Pathfinder Society Mods, Adult Themes, review / modify for Kids?

[Joshua Archer]

Hello everyone,

So I'm about to run some Pathfinder Society games for young players at Kublacon in May, and I would like to compile a list of mods that indicate:

a) if the mod contains adult themes (such as sexual innuendo, issues of torture, slavery, etc.)
b) if the mod can be modified to keep the spirit of the mod, but change the intensity of the subject matter, or
c) the mod is best avoided for kids under 13 years of age.

I know this is HIGHLY subjective, but I'd like to get other poeple's responses to what each mod might have in it as far as challenging subject matter, and if they have any ideas for modification (and if those flavor modifications are considered LEGAL for play).

I feel strongly that a resource indicating these bits of information would be INVALUABLE for creating an inviting environment for younger players (ages 8-12), and will help us perpetuate the hobby into the next generation. I'm willing to compile the list, if others will contribute. I want to avoid reading EVERY SINGLE MODULE myself, because it will take a prohibitively long time, and I still would like to play some of these mods :).

Thanks if you can lend a note of opinion, enclosing modifications in spoiler tags, of course. :)

Joshua

[Deidre Tiriel]

The one off the top of my head is Miss Feathers in the City of Strangers mods. It's mostly fluff that you can adapt, making "him" into "her" and taking out the innuendos.

Anything with a succubus or pairaka should be avoided - or perhaps substituted for a very similar creature that isn't so sexual.

A lot of the mods have slavery as a side thing - particularly for the Andoran prestige missions. Most of them could be altered to make the slaves into servants, employees, or even kidnapped family members, depending on the situation.

There was one that involved torture of an elf - Delirium's Tangle. I won't say more, but it would be hard to alter that part of the mod, as it is fairly central.

I recommend Tide of Morning as a good mod for most ages. It's as close to PG as PFS gets.

[Scribbling Rambler]

Black Waters has some themes which may be especially disturbing for kids.

[Mark Moreland]

In general, I think all PFS scenarios contain some element of danger and evil that may be inappropriate for especially young children. While we skirt into R-rating territory from time to time in our printed adventures, we try to maintain a strict PG-13 level of maturity in Pathfinder Society, and most scenarios include some element of people doing bad things that might scare kids. There's very little overt sexuality or graphic torture, and what there is should be able to be toned down on the fly by a GM who's paying attention.

Considering that every child is different and one 8-year-old may be able to handle things that another 12-year-old couldn't, it's hard to say definitively what would be acceptable to a particular child. It's sort of a judgment call you need to make with each child.

[Matt Goodall]

The Slave Pit of Absalom is one that deals openly with the topic of slavery.

I actually ran Black Waters for some 13-15 year old kids.

Spoiler:

They seemed to like the fact that it was set in a haunted destroyed school.

[MisterSlanky]

My experience with two of those already mentioned has been mixed.

I know Black Waters has been mentioned by some as potentially disturbing but my experience with a table of tweens and early teens and their father was that they loved the module. Of course, a lot of that can be chalked up to relative maturity level, of which that group has in spades (the daughter is perhaps one of the most mature gamers of her age I've ever met). I ran City of Strangers with a 10 year old at the table and it was easily one of the most uncomfortable experiences I've had behind the GM screen. Again the relative maturity level (in this case it was low) had something to do with it.

I think Assault on the Kingdom of the Impossible is a good choice (with a good morality option at the end), Tide of Morning is good, and Mists of Mwangi has a really solid "Night at the Museum" vibe which isn't too out there.

[tburke0]

My 12yo son and I played the City of Stranger mods at GenCon last year. Our meetings with Miss Feathers played out more like "La Cage aux Folles" than "The Crying Game" But it does all depend on who's at the table...

[Sir_Wulf]

In my opinion, few of the Society scenarios would require much editing to their main plots. You'll want to watch out for some of the faction missions: Even the "good guy" Andorans have a number of "find this guy and kill him" missions.

[Callarek]

The only other mod I can think of, off the top of my head, is the Morale Officer for the ship on Murder on the Throaty Mermaid.

That one can be toned down on the fly, but, depending on the group, can easily wind up going overboard. (pun partly intended).

[The Grandfather]

GMs should feel free to downtone the explicitness of potentially offensive content in the scenarios.
However, my son, who is 12 years old, just started playing PFS and I have no problem with him playing the game as written.

I talk to him openly about the realities of life; that is how I believe he should be brought up. As a consequence he is probably better equiped to handly sensitive topics than other children are.

This issue is probably most sensitive since parents have different approaches on how to bring up their children. When runnig games for children I think it is important that the GM considers their age, which scenarios are best suited for the occasion, and if at all possible have a talk with the parents about the nature of the game. You don't want upset parent complaining about their child being exposed to a homosexual NPC.

Btw: My opinion of people is not influenced by them not being heterosexual and I loved playing Miss Feathers.

[Thod]

Joshua

As a parent (and someone who started a thread a year ago - have a look - some pretty good discussion there) I thought I look at cinema classification and the comment to each topic. This should give you a pretty complete list of all issues to look out for.

It is really great that you do this. I would love to come around to GM or to have my kids play. Unfortunately I'm in the UK. But good luck !!

Parental Guidance
General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children
Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. A ‘PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.
Please keep in mind that PG is well below the official PG-13 level !! Unfortunately the 12 and 12A rating in the UK doesn't give such a nice break down. So replace the above with 13 and carry on reading.

Discrimination
Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly disapproved of or in an educational or historical context. Discrimination by a character with which children can readily identify is unlikely to be acceptable.
Discrimination can be in a Roleplay context. Example is slavery. There seem to be some big differences how sensible people are to some of these issues.

Drugs
References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be innocuous or carry a suitable anti-drug message.
Poison isn't allowed in PFS play. Don't expect an anti-drug message. Interesting to note: The society doesn't allow pathfinders to take drugs (see Seekers of Secrets)

Horror
Frightening sequences should not be prolonged or intense. Fantasy settings may be a mitigating factor.
Funny to read that Fantasy is seen as mitigating for horror in films. Well - as a good GM there should be enough Fantasy.

Imitable behaviour
No detail of potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy. No glamorisation of realistic or easily accessible weapons.
An intersting one. The simplest character to play is a fighter with a big ass sword. Do we glamorise it? Maybe - that's the fun of playing. But I think these weapons are not easy accesible and people know this is fantasy.

Language
Mild bad language only.
There is a lot that a GM and players can do - or a lot that they should not do. A prime reason to advertise that a table will have young players at it. Players who need bad language as part of their character concept (or as part of their GM style) should be at a different table.

Nudity
Natural nudity, with no sexual context.
This shouldn't be an issue at all.

Sex
Sexual activity may be implied, but should be discreet and infrequent. Mild sex references and innuendo only.
Yes - we have some references (like Ms Feathers - I still need to meet her). Just stumbled upon some reference while GMing Silent Tide. Again - here is a lot that players and GM can do to lower/raise the rating.

Theme
Where more serious issues are featured (for example, domestic violence) nothing in their treatment should condone unacceptable behaviour.
I actually had no problems with GMing Black Waters with my kids - after all - you did rescue at least one of them. Interesting is the condone behaviour bit.

Violence
Moderate violence, without detail, may be allowed, if justified by its context (for example, history, comedy or fantasy).
Again - Fantasy is given as mitigating. Just tone down the gore when you describe a successfull criticial hit.

And just one last comment. I found it useful to have mixed table with children and adults who enjoy playing on such a table together. The adults should teach / help out during play with mechanics (take this die, DC is that, etc. - just don't tell them what to do)as the GM should forward the story.

[godsDMit]

I understand the need to keeep any mods that have inuendo or sexual matters out of a kids group, but slavery, Im not so sure about.

I would think by the time most kids are able to grasp the rules enough to play without someone going 'now move here and roll this', then they have probably been taught about slavery and the Civil War in school (in USA anyway).

Also, considering in this game, in each mod, you end up encounting bad guys, a great percentage of which are humans who you will end up killing outright.

Slavery doesnt seem that bad in comparison to me.

[Kerney]

I don't think Black Waters is any more disturbing many YA books out there, and not because the GMs might choose to describe the ghosts as 'sparkly'.

I did have an encounter at Genghis Con in Murder on the Throaty Mermaid with a twelve year old boy playing Cheliax and his mother.

I took the mother aside and asked her how much she wanted to edit as toward his contact's profession. She prefered I edit it strongly and so the whore became an entertainer and her ties to the Elven bodyguard became more sincere.