In 2017, I reviewed the core Hero Kids ruleset and found a game that wins the kids’ gaming table and works for all those that are young at heart. Justin Halliday, Hero Kids’ creator, released a long adventure (at least for the target audience), Hero Kids - Fantasy Premium Adventure - Reign of the Dragon. What does this 57-page book include?
Eleven encounters that will take two to three hours of game time. So much time that Justin suggests breaking this up into multiple sessions (again, considering the target audience).
The game makes use of Hero Kids’ core setting, Rivenshore, the town your youthful characters are from, and the location where an injured dragon, being pursued by enemies, lands needing your help. What follows is a rescue mission as the heroes must save the dragon’s mate and hatchlings from cultists. From the jump, where Hero Kids diverges from standard RPGs is that they expect the players to be heroes and not murder hobos. The opening scene puts a lot of pressure on the GM to sale this dragon as the victim and the human cultists as the villains. While some of the passages you’re meant to read aloud are pointed in their direction – the dragon, Drexanathon, nudges you and your friends between it and the cultists – the greater emphasis is on the GM to explain the dragon’s position and insure the heroes see who is the wronged party. In “adult” fantasy RPGs, landing an injured dragon within bowshot of an adventuring party is more likely to end in a dead dragon than anything, but the age of the players for Hero Kids improves the odds that they’ll do the right thing.
Assuming you can overcome that hurtle and the heroes side with the dragon, the rest of the adventure follows an easier path. The next encounter is the cultist’s return, and this is where this product shines, the encounter really is ready to run. There’s a map to print out, tokens for the cultists, NPC character sheets, a chart that shows how many cultists to use based on the size of the party, and a cheatsheet to track the cultist’s health, a short description of the cultist’s tactics, and what failing to stop them leads to. As the adventure progresses, the visual ease of running the encounters is striking. Every combat scene has a thumbnail of its map for the GM (and a full-sized version of the table), what the players will encounter, and what’s likely to happen. It really is print-and-play ready. For the non-combat scenes, even those RP scenes that can lead to combat, there’s a clear setup, goal, and resolution. They’re important to the story and let the players resolve issues in a variety of ways without forcing a specific resolution at every turn.
The art, maps, tokens, and NPC sheets are one of the great features of the products for this system. Running from page 37 through the end of the product, the maps and art are designed with kids in-mind. Fun, yet simple, with the villains easily distinguished from the heroes. They print out without having to make any adjustments. Cutting out the four-and-a-half pages of NPC sheets and rewards, as well as cutting up the two-and-a-half pages of tokens is the hardest part of this adventure and it may be a fun family activity.
Does Hero Kids - Fantasy Premium Adventure - Reign of the Dragon win the kids’ table? Yes. As with my previous review of Hero Kids, this game is a lighter version of D&D and, as with that game, conflict resolution usually involves violence. That said, several of the encounters are addressed through roleplaying and skill tests. The deemphasis of violence and the focus on alternate solutions is an excellent idea as it opens additional avenues of player development.
Does Hero Kids - Fantasy Premium Adventure - Reign of the Dragon work at the adults’ table? If your table has even one murder hobo, this adventure probably falls apart at the onset. If your players are conscientious heroes then this should run well and be enjoyable. Irregardless of that, when looking at this adventure for its intended audience, it’s a large tale and a good chance to let young players try out lengthier, more involved adventures.
This article was contributed by Egg Embry as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. Please note that Egg is a participant in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to DriveThruRPG. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
Eleven encounters that will take two to three hours of game time. So much time that Justin suggests breaking this up into multiple sessions (again, considering the target audience).
The game makes use of Hero Kids’ core setting, Rivenshore, the town your youthful characters are from, and the location where an injured dragon, being pursued by enemies, lands needing your help. What follows is a rescue mission as the heroes must save the dragon’s mate and hatchlings from cultists. From the jump, where Hero Kids diverges from standard RPGs is that they expect the players to be heroes and not murder hobos. The opening scene puts a lot of pressure on the GM to sale this dragon as the victim and the human cultists as the villains. While some of the passages you’re meant to read aloud are pointed in their direction – the dragon, Drexanathon, nudges you and your friends between it and the cultists – the greater emphasis is on the GM to explain the dragon’s position and insure the heroes see who is the wronged party. In “adult” fantasy RPGs, landing an injured dragon within bowshot of an adventuring party is more likely to end in a dead dragon than anything, but the age of the players for Hero Kids improves the odds that they’ll do the right thing.
Assuming you can overcome that hurtle and the heroes side with the dragon, the rest of the adventure follows an easier path. The next encounter is the cultist’s return, and this is where this product shines, the encounter really is ready to run. There’s a map to print out, tokens for the cultists, NPC character sheets, a chart that shows how many cultists to use based on the size of the party, and a cheatsheet to track the cultist’s health, a short description of the cultist’s tactics, and what failing to stop them leads to. As the adventure progresses, the visual ease of running the encounters is striking. Every combat scene has a thumbnail of its map for the GM (and a full-sized version of the table), what the players will encounter, and what’s likely to happen. It really is print-and-play ready. For the non-combat scenes, even those RP scenes that can lead to combat, there’s a clear setup, goal, and resolution. They’re important to the story and let the players resolve issues in a variety of ways without forcing a specific resolution at every turn.
The art, maps, tokens, and NPC sheets are one of the great features of the products for this system. Running from page 37 through the end of the product, the maps and art are designed with kids in-mind. Fun, yet simple, with the villains easily distinguished from the heroes. They print out without having to make any adjustments. Cutting out the four-and-a-half pages of NPC sheets and rewards, as well as cutting up the two-and-a-half pages of tokens is the hardest part of this adventure and it may be a fun family activity.
Does Hero Kids - Fantasy Premium Adventure - Reign of the Dragon win the kids’ table? Yes. As with my previous review of Hero Kids, this game is a lighter version of D&D and, as with that game, conflict resolution usually involves violence. That said, several of the encounters are addressed through roleplaying and skill tests. The deemphasis of violence and the focus on alternate solutions is an excellent idea as it opens additional avenues of player development.
Does Hero Kids - Fantasy Premium Adventure - Reign of the Dragon work at the adults’ table? If your table has even one murder hobo, this adventure probably falls apart at the onset. If your players are conscientious heroes then this should run well and be enjoyable. Irregardless of that, when looking at this adventure for its intended audience, it’s a large tale and a good chance to let young players try out lengthier, more involved adventures.
This article was contributed by Egg Embry as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. Please note that Egg is a participant in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to DriveThruRPG. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
