To this end, the RPGA has three major activities: It has a monthly newsletter, the Polyhedron, that is sent out to all RPGA members; it supports local gaming clubs; and it provides tournaments for conventions.
The RPGA depends on the support of its members to survive. As a fan organization, the RPGA cannot afford to buy the articles, modules, and other writings it needs. The RPGA must count on the members caring enough to voluntairly contribute to the organization.
The current RPGA director is Scott Douglas. He has been the director since February 1995. Current tournament director is Robert Weise. Robert has been tournament director since summer 1995.
There are also 20+ regional directors scattered around the country. These members are serving in an unpaid capacity as ambassadors of goodwill. Their job is to promote the RPGA and role-playing in general in their region, by supporting local conventions, gaming groups, and other events. A current list of regional directors can be retrieved from the web site.
[EUROPEAN address]
[AUSTRALIAN address]
[BRAZILIAN address]
Joining the RPGA costs an annual membership fee (currently $20 in the US), and gets you the monthly newletter, POLYHEDRON, which usually runs about 30 pages or so.
Polyhedron is usually a 32 page two-color magazine.
You can't please all of the people all of the time. The guidelines are merely a way of attempting to stay on the safe middle ground, where the maximum number of people can enjoy the organization and what it offers.
The full text of the RPGA ethics guidelines can be found on the web page.
For each module that a member plays in, she will accumulate points in her Player ranking. For each module that she judges, she will accumulate Judge ranking. As more events are played, the member's rankings will increase. As in AD&D, the number of experience needed to reach each level is roughly twice that of the previous level.
A full document explaining the player and GM rankings in detail can be obtained on the web site.
If you need to contact them by snail-mail (to request tournaments,for example) their address is
All currently available prize certificates will expire at the end of August '96. Currently the RPGA is in the process of 'revamping' the prize certificates, trying to make it possible for any future certificates issued to be redeemable at local retailers.
To play in any Living Jungle or Living Death event, you must be an RPGA member.
To play a character more than once in a Living City event, you must be an RPGA member.
To play in any rated event (Master's, Grandmaster's, or Paragon), you must be an RPGA member, and have a player ranking of at least the indicated level. (For an explanation of the RPGA player and GM rankings, see section 1.3 of this FAQ.)
You do not have to be a member to play in an event indicated as a Benefit event.
With this $10 fee, you receive 1 copy of the module (you are required to make your own photocopies for use at the convention), and prize support for the expected number of tables.
Requests for tournaments should be submitted to HQ four months before the date of the convention. If you are submitting original tournaments for RPGA sanction, these must be submitted six months before the date of your convention in order to allow for editing and approval. You must still pay the $10 fee for an event you are submitting.
The official paperwork needed to request events is available at the web site.
Living City events are played at conventions, and are only a single example of the tournaments provided by the RPGA.
The Living City events are a recent addition to the RPGA convention palette. Traditionally, RPGA convention modules contained a set of pregenerated characters for use in the module. The Living City modules change this, allowing the player to create his or her own character for use in Living City modules. After each module, experience and treasure are awarded, and the character can eventually advance in levels and power, as they would in a normal campaign.
This proved to be an immensely popular idea. I believe that over 500 tables worth of players played in Living City events at GenCon this past summer. Over 4000 players have participated in Living City events at conventions across the world.
Over 150 different Living City events have been run, and some 50 of these events can still be played.
As in other "living" game systems, the player creates her own character for use in each event, and the character earns experience and other rewards by progressing through the events.
Threads of Legend is a "living campaign" like Living City, but is not adjucated by the RPGA. The RPGA does provide sanctioning for specific events, but all actual campaign decisions are handled by Drew Caldwell, who has taken it upon himself to create and run this setting.
Living Death events are open only to RPGA members.
Unlike the Living City, Living Jungle events are open only to RPGA members. This is part of the RPGA's "Membership has privileges" plan.
Virtual Seattle events are open to anyone. You do not need to be an RPGA member to play.
Threads of Legend events are open to anyone. You do not need to be an RPGA member to play.