If you have just wandered onto the site, you probably have a few questions about who we are, what we do, and why we are here. I will do my best to answer those questions for you here!

Young Heroes connects kids and teens with vetted, background-checked Dungeon Masters for safe, fun online D&D adventures — from the team at StartPlaying.com.

Young Heroes brings the magic of Dungeons & Dragons to young players from the comfort of home — no commute, no hassle. Every session is recorded for safety, every Dungeon Master is background checked, and every adventure is designed to help kids build empathy, problem-solving skills, and friendships that last.

StartPlaying is the largest online platform for 18+ players to find games and Game Masters (GMs) for any game system or virtual tabletop!

StartPlaying hosts thousands of GMs on our website so players can find the perfect GM for their group of friends, or make new friends along the way.
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While some tools for Young Heroes will live on StartPlaying (like Account Settings and Messages), these are two separate products. Games for kids and games for adults are kept completely separate.
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If you want to list your games and join Young Heroes as a Dungeon Master (DM), you will need to create an account, then apply to become a DM.

All DMs need to apply and be screened. This process is separate from the GM application process on StartPlaying, and includes a background check, gathering player reviews, and completing required learning courses.

Being a GM on StartPlaying already does not automatically make you a DM on Young Heroes. Being a DM on Young Heroes also does not automatically make you a GM on StartPlaying.

The minimum price per player is $25.00. If you are a player, your cost will depend on which DM and game you book with. All of our DMs set their own prices for their services. More information on pricing can be found here.

For DMs: Young Heroes takes a 25% cut of any game bookings. However, the minimum price for all games is $25.00 per player. You can find more information on pricing and payouts for DMs here.

Dungeon Masters on Young Heroes are vetted by our Trust & Safety team, and must pass specialized trainings along with background checks in order to DM on the platform.

A step-by-step guide on the Dungeon Master application process can be found here.

Players on Young Heroes are charged 1 hour after the start of a game. This gives our DMs a little wiggle room to be able to cancel a game if there are technical difficulties.

Players can leave a campaign to avoid being charged. However, unlike on StartPlaying, players are still charged for sessions that are skipped. Sessions must also be explicitly scheduled on the platform for charges to occur. More information on how to skip sessions can be found here.

DMs can see all payments in the Payouts section of their GM Dashboard. All payments are handled directly through the site and our payment processor, Stripe, so that no third-party apps are needed. Games must be in Active status, meaning they meet all requirements such as minimum player count and confirmed scheduling, for payments to be processed.

📌 Note: It is against our Terms of Service to pay for a game using 3rd party apps (Ex: Venmo, PayPal, etc.)