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Introducing

The Quest Academy

What is it?

The Quest Academy is an after-school roleplaying game program for ages 8-12 on Tuesdays in Pasadena, CA.

Students enroll in an 8 week course on storytelling, teamwork, and broadcasting using the famous sword and sorcery game, Dungeons & Dragons!

By playing the game, students will develop their social and interpersonal HASS skills (Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences) like reading, art, creative problem solving, research, and emotional growth, while also practicing STEM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) like probability, arithmetic, and statistics. Perhaps best of all, there’s no screen time!

In addition to playing the game, students will produce and publish a podcast of their daring exploits to share with their friends! They may be too young to stream on Twitch, but they will have the opportunity to develop responsible broadcasting skills to prepare them to enter that world later.

How does it work?

Each session begins with signing in, washing hands, and finding a socially distanced player space in the circle. Players can grab a snack and relax while everyone gets situated, and parents are welcome to stay and play with us.

First we’ll go over the rules: It’s great to be silly, and get creative.

In fact it’s encouraged! No phones at the tabletop. No evil characters; everyone works together to be heroes. And most important, Have Fun!

Podcasting!

Next we’ll learn about the podcast we’re going to be making and set up our individual player space to make sure everyone has a microphone and practices PROJECTING into it.

In future weeks we will come up with names for the episodes and formatted segments, and we’ll record “bumpers” between breaks.

Then what?

Next we begin the adventure! In the first session we create characters and begin to develop who they are and what their goals are. As we continue to play in the following weeks we will continue to add new character traits, skills, and mechanics. Overall, our goal is to foster:

– Confidence / Self-esteem –
– Identity development and exploration –
– Assertiveness –
– Cooperation / Teamwork / Sportsmanship –
– Math & STEM skills –
– Creativity –
– Storytelling –
– Acting & theatre skills –
– Empowerment –
– Emotional growth (regulation, identification, & frustration tolerance) –
– Social skill development –
– Social anxiety management –
– Leadership –

We end every session with Stars & Wishes. Going around the circle, players award each other a Star for something they thought was awesome, like roleplaying, creativity, or helping each other. Then they make a Wish for something they would like to see in the future, like a kind of quest or character to meet or just something about the class they especially liked and want to do more of.

Who is this Game for?

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Everyone! Any students between the ages of 8 and 12 are welcome. Everything they need to play will be provided.

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Special Needs. The Quest Academy is designed with neurodivergent students in mind. One of the members of our team is Psy.D. Rayne Palombit who is an expert at working with children on the spectrum, ensuring their needs are met and have the full rich experience of roleplaying.

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Low-Income Families. We offer a special scholarship program to make sure that everyone has a chance to play. If you are concerned about financing, we are happy to offer a sliding scale. Please message us directly to learn more.

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Girls. Gaming may have a reputation of being a boys’ game, but let us assure you that is ancient history. Tabletop gaming across the board has taken direct action to make sure the hobby is welcoming to all players. Dungeons and Dragons specifically is a game designed from the ground up by a diverse team with this as one of the company’s primary goals. Additionally, Dr. Palombit has helped guide the adventures to make sure girls have the opportunity to practice:

Assertiveness
Cooperative playing
Girls supporting girls
Empowerment in a traditionally male-dominated field

Class begins June 1st!

101 Call to Adventure

Tuesdays, 3:30-6:30, June 1-July 20

$55 per week

Prerequisite: None!

Begin your epic quest to save the realm! This course is designed for all skill levels as an introduction to cooperative storytelling and roleplaying using the original TTRPG (Table Top Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons. But they won’t be going into the dungeon unprepared—All first time adventurers will receive a set of 7 polyhedral dice, dice carrying pouch, bound personal character sheet, and a bound copy of the beginner’s ruleset. The students together will also produce an eight episode podcast series chronicling their adventures. Their characters will go from humble beginnings to powerful level 5 heroes!

Parents, sign up your young adventurer (8-12 years old) using our online form.

No payment up-front. First, we’ll ask a few questions to get to know you and understand your needs. We’ll send a payment link and amount (remember, we offer a limited amount of need-based scholarship dollars and you may qualify). Billed over 2 monthly installments.

Sign Up For Class

More classes and game nights coming!

The Adventure Continues

Ready for some advanced roleplaying? A second level game will continue the epic quest begun in the first adventure. And for those looking for the ultimate level of creativity, we’ll be teaching a Dungeon Master Class, where you’ll learn leadership, storytelling and writing skills. But to reach the next level, there has to be a beginning! Parents, sign up for the 101 course today while space is still available!

Who We Are

The League was created by James Gingold, a People’s Choice Award nominated television producer and Dungeon Master of 20 years. “Mr. G” serves as the weekly Dungeon Master leading lesson plans he developed that combine elements of his professional experience as a storyteller and his own adventures traveling the world as an international docu-series producer. A lifelong gamer, James first started with Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition when he was 5, and began running his own games in Jr. High. Today he concurrently runs three different campaigns and publishes adventures set in his original world Edda, the land of made of and named for its stories.

The program was developed in conjunction with Dr. Rayne Palombit, a clinical psychologist based in Los Angeles with 8 years of experience working with child development. She obtained her Doctorate of Clinical Psychology from the University of La Verne in 2019. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Palombit is passionate about adolescent mental health care and social justice issues. Her input makes sure we are always providing positive and inclusive experiences.

Kyle Neal has been working in audio in Los Angeles for over 15 years. From the studio to the live stage to the digital streaming realm, Kyle has worked on a vast majority of platforms giving him a deep knowledge of all things audio. In an industry that is often dominated by old and out-of-date methods, Kyle is passionate about the future of audio production and how to bring professional grade tools and skills to everyone. Kyle aims to help up-and-coming talent by helping them develop their artistic skills as well as finding the right tools for the job.

We are hosted by the fantastic Odyssey Games, the premiere gaming retailer and event venue in Pasadena. They are centered around the old “Game Empire” community and located in the exact same building. They carry board games, Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer, Magic the Gathering, Party Games, Miniatures, Paint and Hobby Supplies. Bring some friends and play in their large and free gaming area. Free parking is available in the rear lot.

The program is run by ImagineIY LLC, a company dedicated to immersive storytelling in all forms of creative outlets. ImagneIY was founded in 2020 by James Gingold. ImagineIY facilitates turning their clients’ dreams into reality by finding creative solutions. We build it, you Imagine It Yourself!