Check out Secrets of Enduril for an easy to learn and very fun adventure that provides a solid base for introducing D&D (or TTRPGs in general) to kids!

Note: This review is based on my playtest and pre-release feedback review for the game, so some details in the final game may end up being a little different from what I describe here, but the general vibe should be the same.

Jump to: 

• Audience for Secrets of Enduril
• Setting for Secrets of Enduril
• Characters in Secrets of Enduril
• Mechanics in Secrets of Enduril
• Overall thoughts on Secrets of Enduril
• Find a copy of Secrets of Enduril

Audience for Secrets of Enduril

Secrets of Enduril is a TTRPG starter set and adventure guide that is made specifically for a parent or other facilitator to introduce tabletop RPGs to youth players.  

The mechanics are D&D-based but are adjusted to hone in on the key parts and be easy for kids who have never played a TTRPG before to still use and track.

Story-wise, this is also toned for younger players, including quests that can result in combat but that don’t have to (via player choice/direction), plots that include twists but that aren’t overly twisty, and focus on themes of exploration and helping folks.  Everything can, of course, be flavored how you and your players want, but the base tone of the material made me think of Hilda but D&D.  There’s stuff to find, it can get intense, you’re looking for odd stuff in the woods, and it’s not going to get gory or into the terrifying range unless you make it that way on purpose for your particular game.

Players will need to be able to read a few ability descriptions and recognize some stats on their character sheet as well as complete some basic addition (one stat added to a dice roll).

Overall, I’d say this would easily work well for most players 8 years old and up and could very well work for younger kids as well.  I played with my 7 year old, and kiddo was able to grasp the rules and story immediately and then wanted to continue playing after 2 hours, so it’s the right balance of being easy enough to pick up and engaging enough to want to keep going.

Setting for Secrets of Enduril

Secrets of Enduril is set in a medieval fantasy world!  There’s going to be wizards and rogues, elves and halflings, and mysteries and magic throughout your adventures. 

In the story that comes with the game, you’ll be investigating a series of alarming natural occurrences that could be signaling the start of a legendary cycle of disasters that will keep getting worse as time goes on.  

As you explore and uncover more, ideas of the original legends may be challenged, and new and interesting sources of chaos will emerge to keep players on their toes.  

It was an engaging adventure that captured the feel of what I think of when I imagine a bright medieval fantasy TTRPG.  It was exciting with fun locations (capital city, lively fishing village, ruins out in the creepy woods, etc) and lots of engaging characters on top of the puzzles and combat sprinkled throughout the tale.  

And… speaking of characters… 

Characters in Secrets of Enduril

Your character in Secrets of Enduril is going to be from one of the four pre-made(ish) character sheets: rogue, wizard, fighter, and ranger.  Each of these has two variations to choose from (for example, the fighter could be a soldier or a spy) and a place to put your species, which gives you a specific bonus. 

The character sheet is going to have your stats, special action, and attack specifications listed out, and each time you level up, you get a new sheet that has any upgrades to your character included.

This method gave enough flexibility that kiddo could pick a specific type of character (elf ranger-spy to be like Link from Legend of Zelda) but streamlined character creation from being an hour long process to being complete in about 5 minutes.  Kiddo got to choose, but it wasn’t overwhelming in either creation or gameplay. 

Switching gears a little, I also want to talk about the NPCs in the adventure. 

NPCs in the story were varied and immediately drew in both kiddo and my spouse, who played with us this time.  A couple favorites were the mayor of the fishing village, who had lots of information and this one kid who was playing by the beach.  I had A LOT of fun acting both of them out, and my family really enjoyed the energy those two had about them.  And aside from those two, there’s a solid mix of character types to interact with, and the art to back them up was pretty amazing, helping to both visualize and get a feel for the personality of the character.

Mechanics in Secrets of Enduril

Secrets of Enduril has a guide for playing this specific system, and it has a lot of AMAZING advice and techniques for just teaching new players TTRPGs, in general.

This guide covers the system mechanics, like how to roll, what checks are, how to see if an attack hits, et.  Overall, the mechanics felt like a very rules lite version of D&D that has the same foundation (skill checks, rolling for damage, similar stats) but can be explained in about five minutes.  It’s streamlined, understandable, and easy for players to track. 

When it comes to general advice, this is also a great guide for the GM to encourage players to create backstories, give NPCs and your story emotional depth, and balance player freedom and creativity with respecting boundaries and working within the game rules.

I found it to be quite a nice read, and I think the gameplay explanation guide is a wonderful and concisely focused intro for both players to learn how to play the game and for GMs to learn how to run one too.

Overall thoughts on Secrets of Enduril

We had A LOT of fun with this, and, like I said earlier, after two hours, kiddo still wanted to keep going, which is a big win.  

In that two hours, we made characters, interacted with multiple NPCs, conquered a puzzle in an interesting way (push that creativity!), investigated a few areas, and had a combat encounter in one session, and nothing felt rushed.  It was just good pacing with a lot of readily available content for keeping everyone involved and challenged, and we didn’t have to keep stopping to look up the rules or re-explain anything.  It flowed REALLY well.

Overall, I think Secrets of Enduril is a great TTRPG and a great TTRPG intro for new folks, and I’m excited to see it released in full soon!

Find a copy of Secrets of Enduril

You can find a copy of Secrets of Enduril through the Kickstarter campaign that’s launching in summer 2026!  If you’re here before it launches, make sure to sign up ahead of time!

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