How much will you pay for a sesion of D&D with Rich as the Dungeon Master?

[Chaman]

I mean, we all love his storytelling in here
Because, you know, he is a pro
just curious

he should make a contest and have that as the price or something
yeah!

[Lupy]

Wow. I really can't say, it would depend on a lot of stuff.

[[TS] Shadow]

OVER 9000 DOLLARS. Just kidding, I don't play D&D. But I'd learn how to have Rich be DM!

[Occasional Sage]

Really?

I'd host the game if necessary and cook for the group (I'm very good at it), but that's about it. Paying for an RPG session just strikes me as... I dunno, but cash up front is right out for me. Contributing extra time, and spending money to help people enjoy the game, is very different to me.

[bobspldbckwrds]

hmmm...

i really dont think that puting a price on dm'ing is a good idea that leads to all kinds of unpleasent people who have nothing better to spend their money on than to bother a good dm.

[Ladorak]

Lol, can't say I've really considered it till now...

Yeah, I'd love to have Rich as a DM, plus I'd love to get an inside view of what he really thinks of some of the topics on the forums, get a peek up V's robe metaphysically speaking.

As for paying... Well, I already have a DM, and I don't have to pay him

[Mr. Pin]

I would not ever pay for a DM ever. It is an incredibly stupid idea for all sorts of reasons.

waitaminnit... RICH BURLEW??!!

I bid $10,000

[The Blackbird]

I would not ever pay for a DM ever. It is an incredibly stupid idea for all sorts of reasons.

waitaminnit... RICH BURLEW??!!

I bid $10,000

What he said

[sum1won]

I honestly think that a number of the gamers on these forums would be unpleasently surprised if Rich were to DM their game- he has a very different take on the rules than they do.

[Optimystik]

Shadow;5820919']OVER 9000 DOLLARS.

Beat me to it!

Isn't there an OotS mod for NWN2?

[Xesirin]

Well, let's be fair for a second. Rich is a GREAT storyteller. But I wouldn't pay anybody more than $20US to host. Besides that, he's good at coming up with plot, but he DOES have the advantage of both characters that act as he chooses, and several days to plot about a minute of action. Talents don't always transfer well across a time differential, something I learned the hard way when DMing for my brothers.

[JT Jag]

Free cake! DISCLAIMER: Cake may or may not be a lie.

[Flickerdart]

Exactly C/n, where C is the cost of a new server and n is the total number of other players. Presumably, they would be paying the same amount.

[littlebottom]

rich would be worth a lot, but no offence, i wouldnt pay him, as if i thought he was the sort of person who had to be paid to GM for me or anyone, then i would lose respect for his greatness, if your truely that great you do it out of enjoyment.... although... if i had the money, and he was doing it for a charity or something...

£10,000

(and £=more than $ :smallbiggrin:)

[Roland St. Jude]

What if people you had reason to trust told you it'd be worthwhile? :smallamused:

[Optimystik]

What if people you had reason to trust told you it'd be worthwhile? :smallamused:

Lucky, lucky Roland. :smalltongue:

[FoE]

MY FIRST-BORN SON.

No, wait, I already gave him up in a bargain to the Robot Devil. Umm, would first-born daughter be OK?

[Warren Dew]

Well, let's be fair for a second. Rich is a GREAT storyteller. But I wouldn't pay anybody more than $20US to host. Besides that, he's good at coming up with plot, but he DOES have the advantage of ...

Not to mention that being a great storyteller is great for writing a story, but not necessarily so great for running a good game. Some people like stories in their games, and others actively dislike it.

[Shadic]

One session? I wouldn't.

A full campaign would be something different, but there's only so much you can do in 3-5 hours.

[TheSummoner]

He'd have to teach me to play, but I'd chip in on that C/n bid!

[EyethatBinds]

I'd rather just run game for him for free. Then kill his character at the end, just to be a jerk.

[Deepblue706]

Five [error: unit of measure not found].

[Myou]

Wow, I wouldn't pay anything. I'm sure Rich is a great DM, but paying someone to play with you is just silly.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Huh. I wonder if Rich is interested in Child's Play (http://www.childsplaycharity.org/).

Considering all the D&D podcasts Penny Arcade has been doing, I bet they'd be up for this as part of their charity auction. Then we can see the real price he commands.

Oh, and help children out too :smallsmile:

[Ancalagon]

Nothing. I'd rather give him 24.99$ for the next OotS comic book. ;)

[cheesecake]

why would you pay someone to DM a group? My god, D&D is free to play, besides the book cost up front. I don't care how good of a story teller someone is. My old D&D group had some awesome adventures back in the day.

[ericgrau]

As much as I could afford without breaking my bank, which is probably less than what it costs him to make the trip. Yeah, it doesn't make much sense to pay him to DM. Besides that, it'd probably feel awkward for both the players and him.

Maybe "what would you do to get him to DM for you without giving any durable gifts?" would be better. Like travel (perhaps yours and not his), accommodations and dinner.

[Gorgondantess]

Really?

I'd host the game if necessary and cook for the group (I'm very good at it), but that's about it. Paying for an RPG session just strikes me as... I dunno, but cash up front is right out for me. Contributing extra time, and spending money to help people enjoy the game, is very different to me.

Took the words right out of my mouth.
It just wouldn't be the same, if your DM is someone who is doing it for the money. Dming is something you do from the heart, right down to the cackling with glee as your players are all slaughtered without mercy.
However, if I weren't a starving stuent right now, and I got an email from Rich saying "hey, I'd really like to DM with you, but I'm out of money at the moment so I'll need you to pay for the plane trip, and we'll also need these 15sourcebooks. I also really like crab."
And if that didn't feel like he was trying to mooch off of me, I'd buy the sourcebooks (even though any good DM doesn't need them, and I would kindly inform him of that), pay for the tickets, then order in some high-quality crab to be cooked for a snack during the game. And then I'd lock him in my basement until the campaign is done.:smallwink:

[mistformsquirrl]

Really?

I'd host the game if necessary and cook for the group (I'm very good at it), but that's about it. Paying for an RPG session just strikes me as... I dunno, but cash up front is right out for me. Contributing extra time, and spending money to help people enjoy the game, is very different to me.

Agreed.

Its too much of a 'friends and fun' hobby for something like that I think; even if the GM is truly fantastic.

(None of this is to say I wouldn't be absolutely awed or incredibly welcoming of having Rich DM - I mean honestly; that'd be damn cool!)

[Gnomish Wanderer]

I'd pay up to $100, but most of the game would be spent trying to weasel spoilers out of him about future oots.

[Gilthans]

I'D PAY exp(π*i) DIZZYING HEIGHTS!

[bluedolphin359]

Not as much as I would pay for comic 634 to come out already.

[Thanatos 51-50]

A session? Nothing.

A campagin? Probably about C/n + P + (BL), where P = the price of the plane ticket, B = Room & Board and L = Days of leave I'd have to take.

Which makes the wole thing way out of my price range. I'm just a poor man.

[Johnny Blade]

The usual pay for DMing is not having to buy your own pizza, so, I dunno, a pizza with extra cheese maybe?

[Ronan]

I would not pay, but I'd be deeply honoured to play something that I really haven't for a while(You don't find so much people that want to RP anymore)

[CrimsonAngel]

About 50-100 dollars. :smallbiggrin:

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Hmmm... How much does it cost to play in a game at a Convention? Something like Dragoncon, Gencon ir San Diego's Comiccon?

I'd be willing to pay x2 to x4 or better if we played at someone's house, where we wouldn't be as distracted by the noise.

Otherwise, I'd be willing to enter a raffle where the proceeds went to a charity I could support for a chance to play.

Maybe it's because I'm so "Old School" I remember the anti-D&D urban legends about players so addicted to their game they paid for their DM's rent so they could pay longer... Silliness to be sure, but some people believed it as much as they believed that some one killed themselves because "Black Leaf died! (http://rpgcentric.com/its-my-fault-black-leaf-died.html) :smallamused:

[Amarsir]

I don't know if everyone knows (or if it matters), but this "Celebrity DMing" is a thing.

If you have only played home games, or not at all, then the whole idea might seem strange. But people who go to conventions should relate more easily. At cons it's common to sign up for a limited number of seats, take a pre-set character (or make them quickly within given boundaries), and do a short multi-stage campaign. Normally they are on the easier side too so no one dies and the whole thing completes for a good complete experience, but that's not a given.

Where the "how much would you pay" part comes in is that sometimes a well-known person who seems like they'd be a good DM runs a high profile game. Traditionally the money goes to charity, though I suppose there's no reason they couldn't do it for profit.

For example, the lead designer for City of Heroes DM'd a 6-seat game at their con last October. I believe it raised a few thousand for the charity "Scare for a Cure", a cancer charity that does it's fundraising around Halloween. I don't recall exactly what the seats went for but everyone who played reported being very happy with the results.

Now how much Rich would garner if he were to do it, I don't know. But I bet he could build a really good campaign, with a few surprises and the good guys winning in the end. It has got to be one of the better experiences you could have.

[Starscream]

I wouldn't do it for my own enjoyment, paying to play D&D would just be too alien.

If it were a charity auction or something though, I'd gladly place a bid.

Let's up the ante a bit: Not only is Rich the DM but your fellow players are Vin Diesel, Stephen Colbert, and Mike Myers (players in real life).

If nothing else, imagine the surreality of it all!

[SteveDJ]

To those that say absolutely no way they'd pay for someone to DM -- have you ever bought a computer RPG game? Yes, I know not the same, but it is rather similar - paying 50 bucks or so for someone else (the computer in this case) to DM a fairly-railroaded campaign. :smallsmile:

[Shraik]

My friends and I were going to play a card gaem called Stupiduel with him but he had to leave the convention early that day, so he couldn't.

[cheesecake]

To those that say absolutely no way they'd pay for someone to DM -- have you ever bought a computer RPG game? Yes, I know not the same, but it is rather similar - paying 50 bucks or so for someone else (the computer in this case) to DM a fairly-railroaded campaign. :smallsmile:

Its not the same. I don't care if he writes OOTs or its some actual famous writer, I wouldn't "Pay" someone to DM a game.

[Dogmantra]

I wouldn't pay Rich to DM because I'd probably end up hugging him and fawning over him too much to actually play.

Mind you, I'd do that with any DM who'll run a game for me...

[pendell]

What if people you had reason to trust told you it'd be worthwhile? :smallamused:

Do you game with Rich, Roland? Could you tell us more?

As for the rates ... unfortunately, I can't afford to pay him. So I just buy his books. But as it turns out, labor rates are part of what I do for a living, and for a senior expert of his caliber, I think $120/hour would not be an inappropriate rate. So for a 3-hour gaming session, that would come to $360. Make it an even $400, once you've paid for the pizza and lovely parting gift. If you have 4 players, have each contribute $100.

ETA: Oops! Forgot travel expenses. I live in the Washington DC area and Rich Burlew lives in New Jersey. Counting up a 3-day hotel stay, a rental car, and a round-trip air ticket, that adds about another $500 to the price, bringing us up to approx. $1000.

Respectfully,

Brian P.