Hi i am a guy who plays as a DM with a group of friends on my free time and we play sometimes on weekends. But i want to make some easy coin on the side for something i love to do normaly for another group than my friends.
So i was wondering these things:
-What skills do you need to have the right to be a paid DM?
-Is there a place where you can find players who want to hire DMs?
-Any other things to keep in mind when trying to do this?
Note: I have looked at Roll20 and it seems quite complicated to get people to join games even for free so i am quite unsure about that.
I if you are willing to put the time and effort in, listen to your players and do your best to run regular sessions then you have every right to charge for your services. It is your choice to do so and it is the choice of others to pay for it.
Value for things like that is subjective so as long as people keep coming back then you have the right skills.
If you're thinking paid DMing will be "easy coin," the first thing you ought to do is flip that mindset. Anyone I know endeavoring to be a "professional DM" that actually makes any money at it (and there isn't a lot of money to be had, especially starting out) sees it as a hustle. They by and large don't have time to DM for their friends because they need to keep themselves available and prepared for the customers that have replaced their friends. Aside from a few folks who do paid DMing as a hobby (i.e. they have well paying jobs with good work/life balance or actually get by on passive income or other financial resources outside their gaming "income) most of the folks I know in paid DM space work hard at it ... to the degree I often think they really ought to find some line of work that better compensates them for their work ethic.
To me, I used to analogize paid DMing to like wanting a creative career in the arts or literary space. In actuality, I've started to come around and think of it more like bartending. Sure, "anyone" can sling pints and mix a drink ... but working a shift is a lot harder than it looks if you're at the sort of spot that's giving you any bank, and the bartenders who make serious bank, they've got an uncommon mix of work ethic and soft social skills that brings in regulars, thereby securing a bit of consistency income wise. Providing a good time professionally just isn't easy money ... which is why I think you have not infrequent complaints of paid DMs "flaking" on their games.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
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Hi i am a guy who plays as a DM with a group of friends on my free time and we play sometimes on weekends. But i want to make some easy coin on the side for something i love to do normaly for another group than my friends.
So i was wondering these things:
-What skills do you need to have the right to be a paid DM?
-Is there a place where you can find players who want to hire DMs?
-Any other things to keep in mind when trying to do this?
Note: I have looked at Roll20 and it seems quite complicated to get people to join games even for free so i am quite unsure about that.
Any DM can advertise paid games on forums such as D&D Beyond and Roll20 Forums. There's even site dedicated to that such as StartPlaying
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/looking-for-players-groups
I if you are willing to put the time and effort in, listen to your players and do your best to run regular sessions then you have every right to charge for your services. It is your choice to do so and it is the choice of others to pay for it.
Value for things like that is subjective so as long as people keep coming back then you have the right skills.
If you're thinking paid DMing will be "easy coin," the first thing you ought to do is flip that mindset. Anyone I know endeavoring to be a "professional DM" that actually makes any money at it (and there isn't a lot of money to be had, especially starting out) sees it as a hustle. They by and large don't have time to DM for their friends because they need to keep themselves available and prepared for the customers that have replaced their friends. Aside from a few folks who do paid DMing as a hobby (i.e. they have well paying jobs with good work/life balance or actually get by on passive income or other financial resources outside their gaming "income) most of the folks I know in paid DM space work hard at it ... to the degree I often think they really ought to find some line of work that better compensates them for their work ethic.
To me, I used to analogize paid DMing to like wanting a creative career in the arts or literary space. In actuality, I've started to come around and think of it more like bartending. Sure, "anyone" can sling pints and mix a drink ... but working a shift is a lot harder than it looks if you're at the sort of spot that's giving you any bank, and the bartenders who make serious bank, they've got an uncommon mix of work ethic and soft social skills that brings in regulars, thereby securing a bit of consistency income wise. Providing a good time professionally just isn't easy money ... which is why I think you have not infrequent complaints of paid DMs "flaking" on their games.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.