i wish i could, but imgur for some weird reason is one of the blocked sites my work! https://d-mac.deviantart.com/art/Kobold-Gumshoe-181830496 @doppelgreener your dino pic reminded me this kobold!
the dino in question is Doctor Dinosaur of Atomic Robo, who is insane and/or a genius and claims to come from the distant past, although the main character theorises they're just a lab experiment gone wrong because Doctor Dinosaur is not even anatomically accurate, he doesn't even have feathers
@RafaelSantos occasionally? I'd think that's mostly for conventions, playtesting, and such though, where someone might hire them outright to run a table
@KorvinStarmast ah. well, I suggested the Saputi to give you something on a less heavy note (a success story, if you will), but I did hear about the mess in Iran as well.
@RafaelSantos I've seen a fair bit of discussion of it in a Facebook group I'm in. They've been in UK, USA. I'm guessing there's probably some in most countries.
It's fairly common to see games (especially D&D) choose someone as the bullet-swallower - one player becomes the emulation engine on which the game runs. The bait is the ability to take charge of the game, and be the rule arbitrator, referee and otherwise master of the game. The price is a signif...
After the release of D&D 5e and reading through all the advice on the exchange me and a couple of friends decided to start running weekly sessions, I paid for most of the initial materials (map, books, dice) so we have the basic materials to start.
Now the extra costs are starting to arise, min...
@RafaelSantos Personally, I wouldn't pay a DM. But I've always played with friends. If someone has the books for a system, but someone else wants to run it, they just borrow the books. So the cost and effort are spread voluntarily.
sharing the cost is one thing, but when you straight up go to charging to run the games (around $15 for player) I think it creates an unhealthy unbalance in "power", since the "customers" will want specific things and rewards since he is paying for it!
I don't think it's something that can have a universal "good" or "bad" attached to it. Ultimately a group's success hinges on the health of its social dynamic and there are some scenarios where monetary compensation for a GM can make sense and ease social tensions rather than cause them.
@KorvinStarmast -- oh btw: on a different note: on WB.SE, did you see the reply to your comment re: conscripts in the IJA in that alt-history question that had the IJA trying to march down Canada?
In my case, one group would bring me snacks, another would be a "BYO drinks" situation (which I would occasionally chip in with an extra 6 pack for the GM), and another GM actually prefers Tonic water!
I guess I feel very strongly that there is no wrong way to play an RPG provided you and your group are safe and happy doing it. There can be not as intended and not in accordance with theory and not traditional and all kinds of other criticisms that all boil down to not the way I want to play. But if I'm not in the group I've got no right to say it's a wrong way to play.
