Micro-Dungeon: The Alchemist's Repose. Dungeons and Dragons Adventure!
An introduction to Classic (Old-School Renaissance-style DnD) D&D adventure, told with a micro-dungeon that your learner and their classmates can explore over two back-to-back sessions.
GM Dan - D&D and TTRPGs
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(41)
Star Educator
What's included
3 live meetings
4 hrs 30 mins in-class hoursClass Experience
In this class we'll delve into a micro-dungeon designed to help introduce you to an old-school way to play Dungeons and Dragons. In Old-School Dungeons and Dragons, characters are frequently in danger and players must always keep their wits about them. Judicious use of a ten-foot pole is just as important as a good spell, and combat can be deadly... so clever, cooperative, and imaginative play is a must. Violence frequently has unpredictible and often unwelcome concequences, and forging uneasy alliances with the dangers in the dungeon can sometimes be the only way to survive ... and retrieve the gold inside! The class is designed to be a play-along short "one-shot" (an adventure intended to be completely experienced in a few hours) where learners will learn the very basics of old-school style Dungeons and Dragons play by experiencing the (imaginary) dangers of the dungeon - including roleplay, puzzle-solving, combat, and the well-earned rewards at the end. Old-school play emphasizes the creativity and participation of the players rather than always relying on dice rolls to solve things. For example, rather than making an "investigate check" players will have to put together clues on their own by interacting with the fictional environment. Players will have to carefully detail the tactics and strategies that they will use to venture into the Dungeon... and make it back alive! I will cover roleplaying safety tools to ensure that the session stays away from topics that would be uncomfortable for learners. Students will then generate a character and then we will jump immediately into play. Reference materials will be provided but most learning will take place by actively participating in the session. We will be playing with simplified rules for ease of explanation and play as a way to experience Classic-style roleplaying games as quickly as possible (derived from Ben Milton's 'Maze Rats', Ben Milton's 'Knave' and the Basic/Expert D&D rules from 1981). The core gameplay of any roleplaying game involves teamwork, cooperation, planning, and execution, with some elements of chance and judgement by the referee (or "Gamemaster"). 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 highly recommended as it allows me to read facial expressions and clear up confusion or steer the game in a different direction if learners are bored or uncomfortable (or muted), but it is not required. We will conclude the class with structured reflection on the experience and questions and answers about various topics covered (or not covered) in the session. This microdungeon is designed to take approximately 2-4 hours to explore completely, so we will plan on approximately two to three hours of play time split over two sessions.
Learning Goals
Students will experience a classic-style tabletop adventure game (role playing game) experience.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Violence and combat can be part of tabletop roleplaying games, but the violence is all imaginary and will be described in non-graphic ways (e.g. "your arrow strikes home" rather than some more grisly description of violence). Safety rules will be discussed at the beginning of play and learners may stop the class at any time if they are uncomfortable and we will immediately adjust the fiction.
Language of Instruction
English
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined April, 2021
5.0
41reviews
Star Educator
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
$85
for 3 classes3x per week, 1 week
90 min
Completed by 4 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 10-14
2-6 learners per class
