Some very good info in this thread. My two cents as a paid DM: I charge $15/session but provide a free session if four sessions are paid in advance (so $60 purchases five sessions, dropping the price per session to $12.) I find this helps gauge the commitment level of players, especially when you are just getting started with a new group. If someone chooses to pay by the session (rather than paying for four sessions up front to get the discount) then they might not be in it for the long haul. This can help you as a DM with planning. Determine what the minimum number of players are that you are willing to run a session for and recruit accordingly. I will run a session with at least four players, so I generally recruit a group of five or six players. I find five is the magic number, but if one or more of the players is flaky in attendance, having a sixth player can really help to prevent session cancellations. Also keep in mind that replacing a paid slot is more difficult than filling a free slot. I strongly recommend against time-based pricing (i.e., you pay a price for however many sessions occur during a month regardless if that is five or three, etc.) This pricing model provides stability for the DM as they have a better idea of how much they will make per month, but runs the risk of leaving players feeling cheated. Over the past couple of years I have had more than a few players that joined one of my games come from one of these time-based pricing games and they can't say enough bad things about them. Avoid subscription-based payments (i.e., money is automatically taken from a player on a set day of the week/month.) This is another method that causes a lot of player complaints. If your sessions are good, players will pay. Requiring they set up an automatic payment gives the impression that you as a DM are worried that players won't find your sessions worth the price. Bring your A game to every session. You should be as prepared as needed to successfully run the session - no one likes waiting around for the DM to setup a map or look up a rule in a book. A good tip to help avoid this is at the end of each session ask the players what they plan to do next session. Get some kind of consensus from them, and then be prepared for their plans. Players willing to pay for a game usually do want all the bells and whistles (API scripts, Dynamic Lighting, Music, Handouts, Character Voices, etc.) Be upfront with your players as to what you offer and make sure to deliver whatever you are promising. Don't just accept any player that applies to your game. This gives the impression that the most important thing the player brings to the game is their money. Have a discussion with the prospective player and explain to them how you run things, what you expect from them, what they want out of the game, what they enjoy about TTRPGs, etc. This a good opportunity to weed out any prospective players that won't be a good fit for group play. Hope these tips help anyone attempting (or already in) the Paid DM game. -Adam
