The Unexpected DM

A local gamestore runs small one-off games in local bars on Sundays. Last Thursday, I threw my name in after my wife showed me the ad asking for DMs on Facebook. I had no idea what to expect, but I figured that if nothing else it would at least be an experience.

Shortly after contacting the store, I was sent the module we were expected to run and I nearly called them back to say no thank you. The set up was: Kid dragons going to ‘Smaugwartz School’.

My first reaction was shock. On their own the elements were fine: A game with dragon hatchling PCs could be fun. I’m not a Potterhead by any means, but I’ve read the books and enjoyed them. I could fake enough for a Hogwarts game. But this mash-up just felt … juvenile. I kept picturing a preschool show like Paw Patrol about a group of colourful kiddy dragons going to a magic school. Oh, what fun and educational adventures they’d have.

Pictured something like this....

If this is what modern kids want out of the new D&D, I want no part of it.

Luckily I persevered and read through the whole thing. It wasn’t as bad as I’d feared, the premise actually was that the hatchlings were ‘graduating’ and were given a final test by their teacher. They had to fly to a nearby valley and talk to some elves, visit some dwarves and terrorize some kobolds.
The reasons they had to do these things wasn’t very clear, but the one who returned with the most treasure, followers and princesses would be given a small starter horde by the school. You were supposed to give the dragons points for doing things like ‘lighting fires’, and ‘kidnapping princesses’. It didn’t hang together in a coherent way, but at least it wasn’t set in the actual school or require a lot of role-playing dragon versions of Potterverse characters.

I sat down and quickly rewrote it while sticking to general plot. Since the game had been advertised under that title, I had to keep that horrible "Smaugwarts" pun, but I tweaked that too. I placed the school inside a tall mountain dotted with caves, instead of an actual school. I also clarified the encounters and what the party had to do at each location.

The dwaves lived in a bronze city at the edge of the mountains. The city, and its vault, were protected by two giant cannons on the walls, regiments of archers and royal guards who rode flail snails into battle.

The kobolds lived in an ancient ruins in the middle of a swamp, and would gladly serve the dragons as followers, provided the dragons rid them of their current protectors … a family pack of Tyrannosaurus Rexes.

I kept the Harry Potter theme alive in the dragons visit to the (house) elves who happily negotiated with the beast as to how many elves would serve them, and at what prices.

"Look! Elves, sir!."
"Keep walking Sam. Don't make eye contact."

When the game got underway I was immediately cheered when one of the players declared that he thought the Smaugwarts idea was a little silly, so his character was actually an exchange student in from the Forgotten Realms. After the game, another player said he’d also been worried when he saw the game was going to be Potterdragons, but that he’s enjoyed the actual session.

The game itself went smoothly, with the group causing merry havoc in the dwarf city, getting nearly eaten by T-Rexes and being surprised (and not a little nonplussed) at the congeniality and eagerness of the elves to sell themselves into servitude.

The fun I got out of rewriting the adventure and its positive reaction were a good reminder of a lesson I relearn every time I roll some dice. It’s not the module that makes the session. It’s the dedication and commitment of the players and the dungeon master around the table that counts.