Parent's Guide | yagdnd.ca

PARENT’S GUIDE: Everything You Need to Know

What is D&D?

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Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop roleplaying game that has been around in various editions since the 1970s. In this game players create a unique character with their own set of skills and attributes and role plays as that character through various scenarios and situations. The characters will fight monsters, use magic, have discussions with other characters at the table and out in the fantasy world. All decisions in the game are made using dice rolls, and the Dungeon Master (DM) is in charge of running the game and having the final say on those decisions based on the game’s ruleset. Ultimately the game serves as a large collaborative story told by the DM and built upon by the interactions with every player at the table.

For all our programs we will be using 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules including new updates brought in with the new 2024 rulebooks. We will also be using compatible Homebrew content such as Humblewood (https://humblewood.com/pages/the-humblewood-campaign-setting).

The When’s and Where’s

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Our programs will run out of the themed private rooms located at The Game Chamber - a local tabletop/card/boardgame store. The Game Chamber is located at 1700 Dundas St, London, ON, the business plaza next to the Gibraltar’s Weekend Market (map). To access the rooms, you will need to walk straight down passed the counter into the back play space. From there the private rooms are to the right, tucked into their own area. Look out for Jessica or Kayla who should be outside the room ready to get your child/youth signed in.

THE GAME CHAMBER IS MOVING! Starting after the holiday season 2025, The Game Chamber will be moving to 525 First Street (map) across the street from TriOS College. We will update this section with instructions on how to access the program once the move has been completed and we have been informed of any new processes, and how to find the room.

All programs run on Sundays approximately every other week (barring holidays). Single group terms run from 12:00pm (noon) until 3:00pm, for a total of 3 hours. Terms running more than one group will run the first group from 11:00am until 1:00pm and the second group from 2:00pm until 4:00pm for a total of 2 hours each. Breaks will be approximately every hour to give the children/youth a chance to stretch and snack.

Drop Off/Pickup, Attendance Expectations

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You will need to sign-in your child for attendance to our program, and sign them out at pick up. We will just ask for your initials on our attendance to show your child's arrival and departure. This is partially for attendance tracking and also a safety feature for us to make sure children are coming and going safely with adults they trust. For children 13 years of age or older, they may sign themselves in/out unless you tell us you would prefer otherwise. We do still expect that those youth are arriving and departing with adults they trust, however we know young teens are often independent and may also be bringing themselves to the program. This was the best choice for a happy medium between safety and independence. We will start taking sign-ins 10 minutes before the start of the session, and children will generally be ready for pickup at or just before the end of the session.

If you arrive for pick up earlier than the end time, we respectfully ask that you wait outside the play space until the door has been opened (indicating the session is over) so the game will be allowed to run and conclude without interruption. The rooms are on the smaller side, so they do not accommodate silent spectators.

Since every person’s presence at the table matters for our games to run smoothly, we expect that everyone will be attending every session. However, we understand that things can come up out of the blue so we just ask that we are given as much notice as possible of any absences due to illness or other reasons. If there are too many absences at once on any given week, we risk not being able to run our program as intended so we ask that you try to avoid planning other activities during our dates. All our dates are outlined on our Session Dates page and can be reviewed from there.

Pricing and Payment Information

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[All Prices Listed are in Full and per child/youth]

Per Week: $25

Per Term:

Winter 2026 (Feb-May, 8 sessions) $200

You may pay per week, or pay for the whole term. Those paying for the full term may choose to pay it in its entirety upfront, or have it broken down into monthly payments over the course of the term. Contact program organizers to setup payment plans. First payment will be due at time of confirmed registration based on your chosen plan. All payments will be sent via e-transfer to yagdnd@yahoo.com – we are setup for auto deposit so no passcodes are necessary. If e-transfer doesn’t work for you, we can discuss cash or other options via the same email.

Is money a tough subject for your family? We understand. If your child/youth is really interested in joining but you aren’t sure about being able to afford the program, please reach out to us via email so we can discuss options. We don’t want to see finances be a barrier that keeps children/youth from experiencing something fun that they really want to do.

Refunds

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There will be no refunds even if the program is cancelled by the organizers directly. This may happen due to inclement weather, business closure, organizer illness or family emergencies. In the event of a cancellation, as much advance notice as possible will be provided and a $25 discount will be applied to your next payment in lieu of a refund. If you are unsure about potential absences (e.g. due to family trips) and concerned about costs, we suggest paying per week instead of the whole term ahead of time. This way you will only pay for the sessions your child/youth is sure to attend. In lieu discounts will not be issued due to individual absences (including in the case of illness) as the program will continue to run.

Behaviour Policy

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Please take the time to read through the Players Code of Conduct so you can get an understanding of the program expectations for your child/youth. We will be discussing these expectations directly with the children/youth during our first session.

While we will try everything within our power to make sure the program is a positive and welcoming environment, sometimes a person’s behaviour may be pushing beyond what is appropriate or manageable. In the event that your child/youth struggles with the behavioural expectations outlined in the code of conduct, they will receive 2 warnings before you will be contacted directly to come pick them up from the program early. If we need to do this frequently, then your child may be unable to attend the following session, and there is a possibility that your child’s membership in the program will be revoked.

We have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying in our program space, and membership can be revoked as a consequence for repeated, targeted, aggressive/malicious behaviour.

Supports and Medical Needs

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We understand children/youth can come with a variety of medical and support needs. Though we cannot demand disclosure of a disability, it is important that we be made aware at time of registration if your child has any diagnoses that may affect their ability to participate in the program without additional supports or accommodations. While we can also not require the disclosure of medications your child has on their person and what they are for, it is important to know that at this time we are not in a position to hold or administer medications to minors. If your child will require us to administer medications during our time together, then this program will unfortunately not be a good fit for them. We will try our best to work with you and your child/youth to make sure they are still able to have a positive experience in the program. It is important to note, however, that we are only a team of two. Our DM is also our only team member with any training in working with children with complex needs, and is therefore not able to act as both a 1:1 support and the DM at the same time. In the event that the program doesn't work out for your child due to not being able to meet their needs in this way, a full refund of remaining sessions will be issued.

Being Prepared

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We recommend sending your child/youth with snacks or a small bagged lunch they can eat at the break. Especially if they didn’t get a chance to eat lunch before the program. We request that you avoid sending/bringing any snack that would make a mess that isn’t easily cleaned. The Game Chamber itself sells a small variety of snacks and drinks so feel free to send your child/youth with money for that if you would like to.

Please send your child/youth to the program with a filled water bottle, pencil, and eraser. If your child/youth owns a set of polyhedral dice, they are welcome to bring it to the program. Fidget toys are also welcome if needed as long as they are not disruptive, are small, and are limited to 1 or 2 at a time (please no slimes or putties). Dice sets, pencils and erasers will be available to borrow if your child/youth does not have their own.

If there are any questions/concerns about anything written here in the Parent’s Guide please feel free to fill out our contact form and we will respond as soon as we can.