EntertainmentThe StorytellerBeginner
Start Your First Adventure course icon

Start Your First Adventure

Like Duolingo, but for Start Your First Adventure. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.

For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.

54 bite-size levelsAbout 5 minutes each

Free during early access · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Dax the Dragon
Start Your First Adventure
with Dax the Dragon
54
Levels
4
Sections
5
Min/day
What you'll learn

Key ideas in Start Your First Adventure

  • The GM sets the stage before players can act
  • Players respond to the environment with intent
  • The GM determines and describes the outcome of those intents
  • Players have total agency over their own character's thoughts and actions
  • The GM controls every element of the world and non-player characters
  • The standard loop of gameplay interaction
  • The distinct responsibilities of the Player vs. the Game Master
  • Success is defined by creating a memorable, shared story
  • The story is a result of the conversation, not a pre-written script
  • Failure in-game often leads to more interesting plot developments
  • Players' choices must be able to change the direction of the game
  • Describing intentions (what you want to do)
  • The definition of 'winning' in a collaborative narrative game
  • Describing consequences (what actually happens)
  • The collaborative nature of the story
  • Building on what others have said
Why not just Google it

You've tried the other tabs

Wikipedia

Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.

YouTube

You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.

ChatGPT

One answer, then back to scrolling.

Online courses

Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.

Tomo gives Start Your First Adventure the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.

Try a question

Here's what playing it feels like

A real question from this course. Take your best guess.

The Rhythm of the Story

The GM describes a locked, heavy iron door. As a player, what is your role in this moment?

Get it right to open this lesson and 53 more in the app.

Course map

Where Start Your First Adventure takes you

Stop watching from the sidelines and start playing! Learn how to roleplay, roll the dice, and tell epic stories with your friends in no time.

  1. 1

    Jump Into the Action

    • What Do You Actually Do?
    • Rolling the Dice for Success
    • Describing Your Hero's Moves
    • Talking as Your Character
  2. 2

    Survive Your First Battle

    • Taking Turns in a Fight
    • Moving Around the Map
    • Attacking and Dealing Damage
    • Using Spells and Special Skills
    • Healing and Staying Alive
    • Winning the Encounter
  3. 3

    Build Your Own Hero

    • Picking the Right Class
    • Choosing a Fantasy Race
    • What the Numbers on Your Sheet Mean
  4. 4

    Master the World Rules

    • How the Game Master Thinks
    • The Three Pillars of Play
    • Equipment and Magic Items
    • Leveling Up Your Power
    • Finding a Group to Play With

4 sections · 18 units · 54 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.

How it's taught

You pick the voice

This course
The Storyteller

Start Your First Adventure is taught in the The Storyteller style: every lesson is a story. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.

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Start free

Start Start Your First Adventure today.

Download Tomo, search Start Your First Adventure, and play your first lesson in under a minute.