Our Purpose

Phoenix RPGs’ purpose is to grow the tabletop roleplaying community by providing empowering and educational experiences. 

We provide opportunities for interested individuals to gather and play tabletop roleplaying games. These events may occur in schools, libraries, convention halls or other public venues. In addition, we utilize social media channels and the corporation’s website to provide facts, statistics, and other related information on where to meet, how to play, and what conduct is expected. These events may include fundraising to raise operating capital and aid those new to the community.

Our History

Phoenix RPGs has an eclectic past. Its roots lie in game stores around the Phoenix Metro area. The local scene was run by volunteer DMs, usually at game stores or conventions. Traditionally schedules were dictated by an entity, usually a specific store, using gaming as a channel to bolster their presence in the community. But when a store closed, as they often do, it left people confused, until a new individual eventually restarted the cycle.  

During convention play, we met DM’s from all over the valley, even those we didn’t see elsewhere. It became an extended family, the kind you only see on Christmas or Thanksgiving. We got to know them by name, see their faces, learn their playstyles, and understand their culture. Each of them brought their own perspective to the table. This was great for a few years. We did our regular circuit and enjoyed hanging out when the circus came to town.  

One day the game store organizing a bulk of local convention gaming closed unexpectedly. It devastated us, and we feared losing contact with our gaming peers. In response, we started an online community through Discord. We hoped to keep in touch, schedule games, and share news about the hobby. It was to keep us connected. Soon after, COVID plowed through the world leaving a pandemic in its wake. 

Our Discord evolved from a forum into an online hub used to play games, the software’s original purpose. Online tabletop burgeoned and we were poised to benefit. But the couple years we endured online-only play never gave the same feeling as face-to-face.   

We didn’t see the same faces we saw every year. People formed cliques and predominantly played in the same online groups. The feeling of extended family faded. A few of us, who preferred that camaraderie, banded together using our server as the basis of a new organization. We gathered the former volunteers that organized the conventions for the game stores and formed a new entity. This entity would not be affiliated with any specific location, giving us the ability to help all locations without favoritism. We retained the former talent while allowing more choice for gamemasters.  

As a group we now have a successful convention behind us. There were challenges developing our scheduling process, but we leveraged the community to overcome them. We also discovered there are still many interested individuals looking for a place to play and that same extended family feeling.  

Phoenix RPGs hopes to be that family for the Arizona roleplaying community. We want to see people year after year. Remember their face and their name. Ask how things are going and share with them new gaming experiences. We hope everybody who visits this website and feels the same way will join the family as well.