It takes a lot of work to be a dungeon master. As the person in charge of a tabletop role-playing game — even informally among friends — you’re responsible for buying all the rulebooks, drawing up the maps, performing all the ancillary characters, and making sure your friends show up on time for each session. It’s a labor of love; a successful Dungeons & Dragons campaign often feels like a second job. But if all those chores seem like too much of a lift, any enterprising explorers can give Timm Woods a call.
Woods is one of the few people on Earth who can call themselves a professional dungeon master. He fell in love with the hobby at 12 and began advertising himself as a reliable, for-hire DM while working at a comic book shop and going to grad school for game-based education in New York. By the time he finished his Ph.D. in 2017, a slew of RPG groups had recruited Woods, thanks to his expertise in worldbuilding, tone, and improvisation — all crucial facets of any DM worth their salt. In an average week, Woods will attend anywhere between seven and 12 campaigns, with players of all different ages and experience levels. It doesn’t matter if you’re a 10-year-old in an after-school program or a father rediscovering their bygone juvenile joys; Woods will happily guide you through. We talked about how the pandemic affected his business, and how he handles Dungeons & Dragons groups when it’s clear that at least one party member wants to be doing anything else.
So how did you become a professional game master?
I didn’t envision the possibility of doing this the whole time. But when I was in grad school, I focused my Ph.D. around the idea that gaming, learning, and school overlap. At the time, I was working at a comic book shop, and I started handing out business cards advertising myself as a professional game master. I did a lot of research on the possibility of bringing games into the classroom. When I was finishing my degree, I started getting more opportunities to run role-playing games at after-school programs. It kept trickling in as word of mouth got around, and before I knew it, I had three or four schools booked a week, plus games with adults in the evenings. It was funny how often a game with some kids would lead to a game with their parents. Before I knew it, I had a full schedule.
Traditionally, a Dungeons & Dragons campaign comes together when one friend group takes charge and buys all the books. That person usually winds up being the DM. What are some of the advantages of seeking out a professional to be a dungeon master? I ended up running games through a combination of Zoom and an app called Roll20. There were a lot of international groups — in different states and countries. Once people were forced to play online, the restrictions of availability or location fell away. Going forward, 50 percent of my games will stay online. It was an exciting time.
You must be logged in to post a comment.