Looking for some tips! I'm running an introductory one-shot in a bit with some of my work colleagues, a few of whom play DnD and a few of whom are newish to the game. The goal is for the one-shot to be a good tutorial for the newer folks so they learn the basics and see if it's something they want to do with their friends/family.
One of my coworkers (a newish player) is bringing their kids to play, since we have room for them. Both are reportedly already familiar with and like playing DnD in their own friend groups, and one of them has autism. I want the table to be fun and inclusive for everyone there, and it may well be that the kid doesn't want or need any kind of "extra" support! But - I would love to hear from folks who have any kind of experience here on what I can do as the DM to best support all my players! If there's anything I could be doing that is, since I don't know the child and they might have no particular needs for at all.
Wether playing with adult, children or anyone with certain conditions, i always use Safety Tools Safety to make sure everyone' i comfortable and having a good time during my D&D games. This ensure to communicate soft and hard limits to avoid or be careful with, and make clear that at any time anyone is uncomfortable with anything going on that they can pause action to discuss it. You can find different format and methods on internet for this concept.
Otherwise, with younger or inexperience players, i usualy suggest keeping things to a minimum in terms of complexity, avoiding throwing too much at once, especially rules, character options, and prefer to start slow and dial up as we go. The use of pregenerated characters can help too instead of character creation.
One important aspect i will remind them is that not all encounter are conflict aimed to be resolve with violence, you can always try to parlay or flee.
My kids also liked a lot when i made voices and use talking animals or objects. ;)
Autism is a very broad spectrum, it varies greatly from person to person. Generally speaking, you don't need to adopt yourself when dealing with people with high functional autism. Only thing I could think of is that autistic people, and especially children with autism tend take things litterally and may not always understand idiomatic expressions. Sensitivity to stress could also be something to think about.
I myself have high functional autism and have met a lot of people with high functioning autism in my life. Just treat him as you would any child (ie. in a and friendly manner) you will probably be fine.
Ask the parents if you are worried, it never hurts to ask
Edit: if a child wants to play D&D, chances are they are at least moderately social, in which case adjusting your behavior probably won't be necessary
Talk with the parents if there is anything you should be aware of.
Tell the other players that one person has autism, but keep the identity hidden and point out to treat everyone with understanding and respect.
Be prepared to suddenly have 2 or 3 people drop out without warning. If the autistic person gets triggered, chances are high that the sibling and the parent will leave all together.
Looking for some tips! I'm running an introductory one-shot in a bit with some of my work colleagues, a few of whom play DnD and a few of whom are newish to the game. The goal is for the one-shot to be a good tutorial for the newer folks so they learn the basics and see if it's something they want to do with their friends/family.
One of my coworkers (a newish player) is bringing their kids to play, since we have room for them. Both are reportedly already familiar with and like playing DnD in their own friend groups, and one of them has autism. I want the table to be fun and inclusive for everyone there, and it may well be that the kid doesn't want or need any kind of "extra" support! But - I would love to hear from folks who have any kind of experience here on what I can do as the DM to best support all my players! If there's anything I could be doing that is, since I don't know the child and they might have no particular needs for at all.
Ask the parents, they'll best know what kind of things work well for their kid or what they might have more difficulty handling.
Birgit | Shifter | Sorcerer | Dragonlords
Shayone | Hobgoblin | Sorcerer | Netherdeep
Wether playing with adult, children or anyone with certain conditions, i always use Safety Tools Safety to make sure everyone' i comfortable and having a good time during my D&D games. This ensure to communicate soft and hard limits to avoid or be careful with, and make clear that at any time anyone is uncomfortable with anything going on that they can pause action to discuss it. You can find different format and methods on internet for this concept.
Otherwise, with younger or inexperience players, i usualy suggest keeping things to a minimum in terms of complexity, avoiding throwing too much at once, especially rules, character options, and prefer to start slow and dial up as we go. The use of pregenerated characters can help too instead of character creation.
One important aspect i will remind them is that not all encounter are conflict aimed to be resolve with violence, you can always try to parlay or flee.
My kids also liked a lot when i made voices and use talking animals or objects. ;)
Autism is a very broad spectrum, it varies greatly from person to person. Generally speaking, you don't need to adopt yourself when dealing with people with high functional autism. Only thing I could think of is that autistic people, and especially children with autism tend take things litterally and may not always understand idiomatic expressions. Sensitivity to stress could also be something to think about.
I myself have high functional autism and have met a lot of people with high functioning autism in my life. Just treat him as you would any child (ie. in a and friendly manner) you will probably be fine.
Ask the parents if you are worried, it never hurts to ask
Edit: if a child wants to play D&D, chances are they are at least moderately social, in which case adjusting your behavior probably won't be necessary
I'd be ready to have the "things work differently at different tables" conversation.
Talk with the parents if there is anything you should be aware of.
Tell the other players that one person has autism, but keep the identity hidden and point out to treat everyone with understanding and respect.
Be prepared to suddenly have 2 or 3 people drop out without warning. If the autistic person gets triggered, chances are high that the sibling and the parent will leave all together.
keep it light and simple.
Attack: [roll]3d20dl2+6[/roll] Damage: [roll](if([roll:-1:critical], =0, 1d8, 2{1d8}.expand()))+4[/roll] Sneakattack: [roll](if([roll:-2:critical], =0, 2d6, 2{2d6}.expand()))[/roll]