08-08-2018, 11:56 AM
I'm not able to volunteer to GM as much as I used to due to having a toddler at home and I think some of the GMs who were carrying a lot of the load for such a long time have drifted away (some are playing Starfinder more, or playing home games, or maybe just got burned out). It's also true that there's always a drop-off during the summer due to people traveling (this past weekend, for example, I know that some folks were off at GenCon, about which I'm jealous!).
Having said all that, I'm not wild about the idea of paying to play. I GM because I like it, and getting a few bucks wouldn't make me any more or less interested in GM-ing. I also worry that it could be a disincentive for some people to play, especially new players, which we really need more of.
As an alternative, I wonder if it's time for another session of GM 101? Attending this was crucial in helping me feel like I could step up and GM for the first time. I think there are probably a lot of our regular players who would like to GM, but who are intimidated by it. GM 101 really helps a lot with addressing those concerns. Unfortunately, due to aforementioned toddler, I can't offer to organize this myself.
Lastly, we will (hopefully) see an influx of new players after DragonCon, which will hopefully help rejuvenate the whole play scene. And, regardless, we are 1 year away from the launch of Pathfinder 2.0, which I strongly suspect will bring out some of the older GMs who may have run out of Pathfinder 1.0 playable options.
Them's my 2 cents.
Having said all that, I'm not wild about the idea of paying to play. I GM because I like it, and getting a few bucks wouldn't make me any more or less interested in GM-ing. I also worry that it could be a disincentive for some people to play, especially new players, which we really need more of.
As an alternative, I wonder if it's time for another session of GM 101? Attending this was crucial in helping me feel like I could step up and GM for the first time. I think there are probably a lot of our regular players who would like to GM, but who are intimidated by it. GM 101 really helps a lot with addressing those concerns. Unfortunately, due to aforementioned toddler, I can't offer to organize this myself.
Lastly, we will (hopefully) see an influx of new players after DragonCon, which will hopefully help rejuvenate the whole play scene. And, regardless, we are 1 year away from the launch of Pathfinder 2.0, which I strongly suspect will bring out some of the older GMs who may have run out of Pathfinder 1.0 playable options.
Them's my 2 cents.
An updated list of what I've played and GM-ed is at: https://www.pfstracker.net/#/players/100198/report
PFS ID: 100198
PFS ID: 100198