When you join StartPlaying as a new Game Master, you’ll see a GM Onboarding Progress Bar on the bottom-left of your GM Dashboard. This bar shows what you’ve completed and what comes next.
Below is a walkthrough of each step, what it means, and how to complete it.
Create Your GM Profile
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When you first create your account, you need to fully fill out your profile.
Having a completed profile helps players know:
Who you are
What types of games you provide
Why you are the right GM for them
To begin, click Add Profile in the GM Onboarding section.
On the Edit Your GM Profile page, you can:
Fill out your bio and GM details
Upload a Profile Picture and Banner Image
Link your social media accounts
📌 Important Note: The below sections are all required fields, but are often missed when GMs set up their profile.
Discord Username
We highly recommend having a Discord account so you can join the GM-only Discord server
It's great for asking questions, getting feedback, seeing site updates, and joining events!
Location
This is hidden from players
This helps StartPlaying Support with time zone and Daylight Savings issues.
For more information, read this article.
Languages
List any languages you can comfortably GM in!
Players can filter for languages on the Find Game Masters page
Set Up Payouts Account
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Your Payouts page is where any payments from players will be stored until you send them to your bank account.
Create a Game Template
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When you click the Create game template button you will be brought to your Listings page. This is where all of the templates are stored.
Templates include important game information. When you create Adventures, StartPlaying automatically pulls from these templates.
Each template you create will have a Status. There are 3 different statuses that you may see on your templates:
Awaiting Approval
You’ve submitted the template for review, but it hasn’t been approved yet.
Draft
Not yet submitted, or
Submitted but not approved
If moved to Draft after submission, check your email for feedback on what needs to be updated.
Active
Approved!
You can now use this Template to make Adventures.
Create an Adventure
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After you have an active template, you will be able to create an Adventure on your Listings page!
Adventures are the listings that players see on the Find Games page.
Join Our GM-Only Discord Server
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This is one of the easiest onboarding steps—just click Join Discord server in your Onboarding Progress Bar.
If you run into issues joining, email support@startplayinggames.com for help.
Get 5 Reviews
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To complete onboarding, you need 5 reviews on your GM profile. Reviews help new players understand your GM style and build trust.
You can share your Review Link (found on your Edit GM Profile page) with past players. They can review you even if they haven’t played with you on StartPlaying - as long as they make a StartPlaying account.
Types of Reviews
Verified Reviews: from players who played in paid games on StartPlaying
Unverified Reviews: from players who played with you outside StartPlaying or in free games on StartPlaying
You can create and schedule Adventures before receiving all 5 reviews. Once you have 5 reviews, your profile will also appear on the Find Game Masters Search.
Troubleshooting Access to the GM Dashboard
If you can’t access your GM Dashboard after approval, it may be caused by a browser issue.
Try the following:
Log out of your StartPlaying account
Log back in to refresh access permissions
Clear your browser cache (if needed)
Try a different browser or device