What career options are available for a role playing game addict?

Question

What, if any, careers are there out there that are built around playing role-playing games for a living? That is, jobs which go beyond supporting the addiction ;)

Answer 1

Actually playing RPGS:

1. work for Mongoose or one of the other 2nd tier design houses that requires their designers play in-house. Expect long hours, relatively low pay, short deadlines, and much fan-hate. Plus mandatory after hours games.
2. Find a rich person with money to spare, become their GM, and convince them to support their GM. Perhaps even marry them (if legal in your locality).
3. Win the lotto (yeah, right) or otherwise become stupidly wealthy so you don't have to work.

Putting your love of them to financial benefit:

1. Develop good writing skills, and write subsidiary novels. Not great, but it's made Weiss and Hickman comfortably wealthy...
2. Develop good writing skills and use your gaming to inspire your novels. It worked for Cole and Bunch (Sten), and GRR Martin (Wild Cards). (Jerry Pournelle and Tom Clancy were wargamers... worked for them, too.)
3. Develop good writing skills, and write a successful game. You'll be broke, but them's the breaks. If you get it all just right, tho', you might make a comfortable living for a short while. (Marc Miller, Loren Wiseman, E. Gary Gygax, Greg Porter, Greg Stafford, Mike Pondsmith, etc.)
4. Write a successful gaming blog and sell adverts.
5. Develop a successful gaming forum, and sell adverts. (Aldie of Boardgame Geek)
6. Get a degree in something, and teach a community ed course on Role Playing Games.

Answer 2

Actually playing RPGs, none. Even being a game designer/writer is a side gig for most people and not a predominant source of income. There are a small number of jobs where you might get a full time salary in the RPG industry or related.

Most likely: clerk at a game store (assuming you don't have a lot of bills) Similarly, working for a distributor. Working for one of the ~10 game companies with permanent staff - you generally need to be an established name who's worked as a freelancer for years to make that work as a designer/writer, or know someone as a warehouse/computer/other support person.

None of those entail actually playing the games, except as a still somewhat on the side thing as a designer/writer working for WotC or Paizo or something. But while someone might pay you for selling or writing, no one actually pays you for playing. Playtesting is 100% volunteer. One guy in New York IIRC tried to make a go of it as a for-pay gamemaster but it never worked.

Answer 3

You've asked above whether there's an industry in writing roleplaying games for business. There is, of a sort. Here are some options around that.

1. Train as an actor. Work as a roleplayer, playing roles for training and recruitment events. (This is one of the things I do for a living).
2. Train as an occupational psychologist. Write the roleplays listed above.
3. Work for a company that writes games for businesses, such as Six to Startbusiness simulations.
4. Start your own company. Write business simulations. Persuade businesses to buy them. (Try Googling "business simulations" and you'll find some examples of this.)

Now, realistically, none of those are straightforward career paths. I wouldn't advise pursuing any of them exclusively. Furthermore, none of them are much like roleplaying games.

However, there is money in business simulations, so make of that what you will.

Answer 4

I've heard of professional GMs who charge money to run games. I've never heard of professional GMs making a sustainable profit. It would probably be a decent part time or supplemental job though.