just a bit of input since you brought these things up:
paying organizers as part of a Verein-activity does not work
ā what would work is paying for expenses
e.g. printing flyers/posters, buying community minis/battlemaps, forum costs, paying rent/fees
on a second positive note this has some āalthoughs/butsā
ā¦ I will go over the details in person on the 22nd
and for the noble goal of getting RPGVās own Verein-space: as a rough estimate: we would need x10 the number of active (thus paying) members for that to comfy pull that off, and that estimate already includes the gamers playing in the gazebo
I wholeheartedly agree that in theory that would be awesome though
thatās not me saying these things should not be tried ā¦ just me putting it in a realistic perspective
It would be great to work out the numbers like that - to understand if we want to do X, what does that mean - how many people would we need to have regularly coming, etc.
It would be great to both get ideas from everyone of what they want the future to look like and then to understand what needs to happen for us to get there.
One thing we might want to put some effort into is growing our own DMās - making it easy for people joining to get started and building a deeper bench so the same few āforever DMsā are not carrying the whole thing on their shoulders.
I donāt have a genius solution, but I think it would be a no-regret move to put some effort into it.
Firstly, as a tabletop club, we have plenty of scenery and terrrain mats at your disposal during your games. Please just return it to the places you took it before.
We also offer lockable storage solutions (eg books, miniatues etc) for a little fee.
I made a separate thread about Vereins - feel free to post there anything related to the Vereinisation of the community (gov. resources, pluses and minuses, ideas etc).
I will keep my OP updated to sink all the useful links there. This might come useful for later discussions.
Vereine are work. Way too much work to take on simply because having a Verein sounds neat. Just looking at this ā¦
ā¦ thatās an awful lot of time spent not playing games!
So far, reasons put forth for a Verein have been paying for this site and finding a place to play. I wholeheartedly support repaying Neil for his expenses (thanks, amigo!), but that doesnāt require a Verein. Just pass the hat at all games in a given week. Or make an event of it. Play Action Castle on the anniversary, ask everyone who can to throw five bucks or whatever Neilās way, raise a glass and turn it into a party. Way more fun than simply paying dues, and no bureaucratic structure required.
As for a place to play, yes, there are spaces here that only rent to Vereine. But that seems like a bridge to be crossed if a space like that turns out to be the best option for those who want it. There are plenty of places that donāt require having a Verein. A gaming group I know found a very nice place for free, all without a Verein.
No worries, you just let us know if thereās anything we can do for you Sebastian. You join when its appropriate. Moreover it seems that discussion will be going for a while and imho you have enough time to jump on board (if there would be anything to jump on board at all :D)
Writing up an idea from in person chats: āDemystifying DMāingā - a session where those who are hesitant to DM get to see behind the curtain as a session is prepped and then run.
Format would be -
Two tables of DM + 3-4 players who would like to start DMāing
Each DM takes an hour, starts from a blank sheet of paper and talks through how they set out a session, tricks of the trade, judging balance, etc.
DMās swap tables and run the adventure for the other table - so each table plays an adventure they know was cooked up in the past hour ~ target 2.5-3hrs game time
End of session, take 30 mins to talk through where things went sideways, how the DMās adapted on the fly, kept things moving, etc.
Goal is to demonstrate how fun games do not require vast amounts of work and to encourage people to give it a shot.
(Could be scaled up with more DMās/tables if lots of folk are interested)
Could be followed up with āI want to run my first gameā support where first time DMās can request a couple of experienced players to be guinea-pigs so they can give it a try in comfort.
Except weāre already asking people to pay dues at WOW/Keepersā¦
Except itās been (according to Neil) years since enough donations came in to cover website costsā¦
Even though I am an inactive member of RPG Vienna, Iāll drop by to see what itās about, how and why the needs of the RPG Vienna community have changed, what solutions have and have not worked and what steps are required to keep the loving community flourishing. I can also share my experiences with other Vereins. (also Iāll bring Coup).
So Iāve spent a bit more time to read and digest the posts in here and the other thread.
The original post maybe started off with a slightly different goal but two of the bullet points in the OP are definitely Verein related (the first one in particular!) which is probably why the discussion has become more about the Verein than anything else.
I still think the question of:
Why should RPG Vienna āVerein-ifyā? should be answered. Whether itās in this thread, in person on the 22nd or a bit of both. Once that question has been answered, it leaves space for the other things like future events etc.
Iām seeing some good arguments why a Verein is not needed but not many arguments for why it is neededā¦so far
This could easily be solved by making the fact that @Neil is paying privately for website costs more publicly known on the forum. I, for example, donāt even know how I would donate to Neil if I wanted to. Maybe this can be fixed with a link or something in every V.A.L.U.E game post? And/or DMs can mention it at the end of their games? Just by sheer curiosity, how much do you need to cover the costs Neil?
Edit: so far there havenāt been any complaints/questions about WoW keepers entry fees. Itās still much, much cheaper compared to playing in a Cafe/Restaurant and we could even store minis or other things there if needed.
I posted a PayPal link at some point and got a couple of donations that way (which Iām eternally grateful for) these days it costs me around 30 euros a month. I also set up a Patreon fairly recently but I decided to not make it public in the end. It always feels a bit dirty for me when the subject of money comes up
However, the subject of money seems to be a driving force for the Verein idea.
If people organize an event, couldnāt they just have a tip jar that goes towards the volunteers getting a kƤsesemmerl and a beer on the day?
We did that for Night of the Rolling Dice and it was a sizable amount, enough that I dont feel comfortable being responsible for it in any way @SilentButDeadly What was the actual amount?
Okay, lets move Verein stuff to the Verein thread and leave this poor thread for just general ideas xD
In my opinion you shouldnāt feel bad about setting up a Patreon and if youāre OK with it I would petition include as a regular link together with the rules in each VALUE post. 30ā¬/month is a sizeable amount for you to pay on your own but if each regular member subscribes to your Patreon itās probably 1ā¬/month/person and thatās really no big deal. And if there is more than you need, it can go towards books etc for the community
has some āalthoughs/butsā
