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Dungeons and Dragons 5e Summer Camp - Lost Mine of Phandelver: Goblin Arrows

A four-day camp featuring one of D&D 5e (Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition) most popular intro adventures: The Lost Mine of Phandelver. We'll play through the first chapter and learn the basics of 5th Edition DnD along the way.
GM Dan - D&D and TTRPGs
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:
(39)
Class
Play

What's included

4 live meetings
6 in-class hours

Class Experience

Beginner Level
STRUCTURE: This class meets three times over a single week. 

Day 1: 90 minutes to introduce roleplaying, make or select characters, and kick off the adventure.
Day 2: 85 minutes of adventure (with a short break in the middle), 5 minutes of reflection and feedback.
Day 3: 80-85 minutes of adventure (with a short break in the middle), 5-10 minutes to reflect and give feedback about the experience.

We will cover the basics of D&D 5e in the most fun way possible: by playing it! In this adventure, players will attempt to rescue two friends from a band of goblin kidnappers who are ambushing innocent civilians along the main road. Of course, many complications can ensue...

This course will introduce your learner to playing the most popular tabletop roleplaying game of all time, Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition, by playing through "Goblin Arrows", the first chapter of "The Lost Mine of Phandelver", the most popular introductory module. This module has been extensively playtested and is widely considered to be a great introduction to Dungeons and Dragons. I have personally run this section dozens of times. 

We will cover the core concepts of what Dungeons and Dragons is and learn to play by playing. I will cover roleplaying safety tools to ensure that the session stays away from topics that would be uncomfortable for learners. Learners will then select appropriate characters for the setting from a number of varied and interesting pregenerated characters and then we will jump immediately into play. Most learning will take place by actively participating in the session, although access to a basic rulebook will also be provided. 

The core gameplay of Dungeons and Dragons involves teamwork, cooperation, planning, and execution, with some elements of chance and judgement by the referee (or Gamemaster/Dungeon Master). This means that this will be a very participatory class. Although more quiet students may sit back and enjoy the experience without engaging at all times, there will be times where I will call on them and they should be willing to describe, even in a few words, what their character is doing. Video is recommended as it allows me to read facial expressions and clear up confusion or steer the game in a different direction if learners are becoming bored or uncomfortable, but it is not required. Please send me a message if you have any questions about this (or anything else).

We will conclude each session with structured reflection on the session and questions and answers about various topics covered (or not covered) in the course of play.

Important note: this is simply chapter one of an ongoing adventure designed to take approximately 20-30 hours of play. If students rush through the first chapter, we will progress onto Chapter 2. If, at the conclusion of our time together, students are interested in additional adventures using the same characters, there is an ongoing weekly follow-up class available.

This class does not use any external websites directly, but images from the module will be shared via zoom. Some musical cues are by Lyre RPG music (searchable on youtube). 

#builder
Learning Goals
Students will learn the basics of Tabletop Roleplaying Games, safety rules for enjoying these games, and specific rules for Dungeons and Dragons 5e.
learning goal

Other Details

Parental Guidance
Violence is always an option in tabletop roleplaying games, but violence will not be graphically or disturbingly described. (E.g. 'your arrow strikes home' rather than some other more graphic description of carnage). Safety tools will be provided and used so that we avoid sensitive or upsetting topics for your learner.
Supply List
* Paper and writing utensils * (Optional) a polyhedral set of dice * (Optional) A print-out of a character sheet: https://media.wizards.com/downloads/dnd/StarterSet_Characters.pdf * (Optional) Access to dndbeyond or another digital tool for tracking character statistics
Language of Instruction
English
Joined April, 2021
5.0
39reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Bachelor's Degree from University of Colorado
Hello! My name is Daniel McVicker and I teach Tabletop Roleplaying Games (TTRPG) like Dungeons and Dragons to learners like you (or your learner)! 

D&D and TTRPGs can be a great way to learn and experience:

* SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING with cooperation, empathy building, and teamwork.

* CREATIVITY with improvisation, imagination, and world-building.

* PROBLEM SOLVING with reading comprehension, lateral thinking, rapid arithmetic, and logic.

I began playing Roleplaying Games when I was in middle-school and they helped me in all of these areas and more. Being an active and autonomous participant in your imagination with other like-minded players can truly be a rewarding experience and I want to share these kinds of experiences with others. 

I have been playing and Gamemastering TTRPGs for over 30 years and I bring a wide variety of professional experience to the play table, most recently in the Information Technology field. I hold a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy from the University of Colorado in Boulder. 

NAVIGATING MY CLASS OFFERINGS:

-AGE RANGE-

Ages 8+: I will run a simplified version of D&D for these learners. (Please note that simple is not worse! My adult players frequently gravitate to these simpler rule-sets because they allow a lot of flexibility)

Ages 10+: I will typically run 5e for these learners. Important caveats about these sessions: due to COPPA regulations and Outschool policies, I cannot share links to many useful resources to these learners. I will have an entire screen dedicated to what your learner can see, but I will move all tokens for them and help them manage their character sheets. 

Ages 13+: I will typically run 5e for these learners. From a technical standpoint, these players will get an identical experience to the adults I play with, but the experience will be tailored to their developmental needs and desires. I will share links to and freely discuss all useful online tools like Roll20, dndbeyond, and others. 

-EXPERIENCE LEVEL-

BEGINNERS: Have played in fewer than three sessions, do not know how to make a character. Depending on the class we will be focused on the very basic rules, navigating the character sheet, and understanding the concepts of roleplaying. These classes will be paced to the learner who has the least amount of experience in the class. No prior experience is necessary!

INTERMEDIATE: Have played in three or more prior sessions and know how to make a character. These learners have a basic understanding of roleplaying and the layout of the character sheet, the names of each die, and so on. At this level, we tend to work on deepening the understanding of character dynamics (playing "in character") and mechanics (advanced rules interactions and character 'builds') as well as understanding some of the software (e.g. Roll20, D&D Beyond) that can help make playing online a deeper, more rewarding experience. 

ADVANCED: Have played in a campaign or multiple single-session games, are running or planning to run their own games. At this level we will mostly be discussing topics like preparing a game or session, dealing with player dynamics, improvisation, voice acting, and world building. 

ALL LEVELS: I use this to describe when a class is appropriate for beginners to advanced - typically we will play with a simplified game that is easy to learn, teach, and create characters for for a "one-shot" game that is intended to be experienced entirely in a few hours.

Systems I currently run games in include:

DUNGEONS and DRAGONS 5e - Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition is the current version of the world's most popular tabletop roleplaying game.

RETRO DUNGEONS and DRAGONS - the B/X (Basic and Expert) version of Dungeons and Dragons. First published in 1981, this version of D&D is a fan favorite and is a darling of the OSR (Old-School Renaissance) scene that publishes hundreds of fantastic modules and settings today. 

MICRO-DUNGEONS are one-shots that are meant to be experienced entirely within a few hours of play and will typically be run using "Maze Rats", or "Knave": cousins of D&D that have been heavily playtested with 10-11 year-olds and are simple to learn and play at any level and only requires raiding a board game like Yatzhee! or Risk for dice. Rules will be provided to all learners.

LASERS & FEELINGS is for those who are looking to enjoy a Sci-fi adventure. This game is very simple to learn and play, and can be played with normal dice. Again, rules will be provided to all learners.

If your learner or group is interested in playing any kind of tabletop RPG, please reach out. I will put together a custom session, short multi-session adventure, or ongoing campaign and work with them to play almost any kind of game they can imagine.

Some of the games I have played and/or run include:

D&D 5e, Pathfinder 1e, World of Darkness (Vampire the Masquerade/The Street Fighter Storytelling Game etc.), D&D 3.0 and 3.5, Shadowrun, Star Wars, Blades in the Dark, Apocalypse World/Powered by the Apocalypse/Dungeon World, AD&D (1e and 2e), Mutants and Masterminds, d20 Modern, Old School Essentials aka B/X D&D, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Palladium Games (Rifts, Robotech, After the Bomb, Ninjas and Superspies, TMNT and other Strangeness, Heroes Unlimited), Mothership, Kids on Bikes, Tales from the Loop, Lady Blackbird, Scum and Villainy, Lasers and Feelings, Knave, and On The Fly. 

Reviews

Live Group Class
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$125

for 4 classes
4x per week, 1 week
90 min

Completed by 25 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 10-13
2-6 learners per class

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