Role-Playing Game Professionals
This page helps provide a starting point for people interested in learning more about how to become paid professional in the role-playing game _services_ industry across recreation, entertainment, professional development, executive training, retreats, education, therapeutic and other healthcare fields of service.
The Highest Standard Available for Comprehensive Holistic Role-Playing Game Professional Training
Supported by professionals with decades of real-world experience, including some with over 45 years of directly involved hands-on role-playing game research and evidence-in-practice, we have trainees across 6 continents!
All of our programs endeavor to follow comprehensively holistic (whole systems) as well as open source principles of sharing and attribution , beginning with our founder Hawke Robinson (introduced as the "Grandfather of Therapeutic [role-playing] Gaming") since the late 1970s onward.
Furthermore our intensive, comprehensive, holistic (as in whole systems, not woo-woo meaning) approach to role-playing game professional programs continually evolve and expand across many disciplines and are directly informed by evidence-in-practice from diverse knowledge domains including (but not limited to):
community programs, education, nursing, recreation, entertainment, professional for-profit and non-profit services, music, computer sciences, legal and political, therapeutic, non-profit, neurosciences, cognitive neuropsychology, research psychology, Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Therapeutic Recreation (TR) and Recreational Therapy (RT).
More recently we have also noticed that our decades-long approaches and principles are very much in line with the 2018 Open Science by Design from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineers, and Medicine.
What is Most Notable About our Role-Playing Game Professional Training?
* The Most Comprehensively Complete RPG Professional Training Available
* A Holistic (whole systems) Approach
* Built From 45+ Years of Direct Continuously Tested and Updated Research & Evidence-in-practice Experience
* Multiple Training Options, across free through paid ranges
* Global Offerings, with trainees across 6 continents
* All 4 RPG Formats: Tabletop (TRPG), Live-Action (LRPG), Electronic (ERPG), and Hybrids (HRPG)
* 4 Primary RPG Professional Knowledge Domains: recreation, entertainment, education, & healthcare
* 20 Levels of Increasing Expertise Toward Mastery
* 12 to 26 Courses Per Level (typically 3-6 hours per course)
* Avoids Vendor Lock-in: Training covers wide range of available products, no lock-in to one product / license
* Theoretical, research, classroom, lab, community, and practical experience and supervision options
* Live In-Person and Online Course and Hands-on Experience Options **
* Self-Paced and Self-Study Online and Book Options **
* Includes business, legal, political, insurance, social, and other professional issues
* Extensive Supervisor and Peer-Reviewed Hands-on Labs **
* Hands-on Supervised Community Hours **
* Extensive peer-supported, supervisor-and-peer-reviewed sessions, documents, and training progression **
*
Frequent RPG Conference and other regular associated events available for ongoing professional development and CEUs **
* Annually updated material based on the latest research and in-the-field evidence-in-practice (freely available online)
* CEUs available for an increasing number of professionals ** (contact for latest details)
*
Working toward additional
accreditation (lengthy processes underway)
** Some limitations may apply
4 Training and Payment Options Available
1. Free training as a dedicated volunteer at the 501(c)3 non-profit RPG Research.
2. Online self-paced paid courses through the RPG.Education Learning Management System (LMS).
3. Individual paid courses through RPG Workshops.
4. Work toward full certification as a Certified Role-Playing Game Professional (CRPGP) through CRPGP.com.
Current Options Available
Admission for new trainees via the RPG Research volunteer diploma program is typically opened once or twice per year, depending on instructor availability. Admission windows are variable, watch the organization's Blog and Social Media postings for admission window openings and wait list options.
As of late 2022 and early 2023 there is currently training actively underway for existing students participating in components of training levels 1 through 17.
Admissions for new trainees is generally open once or twice per year, usually between either December to January, and/or May to June, each year.
The RPG.Education LMS self-paced course options will soon be available for enrollment year-round.
There are various books available (or soon to be available in 2023) for purchase for Level 1 trainees since 2019, with Level 2 and 3 books slated for publication in late 2023, levels 3 through 6 in 2024. Books include: Workbooks, Study Guides, Collected Works, Handbooks of Practice, and more.
Additional Possible Options In Development
RPG Training Intensive Retreats and Camps - have been intermittently available for many years, working toward more regular offerings.
RPG Academies.
Accredited university courses/credits worldwide.
4 Core Professional Market Domains
1. Recreation and Leisure, community
2. Entertainment
3. Education, personal and professional development
4. Therapeutic and other healthcare settings
All 4 of these core domains, well as many other variants and subdomains, are available through all program offerings.
Certified Role-Playing Game Professional (CRPGP) Roadmap
20 Levels of Training
The CRPGP Roadmap outlines 20 levels of training.
12 to 26 Courses Per Level x2
Due to the multivariate complexity of the RPG experience and professional considerations, it takes a real time investment to work toward expertise and professional mastery.
Each GM level requires completing the course requirements twice, first as a player, second as a GM and facilitator, for a total of 24 to 52 course sessions per level.
Each of the RPG Professional levels require between 12 to 26 courses per level, in addition to a number of other requirements for completion.
This has evolved through an iterative research and evidence-in-practice process spanning decades.
Each level builds upon prior learning, so for those aspiring toward a diploma or certification, trainees much learn sequentially through each level.
For those just wishing to fill gaps in their knowledge, it is possible to take different courses/workshops from different levels, depending on your own knowledge and experience, though higher level courses do reference lower level courses and may require those not going through the full linear training program to look up the referenced information on their own to make the most of the coverage at the higher levels.
RPG Professionals
Welcome to the Role-Playing Game Professionals introductory web page.
This page exists to help aspiring and current RPG Professionals find the resources they need to get started in a well-paying career as a professional game master in one or more disciplines.
A Role-Playing Game Professional (RPG Professional) may come from many other disciplines, interests, or professions, and wish to offer role-playing games (RPGs) in many forms, across many different roleplaying game (RPG) formats.
Our training covers all 4 RPG formats: tabletop RPG (TRPG), live-action (LRPG), electronic (ERPG), and many Hybrid variants (HRPG).
Our training avoid vendor lock-in. We typically provide between 6 to 12 different game systems/settings per level of training, providing the most flexibility for a professional to meet client needs.
RPG Professional Authorized Service Providers and Trainers
This section of this page provides a list of Role-Playing Game Professional Authorized Service Providers (RPGP-ASP) and Trainers.
This section provide a list of authorized "Certified Role-Playing Game Professional" service and training providers we recognize as authorized to provide training and related services following our professional standards.
Note that each provider might only provide a subset of services or only a portion of the training covering the full list of qualifications for earning the Certified Role-Playing Game Professional certification.
For a list of currently Certified Role-Playing Game Professionals, see www.crpgp.com/certified-professionals/directory (coming soon!).
Interested in becoming an RPGP-ASP? Contact Us!
For-profit, paid services.
Full range of professional service delivery, training programs, and certification programs.
Full range of services.
Online, mobile, and on-site services.
20+% of profits donated to non-profit RPG Research.
Non-profit, free services.
Donation and volunteer supported.
Services available online and on-site (limited on-site service delivery area). Not all services or training available. Excellent hands-on experience opportunities as volunteer trainee. This is the company where it all begins, evolves, and is continuously updated. It can be a chaotic, but very rewarding and supportive, environment. See why hundreds of volunteers across 6 continents have supported RPG Research with their spare hours for many years.
Volunteer-run. Limited services, but extensive training options. Training diploma instead of full certification (potentially transferable to full certification).
A 501(c)3 non-profit research and human services organization studying the effects of all role-playing game formats. If you do not have the budget for our full training program, and you are willing to "give back to the community" as a volunteer trainee, this is an excellent option.
Training Options
Other Service Options
For-profit, paid services.
Only training and testing program options.
A la carte and bundl options.
Includes self-study options, no other services delivered.
Provides all services online.
For-profit, paid services.
A la carte services and bundles.
Only training and testing program options.
Includes live in-person and online workshops.
Other Third-Party Resources You May Want to Consider (Listing is not Endorsement)
While we take great pride in providing the most rigorous and holistic training for role-playing game professionals available, for some people, other options might be a better fit. Be sure to check out our a la carte and bundle offerings to purchase single training sessions or small bundles, for those not working toward certification.
Other options are available from other companies and individuals, and we're not afraid to list them here to help serve the greater community. :-)
The resources listed below are not currently part of the RPG Professional Providers network, and/or have not completed our professional training or service provider application requirements. The are not Role-Playing Game Professional Authorized Service Providers.
This listing is not an endorsement of their services, merely provided as information as a service to the greater community.
However, as far as we know they are reputable service providers in their own areas of expertise.
Please do perform proper research and due diligence before engaging any service provider (including our own).
If you have any concerns, or would like consideration to add you or your organization to this list, please Contact Us.