My sister's kids (girl 12 and boy 10) have started asking me to play "that game" with them they've heard so much about when visiting me. My nephew loves to play around with my D&D miniature collection, but now he seems to want to do something more than just free-form play and comparing the DDM point values that are printed on the mini bases.
I'm not sure what's a good fit to try with these kids. Usually I'm a 3.5/Pathfinder RPG player, but I think these systems might be a bit too complex and take too long for them to get into. I have recently played a bit of low-level 4E, too, and I think it is an OK system, even though I'll prefer to continue to play Pathfinder RPG in my usual games. 4E might be a better fit for the kids, because it's easy to get into I think.
What do you think? Is 4E fitting, or would I be better off using 3.5/Pathfinder RPG?
Also, what kind of adventure would be appropriate for kids of that age, as well as adaptable to two players?
I'm helpful for any input on this, thank you.
Is this the right forum at all?
Regards,
Stefan.
If you go with 3.5, here are a few adventure recommendations, which I would be comfortable gaming with young teens:
I recommend "The Devil Box" in Dungeon 109. It's a level 2 adventure, easily scalable, and easy to modify.
Another absolute favorite is Dungeon Issue 137: Siege of the Spider Eaters.
The advantage of both is that can fit into any campaign world... in fact, with only a little modification, you could run them in order of level. Spider Eaters, then Devil Box... just have to figure out a way to explain how a carnival found its way to a hidden town (shipwreck, etc.)
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I'm not sure about adventure, but I don't think that 3.5/PF would be too complex. In about a half hour, I'm starting my 7-year old on his first Roleplaying experience (aside from "Heroscape"), and we've made Pathfinder characters. I'm just going with some basic encounters (wolf pack, goblins) for him.
I ran a "learn DnD" class at the local library one summer, for teens. I used the free adventure "Dark and Stormy Night" from the WotC site. I was considering using the "Haunted Forest" adventure that came with the Gamemastery box set for my son, but I thought it might be a bit too advanced for his first time out.
My daughter started playing 3.0 at about the age of 7 and then moved on to 3.5 when it came out. She easily understood the mechanics. Difficulties we encountered were...
1. Keeping careful track of XP
2. Not crying when something bad happened to her character. This lasted until about the age of 12 I'd say.
As for play style, the only thing I changed at the ages of 10-12 were reducing the amount of adult conversation (adult oriented jokes). We always glossed over any kind of character intimatecy within the game and quite frankly, that hasn't come up for years anyway. Now my daughter is 16 and DMs for her friends. The only thing she does that I find annoying is she will only play modules and does virtually nothing with the characters in between. She doesn't seem to be able to DM without a module in her hand, but that's her call.
I still cry when something bad happens to my character.
I belive it.
Honestly I would suggest Tunnels & Trolls.
between the two you mentioned though I would say PFRPG. Because kids can tell if your excited about some thing ,too and you already stated a preferance for that one. I dont know enough about 4e to say beyond that.
You're the one that's going to be lumbered with the explanations, so pick a system you either know and are happy with or something you don't mind learning yourself.
I'm a fan of 4E, so I'm biased, but if you were planning to find out if it works for you, you could do a lot worse than try playing a session with the children. You'd all be on the same learning curve and mechancially it's not hard at all. The subtleties of the powers show up as you play.
As far as adventures go, I used "Devil Box" for a playtest of the PF Alpha last year and it was hilarious. I've been a huge fan of the humble kobold ever since.
I'll have you know that our adventures were anything but hilarious - they were a knife-edge struggle against the evils of pretty girls with baskets of carnival masks, and proof positive that adventurers will do the unexpected!
I'll have you know that our adventures were anything but hilarious - they were a knife-edge struggle against the evils of pretty girls with baskets of carnival masks, and proof positive that adventurers will do the unexpected!
Good grief. I'd forgotten Mr Nimbletoes's rampant suspicions of the girls with the carnival masks.
So true about adventurers doing the thing you don't expect. Most of my memories of that one are to do with thinking "Argggh, they're heading straight for the final encounter right now with none of the things they need - like, for example, weapons - and they're all going to die.".
It was the first time I'd DMed in years and I had to invent so much stuff on the run. The adventure is fluid, but if your party rolls unfeasibly high bluff/perception/gather info checks every single time, you can be a bit pushed to keep them from killing themselves.
I still cry when something bad happens to my character.
~abuses all of Heathy's characters~ Cry away, were-mutt!
Prose Descriptive Qualities (PDQ) by Atomic Sock Monkey Press.
It is free. It is rules light. The most math you will need is adding 2d6+6 maybe more d6 depending on the type of game you are playing. The Zorcerer of Zo which is based on the PDQ system is especially well suited to playing with young children who might want to play in a game like the latest Disney movie.
Faery's Tale by Firefly Games.
Rules light. Dice pool system.
Honestly, this is the perfect opportunity to make up a quick dungeon (10 rooms, a group of kobolds/goblins hiding out in an ancient tomb, throw a skeleton in the mix for good fun).
Wing the rest of it and have fun!
Having played/DMed a lot of 4e since its release, I'd recommend against it as a learning system...then again, I'd recommend against it period. Every power is essentially a separate rule...and several of those rules tend to be vague or conflicting. Futhermore, while casters are a little easier to play, low-level melee is no longer as straightforward as it was. I had a far easier time teaching new players 3.5 (where the system is rule-based) than 4 (exception-based).
I'd recommend a nice lvl 1 PFRPG game, especially if they start with melee classes. Give them some potions, and run them through a mini-dungeon or cityscape. Besides, it's amazing how quickly kids can pick up things.
If you're looking for a published piece, WotC's Sunless Citadel was a classic level 1--you could probably abbreviate it to good effect. Pathfinder's set piece in #13 was also a strong low-level option...just reduce the foe-count, or toss in an NPC to heal/lead them for their maiden voyage.
Let us know how it goes, whatever you do! ;-)
My six year old daughter wants to play the superhero (Mutants & Masterminds) game with me.
She immediately picked the Angel template when I showed her all the arch types. Pretty straight forward build I think.
Now I need to come up with some easy and clear scenarios.
I must admit, for all my years of gaming, I am a little intimidated at running for my daughter. I know she is only six and I am her dad so she will probably love whatever I run. I just want to make it awesome.
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Microlite20.
Here is the basic run-down of pros for it.
--It's simple.
--It's based off of D20.
--There are a few free adventures for it.
If you scroll down a bit on the page you will see Microlite20 Purest Essence, which is a really nicely put together version of the game. Download that. 4 classes (rogue, cleric, fighter, mage), 4 skills, 3 attributes. It's a thing of simple beauty.
Scroll down on this page for 4 free adventures.
I have the full sized version printed and made into a booklet that I keep at home and I printed the pocketmod version and keep those rules, the adventures, and the Microlite20 Modern rules inside of a large card pack with a set of dice and keep that in my man-bag in case I am away from home and a spontaneous gaming occurrence happens (a guy can hope!).
It's good for a quick into into gaming or a fast start game. The system seems pretty solid.
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I started my boys, at 8 and 6 on the 3.0 orange box. It comes with adventures and gets you straight into playing. You learn mechanics as you go. Paper minis and maps, as well as having adventures that resolve in a few encounters really worked well. I even spiced it up a bit by leaving notes on the breakfast table on game day with a hint of what was coming. "Please help, the unicorn is missing and..."