Interview: Judge Cro's The Cult That Never Was

Or when you let kids create adventures

Judge Cro has been an active member of the DCC community for some time! He’s even managed to convince his own child to play TTRPGS! I’ve read my Chick tracts so I know this is gonna lead to something truly horrible. Or at least, horrible for the PCs.

The Cult That Never Was is a zero-level funnel adventure that starts at a funeral. But that is also where it gets weird. This adventure was conceived in the mind of the 14-yr old daughter of Charles Royston (Judge Cro). She helped develop it every step of the way. After having a blast playtesting it a dozen times, it became clear that this adventure should be shared.

So, when it came to the illustrations, Judge Cro found another dad-daughter duo. The cover art, the map, as well as most other main story pieces were drawn by Amara Garner who was also 14 at the time she was approached for this project. Then, her dad, Josh did the inking.

You've got some nasty monsters in this book and some nasty ways for the PCs to become a bit more monstrous. Care to share a favorite anecdote from playtesting?

I’d say what stands out to me from playtesting is that no party has done quite the same thing. There have been so many different reactions to, let’s just say, how it starts. Don’t want to reveal any spoilers.

A funny moment stands out from one session. After the rest of the party largely ignored Lady Fortuna, one player could not continue to suppress her curiosity any longer. She touches the wheel, and then touches it again, and again and again, ending up collecting 10 mutations. I wish I was there when she took this zero to a level one game.

Can you share some about gaming with kids or introducing your daughter to gaming?

I’ve run games for plenty of kids, not just my own. What I’ve learned is that I have to set aside the desire to teach them the game and just co-write a story with them. I let the rules inform what I do, but I let them say and try anything they want. They often get frustrated when they are limited by reality or ability or time constraints, but they adapt pretty quick. The hardest thing for young kids is to wait their turn so it’s helpful to keep it fast paced. The worst thing I can do is bog a game down with rules.

This adventure is a collaboration with your daughter. What's game night typically look like for you two?

I started teaching my youngest daughter at age 7 and most of our game time has just been the two of us. Sitting on the couch, I’ll set the scene and she will figure out what to do to get her way. By 11 years old, she would outsmart every plan I had as a dungeon master. I think praising her for that was the secret to her loving the game. I kept her within the rules; she was just incredibly creative.

I will say she also gave me some rules. The biggest one was that she never wanted to fight a beholder. I honored that rule for a very long time, but then I snuck in a scene where she got to watch someone fight a beholder. She then got over her fear and wanted to face one herself.

Thanks for taking the time to share with us! Anything else that you'd like folks to know about?

I think I’d share one unique and interesting thing about my experience as a tabletop gamer. I’m trained as a therapist and have used TTRPGs in my practice. When I was consistently given 14-17 year old male clients, I noticed their resistance to the process of traditional talk therapy. It was awkward and frustrating on both sides of the conversation. I pitched the idea to my clinical director that we offer a free “group therapy” session to each of these clients in addition to their individual sessions. We would play the game in the group and then process character development as a metaphor for personal development. It was a hit. Many of their symptoms improved and the idea of problem solving became a fun prospect rather than an inconvenience. A win for lifelong learning! I figure your readers might appreciate this.

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