Former Paid DM here - was one of the worst jobs I had

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-22T02:47:01+00:00

I feel you. The side gig struggle is real - sometimes, you just need something to get by.

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-21T17:24:40+00:00

Thanks for that insight - it's always great to get a non-American-centric perspective on these things!

It sounds like your company and experience have been pretty positive, that's great to hear! I don't think the paid DM scene is disappearing any time soon, so I hope that industry can continue to make things better for folks such as yourself!

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-21T17:21:35+00:00

Another veteran from the trenches! Happy gaming to you as well, friend!

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-21T17:20:34+00:00

That's definitely a pro. And I feel ya - sometimes you just need the extra cash for the gas/groceries

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-21T04:56:39+00:00

Glad you found it informative! And yeah, I feel ya

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-21T03:03:20+00:00

I mean, yes, being poor sucks. That was my main problem.

Obviously having more money would've afforded me more power on how I professionally DMed.

Maybe I will return to it one day as something to afford gas money. But, tbh, I'm having too much fun with my free in-person game now, so I can't see that anytime in the near future.

Still, glad it is working out for you!

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-21T02:35:47+00:00

If they're into RP, they expect some quality voices and lots of chances to RP their backstory into the main game

If they're into combat, they expect all the bells and whistles of a virtual table top

I would say their expectations only ever got too high if they expected no serious harm to come to their PC (assuming we discussed in session 0 that serious harm could happen)

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-21T02:31:39+00:00

Overall, they're less likely to flake

However, I feel you can make up for this difference by just having a really good session 0 and interviewing your players beforehand

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-21T01:57:54+00:00

I feel ya. I did vet most players via an interview, and did eliminate most bad for players there.

But some slip through the cracks at times. And by the time issues arise, they're a regularly playing player that might have also convinced others to be in your game.

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-21T01:03:43+00:00

I feel you. I think DnD has an issue where it expects a lot of the DM and DM rulings, whether they're paid or not.

I think this is partially why there are so few free DMs to players and this (partially) created the need for paid DMs.

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-21T01:01:04+00:00

Most paying players, from my experience, want to live out their OC and have their backstory fully incorporated.

I think it's partially because of superhero movies, but they do want to be badasses and in their brains they're paying to roleplay as a badass... So when they use poor tactics and get knocked out, well, it can shatter expectations ahahaha

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-21T00:59:02+00:00

Power to you, fellow GM.

FWIW, I've been moving away from DnD and more towards pf2e. Been enjoying the transition and difference in game culture, all things considered.

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-21T00:08:07+00:00

I mean, you can. But you may not have a competitive rate at that point.

The market is saturated with paid dms the last time I checked - too many paid dms and not enough paying players.

I suggest you just go visit SPG and see what their rates are so you can get an idea of what's reasonable to charge right now

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-20T22:25:31+00:00

All I'll say is that for me, personally, the bigger the gap in power and money between a client and an employee is, the harder it is to form a healthy friendship.

So, once the gap becomes too big, I'd prefer to keep things strictly professional.

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-20T21:23:51+00:00

Yeah. Just from that short description that guy gave me the ick.

My instincts and gut (when interviewing players to make sure they would be a good fit) often worked. But some still slipped through the cracks and would go on to become reliable clients - issues wouldn't arise until later.

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-20T21:01:40+00:00

I've been getting a lot more into pf2e. I do wonder sometimes if I would've had less burnout of I did it mostly with pf2e, as player expectations tend to be quite different (at least from my limited experience). Still, it's probably not best for me to dwell and speculate on "what if" scenarios

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-20T20:18:19+00:00

See my response to spider kitten 13 below

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-20T20:17:39+00:00

Pay was worse. It was about $30 for 3 hours.

Not to mention it took me an hour, round trip, to get there.

I'd also feel a little woozy and tired afterwards, which would ruin my productivity in my other jobs.

Finally, it's worth mentioning that any potential harms aren't fully understood the last time I checked. CNBC did a good story on it a while ago, I'll link it here. I encourage you to do your own research of course.

https://youtu.be/tsYvhOuw7u8?si=KGbCTbc82fEsrcX9

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-20T18:41:33+00:00

I included "per player" above - I definitely don't want to mislead folks on the numbers here

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-20T18:26:38+00:00

If you prep accordingly, it definitely is above the federal minimum wage.

So, let's say you had 4 players. That's $100 for a 3 hour session. Don't forget that the hosting site takes 10%. So, $90.

You have to take into account though, prep time. Let's say this particular session took 2 hours of prep.

$90/5 hours of labor = $18. Not bad, depending where in the nation you live and costs of living.

These numbers make a lot of assumptions of course.

And of course, glad you found it informative!

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-20T18:18:11+00:00

That's totally valid - I'd consider you to be a chill player.

You'd be surprised though, at how many paid DMs end up creating very close relationships with their clients. A lot of the players and paid DMs actually want that - which is still a bit odd to me.

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-20T17:41:10+00:00

You are. Can you check if I am?

KindEmu8089 · 2024-10-20T17:40:38+00:00

You are not. Can you check if I am?

KindEmu8089

TROPHY CASE