How to Be A Dungeon Master Worth Paying

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing RJ Cresswell. As he will tell you, he's a dad, husband, middle school art teacher, and...

A Professional Dungeon Master.

RJ has played Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop RPGs for over 27 years and logged over 1,000 hours in fantasy settings, both established and "homebrew." Now, he runs 2-6 campaigns every week and is paid by his players to lead them through experiences of a lifetime around the proverbial game table.

What does it take to be a Professional Dungeon Master?

That was exactly my question when we dove in! How do you go from a hobbyist, playing around the dinner table (or Zoom, these days) with friends, to receiving a steady income for it?

Flexibility and Communication

As a professional DM, you'll be playing with people you may not know, at varying levels of tabletop game knowledge and skill. Being able to adjust to players of all kinds will serve you well and always keep people coming back for more.

For example, if a player (or players) is new, decide in advance how to make the most of their time and money by designing your first game session to be both fun and educational.

In RJ's games with new players, he uses what he calls "metacognition" to play through an encounter, teaching the game as they go. He'll run through a piece of the encounter, then take a moment to pause, explain what or why something just happened based on the game rules, and then continue. Or pause to explain the dice and combat before players take their first actions in a fight.

This style ensures that new players get a fun, active first game while still learning the rules and mechanics.

Even in games with more experienced players, it's good to be flexible. Playstyles can vary dramatically between groups. If you've designed a campaign around heavy roleplaying but learn that your group prefers to do more combat, it's good to adjust your plans to accommodate their desires. They're the customer, after all.

The most important thing, RJ says, is to remember that your players are there for entertainment. They're there to have fun. As long as you are acting in the interest of that end goal, you're sure to find success.

Inclusivity

When you open up your (virtual) table to the rest of the world, your players will come from all walks of life: different backgrounds, beliefs, abilities, and more. Your table should be a safe space no matter what. There's no room for "gatekeeping" as a professional DM.

Honoring inclusivity can take many forms. For RJ, part of it means making sure that his game worlds are full of diverse and colorful characters, a world as diverse as our own.

This can take effort! I recently spoke to another Dungeon Master who was learning American sign language to work in a deaf NPC. If you're presenting a strong, attractive woman, try researching alternative beauty standards rather than plugging in the typical "blonde-haired, blue-eyed warrior goddess," as RJ puts it.

The nice thing about Dungeons and Dragons is that the pre-written worlds are pretty diverse already. If you haven't yet, dive into the deep lore of the different races, geography, and history, and consider how you might work more diversity into your games.

Time Management

Tabletop RPGs are known for a lot of things, but being fast isn't one of them. As anyone who has played knows, it can take a minimum of 2 hours to hold a good session, with it being common to go for as long as 4 or 6 hours at a time.

Obviously, as a professional running multiple games, time management will be key. Especially if, like RJ, you have other obligations like a day job, your family, etc.

Keep an accurate schedule and check-in with yourself regularly to make sure you can handle what you're taking on, keeping in mind that each game or campaign will also take time to prepare, adding even more time to each game clock.

RJ runs 2-3 paid games per week on average, more if you include the games he runs "just for fun," and he is feeling pretty full. Sometimes that means that you'll need to turn people away or recommend a different Game Master for them. While this is sad, and it never feels good to turn away business, this will allow you to keep your game quality high and avoid burnout.

Your Prices

Determining what your time and skills are worth is one of the toughest parts of building any business, and being a Dungeon Master is no exception.

What are people willing to pay? How do your prices compare to others? How do you put a dollar amount on your experience? All of these are questions that are sure to cross your mind as you begin this journey.

A quick scan of some popular Pro DMing platforms (more on that in a second) shows a general range of around $25-50 per hour for a whole party, with those on the higher end being the ones with many years of experience and positive reviews under their belt.

If you're selling individual seats to games, you can usually reverse-engineer an appropriate price based on what you'd like to make per hour. For example, if you're hosting a table of 5 players for a 4-hour game and want to make $25/hour, each seat should cost $20.

In RJ's case, he simplifies his life and games by sticking to an hourly rate of $50. His players can work among themselves to divvy up the total cost however they choose and then pay him the total.

None of this is set in stone, either! Consider your experience and the demands on your time. If you're doing pretty well and need to free up some time, but would like to make the same amount of money, consider raising your prices. If you're having difficulty generating demand at a high price point, you can adjust a bit lower to bring in more players.

A Platform

While RJ had plenty of people encourage him to take the leap into Pro DMing, the thing that ultimately made it possible was having a platform to promote himself and find paying players.

In RJ's case, startplaying.games fit the bill. It is a platform built for tabletop game players and Game Masters to find each other and engage in games. DM's can set up their profile, set their prices, then offer either pre-scheduled games for which players can purchase individual seats or allow players to request a game for a full party. At this time, all games offered through Start Playing are virtual, held using online tools like Roll20 or Zoom.

The nice thing about the platform is that they handle the advertising and secure payments for you, so all you have to worry about is being the best DM you can be. However, this does come for a price. Using the platform for your Pro DMing business will incur certain fees to help keep their business running and allow them to offer the services they do.

Another platform, Gyld, has a similar offering, also allowing you to reveal your location and offer local games (when it's safe to do so). According to their site, Gyld is currently in beta and accepting limited members, so it has some rough edges. However, it has the added benefit that it is free to use, and they do not take a cut of the profits from paid games.

Platforms like this aren't required, either. Some dungeon masters simply promote and schedule through social media, by word of mouth, or their own website. But, if you prefer to have the tech side covered for you, these platforms have a lot to offer.

There's plenty more, but these basics are great to get you started on your Pro DM journey.

To learn all of the juicy details, advice, and tips that RJ Cresswell has to offer, be sure to watch the full interview (attached to this post) or check out the whole thing over at my blog geekswhogetpaid.com.

Speaking of, there are more interviews and guides there on how to turn any of your geekiest hobbies into a paid career or side hustle. Come on by!