🏰 How to run a first tabletop adventure for kids
Make a hero each, tell the players what they see, give them three challenges they solve by talking and rolling a d20, and end with a reward. That's a whole first adventure, and it fits in 45 minutes.
Before you play (10 minutes)
- Each player makes a hero with the Hero Maker: a name, something they're good at, something they carry.
- Pick a quest from the First Adventure hub, or one of the ten adventure ideas.
- Get a d20, or open the adventure dice.
How a turn works
The game master describes what the heroes see. A player says what their hero does. If it's easy, it just happens. If it might go wrong, they roll the d20: 10 or more and it works, under 10 and something funny goes wrong. That's all the rules a first adventure needs.
Three challenges
- Something to figure out: a locked door, a riddle, a map.
- Someone to talk to: a grumpy troll, a lost child, a talking tree. Talking can solve anything.
- Something exciting: a river to cross, a chase, a storm.
The ending
Solve the problem, find the treasure, save the day. Let each player say what their hero does with the reward. Ask what they want to do next time: that's the next adventure.
Keep it kind
Peabody's quests have no blood and nothing that ends sadly. If a scene gets too scary for someone, change it: the shadow turns out to be a very large, very friendly cat.