| OldManAlexi |
The DM's younger brother nagged her into letting him join our game. He's 11 or somewhere around there and he's not very mature. I get the feeling that he just wants to play so he can kill things. Killing things is all well and good but it sounds like the DM is going to have us doing a lot of thinking. We've already seen signs of a major investigation quest coming in the future and we're currently on a quest to capture a creature alive for our employer's magical menagerie. Add in the fact that she's not experienced as a DM and I can see problems coming in the future. Is there anything I can do as a player to try to keep things from getting too difficult for the DM?
Tessius
|
I dunno...mayyyyyyyybe give him a chance, help him out, teach him how to play the game well in a really rewarding way, and help to create the next generation of good RPG gamers?
Definitely that, but the op said he's not very mature. I didn't say use the wand immediately :) Although I will say the most fun I had in a while was when a bunch of 20 somethings had a 12 yr old new roleplayer join our group.
Howie23
|
New players, particularly young players, can really revitalize a game. He may not have the patience for investigative stuff or get very involved in role-play; there is a developmental period that young gamers go through where they have trouble distinguishing between their character and themselves, particularly when the character is faced with danger. She could probably use some guidance to splash in some gratuitous combat to keep his interest. It might also help for him to have a specific task in order to keep him focused, whether it is keeping notes of the investigation, map, party treasure list, or what have you. He well may need some detailed instruction to be able to pull it off.
| Tinalles |
If the GM is inexperienced and she is running an investigation/mystery, she would be well advised to read The Three Clue Rule by Justin Alexander.
The same writer's (looong) discussion of Node Based Scenario Design may also prove helpful.
Gurby
|
Well the best would be if the DM talks to her brother. She'd know him best I guess.
Maybe tell him there will be combats and if he's not interested in the RP/investigation stuff, he should at least try to not ruin it for the others
I played in a game that was Wracked in chaos of every sort. then we lost our gaming space so we took over a garage as long as our hosts Nephew could play. with a group from late teens to early 30s. we became rather lawful with a 13yo gaming with us.
He started as a kill happy Barbarian(, but that gets old quick). but ended up preferring a thief acrobat (with no PP skill,His choice)/Mage.Give him a shot at trying something New!!
rhino43grr
|
If worse comes to worse, you might have to have an "intervention"
We had to do that with a young player last time I played, telling him to either play his class (Cleric) and heal us instead of essentially poking enemies with a sharp stick or the rest of the party would ignore him when he needed our help/healing.
At least it sounds like your potential "problem child" chose a class appropriate to what he wants his character to do. I would much rather have to role play "Hey, kid, don't kill/attack that guy/creature!" than "I'm down to 1 HP and you're charging to my defense with your tiny scimitar instead of healing me... Aaaaand we're both dead."
| Golden-Esque |
You know, instead of worrying about his maturity, there's always the possibility that maybe, just maybe, you could end up getting this kid into the hobby. Which is pretty cool.
I don't know how old the people in your group are, but if you're going to play successfully with a younger gamer, you need to be mature yourselves. There's a pretty strong chance that this kid is coming from hack-and-slash games with little story and the heavy storytelling elements of a tabletop game could throw him for a loop. He could end up REALLY liking it and if he does, you'd be surprised how quickly he'll rise to the occasion. And if he doesn't, he'll get bored and won't want to play with your group anymore, in which case your problem solved itself.
Anyway, for some actual tips.
#1 Kids (especially preteens) can get into this mindset where they think they're funny when they're annoying people. Especially when they think that you can't do anything to stop them (I have a younger cousin who is like this). Remember that with kids (just like small animals) doing nothing IS doing something; don't gratify him with a positive or negative response. Ignore him and when he doesn't get a reaction, the behavior will stop.
#2 You need to remember that this is quite probably the kid's first time with a game that isn't designed with his success in mind (many video games nowadays don't have a huge skill barrier like tabletop games do). Make sure he knows that he can ask for help if he needs it. On the other hand, let him make his own mistakes as long as those mistakes won't have any horrendous outcomes on the adventure (i.e. ruining it by killing a king or whatever).
#3 The old phrase "Do as I say, not as I do" does not work for kids. Don't be a hypocrite. One of the hardest things to do when working (and playing) with kids is to stop yourself from sinking to their level. Its called mental retrogression or something like that. Don't berate him for acting in a way that you couldn't do yourself at that age (and depending on some of your gamers, remembering what it was like to be 11 years old can be difficult).
Hope this helps!