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How to Prepare for a Session as a Guardian

Written by Mandycore the Manticore

Once you've signed your kid or teen up for their first game on Young Heroes, how do you actually get ready to start playing?

Things All Guardians Should do to Prepare

  1. Read the Prep Materials

  2. Create your D&D Beyond Account

  3. Create a Zoom account (optional)

  4. Share the Player rules with your kid/teen

  5. Connect with your Game Master

Note: All Young Heroes games are run using Zoom, but you are able to join via browser without a Zoom account.
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Read the Prep Materials

Every Dungeon Master will add Prep Materials when they make an Adventure.

Prep Materials have information a Dungeon Master wants to be sure a guardian knows before the game begins.

It might include:

  • A welcome message
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  • Any information your young hero should know before their first session
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  • Any forms or information they want you or your young hero to fill out ahead of time, like a Lines and Veils document

How to Find the Prep Materials

  1. Go to your Confirmation Email
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What platforms do Dungeon Masters use?

The only platforms we allow Dungeon Masters to use on StartPlaying are:

If your Dungeon Master uses D&D Beyond, you will need to make a D&D Beyond account for your kid or teen.

All games on Young Heroes require Zoom. You can make a Zoom account if you want, but Zoom also allows you to join directly from your browser.

If a Dungeon Master ever attempts to move you to a platform outside of D&D Beyond or Zoom, this is a violation of our Terms of Service.
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Please contact Young Heroes support at youngheroes@startplaying.com


How does D&D Beyond protect my Young Hero?

On February 6th, 2026, Wizards of the Coast (the creators of D&D Beyond) began their partnership with k-ID.


k-ID empowers kids and teens to play, learn, and grow with age-appropriate online experiences by providing them quick access to the games they want to play and making the parental consent process easier for them and their parents to navigate.

Their mission is to create a safer gaming environment for children, giving parents peace of mind while their children enjoy the digital world.


Based on a kid or teen's age and location, k-ID tells D&D Beyond based on local law what features must be turned off, which features need parental permission to turn on, and which features the player needs to turn on themselves.

For that “parental permission” part, k-ID has a simple and streamlined flow for parents to quickly see what game their kids want to play, set their permissions, and then verify their adult status so kids can quickly get back into the game.

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How to Create a D&D Beyond Account

All games are played on Young Heroes using D&D Maps. To use this, you'll need to create a D&D Beyond Account for your Young Hero.

  1. Go to this link: Create D&D Beyond Account
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  2. Select your preferred sign up method and sign in:

    1. Sign up with Wizards

    2. Sign up with Apple

    3. Sign up with Google
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  3. Enter your young hero's Date of Birth and Location
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  4. Enter in your (the guardian's) email address to begin k-ID verification
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  5. Once you receive an email from no-reply@k-id.com, enter in the OTP Code or click Review and Consent

    • Please note it may take a bite for the email to be sent to you
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  6. On the k-ID Approval Page, you can review the details of your child's request and the steps you'll complete, then click Start Approval.
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  7. Create a profile for your Kid or Teen. Add their nickname and date of birth, then click Add to continue.
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  8. Review the data the platform collects and its required features. You can click each item to learn more. Then, click Next.
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  9. Verify you are an adult via these 3 options. Note: Your details are used for verification purposes only and are not stored by k-ID.
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    • Last 4 of Social Security Number (SSN)

    • ID

    • Credit Card
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  10. You're done! A confirmation screen shows the permissions you've set for your child. You can update these at any time through Family Connect.

How does Zoom protect my Young Hero?

Zoom makes online safety a priority. These are some of the features Zoom will allow Dungeon Masters to make sure every game is a safe experience:

  • Waiting Room: The Waiting Room is a virtual bouncer, letting a meeting host decide who’s allowed into a meeting. All Dungeon Masters will be required to individually verify participants before letting them into a game.

  • Mute participants: Hosts can mute/unmute individual participants or all of them at once. Hosts can block unwanted, distracting, or inappropriate noise from other participants.

  • Lock the meeting: It’s always smart to lock the front door. Dungeon Masters can lock a Zoom Meeting that’s already started, preventing new participants from joining, even if they have the meeting ID and passcode. To enable this setting, the host just has to click the Security icon at the bottom of their Zoom window. The host will see a pop-up, and they simply click the button that says “Lock Meeting.”

  • Suspend participant activities: Dungeon Masters can instantly suspend all participant activity, which disables audio, video, chat, annotation, and renaming, and hides participant profile pictures. If a meeting is unexpectedly interrupted, this feature allows the host to quickly identify, eject, and report the offender so the game can resume.
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How to Create a Zoom Account

All games on StartPlaying are required to use Zoom. Zoom allows us to record kids games for safety purposes. We keep recordings for 90 days in compliance with COPPA.

You can make a Zoom account if you want, but Zoom also allows you to join directly from your browser.
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  1. Visit the Zoom sign up page
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  2. Verify your age by entering your birth year

    • Kids under the age of 16 are not permitted to have their own Zoom accounts. You will need to create the account and monitor your kid or teen's Zoom use.
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  3. Enter your email address.
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  4. Click Continue.

    • You will receive an email from Zoom (no-reply@zoom.us) with a verification code.
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  5. Enter the verification code sent to your email.
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  6. Click Verify.
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  7. Enter your full name and password.
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  8. Click Continue.

You now have a Basic Zoom account. This is what you will use to connect your kid or teen to their game.

What are the Player Rules?

The Player Rules are expectations for all players in Young Heroes Adventures.

Make sure your kid or teen reads through these rules, so they know what is expected of them and every player at the table.

You can find them linked here: Young Heroes Player Rules

How Do I Contact my Dungeon Master?

It's a good idea to reach out to the Dungeon Master to let them know you've joined their game. This will let you touch base with any questions you might have, any insights you have about your kid or teen, and make sure you have everything you need.

You can read this FAQ page to learn how to message your Dungeon Master: How Do I Message a Dungeon Master?

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