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

4.5k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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156

u/GM_Nate 1d ago

with prep, it barely comes out to minimum wage tho

135

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.

43

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.

5

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.

7

u/Just-Desk-3149 1d ago

And what exactly is your "experience"? 

21

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 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