As the call has gone out repeatedly for GMs to help out at Origins and the slow trickle of people volunteering it seems that the need for people to GM is a lot more clear. Without people willing to GM the game doesn't grow or expand.

Perhaps this should be broken into 2 separate questions:

1. What are appropriate incentives / rewards for people who GM at cons?
2. What are appropriate incentives / rewards for people who GM for groups in general?

Some related questions

1. What are the reasons you GM or don't GM?
2. If you don't GM, what would need to be true to convince you to do so at least occasionally and at least share the responsibility?

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul

As for me getting the current rewards system for cons is fine, and as long as I get the same stuff the players do on the cert that's good enough for me.

As for why I don't volunteer to judge at cons is that fact that I'm usually the judge at home, plus I'm still not comfortable with my ability to judge at the big cons. Of course I usually step up anyways when they put out the call. Like this year I volunteered to judge both the special and the BI even though I've not judged a BI under the new system. I really hate to see players turned away who want to play Arcanis.

At home, I'm usually the one who's GMing for the group. The rewards for GMing at home are fine.

Because I GM all the time at home is why I do not GM at cons. Cons are my (nearly) only opportunity to play, rather than GM.

I can see the appeal of wanting to play at Cons instead of GMing, especially if you GM a lot between cons. Hell, Amanda and I are spending around $3,000 to go to Origins this year which is quite a chunk of money (even Canadian money!) for me GMing 9 slots this year.

To flip this around, for people who GM all the time at home, what would it take for those who do not GM all the time at home to step up to GM?

Now that I understand that we get a volunteer cert each time we GM, then I think rewards as sufficient.

The think that stops me at big cons is simply distance. 3 girls, wife and living in Australia makes it nigh on impossible to get to Origins and Gen-con. Throw in that my wife is a teacher and the cons are not in the school holidays just makes it worst.

But these are not issues with campaign that stop me GMing the cons

As for local cons, I am the only GM as we really only have one table. We have expanded slowly and getting to the stage where we might need two tables, which will be good.

I know that people in Perth and Canberra have both stated that they are going to try to get groups together to do 5th ed Arcanis when available, so that widens the pool a little, especially for duel system BIs.

I think there will always be an issue with people wanting to play at the big two cons as for many of the hardcore GMs, this is their chance to play and really people who work there butt off locally to run and support Arcanis, it is probably important to have them get some play time.

That being said, the origins I did make it too (many many years ago) I actually GMed the weekend. I think I got to play a couple of Living Greyhawk games, but that was it.

So if I every do make it over you all may have to put up with my Australian accent and bucket loads of Fredo Frogs, Caromello Koala's and Tim Tams (the universal Australian Currency)

GMing at home is one animal, and I think that with the current system of always getting an AR when you judge that you can put on any character, the system works pretty well. Personally, I would like to see some kind of point system also put into effect, and after a lot of points, some form of appreciation be shown, because I know many situations where one person seems to do all the judging. Sure, when they do play their character is comparable to the those that play all the time because they have their judge certs, but it seems like after you've judged like 100 modules you should have something. Maybe be able to burn extra judge certs as an additional fate point in a module or something, with a limit of one per module or something - so either put the judge cert on a character, or be able to burn it (or five of them, or ten) as a fate point, not both.

GMing at conventions is a much bigger deal, because there is usually a significant cost outlay to attending a convention, even when a judge judges the crazy amounts required for the free badges and housing. Also, for modules, I think there should be a bit more of a perk if you don't get to slot zero it, but if you do it pretty much goes down like home play, though I could see some reward being willing to lay out cash to come to judge. Specials are even more of a different animal. You are never going to get to play it, and it is a major campaign changing event (sometimes), and it is one of the few time you can do something unique.

When you play a module at home and you fight a watch-a-mahthing, after you subdue it, you can say capture it, feed it, and try to do x,y,z to it, but none of that really matters because its not covered by the module and you just can't really do it. At the specific campaign special events, when campaign staff is present and running it, it is when you can really get your crazy on. If you do it right (or wrong) the campaign will react, and behead you if you wear a robe of icky eyes into an important shindig, or tell you what happens if you choose to cannibalize your opponent, or do any other number of crazy things you might do. If they think it is appropriate, they can whip up a cert and make whatever crazy thing you did have real impact on your character. I live for those moments! (I've kicked myself every time I've played since last Origins, that after freeing some creatures in the lavender way, I didn't leave the module and run off with them, and call over Henry at the time to witness it. I just didn't think fast enough at the table.) And you don't really get those opportunities if you judge the special events.

So I think the fact that one is loosing the chance to do something unique should be rewarded by something interesting, though I'll admit I don't know what. I thought I heard that the table of record at the ultimate end of year 1, the unique table that created the val'Sosi was a table of judges. You can't get better than that! I certainly wouldn't expect that level of awesomeness, often, because it would lead to too much of a disparity between judges and players. But something seems appropriate.

I like judging as much as I like playing. Yes while playing you are playing YOUR character and while judging you are running NPCs. But while you are a player you have to share the spotlight. The lights always shine on the GM. And reading the module you have a clearer/deeper understanding of what's really happening.

So at Cons I tend to judge a lot.

But the last three years at Origins I have pledged to judge one (or more) modules and been released because there aren't tables being run. THAT sucks. You can cruise the dealer room or find a pick up "something" somewhere ... but often there is a cost of opportunity that means I gave up the chance to do Call of Cthulhu or NSDMG.