What is your opinion on this. Clearly the game has grown to a size that it never has before that new people are constantly incoming. Additionally there is a large collection of forever DMs out there who want to play to. Do you think this is something your local community could/would support? Do you think this would only work exclusively online? Or is this a pipe dream that only the lucky few of the world have accomplished?
Would I pay to play D&D? Possibly in the right set of circumstances but I doubt I would do it for long.
I am not sure exactly how most DMs for hire do it but most of what I have seen has been DM's renting themselves out for an event of some kind. So DMing a group of first timers so they can try something new. Or running a game for a group of kids at a birthday party. Kind of in the vein of hosting 'Mystery' parties and the like.
I would be surprised to see DMing as a service go far beyond that novelty. Especially at the costs it would take to make it worthwhile.
I would neither pay for DM'ing services, nor offer my services for a fee.
I think that the wants of Players are so varied, and thus the "best possible game" for any random table of Players to be so varied, that it would be very difficult for a DM to provide that for a random selection of strangers.
I think it would be possible for a DM to provide a solid "mostly likely for average Players to have a decent game" experience, by writing and running a game to a pretty general common denominators. It would - however - not be as good as a home game, developed over time, with friends, by a DM who is constantly adjusting their game to the Players. It's kind of like the difference between the food you'd get at a mid-level restaurant vs. your Mom's holiday home cooked meal.
To continue the analogy, there may be genius level DMs out there that can read a room, and spin an awesome game for a group of relative strangers - just as there are world class chefs who can create amazing meals without really having a personal relationship with their diners - but I think these are as rare as those same world class chefs. And, playing the odds, any DM for hire that you picked at random, is not likely to be one of these. There are vastly more fry-cooks in the world than Michelin star chefs.
I'm certainly not one of those. I both prefer cooking for, and DM'ing for, close friends who I know well.
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There are folks that get paid to DM. You can find some stories about it on the web. I suspect that you would need to live in a highly urbanized area to do it face-to-face. Online will be a problem because there are so many folks doing it for free.
I wouldn't because I want to write the story. If I were paid, I suspect they would want me to write their story. Unless I developed an amazing reputation for writing stories, I'd never enjoy it writing the story they want me to write.
I’ve known one person to try instituting it and from what I recollect it didn’t last long or work well. I feel like for someone to pull it off successfully it has to be a perfect storm scenario. I think the most your average DM can hope for is being “compensated” very occasionally with a pizza, or a 6 pack of your favorite beverage.
If you search far and wide enough (Reddit, LFG communities, forums, etc) you may find enough players willing to pony up for a game but at that point I’d have to question the content of the players. Especially since the last, what? Five years? Have brought a bevy of new ways to play. Skype, Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, the now defunct Google Hangouts... and I’m sure there are even more that I’m unaware of.
I know my local FLGS has a full house every Wednesday night for D&D and when a new game opens up that table isn’t empty for long. That particular store does “charge” a per player table fee. Long and short is you need to spend $5 over the course of the night, if not then you get charged $5 that goes towards a store gift card but as far as I’m aware the DMs don’t see any of that money.
I've seen a lot of this on ROll20 lately; DM's charging $5 to $20 per session. I haven't played in any of these campaigns yet, so I can't comment on the quality.
While DM'ing as a service might not have much of a future, DM'ing as a performance, for entertainment, is totally different in my opinion. People aren't willing to pay, but with services like Twitch and Youtube, you can rack up money with the ad system. A DM with good acting and writing skills can invite a few decently famous youtubers and twitchers, gather part of their audience, and with good pacing there are opportunities to at least increase your livelihood.
I've thought about that, the only problem I see with it is inconsistency and quality. There are some really high quality streams out there (Critical Role, High Rollers, Unexpectables, etc). I wonder though how successful someone could be without sinking in a ton of cash upfront for just equipment, and that does not even include additional costs if you are using figures and such.
I don't think the quality of equipment and setup - beyond basic production values, you still need to be able to hear everyone clearly - is the barrier to creating a professional grade RPG stream.
It's the quality of the games/Players/DMs, and the typical lack of a common approach in DM & Players.
I think pretty much anyone can play - or run - well enough for a home game, and have fun with it. Just like pretty much anyone can learn to cook well enough for their families, and for the occasional dinner guests. That doesn't mean that everyone can learn to be a world class chef - or at least that there are very few people that are willing to put in the time, dedication, and effort to do so.
And that's completely fine. So long as you and your Players are having fun, want to keep playing, and keep coming back to the table, you're doing it right for you and your Players. Personally, I like my Mom's cooking; I'm content with the game I run.
But I just don't think that most tables/games are going to be interesting enough to anyone not participating.
I believe that streams like Critical Role are an anomaly. It's a table of professional Character actors, who all enjoy role-playing and Character interaction. I'd say a good 15% - 20% of the game sessions are the Characters talking to each other, with Matt Mercer being quiet.
Even if they weren't all professional actors, I think the fact that they are all the same kind of Player is rare. It's not like Travis is a Character actor Player, while Talisen is a tactical combat Player, and Marisha just wants to unwind, drink a beer, watch the story unfold, and make the rolls that the DM calls on her to make. Having a table that integrated in their approach is unusual.
But - if you had a table of people that all had the same approach to the game, and you were willing to put in some serious time analyzing your game, and learning to be better, every week - and had a group of people who were interesting, open, and charismatic in their portrayal of their Characters - then maybe you've got the potential there to run a successful stream ( although be careful how you define successful ).
I also think the appeal/success of Critical Role is at least half due to the personal chemistry and history that the group has with each other. It would help if your table was only populated by people who you're close enough with that you'd: bail them out of jail at 3am, donate a kidney to save their lives, be the best man/maid of honor at their wedding, and/or agree to be guardian to their kids if they die in a car accident.
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I've thought about that, the only problem I see with it is inconsistency and quality. There are some really high quality streams out there (Critical Role, High Rollers, Unexpectables, etc). I wonder though how successful someone could be without sinking in a ton of cash upfront for just equipment, and that does not even include additional costs if you are using figures and such.
Well, coming from a guy who does streaming out of his dining room, you don't need to sink a lot into it to produce quality entertainment. My table and I started streaming in January, it took us 5 months to reach 50 followers. We did our first give away a couple weekends ago, and we're up to 67 followers.
I use 3 logitech web cams, a Yeti microphone and a laptop, nothing fancy, total setup cost me about $300. We've had viewers pop in that are Crit Role fans and tell us that they enjoyed what we were doing, we've had Acquisitions Inc fans pop in and chat with us during our stream, and we've picked up some randoms that I'm not sure where they came from. Success isn't build on the equipment, it's built on what you provide, the equipment just makes it a bit nicer quality.
While I do agree that content does matter, it is hard to execute on with sugar equipment. I've seen a few different streams that are just unlistenable with bad mics. I personally feel that it is 5050 in terms of content and quality. But that is just me.
The best content can't be enjoyed, if it's not understood clearly - you're right on that point.
The best produced dull, badly paced content - or content rife with side discussions, rules lookup, people side-chatting, etc. - is far less watchable.
You're right that both are needed - but quality equipment can be bought off the shelf, and while setting up a good sound rig is a bit of skill, it's not rocket surgery. A set of Players/DM with a common approach to the game, focused play, and a complete buy in to be "on" all the time while "the camera is running" - I think that's far harder to develop.
In any case - I think that "DM'ing as a profession" is right up there with "Being a mime as a profession". Sure - Matt Mercer ( or Marcel Marceu, for mimes ) makes a really good living at it ( and both work(ed) their asses off doing it) - but look hard at those streams. Look at how many there are ( several hundred by now, on Youtube and Twitch ), and critically evaluate their quality, and whether or not you really think they're profitable.
Can it be a source of side income for the top 20% of streams or so? Sure. Can it be a career? ... I'd say don't quit your day job.
However- you could prove me wrong, and you won't actually know until you try!
If it's something you really want to try, I'd say give it a shot, and see. It's not impossible - but don't have any illusions that it will be simple, either. If you can make it work, it will be a lot of hard work and constant refinement of your skills - but that's true of any career.
If you want to pursue it as a learning experience as to what makes up a good stream, and how to put it all together - then definitely do it, if it's within your means.
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Here are some examples of the times I have been 'paid' to DM:
At my house: players chipped in to buy me something
At a local game store: each player paid a couple $ to the store, which was given to me as store credit
At a local Convention: Organized Play paid for my Con ticket and swag/product
At GenCon: Baldman Games paid for my Con ticket, hotel room, and swag (worth hundreds of $)
At PAX: WotC paid for my Con ticket, hotel room, and swag (worth many hundreds of $)
Also:
Locally, we have group (called Orcs! Orcs! Orcs!) that charge a premium for a themed dinner coupled with a D&D adventure (effectively creating professional DM's).
Escape Rooms (very popular in my area) provide a one-hour 'adventure' (frequently developed and 'run' by someone in a GM-like capacity) for about $25 per person.
Organizations like Baldman Games charge for their games at conventions, and often charge even more for 'premium' GM's.
Given the current resurgence of D&D, and the willingness of adult gamers to spend money on experiences, I can see this growing. Example: Beadle & Grimm's $500 platinum sets sell out because they represent about 100 hrs of entertainment for 5+ adults. Compare that to things like: vacations, dining out, movies, etc.
When you start considering the value of an adult D&D players time (many of whom are employed in technical fields and such, and might instead be making say, $40 an hour on overtime), or how little free-time they might actually have in which to spend money (maybe one or two hours each day, if you're lucky, after taking care of all the things that need to be done)... paying a few dozen $ for an escape room experience or a D&D experience (as seen at Con's) might seem like a bargain for some.
I've seen this question asked in other forums, and I always break it down into money. Most of the time it's "Can I sell my services as a DM and make a living?"
Let's say you want to charge $10 per player per 4 hour session. You gather a group of 5 players, so you'll receive $50 for a session, which breaks down to $12.50 an hour.
But, you also need to prep, after all these people are paying you for your services, so you can't short them, or your list of clients will shrink. You put in about 3 hours of prep work. Your time is now worth $7.15 an hour.
If you manage to find 6 groups of people, averaging 5 people per session, you're looking at making $300 a week, or $1200 a month, which ends up being $14K a year. If you want to get anywhere near the low end of the median income of say $45K a year, you'd have to charge up to $30 a player and maintain at least 6 groups of 5 players every week.
If I'm going to pay $30 a week for a game, here's what I better get:
- Personalized storylines, where my character's backstory is taken into account, as well as the interactions with my fellow players.
- No bullshit "That's OP or unbalanced, so I'm banning it." If I have a cool character concept in mind and I'm going to be investing a good chunk of change (b/c you'll probably want continuous campaigns instead of one-shots because stability), then let me play it.
- No railroading. If we go off the script you prepared, you should be good enough to subtly guide us back to the story without us realizing it, or be flexible enough to react on the fly.
- If I'm playing with random people, and dude B is a complete jerk and disrupting the game, I expect you to handle that quickly, professionally, and permanently.
- Character voices, because you're a professional.
- No DMPCs. I want my character and my party to shine, not be rescued constantly by your favorite paladin who is 4 levels higher than us.
- Be prepared! If I'm paying you, I don't want to sit there for ~30-40 minutes total of our session while you reference monster stats, rules, or what's in the next room.
The above bullet points are what I aspire to when I run a game, but no one is perfect, and I violate a lot of these rules throughout any given campaign. However, being a "professional" DM that wants to be paid for their time, you have to have an elevated game.
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Dead on, on those points - although some of them needs some work from the Player as well, regardless of whether they're paying, or not.
I can't - for example - give you "personalized story-line" unless you pony up a Character concept or backstory.
Having the story adapt to what the Players do - that's not Professional level DM'ing - that's toddler level DM'ing.
I am not ashamed to say that I spend an absurd amount of time on my backstories.
On the second point, I fully agree. But you will always have the "fantasy author" DMs who craft a story and then fully expect the players to stick to the script.
Dead on, on those points - although some of them needs some work from the Player as well, regardless of whether they're paying, or not.
I can't - for example - give you "personalized story-line" unless you pony up a Character concept or backstory.
Having the story adapt to what the Players do - that's not Professional level DM'ing - that's toddler level DM'ing.
I am not ashamed to say that I spend an absurd amount of time on my backstories.
On the second point, I fully agree. But you will always have the "fantasy author" DMs who craft a story and then fully expect the players to stick to the script.
Cool! Looking for a game and/or are willing to give a seminar for my Players? ;)
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If you manage to find 6 groups of people, averaging 5 people per session, you're looking at making $300 a week, or $1200 a month, which ends up being $14K a year. If you want to get anywhere near the low end of the median income of say $45K a year, you'd have to charge up to $30 a player and maintain at least 6 groups of 5 players every week.
If I'm going to pay $30 a week for a game, here's what I better get:
- Personalized storylines, where my character's backstory is taken into account, as well as the interactions with my fellow players.
For comparison: I think Baldman Games charges $12 for 4 hour Con games (or triple that for premium DM's). A typical DM 'workday' is two 4-hour games (i.e. 8 hours), with six-player tables. All the DM's are rated afterwards, and all your points are typical expectations, except for "Personalized storylines" (which I couldn't really expect of a professional DM, who should be running ten groups a week, as that would be most cost efficient).
I would imagine a professional DM would run the exact same adventure many times (so there should be less prep work per session). This is what I try to do when running RPG's at Cons. I imagine using Escape Room methodology (high turnover, static location, scheduled groups, same scenario) as a model would be most effective.
I agree that a DM would have to run the same campaign often. In this way they could fill out a larger playing arena, but the players would not experience everything they prepared.
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What is your opinion on this. Clearly the game has grown to a size that it never has before that new people are constantly incoming. Additionally there is a large collection of forever DMs out there who want to play to. Do you think this is something your local community could/would support? Do you think this would only work exclusively online? Or is this a pipe dream that only the lucky few of the world have accomplished?
Would I pay to play D&D? Possibly in the right set of circumstances but I doubt I would do it for long.
I am not sure exactly how most DMs for hire do it but most of what I have seen has been DM's renting themselves out for an event of some kind. So DMing a group of first timers so they can try something new. Or running a game for a group of kids at a birthday party. Kind of in the vein of hosting 'Mystery' parties and the like.
I would be surprised to see DMing as a service go far beyond that novelty. Especially at the costs it would take to make it worthwhile.
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I would neither pay for DM'ing services, nor offer my services for a fee.
I think that the wants of Players are so varied, and thus the "best possible game" for any random table of Players to be so varied, that it would be very difficult for a DM to provide that for a random selection of strangers.
I think it would be possible for a DM to provide a solid "mostly likely for average Players to have a decent game" experience, by writing and running a game to a pretty general common denominators. It would - however - not be as good as a home game, developed over time, with friends, by a DM who is constantly adjusting their game to the Players. It's kind of like the difference between the food you'd get at a mid-level restaurant vs. your Mom's holiday home cooked meal.
To continue the analogy, there may be genius level DMs out there that can read a room, and spin an awesome game for a group of relative strangers - just as there are world class chefs who can create amazing meals without really having a personal relationship with their diners - but I think these are as rare as those same world class chefs. And, playing the odds, any DM for hire that you picked at random, is not likely to be one of these. There are vastly more fry-cooks in the world than Michelin star chefs.
I'm certainly not one of those. I both prefer cooking for, and DM'ing for, close friends who I know well.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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There are folks that get paid to DM. You can find some stories about it on the web. I suspect that you would need to live in a highly urbanized area to do it face-to-face. Online will be a problem because there are so many folks doing it for free.
I wouldn't because I want to write the story. If I were paid, I suspect they would want me to write their story. Unless I developed an amazing reputation for writing stories, I'd never enjoy it writing the story they want me to write.
Good luck.
I’ve known one person to try instituting it and from what I recollect it didn’t last long or work well. I feel like for someone to pull it off successfully it has to be a perfect storm scenario. I think the most your average DM can hope for is being “compensated” very occasionally with a pizza, or a 6 pack of your favorite beverage.
If you search far and wide enough (Reddit, LFG communities, forums, etc) you may find enough players willing to pony up for a game but at that point I’d have to question the content of the players. Especially since the last, what? Five years? Have brought a bevy of new ways to play. Skype, Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, the now defunct Google Hangouts... and I’m sure there are even more that I’m unaware of.
I know my local FLGS has a full house every Wednesday night for D&D and when a new game opens up that table isn’t empty for long. That particular store does “charge” a per player table fee. Long and short is you need to spend $5 over the course of the night, if not then you get charged $5 that goes towards a store gift card but as far as I’m aware the DMs don’t see any of that money.
I've seen a lot of this on ROll20 lately; DM's charging $5 to $20 per session. I haven't played in any of these campaigns yet, so I can't comment on the quality.
While DM'ing as a service might not have much of a future, DM'ing as a performance, for entertainment, is totally different in my opinion. People aren't willing to pay, but with services like Twitch and Youtube, you can rack up money with the ad system. A DM with good acting and writing skills can invite a few decently famous youtubers and twitchers, gather part of their audience, and with good pacing there are opportunities to at least increase your livelihood.
I've thought about that, the only problem I see with it is inconsistency and quality. There are some really high quality streams out there (Critical Role, High Rollers, Unexpectables, etc). I wonder though how successful someone could be without sinking in a ton of cash upfront for just equipment, and that does not even include additional costs if you are using figures and such.
I don't think the quality of equipment and setup - beyond basic production values, you still need to be able to hear everyone clearly - is the barrier to creating a professional grade RPG stream.
It's the quality of the games/Players/DMs, and the typical lack of a common approach in DM & Players.
I think pretty much anyone can play - or run - well enough for a home game, and have fun with it. Just like pretty much anyone can learn to cook well enough for their families, and for the occasional dinner guests. That doesn't mean that everyone can learn to be a world class chef - or at least that there are very few people that are willing to put in the time, dedication, and effort to do so.
And that's completely fine. So long as you and your Players are having fun, want to keep playing, and keep coming back to the table, you're doing it right for you and your Players. Personally, I like my Mom's cooking; I'm content with the game I run.
But I just don't think that most tables/games are going to be interesting enough to anyone not participating.
I believe that streams like Critical Role are an anomaly. It's a table of professional Character actors, who all enjoy role-playing and Character interaction. I'd say a good 15% - 20% of the game sessions are the Characters talking to each other, with Matt Mercer being quiet.
Even if they weren't all professional actors, I think the fact that they are all the same kind of Player is rare. It's not like Travis is a Character actor Player, while Talisen is a tactical combat Player, and Marisha just wants to unwind, drink a beer, watch the story unfold, and make the rolls that the DM calls on her to make. Having a table that integrated in their approach is unusual.
But - if you had a table of people that all had the same approach to the game, and you were willing to put in some serious time analyzing your game, and learning to be better, every week - and had a group of people who were interesting, open, and charismatic in their portrayal of their Characters - then maybe you've got the potential there to run a successful stream ( although be careful how you define successful ).
I also think the appeal/success of Critical Role is at least half due to the personal chemistry and history that the group has with each other. It would help if your table was only populated by people who you're close enough with that you'd: bail them out of jail at 3am, donate a kidney to save their lives, be the best man/maid of honor at their wedding, and/or agree to be guardian to their kids if they die in a car accident.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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Well, coming from a guy who does streaming out of his dining room, you don't need to sink a lot into it to produce quality entertainment. My table and I started streaming in January, it took us 5 months to reach 50 followers. We did our first give away a couple weekends ago, and we're up to 67 followers.
I use 3 logitech web cams, a Yeti microphone and a laptop, nothing fancy, total setup cost me about $300. We've had viewers pop in that are Crit Role fans and tell us that they enjoyed what we were doing, we've had Acquisitions Inc fans pop in and chat with us during our stream, and we've picked up some randoms that I'm not sure where they came from. Success isn't build on the equipment, it's built on what you provide, the equipment just makes it a bit nicer quality.
But does that bring in any revenue though?
While I do agree that content does matter, it is hard to execute on with sugar equipment. I've seen a few different streams that are just unlistenable with bad mics. I personally feel that it is 5050 in terms of content and quality. But that is just me.
The best content can't be enjoyed, if it's not understood clearly - you're right on that point.
The best produced dull, badly paced content - or content rife with side discussions, rules lookup, people side-chatting, etc. - is far less watchable.
You're right that both are needed - but quality equipment can be bought off the shelf, and while setting up a good sound rig is a bit of skill, it's not rocket surgery. A set of Players/DM with a common approach to the game, focused play, and a complete buy in to be "on" all the time while "the camera is running" - I think that's far harder to develop.
In any case - I think that "DM'ing as a profession" is right up there with "Being a mime as a profession". Sure - Matt Mercer ( or Marcel Marceu, for mimes ) makes a really good living at it ( and both work(ed) their asses off doing it) - but look hard at those streams. Look at how many there are ( several hundred by now, on Youtube and Twitch ), and critically evaluate their quality, and whether or not you really think they're profitable.
Can it be a source of side income for the top 20% of streams or so? Sure. Can it be a career? ... I'd say don't quit your day job.
However - you could prove me wrong, and you won't actually know until you try!
If it's something you really want to try, I'd say give it a shot, and see. It's not impossible - but don't have any illusions that it will be simple, either. If you can make it work, it will be a lot of hard work and constant refinement of your skills - but that's true of any career.
If you want to pursue it as a learning experience as to what makes up a good stream, and how to put it all together - then definitely do it, if it's within your means.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
Here are some examples of the times I have been 'paid' to DM:
Also:
Given the current resurgence of D&D, and the willingness of adult gamers to spend money on experiences, I can see this growing. Example: Beadle & Grimm's $500 platinum sets sell out because they represent about 100 hrs of entertainment for 5+ adults. Compare that to things like: vacations, dining out, movies, etc.
When you start considering the value of an adult D&D players time (many of whom are employed in technical fields and such, and might instead be making say, $40 an hour on overtime), or how little free-time they might actually have in which to spend money (maybe one or two hours each day, if you're lucky, after taking care of all the things that need to be done)... paying a few dozen $ for an escape room experience or a D&D experience (as seen at Con's) might seem like a bargain for some.
I've seen this question asked in other forums, and I always break it down into money. Most of the time it's "Can I sell my services as a DM and make a living?"
Let's say you want to charge $10 per player per 4 hour session. You gather a group of 5 players, so you'll receive $50 for a session, which breaks down to $12.50 an hour.
But, you also need to prep, after all these people are paying you for your services, so you can't short them, or your list of clients will shrink. You put in about 3 hours of prep work. Your time is now worth $7.15 an hour.
If you manage to find 6 groups of people, averaging 5 people per session, you're looking at making $300 a week, or $1200 a month, which ends up being $14K a year. If you want to get anywhere near the low end of the median income of say $45K a year, you'd have to charge up to $30 a player and maintain at least 6 groups of 5 players every week.
If I'm going to pay $30 a week for a game, here's what I better get:
- Personalized storylines, where my character's backstory is taken into account, as well as the interactions with my fellow players.
- No bullshit "That's OP or unbalanced, so I'm banning it." If I have a cool character concept in mind and I'm going to be investing a good chunk of change (b/c you'll probably want continuous campaigns instead of one-shots because stability), then let me play it.
- No railroading. If we go off the script you prepared, you should be good enough to subtly guide us back to the story without us realizing it, or be flexible enough to react on the fly.
- If I'm playing with random people, and dude B is a complete jerk and disrupting the game, I expect you to handle that quickly, professionally, and permanently.
- Character voices, because you're a professional.
- No DMPCs. I want my character and my party to shine, not be rescued constantly by your favorite paladin who is 4 levels higher than us.
- Be prepared! If I'm paying you, I don't want to sit there for ~30-40 minutes total of our session while you reference monster stats, rules, or what's in the next room.
The above bullet points are what I aspire to when I run a game, but no one is perfect, and I violate a lot of these rules throughout any given campaign. However, being a "professional" DM that wants to be paid for their time, you have to have an elevated game.
Dead on, on those points - although some of them needs some work from the Player as well, regardless of whether they're paying, or not.
I can't - for example - give you "personalized story-line" unless you pony up a Character concept or backstory.
Having the story adapt to what the Players do - that's not Professional level DM'ing - that's toddler level DM'ing.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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I am not ashamed to say that I spend an absurd amount of time on my backstories.
On the second point, I fully agree. But you will always have the "fantasy author" DMs who craft a story and then fully expect the players to stick to the script.
Cool! Looking for a game and/or are willing to give a seminar for my Players? ;)
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
For comparison: I think Baldman Games charges $12 for 4 hour Con games (or triple that for premium DM's). A typical DM 'workday' is two 4-hour games (i.e. 8 hours), with six-player tables. All the DM's are rated afterwards, and all your points are typical expectations, except for "Personalized storylines" (which I couldn't really expect of a professional DM, who should be running ten groups a week, as that would be most cost efficient).
I would imagine a professional DM would run the exact same adventure many times (so there should be less prep work per session). This is what I try to do when running RPG's at Cons. I imagine using Escape Room methodology (high turnover, static location, scheduled groups, same scenario) as a model would be most effective.
I agree that a DM would have to run the same campaign often. In this way they could fill out a larger playing arena, but the players would not experience everything they prepared.