Draconic Mage's page

I had one each under the tree for my girls (10 and 5). They got some dice for Christmas too. We played the next day and they both LOVED it.

My oldest took some time to read over her section and the solo adventure, as she decided to play Ezreth the Wizard (nice, easy sex-change for the pregen), while my youngest went for Merisiel because she's 'stabby.' Something about all the daggers, I think. A quick briefing on the 'd20+modifiers' basic concept and we were off to Black Fang's dungeon (joined by my stepson (22) playing a fighter, and who has some RPG experience).

They took out the goblins, fought the goblin King and his minions, and had a bit of a rough go with the sea creature. This was all on Boxing Day. They were a bit worked over so retreated to Sandpoint and we stopped. I also gave them some roleplaying encounters from RotRL summary of Sandpoint, which definitely helped frame the 'not just combat' concept of the game, though my 5 year old definitely loved kicking butt.

The next few days were busy with the holidays, but not a day went by without exhortations from both girls to play more Pathfinder. We got another game in before school started and they made it to the dragon, but had a rough time with the dragon. The heroes went down one by one until finally, my youngest picked up the magic sword from the fallen fighter and lays a max 'to hit,' max damage (and almost critical) on Black Fang, who flies away vowing never to forget them.

One last game session before I had to leave on a posting to the east coast. In this one I had to write in a 'connecting' adventure as they head for Kaer Maga and "The Godsmouth Heresy."

As they poured through the box contents, it was like reliving the days when I started, back with the 'Red Box' D&D basic set. That sense of wonder, the seeking to understand what this game really was, then that point where all the possibilities open up. It was pure magic.

Sadly, I am on the opposite side of the country for a few months, due to the necesseties of the Service. However, we are going to try to play by Skype on weekends, and my oldest is planning to start a campaign with her friends. The moment I gave her a PF GM screen and 'handed over the torch' was purest, most fully distilled awesome (I was the GM for my brother and I, as we knew no one else who played when we started. Playing came much later for me).

Not only did the kids love it, but my wife had several hours of blessed solitude. She likes all the geeky stuff (and we even found her old D&D character binder while sorting ancient boxes), but is not of a mind to play. Suits us all just fine. Roleplaying is now part of family game night, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

The BB is one of the best products of the year. Soon they'll be at level 5 and I can open the door to the full rules. My oldest has already been eyeing my Pathfinder shelf.

This was the long-winded way of saying: Well done, Paizo!

Edit: Quote of the game: "Dad, this is lame. We need some music." Spoken by my 5 year old (utterly, deadpan serious) as we normally play with appropriate music (LotR, Conan, etc) when gaming. It just hadn't been turned on yet.