Young Hero Storybook Adventures
A royal dessert must be delivered before sundown, but the road splits in two! Will your heroes find a way together, or find a way through?
TYPE
SYSTEM
LEVELS
EXPERIENCE
Details
Once / Tue, 11:00 PM - 12:30 AM (UTC)
Oct 6
$28 / Session
Ages 11 to 12
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
Welcome to Young Hero Parables, a series of stand-alone fairy-tale adventures where every young hero, brand new to the table or a seasoned pro trying online play for the first time, steps into a classic story with a twist: a moral choice waiting right at the edge of the map. Each parable is bite-sized, self-contained, and built for laughs, heart, and just enough danger to feel like a real adventure. In this parable, Two Paths, the party is entrusted with the single most important delivery of their young lives: the Duchess's prize tarts, baked fresh for tonight's royal festival, and absolutely not to be late, dropped, or nibbled. The road to the castle splits at an old stone marker; from there one path winds through a friendly village where the way forward means working together, the other cuts through a strange, puzzle-riddled hollow where the way forward means thinking things through. There's no wrong path and no wrong answer, just two very different kinds of hero moment, and a chance to see how your table's choices, big or small, shape the story. Characters are provided pre-built, so there's zero prep required; new players can focus entirely on discovering what kind of hero they want to be, while veteran players get a fresh, low-stakes reason to try the online table for the first time.
More details
Ages 11 to 12
The party will be made up of only kids ages 11 to 12, led by a vetted professional Dungeon Master. This game will be recorded for quality & safety purposes and saved securely for 90 days. To review the content allowed in this age band see our FAQ.
Plot & setting
Our heroes start as the kingdom's newest helpers, and their first job is getting the Duchess's prize tarts to the castle before sundown. From there, each parable is a new chapter: a classic story with a twist and a choice at its heart, and the party's decisions shape where the road leads next. Expect puzzles, friendly locals, mischievous villains, and light, goofy combat where everyone gets a moment to shine.
Education
Game style
Meet the Dungeon Master
Non Playable Aaron
5.0
(3)
4 years on Young Heroes
Highly rated for: Beginner Friendly, Voices, Rule of Cool
About me
Hello! My name is Aaron, and I'm an ESL educator here in Minnesota with over six years of classroom experience, including time teaching abroad in Japan. But before I was a teacher, I was a wee lad myself. My father passed me the DM torch when I was 12, and I've been the forever Game Master for my friend group ever since — going on (redacted) years of running tables now. Those two halves of my life (teaching and game mastering) turned out to be a perfect match. I bring the same instincts I use in the classroom to the table: reading the room, making sure every kid gets a moment to shine, and building stories that reward curiosity and teamwork over "winning." I've run D&D camps, school workshops, and after-school clubs, so I know how a table of kids is different from a table of adults. I truly love that difference. If your kid is ready for their first adventure (or their fiftieth), I'd love to be the one running it.
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Reviews from parents and guardians
What to expect
Preparing for the session
After your booking is confirmed, I'll send a link to our table's D&D Beyond campaign along with quick setup instructions. Your kid will need a free D&D Beyond account linked to that campaign. This step is required, because it's where we build characters in Session 0 and where their character sheet lives for the rest of the campaign. StartPlaying will send the Zoom link for each session. One easy tip that makes online play much smoother: have your kid set their Zoom display name to "Player Name (Character Name)," for example "Jamie (Sir Buttermilk)." Just their first name is required. It sounds small, but it helps the whole table keep track of who's who, in and out of character. Otherwise, just show up with a working webcam and microphone, a comfy seat, and a willingness to be a little silly and a little brave. Parents are always welcome to sit in on the first few minutes while we get everyone settled.
What Non Playable Aaron brings to the table
Battle maps, scenes, and handouts are shared right on my video feed through OBS, so there's nothing extra to download or log into. Everyone just watches the table come to life on Zoom. Character sheets live in our D&D Beyond campaign, and I'm happy to help with anything on them before or during play. Expect a bright, cartoon-style GM approach with character voices, sound effects, and a "Rule of Cool" mindset that rewards creative thinking over rules-lawyering. Just like the pros.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Physical Dice
Pen & Paper
Platforms used
D&D Beyond
D&D Beyond is the official digital companion platform for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. It offers character building and management tools, content collection, navigation, and organization, and a suite of virtual tabletop tools like encounter builders, and maps in both 2D and 3D.
Zoom
Zoom is a videoconferencing software used for video and telecommunications around the world by businesses, governments, and of course, RPG groups! It's a simple, functional, and ubiquitous program for reliable video chat.
Safety
StartPlaying is committed to providing a safe and fun space for kids to break into roleplaying games with our team of professional Dungeon Masters.
Vetted Dungeon Masters
We review every Dungeon Master's application and require background checks for them to work with kids.
Reviews from parents
We require Dungeon Masters to submit at least 3 reviews from previous games they have run.
Recorded sessions
We record kids' sessions for safety and review. You can access recordings for up to 90 days after the session has run.
Identity Verification
Your Dungeon Master will verify each player's identity at the start of each session before letting you into the call.
Secure Payments
All payments are done through Stripe, one of the most secure payment processors in the world.
Dedicated Trust & Safety
Our team works to ensure that every player has a welcoming, safe, and fun experience. We are ready to assist if needed.
How Non Playable Aaron creates a safe table
Together with players and any observing parents, we go over how the table works and build our Lines & Veils as a group, keeping it simple and age-appropriate. Everyone knows from the start that any player can pause or redirect the story at any time, no explanation needed. During each session, I check in naturally at breaks. We end every session with Stars and Wishes, a quick round of what everyone loved and what they'd like to see next. That also helps me shape future chapters around what the group enjoys. Our Lines & Veils stay in place for the whole game, and players or parents can add to them anytime by messaging me through StartPlaying. All sessions run on Zoom and are recorded per StartPlaying's Kids & Family policy.
Safety tools used
Additional tables
0 available
Frequently asked questions
$28.00
/ Session