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.