When you first join the site as a GM, you will see a section at the bottom left side of your Game Master Dashboard that shows your progress in moving through the "GM Onboarding" process. As you set up your account, that section will tell you what step is next.
To help get you started, we will walk you through each step, and provide links to "Helpful Articles" that will help you get up and running in no time!
Steps to Complete Your GM Onboarding Progress Bar
Step One: Set Up Your GM Profile
This step is the one that often causes the most confusion for new GMs, so make sure you read through the "Helpful Articles" linked below, and fill out every section of your profile!
Helpful Articles:
When you first set up your account, you will need to completely fill out your profile. Having a complete profile not only helps players know who you are and what types of games you provide, but also helps ensure your profile looks professional, and that the site is able to accurately show off your awesome games!
In the bottom right corner of the "GM Onboarding", click on the “Add profile” button, as shown in the image below. You will be taken to the “Edit Your GM Profile” page, where you can fill out all the information about yourself, update your “Profile Picture” and “Banner Image,” and link your socials to your account.
There are a lot of fields to fill out on this page, and all of them are very important. The most common mistake made on this page is moving on without filling out the required information. Only the "Identity Tags" and the “Social” section of this page are optional to fill out.
All other sections must be filled out in order for the “GM Onboarding” to move onto the next step. If you are still on this section of the “GM Onboarding,” and unsure why you haven't been moved to the next step, come back to this page and double check that all of your sections have been fully filled out.
Important Note: The below sections are all required fields, but are often missed when GMs are setting up their profile.
"Discord Tag"
If you do not have a Discord account, I highly recommend setting up a free account so you can join our GM exclusive Discord server. This is a great place to ask questions, receive feedback on your games, and see the latest updates about the site and upcoming events!
"Location"
This field will not be visible on your profile to players, but is used by our team to provide the best support we can for you and your players. Your location is especially helpful to us if there is ever a problem involving Time Zones or Daylight Savings Time.
For more information about how Time Zones and Daylight Savings Time work in connection to StartPlaying, read this article.
"Languages"
List your primary language, along with any languages that you feel confident in your ability to use to run games. Your languages are not currently displayed on your public profile.
Your “GM Onboarding” will move onto the next step once every section of your profile has been filled out.
Step Two: Set Up Payouts Account
The second thing you will need to set up on your account in order to run games on the site, is your “Payouts” page. Your Payouts is where any payments you receive for your games will be stored until you transfer it to your bank account.
Helpful Articles:
Once your payouts page has been fully set up, your “GM Onboarding” will be moved to the next step.
Step Three: Create a Game Template
When you click on “Create game template” on your “GM Onboarding,” you will be brought to your “Game Template” page. This is where all of the templates you make for your games will be stored. Your templates hold all the information about your game, and automatically add that information to your games when you set up an adventure using them.
Helpful Article:
Each template you create will have the status of its submission shown under “Game Status.” There are three different statuses that you may see on your templates:
Awaiting Approval: This template has been submitted for approval, but has not yet been approved.
Draft: This template has either not yet been submitted, or it was submitted but not approved. If you submit a template and see that it has been drafted, check the email you signed up for the site with, and you should have an email from us letting you know what needs to be changed before it can be approved.
Active: This template has been submitted and approved! You can begin scheduling this template as an adventure.
Once one of your templates has been approved and shows the “Add Adventure” button, your “GM Onboarding” will move to the next step.
Step Four: Create an Adventure and Schedule a Session
After you have an active template on your account, you will be able to create an adventure and schedule sessions of it to find players from your "Manage Adventures" page!
Helpful Article:
In order to move to the next step of the “GM Onboarding,” you will need to make sure that you have an active session of your game scheduled.
Step Five: Join Our GM-Only Discord Server
This is the easiest step in the “GM Onboarding,” as all it requires is that you join the GM Discord Server! Clicking on the “Join Discord server” button will take you there automatically. If you have any trouble joining the server, feel free to email “support@startplayinggames.com” and we will be happy to assist you in joining.
Helpful Article:
Once you have joined the Discord, you will be moved to the final step of the “GM Onboarding”!
Step Six: Finish Onboarding by Getting 5 Reviews
The final step in the “GM Onboarding” is to receive 5 reviews on your account. Many GMs get confused here thinking that they wont be able to run games until they can get reviews, and they cant get reviews until they have ran games, but neither of those are actually the case! As soon as you have your GM account set up, there is a link at the top of your “Edit Your GM Profile” page, that you can send out to players you have played with in the past. They will need to make an account on the site, but they will be able to leave you a review with that link, even if they haven’t played in a game with you on the site!
On the flip side of that, if you don't have any reviews yet, you can still create adventures, schedule them, and be booked by players! The only area that you will not be listed yet, is in the GM Search, but your games will still appear on the “Find Games Page.”
Helpful Article:
Once you have at least 5 reviews on your profile, you are good to go! Your profile will now show in the GM Search (it may take up to an hour for your profile to show up in search after your 5th review), and you have successfully completed the “GM Onboarding”!