There are moments when being a DM is difficult, wearying, and unrewarding. Our cultural memory is rife with stories of DMs who have burned out and left games to crumble, sometimes even at the cost of friendships. Those who have run games will understand the pressures and challenge that accompany the job, as well as the occasional desire to strangle or dismember a player. Er…character…I meant character…yeah…lets go with that instead….
There are rewards as well. The delight players experience when their character(s) do something truly remarkable, when a risk brings rewards, or a special moment that you’ve written into the game just for their character brings to life their vision of the world they play in, I feel like I’ve done my job well.
When someone earnestly thanks you for the game, or when the group falls into laughter, or when the room goes silent as everyone waits for the ball to drop, I, at least, feel that my efforts have not been in vain.
Today I experienced a special reward, though not quite a unique one.
I use Roll20 for all of the games that I run right now. The map interface and dynamic lighting components make it superior in most ways to a conventional game map, and almost everyone is able to just bring a laptop from home for the games that I run in person. If someone can’t make it, they can join us online over Discord.
This morning I was greeted with an email telling me that one of my players had purchased me a Roll20 content pack. A few hours later, I received another one. The total value of the packs combined was around $200 CAD.
I have various players who support my efforts in different ways, ranging from Patreon to PayPal to Roll20 assets and subscriptions. What I would like to do today is thank all of my players for the experiences that we share together in game, and the many special memories that we make together.
I would like to give a special “Thank You” to my supporting players. You know who you are. Your support is a tremendous encouragement to me.
To all of you: I hope we have many more sessions of laughs, epic fails, and memories shared.
Thank you.