DnD For the Kids

Wizards of the Coast does not determine your fun. This is a sentiment that I've heard Mike Shea (aka Slyflourish ) share multiple times. I wanted to start today's post with it because it informs much of what I will be saying today.  Where is this coming from? I recently read an article entitled " Spelljammed ", by Graeme Barber  (which is a very good read, by the way) on the recommendation of Sam, the Educational DM . In the article, Graeme lays out the main problems with Spelljammer from a game design and thematic perspective. The main issues presented were: The supplement lacked sound mechanics, with an example of the lack of rules for things like ship-to-ship combat. The setting had serious tonal inconsistencies: some aspects being campy while others were heavy & deadly serious. The "facts" of the setting had a serious lack of impact on / coherency in the other settings. The lore was inconsistent or contradictory. I'm not here to argue any of thes...

I wanted to follow up on my recent post about homebrew hacks with some practical and free resources that you can apply today to create your own Gygaxian / Westmarches style campaign for your kids or students. I’m going to focus much more on materials and resources in this post than on theory and technique. I will link to some great articles and videos to cover theory and technique. This post was inspired by a recent video by Professor Dungeon Master and his son over on the Dungeoncraft channel. That video was inspired by a recent video by Questing Beast about time keeping in your campaign. For your convenience, I've embedded the Dungeoncraft video here: On the off chance that the above video didn’t give you a good handle on what this kind of campaign is, here’s the original source of this term, Ben Robbins explaining in detail. The Setting & Your Home Base I talked a lot in my previous post in this series on creating your homebrew setting. I’m not going to rehash all of tha...

Recently, RPG Match on Twitter posed the following question in of of their prolific polls:      Clearly, the majority of the 1,627 participants felt that, "Yes, they definitely should." I found this question interesting enough to blog about for the following reasons: I've run into this question on many occasions and have dealt with it inconsistently.  I DM mostly for kids, which makes one feel like a mean bully for vetoing anything. The reactions seen in the replies were as visceral as one would expect from Twitter, but quite thought provoking.  In thinking about this question, preparing to engage the poll myself, and considering my past actions and self-reflection on this topic, I came up with a rule of thumb to guide our approach to this that I believe answers a lot of the replies I saw. There are great arguments to be made for and against vetoing character ideas, but as it is with most things, the real answer is somewhere in the middle. Why not veto characte...

This post is a bit of a departure from the normal fare one finds here at DnD 4 The kids... This is more of an artsy-craftsy, "How did he do that?" kind of post. I posted a photo of my table in the Dungeons & Dads group on Facebook two weeks ago, and I had a lot of folks asking where I got my stuff. So, here it is, my best attempt at a how-to post for design artifacts for my Waterdeep Dragon Heist game. Basically, I'm just a guy trying to live the Beadle & Grimm's lifestyle on a Dollar Tree budget.   Stuff I bought So, I do buy stuff. I am on a pretty tight budget, so I can't afford the Beadle & Grimm stuff. If I ever managed to save enough for one of those sets, it would be sold out by the time I had the money. Ultimately, if you have more money than time, Beadle & Grimm is the way to go. There is a lot you can buy from from Amazon or your friendly local game shop for any hardback campaign, though, that doesn't break the bank.  The first ite...

This is a post about making your own worlds with your players at the table, whilst playing a TTRPG, like Dungeons and Dragons. It is not actually about any beverages, caffeinated, alcoholic, or otherwise.  I need to preface this post with the following admission. I am not a home brew guy. I grew up in the 90's, surrounded by more D&D products than any one person could ever run and no one to play D&D with. I spent hours enjoying the " lonely fun " of steeping myself in the the lore of The Forgotten Realms, Planescape, The Dark Sun, Spelljammer, Greyhawk, Mystara, and Thunder Rift. I poured over sourcebooks, read adventure modules, and experienced the adventures of Drizzt, Caderly, Minsc, The Nameless One, and many more through novels and video games. When my day finally came to begin running D&D adventures for my friends, my children, and anyone who would let me, I was prepared with decades of lore in my back pocket. Nothing comes up that I don't have an an...

So, I finally did it! I had the opportunity and support to start a D&D club at my Middle School building. Now this isn't a big after-school program or anything. This happens during the school day in our "clubs period" every other Tuesday. Joined by my friend and colleague, Jared Reck  (read his books!), I ventured to come up with a club that would introduce our students to this awesome hobby.  The Setup The advertisement we put in our middle school clubs catalog looked like this:  D&D is exceptionally inclusive. All you need to join is an imagination . Playing is like creating infinite stories that you and your friends write—and rewrite and re-rewrite—together. You’re all active participants in writing a unique adventure through different, fantastical worlds and scenarios. There is no winner. Instead, the goal is to deepen your understanding of your character by interacting with other players and their shared environment. Participation in tabletop cooperative role...

So, it's been awhile... I have been busy! I'm normally a pretty busy dude, what with teaching, coaching Esports, caring for my family, and running all over creation because I co-parent with someone who lives an hour away from me. But let's take a look at what's new:  Moving (I'm moving into an old farmhouse that is still being renovated - I have no kitchen) Teaching (teaching is hard this year... so many new responsibilities with so little time!) Dungeon Mastering I'm still dungeon mastering for a group of adults at home. I'm still dungeon mastering for 2 groups of kids at home. Running D&D club at my school (I started a D&D club at school! Kids are dungeon mastering and playing!) Yeah, so I've been busy. I have a lot to share with you in coming weeks, but here's a preview: Starting a D&D Club Starting a D&D club at school or elsewhere?? I have slide presentations galore to share for you to steal and modify! Look forward to this post ...