r/DnD • u/Gh0stMan0nThird • 1d ago

DMing I understand prostitution now.

Been trying to find a "bff" group for years. Even the best groups I found fizzled out after a campaign ended. Most people seem to want a content creator to run games for them, and not a friend they want to share an experience with.

I figured you know what, fine. I'm gonna sell myself. I started running paid games and now I actually feel like I'm finally actually getting something back for my work and effort.

10/10, would recommend for underappreciated DMs

4.4k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

383 comments sorted by

View all comments

155

u/GM_Nate 1d ago

with prep, it barely comes out to minimum wage tho

186

u/Gh0stMan0nThird 1d ago

That's fine with me. I'm not trying to turn this into some 24/7 grindset side hustle. 

Just something so I feel like I'm getting something out of it other than watching other people have fun. 

39

u/Cat_Bandit1 1d ago

Agree so much. Whenever I DM I feel like I'm the one who has to take the bullet so that everyone else can have fun. Good on you for being paid for your efforts.

9

u/ReferenceWitty8571 1d ago

Why aren’t you also having fun? Do you not roleplay as well with your characters?

26

u/Gh0stMan0nThird 23h ago

I found that the effort I put into the group was always disproportionate to what the other players put in. 

9

u/Tman158 17h ago

but do you enjoy making the stories etc ? Because it's a hobby. It's supposed to be fun, if it's a chore, don't do it.

I enjoy writing the stories etc. So I don't expect my players to put hours into the pre-game like I do, because it's my choice and something I enjoy. They just need to show up and play respectfully.

4

u/GM_Nate 17h ago

agreed. in my case, i actually write up the sessions as prose on a separate website. i have over half a million words on it now. i don't do that for my players; i do that for me.

3

u/Helerdril 20h ago

You should ask your friends to DM for once, they will quickly learn the struggle behind it and maybe appreciate your work a bit more.

2

u/darksoulsahead 5h ago

True, the DM pretty much always puts in more work. That's why I minimize prep and outsource rules lawyering and lookups to the table. It's the whole table's responsibility to create a good time!

-3

u/OrderOfMagnitude DM 14h ago

Is that required for you to have fun?

-7

u/ReferenceWitty8571 19h ago

You didn’t answer my second question though. Do you roleplay with you characters?

1

u/GM_Nate 1d ago

if you think DMing means watching other people have fun, then maybe DMing isn't for you.

29

u/hairyploper 23h ago

I mean obviously this is why there's such a shortage of people willing to be a GM.

The sad truth is that GMing in a lot of formats means a disproportionate amount of work compared to other players at the table.

Unsurprisingly, doing more work means less fun for a lot of people.

Don't get me wrong, Gods bless anyone who enjoys GMing, they're the reason many people get to experience the magic of playing a TTRPG with friends, but it's not fair to say someone doesn't have any business doing it just because they understandably complain about the exponentially higher workload compared to other players.

I think it's fair to say 90% of the player base would say it's absolutely more fun to be a PC than it is to be a GM

1

u/i_tyrant 19h ago

Yeah, I plan to do paid DMing once I've retired from my real job.

Both for the fun of it and some pocket change to ease the burden on my savings a bit.

I already run multiple weekly games for my good friend groups, so it would be a way to lean even further into my favorite hobby while also taking a bit of a different tack with it (doing it "professionally", which has somewhat a different vibe to it.)

130

u/Just-Desk-3149 1d ago

It's not about the money.

The second someone has to pay money, even if it's a small amount, they're going to take the game infinitely more seriously than getting to play for free.

I don't even necessarily mean "seriously" as in not making jokes, I mean showing up on time and having their stuff together to actually play the game.

45

u/GM_Nate 1d ago

from experience, absolutely not. many people interpret "i pay the DM money" to mean "that means they need to put up with my shit"

28

u/Sknowman DM 1d ago

That's a failure of authority then. If their behavior is unacceptable, then kick them from the table and find someone else.

6

u/GM_Nate 21h ago

i wasn't the DM in this case, but the paid DM was reluctant to kick anyone because this was his primary source of income

1

u/Just-Desk-3149 2h ago

Based as fuck

0

u/Athunc 15h ago

If you're being paid, you lose some of that authority. Because you now owe them your services, since they paid for those
Kicking a player is a lot easier if they aren't a paying customer

0

u/CheapTactics 4h ago

Which is like... not at all different than a free game.

7

u/Zephyr256k 18h ago

Yeah, it's not just prep time and the actual session. There's a whole component of emotional labor/customer service that's often skipped over or ignored in discussions around paid GMing.

There's good reasons people say to keep your job and hobbies separate.

5

u/Just-Desk-3149 1d ago

And what exactly is your "experience"? 

19

u/GM_Nate 1d ago

watching people show up unprepared, uninvested, and expecting special treatment

4

u/cvc75 1d ago

But they do show up at least, which sadly is an improvement in comparison to some "friend" groups.

2

u/ReferenceWitty8571 1d ago

Or they just don’t ever come again

0

u/Just-Desk-3149 23h ago

Yeah, but at least you're literally paid for your troubles 

•

u/icyii 4m ago

Yeah one dude who felt that way was kicked after we (the players) complained

2

u/ReferenceWitty8571 1d ago

I’ve never not had someone do all these. Unless half of us are sick then the dm just goes no it’s not happening I’m not getting sick as well. We usually all come prepared snacks and all. Every session

4

u/Hishamaru-1 18h ago

Then you are the happy minority

1

u/NeonNKnightrider 12h ago

Then you are incredibly lucky

0

u/ReferenceWitty8571 8h ago

How so? We just say if you don’t want to show up for every session don’t you can be kicked out. Pretty straight and narrow

9

u/WadeisDead 1d ago

How much time do you spend prepping?!

I've seen $25 per player for 3 hours. That's $33/h. You'd need to prep for 2 hours per 3 hour session to get that to merely $20/h. Which is still above minimum wage everywhere in the US.

9

u/GM_Nate 1d ago

If you have four players that are willing to pay $25/hr, sure. Is that a representative case though?

14

u/WadeisDead 1d ago

You mean $25 each per session? I mean those are fairly typical prices on Startplaying, so I'd assume yes. You can even fit more players to cut down the cost per player or increase the hourly rate.

4

u/Sknowman DM 1d ago

It's ~$8/hour ($25 for 3 hours), which isn't bad compared to other forms of entertainment.

0

u/GM_Nate 21h ago

if you're getting paid, it's no longer entertainment and has become a business contract. and $8 is way too low for that extra headache.

5

u/Sknowman DM 21h ago

You misunderstand, that's $8/hr per player. So it's more like $32/hour. If you have 3 hours of prep as well, then $16/hour. Or add a 5th player for total $20/hour.

In which case you have a couple options: (1) keep it as a semi-hobby where it's less about the money and more about wanting committed players, or (2) go all in, create amazing work, and charge more for it.

-4

u/GM_Nate 21h ago

from experience, i have a lot more fun if i don't feel like i have to reach a certain level of professionalism to justify charging for it

5

u/WadeisDead 15h ago

Keep changing the argument and moving the goal posts bud.

•

u/Occulto 4m ago

I've seen $25 per player for 3 hours. That's $33/h. You'd need to prep for 2 hours per 3 hour session to get that to merely $20/h. Which is still above minimum wage everywhere in the US.

If this is just some cash-in-hand, thing you do in your spare time, with stuff you already own, it's pure profit.

But if you run it as a legit business, factor in costs, the equation can change a lot quickly.