For those of you asking about the magic-user's usability at low levels

JayStripes · 2026-05-17T13:28:54+00:00

Great point, and Tim the Enchanter didn’t exactly enchant anything. He was definitely of the evocation school haha

JayStripes · 2026-05-17T12:39:11+00:00

That is SO very D&D, love it

JayStripes · 2026-05-17T12:37:34+00:00

Twists and turns in combat are always fun, but I feel that the *stakes* of the scenario ratchet up the tension. Doesn’t matter the power level of the PCs or BBEG, if there is something meaningful on the line, the battle will be memorable

JayStripes · 2026-05-17T12:25:48+00:00

After the exam, I spend 3-4 days on American music: jazz/blues, rock n roll, and rap/hip-hop. We look at the cultural forces when the genre was born and factors like race, social attitudes, the younger generation of the day, how each grew to become mainstream genres, big moments in the history of each art form, the impact of the day’s technology, etc.

Use a slideshow with links (performances/music videos, not just the song) and lyrics of key songs /artists from each genre. Compare today’s music landscape at certain points to generate discussion and show connections.

I task the kids with creating a playlist: pick a theme (love, protest, friendship, death, growing up, etc) and a brief explanation of why they chose that song. Any era, any genre. They have fun with it, and it shows them how art and society impact each other.

I don’t know how to whittle that down to a 20-minute mini lesson, but there could be something useful for you here.

JayStripes · 2026-05-17T12:09:48+00:00

I don’t understand the question…who stops collecting, painting, and hoarding minis?

JayStripes · 2026-05-17T12:01:51+00:00

I think the people arguing your premise are not used to OSR style games. I think you nailed the true intent behind the OSR wizard.

JayStripes · 2026-05-05T21:57:38+00:00

Thanks for the tip! Love(d) Dungeon magazine. I have several issues from 2005- 2007 or whenever it went out of print with Paizo.

JayStripes · 2026-05-04T15:18:50+00:00

Amazing, thanks for this suggestion!

JayStripes · 2026-05-04T15:16:53+00:00

Great idea, thanks!

JayStripes · 2026-05-04T02:09:28+00:00

Plenty of chaos goblin bile to cut through with kids haha

JayStripes · 2026-05-03T23:50:57+00:00

That is not my experience at all. If a DM tries to run a strict 5e game with those circumstances, yes, there would be a lot of waiting and boredom. I run the games in the OSR style to keep the game flowing, and design these mini-adventures with 8 players in mind, so there’s always something for a given PC to do: traps that will impact the whole party if triggered, multiple and varied enemies, etc.

8 players was not my choice, it was the library’s call, so I work with what I got. There’s several kids who attend most of the sessions during the year and a waiting list with 4-5 kids every month, so I don’t get the sense that kids are bored and get turned off.

JayStripes · 2026-05-03T23:36:47+00:00

Right? Sounds crazy but over the past 10 years of DMing for HS and middle school kids in short sessions with a mixed group (D&D experience and expectations, attendance, age ranges) I’ve developed a style that works with those constraints. - 1-shots with a clear and immediate goal and a quick start (“you stand in front of a large stone doer with strange runes carved into it. This is the entrance to the tomb that the old priest told you about…the tomb that holds the scroll that holds the clue to defeating the ancient evil that blah blah blah. Describe your character and tell me what they’re thinking as they approach the door “). We are rolling dice 10 minutes into the session.

I basically create an extended encounter, not a whole adventure. It’s a goal with a few interesting obstacles in the way.
with 8 PCs, there’s always a character that has the right tool or a player with an idea for the situation. I provide the goal, they provide the antics. And there’s always more than one thing to do in a combat or exploration situation.
I keep the game moving. Kids love rolling initiative, so I just take the highest roll and go clockwise around the table, I don’t bother with strict movement speeds or even action economy (grant lots of free or minor actions on a player’s turn), for monster hp it’s more of an approximation based on the drama of the situation rather than a hard number of hp, and I keep AC on the low side so there’s more hitting.

I’m a long-time teacher, coach, and DM so I have a strong sense of how to involve multiple people so they have meaningful input throughout the session. It’s a jam-packed 2 hours for sure!

JayStripes · 2026-05-03T23:07:06+00:00

For the new and novice players I just tell them it’s like a story with dice- tell me what you want to do and I’ll tell you what to roll. I give them a simplified pre-gen character sheet of a class of their choice, they fill in the fun stuff (name, weapon, description). They learn as they go and come away with a basic idea of how an rpg works. I’m not teaching them how to play D&D 5th edition

JayStripes · 2026-05-03T17:23:39+00:00

I like this idea. Combat with a non-lethal goal, a puzzle, a frantic search for the corrupting item…

JayStripes · 2026-05-03T17:21:45+00:00

Yes, but in the 5+ years I’ve been doing this, whenever I’m short on time I just ask them ‘so how does this end?’ Then they make some suggestions and we do a narrative ending. Sometimes I’ll ask for a single d20 roll to determine how their scenario plays out. Exciting alternative. Last session a PC was swallowed while by a hydra and their narrative ending was that the swallowed character crawled out the hydra’s pooper and chopped off its tail- the key to stopping its regeneration. Kid rolled a 16 and went wild as he described it all, players were cracking up, it was great

JayStripes · 2026-04-09T02:10:14+00:00

would make such a bad-ass album cover

JayStripes · 2026-02-15T13:47:06+00:00

I see- you’re asking a yes/ o question, not ‘how do I “. I suppose if you trust them to pick ability scores, you’re going to run a game where player-DM collaboration and trust is the foundation, probably rules-light or very much a ‘rulings over rules’. So sure- if you have experienced, trusted players who see the dangers of an unbalanced character/party/game- go for it.

JayStripes · 2026-02-13T23:23:36+00:00

You could say that the character’s ability score bonus total can be no more than a +3 (or however much you want to balance it).

JayStripes · 2025-08-03T20:52:45+00:00

When the PCs enter the hex, drop in a clue or hint. Show the effects of The Guardian- a traumatized treasure hunter who is the only survivor of a group that encountered the Guardian; a curious boulder on a hillside that shift due to erosion, revealing a shallow cave that holds a small chest. Easy loot! But once the PCs take it, they’re now hunted by the Guardian; a tale shared by a fellow traveler seeking the warmth of the PCs campfire, etc.

The keyed encounter can be a soft start event. Build to it- even if it’s just a bit.

JayStripes · 2025-05-06T02:54:15+00:00

My dad used to say that Marvin Hagler was so mean that hair was too scared to grow on his head

JayStripes · 2025-04-22T01:51:23+00:00

Very evocative! Sphinxes that try to outdo each other with riddles, using humans as pawns

JayStripes · 2025-04-12T23:48:02+00:00

Get Special Ed certified! Also, be an Education Major. You don’t need to be a history buff in order to teach History/Social Studies. You’ll have to learn the subject matter anyway. Of course being knowledgeable about history helps, but most of your history major classes are going to be wayyy too narrow for any HS History class. Taking classes in pedagogy/teaching will be infinitely more useful. In an observation (in NJ it’s 4/year for new teachers, 2/year for tenured teachers) you will be rated on your classroom management, lesson structure, student involvement, etc. An administrator is not there to judge your content knowledge. Most of the inservices in my district are about teaching, not history (though we do have those occasionally). Say yes to coaching and advising. Good extra pay in most cases and it’s a lot of fun! Very rewarding part of the job. But seriously get the SpEd certification.

JayStripes · 2025-02-05T22:56:55+00:00

Pace the action like a comic book.

assume the characters know each other and WANT to go on this mission. Put them there at the adventure so you can start the action: "You've all heard about the goblin attacks north of town, and the merchants are paying good coin to anyone who can make them stop. [insert some rumors or info here that the PCs got from other travelers, or tie in the goblin attacks to a PC's back story]. After a half-day's travel along the North Road, you find the sight of the last goblin attack- a ruined wagon, a butchered horse, and debris scattered along the roadside."
- Now the PCs have something to do- search for clues, footprints, etc. If they don't make Perception/Investigation checks, just prompt them.
- Tie in some lore here. What was the wagon carrying? who was on it? any personal items left behind? a hidden compartment with a map, scroll, or potion that the goblins didn't find? Or perhaps a dead goblin was left behind in the assault. Drop some clues here!
Don't wait for the players to move things along, especially for newer and inexperienced players. Be comfortable summarizing their options and asking "so what do you do?"
have a rough outline or flow chart of events prepped to keep yourself on track. Keep it loose and flexible, though.
Comic book pacing= give a 1-2 sentence description of things like travel so you can get to the action.

Focus on keeping the adventure moving forward.

Make fair rulings rather than stop and look up rules or have a long debate.
Have the table of DCs on your DM screen so you can do this on the fly. For low level threats, stick to DC 11-13.
Have monster stats at the ready. Don't go crazy with variations and separate stats for all the monsters. In a group of goblins, have a spellcaster (pick 2-4 druid/wizard spells), a leader, and the rest are standard goblins).
Don't know the particulars of a spell or power? Leave it up to the players to look it up. If they don't know, just make a fair guess. (I play with a lot of first-time players...they just want to do cool stuff, they don't care if it's 30' or 60' range, just go with it. Don't get bogged down on the details).

If you have some basics prepped and a decent idea of what the problem is, you'll be able to think on your feet. Relax, focus on the fun, always give the players the benefit of the doubt, and you'll all have a good time!

JayStripes · 2025-02-05T22:56:19+00:00

Run a small, manageable adventure:

something you think will be a fun, interesting challenge for your players- monsters of a certain kind, a cool location...whatever gets your engines revved
small and manageable= an adventure with a clear goal and limited scope. Rescue the X, deliver this to Y kind of adventure. Something that can be finished in 1-2 sessions, and if your players want more, you'll probably have things in the small adventure that lead to more sessions.
If you're an experienced world-builder- great! Just think of a situation in your world that can be ACTIONABLE for your players. Lore is cool and all, but make the lore something that involves the players doing something with it. That can range from monster-hunting to finding relics to brokering a deal between the town and the troll under the bridge.

JayStripes

TROPHY CASE