If you’ve ever seen AGemOrSomething’s work on Etsy, then you’ve seen the colorful creations of Felix Van Der Sluys. This pro GM of Dungeons of Dragons 5e, Honey Heist, and Monster of the Week brings the energy of her detailed physical creations to their games. Imagine the kind of NPC you’d get from a “bubblegum wizard” miniature decked out in color-shifting paint! Felix’s players praise the “tremendous voices” and “high energy” she embodies their characters with. For this week’s highlight, we talked with Felix about where they get inspiration from and how she handles the physical challenges of the job as a chronically ill pro GM.

In this week's GM of the Week, we're highlighting GM Eric VanSingel!

Eli Elliot (he/they); Pro-GM, Podcaster, Streamer. Eli is the GM for No Peace and Death, an actual play on twitch.tv/FriendsWhoRollDice. In the TTRPG industry, they love to run make sure that their stories are collaborative. Making sure that worldbuilding is driven by their players. In this GM Spotlight we talk a little about their work, Black History Month, and diverse worlds!

Everyone only really needs three things to start as a Dungeon Master or Game Master: a decent grasp of the game’s rules, dice, and imagination. To take it to the pro level, however, you’re going to need more–particularly in the tech department. That’s not to say that a professional GM needs an epic home studio like Critical Role. Like any career, you can start small and build up as you go. 

Rob Perez, creator of RPG Mastery, is all about the NPCs. He considers interaction with NPCs to be about 2/3rds of a Dungeons & Dragons game, core to both the exploration and role play pillars of the game. His players love his NPCs to the point where they bring them along for adventurers and even get invested in entire story arcs about their favorite side characters. Rob plays along by making character sheets for recurring NPCs so they can showcase unique talents without overpowering the players. Balance and flexibility are key for a great GM, and they’re qualities Rob has in spades. 

Making a living playing Dungeons & Dragons sounds like a dream, and it often feels like one when you’ve got great support! Then tax season comes around, and suddenly the reality kicks in. There’s no W-2 to make things easy, you’re a self-employed individual now. Or would you be better off as a business? Can you write off your dice and energy drinks? Does your small corner of the living room count as a home office? We’re just as confused as you are, so we asked self-employment tax expert Liz Hanley for her sage advice. 

Streaming on Twitch is one of the most rewarding forms of content creation, especially when it comes to Dungeons & Dragons and other TTRPGs. However, it can be hard to grow your channel’s size and viewership when you’re just starting out. As a streamer for the Twitch channel TotalPartyChill, I’ve gone through my fair share of experimenting and researching to find the best ways to grow my channel. In the process, I also found that it helped more players find and use my paid DM services. Now, I want to use my experience to help you grow your Twitch as a professional Game Master.

So you want to turn your Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, or Pathfinder experience into a career. Perhaps you’ve even already run a few games for conventions or an up-and-coming livestream. But in order to make the jump to full time professional Game Master, you’ll need the right tools. We trust you’ve got the dice, books, and knowledge. We’re here to help you discover a platform that lets you find players (or lets players find you), set up an easy scheduling system, and get your money quickly.