Red Dragon Adventures: A Professional Storytelling Service

[Pox]

Disclaimer: Smiteworks does not endorse my service, but I was granted permission to post about it from Doug at Fantasy Grounds Support.

My name is Cavin DeJordy, and about a year and a half ago I started storytelling professionally. I have many years of experience running Dungeons & Dragons sessions, and the Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop has made it possible for me to organize and host sessions for clients all over the world. It has been an amazing experience, and now I hope to share my services with the Fantasy Grounds 4E community.

You can read more about me and my service details, as well as book a consultation with me here: https://reddragonadventures.simplybook.me/v2/#

Thank you for your consideration, and continue to have fun with D&D 4E and Fantasy Grounds!

[timdog88]

I guess I'm not clear what service you are providing? Are you a professional dm? Or something else?

[Pox]

Yes, I am a professional DM, but I also could work with you on other associated things. There is a much more detailed breakdown of what I can do for you if you follow the link.

[Wookiee420]

am i reading your site right? you normally would charge $25 to consult someone on what RPG experience they want, which you are giving for free. But nowhere on your site does it mention what it will cost to play a game. In fact your site doesnt really tell what you do, are you making me a custom adventure for you to dm? are you making adventures for me to dm? are you even a dm or just a writer? do you find people writers? Nowhere on your site does it say that you are a DM for hire. So you post this as what you do but what do you do? I am super confused, you list things but not services and you dont tell us once what your services cost or entail other then that $25 that you arent charging.
My services include D&D 3.5, 4th, 5th Edition:
-Published Modules Storytelling (Adventurer's League, Campaign Books, etc.)
-Custom Adventures
-Development and Design of RPG Products
-Fantasy Grounds Guidance and Workup (Creating fully functional Character Sheets, NPCs, or adapting modules)
-Agency for other game systems (I would work with you to create an agreement so I could find you a storyteller service that would fit your needs.)

[Pox]

So the consultation is listed as a $25 value because my normal rates for sessions are $25/hr to run published modules. For the other services it is a bit more complicated, so that's why there is a consultation appointment. For example, lets say I helped you design a character and it took us 45 minutes to put it together. That would cost about $22.50. If you wanted me to design new content, we would work out an amount of time you would want me to work on those materials during the time in between sessions. This could be anything from rough notes to guide a more open style campaign, or fully structured module style content. It just depends on how much time you are willing to pay for.

It is also important to get to know you so I can understand your needs and expectations. Running published materials is relatively simple. Making a custom campaign or even a whole entire campaign setting requires more consultation time so that I can bring you a world that meets your expectations in mechanics, tone, and theme.

[Nickademus]

I think every GM in the world would love to get paid $25 an hour to run the game they love. Most do it for free as it is a hobby they enjoy. If you want people to consider paying you to run a game, you might want to utilize more specific advertising. Do you have a recorded session that prospective buyers can watch to see what $25 an hour gets? The term 'professional' is a bit vague in an industry that doesn't have set standards.

As for the other assets you are willing to create, do you have a portfolio or published material a buyer could look through to see the quality and style of your work?

[Pox]

These are great questions, and I wish I had more material to share. I really need to do a new recording of a session since I started doing the professional work. I had taken a couple of months off to pursue some writing/gaming projects (along with Winter stuff. Hauling firewood and doing snow removal is tough work.) I'll probably do a recording of a Module of the Week for D&D Adventurers League 5th Edition within the next week or so. I'll make sure to link that release to this topic. I do have a few sessions recorded on Twitch from when I first started running games with Fantays Grounds. They are pretty low quality compared to what I'm able to do now, but it would give you a base idea.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/15507851

As for published work, I admit I do not have a portfolio, but I have been writing for a few months now for imperium.news as Londala Pox. I have done both creative and technical writing in the past, and I believe I could deliver on a paid project. I will admit that I'm not a visual artist, so I wouldn't be doing my own art assets. I can provide text and story elements, as well as custom NPC and item design. I am currently working on a module for the Dungeon Master's Guild, and I intend on finishing that up soon after this marketing push for my services. As much as I'm proud to have gotten this far with my services, I still have a long way to go when it comes to attracting clients more widely.

[Nickademus]

I do have a few sessions recorded on Twitch from when I first started running games with Fantays Grounds. They are pretty low quality compared to what I'm able to do now, but it would give you a base idea.
This is not a good idea. Out-of-date recordings will give a bad impression and do not portray what you are currently selling.

Here is what I suggest if you wish to pursue this:
1. Record a current session and post it to YouTube.
2. Make an original adventure pdf (short but sweet) and post it as Pay-What-You-Want on the Dungeon Masters Guild (https://www.dmsguild.com/) (DMsG).
3. Locate an artist you can commission to do the artwork for the custom adventure (buyers will want you to provide the artwork for the adventure even if you aren't the artist).
4. Make an FG module of the adventure and add it to the DMsG product.
5. Write a small excerpt or short story introducing or leading up to the custom adventure and post it as Free on the DMsG (the price of Free gets more exposure than PWYW).
6. Design a small example campaign world in only the most broad, rough sense and post it to the DMsG as a possible world the adventure could take place in.

This will create a published example of most of the things you are wishing to sell and will get you familiar with some of the legals involved. Also, this will allow people to freely preview your work.

[Pox]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll start working on this right away!

[damned]

It wont be for everyone but I can see that there would be a market of middle aged players happy to each pay $25 to play and not have to prep. Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

[Nickademus]

It wont be for everyone but I can see that there would be a market of middle aged players happy to each pay $25 to play and not have to prep. Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

You mean pay $100-$125 to play (for a 4-5 hour session).

[Ken L]

Saw your other topic in PF, I'll comment here.

Paid GMing is a thing, I GM because I enjoy it but a small fraction will want compensation which makes sense in that a performer at a bar would want compensation as opposed to a free number for a friend. It's fine what he's doing.

Roll20 has a particular hunger for paid GMing due to high flake rates, and number of subscribers unable to find games. FG is a bit more of an established group thing, but there could be a market for it, albeit a minor one. The RPG consulting thing is a bit weird given the amount of free advice out there (as there isn't a financial incentive to keep good GMing tips or practices a secret). I mean the same consultation can be had from rpg stack exchange for free from GM enthusiasts but perhaps you have some other service such as help in writing or campaign assets. I for instance hire artists to draw my player's characters or scenes at times so it's not out of the norm to pay for rpg resources.

Good luck however in the paid RPG services realm.

[Pox]

It is definitely not for everyone. In other channels there has been a lot of push-back on the idea, but really this service is for busy professionals or special events. It's never going to replace most people's casual game with friends, and honestly having more than a couple of regular clients at a time is about as much as I can handle.

[damned]

You mean pay $100-$125 to play (for a 4-5 hour session).

Yes but that is what I said.


It wont be for everyone but I can see that there would be a market of middle aged players happy to each pay $25 to play and not have to prep. Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

[Nickademus]

Ah, I see what you mean. My apologies; I've never heard of an entire group of players willing to pay for anything (pizza included).

[Wookiee420]

Damned's comment made me think.....is this each player? so then a four person game is $100 an hour? so for a session you get paid $4-500?
also i have a very very very hard time paying anyone for anything without proof, i mean $25 an hour is like twice what most people make, and you want them to trust you that you can write and do all this stuff.
Not trying to be a ****, I wish you the best of luck, but this isn't right. It's not fair to comment about working professionals and then try to charge 3 times the minimum wage to do it. I can almost guarantee, that if you charged either $5 an hour for games, or $25 a session, or something more reasonable then you would make more money than you current business plan. Also what type of incentive do these players have to play? Do you just give them the game session? Do you have anything to show us that shows the quality of the sessions, like maps, story excerpts, players stories (i saw the reviews on your site, but they dont tell me anything at all)? I feel like you are asking for all this faith from people who have money yet you don't want to show us anything. You even tell us that you have a long way to go, which to me tells me that you should charge less and then increase the cost when you have experience. The only thing you do show us, is a twitch video that you yourself talk down on "they are pretty low quality compared to what i'm able to do now..." again i would never in my life advertise like that. I am a chef and IMO it is like me saying, here taste this, i promise i can make something better, i have faith in myself, but here is something shitty i made dont judge me on that shitty food, judge me on my word that i am better now."
Again, not trying to be a ****, but this is the reaction I get from reading this...

[Nickademus]

He quoted $25/hour for the session, for a price of $100 for a four hour session. Damned was breaking the cost down by the number of players that would contribute (traditionally four players). So the cost would be $25 for each player for the night (assuming four players and a four-hour session).

But I agree, the rate does seem high compared to most jobs that don't require a degree. I'm waiting to see a solid example of what $25 an hour gets before I form an opinion though.

[LindseyFan]

Plus, according to his blog, a person in "this field" should also charge for thier time in designing the adventure as well. So you have how much ever that prep time costs.

One of of the best pieces of advice given is to make a professional portfolio before trying to market this service. It's something that a few have stated in this thread, but also the OP has written that very thing in thier own blog on starting a storytelling business! ><