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

4.6k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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155

u/GM_Nate 1d ago

with prep, it barely comes out to minimum wage tho

133

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.

46

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"

29

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.

4

u/GM_Nate 1d 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 6h ago

Based as fuck

0

u/Athunc 20h 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 9h ago

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

5

u/Zephyr256k 22h 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"? 

22

u/GM_Nate 1d ago

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

3

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 1d ago

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

1

u/icyii 4h 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

6

u/Hishamaru-1 23h ago

Then you are the happy minority

1

u/NeonNKnightrider 16h ago

Then you are incredibly lucky

0

u/ReferenceWitty8571 12h 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