Take D&D Bookings Without StartPlaying's Fees

A Dungeon Master can take D&D bookings without StartPlaying's fees by listing sessions as a priced Creator Service on a FanBell page, collecting payment there, and sending join details through the private order thread. StartPlaying charges a 15% platform fee per booking; FanBell charges 12% only when a fan pays, plus separate Stripe card processing. StartPlaying's Terms of Service require players who found you there to keep paying there.

FanBell is free to start with no monthly fee and applies a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays (FanBell pricing).

StartPlaying's own help center states it plainly: "We take a 15% platform fee from each booking. That means 85% of each booking is paid out to you" (StartPlaying Help Center, "How Does Payment Work For Running Games On StartPlaying?", updated July 23, 2026). On a $40 seat, that is $6.00 deducted before payout. Two facts decide whether a direct booking link is worth building, and neither is the headline percentage: StartPlaying's Terms of Service prohibit taking payment off-platform from players who discovered you on StartPlaying, and the all-in gap between the two routes is far narrower than "15% versus 12%" suggests once card processing is counted.

What does StartPlaying actually take from a booking?

StartPlaying deducts a 15% platform fee from every booking before payout, leaving the Game Master 85% of the session price. That 15% is all-in: StartPlaying lists payment processing, dispute resolution, scheduling admin, its review system, and player-facing advertising as what the fee covers. An optional instant payout costs an extra 2%.

StartPlaying's fee article describes the mechanic without ambiguity: "You set your own session price. When a player books and pays, StartPlaying automatically deducts 15% before the remainder is paid out to you" (StartPlaying Help Center, "What Does the 15% Fee Cover?", April 22, 2026). The same article names payment processing through Stripe, dispute resolution, fraud prevention, session reminders, calendar tooling, and Facebook/Instagram catalog ads as things the 15% funds (StartPlaying Help Center). Card processing is therefore not billed to a StartPlaying GM on top of the 15%. A closer line-by-line accounting of what that percentage buys, seat by seat, is worked through in how much StartPlaying actually takes in fees.

Three timing figures matter as much as the percentage. StartPlaying charges players automatically 1 hour after the session start time, not at booking. StartPlaying states that standard payouts take 2–3 business days for most U.S. GMs, 7–11 business days for GMs outside the U.S., and 5–7 business days for a first-ever payout (StartPlaying Help Center). GMs who want the money sooner can pay for it: "Instant Payouts are available for eligible U.S. GMs and settle within 30 minutes (a 2% fee applies)" (StartPlaying Help Center).

"We take a 15% platform fee from each booking. That means 85% of each booking is paid out to you." — StartPlaying Help Center, "How Does Payment Work For Running Games On StartPlaying?", updated July 23, 2026

Do StartPlaying's Terms of Service allow off-platform bookings?

No — not for players who came from StartPlaying. StartPlaying's Terms of Service prohibit requesting or accepting payment outside the platform from anyone who discovered you there, and prohibit splitting a listed table so that some players pay elsewhere. Games you never list on StartPlaying, sold to an audience you built on your own channels, sit outside that rule.

The relevant clause is explicit. Under "Circumventing Payments & Fees," StartPlaying prohibits "Requesting, accepting, or making payments outside of the StartPlaying Platform to avoid fees or for any other reason," and extends that to "taking payment via Paypal, Venmo, Cashapp, or any other service from users who came from StartPlaying website, app, Discord server, and/or engage with a game, messaged, or discovered you on StartPlaying" (StartPlaying Help Center, Terms of Service). The same section bans split tables: "every player in a session listed on StartPlaying must be registered and paying through StartPlaying".

"Taking payment outside of StartPlaying for games listed on the platform is a violation of our Terms of Service." — StartPlaying Help Center, "What Does the 15% Fee Cover?", April 22, 2026

Read against the rule, four common situations sort cleanly:

• A player who found your listing in StartPlaying search. That player came from StartPlaying, so their bookings — including repeat bookings and a follow-on campaign — belong on StartPlaying under the circumvention clause.
• A table you listed on StartPlaying. Every seat in that session must be booked and paid through StartPlaying; you cannot fill three seats there and two through a direct link.
• A game you never listed on StartPlaying, filled from your own Discord, stream, or socials. Nothing in the circumvention clause covers a table that never touched the platform, and a separate StartPlaying rule prohibits "Using StartPlaying tools for tables that are not arranged on the StartPlaying platform" — which presumes such tables exist.
• A player you met on StartPlaying whom you now want to move. Treat that as prohibited: the clause is written around where the user came from, not where the current conversation happens.

StartPlaying enforces its own rules, and the Terms state that "Violating any of these platform rules will result in a strike or ban and removal from the platform". Terms change; re-read the current version, and ask StartPlaying support before moving a specific player rather than guessing.

Why move bookings off StartPlaying's marketplace at all?

Move bookings off the marketplace only for tables you never listed there. A direct link removes the marketplace listing requirement, collects payment upfront instead of an hour after the session starts, and keeps the player relationship on a channel you own. A direct link buys control and payment timing, not a meaningful per-seat discount.

StartPlaying is candid that the fee buys reach: the platform says the 15% "helps fund the paid advertising (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) and SEO that drives those players to the platform and to your listings". Paying 15% is a fair trade for a seat filled by marketplace search. Paying 15% is a different trade for a one-shot announced only to your own Discord server and never listed anywhere, because the marketplace's advertising and search are not what filled that table.

The recommended workflow is a clean split rather than a migration: keep a marketplace listing for discovery-driven tables and price them there, and run separate, never-listed tables through your own link for the audience you already reach. Keeping the two pools of players strictly separate is what keeps the arrangement inside StartPlaying's circumvention clause.

How much does a direct link actually save on fees?

Almost nothing, at typical seat prices. On a $40 seat StartPlaying's 15% costs $6.00 all-in, while FanBell's 12% plus typical US Stripe online-card pricing of 2.9% + $0.30 costs $6.26. The two routes cost the same at a $300 booking; above $300, the direct link is cheaper.

Stripe publishes 2.9% + $0.30 per successful transaction for domestic cards as its standard US online-card rate, with +1.5% for international cards and +1% when currency conversion is required (Stripe Pricing). FanBell's platform fee sits on top of that, because FanBell's pricing page states that creator earnings equal the fan payment minus the platform fee minus the processing fee. StartPlaying's 15%, by contrast, already includes processing.

Fee percentages are from StartPlaying Help Center, Stripe Pricing and FanBell pricing; the dollar rows are arithmetic on those published rates for a US-issued card, and international cards, currency conversion, and refunds change the result.

The honest summary of that table: below a $300 booking, a direct link is a control decision rather than a discount. What changes materially is timing and ownership — money lands before the table sits down rather than an hour after it starts, and the player is a contact of yours rather than of a marketplace.

How do I set up a paid D&D session without a marketplace listing?

Set up a paid D&D session on FanBell by creating a Creator Service with a price, a seat description, and a turnaround time, then sharing the link. Creator Services support a creator-set price plus a delivery window capped at 120 hours in the product (how FanBell works). The fan pays; the order opens a private thread.

List the session — one-shot, campaign seat, or drop-in slot — with its price, seat count, and a turnaround that covers the window before the game happens. A player pays through the link, and the fan-facing order includes the private thread where you send the actual session logistics. The same Creator Service format works when the ask runs the other way — a fan paying you to run the specific game they want, covered in taking paid requests to play a fan's game — or when the paid product is coaching a player through their own campaign rather than running a table for them, as in taking game coaching clients from one link.

FanBell does not host, schedule, or run the live table itself, and FanBell's own product page states there are "no live video calls or appointments to schedule". The Discord voice channel, the VTT (Roll20, Foundry, or similar), or the Zoom link is still yours to run; FanBell's job is collecting payment before the table sits down and giving you a private thread to send the join details in.

What does a player see when booking a paid table this way?

A player pays on your FanBell page and then receives the session details — invite link, time, prep notes — inside the order's private thread rather than in a marketplace confirmation email. Creator Services support full media in both directions, so that thread carries files, links, and voice notes alongside text.

A character sheet template, a session-zero questionnaire, and a Discord invite can all travel through the same thread the payment created. Creator Services differ from Paid Private Questions on FanBell, which are text-only from the fan with a text-or-voice reply and expose only price and reply time to the creator. A D&D booking needs the fuller Creator Services format because the order is carrying logistics, not a single question.

How do refunds, cancellations, no-shows, and chargebacks work off-platform?

You write the cancellation policy and you handle the money. FanBell's published policy states that ordinary refunds are decided and initiated by the creator and returned through Stripe to the original payment method, with FanBell reversing its platform fee. Card disputes go to the creator through Stripe, not to a marketplace support desk.

StartPlaying sets the baseline a direct link has to replace. StartPlaying's refund policy states that "All StartPlaying refunds are issued as site credit," and that Game Masters can issue refunds up to 14 days after a charge (StartPlaying Help Center, Refund Policy, June 3, 2026). StartPlaying also requires a refund when a player gives more than 24 hours' notice before a session and is charged anyway, and it does not require one when a player simply fails to show up without communicating. On the player side, StartPlaying's Terms of Service say that "If a Player disputes any charges, they must notify StartPlaying within forty-eight (48) hours of the charge".

On a direct FanBell booking, the equivalent rules are yours to publish, and four mechanics are fixed by the platform and its processor:

• Refunds. FanBell's policy states that "Ordinary refunds are decided and initiated by the creator," that an approved full refund returns through Stripe to the original payment method, that FanBell reverses its platform fee, and that "Stripe's original processing fee may remain the creator's responsibility". Cash back to the player's card, not site credit.
• Partial refunds. FanBell proportionally reverses its platform fee and retains a fee only on the portion of the sale that remains retained — the mechanism for refunding two missed sessions of a four-session block.
• Refund timing. FanBell's policy states that "Refund timing is controlled by Stripe, the customer's bank, and the payment method," so a refund can take several business days to appear.
• Chargebacks. Stripe charges a dispute received fee of $15.00 for each dispute, plus a $15.00 dispute countered fee that is returned only on disputes you win. FanBell's policy puts the response on the creator: "The creator is responsible for responding to the dispute and submitting relevant evidence," while FanBell may provide transaction records, order instructions, delivery records, messages, and timestamps as evidence.

Because no marketplace policy backstops a direct booking, write the missing rules into the listing itself before you take a single payment: a notice window for cancellations (24 hours is StartPlaying's own line), what a no-show forfeits, how a rescheduled session is credited, and how many sessions a campaign block covers. A dated, pre-purchase policy is also the evidence that wins a dispute, since the order thread timestamps what was promised and what was delivered.

Taxes are separate from every fee above and are the creator's own responsibility. For US creators, the IRS says a third-party settlement organization is not required to file Form 1099-K "unless the gross amount of reportable payment transactions to a payee exceeds $20,000 and the number of transactions exceeds 200" (IRS, "IRS issues FAQs on Form 1099-K threshold under the One Big Beautiful Bill"); receiving no form does not make the income unreportable, and creators outside the US follow their own country's rules. The mechanics are unpacked in the 1099-K threshold for creators, explained.

Do I lose anything by not using a booking marketplace?

Yes — four things. A direct link gives up the marketplace's built-in scheduling calendar and session reminders, its pool of players actively searching for open tables, its verified review system, and its handling of card disputes. StartPlaying funds that player pool with paid advertising and SEO.

StartPlaying names all four as part of what the 15% covers: session reminders and calendar tooling, paid advertising on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, verified reviews that "unlock visibility in GM Search," and dispute resolution when a player challenges a charge. A GM who fills most seats through marketplace search should keep that listing; a direct link does not manufacture new players, it converts an audience that already exists. A GM who also streams the table can apply the same fee-avoidance logic to viewer support — see collecting donations without Streamlabs' cut — since that income sits outside StartPlaying's booking fee entirely.

Running both is compatible with StartPlaying's rules only when the two audiences never mix: marketplace-originated players book and pay on StartPlaying, and only tables that were never listed there run on a direct link. That separation, not the fee difference, is the thing to get right first.

How do payments get collected from a whole table?

Each player pays their own seat price through the FanBell page before the session, instead of a GM chasing individual Venmo requests afterward. Five seats means five orders, five private threads, and five separate 12% platform fees plus Stripe processing per order — no group invoice or shared cart.

The dedicated breakdown of table-wide payment timing, no-show handling, and cancellation framing is covered on collect payment from your D&D table upfront. For the underlying commitment-format decision — whether to price a one-shot differently from an ongoing campaign seat — see charging for a D&D campaign vs. one-shot.

What should the listing say instead of a marketplace description?

A direct-link listing has to carry what a marketplace profile normally would: system, session length, seat price, one-shot versus ongoing campaign, what is included, and the refund and cancellation terms. No marketplace rating or review history backs the listing, so specificity about format, tone, content boundaries, and money rules is what earns the first booking.

Illustrative only — actual pricing and policy depend on system, session length, group size, your own following, and local consumer-protection law.

Frequently asked questions

Is FanBell a booking calendar for D&D games like StartPlaying?

No. FanBell has no built-in scheduling calendar, and FanBell's product page states there are "no live video calls or appointments to schedule"; the turnaround-time field on a Creator Service is a delivery deadline for sending session details, not a booking slot. The session itself still runs on Discord, a VTT, or whatever tool the table already uses.

How much does StartPlaying charge compared to FanBell, all-in?

StartPlaying takes a 15% platform fee per booking with card processing included, plus an optional 2% fee for eligible U.S. GMs who want an instant 30-minute payout (StartPlaying Help Center). FanBell charges 12% only when a fan pays, with no monthly fee, and Stripe's typical US online-card rate of 2.9% + $0.30 applies separately. On a $40 seat that is $6.00 versus $6.26.

Can I use both StartPlaying and a direct FanBell link?

Yes, with a hard boundary. StartPlaying's Terms of Service prohibit taking payment outside the platform from users who "came from StartPlaying website, app, Discord server, and/or engage with a game, messaged, or discovered you on StartPlaying," and require that every player in a session listed on StartPlaying be registered and paying through StartPlaying. Keep the marketplace listing for marketplace players and use a direct link only for tables you never listed there.

What happens if a player disputes a payment on a direct booking?

The creator responds, not a marketplace. Stripe charges a $15.00 dispute received fee for each dispute, and a further $15.00 dispute countered fee that is refunded only if the dispute is won. FanBell's policy states that "The creator is responsible for responding to the dispute and submitting relevant evidence," with FanBell able to supply order instructions, delivery records, messages, and timestamps.

Do I need a marketplace rating to run paid games off-platform?

No rating system is required to sell a Creator Service on FanBell. A clear listing — system, format, price, what is included, and the cancellation terms — carries the trust a marketplace's review history would otherwise provide. StartPlaying's own documentation notes that verified reviews are what "unlock visibility in GM Search" on its platform, which is a discovery mechanism a direct link does not need.

What if a player needs to send a character sheet or notes before the session?

Creator Services support full media in both directions, so a player can attach files as part of their order and the GM can reply with files, links, text, or a voice note through the same private thread.

Create your free FanBell page and start collecting D&D bookings on a link you control, with a 12% fee only when a fan actually pays.