Junior League is intended for elementary and middle school aged children. The stories for these leagues are written with this age group in mind; the problems they face in the story tend to be more concrete and tangible, although still retain plenty of depth and age-appropriate nuance. Support for learning the game is written into the story, particularly during the first few months of each season; there is also a greater focus on developing skills around conflict resolution, empathy, listening to others, predicting the outcomes of choices, and teamwork.
Junior League players are expected to be able to play safely and appropriately with other players, and to treat other players and the LARP gear with respect. During weekend junior league events, players or older siblings are required to stay on site during events to support their children. While the league runs from ages 7-14, older siblings are occasionally allowed to play alongside their younger counterparts. Once players age out of junior league, they often move on to the adult league.
Features of Junior League
Character Creation: Junior League uses a character creation system that helps scaffold roleplaying and the idea of what it means to play a character. The character creation chart we use divides abilities up by character archetypes that make it easier for players to create a character they want to play without being overwhelmed by choices. Junior League also uses a character sheet (front, back) to help players keep track of their character’s levels, equipment, and features! Players should bring this character sheet every event they attend so that it can be updated as their character gains equipment and learns new things.
Character Advancement: Character advancement in junior league happens in “blocks” to simplify what players need to keep track of and to help level the playing field between newer and more experienced players. Experience is gained in full levels; players gain one level per game set the character plays, and there is a place to keep track of these levels on the back of the character sheet. Classes are also learned in blocks of several skills at once, called “ranks”; this helps players “chunk” the skills they’re learning, and reduces the total number of skills that players need to learn overall. The junior league classes are listed in the junior league chapter of the rulebook.
Combat System: Junior League uses a 1-hit system; all player characters have 1HP. This lets younger and newer players focus on practicing sparring skills rather than tracking hitpoints, and allows for GMs to referee the field more effectively. Players still get to practice with hitpoints when they play monsters when the stakes are lower and their characters aren’t on the line!
Language: Junior league has a ban on swearing. Players have previously invented their own swearwords to get around this ban; this is fair game.
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