At long last the Fantasy Grounds upgrade I've been waiting for ...

[mhorgunn]

I see there is a trend on Roll20 for GM's to charge players to play....

Instead of "Go Fund Me" is the that a "Go Play Me" account?

[Allmight]

it usually is all about fun but that doesnt exclude other things from being involved...
the GM cops all the prep, cops all the cost and has to put up with everything else too!

Yeah, i know it's not cheap being a GM. I am one myself. I prefer the role of a GM over player. However, i get alot of fun out of being a GM/DM so i see those expenses as an investment into a hobby i enjoy, so charging others to play just feel wrong somehow. I know there different ways to look at it, but thats just me.

[Myrdin Potter]

I see no issue if people want to pay. Hard to make a living at it, though. Consider that the average 4 person party paying $5 each is $20 a session. If the session runs over 2 hours you are definitely making less than minimum wage.

You can use movies as a benchmark and charge $15 each for a 3 hour session and that is still a lot less than a decent professional job will give you.

Many stores charge a small fee to cover expenses.

I don't and would not charge my players, but people can make their own choices there.

[mhorgunn]

I can certainly understand both sides of the issue. There are so many hours a DM/GM puts in that the player never sees. I just put in 6 hours on an overland map that was just practice for future works. However since I just game with friends there is no question about charging them.

[Black Hammer]

I wouldn't expect to be paid to GM, but a few bucks here and there are nice to defray the costs of being the guy who has to buy all the books, and the maps, and spend time not only prepping the campaign but teaching people half the rules.

Who am I kidding, if players bought me books for the games I run I'd just buy other books with the money, and then I'd have even more systems I'll never run. Now excuse me, there's a Changeling Bundle of Holding I need to go fencesit on...

[damned]

I wouldn't expect to be paid to GM, but a few bucks here and there are nice to defray the costs of being the guy who has to buy all the books, and the maps, and spend time not only prepping the campaign but teaching people half the rules.

Who am I kidding, if players bought me books for the games I run I'd just buy other books with the money, and then I'd have even more systems I'll never run. Now excuse me, there's a Changeling Bundle of Holding I need to go fencesit on...

Either way its a win-win.

[JohnD]

Defraying the costs is one thing, and much appreciated when it happens. Getting paid turns your hobby into work with all of the negative connotations that come along with it IMO.

What do you do when you serve up a turd sandwich? Give a refund? Partial refund? Don't accept payment next game? Who decides if the session was a turd sandwich or a turd hoagie or a turd footlong?

I served up what I consider to be the sandwich variety earlier this evening... glad I'm not adding financial pressure to my bucket list of DM's things to worry about.

But, if there's a demand and if there are people willing to fill the demand on a pay for play basis, more power to them and let the free market reign I say.