Turn a One-Off Request Into a Recurring Paid Tabletop Game

Turn a one-off tabletop request into a recurring paid game by repeating the same priced Custom Work listing on a fixed cadence — weekly, biweekly, or monthly — instead of switching to subscription billing. The group pays before each new session through the same Brillay link, and you confirm logistics directly with them afterward. Custom Work lets you offer clearly scoped commissions and services: you set the price, the scope and the delivery time, and followers submit a brief and pay before you start.

No monthly fee, you only pay a small platform fee when you get paid. 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% platform fee on tips and goals. Card processing is separate. pricing

A one-shot request usually starts small: someone from a creator-community thread, a Discord server, or a stream chat asks if you'll run a single session for them and a few friends. If that group asks again — and then asks a third time — you have a recurring group without a recurring product. The fix isn't a subscription tier; it's repeating the same listing on a schedule the table can plan around — the same underlying move as turning a single fanfic request into a standing paid offer. One link that carries every offer, with nothing to moderate and no community to keep warm.

What does "recurring" actually mean on Brillay?

"Recurring" on Brillay means running the same priced Custom Work again on a cadence you choose, with a separate purchase each time. Every session stays a separate purchase that the follower confirms and pays for before it happens (how it works).

That distinction changes what you're building. A subscription platform bills a saved payment method every month until the follower cancels. The campaign can recur without turning its players into platform members: on Brillay, each returning player opens the same Custom Work listing and pays by card as a guest. Each custom request purchase covers one defined deliverable sent once; use a separate tool to book a player seat or schedule a live game.

Card processing costs are separate from Brillay's platform fee and are billed directly by Stripe. Stripe's published US pricing for domestic online card charges is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction, billed on the same per-payment basis (Stripe, Pricing & Fees). A table that skips a month simply doesn't pay that month — there's no subscription to pause, downgrade, or cancel on either side.

How do you know a one-off request is worth making recurring?

A one-off tabletop request is worth making recurring when the same group asks for a second session without being prompted, when the roster has stabilized around players who reliably show up, and when you'd keep running the game even if nobody asked again. Enthusiastic praise after one session is not the same signal.

The demand indicators in this section are creator-practice guidance from the Brillay team, not measured research. Watch for repeat behavior rather than a single warm message: a group that DMs again two or three weeks after their one-shot, players who start referencing "next time" mid-session, or a table that asks about continuing an ongoing story rather than a standalone plot. As a rule of thumb, treat a second unprompted ask as the stronger indicator, because a thank-you costs the sender nothing while a second request costs them money.

How is this different from Discord's own recurring subscriptions?

Discord's Server Shop sells auto-renewing monthly subscriptions inside a server you own, charging the buyer's card on file every cycle until they cancel. Repeating a Brillay custom request means followers make a separate purchase before each session. The two mechanisms differ on billing, revenue split, payout minimums, and who is eligible to sell at all.

"At the end of a Trial, if they have not canceled, they will begin paying for recurring monthly subscriptions, charged to their default payment method on file." — Discord Creator Support, Server Shop for Server Owners and Admins

Discord operates a 90/10 split on Server Shop, meaning the server owner receives 90% of the money earned from each monthly subscription or one-time purchase and Discord keeps 10%.

Selling through Discord's Server Shop requires the seller to be 18 years or older and based within the United States, with a US bank account and a US identification document supplied to Stripe. A Discord server must also earn at least $100 before its first Server Shop payout and $25 for each payout after that.

If your table already lives in a Discord server you own, you're US-based, and you want true auto-billing, Server Shop is a real option to weigh. If you'd rather each session stay a deliberate, one-at-a-time purchase — so a quiet month costs the group nothing and requires no cancellation — a repeated Brillay custom request is the simpler mechanism. A Discord subscription leaves you managing member access and a shared space between sessions; a Brillay Custom Work order ends when its defined deliverable is sent.

How do you set up a repeatable listing for a recurring campaign?

Do not list a “monthly campaign seat” as a custom request. Use Custom Work only for a defined item you can deliver once, such as written campaign feedback, a character review, or a custom game asset. Keep one listing live year-round rather than deleting and recreating it every cycle.

Message your group directly a few days before the next planned session with the link, and state plainly what one purchase covers — one defined deliverable for that cycle, not an ongoing pass — so nobody assumes a single payment locks in a permanent place at the table. You set a delivery time of up to 5 days for the defined work you will send; you manage session scheduling and game logistics separately. Because a Brillay page can hold several custom request listings at once, each with its own price and delivery time, the campaign listing can stay live in a pinned Discord message or bio link with no republishing step between sessions.

Patreon's fee is not a single universal number, so compare it against the plan a page is actually on:

"The standard 10% pricing plan + relevant taxes applies to any creator who publishes their Patreon page after August 4, 2025." — Patreon Help Center, Creator fees overview

Patreon's own help documentation puts the platform fee at between 5% and 12% of successfully processed sales plus applicable taxes, depending on the creator's platform plan. On the marketplace side, StartPlaying adds a separate service fee at checkout on top of the price the GM sets, which the platform states covers its credit card processing costs (StartPlaying Help Center, How Much Does it Cost to Play on StartPlaying?). A follower pays once for one question, one commission or one video, and nothing is owed afterwards — so the people who were never going to subscribe can still pay you, beside the Patreon you already run.

What cadence should you charge a recurring table on?

Weekly, biweekly, and monthly cadences all work for a paid tabletop campaign; the right one depends on how much prep each session costs you and how reliably the group can commit, not on any platform requirement. On Brillay, cadence is simply how often you repeat the same listing.

The cadence comparisons in this section are creator-practice guidance rather than survey findings. A weekly cadence suits a lighter one-shot format with minimal prep between sessions. Biweekly gives you more room for a longer campaign session with real continuity to track. Monthly fits a slower, story-heavy campaign or a group whose schedules only align occasionally. Whichever cadence you pick, naming it in the listing description — for example, one written session recap sent every other Saturday — sets the expectation before anyone pays and reduces the "wait, is this every week?" messages afterward.

How do you handle a missed or dropped session?

Handle missed live sessions through the cancellation policy of your booking tool; use Custom Work for the defined work you deliver once. Brillay creators can decline and refund a request directly, with no change to how the platform fee works. Do not roll a custom request payment into a later live session; use a booking tool whose cancellation and rescheduling rules match how you run games. Deciding the policy before it comes up, and stating it in the listing, avoids negotiating it fresh with an upset player.

Should you add a Tip or Goals alongside a recurring campaign?

Tips and Goals can sit beside a separately booked campaign: supporters can leave a one-time Tip or contribute toward a named Goal, with nothing added to the price of a player seat. Tips require nothing in return, and a Goal shows a progress bar toward one named funding target.

Tips give players a way to say thanks after a session that ran long or landed a great moment. A goal is the better fit for something specific you're funding on the table's behalf — a rulebook, a virtual tabletop subscription, or a battle-map asset pack — because Goals collects cash toward a named goal with a visible progress bar rather than undirected support. Neither offer should replace the per-session custom request price; both sit alongside it for the group members who want to give beyond what one purchase costs.

For the full landscape of how paid Dungeon Masters get compensated across marketplaces, royalties, and direct follower support, see how do Dungeon Masters get paid. If a request also needs an actual booking mechanism for a single date rather than an ongoing cadence, how to set up a booking link for paid D&D sessions covers that narrower case. The same repeat-the-listing approach also works for turning a one-off cameo-style shoutout request into a recurring paid offer.

Frequently asked questions

Does Brillay support automatic recurring billing for a campaign?

No. A recurring campaign on Brillay means reusing and sharing the same live Custom Work listing before each new session, with the follower paying fresh each time.

How is this different from a Patreon-style membership?

A Patreon membership bills a saved payment method automatically every month until the member cancels. Patreon's help documentation puts its platform fee at between 5% and 12% of successfully processed sales plus applicable taxes depending on the plan, with the standard 10% plan applying to pages published after August 4, 2025. A repeated Brillay custom request is a fresh, deliberate purchase each cycle rather than an auto-renewing charge.

What if only some players from the original one-shot want to keep playing?

Set a player cap in the listing description and let the recurring table reflect however many players actually commit. Each custom request purchase on Brillay is one follower paying for one request, so each purchase belongs to one player rather than the whole group, and a table can shrink or grow between sessions without changing the underlying listing.

Can I run a recurring game and still take one-off requests?

Yes. A Brillay page can hold multiple custom request listings at the same time, each with its own price and delivery time, so a recurring campaign listing and a separate one-shot listing can both live on the same page. Publishing one listing does not restrict the other.

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