Tips for Running D&D for Teens (Ep. 281) 

“anyone can enjoy d&d.” is just a wonderful sentence. thanks for doing what you do prof, it’s not gone unappreciated.

Great advice, Professor. I’ve been DMing for about as long as you have. I recently ran my second RPG one-shot for a local church youth group with eight players (mostly 9-12) at the table. As you said, that big of a group is possible, but it is definitely suboptimal. I used some of the same tricks you cite here to keep the game moving and the distractions under control. They work. Herd those cats, and game on!

I think most of your tips here are just generally good DMing advice regardless of the age of the participants, particularly getting into the habit of narrating what the dice tell you, rather than simply stating the numbers in terms of hit points. It's definitely a skill worth cultivating, though I confess I get lazy with my regular groups and have to remind myself to do it. I'm not a fan of just using the average damage values, I prefer the rolls personally, but for simplicity and/or training newcomers it's not a bad way to start.

Great video! I started a game for my daughter (who was 11 at the time) back in October 2020. She and her friends that play now are all 13 (except one dad who also plays). I'm running Moldvay Basic so was already using Group Initiative and I have used average monster damage. In fact, most of my success running the game has come from tips learned while watching your videos. So thanks! A few other things I do specific to my group: * I always let them have about 15-20 minutes of "catch up" time when we meet to play. None of these kids go to the same school so they don't see each other that often, but they've known each other since they were infants. Allowing them time to talk about school, friend drama, relationships, etc. before we start playing helps the game to run smoother because they've already gotten the key things they wanted to say to each other out of their system, so they can focus on the game. * I don't allow cellphones during the game. Phones go into a basket. Parents know if they need to get in touch with their kid to call me directly. But I do take breaks, about every 90 minutes to 2 hours as needed to let them check their phones if they wanted. Funny thing - the longer we've been playing and the older they get, the fewer breaks they want to take during the session. They want to keep playing. * I asked the players to take turns writing our session recaps in the "voice" of their character, which is a good way for them to practice taking notes, how to focus on the key moments without getting lost in minutiae, and also it's good writing practice. * I end the session by asking, "What do you want to do next time?" (a tip from an earlier DungeonCraft episode), and then always give them time to hang-out again before we all go home.

I just set up my middle school's D&D club and our first session is next Wednesday, so this is fantastic advice in advance!

Some years ago I ran an orc-themed game of 3.5 at the local FLGS that got very popular. Some sessions easily had 10+ players! One of the players when asked what his character can do simple replies, "AX." That became our groups war cry. "AX!!!!" I would count down "1-2-3" and we would all scream "AX!!!!" It was a great way to keep everyone focused on the game... until the nail salon next door complained.

I ran RPGs for teens in groups ranging from 5 to 14 for nearly 20 years, and literally co-wrote the book on the topic, and I thought that your advice was solid and smart. We need more GMs running games for teens to continue to promote the growth and longevity of this hobby.

Instead of using average damage I let them roll the damage in my wake as I move on. The players roll more dice and the DM never gets blamed. They have more fun with the extra engagement and the DM gets efficiency

Hey Prof, I just started volunteering at my local church with Kids 4 Jesus, and I proposed your Funbringer rules at the first meeting (I copied your character sheet from your video about playing with children). I've been a GM for various school friends for a while now and I'm so thankful for your experience GMing with children. It's been very encouraging for me. They're going to let me start with a Jesus and His Disciples encounter game using that character sheet. Thanks again!

ICRPG's room DC helps speed up the game a lot as well. You don't even need to tell the players what the DC is, just average out how difficult the monsters are to hit and thats the number the players need to roll. If you want variation use the easy and hard rule as well (+3/-3 to the room DC).

I have my players declare their actions and then roll all at once including damage. The highest attack roll goes first on the premise a good attack is a fast attack. I then adjudicate quickly but having the action declared and the dice prefilled vastly picks up the pace.

Clockwise. Old school. I use rotating clockwise. First person on the left, next round second person on the left etc. And monsters go half way through.

One simple rule I like that kids really love is when a player lands a deathblow upon a tough monster or named NPC, have that player come up with how they kill it, like a finishing move in Mortal Kombat. With how the DM describes all the ways the PCs and monsters get hurt, this is gives players more control of the action at the peek of glory. Its like icing on the cake with a hard fought battle. And best of all: Kids would come up with the most over-the-top deaths! Severed parts flinging! Blood spray! Skulls crush! Blood vomit! Hearts ripped out! Guts spilling on the floor! The kids mimicking the action! Oh it is so great to see kids get caught-up in that.

If nobody else will run for this teacher I recommend pulling out an old-school rule: the caller. Assign one kid as the caller, which is the player who officially declares what the party is doing. This can be good for non-combat gameplay. For combat, I'd add the idea of everybody on the player side taking their turns at once and then narrating the outcome. Then all monsters. Don't bother going clockwise around the table with 8-12 players cus it'll still take forever

Really good advice, I hope I can use them as I am trying to open DnD clubs in the schools in my community

Today I got approved to run dnd club at a school for my students, this hit at the right time.

Professor, it has only been these last days that I saw the Dungeon magazine in the background video. The adventure "Unhallowed Ground" was in the first ever Dungeon magazine that I bought and I had a blast while DMing it! Thanks for bringing back the memories!

Some good ideas I assign players secondary roles at the table to keep them involved. Note taker Mini mover Monster hp keeper Rules lawyer

Ran a game for 4 12 yer olds last night. I was suprised at how quickly they picked up the game and got into the action. The trick I used to remove the chaos of conversation, everyone talking at once, and bombarding me with questions is... I use a very loose rotation around the table. Starting clockwise like you suggested. Giving each player the opportunity to state what they wanted to do. I mediated and ensured one player didn't dominate the conversation. It helped focus the conversation and allowed the players to hear one of the boys out before asking questions. It also allowed for those shy players to have a voice too.

Thanks again for sharing this. I run D&D in my science class and recruit the dungeon master's first. It is not easy but once they are established (and enjoy what they are doing) it makes your life so much easier. I supply the content within the basic story and the players run with it. I basically watch over each of the gaming sessions and 'sprinkle' the content into the action as they progress. Number one rule for the game master is to always ask "what is your character doing" to any other student who has not recently spoken or taken action.

I always liked the anticipation of the damage coming from the DM. When you get down in HP or as a new character when you can be dead from one of two hits but if you get really lucky might survive for three or four! We always rolled for HP, I had a Gnome Illusionist with 1hp, he actually made it to level two and got to double his hp (not that it did him much good shortly after that).

As someone who has been running games almost exclusively in an afterschool program, this is gospel. We all crave story and connection above all else, so anything you can do to help your players (regardless of age) stay invested in the narrative the table is spinning will yield results ten-fold. Excellent vid professor!

Great advice! I have been DMing young players (and at the moment I have two 11 year olds and my 8 year old daughter in my main campaign) and your suggestions allow the DM to focus more on the players who may need more of your attention (not through any fault of their own, they just have a lot of energy). One side note, I cannot stress enough how much narration has helped me keep them entertained. The younger players love the story that evolves from their actions and as a result they provide input to me which in many cases exceeds that of the older players. I have found DMing younger players to be very enjoyable and fulfilling and it one of my favorite aspects of my game.

Great tips! Its these types of changes that really lets you be "agile" at the table since you dont need to do as much procedural things. The easier it is to just have that information in your head, the easier it is to just act.

"It's up to the gamemaster to ascribe those numbers meaning and narrate the results." I wish I was better about this as a DM. Thank you for this great and inclusive video. Top bloke material.

My son (who is in 6th grade) asked me to DM his D&D Club game after the sponsor asked for assistance from parents. I'm over the moon that he asked, but am concerned about this being my first time doing so. This video was one of the many suggested to me to help with this process. Thanks for all of your help!!

Hi! This is my first video of your's and I imagine you already know how hard it is to find these kinds of videos, so I really appreciate this video! My partner and I plan to run a group of middle-schoolers at our church, so wish us luck! This will be our first time working with children but hopefully not out last ^_^

This was an outstanding video, a great combination of solid advice and brevity. Since elementary school, I have run adventures for a number of adolescents (with or without diagnoses), and you perfectly outlined exactly how to do it. I learned these same lessons through trial and error (mostly error). The foundation you presented can be adjusted as needed to suit the individual group. My wife (long time player) will be running her first game, and we went through this checklist (with the possible exception of taking the average damage). I'm going to have her watch this video. Solid video.

Great video PDM. Yes, thank you both for working with children! My wife was a middle school teacher bless her heart. Myself however, I learned early when I was hired as a camp counselor one summer: I am not built to deal with children, I just did not have the patience. It was a great learning experience; yes, I was acquitted of all charges, LOL! I suspect my ironic punishment in hell is to be a camp counselor for a bunch of screaming ADHD pre-teens 😯🤡🤣

I pass a giant red d20 around, to the left, to show who's turn it is. Players always go first, unless the monsters specifically ambushes them, like a giant spider in the dark or some such. When the die gets to me, I roll for all the monsters, very quickly, and pass the die. I've played with 7 kids this way. No problem. 12 is getting a little much.

Can't wait for the Funbringer t-shirt. And don't worry Deathbringer; we still love you too!

My kids have been my players for a while and I have a homebrew rule to help speed up combat. Every miss on a monster, takes 1 off their AC. I take off 2 if the hit the AC itself. Helps keep them from hitting nothing several rounds in a row, which is not fun at all

The going clockwise advice is the most important in a big party. The largest I've run is 14 players with me. As soon as initiative dropped, I was like, "Ok. You. What are we doing?"

The idea of group initiative instead of individual initiative is the right way to speed up combat. The other is how many sets of dice you have. If you only have one set, 12 players will take a while to run a battle. If you have 3-4 sets, have 3-4 players roll together as a battle group at a time and that is how you play with a large number of players. The key is to have a simultaneous objectives in battle, to rescue a person in the room while another group of archers is aiming at the party. This way they get to figure out how to split their force to deal with both aims.

Generally I don't like the rules you're specifying here but I think it's brilliant to use it for young kids. I usually play just with adults so I don't have to dumb down The rules and they actually enjoy doing the calculations but for a group of kids this is wonderful advice.

Soon I will try to DM again. I really want to learn to be a great Dungeon Mistress. Wish me luck. :D Thank you for your amazing videos, Professor Dungeon Master

Professor Dungeon Master is 100% here with teaching young folks the game. I would add add the following: Engagement: This is the secret sauce for any teaching experience: you need to suck your students/participants into the action. For any new players, you want to immediately snap them in with some mystery, avarice, and/or fear. The Merceranies' Job Post in Gull's Nest describes a nameless horror lurking near Jeven Plantation, a nameless shadow which has slain babes in their cradles, gutted horses, and clawed through stout oak doors. The Shendil Ruby, worth more than 1,000 gold coins, is being offered to anyone who can defeat the draconic presence attacking shipping lanes along the Jildaan Coast. Groogh, the half-orc pirate--known to eat the hearts of those who displease him--has docked in town and is conscripting recruits (and killing the guards!). And under Gull's Nest, in the confounded sewer tunnels, is rumored to be a dark entity, guarding an ancient, magical armament. All of these move the adventure away from learning rules to being immersed in the environment--with some choice for the group to discuss (more engagement!). Let them Role and Roll: Help them to understand this is an acting game. Let them imagine what adventurers would sound like, and how they would react as their characters--give them some freedom to try it out (and if they don't it's ok--it might be embarrassing for the less extroverted members. Maybe that member develops the epithet "the Silent"). I agree with PDM to average monster damage and calculate the players' hit rolls, but I think part of the fun for new players is getting to enjoy and play with those funky new dice! Let them roll on the table, across the floor, and against the walls! Let them find their "lucky" way to roll, especially for damage! The mini-lesson: Each session, focus on only one of the "rules" and let the players absorb this. For example, in the first session, you teach them that the d20 is used for attacks and saves. Throughout the session, remind and assess (another piece of pedagogical jargon) their abilities to remember and apply the rule being taught this session. And reward the remembrance! Those who remember which die to roll repeatedly at the end of the session get an "inspiration check mark" for next time--or a one-time +1 on a damage roll. Teens (hell, any age player) will want to learn when presented with "hax" for the game! Oh yeah, and set the mood with epic/ creepy music. Let them learn the opening to the Carmina Burana during combat! They might even learn a Latin phrase! Just a little extra help from a fellow teacher/ dungeon master/ swords and sorcery enthusiast.

This is marvelous, I have a Google Sheets document that creates characters and uses symbols instead of words, exactly like that. On the plus side, it also makes the character balanced by using the Yin Yang method and placing the score from greatest to lowest according to the needs of the chosen class. So each time I hit the print button I have a different character with pre calculated stat blocks. It only requires a name and filling the variables according to the actual level of the character. It takes 3 minutes and I play with my kids aged 5 to 9.

PDM’s lecture is pure AD&D platinum!

Thanks for this. I’ve been trying to start a game for my kids. This is good stuff!!!!

Great job. Just pitched a DnD club to the powers that be at my school. I'll see how we go!

I'm DMing for a group of adults who experience disability. I use "The Rod of Talking" ( a short piece of discarded banister painted gold) to ensure everyone gets their turn. It's passed clock wise around the table. They know when they have it they get to speak and take their turn without interruption and everyone knows they will absolutely get there time in the spot light. We have a lot fewer interruptions, and less bossiness at the table.

I am the DM now. Been running a game of DND at Down to Game every Friday for the last bit. I go in with expectations and my players do something clever changing the whole situation. It is fun to plot and plan, and then watch them not only deal with what I throw their way but exceed it. Last night the dice favored them again, and three level one players have gathered a small army to face the Caves of Carnage. All because a man popped out of a barrel, had a little something to drink, and then found religion. Now I have to figure out how to run army combat.

Sweet. Just had our first D&D high school club meeting.thanks for the tips!

As always your advice is spot on!

I see what you mean about the efficiency of having players use average damage. But I feel like the game loses something if you don't have that wild roller-coaster of varying results. The thrill of rolling near-max damage in a clutch situation. Or the heartbreak when you get that Fireball spell off, but end up rolling all 1s and 2s. But I can see that it might be a necessary compromise in some cases, especially with a large group. One thing I do sometimes is, after the first couple of rounds (by which time the players should have a pretty good idea of what damage the monsters do anyway), I'll just flat-out tell them what the monster's damage dice are, and let them roll it. This keeps them actively involved in both sides of the combat, lets them know that I'm not fudging anything in their favor (or against them), and the results, for good or ill, are on them, not me. :D

Woo! Finally made it in the first hour. Excellent content!

Great video! Will probably steal when my girls are older and can learn(have toddlers but my 8 year old has enjoyed it so far)

Great advice and I would use some of that as a great starting point if you are doing things online in any form. Having been the Math teacher running afterschool games of that size the splitting the group does make a huge difference, even if they are running the same days just going back and forth between them letting them plan and talk as you transition back and forth and use that round the table or the party then the GM then Other Party then GM back and forth kind of rotation. That can also help when some of the players inevitably cannot make it the party can keep them safe or have a contact keep them in a near by safe location of some sort (in the back of the wagon maybe since the parties are big enough to want one). Any of which could further break down the groups with side quests and groups going on rescue missions. The Big Bad is where the parties will probably want to merge or swap in some ways so have some of that in mind if they are on separate days and they have to swap.

Great stuff friend 👏 👍

One simple fix is always roll the damage die alongside the attack die. So when the dice land you know both if the attack hit and how much damage it did.

Calculting the DC for the players IS a great idea... Except that I can't do math either! I am 39 years old and it takes me a few seconds to do simple calculations haha. I prefer a static DC that we can all see at all times.

Needed this reminder that I need to narrate combats more. Let's see if I remember tomorrow night

Great video, great advice. I'm just turning 40 and hope to be the one to get some of my nieces and nephews hooked on RPGs (and my own son in about 5 more years).

Computations are one more reason why I gravitate to VTTs. Macros and scripting do everything for you and you, the GM, are mostly just involved with narrating and moving the story along.

I have been "dm ing" for my kids and thier friends for 4 years now... it is amazing to think where we started and where we are now. Games run smoother now, l enjoy the games much more. It has gotten to the point where my players Volunteer to make terrain . We take breaks from the campaign to do one shots... Zombie apocalypse, fallout , even a bolt action game. If you make it fun , you will enjoy every game , my daughter and one of her friends are now in college. They play at school and can't wait to come back and play with the group on holidays and breaks.

I'm running games for newbie teens with the patronage of the town municipality and I basically can confirm every advice PDM gave. But I'm using White Box RPG and I don't need to use average damages because every damage is d6 based, pretty much easy to grasp and fun to roll without concerns for messing with different types of die. Also I created simplified character sheets (I keep the majority of numbers for mysef) with icons so that everyone can access them easily. Imo 5e isn't the best to start from. I ask kids to focus on feeling there in game world and choose based on their perception of things and the narrative. Their sheets have nothing but the 6 abilities value, inventory, name, class, a brief list of specialities (spells, ancestry/class most valuable edge) and things keep going mostly by conversations, eyes in the eyes. No distractions, no maths basically. But the most critical aspect at 12 is the number of kids in the party, so, first off, yes, split the party if you have 7/8 or more and if you can!

In my experience, OSR games work best with kids and teens. The simple character sheets and mechanics are leagues easier for them to understand. 5e would probably be best introduced after the group gets some experience under their belts.

I find the sweet spot to be 4 players + DM. Three and 5 are still good, 6 works with experienced players. I would run 7 only if the players know what they're doing, and are patient with each other (or if one is a constant no-show). I would never run 8, break it in two, and go two groups of 4.

Deathbringer's tip at the end proves to be the most vital when I run my kids game.

Professor, we love to roll dice so I’ll never be able to sell this to my group but we do employ RNGs to help speed outcomes for combat, saves and checks. I might take to applying damage based on die rolls from the baddies though to help speed my own turnaround time, especially for grunts and meatheads.

Replace AC with defence checks. Monster attacks get a difficulty assigned, that your players have to beat to defend against it. More die rolling for the players keeps them engaged.

Great advice 👍 👌

I ran a game for tweens not that long ago and one thing I tried that I would recommend for young kids is to just kill monsters when it's narratively interesting instead of tracking hp. It doesn't really hold up for more than a one shot but it does a great job of capturing the feeling while freeing up headspace to manage the general game.

So me and some friends run a fantasy rool playing/creative writing class for homeschoolers. Our sessions are only one hour each weak. So what your saying about keeping the rules lite and story driven is totally true. For us keeping order and everyone focused is easy. We just threaten to spend the hour doing a lecture instead of roleplaying and they pay attention prety quick.

Another thing is have group initiative for the types of monsters. Melee orcs and archer orcs each have their own group initiative. Helps speed up my games.

Love your channel. Here is a comment for the algorithm.

Dungeon World could be an option to simplify things for a big and chaotic group. Less dice to roll and fewer rules

My solution for combat with a lot of teenagers (if using a battle grid): on the player's turn, let everyone move their minis and roll to attack at the same time. If each Orc has AC 13 and 10 hps, all they have to do is move, roll d20s, roll for damage. Going around the table one by one & narrating every action may take too long and attentions will wander.

Thanks Professor. I am currently working on bringing some D&D into my classroom with my own creation. Something sort of west marches style stealing shamelessly from ICRPG, EZD6, and NoteQuest. I’m trying to do this with 33 students all in parties of 3. No DM - everything is random tables and play is powered by the kids answering content questions. As such, any kind of advice for kids and large groups is very appreciated.

Thanks, Prof!

I’ve been playing with the same guys since we were teenagers now in our thirties we still get just as distracted and just as annoying to our DM. These ideas would probably help 😂

Awesome!

great video

Use ICRPG fixed Target Number by scene. The AC, check and any d20 roll have the same score to achieve.

Good stuff.

Since I assume that the teacher has a set number of students to take care of, I honestly think that most editions of D&D are too complex for large groups, so I would really using a less complex ruleset and especially ditch spatial complecity (5 feet cones and the like).

Have to point out that these tips also work great for adult players!

I heard in your description that you basically remove movement do you suggest that?

MULTIPLE UPLOADS THIS WEEK. BE STILL MY HEART

I think the TLDW of this video is “don’t run RAW D&D for kids.” Otherwise the points were very good. Except that narration doesn’t speed the game, it slows it. I only narrate critical hits or key spells, maybe maximum damage rolls. Another suggestion is to train the players in table etiquette like “don’t interrupt or have side conversations” “roll the d20 and the damage dice at the same time” “look up the spell you want to cast before your turn”

D&D with 12yo, less dice dmg math and more directing their trash talking. As a teen in the late 1980's and 90's I had to mix AD&D with the TMNT d% system and run the action like it was a TMNT cartoon. Or my peer group would just play Nintendo or Sega Genius and have plastic baseball fights. And they Wanted to play D&D/TMNT ! By the book, TMNT Leo could not cut through a lamp post with his Katana, But in the Cartoon he could ! So I had to learn to run some really B.S. games. So 15 years later deal with my young teenage cousins when I was in my mid twenties, I had to learn quickly to run D&D 3e games like Japanese Anima cartoon action. Cause those boys really wanted to play D&D and granny wanted those boys out of her hair. Cross converting game systems made easy, D&D is a D20 game, each point on the d20 equals 5% out of a 100% chance of success or failure. So a PC with a strength score of 13 at first level has a base of 65% +5% = 75% of making a jump or climbing a cliff face to pull their body up. During the 1990's gaming, many people dislike AD&D compared to other gaming system, other system were more skill/ability score base where you improved your base stats. In AD&D there was no all-around base improvement. In 4e they came out you take half your PC class level and add that to your untrained skill checks. a.) A 6th-level PC adds +6 modifier ( 30%) to train skills/ non-weapon proficiencies rolls and a +3 modifier ( +15%) to non-trained skill/proficiencies rolls. Some to many people didn't like AD&D rogues rolling under thief skill checks on 10d10% or other d% skill system games, so I just turn the d% of 5%points to a +1 modifier bonus on a d20. So an AD&D 3rd-level rogue with dexterity of 12 with 20% move silently roll under ability stat became a +4 modifier where PC had to roll under dex of 16. Modified by what equipment they had on them that could make noise along with what ground cover they were walking across. But to new teenage plays even this is a bit too much math reasoning to deal with. Most teenagers I grew up with, seen over the years, and even adults .. hate book studying along with word math problems. b.) OMG as a teenager then in my early 20's I remember the debates, arguments over having to deal with AD&D optional rules to Weapon Speed Factors in combat initiative rolls. Many people just hated them, and others loved them. Along with seeing foam padded weapons fights between short swords vs great sword/axe mock combat. Reaction speed times are different. If short weapon guy wins initiative against the larger weapon, it was grapple and stab/ stab and the other guy is out of the contest. If the guy with the larger weapon wins initiative, then it becomes a different matter. But these are too many variables for new players to deal with. Such as saying muscle lactic acids build up, getting your shoulder jarred/jammed up along with having the wind knock out of you as the great sword/axe hits your PC's shield in blocking the blow. PC takes 1d10dmg, they are not bleeding but they are Stagger and Dazed from the hit. The player/PC/ foam weapon fighter has to make a dexterity check to Shrug off the hit, if they failed, then to is rolled for a control roll pivot with the blow. If that fails .. the person spins the wrong direction and leaving a shoulder or full back open to an Attack of Opportunity which open to Flank/Back Stab hit with a great sword/axe. Even with a foam weapon and a light hit can leave a person's back muscles cramp for a few minutes. TTRPG melee rounds are measure in seconds. So in Real combat wearing padded armor and mail, and being hit in the back with a basic farmer's wood cutting axe (1d8) which is more or less a 3 to 6lb hammer weight with an edge. If it doesn't kill the person, the blow will cramp up muscles and push spinal disks out of place. Critical hits will be broken back ribs and cuts resulting in Temporary Constitution dmg for a number of days/weeks. Or death blow where PC has to roll Constitution/Fort save DC: 10 + dmg dealt of die. House rule we roll 1d6 on how gruesome the spinal cut/bash was and if there is enough time to cast the spell Crue Critical Wounds. Very gritty, very grim dark. i.) Hit points (Hp) = dexterity stamina or " Star Wars vitality point (Vp) [ temporary hit points ] " dealing with second wind and short 15minute rest where the PC regains their base hd/ or 1d10hp/vp + their total character class level . 5th-level Soldier regains 1d10+5vp after a short rest, and a rogue(scoundrel)2/ranger(scout)2/fighter(soldier)3,CR: 7 regains 1d10+7vp after a short rest. Jedi use their vitality ( Vp) to power their Force powers/sorcerer abilities to explain mental exhausting to maintain their mental concentration. Some of our D&D games, wizards/ sorcerers have 1d4hp for melee combat, 1d10 vitality points per level to active their spells. A 6th-level spell caster casting Fire Ball/Lightning Bolt has to spend 6vp to cast the spell. Grittier setting wizard Hp/ are their Spell Points. Necromancy spells to Talk with the Dead or to Call Outsiders require temporary constitution points. ii.) Wound Points - Star Wars has Wound points which is the PC base Constitution score, any Critical hit dmg rolls goes to the Con score doing Temporary constitution dmg lasting for days or weeks base on the broken bones. Heavy crossbows fired within a 10ft range hits with full kinetic energy doing Con dmg. If Flanking during mob attack, HXBows do 1d10+ rogues flanking sneak attack dmg along with being a Death Bow attack action. A 10th-level fighter in plate armor is still just afraid of a X-bow as a first level PC. N/PC heavy crossbow user 3rdE multi class fighter2/rogue3, CR:5 are strait out murders. 1d10+2d6 flanking dmg to Con score. iii.) Death Blows or rifle sniper/ heavy crossbow point blank attacks. PC makes dexterity/Reflex roll vs attack roll, save made equals to normal hp dmg, fail sv roll moves into Death save of DC:10+ dmg dealt. If save is made the PC only takes temporary constitution wound point dmg. Failed save PC dies. iv.) Any permanent damage critical rolls base on PC story drama, such as an axe to the back does 1d4 strength/1d4 constitution/ and 1d4 dexterity. Back muscles and nerve damage prevents full lift ability, slowed nerve muscle impulse response " initiative/ defense " rolls and lack of breath maintaining your .. wind/ breath. An in time Crue Critical Wound spell can prevent lasting dmg. Also a Polymorph Other spell combined with Heal check/ Knowledge:Anatomy. v.) Needless to say, a lot of my old gaming groups had less Hollywood heroic action and more group mob wrestle take downs and Flank stabbing prone helpless defenders. Giant heavy crossbow carried in pieces by an operator team. Four people to crank draw the bow rope/ string back to load the spear and six men to hold the bow down to control the recoil. Within a hundred foot or less the bow does Con dmg to dragons. Ambush weapons to use at the mouth of dragon dens. If the PCs can save vs dragon Fear. Or just have a four-man team carry an oversize extra-large musket to shoot the dragon with. Vietnam era anti-aircraft light cannon, require four men to carry through the jungle, and six men to carry just a single minute worth of ammo to defend themselves against Chinese aircraft carpet bombing.

This is why i only DM Dungeon World...its one 2d6 roll the PCs know what they need and the focus is always on the narrative.

I thought Deathbringer's advice was gonna be "Make sure to kill their characters session 1 so they know who's boss"

Great advice. My son (13) is taking over the DnD club at his school. He needs to watch this. He won’t take advice from me lol

Yeah!

late to this, but I have a question, how did you do dnd with language learners? I'm an ESL teacher and have been trying to work out how to use it to make kids classes more dynamic for ages. Any tips?

I didn't know you were a teacher... Though, in retrospect, it makes a lot of sense lol

Quick question: is "Funbringer" available at all patron tiers?

What are those weird elongated dice at 5:19?

Only thing I’ll add- learn patience, especially with younger ones. When I first sat down to play with my kids, I learned the patience of a Buddhist monk…..

maybe they should apply for the new dnd afterschool kit by wizards?

I dunno, the thrill of the dice is real. Average damage might keep the game flowing, but I have seen the tension on the players' faces as they all lean in to see the results of the minotaur's crit. Will she get lucky and live to fight another round? Is this the end? Only the dice know!

Narrate the enemy and then ask the player “what are you doing?”, creating a sense of urgency.

Gold

I tend to let players roll damage as they love to roll dice. Why rob them of that joy? I try to describe low rolls as glancing blows while playing Nox Arcana, Midnight Society, or Ghelfi. Bottom line, if more fun rolling dice, do that. If it is damage calculates(not a word), do that.

I finally laughed at a Deathbringer joke.

Assign "minion" hit points; i.e., one hour kills - as in 4e.

Liked for the excellent advice, then unliked and liked again for Deathbringer's comment!

I love these tip however, given that our friend here has been recruited for this by a mental health organization, they might not have the activity time actually budgeted to put all the kids in smaller groups. Even if it is strictly a volunteer position. The number of kids at the session might be non-negotiable due to opportunity costs.. because even if they don't have to spend a single copper in funds, it could well be that they can only afford the use of the space to activities that include a minimum of 8 children. Or even if they don't, they might only have the space available on specific days. Long story short, making more smaller groups might not be possible.... Then again... perhaps the calmest and most mature of the kids might be DM material themselves. If our friend can get some of the kids DMing, the campaign could run almost like a mini-Westmarch, which could help with both the scalability of the group and the variability of its size. As well as the fact that not all kids will make all sessions.