So my son is a very bright 10 year old, and loves Pathfinder... we've been playing stuff from the Beginner Box, and that's been great, but he's ready for something a bit more weighty and with more options. the only Adventure Path I have is RotRL (Anniversary edition) with is a great series, but is quite grim and gruesome.
I was wondering if there was an adventure path which would be, content-wise, slightly less challenging for a group of young players?
|
Kingmaker can be if you run the kingdom in the background.
Curse of the Crimson Throne is good but there are quite a few grim elements (not as bad as RotL but 7 Days to the Grave is pretty grim).
Legacy of Fire is pretty easy to use if you like Arabian knights style tales, but you do have to skate over the culture of Katapesh at times.
I'd go with one of those three.
Note, all APs assume PG13, so you'll probably have to tone down some things in all of them.
I'll take a look at those, thanks!
One thing you can always do is tone down elements. For instance, don't run the Ogres and half-ogres as inbred hillbillies but instead bullying monsters, while the lustful aspects of the Nualia-Tsuto-Lyrie-Orik group can be handwaved away (they work together out of money and in the case of the first two, revenge).
I was most concerned about the Skinsaw Murders... I haven't read too in-depth in that chapter yet, but I am unsure how you can tone down an undead serial killer to PG-13 levels! Certainly that would work with Thistletop and the first book, and recasting the Ogres as thuggish bullies would work well.
I'm a huge fan of Rise of the Runelords, and I think you could modify it for younger players without too much difficulty.
As written, both Skinsaw Murders and Hook Mountain Massacre are very edgy. My players and I are all in our 40s, and one of my players resigned from the game after discovering one of the Skinsaw Man's kills. Of course, I played up the horror movie elements of both (to a "hard-R/NC-17" rating), whereas you'll need to tone them down to a plain PG.
This isn't a recommendation so much as a warning.
NOT Shattered Star. Seriously. Can you say grim and mildly NSFW? Especially the second book. The third, I'd say, is the most "clean," but even then there are some pretty nasty things. Can't comment much on 4-6, as I'm ordering them from Amazon tonight. Although, the whole AP has major Lovecraftian influences, so that might be something to steer you away too.
Not saying Lovecraft is bad, just not for 10 year olds. This is also why I don't get the "Lovecraft for kids" thing going on in the fandom...
None of the APs are truly safe for work, or even child appropriate. the vast majority have some creepy or sick and twisted elements to them.
though some of the NSFW elements of Skull and Shackles aren't as bad as say Shattered Star, RotRL, or CotCT.
CotCT has in the first book, a villain who exploits children for his own selfish and nefarious purposes.
in fact, Golarion isn't that SFW in most cases
the evil queen Abrogail Thrune of Cheliax (Pre-Retcon) was a spoiled, selfish, abusive, and bratty 12 year old girl with an extremely sickening level of morbid and sensual taste that makes the spanish inquisition look like care bears.
the fact that such a child would attend a picnic by the gallows to watch you hang and suffocate to death on the rope around your neck for her own sickening entertainment, is disturbing. and she would do such a thing with the sickest sadistic smile she could make.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
The fact that such a child would attend a picnic by the gallows to watch you hang and suffocate to death on the rope around your neck for her own sickening entertainment, is disturbing. and she would do such a thing with the sickest sadistic smile she could make.
[ASIDE]Please note that public execution was very much a popular spectator activity until the first quarter if the 20th Century. Public hangings and firing squads could be witnessed by thousands. Looking back further, people watched public beheadings and the condemned being dwawn-and-quartered as late as the 1890s. I read an entry from the personal letters of the English Romantic poet Lord Byron that commented that while running errands in London, he'd happened upon the public execution of a traitorous sailor one morning. He remarked that he watched the prisoner being drawn-and-quartered, then stopped at a restaurant for lunch. People regularly brought their children to such things. [/ASIDE]
my recommendation would be to look for what THEME would work best then edit it as needed for your children's sensibilities. my daughter is 9 and very much likes pirates of the caribbean and LOTR (and the hobbit) as a side note to parents when showing movies like those WATCH THE MAKING OF.. FEATURE THEY HAVE ON THE DVDS, we did and no crying or nightmares just excited cries of "i know how they did that!!"
any way with my daughter i picked Jade Regent because the themes fit (epic journey, exploring other cultures) so far i've only had to change one monster in book 1 (an attic whisperer became a mimic), but really its just about knowing where your kids limits would be, then edit away
i recommend (in order)
Kingmaker (do the kingdom building, kids LOVE it)
Jade Regent
Serpent's Skull
Skull & Shackles
Carrion Crown (what 10 year old wouldn't want to fight ghosts, werewolves, aliens or vampires or even a mad wizard on top of a tower)
once you get thru those the kids should be old enough to handle meatier fare like ROTRL or Shattered Star.
have fun with whatever you choose.
Captain - I LOVE that idea about using the Making Of sequences to disarm the emotional impact BEFORE watching the movie. Might have to use that.
I keep hearing good stuff about Kingmaker. How advanced is the math in the Kingdom Building mechanics? I might be able to spin that as an advantage.
|
|
Thanks Captain Yesterday for the below recommendations on material that may be age correct (or can be modified to be). I have a 10 year old daughter that we will be doing the beginner adventure and looking to fill the next with one of the below campaigns you suggested.
my recommendation would be to look for what THEME would work best then edit it as needed for your children's sensibilities. my daughter is 9 and very much likes pirates of the caribbean and LOTR (and the hobbit) as a side note to parents when showing movies like those WATCH THE MAKING OF.. FEATURE THEY HAVE ON THE DVDS, we did and no crying or nightmares just excited cries of "i know how they did that!!"
any way with my daughter i picked Jade Regent because the themes fit (epic journey, exploring other cultures) so far i've only had to change one monster in book 1 (an attic whisperer became a mimic), but really its just about knowing where your kids limits would be, then edit away
i recommend (in order)
Kingmaker (do the kingdom building, kids LOVE it)
Jade Regent
Serpent's Skull
Skull & Shackles
Carrion Crown (what 10 year old wouldn't want to fight ghosts, werewolves, aliens or vampires or even a mad wizard on top of a tower)once you get thru those the kids should be old enough to handle meatier fare like ROTRL or Shattered Star.
have fun with whatever you choose.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
once you get thru those the kids should be old enough to handle meatier fare like ROTRL or Shattered Star.
I'm 40 years old and been to a dozen state fairs, and I'm not sure I can handle some of the stuff in ROTRL!
|
As a dad with my own 11 year old son in my upcoming RotRL group, I have some similar concerns. Thus far I plan to handle the more mature themes in two different ways:
A) I plan to leave out certain details unless they matter. E.g. 'entrails hanging from whatnot' will become 'the ogres made a mess in this room too'. I can also use this as a valve to let them control their level of exposure to the horrors. It'll depend on how many 'how' questions they ask, etc. The key here, particularly for the kid, is to separate what the PCs are going through from what the players themselves have to picture in their minds.
B) I plan to underscore how my son's character is a hero, and how his character can STOP these evil things from hurting anyone else. It is a plain fact that there's evil in the both the real world as well as the game world, and rather than stripping it out I hope to use the game as an example of what can be accomplished when good people do the right things.
I do still worry though, and have talked with his mom about it. She's also a player at my table, though, so she can help control things a bit.
My memories tell me Serpent's Skull is pretty ungruesome. If necessary, just say "savages" instead of "cannibals" in Smuggler's Shiv.
Kingmaker is also squick-free, and I imagine there being a lot of fun as they fill in their map of exploration. I've heard some stories of mismanaged kingdoms going belly-up really quickly, but the kingdom building rules are optional to the AP and can be fudged pretty easily by a DM who doesn't wan't his pre-teens too disappointed.
I also think Skull & Shackles is doable. Although not my favorite AP, it's easy to re-imagine it as the kids' PCs are secretly spies for Cheliax (rather than you-know-who) and are sent to infiltrate the Shackles and take down the Pirate King. Guide them to make all their pirating strikes against other pirates and pirate towns and you don't have to worry about your 10-year-olds gleefully robbing from innocent people.
Kingmaker, as the most open sandbox, is the most open to age-appropriate gaming.
Consider the Freeport trilogy and setting too. The pirates are not as NSF as the Skull and Shackles ones. And the setting is small enough for him to master who's who, but well-supported enough for you to make it come alive.
What play style does he prefer? Solving puzzles and mysteries? RP? Kick down the door? Tactical? Exploration?
My memories tell me Serpent's Skull is pretty ungruesome. If necessary, just say "savages" instead of "cannibals" in Smuggler's Shiv.
Kingmaker is also squick-free, and I imagine there being a lot of fun as they fill in their map of exploration. I've heard some stories of mismanaged kingdoms going belly-up really quickly, but the kingdom building rules are optional to the AP and can be fudged pretty easily by a DM who doesn't wan't his pre-teens too disappointed.
I also think Skull & Shackles is doable. Although not my favorite AP, it's easy to re-imagine it as the kids' PCs are secretly spies for Cheliax (rather than you-know-who) and are sent to infiltrate the Shackles and take down the Pirate King. Guide them to make all their pirating strikes against other pirates and pirate towns and you don't have to worry about your 10-year-olds gleefully robbing from innocent people.
thanks for mentioning Serpent's Skull, that is a very good one for kids with the indiana jones-pirates of caribbean feel to it. 3rd book needs help with maps but kids won't mind the hack 'n slashey feel of 3rd book, also get fourth before running 3rd so there is a smooth transition, also book four has great article bout dungeon deathtraps that helps out a lot thru whole AP)
Cool. thanks for all the great advice. I'm not honestly sure which playstyle he digs... I don't think he's developed a preference yet, but his friends might. So, we'll see which way to go. Serpent's Skull or Kingmaker look like the best options.
Cheers!
Kingmaker does have a couple of things you may need to modify, depending on how mature your 10 year old is.
+1 for Kingmaker, it's a heap of fun, and because you do the encounters in any order you like; it's easy just to draw a line through whichever ones you don't like.
Of the ones with the least objectionable stuff, I think Second Darkness, Legacy of Fire, and Jade Regent are fairly safe.
I'm running Jade regent starting with we be goblins with my 10 year old son (started the adventure when he was 9) In the gaming group, we are up to the third book and hes loving it. In my opinion I think he enjoys the JR storyline with a bit of kung fu madness thrown in for good measure.
running Jade Regent with two kids, one a Dwarf Viking ranger with a great axe, the other a Catfolk Ninja, they absolutely love the storyline. what has surprised me is that neither one has any interest whatsoever in becoming emperor or empress at the end:) they just want to adventure! its quite refreshing
Of the ones with the least objectionable stuff, I think Second Darkness, Legacy of Fire, and Jade Regent are fairly safe.
I would argue, strongly, against Second Darkness. You start out basically working your way into a minor Crime Family, you continue on to deal with some Night-of-the-Living-Dead/Colour Out of Time shenanigans & proceed on the discovering/fighting against Drow...
And these are not your cuddly Forgotten Realms Drow either. Paizo put some real effort into making Golarion's Drow seriously evil, capital .Not to mention the fact that in at least two places, the transition between chapters is not at all smooth & requires a lot of additional work on the GM's part.
And I say this considering Second Darkness to be one of my favorite AP's.