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Old 04-30-2018, 11:35 AM   #21
Daigoro
 
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Default Re: DFRPG at school

There's a very similar thread over on RPG.net with some good advice too.

One interesting suggestion was to just be more hands-off, stand back and let the students figure it out for themselves. It's pretty much the age group (12-14) I was when I came across RPG's, and we never had any adult involvement.
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Old 05-13-2018, 02:30 PM   #22
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Default Re: DFRPG at school

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Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
One interesting suggestion was to just be more hands-off, stand back and let the students figure it out for themselves. It's pretty much the age group (12-14) I was when I came across RPG's, and we never had any adult involvement.
After the first session, we have been entirely hands-off. We've had five sessions so far, with the final session coming up this Thursday. It's fun going from table to table seeing what each group has come up with. Some are taking it very seriously, diving immediately into an adventure that their GM has crafted. Other are totally goofy, with lots of PVP and world-busting shenanigans. But as long as they're smiling, we move on. They all pull in material from whatever they associate with the genre. One group is focused on (obsessed with?) flail snails (from that other game). Another has lots of dragons, including cute baby ones that they are protecting. Others have elements from books and movies.

A subset of players has been eager to learn the real rules, so they often come up with questions about how spells work or how to resolve unusual situations. My co-sponsor and I answer as best we can.

We've only had to intervene once. (This is middle school, after all, and kids are still learning how to put their best feet forward.) At one of the PVP tables (surprise, surprise), a player wasn't happy that his character was killed, so he stormed out of the room. One of us stepped out to chat with him while the other sat with the group and talked about why PVP is problematic and what it means to have a Sense of Duty to your adventuring companions. I also reminded the GM that his core responsibility is to make sure everyone is having fun. Finally, we noted that in DFRPG, characters don't drop dead at zero HP, so the character wasn't really dead, just unconscious. Everyone was very excited about that. I'm pretty sure they went back to beating on each other, but this time they didn't have to worry about dying. And so it goes.

I'll update after the final session next week if there is anything new to note.
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Old 05-14-2018, 11:55 PM   #23
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Default Re: DFRPG at school

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Finally, we noted that in DFRPG, characters don't drop dead at zero HP, so the character wasn't really dead, just unconscious. Everyone was very excited about that.
Oh awesome, well handled.

And the next time somebody "really" dies, see if you can pull out the mortal wound caveat.
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Old 05-15-2018, 04:57 PM   #24
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Default Re: DFRPG at school

+1
Very well handled with the talking to the player and the group and finally coming up with the 0 HP issue finally. Nice to see that all the players could have a "happy end" that way :)

Moreover it's nice to see that the groups were able to explore different approaches by themselves early on, so it shouldn't be hard for them to move on alone at a later time. (*)

---
As one of the "take away messages" I learn from your descriptions, when playing with kids, I'll not explain them the -HP killing rules before the game, leaving a life belt for later ;)

Last edited by OldSam; 05-15-2018 at 05:26 PM.
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Old 05-19-2018, 01:43 PM   #25
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Default Re: DFRPG at school

We wrapped up our final session of the semester on Thursday with no new drama besides 20 students trying to cram as much fun as they could into their last 45-minute session. I know we had at least one critical spell failure summoning a demon. (And what's a DF campaign if you don't have a few accidentally summoned demons?)

On a happy note, after starting this thread last month, I was asked to write a short piece for the Daily Illuminator. Nothing particularly new if you've been following along, but I tried to add a bit of polish. It was published this morning:

May 19, 2018: Dungeon Fantasy in the Classroom
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Old 05-20-2018, 08:54 AM   #26
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Default Re: DFRPG at school

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Originally Posted by Dalin View Post
We wrapped up our final session of the semester on Thursday with no new drama besides 20 students trying to cram as much fun as they could into their last 45-minute session. I know we had at least one critical spell failure summoning a demon. (And what's a DF campaign if you don't have a few accidentally summoned demons?)

On a happy note, after starting this thread last month, I was asked to write a short piece for the Daily Illuminator. Nothing particularly new if you've been following along, but I tried to add a bit of polish. It was published this morning:

May 19, 2018: Dungeon Fantasy in the Classroom
Great piece, and encouraging news for my own school-based DFRPG experiment. Sounds like my primary job will be to get out of the way!
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Old 05-31-2018, 09:40 PM   #27
Dalin
 
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Default Re: DFRPG at school

One of the students from the DFRPG activity told me today that he bought the box set last weekend and is going to get together with the same group over the summer to continue their exploits. A new gaming group is born!

(And, this time they might even read some of the rules.)
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Old 06-03-2018, 07:54 PM   #28
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One of the students from the DFRPG activity told me today that he bought the box set last weekend and is going to get together with the same group over the summer to continue their exploits. A new gaming group is born!

(And, this time they might even read some of the rules.)
Wow! Great to hear.
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Old 06-17-2018, 08:43 PM   #29
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Default Re: DFRPG at school

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Originally Posted by Dalin View Post
We wrapped up our final session of the semester on Thursday with no new drama besides 20 students trying to cram as much fun as they could into their last 45-minute session. I know we had at least one critical spell failure summoning a demon. (And what's a DF campaign if you don't have a few accidentally summoned demons?)

On a happy note, after starting this thread last month, I was asked to write a short piece for the Daily Illuminator. Nothing particularly new if you've been following along, but I tried to add a bit of polish. It was published this morning:

May 19, 2018: Dungeon Fantasy in the Classroom
That was a good article. I think you & your coworker have made a real positive change in these kids lives.
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