Game Master has created for them. In my experience, letting players devolve into player versus player combat only results in hurt feelings, they are a team, and they need to look out for one another. This is one of the great things about games like D&D, it builds empathy and understanding.
Session Zero is also a time for you to help the players create their characters. I fi nd that they really love writing backstories for their characters, drawing them, rolling the dice to determine how strong, smart or agile they are.
Decisions
When running a tabletop roleplaying game, you as the librarian must also decide what kind of game you want to play, do you have time to create your own world, or do you want to purchase a pre-made one (this is what I do!). Do you want students running the game or do you have time to run it themselves? When are you going to run the programme – during lunch or after school?
In a public library setting this won’t be an issue, but it will be important to decide what times of day work best and when it will draw the bigger crowd. You will also have to determine how many students you will allow to play, we have over fi fty stu-
dents who take part in our sessions, but this is because we have fi ve teenage Game Masters who run sessions after school and at lunch at diff erent points in the week. My suggestion is to start small with six students and see how it goes. Each session should not have over eight students in my opinion. It is also a good idea to speak to senior leadership and parents when start- ing a tabletop roleplaying game in case they have any questions.
Let’s Roll
I am very fortunate and excited to have written a book on this topic, it’s called Let’s Roll: A Guide to Setting Up Tabletop Roleplaying Games in Your School or Public Library and it has been published by Facet. The book is broken down into step-by-step practical advice on setting up and running tabletop roleplaying games. It provides case studies from around the world by school and public librarians who run tabletop roleplaying games on a regular basis. It discusses how to ap- proach senior leadership if permissions on running games like these are required. It also breaks down in detail resources required and how to run a session zero with your players. I provide a breakdown of how to run a session smoothly, how to deal with any behaviour issues, what you
and your players should expect from a session and how to get the most out of playing tabletop roleplaying games in your library. I sincerely hope it is useful in setting up and running games like this, there is also a resources section providing shorter, faster alternatives to games like Dungeons & Dragons if you are feeling overwhelmed by it.
Lasting friendships Ultimately, I thoroughly love running tabletop roleplaying games in the library because it is a very unique experience. My goal is for these students to look back and remember how much fun they had playing these games and to hopefully keep these friendships made around D&D for a long time. There have been a so many memorable events that have had the students on the edge of their seats, pacing the room in anticipation or howling with laughter that I couldn’t fi t them all into this article.
Whatever kind of tabletop roleplaying game you decide to run the essential thing to remember is that it is supposed to be fun, it is supposed to be a catharsis, the least of everyone’s daily struggle. I hope that you are able to set up a table- top roleplaying game in your library and that it is a rollicking success! IP
facet
publishing
Master all the skills you need to deliver a tabletop role-playing game programme in the library!
facetpublishing.co.uk/lets-roll
“Lucas is the perfect guide…This book will be of great help to all librarians looking to join him in his quest to make these games available to all”
– Alice Leggatt, School Librarian. ISBN 9781783306138 – £29.99 46 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL March 2023
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