DNDkids started with a series of articles published by Wizards in 2011. Below are the articles, both the original six and new ones written after "the Events."
Character GenerationMethods of surviving character generetion with eager young gamers.
Combat Encounters
Tips on designing encounters for kid games. If I wrote it today I’d do some things differently, but I still think it’s got some nice ideas.
Rewards and Penalties
Cool rewards for cool players (tip: just xp and treasure are boring!) and hard but fair punishment for disruptive players.
Campaign Setting
This article includes half a dozen campaign ideas ranging from the classic to the crazy. My personal favorite so far!
Girls at the Table
This is the article that “broke the internet” and the last one to be published by Wizards of the Coast.
Creativity at the Table
The first in a new series of articles presenting creatures and classes created by kids. This week - the terrible seven tailed sphere!
The Events?
Many people have asked me why my articles are no longer on the Wizards website. Some had even asked in German. Well, here is my side of the story:
I’ve started writing with the purpose of sharing my sometimes amusing, sometimes sobering experience of playing Dungeons and Dragons with children, something I’ve done professionally for four years in dozens of schools and community centers. I wanted to help people who want to play with kids to avoid the pitfalls I walked into in the beginning of my career because there was no one there to teach me any better. I also wanted to entertain people with amusing stories from what I consider a very interesting and unusual job. I also wanted to get paid.
For a while it all went swell; Wizards were kind enough to publish the articles. Many people wrote me saying these mirrored their experiences, taught them something new or brought a smile to their lips. Others corrected me when they felt they could offer better advice or shared their own gaming experiences. This was great too; I’m not ashamed to say I’ve learned many very interesting facts and techniques from DDI readers.
Then, like poor Lorenzo Lamas, I committed the ultimate sin and honestly reported what I saw at the gaming table, both the good and the bad. Some people found reality didn’t fit their fantasy and saw fit to try to silence me, less I shatter their beautiful dreamland with ugly reports from the front. First it was my suggestion that poorly behaved children should be reprimanded and then my audacity at mentioning that male and female kids seem to have different preferences at the gaming table.
After a campaign of persecution and mudslinging that lasted over six months, they finally managed to bully Wizards into removing my articles. The man (now a woman who goes by the name Caoimhe/Kynn) who led these repeated attacks against me, the mastermind behind the plot if you will, had since been charged with rape, a crime some might consider worse than a few jokes in bad taste and a potentially controversial view on education. But it didn’t change anything — the damage was already done, the online lynch already completed and the articles were removed from the Wizards website.
What they failed to remove was me. Uri. The guy who DMs for 2-3 young groups each day and then relaxes by rolling some dice with his old buddies. Who has an infinity of stories to share from an infinity of games he ran. Who did every mistake imaginable and continues to do new mistakes and is more than eager to tell you about it. Who talks about himself in the third person because it’s so dangerous to be near him, even I try to keep a safe distance.
Since then, the good people of Geekcentrcity were kind enough to give the homeless articles a new home. There they can be found to this very day. If you want advice columns on how to create a utopia of love and equality, go somewhere else. I don’t know anything about this, I’m not a politician, not a philosopher, not a terrorist (well, maybe a little bit…) and not a philanthropist. I’m not looking for a new ideological flame war. I’m just a guy who plays D&D. A LOT.
Artwork by Michael, aged 7 and future master of the hidden dark.
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