This interview is with Quin Callahan, a TTRPG content publisher and frequent runner of games at libraries. Quin shares what it’s like running youth-focused TTRPG library groups, how these games have affected players, and some advice for starting your own library campaign!

The following is a write-in interview conducted between Quin Callahan (the interviewee) and Steph Campbell from TTRPGkids (the interviewer). This interview is posted with permission from the interviewee.

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What’s your backstory (i.e. what cool stuff do you do/what have you worked on)?

I’ve been a freelance writer for about nine years, having worked on tons of different stuff, including TTRPG content for a few different publishers. I’ve also started my own small company, JQ Dreams, very recently and have started making some content with my business partner, Jamie Conklin.

Before becoming a writer, I was also a tutor and a library assistant, where I had the privilege of running a TTRPG group for the Warren County Library (specifically its northeast branch).   

You’ve run youth-focused TTRPG groups at your library – can you tell us about how that started? 

My library, like most other public libraries, runs a bunch of different clubs designed to get the community more engaged with what it’s doing and encourage people to visit. I was personally surprised when I realized the library was running a Super Smash Brothers club and a Minecraft club. This made me realize there was probably space for a TTRPG club, so I pitched it to my bosses and they agreed. 

Most gaming clubs are just inherently aimed at a younger demographic, mostly for practical reasons. Initially, I think we aimed to make it 14 and up, but eventually it became just a general TTRPG club open to basically anyone old enough to understand the game who was willing to try and learn the game. This quickly made it a club mostly made up of adolescents in their early teens or a little younger, along with the occasional parent. 

How has running a library group been different from running, say, a home game? 

I’d say the most immediate challenge was time. We would only have maybe two hours at most to run the game. For some additional context, we mostly played Pathfinder and 5e, which are both games where combat is usually going to take at least 30 minutes in my experience, often longer. 

This feeds into the second challenge I had, which is guiding players, many of which are young, towards deliberate, productive decisionmaking that allows them to use that limited time effectively. This is helpful in any game, but it’s especially important in a public game with tight time constraints. 

I think most home games probably tend to go for at least four hours, in my experience. That means losing time on things like shopping or having players actively roleplaying, seeking out quest hooks and potentially not finding something quickly has a less negative impact on the experience. Unsurprisingly, lost time has a bigger impact the shorter your sessions.  

What benefits have you seen the library group having on players?  Or on yourself?

I think the biggest impact you can see with any younger group of people playing TTRPGs is their ability to think complexly and act autonomously can improve over time in a way that I think is probably overall pretty positive, all while they have fun.

Having a kid inhabit the role of a fictional hero, in a safe environment where there are basic rules in place to make sure people have fun and that things don’t get too dark, helps them learn to make decisions they often don’t need to think about in their day-to-day but which one day will be very important. This includes spending a limited supply of money, negotiating with people of different beliefs and temperament, determining right from wrong, and more.

For myself, I can also say running any kind of consistent public game can be a good way to really see what works and what doesn’t. Gaming with friends has the “safety rail” of them being generally biased in your favor. It’s hard to have no fun playing with friends. That isn’t true with strangers; if you don’t learn what actually works and engages players, you’re going to see a loss of players as they just start to feel disinterested. 

What advice do you have for folks who want to start their own library TTRPG group for youth players?

First, figure out what rules you need in place to keep the game age appropriate. Violence can’t be graphic and there probably shouldn’t be any mention of sex. Other topics, like religion and romance, are a bit more complicated but I would be very careful with any material that has the potential to get too complex or dark. This isn’t just a safety thing, either, as a lot of young players will struggle to care or engage with things they don’t really understand. Whatever rules you make, you should write down and explain them to all players.

Second, pitch the club to whoever has the authority to allow it. There’s a solid body of research suggesting TTRPGs tend to have positive effects on players and plenty more anecdotal evidence about the many ways these games can help people grow and develop useful skills. This is all while they get to play a fun game, which they can even learn to run themselves and thus spread it to even more people. 

Third, I would try to ask your players what sort of game they want to play in and design a campaign around their ideas. This includes once the game starts, especially because your club will presumably get new people periodically who weren’t part of that initial conversation. Try to figure out, maybe by asking directly, what excites and bores your players. Not every moment needs to appeal to every player, but most of what’s happening in a game should at least be designed to appeal to the majority of the group when possible.

Four, be clear on expectations and ready to enforce those expectations. Players of all kinds, but especially young players, can be chaotic. Explain the tone of your game (especially what sort of content isn’t allowed) and make sure to calmly pause the game if someone does something that’s a bit too much (like randomly murdering innocent NPCs or making some kind of sexual remark) to remind players of your expectations. I think the biggest help is often just reminding players that their character needs to actually be on the party’s team if they want to play them. Because most players want to play heroes, mentioning that a non-heroic action would cause a PC to become an NPC, requiring a player make a new character, is usually enough to have a player decide not to engage in a particular action. 

I have a ton more I could say on this topic, because running a fun, long-term game of any kind, let alone for youth, is tough, but I’ll leave my advice here so as not to overwhelm the reader. 

Is there anything we missed talking about that you’d like to speak on?  Do you have any shoutouts?  Is there any of your work that you’d like to highlight?

On the topic of youth games, I think the final thing I’d say is to remember to keep things simple and always give clear goals. You should certainly leave room for creativity, but it’s okay to guide players more immediately towards puzzles and obviously evil enemies than you might for an older audience. I’ll also plug the Path of the Witness Barbarian subclass JQ Dreams has recently put out for 5e. If you’re interested in a subclass where you slowly become monstrous and eventually confront a creature that pulls on both your conscious and subconscious, check it out! 

Thank you Quin for taking time to share your experiences! You have some wonderful tips for running TTRPGs for youth players, and I am grateful that you set up a TTRPG club at your library. It has an impact on the community, and I’m hoping your words here can inspire others to do the same!

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