Learners will be expected to create a Player Character on DnDBeyond.com, and may need parental support.

In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
DnDBeyond.com

Dungeons & Dragons is a Fantasy Role Playing Game, and as such, may contain scenes of imagined suspense or combat.  I will ensure that material discussed in the class remains age appropriate, and no learners will be permitted to Role Play in a way that violates Oustchool policy.  It is impossible to predict what scenarios may make a player feel uncomfortable, so I use three safety tools in class.

Safety Tools:  I use a layered approach to maintain a healthy and positive gaming experience. The three separate tools in our toolbox are “Lines and Veils”, “Pause For a Second”, and “Open Door”.   

Lines and Veils:  Lines are subjects or themes that are never brought up or into the game; any player may add to the list. The current lines are: anything that violates Outschool Participation Guidelines, character-driven torture or harm to innocents, and Player vs Player mindsets or behavior.  Veils are subjects that are alluded to but never directly brought up or into the game (kept “off-screen”); any player may add to this list, as well. The current veils are:  torture, slavery, sacrifice, and NPC-based harm to animals.  Lines and Veils can be updated as frequently as needed, based on teacher and player input.

Pause For a Second: "Pause for a second” is a verbal way for players or the teacher to stop what's going on in-game and pop out of character to make sure things are going in the right direction, or steer the direction.  The person calling for the pause can bring up what they need, the others agree, and the game moves forward. 

Here are a few examples:

"Pause for a second. Can the spiders be something else?"
"Pause for a second. I don't need the details of this scene, can we skip forward?"
"Pause for a second. I'm not comfortable scaring this goblin for information."
"Pause for a second. I'd like to slow down and make sure we're all cool with the decisions we're making."

The person asking for the pause need not explain why they're asking. It's important that the group respect the privacy of the person asking and recognize that they simply don't want something or want to steer the game away from certain subject matter.

"Pause for a second" can be used for numerous purposes. If the characters are having a conflict about what to do with a potentially dangerous magic item, we can say "Pause for a second. Out of character, are you ok destroying the item if the others vote that way? Do we need to do something else?" Not everything needs to be about big traumatic experiences, we can normalize its use by ensuring everyone's on the same page in lots of circumstances. This makes it less confrontational when someone does use it to check in on a potentially traumatic situation.

Open Door to DM:  I am committed to creating and protecting a safe, respectful, positive gaming environment, and I expect others to uphold those values, as well.  Anyone, at any time and for any reason, may choose to leave the game, and not be judged for doing so.

The game is never more important than personal well-being.

Do not pressure others to play or stay in a game.

Do not bad mouth anyone who leaves.

It’s ok to stop play, and easy to get going again.

Leave for physical, emotional, or practical/life needs anytime.

Always feel free to contact me (the Dungeon Master/teacher) outside or during the class if there is an unresolved issue that needs to be addressed.  This can be done privately, my door is always open.