Playing every weekend or every other weekend has become old school? I’m glad to be enrolled!

I was a teacher for over 20 years and now have the opportunity to share ideas through professional learning with teachers. I’m thrilled about this idea! It would work for science, which is what I thought, but also really nicely with history. Especially sixth grade and seventh grade in California, where there are all these different diverse cultures that need to be learned. I’m curious how the mechanics work with your large class? Not the 29 is that larger class, but it’s very large for 🐉D&D🐉 or any other system of role-playing. I could envision having groups play PCs or training several students as game masters. If the teacher created the campaign, it could be given to small groups to play. There would need to be a way that the students could learn the system and how role-playing in general works. I would think it would be important to get by entrance some of the students that might roll their eyes at the Idea. Not that middle school students ever rolled their eyes. Never. I’m curious how you managed time as well, because it seems like it would be hard to get through all the content without it taking months. I’m sure you’ve got a system. I probably have 10 more questions, but I’ll leave it at that for now. I think there’s a lot of potential in this idea. There might even be a book in here somewhere!

Cohesion Session -1? I haven’t done one yet, just read obsessively and talked with people in here, my people, and AI. So excited! It feels like this session can accomplish interpersonal things. People get input into the world and that affects their character. I would be present and active in the excitement if co-creation! People get to know each other as people before they interact as PCs. Setting those Givens could raise some eyebrows, in the right way. Thanks for your insights. This helps me think about our session -1. We have it easier because we all played together for at least two years, but this style will be new. We plan a party atmosphere, with food and decorations and fun! My concern is the players who “just go along “. I like the system if going around the circle, offering them dedicated time to share. The talkers tend to all talk at once, so the rule is if you aren’t cuddling the plush dragon, you close your pie-hole! Simultaneously, I’m trying to think of ways to make sharing feel safe to my reserved players. They may not have ideas. The tables in the book will help. I’m making copies for everyone.

@Ty Prunty Yes, we level up about once every 5 weeks. I’m not a fan of the old-school XP system for reasons others described and it’s too much work. At first we used a simple modified system from Dungeon World. Seven points max for things we wanted to encourage like playing in character, using voices, playing with proper alignment, and bringing in your backstory. Plus the usual loot and killing points. Taking risks was rewarded too, even if it failed. Now we have moved to milestones and it feels right.

@Tristan Fishel Love this and it resonates! Incentivize play that they group agrees would be fun and keep the process low key.

@James Willetts I agree. I have DM’d three home brews in the past 8 years and Tomb of Annihilation, which lacked the depth of story that I enjoy. It took 8 years to get my people comfortable with DnD (one has played essentially the same character) so we aren’t switching! 🤣

@Ty Prunty and others… once we get the world built, factions, setting, conflicts, key NPCs (which I used to do alone but now and thrilled to do cooperatively), I lean on AI for many things. Monsters, NPCs, weapons, even spells. I love the creative brainstorming with AI and then a finished playable result for my system.