Would you pay a GM to run your game?
Captain_Commando
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Registered User regular
Would you pay to play in a tabletop role-playing game campaign?
Would you hire a game master to run a campaign for you?
Have you ever done so?
Have you ever been paid as a game master?
What would you expect from a paid game master or the campaign being run? What kind of preparation or performance should be expected from a game master who is receiving payment for services?
How much have you paid or would pay? And for how many hours? For an hourly rate? Per session?
Is being a professional game master a viable career path in this day and age? What do you guys think?
I've discussed this sort of thing on other forums and there have been a lot of different views and experiences with this topic. There are plenty of arguments for and against the "profession" of game mastering. What are your points of view?
Would you hire a game master to run a campaign for you?
Have you ever done so?
Have you ever been paid as a game master?
What would you expect from a paid game master or the campaign being run? What kind of preparation or performance should be expected from a game master who is receiving payment for services?
How much have you paid or would pay? And for how many hours? For an hourly rate? Per session?
Is being a professional game master a viable career path in this day and age? What do you guys think?
I've discussed this sort of thing on other forums and there have been a lot of different views and experiences with this topic. There are plenty of arguments for and against the "profession" of game mastering. What are your points of view?
Captain_Commando on
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You definitely can't make a full career out of it. Even if you ran a game every night you wouldn't be making much money.
EDIT: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=69835&highlight=professional
So: I think you could certainly do it as a fun hobby, but no, in no way is it at all a viable profession. Besides, gamers are notoriously cheap. They'd often rather steal or pirate the very gaming materials that form the core of their hobby than pay for them. That said, there wouldn't be enough of a market to provide that kind of service. Maybe if you were the only one who did it and had free travel all over the country, but the specific customer you'd need just isn't readily available enough.
That being said, I agree with the above. It would be pretty much impossible to make a living doing that. Gamers are cheapasses, and my friends would instantly pick an new GM from amidst themselves if I started charging them.
Now what I'd really like to see is community classes offered on GMing. Screw pottery and public speaking, I want some hands-on map and improvised encounter-building lessons. :P
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Hmm. I wonder if people would pay for seminars on GMing or tutorial classes that teach all the major dos and don'ts of GMing. They'd have to include workshops where tips are given on how to spice up storytelling and combat, if any.
Other than that, I can see this profession play out like a part time baby sitting gig or even an accredited college class .
That's not a bad idea, actually. Might be worth it if only to get more competant GMs out into the field.
I can has cheezburger, yes?
Or maybe that's doable as some kind of local 'living' game club (maybe 5-10 GMs put together a single adventure each week, run them for their respective groups, share the results and repeat next week), or just a dedicated online forum (or somebody make a PA thread).
As big of a project I find GMing each week can be, it's very rewarding with the right group, though I do find the notion of charging for it a bit odd; I'll GM a system I like for the price of a free meal.
I'm not sure it would be legal to advertise "Has bought the rulebooks so you don't have to" and then charge for the service.
I'm sure there's some kind of copyright issue there, though I'm fuzzy on the exact reason I think it'd be illegal.
Also, Hi Monday! :P
I dunno, thats like saying Xbox is cracking down on every babysitter that says "they have halo on their house and your kids are totally welcome to play"
As far as rulebooks are concerned all your paying for are the rules and materials not so much the players and the game itself being held. Rule books are pretty much sports equipment and that pretty much makes us the sports players.
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Really I dont think I would mind if I could chip in with the rest of my party for maybe 6 or 7 bucks a person for a 4 hour session if the GM brings everything. I mean, you get 5 people and thats like 30 bucks for something I would assume the GM enjoys doing. Hell, maybe even up to $10 if he does a good job, thats only like $40 a month for 16 hours of fun engaging and interactive entertainment.
If I had disposable income I would totally call that worth it.
Jordan of Elienor, Human Shaman
Right. If you had disposable income. Are there enough people with disposable income willing to pay for that service?
In reality? There will always be something I'd rather spend my money on.
I don't think I'd just pay for a random GM, though. I can find plenty of people to GM among my friends.
Yeah, that's the real problem. once you've had it free, paying anything seems ridiculous.
I mean, the price Lardalish mentioned is comparable to renting movies for the same amount of time, and cheaper by far than the theater (movie or otherwise), drinks even at the most penny-pinchingest happy hour, mini golf, bowling, practically anything besides TV or socializing at home (these conclusions found when taken in terms of cost/hour of entertainment).
But compared to having someone DM for free, expecially if you're still chipping in for some 'za or the other foodage, there's no way most people would pay, even those of us with disposable incomes (unless the GM uses a fog machine, has 3d maps, and does voices like frank caliendo or jeff dunham).
After all, $40 a month is about what I've spent over the course of 4E on books anyway.
fixed with revisions.
- The group would have to pitch in together
- It would have to be a regularly played, long-term, campaign.
When I can afford a projector, I am definitely doing this (I've been thinking about it for a while).
Also, what Dareth said. Though, I don't play often enough (thankfully this is being changed) to make anything other than "free" worthwhile to me. It really just comes down to the group of players, I think.
If my schedule allows this summer, I may, may run it. I could run it now because I just recently had a time-slot open but it'd only last for about two months before the time slot closed again. If there is enough interest, I could run a few short adventures in the campaign world with possibility of transitioning to a longer campaign if the Army lets me have some time...
Well, when I'm rich and famous, I'll make the army an offer it can't refuse to station you in my mansion. Your official Army designation will be "Senior Gaming Sergeant" and you will be provided with extensive materials and manpower (projectors, artists, those computers that are basically a huge table screen, etc.) to create the most immersive Pearl City experience that is possible.
That would be awesome.
DO IT.
*Darkewolfe actually mentioned Call of Cthulhu games, which got me thinking of CoC live-action games organized by HPLHS and those reminded me of fantasy LARPs common during local conventions.
"SyFy - this shit is crazy!" - Gabe
"SyFy - this shit is crazy!" - Gabe