GM boons for non-convention play


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The Exchange 5/5

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You know something that would be cute? A boon given to someone at a Convention that has to be passed on to someone who WASN'T at the Con. Kind of like the T-shirts that say, "Someone went to XXX, and all I got was this shirt!" Given out to someone who judges at a Con, and when he get's home he can give it to whoever he wants (Best Player, GF, New Player, Random Guy, First Guy I Killed after the Con, etc...). So it's sort of a reward for the Judge (he get's to give out a BOON) and advertises the Con too. ("Heck, maybe I should go to Black Spot Con next year, and judge too!").

Sovereign Court 4/5

Nuku wrote:

Why does it seem that a large number of defenders of the way it is have the stance of 'I am getting the rewards, but I would do it anyway. Even if you don't get the rewards, you should be happy to be doing it.'

It seems easy to point a scolding finger at the have nots from your position of having and scold them for desiring to also have.

I can see how my earlier post could come across as that... very easily, for which I apologize. Can't speak for other posters. But please bear in mind that I was one of those "have not"s until a month ago, and my stance hasn't changed since I then. It's why I DM'ed D&D 4e Encounters for 5 seasons, which is near a hundred games for no reward other than the camaraderie, appreciation, and sure I got the scenarios to keep afterwards, but that's mainly because I marked them up so bad, hahaha.

nosig wrote:
You know something that would be cute? A boon given to someone at a Convention that has to be passed on to someone who WASN'T at the Con. Kind of like the T-shirts that say, "Someone went to XXX, and all I got was this shirt!" Given out to someone who judges at a Con, and when he get's home he can give it to whoever he wants (Best Player, GF, New Player, Random Guy, First Guy I Killed after the Con, etc...). So it's sort of a reward for the Judge (he get's to give out a BOON) and advertises the Con too. ("Heck, maybe I should go to Black Spot Con next year, and judge too!").

Now THAT'S a good idea, hahaha.

Sovereign Court 5/5 RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

I do like that. Made me smile. :-)

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 ** Venture-Lieutenant, West Virginia—Charleston

For what it's worth, I don't feel like I personally need more incentive to GM. I feel as if more incentive would cause more GMs to step forward to help out. Many local lodges are facing crisises in which they simply don't have enough GMs to fill demand for tables. Scenario credit is very, very nice, and I greatly appreciate it - but it's also something that you can still get by playing. I think that something which is only accessible by GMs would be more attractive to potential GMs. Yes, I think that someone who's only in it for the prizes would be a bad GM - but I also think that after a few games, these new GMs would realize how much fun it is to run tables.

Sovereign Court 4/5

Netopalis wrote:
Yes, I think that someone who's only in it for the prizes would be a bad GM - but I also think that after a few games, these new GMs would realize how much fun it is to run tables.

Come for the rewards, stay for the fun, that type of thing?

Sovereign Court 5/5 Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds

Netopalis wrote:
For what it's worth, I don't feel like I personally need more incentive to GM. I feel as if more incentive would cause more GMs to step forward to help out. Many local lodges are facing crisises in which they simply don't have enough GMs to fill demand for tables.

This is the exact same argument that was used (over and over) to get Paizo to give character credit to GMs (and later to make that credit equal to what you could get while playing). Now that is not enough, either, it seems.

Like I said, at what point does the reward earned become enough to end this argument? It seems, to me, the answer is "Never."

Having said that, I would never turn down more goodies for GMs/coordinators/stores. The more there is, the more easily I do my job (whether that job is coordinating, GMing, or getting coordinators and GMs for my store). But, at some point, after all this is instituted, I'm expecting a thread to pop up that starts out with, "Hey, I play PFS all the time, and will never be able to GM. How come I can't have the goodies my GM gets access to?" And the cycle will start anew...

Grand Lodge 3/5

Netopalis wrote:
For what it's worth, I don't feel like I personally need more incentive to GM. I feel as if more incentive would cause more GMs to step forward to help out. Many local lodges are facing crisises in which they simply don't have enough GMs to fill demand for tables. Scenario credit is very, very nice, and I greatly appreciate it - but it's also something that you can still get by playing. I think that something which is only accessible by GMs would be more attractive to potential GMs. Yes, I think that someone who's only in it for the prizes would be a bad GM - but I also think that after a few games, these new GMs would realize how much fun it is to run tables.

Well the idea wasn't meant as an incentive to GM. The short term quick reward, full credit is that. This is supposed to be a reward for those run week in and week out over longer periods of time. A thank you for supporting the campaign. At least that is what I was talking about.

Shadow Lodge

Kintrik wrote:
Well the idea wasn't meant as an incentive to GM. The short term quick reward, full credit is that. This is supposed to be a reward for those run week in and week out over longer periods of time. A thank you for supporting the campaign. At least that is what I was talking about.

Which is exactly what I aim my suggestions at.

The full-credit chronicle puts GMs at parity with players who don't GM, and it's something I very much appreciate, coming from D&D4e Living Forgotten Realms, which gives its DMs precisely jack squat for running. For GMs who prefer running to the point where they simply DON'T play, the chronicle doesn't matter, but for GMs who DO play, even occasionally, it ensures that they can keep up, level-wise, with the players that they GM for, and can play those higher level scenarios with them.

But GMs who run games week in and week out are the backbone of the campaign, and they deserve the occasional "thank-you" from the campaign for their time. A minor boon every four months or so worth of weekly games? No where NEAR enough to unbalance things versus non-GMs, but enough to make GMs feel appreciated, and incentivize infrequent GMs to run more games, building the campaign's player base out further.

TL;DNR version: what he said.

Sovereign Court 5/5 Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds

SCPRedMage wrote:

For GMs who prefer running to the point where they simply DON'T play, the chronicle doesn't matter...

...GMs who run games week in and week out are the backbone of the campaign, and they deserve the occasional "thank-you" from the campaign for their time. A minor boon every four months or so worth of weekly games? No where NEAR enough to unbalance things versus non-GMs, but enough to make GMs feel appreciated, and incentivize infrequent GMs to run more games, building the campaign's player base out further.

That first line, and then the later explanation, put a little bit more perspective on this for me. Thank you for that.

I am now fully behind the idea of GM-only credits of some sort, and understand the desire to have them. I'll retract all my recent comments about more, More, MORE! Of course, it'll still end up being something that get's turned around by players: "Why can't I get what he gets," but at least this now makes sense for me.

Also, due to the nature of this request, it needs to not be chronicles with boons on them that can be applied to a character, as this GM Who Never Plays would still not be interested. So, the occasional PDF of a product? Map-packs or flip-mats would be cool. PDFs of paper minis products? A shiny new GM screen, perhaps?

Shadow Lodge

Drogon wrote:
Of course, it'll still end up being something that get's turned around by players: "Why can't I get what he gets," but at least this now makes sense for me.

Answer: "You can, you just have to run as many games as he has."

Having a structured reward system should, hopefully, eliminate those kinds of arguments, because it'll spell out exactly HOW they can get the same benefits (and encourage more people to run games, meaning more slots for more players).

Drogon wrote:
Also, due to the nature of this request, it needs to not be chronicles with boons on them that can be applied to a character, as this GM Who Never Plays would still not be interested. So, the occasional PDF of a product? Map-packs or flip-mats would be cool. PDFs of paper minis products? A shiny new GM screen, perhaps?

All those make for AWESOME perks for running, but they also run the risk of said GM already having them, not to mention cutting into Paizo's income. GMs who don't play EVER simply don't exist, in my experience. But for those that ARE out there, a boon, whether or not they actually USE it, is still a gesture of thanks.

I know at the store I play at, we've got at least two individuals who run games more often than I've seen them play; one of them I don't think I've ever actually seen PLAY, although I know he's talked about at least one PFS character of his. These are EXACTLY the kind of person who should receive that extra little "thank-you" from the campaign, and I know they'd appreciate it.

Dark Archive 3/5

Michael Brock wrote:
What do we do about areas with no VC or VL? How would those players receive boons if they have no VO to award them one?

Shop owners or starred GM's.

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