So I am a teacher at a elementary school and started a D&D club. We have 12 children, 1 assistant teacher, and a D&D loving parent volunteer.
Thus far the campaign has gone well, and the challenge of creating a PG world has been interesting ( For instance I had to tell one student, "No you cannot buy alcohol at the tavern. I don't care if your wizard is 25. You are ten and you can buy apple cider, milk, or water")
We've had a good time. One player has his face on a wanted poster for breaking into a nobleman's estate. We have two girls who are toting two backpacks filled with water skins because "The water was free at the tavern." And two boys who keep haggling their gear back and forth to the point of insanity ("No you can not trade with him in the middle of battle!")
We play fast and loose and I've completely given up on initiative since it slows down gameplay.
We're currently tracking some slavers who've kidnapped villagers.
If anyone has any good ideas for child based puzzles, obstacles, enemies (something a 9 year old could figure out), or just ideas on how to handle such a large group, I'd appreciate the help.
Just a quick thought on puzzles. You can make up a puzzle situation without a pre-determined solution, and then just let the players come up with the solution.
And when you think they’ve been clever enough, that’s the solution.
For example, there are three pedestals, and three statues. One has 3 white frogs, another 2 green bears, and one black elephant.
What statue goes on which pedestal? Maybe the kids put them in order of how many animals there are on each statue, or maybe they’ve seen these animals before, and put them in order of the animals they’ve seen, or maybe alphabetical, or by size, or color somehow. The point is they just need to work at it, and then when you feel they’ll be satisfied, there’s the solution.
I wouldn't be surprised if you've already done this, but I've had some success with simplifying the character sheet. It's really helpful for newer and younger groups.
For instance, don't use proficiency bonuses or skills. Only use the modifiers from the main stats STR, DEX, CON, WIS, INT, CHA to keep things more simple and fair. Want to be sneaky? Don't worry about stealth, just roll DEX. Want to be charming? Don't worry about deception or persuasion, just roll CHA. Attacking with a melee weapon? Just use STR. Attacking with a ranged weapon? Just use DEX.
Another idea I wanted to throw out there is always providing an alternative to violence. When your group finds the slavers, maybe give the opportunity to allow the slavers to surrender or negotiate. I think it can help flex problem-solving skill muscles if we show that problems can be solved from a lot of other ways, even if we're playing a game that is mostly about fighting monsters.
So I am a teacher at a elementary school and started a D&D club. We have 12 children, 1 assistant teacher, and a D&D loving parent volunteer.
Thus far the campaign has gone well, and the challenge of creating a PG world has been interesting ( For instance I had to tell one student, "No you cannot buy alcohol at the tavern. I don't care if your wizard is 25. You are ten and you can buy apple cider, milk, or water")
We've had a good time. One player has his face on a wanted poster for breaking into a nobleman's estate. We have two girls who are toting two backpacks filled with water skins because "The water was free at the tavern." And two boys who keep haggling their gear back and forth to the point of insanity ("No you can not trade with him in the middle of battle!")
We play fast and loose and I've completely given up on initiative since it slows down gameplay.
We're currently tracking some slavers who've kidnapped villagers.
If anyone has any good ideas for child based puzzles, obstacles, enemies (something a 9 year old could figure out), or just ideas on how to handle such a large group, I'd appreciate the help.
This is so much fun!
I run a group of sixth graders in my school as well. I have 7 players so I can see where your group can get bogged down. First, you have what you really need already-extra hands, eyes, and brains with the adult helpers. Now, I ask this professionally, do you co-teach? If so, you already know how to kinda set things up in a way that allows each of the teachers to maneuver through a group of students as they master a task. DnD isn't going to be different in this regard. I would suggest, you take the role of Master Storyteller for the game, and have the other adults run and implement actions with the kids. You stand up and walk about and interact with them. Listen to what they want to do and describe their interactions/results. Just like in the classroom, you are touching base with the co-teacher and keeping everyone on the same page.
The group is probably too big to be functional though. My group initially was 10! It was a living nightmare to juggle. I would see if one of the other adults is willing to split the group. You can split them based on skill and interest or just heck randomly slot them into a new party. You can even make the groups adventure in the same "dungeon or what have you", they are bound to have dramatically different approaches which would be a delight to watch.
Opponents-Gauge your audience and either tone down or ramp up the descriptions you give based on the player's personality. On Critical Role, Matt just lets loose with his narrative and the girls squirm (with gigantic grins on their faces) as he describes 'Goblin Blood the original axe body spray' covering the party as they wade through battle. You might need to do a bit less...evocative description. I know I had to tone it down for one of my players. You would also make the foes more disposable...and less likely to cause moral quandaries. If they are fighting human(oids) then there are likely to be issues of 'do we kill them?' If you stick to creatures that are more well monsterous and such problems are less likely to come up. FOREX, I suggest reskinning the Kobold or the Goblin to little rock monsters that gnash their lil rock teeth and grunt and bite rather than something that can well feel pain.
I will second the advice of *never* planning a way out or around a trap or puzzle. I mentioned on another thread that I feel this stifles creativity. Let the kiddos think of a good way and then presto the door/trap/puzzle box opens. You can also make picture and maps and such and just cut them up. As the party completes certain stages they receive a piece, and then they have to put the pieces in order. Perhaps a riddle is written on the paper as well for them to decipher.
I'll wrap up by saying "Tell me more about your game! I wanna know!"
I did do a really simple character sheet. And even reworked some of the classes so the kids weren't so bogged down with stats the first day we met to create characters. I also did some pre-created characters for those who showed up late or were just curious and wanted to try it out. I'm also using paper minis since their cheap and then if someone leaves well no biggie, their mini is now a background character. Some kids though have become interested in miniatures and bought their own (which was super cool cause I met with the separately to paint them :D )
I have been thinking about splitting them up, and I do like the idea of using the teachers to multitask. At the moment I have two kindergarten helpers who are more interested in rolling dice and playing the monsters. So they co-DM with me a bit in that I'll asign one of them to be a minor monster (like a zombie) and then they play the monster and roll against other kids while I mircomanage the rest of combat.
So far our game has been hysterical. Almost half the group are elven wizards and sorcerers. We have a handful of humans, two dragonborn, and one very pretty half-orc bard.
Last session we got caught in a thunderstorm and decided to stay in a tavern for the night. There were two gaurds there who recognized our fugitive, and he ended up escaping into the horsebarn and hid in the loft while his friend tried to convince the guards he was a figment of their imagination (he has a high charisma). Meanwhile three of our adventurers went upstairs to examine a magic book they'd found in a previous dungeon, rolled a 1, and summoned a demon. The two girls hoarding water had our dragonborn cleric bless some and used the blessed water to drive the demon downstairs where the guards and some of our elven wizards ended up dispatching it. Meanwhile we had a bar fight with a gnome, someone punched the tavern owners wife just because (and got arrested) , and my bard sang away by the fireplace during the chaos and made some fair coin.
So yeah pretty much a basic day in an elementary school classroom
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So I am a teacher at a elementary school and started a D&D club. We have 12 children, 1 assistant teacher, and a D&D loving parent volunteer.
Thus far the campaign has gone well, and the challenge of creating a PG world has been interesting ( For instance I had to tell one student, "No you cannot buy alcohol at the tavern. I don't care if your wizard is 25. You are ten and you can buy apple cider, milk, or water")
We've had a good time. One player has his face on a wanted poster for breaking into a nobleman's estate. We have two girls who are toting two backpacks filled with water skins because "The water was free at the tavern." And two boys who keep haggling their gear back and forth to the point of insanity ("No you can not trade with him in the middle of battle!")
We play fast and loose and I've completely given up on initiative since it slows down gameplay.
We're currently tracking some slavers who've kidnapped villagers.
If anyone has any good ideas for child based puzzles, obstacles, enemies (something a 9 year old could figure out), or just ideas on how to handle such a large group, I'd appreciate the help.
Just a quick thought on puzzles. You can make up a puzzle situation without a pre-determined solution, and then just let the players come up with the solution.
And when you think they’ve been clever enough, that’s the solution.
For example, there are three pedestals, and three statues. One has 3 white frogs, another 2 green bears, and one black elephant.
What statue goes on which pedestal? Maybe the kids put them in order of how many animals there are on each statue, or maybe they’ve seen these animals before, and put them in order of the animals they’ve seen, or maybe alphabetical, or by size, or color somehow. The point is they just need to work at it, and then when you feel they’ll be satisfied, there’s the solution.
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I wouldn't be surprised if you've already done this, but I've had some success with simplifying the character sheet. It's really helpful for newer and younger groups.
For instance, don't use proficiency bonuses or skills. Only use the modifiers from the main stats STR, DEX, CON, WIS, INT, CHA to keep things more simple and fair. Want to be sneaky? Don't worry about stealth, just roll DEX. Want to be charming? Don't worry about deception or persuasion, just roll CHA. Attacking with a melee weapon? Just use STR. Attacking with a ranged weapon? Just use DEX.
Another idea I wanted to throw out there is always providing an alternative to violence. When your group finds the slavers, maybe give the opportunity to allow the slavers to surrender or negotiate. I think it can help flex problem-solving skill muscles if we show that problems can be solved from a lot of other ways, even if we're playing a game that is mostly about fighting monsters.
Overall, it sounds like a really fun time.
I did do a really simple character sheet. And even reworked some of the classes so the kids weren't so bogged down with stats the first day we met to create characters. I also did some pre-created characters for those who showed up late or were just curious and wanted to try it out. I'm also using paper minis since their cheap and then if someone leaves well no biggie, their mini is now a background character. Some kids though have become interested in miniatures and bought their own (which was super cool cause I met with the separately to paint them :D )
I have been thinking about splitting them up, and I do like the idea of using the teachers to multitask. At the moment I have two kindergarten helpers who are more interested in rolling dice and playing the monsters. So they co-DM with me a bit in that I'll asign one of them to be a minor monster (like a zombie) and then they play the monster and roll against other kids while I mircomanage the rest of combat.
So far our game has been hysterical. Almost half the group are elven wizards and sorcerers. We have a handful of humans, two dragonborn, and one very pretty half-orc bard.
Last session we got caught in a thunderstorm and decided to stay in a tavern for the night. There were two gaurds there who recognized our fugitive, and he ended up escaping into the horsebarn and hid in the loft while his friend tried to convince the guards he was a figment of their imagination (he has a high charisma). Meanwhile three of our adventurers went upstairs to examine a magic book they'd found in a previous dungeon, rolled a 1, and summoned a demon. The two girls hoarding water had our dragonborn cleric bless some and used the blessed water to drive the demon downstairs where the guards and some of our elven wizards ended up dispatching it. Meanwhile we had a bar fight with a gnome, someone punched the tavern owners wife just because (and got arrested) , and my bard sang away by the fireplace during the chaos and made some fair coin.
So yeah pretty much a basic day in an elementary school classroom