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Paid...DMing? (beehaw.org)

submitted 5 days ago by its_me_xiphos@beehaw.org to c/chat@beehaw.org

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I've been enjoying TTRPGs for some time. A means to meet people. Have some fun. Escape the drudgery of life and get creative. Perhaps I've lived under a rock, or a boulder, but I've come across an entire ecosystem of Professional DMs selling table time. Literal pay to play in a creative world. Where, even with the cash grab of wizards of the coast or the negation of imagination in place of 3D extravagence, we now monetize play, too. Perhaps play isn't the right word. Something that combines camaraderie, enjoyment, a third space, imagination, and kindred spirits. Whatever that is, its monetization of the experience by a for profit dungeon master feels wrong in some way I can't quite place.

Why must everything devolve into this? What do we loose when we monetize creativity, community, meeting people to such a degree?

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[–] jay2@beehaw.org 2 points 5 days ago

Most DM's are bad. I am a bad DM. It is not a task fit for everyone. When you've had a really good DM, it's hard to go back. As I think about a few of the worst DM's i've ever had, I'd pay money to have anyone else DM it instead.

Glad the option exists.