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DMing for Neurodiverse Tweens
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<blockquote data-quote="Ruin Explorer" data-source="post: 9103222" data-attributes="member: 18"><p>A couple of the people I used to play with at that age later got diagnosed as being on the spectrum (100% unsurprising in either case), and I'd say based on playing with them for years, I think the main thing to avoid is moral quandaries/conflicts, because, especially when you're dealing with that age group, things can really fraught and opinions can be extremely strongly held and rather unexpected, and I think autism can interact with this in an exacerbating way.</p><p></p><p>Moral quandaries and similar conflicts can be highly effective dramatic devices with older audiences, really engaging them with the game, the temptation is to think that it's also a good way to go at that age. But I would say stick to adventures where the PCs are going to be roughly unambiguously the good guys, dealing with the bad guys - I hate to say this - but avoid too much nuance or complexity. You can have surprises and reveals and stuff but they should be more the prince from Frozen rather than anything too challenging.</p><p></p><p>Also be prepared for the players to be extremely stubborn about certain things, even more so than you might expect at that age, and to flex the adventure/NPC behaviour around that, probably. One of the worst TPKs I saw was the result of one of the two players I mentioned digging his heels in, in a way I as an adult recognise was probably avoidable by just having the NPCs behave differently before it came to that. I was a teen myself and thinking "But that's what they would do! He just needs to be less stubborn!" - but in retrospect I think his stubborn-ness there was linked to some neurodiverse issues he was having (I have extreme ADHD myself and I've seen that cause issues before, particularly before I was medicated in my 20s).</p><p></p><p>I suspect people who have DM'd for such groups more recently will have even better advice but I really think avoiding moral conflicts, particularly ones to do with stuff like taking prisoners, trying to keep people you've rescued alive, and so on is very helpful to smooth play with that age group particularly.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ruin Explorer, post: 9103222, member: 18"] A couple of the people I used to play with at that age later got diagnosed as being on the spectrum (100% unsurprising in either case), and I'd say based on playing with them for years, I think the main thing to avoid is moral quandaries/conflicts, because, especially when you're dealing with that age group, things can really fraught and opinions can be extremely strongly held and rather unexpected, and I think autism can interact with this in an exacerbating way. Moral quandaries and similar conflicts can be highly effective dramatic devices with older audiences, really engaging them with the game, the temptation is to think that it's also a good way to go at that age. But I would say stick to adventures where the PCs are going to be roughly unambiguously the good guys, dealing with the bad guys - I hate to say this - but avoid too much nuance or complexity. You can have surprises and reveals and stuff but they should be more the prince from Frozen rather than anything too challenging. Also be prepared for the players to be extremely stubborn about certain things, even more so than you might expect at that age, and to flex the adventure/NPC behaviour around that, probably. One of the worst TPKs I saw was the result of one of the two players I mentioned digging his heels in, in a way I as an adult recognise was probably avoidable by just having the NPCs behave differently before it came to that. I was a teen myself and thinking "But that's what they would do! He just needs to be less stubborn!" - but in retrospect I think his stubborn-ness there was linked to some neurodiverse issues he was having (I have extreme ADHD myself and I've seen that cause issues before, particularly before I was medicated in my 20s). I suspect people who have DM'd for such groups more recently will have even better advice but I really think avoiding moral conflicts, particularly ones to do with stuff like taking prisoners, trying to keep people you've rescued alive, and so on is very helpful to smooth play with that age group particularly. [/QUOTE]
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