"Paying for D&D" Topic

I know of two stores that now charge players for a D&D session. When did DnDaaS (Dungeons and Dragons as a Service) become a thing?

And stupid me did it for free.

My local store charges $5 USD for a 3-4 hour session. However, half of the fee is given back to the player as store credit, and half to the DM as store credit. It helps the store stay in business and is really a minor fee for a table rental and for matching players and DMs together.

One of the local stores charges a table fee for gaming another does not. Our group of historical gamers plays at the one that still provides space at no charge.

That said having run a store for 18 years I fully understand the costs involved and while I never charged a fee for tables it was considered from time to time as we had to replace furniture from abuse by folks who simply didn't care to treat the property of others with respect.

I don't have a problem with a store charging a small fee for "renting" a table. I seen one store that had a concession area (away from the game tables). I also don't see a problem with a store renting out terrain and figures for a small fee. Figure rental might be an especially good way to get new players involved. I guess that the question is what constitutes a "small fee." I'd rather pay a small fee than have the store close. (And FWIW the store in Northern Virginia with the best wargame selection closed in January— not my favorite store, but better than nothing, which is what there is now.)

Do they charge for all gaming sessions, or just D&D?

A small fee from a store doesn't bother me. It helps keep the lights on and still gives me a place to game, especially since most st carry very little product that I am interested in.

Waaaaaay back (1967) the original Armory hobby shop
opened in Raleigh NC in an 8x12 room in the basement
of a real estate and insurance broker building.

Nothing to do with the Armory Distributor which
later came on the scene in Baltimore.

There were other rooms in the basement, one of which
was converted to a sandtable room. The cost to rent
that room was defrayed by collecting one dollar per
player for the 4 week-ends each month a game was run.

With the passing of time the entire basement complex
became available. The hobby shop had changed hands
(the original owner had passed) and the new owner
agreed to lease out the rest of the basement to our
local gaming group if it would organize itself to
sollect enough money each month to cover the lease,
minus a portion for the hobby shop's square footage.

And that is how TSS came about. !970, if memory
serves me reliably.

Do they charge for all gaming sessions, or just D&D?

Just D&D, "rent a DM" style.

I wonder if I can rent out my 40K armies. 🤔

A pity, but a lot of small hobby shops ARE under duress and need to be able to cover their rent or they will close their doors, so for them it does make sense.

Customers should patronize and support them in order to help them remain open.

"There ain't no free lunch, no free lunch today
I'll buy you a steak, but I'll take it out of your pay
Take care of the farm – it'll be mine someday
There ain't no free lunch, no free lunch today"

Now, let me get this straight: the store-owner has to build or rent a store, pay taxes, rent and utilities, stay there himself or pay an employee. Is he actually providing a DM?

In return for this, the players MIGHT buy snacks--if they forget to bring them, and MIGHT buy hobby merchandise--if it weren't cheaper over the 'Net.

Yeah, I'd charge too. More if I were providing troops and terrain. If you think about it, that table is the only thing a local game shop provides you can't buy cheaper somewhere else.

Hey Ed,

TSS started in The Armoury? That Makes perfect sense. I saw those tables a few times when visiting The Armoury. I may have seen you playing there:)
Robbin

When we used to wargame at my house we collected a few bucks to pay for the cost of expendables. Geo Hex terrain would get mangled, trees broken, vehicles damaged, gotta pay to keep the lights on, we had a lot of lights, and stuff like that. It was a donation, not required, we knew some guys had limited income. So I see no reason a store could not do the same thing and I like the idea about using the money as store credit. People rent handball courts, and batters cages, and golf driving ranges.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek

Check out Roll20. You can "pay to play" D&D and pretty much any RPG online with other real players and a DM. Having been part of a D&D campaign for 6+ years, and running a Shadowrun campaign for 2+ years, it takes a ton of work to run a game effectively. I'm all for people being compensated for their time.

That's it, I'll put my armies in the store. What, $10 USD for the day?

If things get broken I can always implement a $50 USD security deposit.

Time to start monetizing my efforts.

Aren't there "professional DMs" (not sure how you become that) that are part of the Adventure League system or an offshoot of it? I also wonder if it's part of the "streaming culture"? My kid pays for channels but I refuse when I have 4+ that are free. I don't mind a table fee but I would like to see it waived for GMs.

If you're thinking $5 USD is a bit much check this place out…..
dndinacastle.com

Popped up on my feed last night, some serious money involved. Put it this way my 2 week Christmas cruise in the Caribbean, inc flights from the UK, was half the price.