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I'm playing Pathfinder with my 7.5 year old second grader. We started playing before the Pathfinder Box was released, so we have just been playing with the regular Pathfinder rules. I've also introduced the game to two of his friends, also 7-8 years old (and lots of his other friends are interested). Trying to get them hooked before they start playing too many video games.
We've been working through the old module Crown of the Kobold King. They will be about 3rd-4th level when we're done and I'm trying to think of what module to run next. I don't want it to be anything overly gruesome, dark, or investigation oriented. I've been playing them encounters a bit below their level so that they don't get taken out too easily (they are still working on tactics), so the module shouldn't be an overly challenging or tactics-oriented one. Any suggestions?
We've been working through the old module Crown of the Kobold King.
I'd say that if they're OK with monsters abducting little kids their age, then you don't have to worry too much about "dark". :)
Yeah, I was surprised how much they took that in stride! You never can know with kids. I think it helps that the kobolds are not that scary, the lost kids were being heroic, and the party is now saving all the kids. I'm also planning to modify things so that the elf at the end of the module does not get sacrificed. But I still wouldn't want to run something like the Carrion Crown campaign, with all the focus on serial killers, etc.
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I liked Tower of the Last Baron which then connects to Treasure of Chimera Cove. My group loved the infiltration aspect in Tower of the Last Baron and interacting with all the townsfolk. They came up with some great plans to fight the baron and his henchmen.
Chimera Cove was good, it took a bit to make sense of the maps and how everything worked but it was also a lot of fun to play.
There is a follow-up to Crown - Return of the Kobold King I think. I'd certainly run that.
There's another module in Darkmoon Vale - Carnival of <something? tears?>. It's a fairly creepy, horror-based one though.
Hungry Are The Dead is another Falcon's Hollow follow-up module (like Carnival of Tears). Not having read them, I have no idea as to their suitability for kids.
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There is a follow-up to Crown - Return of the Kobold King I think. I'd certainly run that.
There's another module in Darkmoon Vale - Carnival of <something? tears?>. It's a fairly creepy, horror-based one though.
Carnival of Tears is NOT for children as written. People complained about how dark and graphic it was. A lot of the carnival events are pretty-much slaughter shows once the monsters take over.
Revenge of the Kobold King and Hungry are the Dead are direct follow-ups to Crown of the Kobold King. Revenge of the Kobold King is a free PDF (it was a FreeRPG Day freebie) so you can look at it for no cost. I don't remember Hungry are the Dead well enough to comment on the gore factor. It has zombies and ghouls in it but that alone doesn't mean it's gory.
Of course all the ones I've mentioned so far have actually been 3.5e Pathfinder modules, not Pathfinder RPG modules.
I don't usually look at the modules for age-appropriate content so I can't comment on the age-appropriateness of most modules.
The FreeRPG Day freebie modules are all probably good choices for a younger audience though, because they were given away free and expected to be played in public. Hollow's Last Hope (precedes Crown of the Kobold King), Revenge of the Kobold King (follows Crown of the Kobold King), Master of the Fallen Fortress (takes place near Absalom, the party investigates a ruined siege tower near the city), and We Be Goblins (the party plays as goblins going to collect a cache of fireworks). The downside of these modules is that they're all either intended for level 1 or very close to level 1. I played through Master of the Fallen Fortress and don't remember anything offensive in it, but the GM that ran it for our group has a habit of failing to read descriptions sometimes.
You also might want to look at Pathfinder Society Scenarios. They're shorter and only available in PDF but they're all intended to be played in a more public setting so they're generally not as graphic as some of the other product lines. One nice thing is that they're sometimes written for multiple level "tiers" and have encounters in them for two different level ranges.
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I second Wolf Munroe's suggestion of We Be Goblins! It's a very entertaining adventure where the players play goblins. I think kids would really enjoy the roleplaying during the games at the beginning.
I would also steer away from Carnival of Tears. It's very dark and gruesome, especially if the group has made friends in Darkmoon Vale.
My eight-year-old daughter has played a bit of free-form adventure with me, and also 2 Pathfinder Society scenarios. She has a blast playing, especially when she gets to play with the "big kids" (Daddy's friends). She does think there is too much "talking" during the scenarios though. She wants to get to the action!
On a related topic, you might find this thread interesting.
Heck...make up your own adventures!
Some people have criticized me for censoring too much from my kids. I hide much of my Pathfinder material from them. But I had no problem reading _Crypt_of_the_Everflame_ in my kids' presence. I think that it's appropriate enough for any age. I remember my son, who was four years old at the time, peered at it over my shoulder. I'm not sure if I'm recalling this correctly, but I think that he made some comment about the picture of the plague zombie being gross, but that he stared at it for a long time.
Sorry, Fake Healer. When you asked about age-appropriateness, I assumed that you meant in terms of whether it should be censored. Somehow, it didn't occur to me that you might have been asking about whether the module would be too CHALLENGING for children.
Some people might disagree with me on this, or feel that I'm stating this too strongly, but I feel that newbies to RPGs would get TOASTIFIED in that crypt!
Take, for example, the...
And so, Fake Healer, if you're going to put children through that module, I would suggest making it a LOT easier. For instance, you could...
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I just ran my children (7 and 9) and a friend's children (10 and 12) and their dads through Crypt of the Everflame and there was no issues with any of the themes throughout. I must admit to stuggling to find something to go after that, but we then decided to use the PFS scenerios as they are a lot more kid friendly than any of the modules without heavy editing by the DM.
As always, depends on the kids in question.
Just to chime in, this thread is fantastic. We just had someone at a Paizocon seminar ask about good adventures for young players (maybe someone posting here already?). But, aside from Crypt of the Everflame, anyone else have any suggestions for modules you might play with your kids?
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I think into the haunted forest would be good. I think for the moat part children would an joy the? Race against the bad guy party and I don't think any of it would need to be censored.
Just to chime in, this thread is fantastic. We just had someone at a Paizocon seminar ask about good adventures for young players (maybe someone posting here already?). But, aside from Crypt of the Everflame, anyone else have any suggestions for modules you might play with your kids?
Off the top of my head Having ready through the Darkmoon vale series of modules;
Hollow's Last Hope is OK, no editingCrown of the Kobold King, iffy may require editing
Revenge of the Kobold King, OK no editing
Carnival of Tears, Editing would be needed
Hungry are the Dead, iffy may require editing.
Add to the list a bit later for other modules
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Tooting my own horn...but, I'm totally going to run Realm of the Fellnight Queen for my kids once they're a bit older and a bit more familiar with the rules. I think the themes and representation of the fey in that particular adventure is right in line with many of the movies and fairy tale classics that are already familiar to them. I specifically wrote it so the module would have good play value with both the older and younger set. It all depends on how much you play up certain aspects.
I'd also say that Master of the Fallen Fortress could make for a good intro adventure. And, for younger kids with shorter attention spans, many of the Pathfinder Society scenarios could work well for them. They might also have fun with "picking a team" from the many PFS factions to give them another in-game motivation.
My two cents,
--Neil
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Sorry, Fake Healer. When you asked about age-appropriateness, I assumed that you meant in terms of whether it should be censored. Somehow, it didn't occur to me that you might have been asking about whether the module would be too CHALLENGING for children.
Some people might disagree with me on this, or feel that I'm stating this too strongly, but I feel that newbies to RPGs would get TOASTIFIED in that crypt!
Take, for example, the...** spoiler omitted **
And so, Fake Healer, if you're going to put children through that module, I would suggest making it a LOT easier. For instance, you could...** spoiler omitted **
Thanks for the input. I just finished re-reading it with my youngin' goggles on and I agree, a few places need some help to get young amateurs through it in any way. (I also try to keep my kids in a censored environment while trying to educate them on the dangers of the real-world. tough balancing act.)
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Just to chime in, this thread is fantastic. We just had someone at a Paizocon seminar ask about good adventures for young players (maybe someone posting here already?). But, aside from Crypt of the Everflame, anyone else have any suggestions for modules you might play with your kids?
Anything by Nick Logue is fin.....errr....I mean.....STAY AWAY FROM ANY NICK LOGUE STUFF WITH CHILDREN!!!! No really, RUN!!!!
I love Nick's stuff but any kid unscarred after a NL adventure is already hard-wired for trouble.@Mr. Schneider, it seems there is a market for more youth-aged appropriate adventures so why not run it by the team and see if anyone wants to start a line of pre-teen safe adventuring modules?
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@Mr. Schneider, it seems there is a market for more youth-aged appropriate adventures so why not run it by the team and see if anyone wants to start a line of pre-teen safe adventuring modules?Why not make them work with the Beginner Box?
+1. I am in the same boat as the OP. I wish that I had the time to write my own stuff, but I just don't. First among Paizo's many strengths has been their incredible support of their products. Developing a line of Beginner Box adventures that is designed with younger players in mind would be an awesome way to introduce younger players to the game.
Btw: I did run my kids through Hollows Last Hope and the Crown of the Kobold King, and both were fairly "safe" for them. I edited out the:
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Please advise on the suitability of running "Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment" for a 10 year old, in a typically adult group.
This Saturday, I have a guy bringing his 10 year old (neither of whom I've ever met and who have never before played Pathfinder, much less any other RPG) to the first campaign I will have ever GM'd.
After reading about the suicide haunt, the demon, and the finger-destroying trap, I feel nothing but repulsion at the idea of allowing this guy to show up unprepared for this module and as a mother of two grown kids, I don't know how in good conscience I can allow this. I really can't reveal the details to the father without tipping him off to the whole adventure, thereby ruining the module for him in the process (especially as a newbie). And even if I do, I can't take the risk of saying anything to him, because chances are like most parents, he'll pitch a fit and claim his child is special and 'very mature for 10' and 'sees this stuff all the time', and he knows all that already but wants to play anyway, how I just hate children if I don't let him attend.
I already committed to my group organizer to be the GM, I spent the last three weeks studying & planning, I have four other regulars signed up, and I just have no idea how on god's green earth I could edit this without gutting the whole module, and quite frankly, I don't think it's fair to the rest of us. I never would have thought I'd have to run a game for a 10 year old; we have never had kids attend before. This was supposed to be fun & productive, and now I just feel trapped in a no-win situation. What the heck do I do?
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Please advise on the suitability of running "Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment" for a 10 year old, in a typically adult group.
This Saturday, I have a guy bringing his 10 year old (neither of whom I've ever met and who have never before played Pathfinder, much less any other RPG) to the first campaign I will have ever GM'd.After reading about the suicide haunt, the demon, and the finger-destroying trap, I feel nothing but repulsion at the idea of allowing this guy to show up unprepared for this module and as a mother of two grown kids, I don't know how in good conscience I can allow this. I really can't reveal the details to the father without tipping him off to the whole adventure, thereby ruining the module for him in the process (especially as a newbie). And even if I do, I can't take the risk of saying anything to him, because chances are like most parents, he'll pitch a fit and claim his child is special and 'very mature for 10' and 'sees this stuff all the time', and he knows all that already but wants to play anyway, how I just hate children if I don't let him attend.
I already committed to my group organizer to be the GM, I spent the last three weeks studying & planning, I have four other regulars signed up, and I just have no idea how on god's green earth I could edit this without gutting the whole module, and quite frankly, I don't think it's fair to the rest of us. I never would have thought I'd have to run a game for a 10 year old; we have never had kids attend before. This was supposed to be fun & productive, and now I just feel trapped in a no-win situation. What the heck do I do?
A tricky situation. You should warn the father beforehand that "there are some definite NC-17 situations in this adventure. GMing this adventure for a 10 year old makes me uncomfortable. Do you mind if he sits this session out and you can bring him to the next game day where I'll run (one of the adventures mentioned in this list)?"
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Dear DM/Dudemeister,
Thank you for the advice, and I plagiarized your phrase about the NC-17. Thank god my group organizer backed me up, he is a very cool guy. Hopefully, I will be able to make it up to this guy with We Be Goblins, but I hope other parents out there can feel my pain & understand when you are trying to bring your kids to a game; even an experienced Mom may not be the best GM for your kid. Dammit Jim, I'm a gamer, not a teacher/babysitter/social worker/etc! ;)
I ran We Be Goblins for a bunch of 11 year olds, it went over well and they're wanting me to run the sequel soon...
I know that Clark and Bill would be interested in this, but I usually run Necromancer games material with my cousin's children. Everything of their's is old-school hardwired and while I love (Love) Paizo's material, my own collection has a lot of Logue and Pett in it, plus the AP's...
The Crucible of Freya is an amazing adventure. Plenty of help is given for beginning DM's and encounters the players have no hope of defeating on combat (Cough! Ettin! Cough!) it guides you on how to navigate through...
Also, if any of you have any old Atlas Games products from the 3.0 days, those modules were basically event locations and treasure guarded by mooks and some decently placed monsters.
And without going too far, I would say that running a Goodman Games campaign would be ideal for running with children.
My $.02
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I am running The Dragon's Demand with my 7year old and it is pretty age-appropriate. I have down-played a few scenes where they find bodies but, other than that, there have been no issues. There are several points where potential conflicts can be turned into relationships that help the group and lots of trap/environment challenges that aren't just about fighting. The quick xp track also let's the players experience a range of levels and abilities in a short span.