With the rise of Stranger Things, Critical Role, and the general acceptance of nerd culture, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is experiencing an explosion in popularity with kids and teens. So how can public and school libraries (and librarians) capitalize on this new-found interest, promote their collections, boost their programming, AND get kids excited? By hosting simple D&D campaigns, of course! Join Children’s Librarian Molly Virello as she guides you through the (not-as-epic-as-you’d-think) quest to host D&D programs at your library. She will talk about how she ran her campaigns, suggest quick guides and materials to get you started, lay out simple rules, and help you figure out how to run your own campaign. Learn from her mistakes so you can succeed! Time permitting, she may even demonstrate her Dungeon Master skills, set the scene, and use a few volunteers from the audience to play a few rounds of one of the campaigns she used at her library to give participants a taste of the fun such a program can create.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will be able to develop a simple campaign, complete with monsters and encounters, based on research from materials in library, D&D lore, or through a template.
Upon completion, participants will be able to facilitate a D&D game at their library by using the simplified rules and game play established in this presentation, through discussion, and handouts.
Upon completion, participants will be able to support players during game play through suggestions, hints, praise, and encouragement, using the structure outlined, in order to move the story along.
Upon completion, participants will be able to participate in simple gameplay and understand basic D&D math and mechanics using 20-sided and 6-sided dice.
