Any good suggestion? The kids are around 10 years old
and like boardgames, but havent played rpg games. What is a good system to start with? Ideal would be a pathfinder light game... or a light light game :-)
Well not Pathfinder, that's for sure...
I have heard that 4e has a lot simpler rules to handle.
Off the top of my head I think of bunnies and burrows, although I haven't played it.
Pathfinder Beginner Box.
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My kids started out (at ages 4 and 8) with the Pathfinder Beginner's Box. We moved on to the core rulebook gradually in less than a year. Several years later I still make their characters for them with input from them, but the now 11 year old is starting to mess around with more complicated stuff like the grapple rules. My advice here is to not sell kids and their abilities short. I look at most of the simple rpgs intended for kids, and they just seem empty to me.
My kids have enjoyed Hero Kids for the past year. They are currently seven and nine. The default is fantasy, but there are sci-fi and supers variants out there.
My daughter, nine, has started looking for more complexity, which she has found in Tales of Equestria - her new preferred game and has even run adventures.
The long out of print Pokemon Junior adventure game has worked as a great introduction game for kids.
The beginner's box is a quality product, so I could recommend that if you wanted to get them into Pathfinder.
The game I've had the most success running for younger children is 13th Age, which is very very easy to play (but balances this out by basically requiring a somewhat experienced GM.)
In terms of adventures for younger kids, the one thing I've found is that you really want to dispense of the classic low level "fight some animals" combats. Kids really don't like fighting wolves and the like.
Thanks for the reactions! I'm looking into Hero kids (maybe to simpel), 5th edition (simpeler than pathfinder but why not pathfinder...), beginner box (seems Nice, but how long can we keep it simpel)... i have some homework :-)
beginner box (seems Nice, but how long can we keep it simpel)... i have some homework :-)
The Beginner Box rules can be played indefinitely. The rules themselves are set up for characters from Level 1 to Level 5, so you can play any low-level scenario that you find appropriate.
And even if you move to using Core rules for levels above 5, there is no need to add in the complexities that the Beginner Box rules leave out. It's perfectly fine to play without using attacks of opportunity, for example.
There is also FATE which is very rules light and fun. Or Monster of the Week.
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When I do Pathfinder for beginner players, I do replace the Cleric, Wizard and Druid with the Oracle, Sorcerer and Hunter respectively. For kids it is a daunting task to figure out spells and spell selection and memorization. The spontaneous casters are a bit easier to handle for younger players. But YMMV, best of luck and Happy Gaming!
Possibly, Swords & Wizard Light ???
https://www.froggodgames.com/swords-wizardry-light
5th Edition is pretty easy to learn and simple to run.
You just roll 1d20 and add a modifier, which is pretty static--it doesn't change every round like in Pathfinder. In general, when things are going well, instead of adding more and more modifiers, you just roll twice and take the higher result. If things are going poorly, instead of stacking penalties, you roll twice and take the lower result. If something good and something bad both affect the roll, you just roll 1d20.
There are only 3 different types of rolls: Ability Checks (including skill checks, initiative, and grappling and other shenanigans), Attack Rolls, and Saving Throws.
On your turn, you get an Action. You can move before and after your Action. There is a list of Actions you can choose from on a cheat sheet--and one of the options is IMPROVISE!
For spells, you're either a spontaneous caster, or you're limited to a certain number of spells (typically your level + your ability modifier) that you can prepare each day, so the number of spells you have to manage at one time is pretty low. You can even use spell cards if you want. Writing your own helps you learn what the spell does, but there are pre-printed ones if you want to invest in them.
The math of DMing is pretty easy to. It's easy to figure out how often the PCs will hit and/or make their Saving Throws. Ditto for the monsters. For example, almost every 1st level PC gets a +5 on their attack rolls (swords, bows, spells, fists, etc.), so you know if a monster has an AC of 15, the PCs will hit half the time and miss half the time. It makes it really easy to design an encounter. If you want the PCs to hit 75% of the time, use monsters with AC 10.
My kids are 13 and 12, and have been trying out RPGs for a few years now with myself, my wife, or one of our adult friends as GMs. They've played a bit of v.3.5, Pathfinder, Earthdawn, BECMI/RC, and D&D 5E. (And they got their first taste of PFS this afternoon.) So far, D&D 5E has been the best fit for ease of them learning the rules and me prepping adventures, and is the first real campaign we've to get started with them.
About a year ago, we gave my daughter her first RPG book of her own, One Dice Raptors, because it's very rules-light and she is crazy about dinosaurs. She wants to run it herself sometime, but hasn't gotten around to it yet.
We've also considered running Fate, Epyllion, and Blue Rose AGE for them, but haven't had sufficient time and energy to fit those into the schedule yet.
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My recommendations would be the following:
Ponyfinder - Campaign Setting
Ponyfinder - Griffons of Everglow
Both of the above have recently been updated for D&D 5e, though the adventure below is only for Pathfinder, which is why you may need to stick with Pathfinder system if you Ponyfinder catches your interest.
Ponyfinder - Ghost of the Pirate Queen.
"As the most notorious pirate ever to sail the Ocean of Tears, the legend of Brokenhorn and her fabulous raid on the Queen’s treasury has been a fixture in sailor’s stories and bard’s songs for decades. Now, a group of brave adventurers have discovered a map leading to Brokenhorn’s final treasure.
Can they overcome gem gnolls, pirates, dastardly traps, and the ghost of Brokenhorn herself in order to discover the pirate queen’s hidden bounty while unraveling the mystery surrounding her disappearance?
Ghost of the Pirate Queen is a stand-alone, family friendly, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure set in the Ponyfinder campaign setting for 2nd to 3rd level characters and is recommended fun for all ages."
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I ran 4th edition for my kids and nephews when they were aged between 12 and seven. Keep the sessions short and the goals simple and it works easily. 4th edition worked well because I used the character building program and printed their sheets plus their ability cards before games. Then it worked for them like many board games. Flipmthe card, use the power.
I have now switched to 5th ed for the same kids. Running a new campaign. They're older, but the youngest is only just 11 last month. The only partnthats more complicated for this is the spells. In that case it's the older kids who run casters.
I'd advise for kids the age you're talking about, it's less the system as it is the module. Clear goals, defined badguys and nothing too tacticaly complex. A session of 1 to 2 hours is all I'd recommend.
For spell casters, I'd make up some cards or cheat sheets for them. Maybe even colour code them for things like "attacks enemies, buffs friends, heals" etc.
It only took my kids three sessions to get their head around their characters and the rules. We have no issues running games and there is generally a large amount of fun and laughter to be had.
Good luck
I recommended "Meddling Kids", an RPG from several years ago that basically casts the characters as members of a Scooby-like gang of mystery solvers. The best part of the game is that problems can't be solved through punching the crud out of enemies--instead, the players (the kids) have to come up with a clever trap to catch the "monster", and the more complicated the trap is, the more likely it is to work! It's great fun and captures the spirit of the genre well.
"No Thank You, Evil!" is a great game setting for kids and family games. It uses a scaling difficulty version of the Numenaria ruleset, quite easy to learn and play.