Help & Glossary
Glossary
44 core rules terms, kid-readable
How Dice Work
What a d20 is and why you add your stat
How to Format Your Adventure
The Markdown spec the importer reads
Situational DM Guidance
Quick answers for the moments that come up mid-game. Can't find yours? Use the search box above — it covers this list, the Glossary, and the whole Rules Reference at once.
What do I do if a player wants to attack an NPC who's talking?
Let them. Ask what their hero does, then cut the NPC off mid-sentence — that's a great dramatic beat, not a problem to solve. Call for a roll (usually Strength to swing, or Sneakiness for a surprise hit) and describe the consequence: the NPC might fight back, flee, or the rest of the room might react. You don't need to have planned for this; you're allowed to make it up on the spot.
A player asks to do something the rules don't cover — now what?
Pick the closest matching stat, set a target number (10 easy, 14 tricky, 17 hard), and have them roll. You're the one deciding what counts as easy or hard, and that's fine — there's no wrong answer. If it doesn't matter much either way, you can even skip the roll and just say yes.
A roll succeeds and I didn't plan for that — what now?
Say yes and figure out the fun version on the spot. A surprising success is one of the best parts of the game — it usually means the story gets to go somewhere more interesting than you'd planned. Describe a clear win, then keep going; you can always steer the next scene back toward where you wanted to end up.
A player looks scared during a fight — how do I ease off?
Make the danger easier to talk your way out of. Let enemies be scared off, let a hero's ability work automatically, or simply narrate the monster backing away instead of landing a hit. It's completely fine to quietly lower the target number or skip a monster's turn — nobody at the table will know, and nobody needs to.
Players can't agree on what to do next — how do I keep things moving?
Ask for a quick vote, or just go with whoever calls it out first — that's very on-brand for D&D. For a branching choice (like the Diversion in "The Whispering Cave"), you only need to prepare the one path the group actually picks, so don't stress about the others.
A player wants a character type that isn't one of the six — what do I say?
Let them pick the closest existing type and reflavor it — a "Monk" can just be a Fighter with a different description, since the mechanics (stats, HP, two abilities) don't need to change for the story to feel different. Keeping everyone on the same six types keeps the game simple and fast to run.
I lost track of where we are in the story — how do I recover?
Ask the players to recap what just happened — they'll usually remember better than you and enjoy retelling it. Otherwise, check the Session Log on the Run Adventure screen; every scene change gets logged automatically, so you can see exactly where you left off.
A fight is dragging on too long — how do I wrap it up?
Have the remaining enemies flee, surrender, or get talked down — you don't need to fight to the last HP. Dropping an enemy's HP a little faster than the numbers say, or just narrating a decisive final blow, keeps the pace up without anyone noticing you nudged it.
A hero's HP hits 0 — what happens?
In the kid-friendly system, 0 HP just means the hero is knocked out of the fight for now — not a permanent loss. Narrate them falling back, dazed but okay, and let a Healer's Healing Touch or the end of the encounter bring them back up. Keep it low-stakes; the goal is a fun story, not a harsh penalty.
It's time to stop but the story isn't finished — how do I end the session?
Find the nearest natural pause — right after a scene resolves is ideal — and stop there. Use the "Jump to Scene" control to leave the adventure sitting on the right scene, and the initiative tracker and session log both save automatically, so picking back up next time takes about ten seconds.