Dungeons and Dragons for Teens: A World in Ruins

This class uses the 5th Edition 2014 Legacy rules.

My Classroom:

First and foremost, my D&D groups are inclusive.  LGBTQ and neurodiverse students are always welcome, and my content is always anti-racist.  I make an effort to include representation of characters from all walks of life to normalize diversity.  Learners are required to respect others' pronouns and names and to be accepting of other learners' unique abilities and personalities.

My goal is to foster connection between learners.  In my campaigns, learners will find the consistency of meeting every week with the same learners, often over years!  Some of my learners have been adventuring together for almost five years with me!  Learners with social anxiety will have enough time and opportunity to become comfortable in a group.  

New players are always welcome in my classes.  The best way to learn how to play Dungeons and Dragons is to just jump in and play it.  I am adept at guiding brand new players through their options during game play and explaining rules as they come up.  More experienced learners may jump in and provide support to newcomers as well.

Storyline:

In this weekly, on-going class, we will play through a lengthy, immersive campaign set on the Sword Coast of Forgotten Realms - the traditional Dungeons and Dragons setting.  The players arrive in Neverwinter after a lengthy absence, only to find the city in ruins and strange people and creatures roaming the countryside.  Can they figure out what happened?  Are their friends and families safe?  Will they be able to cope with the hazards of a post-apocalyptic world?  And most importantly, will they be able to rebuild?

While there will be combat in this D&D game, the eventual goal will be to return the world to some semblance of normalcy.  Negotiation, compromise, acquisition of resources, creating homes/defenses/infrastructure, and management of a community are a major part of this campaign.

Because this is a longer campaign, students will be able to unsubscribe to the class if a break is needed.  Students joining the campaign part way through will easily be able to jump in to the adventure.  

Character Creation:  

This campaign uses 5th edition rules.  Learners should correspond with me prior to the start of class to make sure their character has been created properly.  Please use *official* content only.  DnD Beyond is acceptable, as are other methods of character creation.  Students should create a 5th level character prior to the start of class.  

The Players:

This adventure is best suited for:
1)  Students who have played Dungeons and Dragons before and who enjoy the social aspect of the game.
2)  Students who enjoy roleplaying, exploring, and solving problems.
3)  Students who want to explore their character's backstory and see their characters grow emotionally.
4)  Students who love creative collaborations with other players and want to build a dynamic world.

Learners should expect to play "heroic" characters.  This does not mean that characters cannot be flawed, but they should strive to work together with other characters to resolve  the campaign's storyline.  This means that Player vs. Player combat is not allowed and players should not antagonize each other in any way.  Needlessly destroying settings, NPCs, or plotlines is frowned upon.  Learners should, above all, keep in mind that Dungeons and Dragons is a *cooperative* game.

We use the honor system for character creation and dice rolls during game play.  Learners must avoid the temptation to report higher rolls for characters' ability scores and rolls during class.  Remember that always winning is boring!  It's also frustrating for learners who are honest about their rolls.  If issues arise, I may require all students in a class to roll their dice publicly using a website called Roll Dice with Friends (www.rolldicewithfriends.com).

Metagaming (reading the campaign module or creature stat blocks ahead of time) is discouraged.  However, in some cases it's unavoidable, especially if a learner has fought the same type of monster in a different campaign.  In these cases, learners are expected to keep their knowledge separate from what their character knows.  Learners are also expected to keep this information to themselves so as to not ruin the plot for other learners.

All of the above rules are in place to make sure that learners practice taking responsibility in ensuring that their fellow classmates are having just as much fun as they are.  It's important to make sure each learner feels that the game is fair.