple reason that it *is* a job.
And what we call Hobbies today are very often used to bring in additional money across all the fields.
I mean, if I were to do a complex game like I do for my normal crew for a bunch of strangers, well, I probably would charge for it as well. Not to pay for services or buy books or whatever; simply because I put hundreds of hours into it.
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Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
I want to echo all of this, it's a great response.
Additionally, I'll throw in that I ran paid games during the pandemic for extra money. Running D&D games is something I love, people were willing to pay, and everyone wins!
I am not an influencer. I've been doing this since 1983 (so close to AEDorsay) and it's as simple as "This isn't something I'd do." but nothing to complain about for those that will never pay.
Life got busy so I took a break but I'm prepping to DM again right now. I'm running one game table in person for friends. Anything else? It's going to be paid because I only get so much time and it does have value.
All my free time is spent doing stuff I want to do. Playing D&D (and other games) with my family and friends. Spending time with my children. Meeting my responsibilities. Helping people. Etc etc you get the idea.
Being a DM for you? It's nice, but...I'd rather be doing the stuff that I already spend my time doing. If you want me to DM for you, you have to persuade me that my time that I would spend doing something else is better spent DMing for you, a random stranger. Why would I prefer to DM for you and your buddies, who I don't know and don't have any connection to...instead of for my wife and kids?
If you think that you don't stand much of a chance... you're right. However, if you gave me a million bucks to DM for you for a session, well, I can afford to play with my wife a lot more if I have that amount of money...so deal. Of course, I'd come to the table for a lot less...and we've now established that I'm willing to DM for money. We're just haggling now (kudos if you get the, uh, rather subtle reference).
You can always step up and DM yourself if you want..if you don't...well, now you're trying to persuade someone else to do what you don't want to. Maybe you can find someone to do it for free. If you want me to do it...make me want to do it more than playing with my family.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Many of the threads do include some background on the DM's experience. Also paid games almost always have a "first session free" type of offer so you can see the DM in action first before committing. If that's not enough justification for you then just don't click the threads. They're labeled PAID so you can easily ignore them if you want
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Ladies and Gentlemen this will indeed be a rant but I feel it must be said ,..has "paid game" become the new Influencer tag? I look on the LFG/LFP Forum and I keep seeing paid games with no justification as to why. I mean from what i can tell none of the DMs have a "name" to fall back on (they are not one of the handful of successful groups who stream or run massive game groups,..at least from what I can tell) or give any legitimate reason to charge (charging $1 per player per session so you can keep the subscription to mapping software/page you use for the game would make sense). I mean face it folks,.. most likely none of these paid games will have you gaming with Matt Mercer, Kelly (Dork Tales), Mc Stabber, or others ,...its usually (but not always) just some schmuck with an inflated ego and an equally inflated sense of entitlement. So yeah if you are running a paid game and post LFP maybe put int he post why you deserve to be paid for this,... covering subscription to assistant programs, background, etc,... so people can judge of your legit or just a "Gaming Influencer looking for a free meal "
While I’m not personally a fan of it, I don’t think it’s a big deal. There are lots of people who want to play but can’t find a DM. This helps fill that void. Market economy and all that.
It is not that hard to be a DM with basic competence—and you do not need to be Matt Mercer before you can ask for money. The simple reality is that players drastically outnumber DMs by substantial margins, creating a market for DMs. There is nothing wrong with folks trying to capitalise on that market. DMing takes a whole lot of work—and work means time you could be spending on other profitable endeavours.
Now, would it be better if they listed their qualifications in their posts - of course, but, for the most part, these are average folks who are just trying to make some money to compensate for their time investment, not professional marketing folks who know how to construct a consumer-centric advertisement. Plus, if a player is curious about it, they can always ask—then they can make up their own mind based on the type of response they get.
Plus, it isn’t like anyone is forcing you to pay—I did a quick look at the LFP forum section, and the paid tab doesn’t appear on the majority of recent threads seeking players. If this upsets you so much, you could easily ignore the paid threads entirely.
Really not seeing the reason why you felt inclined to rant against something that can easily be chalked up to general marketing incompetence, could easily be rectified with a quick direct message to the DM, and is pretty easy to avoid in the first place.
I am curious.
WOuld “I pay my personal bills and live off DM’ing” be what you want to see in there?
I also note that all the names are, themselves, Influencers. So seeing you use the term in a way that suggests a negative association with it makes me wonder why you see the people you mention so negatively.
I only DM, and have been doing it since 1e, so I was already familiar with paid games, which are at least something that goes back to 1982, in my personal experience, and I wouldn’t be surprised if not longer.
Running a game as a Game master for any game (well, almost any) takes time, energy, effort, knowledge, skill, experience, creativity, a bit of theatricality in some cases, and commitment. Those are also all the same qualities required for a lot of other jobs, and so personally I don’t see anything wrong with anyone wanting to charge for a game (streamed or not) for the simple reason that it *is* a job.
And what we call Hobbies today are very often used to bring in additional money across all the fields.
I mean, if I were to do a complex game like I do for my normal crew for a bunch of strangers, well, I probably would charge for it as well. Not to pay for services or buy books or whatever; simply because I put hundreds of hours into it.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
I want to echo all of this, it's a great response.
Additionally, I'll throw in that I ran paid games during the pandemic for extra money. Running D&D games is something I love, people were willing to pay, and everyone wins!
I am not an influencer. I've been doing this since 1983 (so close to AEDorsay) and it's as simple as "This isn't something I'd do." but nothing to complain about for those that will never pay.
Life got busy so I took a break but I'm prepping to DM again right now. I'm running one game table in person for friends. Anything else? It's going to be paid because I only get so much time and it does have value.
All my free time is spent doing stuff I want to do. Playing D&D (and other games) with my family and friends. Spending time with my children. Meeting my responsibilities. Helping people. Etc etc you get the idea.
Being a DM for you? It's nice, but...I'd rather be doing the stuff that I already spend my time doing. If you want me to DM for you, you have to persuade me that my time that I would spend doing something else is better spent DMing for you, a random stranger. Why would I prefer to DM for you and your buddies, who I don't know and don't have any connection to...instead of for my wife and kids?
If you think that you don't stand much of a chance... you're right. However, if you gave me a million bucks to DM for you for a session, well, I can afford to play with my wife a lot more if I have that amount of money...so deal. Of course, I'd come to the table for a lot less...and we've now established that I'm willing to DM for money. We're just haggling now (kudos if you get the, uh, rather subtle reference).
You can always step up and DM yourself if you want..if you don't...well, now you're trying to persuade someone else to do what you don't want to. Maybe you can find someone to do it for free. If you want me to do it...make me want to do it more than playing with my family.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Many of the threads do include some background on the DM's experience. Also paid games almost always have a "first session free" type of offer so you can see the DM in action first before committing. If that's not enough justification for you then just don't click the threads. They're labeled PAID so you can easily ignore them if you want