D&D General 5e H E L P! Teacher in need of rescue!

[aco175]

The original Delian Tomb by Matt Colville is four rooms, I think, and dirt simple. Good for teaching both players and DMs.

I ran this for scouts and found online free printable maps to go with it.

I also posted several short and free things on DMsGuild that might work. This one is pretty basic and I did modify it for the local convention and it went well. It is for 2nd level though.

 

[GothmogIV]

I do think people who haven't worked with 2020s middle schoolers would struggle to imagine how difficult many of them find reading at all, much less reading of reference type materials and on paper no less. Really while you should definitely give them something to work off of, the assumption should be that they'll drop it almost immediately in favor of making up their own stuff, and probably mostly their own rules if there isn't an experienced player at the helm. Kids these days are just as creative as they ever were, especially when its in service of not having to actually read something.

On two seperate occasions when I was doing summer camp D&D I came upon small groups of kids that told me they were "playing D&D" with no books, character sheets or obvious rules whatsoever. Just rolling a d20 for a broad sense of whether their characters succeeded or failed in the DM's story and doing whatever they liked.

In terms of simpler games you might also consider Bugbears and Borderlands. It's a simplified 5e clone. The pdf is available for free and the creator is a frequent ENWorld visitor. It also is perhaps a little less explicitly geared towards those with old school D&D nostalgia, something most your students will presumably not have, than something like Shadowdark.

Shadowdark is nice because the mechanics are so simple. Character’s can fit on the front of an index card. We really only have 30 or so minutes to play once a week, so things need to be easy to understand and quick to execute.

 

[Scott Christian]

I ran a D&D club at my last high school, as well as the one I am at now. When there were too many players, and too little experience, I actually asked the DMs to come in and sat them through a few lessons. I taught them, and they taught each other as they played. I also forced them to read passages with the rules, so they could get a feel for how to read that specific type of text.

It worked for most, and for others it didn't. The ones it didn't work for either A) Never really committed (wouldn't read or had little desire to learn while at the table with other DMs), or, and this is huge, didn't have the social standing or confidence among their peers to be a DM. It was a sad truth, but a very real one.

Once I asked them to play instead of DMing, and replaced them with others that wanted to learn or had a strong social standing, the club straightened itself out. It took about three weeks though.

Good luck! It really is fun to sit back and see the kiddos play and to experience their imaginations on a less "curriculum designed" format.

 

[GothmogIV]

I do think people who haven't worked with 2020s middle schoolers would struggle to imagine how difficult many of them find reading at all, much less reading of reference type materials and on paper no less. Really while you should definitely give them something to work off of, the assumption should be that they'll drop it almost immediately in favor of making up their own stuff, and probably mostly their own rules if there isn't an experienced player at the helm. Kids these days are just as creative as they ever were, especially when its in service of not having to actually read something.

On two seperate occasions when I was doing summer camp D&D I came upon small groups of kids that told me they were "playing D&D" with no books, character sheets or obvious rules whatsoever. Just rolling a d20 for a broad sense of whether their characters succeeded or failed in the DM's story and doing whatever they liked.

In terms of simpler games you might also consider Bugbears and Borderlands. It's a simplified 5e clone. The pdf is available for free and the creator is a frequent ENWorld visitor. It also is perhaps a little less explicitly geared towards those with old school D&D nostalgia, something most your students will presumably not have, than something like Shadowdark.

 

[overgeeked]

Search the net for “five-room dungeons” and “one-page dungeons.”

You’ll find piles of them.

 

[mamba]

Let me be more clear: imagine that reading more that 2 pages was a Sisyphean task. I'm talking basic stuff here. 10 rooms with descriptions and stat blocks.

slightly more than two pages, but less than 10 rooms

The Delian Tomb (public) by 424C414B45

The Delian Tomb (public) by 424C414B45 - Created with GM Binder.

www.gmbinder.com

 

[GreyLord]

Let me be more clear: imagine that reading more that 2 pages was a Sisyphean task. I'm talking basic stuff here. 10 rooms with descriptions and stat blocks.

Hmmm.....Not 5e...

But Pathfinder 1e had some intro adventures that were between 1 to 3 pages (depends on whether you include maps and illustrations as part of the page count) for their beginner Box that were supplementals for it, but were free online.

However, that may be too hard to convert for new players.

I'd have to check out the Dragon Delves, they may be short, but still longer than what you are asking.

The new Forgotten Realms books supposedly have some 1 page adventures in them. I haven't taken a look at it yet (not enough time in the day to see proofs or other items that may come my way), but from what I hear that may work for you???

 

[AnotherGuy]

Hello, friend. I am a middle school teacher and I am in charge of the Dungeons&Dragons club. 40+ kids are showing up every week, which is astonishing (and beyond chaotic). I have one group of sixth grade boys who have never played before...including their Dungeon Master. They have spent two weeks making "characters" (I use that term lightly). Now, what I am in desperate need of is a simple, short, printable introduction adventure to get them going. Like a map and some rooms with monster stats built in. Think D&D 101: something super simple for the DM to learn and run, and something super simple for the kids to play.

H E L P

This sounds perfect, a teacher and running a D&D club!

If you're creative enough and know how to custom up earlier editions to 5e I'd run Night's Dark Terror specifically Siege at Sukiskyn series of modified encounters.
You could do similar stuff with 5e adventurer AP's like the attack on Greenest in Hoard of the Dragon Queen, although Sukiskyn is far more intimate with each NPC being known for social pillar play.

I know exactly what I would do if I had 40 newish players at my disposal (and a little time) is run Murder in Baldur's Gate, with teams possibly working against each other as the adventure progresses. Oh one can dream!

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

You don’t need a map. I’ve run this for kids as young as 8:

The town of >>insert name<< is often plagued with monster attacks. Therefore, the Armaster, >>insert name<< takes young teenagers and trains them.

He brings them to the training yard where there are 4 mysterious cages. He releases the dangerous beasts, one at a time and the trainees must defeat them.

• They each have 1 healing potion that brings them to full hp.
• If a monster drops somone, the monster will focus someone else.

-between fights they can use their HD to heal up. (Short rest)

You could have it where YOU are the armaster and explain the scenario in character and then let the DMs run the fights at their own tables or you could run the scenario ahead of time with the DMs and let them run it. The scenario will easily fill a lunch hour or more. It’s a good intro to the rules of combat and is simple.

Have each person intro their character as they enter the training area.

It also is a good intro to a West Marches kind of campaign where the characters are in a town surrounded by dangerous wilderness

 

[THEMNGMNT]

To the OP, you are doing God's work.

I have a 6 year old and 9 year old who I am introducing to D&D.

First, Shadowdark is a great intro to roleplaying games. It's the new Basic D&D.

Second, there's a great campaign specifically designed for introducing kids to D&D called Hidden Halls of Hazakor. It's bigger than you want -- but ultimately it's split into a series of 5 room dungeons. So you could give the kids one section at a time to play through.

Third, the new D&D "Heroes of the Borderlands" Starter Set is an awesome product but might not be practical for your situation. Or it might be perfect. It's based around two locations. First is the Keep, which is full of helpful NPCs. Kids really dig interacting with them and taking on mini-quests. Then there are the Caves of Chaos, which is basically a dozen 5 room dungeons. Like, Hidden Halls of Hazakor, you could photocopy each section and hand it out for that day's game. Overall, the Starter Set is just great for bite sized play sessions.

Good luck.