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Agreed. There are some players who may not be particularly happy with a judge of that age, but if the kid is good, I don't think it'd be a big deal. I've seen several good GMs in various OP campaigns of that age, or even a bit younger.
I might suggest trying him out with GMing a straighforward module, with yourself and some other trusted players. Knowing the rules well, and being good / experienced at the game as a player are only part of what makes for a good GM.
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Thank you for responding so quickly. I have played in games with this person as well as GM'd games he has been in. I have seen him help out other people who are new to gaming without having to be asked to help. Last night was our official 1st game night at a local store, the group was at 6 players when in walked another 6 people who wanted to play. He helped several of them with character building as well as answering some basic rules questions. (we started only 30 min late, but mange to get almost half way thru part 1 of a 3 part series.)
I think I will try him out in the next week or 2 with a group of 4 players.
I also had 5 people join the PFS that night.
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I agree with the others. I began GMing for a number of my friends - now Venture Officers - in my early teens, and a younger GM can certainly handle a PFS scenario.
Speaking from experience, though, a younger GM may find different things amusing (e.g. letting plot-critical structures catch fire, vindictively targeting particular PCs, running every NPC as a jerk, or enforcing guidelines as if they were firm rules) than are amusing to an older group of gamers. We have a few younger gamers in our region, and playing alongside older gamers helps to instill in them a culture of respect and good sport. I trust that a 17 year old with several years of experience has a sense of this, but he might still benefit from having an older GM as a mentor (sitting in and offering the occasional pointer during the game and some constructive feedback after the game) for his first couple of PFS scenarios.
Even better might be to let him run a table or two composed entirely of young adults.
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Personally, I started playing D&D at 10 years old, and my fellow players were in my own age range. We didn't really know what we were doing, so I didn't start to really play properly until years later, by which time I was mostly playing with a different group of friends.
But in high school, we played AD&D all the time (before that newfangled 2nd edition stuff), and I was the main DM for our group. So obviously, I think teenage GMs should be allowed, as long as they have enough experience in the game to know what they're doing.
It's only when you have kids who aren't even high school aged yet that I'd be concerned that they wouldn't be able to handle it.
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I had a young man ask me if he could GM the Pathfinder Society modules, etc. He will be 18 in 6 months & has been gaming (3.5, 4th ed, Pathfinder, & the systems that use the percentage die + d10's)for 4 to 5 yrs.
If the man is old enough to carry a side arm, then he's old enough to defend himself from players at the table.
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The age minimum is 4 yrs old and the maximum is 130 yrs old. Howerver immortals and undead can ignore the age maximum. Likewise divine beings that spring from their creators heads fully formed are exempt from the age minimum.
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I never even thought about there being an age limit. My 14 year son ran We Be Goblins! and did OK-ish. I wouldn't want to unleash him on an unsuspecting group of gamers with a strict 4 hour limit, but for a casual game among friends, he did well enough. Everybody's got to start somewhere.
One of the local gaming stores has a monthly Kids Day where no player can be older than 16. Up to now the GMs have been adults, but the goal is to turn that over to the kids. My son was thinking about running a PFS scenario at one of them.
If PFS doesn't allow this, I'd like to know about. I'd like to protest it too, but I'll wait for the verdict before I appeal.
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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If PFS doesn't allow this, I'd like to know about. I'd like to protest it too, but I'll wait for the verdict before I appeal.
One of my better playing experiences at Gen Con about 8 years ago was a 12 year old GMing Star Wars RPG. He did a phenomenal job. As long as the GM is comfortable, and not intimidated by his players, there isn't an age limit set.
^-- There's your verdict, emphasis mine. Age is irrelevant as long as the game doesn't suffer from it.
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I have played in games with this person as well as GM'd games he has been in. I have seen him help out other people who are new to gaming without having to be asked to help. Last night was our official 1st game night at a local store, the group was at 6 players when in walked another 6 people who wanted to play. He helped several of them with character building as well as answering some basic rules questions.
This is definitely a good sign.
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There is not an Age limit, I have a GM in our group that was 17 when he started GMing for us.
That said, for the really young 10-14, it is up to your group if they feel comfortable playing with players that young espeically if many Adult subjects come up.
And it only resulted in a handful of gray hairs for me!
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I've been GMing since I was 7 years old. BUT, it was always for people my age or younger (except for my Dad a few times).
If I went to a convention, I would expect the GMs to be 16 years old at least. At 16+ they can be as good as adults and it will depend on the person.
Your 18 year old is a MAN, if he can fight in the army, he can GM.
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All good comments. I started when I was 13. I was not very good, but I got better with time. My daughter ran her first game at 12 for the family. She was nervous. She is not ready for a public game and it will be years before she is. At the shop we have a 16 year old that does a great job. Experience and desire to GM are the biggest factors and by experience I mean with the game in general. You need to play it to understand how to run it.
If we want this game to continue into the future, we need to keep introducing it to the younger generation.
Like Jason S, I GMed for my Dad a few times. He was an aggravating player. Everytime he defeated a few bad guys in the Caves of Chaos (B2 The Keep on the Borderlands) he would take all of their gear and head back to town to sell it for a few pieces of gold. It took forever to get through Cave A. Poor Kobolds.
I think anything over 50 is too old, but I don't think it's a rule.
;)
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My brothers were 15 and 17 at M-Dog. Ben just turned 16 and he is debatably the better between the two and got accolades from several players and he's the younger one. Definitely age is not a factor. I would say enthusiasm, confidence, and maturity are the biggest for a good GM. Experience is only good for avoiding pitfalls IMO.
