Heroes B&B started its D&D Chat with Twin Cities art Danny Williams of Miniatures Mutated. Danny provides tips for beginner painters as well as shows off some of his current (incredible!) mini projects. You can contact Danny through the Miniatures Mutated Facebook page at ​https://www.facebook.com/miniatures.mutated/

At its heart, the essence of the world’s most popular role-playing adventure game, Dungeons & Dragons, is pretty basic. Get a quest, overcome obstacles in a fantasy setting and ultimately, strive to achieve that quest.
Simple, right?
Where it gets a little confusing is in the rules and the plethora of dice that are involved. Most people who have not played Dungeons & Dragons will look at you strangely after you ask them to “roll a ‘d20’ to attack a creature and then their damage dice if they hit.”
Say what, they’ll inquire sheepishly?
Exactly!
Which is why when a friend of Heroes B&B asked us to put together an adaptive version of the D&D game, we said, “Absolutely. But we need to make it make it less confusing for these new players!”
What we’ve come up with relies heavily on storytelling – a Heroes B&B staple – as well as reduces the number of dice in the game. What our simplified D&D system doesn’t do is change the essence of the game, which is relying on the luck of a rolled dice to partially indicate the success a player has in overcoming the obstacles present in this fantasy setting.
Here’s a short outline of our simplified system, something we believe would work well with a variety of players new to the game:
* Each player character will be given a character sheet, as shown above. Each player also will receive three dice: one yellow, one green and one blue. The dice will correspond with the same-colored box on the character sheet. So if a player rolls a yellow dice, they (or a volunteer) should look at the rolled number and then add a plus-2 to the total. For example, a player rolls a 10 on the dice. They would add plus-2 to that total and the character’s roll would be communicated as a “12.” (NOTE: You can click on the character sheets on this page and download them at no cost. We suggest you laminate them so you can use them repeatedly.)
* The Game Master, or GM, will tell the player which dice to roll according to the situation. For example, when a player wants to look around a new location - a "Perception" roll - they’ll roll a yellow dice. When they want to attack an evil-doing troll, they’ll roll a green dice.
* The player character sheet has boxes on the left side of it. These boxes indicate the player’s current health. When a player suffers “damage”, they’ll simply mark off the boxes. For example, if a player takes 3 damage, they’ll mark off 3 boxes. The player character sheets will be laminated so such marks can be erased at a later time with ease.
* The player character sheet also has a name, race, picture and information about each character. Players can always change their name if they so choose.
* The player character sheet also has two other items of note: 1) a picture of two hands. This is a once-a-day healing ability that players can opt to use on their turn. Once this ability is used, it can simply be crossed off; 2) a picture of a shield and a number in the shield. The latter is the player’s “Armor Class,” a number the Game Master must equal or surpass on a roll in order to successfully target or “hit” a player.
We hope this adaptive version of D&D will allow less experienced players to enjoy the far-flung fantasy settings and memorable quests involved in this creative and entertaining game.
If you have questions on this adaptive D&D system, would like one of our player character sheets at no cost, or if you have ideas on how to improve it, reach out to me at neil.pascale@yahoo.com.

​Since writing our initial blog, we’ve had a number of parents reach out to us and say, “I’m game! Show me how to do this, to start rolling dice with our kids.”
Easy enough done, in terms of providing online resources.
There’s a second step, however, that I do want to spend some time on.
But first, let’s ensure you have what you’ll need to start. For an online how-to manual, check out https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop/players-basic-rules. Then you’ll want to go to a local gaming store (Google “Dungeons and Dragons stores near me”) and get some dice – these are actually different than the ones you probably have around the house – and a map and some miniatures. The latter are representations of player characters and monsters that fit on the aforementioned map. In all, maybe a $20-$30 investment, or about what you’ll pay to go see a movie.
On your own, read through the rules. Don’t worry about mastering them, just get a fair understanding of them.
Then here’s the crucial part: Don’t bore your kids with what you just learned.
Every time Heroes B&B puts on a game with players new to the D&D adventuring world we tell them the following: there are two aspects to this game. The first one allows you to interact with a fantasy world in whatever manner you wish. You simply have to tell us what you’re going to do before you do it. Second, if you encounter a threat, the game changes to a turn-based system, and we'll let you know when that happens.
At that point, we set off into a fantasy world filled with wonder, magic and the occasional grumpy troll.
The point is: Storytelling comes first, rules second.
Show me a place where my imagination can run wild and then sprinkle in some limitations (ie, the rules) and I’ll keep coming back for more. And more, and more!

I inwardly laugh as a type this because there are so many reasons why you, as a fellow parent, will flinch at what I’m about to recommend. And that's this: Start rolling some dice with your children.
Did you flinch? I mean the mere idea of rolling dice as part of an adventure game with your kids is, at its most basic, pretty absurd to consider.
Adventure gaming – what many refer to as role-playing games – is played at a table. So cardio exercise and conditioning? Ahhh, no.
Oh, and it’s played for hours at a time, often with loud outbursts. So peaceful? Ahhh, no.
And get this, it can be pretty violent, at least in a story sense. But less violent than what we’re constantly shown on TV and online, right? Ahhh, no.
So why would a parent, like myself, advise you to start adventure gaming with your kids?
There are a number of reasons, and we’ll get to that. But first, let’s explain this adventure gaming concept. For many of us, we first encountered it as a table-top game called “Dungeons & Dragons.” We probably played it in high school or college and later with other adults. At its core, its essentially a quest game. Get a quest – “save the fairie from the evil, hungry giant frog!” – and hopefully save the day by using your wits and what are now fairly simple game rules. And there’s chance involved - quite a bit of it! This is where the aforementioned dice come in as the game’s outcome can be decided by a heartening or heart attack-inducing roll.
Which is why adventure gaming is such a terrific activity to do with your kids. It can be, without question, a tremendously entertaining time. And get this, there are actually educational components wrapped up in this activity, including:

• Math. Simple yes, but mathematics are a constant part of this game. And honestly, there have been too many times I’ve gamed with young adults and/or teenagers that have struggled with completing their simple math (18 plus 7 is … is ... will they ever answer?!? ). At which point I inwardly wonder: Would this person's math challenges even be existent if they started adventure gaming when they were in elementary school? I seriously doubt it.
• Public speaking. Was there anything more frightening than having to get up in front of your fourth or fifth grade class and speak about a topic (that you didn’t care about)? For adventure gaming players – young and old – this is not even a blip on their radar because public speaking is something that’s done constantly in an adventure gaming environment. (Without them even thinking about it as public speaking!)
• Reading comprehension. This is a biggie and something parents who don’t adventure game have no idea about. But here’s what happens: A young player is introduced to adventure gaming and loves it. In fact, they love it so much they want to do it with their friends. So they become “Game Masters” - leaders of the adventure - for their peers, which requires them to read an adventure and then be able to communicate that adventure back to their friends. Boom! Reading comprehension, right there. And without one fuss or complaint about having to do homework. Crazy, right?

Besides the sheer entertainment value of adventure gaming, those are three terrific reasons why you should consider adventure gaming with your children. Get those dice rolling!
​
Neil Pascale is a parent who lives in the Twin Cities. He is the founder of Heroes B&B, a Twin Cities-based service that provides adventure gaming to groups and families in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. He first started gaming as a middle-school student in math class. (Please don’t ask him what his grade ended up being in that class!) He can be reached at neil.pascale@yahoo.com