Being a dungeon master is work. Being a professional dungeon master is a lot of work. The reward for me has been the joy on my players faces, a Saturday of entertainment. Even though you most likely signed up to be the game master of your group, it can feel like you are getting the short end of the stick. Maybe you just think that your time needs to be compensated. I can guarantee you aren’t alone in your feelings. I have personally wrestled with the ideas of asking my friends for money to play. To be a Professional dungeon master amongst your friends can lose that intimacy of the group and put pressure on you to perform but if you want to monetize your passion here is how.
Many Pro Dungeon Masters go through the online route such as Blue Collar DM. (Click the button below to visit his site) Virtual Tabletop experience has grown with the necessity of it during the pandemic. Building a website will give you credibility as a Pro Dungeon Master as someone who has good presentation and works hard. It will allow you to reach people looking for a Pro dungeon Master. There are so many people I have run into who are looking for a dm. Remember there are way more Dungeon Masters than players. Many people will check out your website looking for someone to DM. My strategy if I were to go pro would be to give groups a free session and build relationships with the players I connect with.
A Professional Dungeon Master Spends Money to Make Money
Your monetary investment will be the great divider between your experience and the others. Investing in painted miniatures, Maps, props and organizational tools will make your experience more enjoyable. Fortune favors those who take risks. There are many people wanting to be professional dungeon masters but not a lot who will spend to make their table the best it can be. You can even reinvest the money you make being a pro DM into scaling what is essentially your business. The more unique and creative your experience is the better.
Foster Relationships with your clients.
Developing your relationships with the people who pay for your service is very important. Unless you are doing oneshots DND is very long term and you won’t want to undergo too much work. My best advice would be to keep the clients you have. Finding a group with good chemistry is the hardest part of DND. If you can break that barrier try your best to keep your very precious asset. One thing that would go a long way is to come up with ways to make each character special. People love having their character feel special. You could even have players that you know in your group work to help make the session run smoothly and help out the paying players. Make sure to police the system well, you don’t want people who are creepy or derailing ruining your experience.
Use our Website
It may be a shameless plug but our website is a growing catalogue of resources for you to use and save time. If you are reading a blog like this I believe you have the correct personality for this type of work. You care enough to read and intake information which is a very good show of effort. Keep working at being a dm and you can definitely make money off of what you love.