As part of The Hero’s Quest program, kids learn to  solve problems, make decisions, work as a team, practice leadership and public speaking, do mental math, write by hand, manage frustration, recover from failure, laugh and build authentic friendships.

Photo provided by Johnny BROOKBANK 

By Eliza PARTIKA

The Hero’s Quest is a program that began in the Crescenta Valley nearly two years ago. It was started with a simple idea: give elementary school-aged students a place to spend time together without phones, tablets, Chromebooks or screens. 

Six students sit around a table after school for two hours and play an age-appropriate version of Dungeons & Dragons, led by a trained Hero’s Quest facilitator. Along the way, students solve problems, make decisions, work as a team, practice leadership and public speaking, do mental math, write by hand, manage frustration, recover from failure, laugh and build authentic friendships. 

The rules are on a half-sheet of paper, as is the character creation where kids come up with archetypes for how their characters act and what they look like. Over time, founders Johnny Brookbank and Eric Petz have adjusted their campaigns, or storylines, and the way kids create their characters and interact in the fantasy worlds they create. 

“If they want to be a piece of toast with a sword, they can be,” said co-founder Petz. “With spells, as long as they can describe it they can do it. The kids have full creative autonomy to do what they want.” 

What began as a small local program has grown to serve more than 100 students and 13 schools across Glendale Unified,  La Cañada Unified and Los Angeles Unified school districts. The organization’s long-term mission is to bring a device-free The Hero’s Quest program to schools throughout Los Angeles and give more children a place to practice the human skills of interaction that have become increasingly important. 

Co-founder Johnny Brookbank said the skills they teach are not simply skills for playing a game but are skills kids use to thrive in life: clear communication, creative problem-solving, self-confidence, emotional regulation, impulse control, resilience and teamwork. He feels these are foundations for success in school, relationships, employment and leadership.

“They come for the fantasy stuff. They want to spend more time with friends. They want to spend more time in the world. As human beings, story is everything. ‘How is your day today?’ That’s a story. ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ That’s a story. ‘I’m dumb and nobody likes me, I’m smart and everyone likes me’ – all these stories are equally powerful. For a lot of kids it is uncomfortable to talk, to edit yourself in real time. DnD [Dungeons & Dragons] provides this kind of structure,” said Brookbank.

Many of the skills learned in today’s digital age don’t compare to the skills learned physically around a table, added Brookbank. 

“Together, the kids learn to take risks, fail, adjust and try again,” he said. “They learn that confidence comes from participating, leadership requires understanding the people around you and a good idea is only useful if you can communicate it clearly enough for others to understand.” 

Around the game table, students have to explain their ideas out loud, listen, compromise and make decisions. Brookbank said they try to incorporate all kids’ talents into their sessions and storylines. For Aidan, a La Crescenta student who plays the trumpet and often brought it to sessions, his mid-game “noodling” (playing without structure) was transformed into trumpet fanfare that begins and ends each session – a change his mother said allowed him to come out of his shell. 

“Johnny incorporated his trumpet into the game; they created a character together. [Aidan is] so outgoing and funny now, and he knows he can contribute something valuable,” she said. 

“I said, if you’re going to play it at the table, then what I want you to do is develop a fanfare for us. And his eyes just lit up. He was so excited. Maybe someone else would penalize him, but we found a way for it to become something really cool,” said Brookbank. 

Students are also challenged to overcome difficult obstacles. In one play through, Petz said each of the six groups created aspects of a monster character based on their character’s strengths and their game play; that monster, built from all the skills they had learned throughout the session, became the “big bad” they had to face at the end of the game. Petz said it was the ultimate test of the skills these kids developed. 

“You have to rely on the people around you, their strengths and weaknesses,” he said. 

The program takes place once a week for two hours, on the students’ school campuses. The Hero’s Quest curriculum was developed in collaboration with a child and adolescent developmental psychologist to intentionally support students’ social-emotional growth and overall well-being. All facilitators go through a multistep interview process – a Zoom call, in-person interviews and group interviews – and an extensive background check is done to ensure each is the right candidate for the job. 

Petz said the final interview is a campaign the candidate plays with Brookbank and Petz. They want to know: how do you overcome challenges, what do you say? Can you talk to strangers? Are you good with kids?

“Kids look up to these Quest masters,” said Petz. 

One mother said she was comfortable leaving her son at school because of safety measures put in place. 

“Knowing he is in a safe place at school and all the kids are walked to the gate and handed off after – that makes me feel good as a mom,” she said. 

The Hero’s Quest also provides free programming for PTA events, school carnivals, movie nights and other community gatherings. The Hero’s Quest program is vendor approved by LAUSD and each of the partner schools it works with. While there is a charge for services, Petz said the aim is to be an affordable and frictionless activity for students to begin playing “as soon as possible.” 

Brookbank encouraged school administrations, PTA or school fund managers to get in touch via email if they want to be involved. 

To learn more or to bring The Hero’s Quest to a school, contact Johnny@THQnow.com or visit THQnow.com.