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  1. #1

    Getting a seat is hard. No wonder there's pay to play. Seeking advice from paid DMs

    When I first saw the pay to play tab I scoffed. I came to FG because in my local games I'm stuck being the DM. I enjoy playing with them but I never get a turn to play. DM's know what I'm talking about. I've been trying to get a seat at a table for a week now and have managed to get my toe in the door to 3 games. Let's see how this turns out. Whenever a DM does put out a game announcement they get smashed with interested parties immediately and then the table fills up. Nature of the beast. Reminds me of my decision to go tank and healer in wow for instant queue's. Nobody want's to tank and heal:Nobody want's to DM.

    This has led me to begin developing two different ideas. I can develop my own group of DM's in my exact situation, and we take turns running the games for each other or I go the way I did with wow and become the tank/healer, except this time get paid to do it. People willing to pay are serious about getting their game on. The price would enable me to recoup my losses on buying modules and source books needed to fully enjoy the service. Inevitably, this would also give me the contacts I need to actually get seats at tables with excellent DMs as well.

    It would mean really learning the unity client, buying the source book material for the campaigns I wish to run, and then scheduling and running enough pay to play to recoup my losses and buy the next installment of materials. I'm a retired educator home all day so I have the time to learn. I can afford to buy the core materials and one campaign to get started. I'd like to hear from current DMs who are getting paid to run campaigns some pros and cons from your experiences if you are willing to share them.

  2. #2
    This was on the Fantasy Grounds steam this week. You might want to look into it.

    https://fgpug.com/#

    From what I have heard though when you pay for a DM you do get a better experience but I have not gone that route myself. Sorry currently I do not have any opening at my table.
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  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Granamere View Post
    This was on the Fantasy Grounds steam this week. You might want to look into it.

    https://fgpug.com/#

    From what I have heard though when you pay for a DM you do get a better experience but I have not gone that route myself. Sorry currently I do not have any opening at my table.
    FGPug is a great place, games fill up quick everywhere though. They are actively trying to get more dm's going and it's been successful so far.

  4. #4
    LordEntrails's Avatar
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    There are always online Cons (PAX is running through next weekend) and Adventure's League and other organized play groups. Still always a shortage of GMs, but at least it is more games to try and get into.

    But yea, it seems like paid GMing is becoming accepted. Though I don't think it's going to pay more than hobby money anytime soon.

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  5. #5
    So, update 1 of my 3 seats at a gaming table fell through tonight. That's put me as of this Monday looking for a game for two weeks and zero play time. I've got another one Wednesday and Friday scheduled. Let's see how that goes 0/3 so far. I've been reading the paid threads and they all seem to charge $15-$20 a 3 hour game session. I'm retired so I'd have all day several days a week to schedule campaigns. I think I could pull off a little better than hobby money with my open schedule. If someone were to flake out on one of my games like we had happen tonight, so what they already paid, seat goes to someone on the waiting list.

  6. #6
    viviolay's Avatar
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    I recommend checking out AL. We're about to open public signups for our first official Adventurers League gameday. You're welcome to come join and play.

  7. #7
    I like your rotating DMs-for-Life idea. That's an awesome idea to help out other DMs in the same position. Verify they run games and rotate the duty. Try it first and help out other DMs in your position. Maybe have everyone do a one-shot at first to insure one of them isn't some player w/ a high deception score. If you can't find enough DMs (I'd be surprised), ask them to bring their best players with them. Should give you a good group.

    As for paid DMing, I've spoken to a couple of DMs who do. The one thing both DMs mentioned that really stuck out to me were that players actually show up! According to them, they hated that players often miss sessions or drop out of the campaign w/o saying anything in online games. In their paid games, they do not.

    I find it odd that players miss sessions and then get dropped from games since they're so hard to find, but it happens. A number of DMs in unpaid games have complained about it on these forums. Because of this, if I DM'd online for random players, I'd go the paid-DM route at first. Then when I found a good gorup of fun players I'd consider dropping the cost. Or lower it just to pay for modules and rulebooks. A good group is a valuable thing.

    Note: I only DM for people I know. So take my opinions for what they're worth.
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  8. #8
    Trenloe's Avatar
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    In the end it can take a while to:

    1) Find a group.
    2) Find a group that you like playing in (or GMing for) and who like your play style.
    3) Hope that this group turns out to be reliable that has a good dynamic and therefore has a good chance of longevity.
    4) Hope that the key people (GM and core players) don't have real-life take over and impact the campaign.

    This can take many weeks. Even with paid games you're not guaranteed of a group you gel with, a gaming style you like, etc.. But, hopefully the flaky players will be less if they've paid for a session.

    All I can say is keep at it - communicate clearly and with as much notice as possible, whether you're GMing or playing. Be respectful to all and if you're not enjoying a game and want to move on then be clear and up front about that, don't just drop without letting anyone know.

    It took me a number of weeks to find a group that matched the top three of the list above. There are many dynamics involved that will make a successful group, everyone wanting to play {insert RPG system name here} is only the start of that, there are many more things that need to fall into place to get to, and past, step #4 above. You may be super lucky and fall into such a group, or you may take many times to find such a group. Play one-offs as much as you can - look for them at conventions or on the forums/discord, run them yourself (even if you want to be a player) - these are great ways to find people you enjoy playing with, and is one of the best ways to start putting a group together or get invited into a newly forming, or existing, group.
    Private Messages: My inbox is forever filling up with PMs. Please don't send me PMs unless they are actually private/personal messages. General FG questions should be asked in the forums - don't be afraid, the FG community don't bite and you're giving everyone the chance to respond and learn!

  9. #9
    Check out the Fantasy Grounds discord. I often see games looking for players, and most are in the USA. For those in East Asia, Oceania and Australia, there's also The Filthy Pig discord (where I found my group).

  10. #10
    Try game specific Facebook Groups, I found three current players there.

    These are the modules and extensions created and/or taken over by dellanx for PFRPG.

    I had a lot of help and advice from many here at FG.

    Thank You!

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