OK, a friend ran across this and wanted my input on it, so I wanted to get theRPGSite brain trusts' opinion on it as well. It is a business selling paid GMs called StartPlaying Games (https://startplaying.games/?fbclid=IwAR1pw-YlgiNW1zQZxVVh3-47DqyvwmYnPQt8ucs75GVMkrqBuJtnvz68HZw) and they offer online and in person gaming by a network of GMs (prices vary).
If you have a group of players with disposable income and nobody wants to put in the GM hours (either to prep campaigns or to learn how to GM), then I can see the value.
But looking at the prices, I personally can't imagine paying $100 to $160 for a 4 hour online game for 4 players. That said, plenty of people drop $20 or more on Friday Night Magic events at game stores.
This is one of those "gig economy" jobs that can only exist in a good economy. Once the recession everyone seems to desperately want kicks into high gear, those prices are going to halve or less. It's like all the gourmet pizza places for a $40 large. That's cool when most people are flush, but your potential audience shrinks to nothing when good jobs are scarce.
I look at it this way...
1) A potential powderkeg for GM's wanting to run high-quality games when some snowflake ignites over something you do that goes against current SJW Doctrine.
2) You lower your standards to running really vanilla games and do it for the cash.
3) If you don't like running vanilla games at that level for adults... then you'll come to hate it.
My wife has asked me to volunteer teaching kids and adults how to GM at our local library, but then Covid happened. I'm pretty busy as a person, but I think it would be good to initiate people in the the Way of the D.O.N.G.
Good GM's are what will save this hobby, regardless of what these companies try to socially engineer. For my time and effort - I don't need money. But I'd rather teach people to be good GM's rather than run games for rando's.
Eh. I'm not gonna judge. Maybe someone really wants to game and can't find a GM whatever.
For myself, I really like GMing, so if no one else is running a game, I will.
If someone can do this and make it work I'm not going to say they shouldn't, and I you've got a group of people with more money than time who want to play games but don't have the prep time to make them as good as they would like then fair enough.
Not for me but someone might find a use for it.
oooh! DM PIMP! You don't need to do the DMing, you just need to beat them up a bit to keep them in line and take a cut of their take.
Far be it from me, to tell people what they should or shouldn't spend their money on. But calling yourself a 'professional GM' is a tad esoteric and disingenuous. At best, you're a paid amateur, unless your making your living from it exclusively.
What actually qualifies these people anyway? Years of gaming - You mean like everyone else has who's been in the hobby for decades? A love of gaming? Uh... Do I even have to answer there. One person on that site said, they were in the Navy, what's that got to do with the price of piss??
Basically, the only thing separating these people from other GMs is having the ego, and balls to ask for money.
Like I said tho'... It's up to people how they spend their own cash. But there are plenty of free games online with GMs who are every bit as 'qualified', and you won't have to pay a penny.
These crop up now and then. Someones allways going to try and monetize it.
Instead I prefer a donation pool for new gaming materials or to pay off renting a room at a library or wherever to meet at. This is what the first group I joined was doing.
The only "Professional GM" I've ever seen was one of those Living Stereotype Lifestyle Gamers that seem to inhabit Gameshops.
I'd pay for a good GM, no question. However, even ones that are good I assume will be Schrodinger's Ogre, Narrative, Illusionist, Railroad, all the kinds of GMs the K3wlk!ds want.
Quote from: The Exploited.;1134175Basically, the only thing separating these people from other GMs is having the ego, and balls to ask for money.
I'd say that describes most entrepreneurs, regardless of the field. Of course, talent will ultimately play a part in how much continued business they get -- the online world of feedback is brutal.
I have a different strategy to get paid to run games: sell the idea to the boss I already work for as a morale/team-building exercise.
I would never do this because I know that getting paid for it would change how I approach it. If nothing else, when I GM it would no longer be solely a hobby, but now have a professional component. People may or may not be willing to pay a reasonable rate for my games run under that caveat. However, since it would add a level of stress to one of my main hobbies, I don't think people would be willing to pay what it would take for it to be worth it for me. And even if they did, then I'd feel obligated to give them their money's worth, which would be yet another level of stress--that I most assuredly do not need.
Paying for things changes their nature--inevitably. For some people, the changes may be small enough to not matter that much, but I'd be careful to not delude oneself that there will be no changes at all.
Quote from: tenbones;11341622) You lower your standards to running really vanilla games and do it for the cash.
I'm sure that's exactly what happens.
99% of people looking for & willing to pay a GM have never played nor GM'd.
99% of them want the vanilla experience, Lost Mine of Phandelver and all.
Some hobby activities simply cannot be successfully monetized.
I doubt they even get many players... I'd say this site is more about 'hope' than actuality.
Cup in hand... 'please sir.'
My opinions on it are very mixed. When it was kept on the 'down low' I scoffed, laughed it off and moved on, however after a a brief exodus from RPGs a while back (due to lack of time) I returned only for it to appear the landscape has changed and they've become quite prevalent. My local gaming Facebook groups have a few very loud, very obnoxious 'professional DMs' shilling as desperately as they can to weasel in every avenue to advertise, particularly as Corona shut everywhere down. Meanwhile Roll20 - already dubious in it's quality - went from quietly shunting them in a corner to being about 50/50 Paid vs Free games, complete with a whopping great red (flag?) label.
After having read a few discussions about this elsewhere, I can sort of see the logic behind the argument that players who pay are far more likely to be committed and show up: if they're serious enough about it to pay, they're probably serious enough about it to be reliable, pay attention, turn up on time, actually want to get involved and be on the ball with what's being played. Now for DMs who don't have a tight circle of friends and rely on 'da community' at large? I can see the appeal in that, especially online, where the average Roll20 player seems to struggle writing out their own name, let alone colour within the lines - I'm barely exaggerating, the amount of people who can't follow basic instructions on signing up to games as requested is beyond ludicrous. However being the cynic I am, I feel like for the vast majority that's just an excuse to justify it and most either want to make a quick buck off their DMing, or are naive enough to think they could actually have a living out of it.
What I've noticed, at least online, is that the vast, vast majority of 'Paid DMs' are literally just purchasing modules like Return to Avernus, Storm King's Thunder etc and running them straight out of the box, particularly on platforms like R20 where pretty much everything from tokens to NPC text is done, you just need to move the counters and documents around on screen. Naturally they toss things like "I invest the money back into R20 to improve the platform!" but when they're asking an average of $10-$20 a head (WEEKLY) with five (if not more) players? I find that doubtful. Most I see also demand 'back payments' even if you miss a session, which is all kinds of hilarious.
Ultimately it doesn't effect me I suppose, being a Permanent GM, but if I was a player I would be conscious in the future of it potentially being the norm. As Steven Mitchell says, for me it would also take it beyond a hobby and into something with much more, well, professional expectations. I also know from experience that a lot of players, particularly those coming off a unhealthy diet of Critical Roll, have expectations of just about everything and anything going the way they want - rerolls, enemy motivations, NPC reactions - and will have a tantrum of, "I'm paying for this, it should be like THIS!", something which I've encountered in free games even.
I remember reading an article about a silicone valley Gm who was making pretty good money. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-07-08/how-to-be-a-professional-dungeons-dragons-master-hosting-games
I think as said already, balls to ask for money (and being somewhere where people have the money to spend on it) and go for broke. Just do not plan on enjoying game mastering in your spare time with friends any more.
Quote from: jeff37923;1134135OK, a friend ran across this and wanted my input on it, so I wanted to get theRPGSite brain trusts' opinion on it as well. It is a business selling paid GMs called StartPlaying Games (https://startplaying.games/?fbclid=IwAR1pw-YlgiNW1zQZxVVh3-47DqyvwmYnPQt8ucs75GVMkrqBuJtnvz68HZw) and they offer online and in person gaming by a network of GMs (prices vary).
I always point people to OutSchool.com (https://outschool.com/online-classes?age&order=upcoming&startAfter=ThisWeek&q=dungeons%20and%20dragons#usPVufWZhy) which turned this quarantine and now the Summer into, among other things, a massive lab to teach kids D&D.
I'll use for example Megan Hardy, who is I believe making a full time living DM'ing and teaching D&D to kids online at Outschool. But know there are probably a dozen people at this point teaching and running D&D for kids on Outschool now. Megan's just I think a pretty fair example of how it's done.
This is not the introduction to D&D class, it's actually a "So you've been introduced, here's a mini-campaign to continue" type class:
(https://i.ibb.co/k63YDXy/Megan-Hardy.jpg)
The description for that class:
Description
Class Experience
This will be a fun six week campaign for those ready to adventure. Our heroes will be heading out to save the land from an evil ruler. Along the way they will face several challenges, battles and make friends. Dungeons and Dragons can serve as a great tool for teaching logic and critical thinking. This is a self created campaign, that follows the rules of Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. It is designed specifically for children ages 9-14. I'm highlighting problem solving, logic puzzles and team work. They will be learning all these skills while having a grand adventure. While I will ask for character creation before the game begins. I will happily work with any student to create a character if they don't know how.
First Class: The group meets and group dynamics are examined. They will learn of an evil ruler terrorizing the land, and will be given different options on how to proceed. The players will be given clues towards the best course of action.
Second Class: The group will face combat and be given the chance to possibly make allies in their quest. Will they be able to use their critical thinking to decide if they need allies and who that should be.
Third Class: The adventures will find that they will have to change plans. Can they overcome a sudden change in events. They will also be given some special clues that can help them find magical weapons to help in their adventure. They will be in the form of logic puzzles/riddles. If they can work together as a group they will each gain a magical weapon.
Fourth Class: Word of our adventures exploits have reached far and wide. They will find themselves with dangers every direction they turn. Can they find a way to neutralize some threats? Sometimes words can help more then swords. During this leg of the adventure, they will need to chose their words carefully.
Fifth Class: Our heros are close to defeating the evil ruler and freeing the land. The battles they face will be tougher. The ruler will through distractions at our rulers and try to split the group up. Will they fall for his evil plan, or will they use their critical thinking skills to see through his plan.
Sixth Class: The students will face the final battle and take down the evil ruler. Then they will be faced with choices. Who will rule upon his death? Will they stay and protect the land. What does the future hold for them?
.
.
I think she got tired of doing the intro courses, and there are a ton of others now doing those intro courses, so now that she has a pretty decent following of students there, she does a lot more adventures. Some are weekly, and some like this are like a mini-summer-camp of several times a week:
(https://i.ibb.co/G7jJ3gw/Megan-Hardy2.jpg)
You can see an interview Megan did on Nerdarchy here. It's two years old at this point. She's probably doing even more than 15 classes a week at this point (during the Quarantine I imagine it's way more in fact), though I imagine some are privates now:
[video=youtube;XoqSM3P9NZA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoqSM3P9NZA&t=759s[/youtube]
Quote from: Snark Knight;1134201I also know from experience that a lot of players, particularly those coming off a unhealthy diet of Critical Roll, have expectations of just about everything and anything going the way they want - rerolls, enemy motivations, NPC reactions - and will have a tantrum of, "I'm paying for this, it should be like THIS!", something which I've encountered in free games even.
I've seen this from a Critter DM - never from a player though! DM PM'd me after game to explain I was playing it wrong. Being too pro-active mostly.
Quote from: Mistwell;1134206fap fap fap
That's a nice spammy advertisement, but has fuck all to do with paid GMing via StartPlaying Games. Your website is a paid teaching tool which has been co-opted by people to teach/run the latest version of D&D. Not the same set-up.
Quote from: jeff37923;1134219That's a nice spammy advertisement, but has fuck all to do with paid GMing via StartPlaying Games. Your website is a paid teaching tool which has been co-opted by people to teach/run the latest version of D&D. Not the same set-up.
I am not advertising anything. Why would I? I have no connection to that in any way. It's just an example you can look to concerning 1) pricing, 2) frequency, 3) standards used for setup, 4) means of marketing it, 5) a video of someone who has done it talking about the various problems and benefits of it, etc..
It's not "my" website. WTF?
I know, serves me right for every trying to help you out Jeff. You could ask "what's the weather outside" and I could answer and you'd likely freak out that my answer was some dig on you.
Quote from: jeff37923;1134135OK, a friend ran across this and wanted my input on it, so I wanted to get theRPGSite brain trusts' opinion on it as well. It is a business selling paid GMs called StartPlaying Games (https://startplaying.games/?fbclid=IwAR1pw-YlgiNW1zQZxVVh3-47DqyvwmYnPQt8ucs75GVMkrqBuJtnvz68HZw) and they offer online and in person gaming by a network of GMs (prices vary).
Personally, I think it's trashy. Roleplaying is something that is SUPPOSED to be gratifying for the DM as well as the players; is the DM not a player himself? Whenever I play, the DM usually gets the first crack at snacks and booze; he isn't required to bring any if he doesn't want to. That is the price we pay as players because being a DM is more time consuming than simply running a PC. It's sort of like if your buddy throws a party and you bring a bottle of Scotch...he's doing all the hard work so you bring something to enjoy communally as a way to say thanks. If I went to a party and someone charged me to get in, I'd think they were being a total asshole, much like I'd think a DM who charged to run games is an asshole.
Conventions, different situation I think as that is like paying cover at a club when there's a live band. But that's also not a weekly occurrence or anything.
Quote from: Brad;1134223Whenever I play, the DM usually gets the first crack at snacks and booze; he isn't required to bring any if he doesn't want to. That is the price we pay as players because being a DM is more time consuming than simply running a PC. It's sort of like if your buddy throws a party and you bring a bottle of Scotch...he's doing all the hard work so you bring something to enjoy communally as a way to say thanks.
Yeah our in-person games we bring booze and often food for the DM. Sometimes order delivery of dinner too, and the DM doesn't pay for their dinner. It's just polite. Online play is a bit different - the most we've done is pay for their access to Roll20 advanced options and DnDBeyond access.
Here is how I look at it:
People are fine with adventure writing for money. So what's different about running it for money if you want? It's not something everyone would do, but if it works for them, then great.
As soon as the marketing machine made RPG hit the mainstream, this was inevitable.
I would wager the DM's who would actually be the ones you would want to pay for are those with professional theatrical training and on stage experience. I can safely assume that there are currently a lot of out of work theater performers a little desperate to make ends meet. If they can run a memorable game then sure, make a little money for the effort.
Read a few profiles on that site and it's not all 5e so at least there is some variety for the older D&D editions and other systems.
For those that their only credentials is they love RPG's and have been playing a long time? Uh, no, that's really not a selling feature for me. It's like seeing these groups on Roll20 where a group is looking for a DM. Baffles me that they never think of one of them trying it out themselves.
Bards got paid for their gigs. Most RPG's run these days are just big storytelling games using simple game mechanics as the order of the day. I say for those tempted to go for it but as mentioned, expect to be at the mercy of your players and be their little b*tch. No thanks. I'd personally prefer to keep RPG's as my hobby I enjoy, not my work I endure.
I was paid to GM/DM games for two years at a local bar that insisted on paying when I volunteered. It was good money, so why not? I gave it up to run in the defunct deli of a grocery store for free because getting paid means you have to deal with players (customers in this scenario) and things like character death or problem players (and there were many) just are not worth the grief. I'd rather run a game for free now than to be paid and have to bend to the situation.
Game store nearest to me runs a pay to play D&D campaign for a group of home school kids. I do not know what they charge the players (I think it is 15-20 per session), but they also sell the phb to them and snacks and dice. So they get a good bang from the group out of the gate and enough to pay the DM. I think the sessions are around 1.5-2 hours. They have enough players to run two tables both with 6-8 players twice a week.
So it looks to me that it could be a thing to have success with in person. Digitally, there could be traction with the current social distancing. But I suspect DM'ing for 8 tweens could be a first view of hell.
If you're a 6/10 woman, you could book as many games as you want without even reading the rulebook. The rpg.net neckbeards would gladly pay for the privilege just to "storygame" with you.
I say 6/10 because anyone more attractive would make more with even the most rudimentary and unsuccessful OnlyFans page.
Quote from: DickFeynman;1134380If you're a 6/10 woman, you could book as many games as you want without even reading the rulebook. The rpg.net neckbeards would gladly pay for the privilege just to "storygame" with you.
I say 6/10 because anyone more attractive would make more with even the most rudimentary and unsuccessful OnlyFans page.
You're not wrong.
Quote from: oggsmash;1134378Game store nearest to me runs a pay to play D&D campaign for a group of home school kids. I do not know what they charge the players (I think it is 15-20 per session), but they also sell the phb to them and snacks and dice. So they get a good bang from the group out of the gate and enough to pay the DM. I think the sessions are around 1.5-2 hours. They have enough players to run two tables both with 6-8 players twice a week.
So it looks to me that it could be a thing to have success with in person. Digitally, there could be traction with the current social distancing. But I suspect DM'ing for 8 tweens could be a first view of hell.
I ran a game for a bunch of 12-year-olds for about a year, best players I've ever had!
Quote from: Zalman;1134409I ran a game for a bunch of 12-year-olds for about a year, best players I've ever had!
Exceptions do not always make the rule false. were they complete strangers who's karen mothers were paying you to run the game? Because the right 12 year olds would be a blast, and as long as you have complete veto power, any group can be good. I think once money changes hands the veto power might become much less absolute.
We've got a local guy doing this via meetup. Apparently his game is something viable since I saw his stuff about a year ago and I just checked and he apparently moved it online.
Session Info:
-RSVPs are required.
-Sessions are 3 hours of gameplay and a 15-minute break.
-Sessions cost $15 to play on weekdays and $20 on weekends, due before play begins.
-Cash, Venmo, or Google Pay are all acceptable payment methods. Other payment methods may be used with approval from the event organizer.
When it was in-person, it was at a half-price books. (Which is interesting as they - or at least here - have had a reportedly varied relationship with RPG groups.)
I personally couldn't imagine doing this - either as a player or DM. Let alone through some website where I couldn't even observe the game for free first. (Didn't see that option.) Now what I could see people doing this for is RPGA (are they even calling it that now?) games where it's not even really about proper RPing, but instead just going for some booty-call D&D.
Quote from: oggsmash;1134416Exceptions do not always make the rule false. were they complete strangers who's karen mothers were paying you to run the game? Because the right 12 year olds would be a blast, and as long as you have complete veto power, any group can be good. I think once money changes hands the veto power might become much less absolute.
I suppose it depends on the 12-year-olds. The ones I've played with were much more amenable in general to DM decisions than most adults I've played with, as a general rule. No doubt the exchange of money could mitigate the DM's authority, which is a problem inherent with this model of getting paid to run games. Still, based on my own experience, I'm not sure that adults would be any less Hellish an audience.
Quote from: Zalman;1134453I suppose it depends on the 12-year-olds. The ones I've played with were much more amenable in general to DM decisions than most adults I've played with, as a general rule. No doubt the exchange of money could mitigate the DM's authority, which is a problem inherent with this model of getting paid to run games. Still, based on my own experience, I'm not sure that adults would be any less Hellish an audience.
And I think you are probably right. I think if the group is all a bunch of friends, maybe, but if they are all strangers, playing in a pay to be DM'd game, it would send up some red flags to me.
Quote from: CRKrueger;1134183However, even ones that are good I assume will be Schrodinger's Ogre, Narrative, Illusionist, Railroad, all the kinds of GMs the K3wlk!ds want.
What is Schrodinger's Ogre?
Quote from: Brad;1134223Whenever I play, the DM usually gets the first crack at snacks and booze;
I demand prima nocta whenever I GM.
And yes, that does get kinda awkward at the game store.
Quote from: oggsmash;1134378But I suspect DM'ing for 8 tweens could be a first view of hell.
They are hysterical, brilliant little gore-soaked bastards. I absolutely encourage DMing an all-tween table at least once because they operate on raw id and give you a glimpse of stone age humanity. Teens can be too cool for school, but tweens fall into immersion in an instant, and create shared fantasy with the other tweens which sometimes has something to do with the game you're running.
Quote from: Spinachcat;1134545What is Schrodinger's Ogre?
Is the ogre down the left path or the right? You won't know until you collapse the quantam waveform and have a look for it. Strangely, the ogre will always be down the path you chose.
Quote from: Zalman;1134453No doubt the exchange of money could mitigate the DM's authority, which is a problem inherent with this model of getting paid to run games.
Not in the games I played (online).
In those games, the DM was as clear about the rules and authority as in any other game I played.
If anyone would come in with an "I paid for this so I'll get what I want"-attitude, they wouldn't have lasted long.
The way I see it, DMing - or doing it well, rather - costs lots of time.
Tons of stuff to prepare, especially if you don't just do a ready-made adventure but come up with your own world, quests, etc. and modify them to suit the characters.
You don't pay them for the time they are there, DMing the game, as that is probably as fun for them as it is for you. You pay for all the legwork done beforehand, which IMO isn't really fun.
If a DM would just whip out some adventure book and don't really do anything else, I wouldn't want to pay for that.
The days of paid GMing are long gone. Few years ago a large group was leasing the first floor of a store nearby to play tabletop and card games. It lasted about 6 months because they couldn't afford it. We have reached a point in civilization anyone can do whatever they want due to so many free tutorials out there. "Specialized professionals" will become rarer and rarer as years pass specially now that Covid fucked up the entire world in both social and financial means.
Quote from: FelixGamingX1;1134941The days of paid GMing are long gone. Few years ago a large group was leasing the first floor of a store nearby to play tabletop and card games. It lasted about 6 months because they couldn't afford it. We have reached a point in civilization anyone can do whatever they want due to so many free tutorials out there. "Specialized professionals" will become rarer and rarer as years pass specially now that Covid fucked up the entire world in both social and financial means.
I think there are more paid professional GMs now than ever before in history.
Quote from: FelixGamingX1;1134941The days of paid GMing are long gone. Few years ago a large group was leasing the first floor of a store nearby to play tabletop and card games. It lasted about 6 months because they couldn't afford it. We have reached a point in civilization anyone can do whatever they want due to so many free tutorials out there. "Specialized professionals" will become rarer and rarer as years pass specially now that Covid fucked up the entire world in both social and financial means.
The days of paid GMing are still going strong. I stopped in at the bar last night and saw two paid games, one D&D, one Magic:tG. Covid sanctions lifted, there was even live folk/Celtic music. I will be running Judge Dredd next week to make that three paid games going.
Quote from: FelixGamingX1;1134941The days of paid GMing are long gone. Few years ago a large group was leasing the first floor of a store nearby to play tabletop and card games. It lasted about 6 months because they couldn't afford it. We have reached a point in civilization anyone can do whatever they want due to so many free tutorials out there. "Specialized professionals" will become rarer and rarer as years pass specially now that Covid fucked up the entire world in both social and financial means.
I think the days of paying waaaay too much for commercial rental space are long gone. Paid GM's are not going anywhere. Tech nerds have money, no time, and stress. I think a lot of them are fine with paying GMs. Add in technology to grow a market, and it will only grow, not shrink. What will shrink is brick and mortar business of all kinds. Between insane rent, coming seasonal covid, and a massive monopoly online seller of all goods, renting commercial space to enjoy a hobby is for sure dead and gone.
3 is enough, I've GMed with three players, in D&D a balanced party will consist of one fighter, one wizard, and one cleric, rogues are optional, as fighters can always break down doors that are locked.
Quote from: FelixGamingX1;1134941The days of paid GMing are long gone. Few years ago a large group was leasing the first floor of a store nearby to play tabletop and card games. It lasted about 6 months because they couldn't afford it. We have reached a point in civilization anyone can do whatever they want due to so many free tutorials out there. "Specialized professionals" will become rarer and rarer as years pass specially now that Covid fucked up the entire world in both social and financial means.
Echoing what others have said, Paid GM'ing seems to have exploded recently, not shrunk. Years ago what I read about it was largely laughed off as absurd or greedy. These days I see it being advertised (albeit desperately) in most circles people hunt for games, be that in real life or Roll20. The latter in particular you can't type in a search without at least 50% being paid, albeit usually with a low amount of players signing up.
Quote from: Snark Knight;1135643Echoing what others have said, Paid GM'ing seems to have exploded recently, not shrunk. Years ago what I read about it was largely laughed off as absurd or greedy. These days I see it being advertised (albeit desperately) in most circles people hunt for games, be that in real life or Roll20. The latter in particular you can't type in a search without at least 50% being paid, albeit usually with a low amount of players signing up.
I agree being part of it and I will add that I never asked for pay. I fell into this by volunteering to run a game in public and the bar insisted on paying me for my time. At first I thought this was absurd, however, running games for someone else means that you have to deal with the downside too. I had quit after two years but they lured me back to run games again.
Quote from: oggsmash;1135106What will shrink is brick and mortar business of all kinds. Between insane rent, coming seasonal covid, and a massive monopoly online seller of all goods, renting commercial space to enjoy a hobby is for sure dead and gone.
Rents are high in certain areas because competition for those spaces are high. If nobody wants to rent a spot, the price drops until somebody decides its worth the ROI and risk. Seasonal CoronaChan will only exist if Trump wins, and then, only in blue states. If Biden wins, WuFlu vanishes like Tara Reade.
The business model for the FLGS has already changed - the successful places offer public play spaces and the really successful places have turned into "game cafes" that serve food and drink. If you want to make great money in this hobby, open up a "Dungeons & Pizza" and build a franchise....and sell book and character sheet protectors!
Quote from: Spinachcat;1135664Rents are high in certain areas because competition for those spaces are high. If nobody wants to rent a spot, the price drops until somebody decides its worth the ROI and risk. Seasonal CoronaChan will only exist if Trump wins, and then, only in blue states. If Biden wins, WuFlu vanishes like Tara Reade.
The business model for the FLGS has already changed - the successful places offer public play spaces and the really successful places have turned into "game cafes" that serve food and drink. If you want to make great money in this hobby, open up a "Dungeons & Pizza" and build a franchise....and sell book and character sheet protectors!
Have one near me that has a tap and serves beer. But yeah, the profit makers are magic cards and mountain dew for anyone still kicking. By drop....I think you may lack experience looking for commercial space to rent (but I think this can be affected by location). If the landlord is local and owns the building prices can drop. But there is a whole lot of commercial rental space owned by national/multinational firms. Their rent does not drop for YEARS even when un rented. I think the trend has been the big boys buying up more and more of the market (at least near me) and they can afford to sit on something and weather periods of no tenants. I do not think kungflu goes away if Biden wins. Too much of a crisis for him/them to waste. It will "go away" once it has served its full political use, sort of how it went away for protests for a few weeks, but has mysteriously returned.
In LA, we have both residential and commercial properties that are bought only for the potential upsale in the future. Those are the places with exorbitant rents, but they're not in the overall equation since their owners (for whatever reason) prefer not to be landlords. Plenty of local properties are owned by people who expect a dividend on their investment, whether its a REIT or a bank or a conglomerate. Nobody wants to rent in a stripmall with 75% empty lots. It's worth it to lower rents to keep an investment buzzing, plus its safer from vandals.
I know we've been inundated with the "Death of Retail" articles for two decades now, but I keep seeing mega-million dollar malls being built and huge commercial campuses being set up with food and shopping blended with work spaces. I'm very surprised by it too.
I was thinking this "GM FOR HIRE" is a good business for guys like RPGPundit or other English speaking GMs who live in areas where the dollar goes farther. If you live where $100 is meaningful money, this GMing for a job could be far more profitable. I could also see it as a great option for disabled GMs and retired GMs.
Retail is dying if you are not of a certain size. If you can afford mall space, you tend to part of a national chain. I do not think retail is dying, I think brick and mortar small business retail is dying though.
Why not...
If someone wants to make a living out of GMing, go for it. I mean, that site is also targeting birthdays and corporate events. D&D could be a great platform for a team-building exercise.
Personally though, I'll stay away from it. It's already hard to find a GM who isn't scared to kill player characters off, don't want to give them one more reason not to.
You can't GM for a living... That's not a real juuube.
Quote from: Graytung;1135740It's already hard to find a GM who isn't scared to kill player characters off, don't want to give them one more reason not to.
The trick would be selling yourself as that one infamous DM who isn't afraid, making it a point of pride among players to have survived one of your dungeons. Bring back that old-school attitude!
Quote from: Zalman;1135797The trick would be selling yourself as that one infamous DM who isn't afraid, making it a point of pride among players to have survived one of your dungeons. Bring back that old-school attitude!
I remember a series of youtube videos (Fear of girls?) that had THE WORLD'S GREATEST DUNGEON MASTER. It was LOL. I think the marketing groundwork has been laid, and if you are hard but fair, there would be a market.