One night, after smoking a joint, [Toronto-based dungeon master John Dempsey] resolved to quit those day jobs and focus on the wild idea of playing Dungeons & Dragons full-time. He'd already spent hours building elaborate, three-dimensional dungeon sets; what if it wasn't purely for leisure? "For a month and a half, I heard nothing, and I thought to myself, 'what a stupid idea'. Some of my family and friends thought it was a stupid idea, too," he says. "But then I got a call, and another, and another, and before I knew it, this became a full time gig. I couldn't believe it! I still have a hard time believing sometimes that I make a living being a Dungeon Master. I currently have 14 groups, and it keeps growing every month."
After not playing for almost 20 years, I had the pleasure of joining some co-workers for a one-shot campaign with first-level characters, and it was a total blast.