Crenshaw
First Post
I posted this thread as a Session Report over at BoardGameGeek and one of the readers suggested I post it here as well. So here you go!
First, Some Exposition
I am an old-school D&D player. My first purchase was the original 1977 edition edition blue box that contained the basic rules, the B2: Keep on the Borderlands module, and a cardstock insert of numbered chits that you cut out and used instead of polyhedral dice. I'm not kidding. Perusing Wikipedia, I have discovered that I purchased one of the 6th through 11th printings (probably closer to 6th, based on the year):
TSR then rocked our collective worlds by announcing a Second Edition of Advanced D&D. But how could that be, the Dragonlance modules were not all released yet! Well, before you could say, "Where'd the half-orc go?" there it was. And what do you know, it was pretty darn good. That Monstrous Compendium 3-ring binder was a good idea. And yeah, it did have that "we yield to the right-wing squeaky wheels" whitewash to it. But hey, there was a ton of new stuff, and the Forgotten Realms got updated, and it was shiny and new and we ate it up as well.
After a while, though, real life kicks in. My stint in the games industry was ending on a bit of a sour note. I had to get a "real job." But I had a beautiful new wife and a baby on the way and I discovered that there are more important things than staying up all night drinking caffeine and pretending to be an Elf.
Also during this time, bad things started happening to the game industry. WotC bought TSR. They moved GenCon out of Milwaukee (an hour drive from my new home of Madison, WI). There was a disturbance in the Force. I became a bit jaded. I started to pass over the D&D aisle at the FLGS. I started boardgaming more. My interests shifted.
Still, you don't just drop it all and burn your bridges. I still kept track of D&D, but only casually. I was pretty-much done with the game.
And then came Third Edition. It was the final nail in the coffin. I couldn't read it. I'm not saying that I couldn't bring myself to read it, I'm saying I could not physically read the words on the pages. It's like WotC told the graphic designers, "You know all that stuff you learned in graphic design school about legibility and font use and white space? Yeah, do the opposite."
And then the open gaming d20 experiment was let loose upon the world. To this day I believe this was a horrible, horrible idea. Goodbye originality. Homogenization is good.
So, that was it. D&D was dead to me. I stopped roleplaying altogether. Boardgaming was more fun.
Several years passed. I had a son, and then another. They grew into great kids. Smart, literate, friendly, exactly what you hope for in a child. (But hey, not perfect, I'm not that presumptuous). We've played many of "Dad's games" and they (like me) have a particular love of the fantasy genre. That took us to the RPG-esque boardgames such as HeroQuest and Warhammer Quest (plus most of the other adventure-type games). We locked into Descent and we even played a good deal of a Descent: The Road to Legend campaign.
And while that was all happening, WotC started talking about 4th edition. And my friend who was an avid 3rd ed player started talking about it. And I started doing my own research. And I liked what I was hearing. Complaints like, "it's becoming too much like the D&D minis game" sounded like a good thing. So I bit the bullet, and bought the 3-volume set with the slipcase. On release day. It was a sign.
I then poured through the books. Having skipped 3rd ed, I did not expect the extent of the changes. But hey now, this was good. It was boardgamey. Very boardgamey. With RPG elements that were not whacking you on the side of the head. It was Descent, and Warhammer Quest, rolled together and modernized, with that old-school TSR charm. I liked it. I really liked it.
But the proof is in the playing. So, after much humming and hahhing, and after more than a few eye rolls from my wife, I introduced the whole concept of Dungeons and Dragons to my kids. They wanted to try. So we did!
Preparation D (&D)
Now, I knew that the only way this was going to fly was to do it right. The kids love Descent, so I needed to Descent-ize the D&D experience:
I pulled out the old Chessex Megamat.
I downloaded the D&D Character Builder Beta (very highly recommended) and helped the kids roll up characters.
We each picked a figure from our extensive Heroscape collection to represent our characters. The bases are a bit too big, but they'll do just fine.
I downloaded Grandpa's Power Cards (even more highly recommended) but we ended up using the Power Cards generated by the D&D Character Builder.
I also made sure to download some excellent Player Mats (courtesy of BBG'er Jonathan Dietrich) and had them laminated so the kids could draw on them with wet-erase markers and use gaming stones to keep track of hit points, action points and healing surges. The player mats were by far the single element that sold these Descent-loving kids.
I downloaded the FREE counter pack for H1: Keep on the Shadowfell, the module we would be going through. You can get them as well: part one and part two, both PDFs.
I gimped the encounters to reflect a 300xp party rather than the default 500xp party. And wow it was easy. Just remove 200xp(ish) worth of monsters from the encounter, and proceed. Score +1 for the game system, presentation and layout.
We stopped at the FLGS where Dad bought the kids their very own sets of dice. Yeah, I know how to work it.
Not done yet. I still had to cut out all our Power Cards and insert them in CCG card sleeves on top of old CCG cards for stiffeners. What, you don't expect them to just use slips of paper, do you?
OK, after several days of planning and prepping, I was ready! Wait! Popcorn! (pop pop pop) OK, now I was ready! But were the kids? You bet your d20 they were.
Finally, the Session Report
The players are:
Casey - age 9 - Dragonborn Paladin
Jack - age 7 - Elf Wizard
Dad - age 42 - Half-Elf Warlord
DM: Dad, pulling double-duty
I had been introducing them to the general rules for a while, so they had the gist. We transferred our major stats and modifiers from our character sheets to our player mats, and I explained what each "thing" was as we did this together. All in all, they grasped the rules extremely easily. Chalk one up for board game experience.
And with that I set up the first encounter and I started playing D&D for the first time in maybe 15 years. For the kids, it was the first time ever.
And we had a blast.
We stumbled through our first battle, everyone figuring our their various powers, and me trying to remember all the nuances of combat (high ACs are good now, no more THAC0, a kobold with 36 hit points?? WTF?).
Everyone managed to take out the Kobold patrol with minor damage, and we headed for Winterhaven (an very appropriately-named town given our last name). Now I shift into DM mode and start easing the kids into actual roleplaying. "So, what brings you around to these parts? ... Anything happen on the road? ... You should talk to the Mayor!" They did a good job, and were soon hired to eliminate the Kobold menace.
We head off to the Kobold lair, and (spoiler alert) are ambushed! The Kobold Skirmisher heads toward the Wizard, but is intercepted by the Paladin. The Warlord marks the Dragonshield to prevent it from also going after the spellslinger, while the Wyrmpriest chucks Orbs of Energy at my head.
Meanwhile, Jack has let loose his Flaming Sphere, which starts rolling around the battlefield whacking the bad guys. The Warlord takes too much damage from the severe ass-kicking he's receiving from two measly kobolds, and is soon unconscious with -3 hit points. The Wizard does what he can to maintain his Sphere and attack the Wrympriest, who is just barely in range (thanks to an advantageous placement by the DM - remember, I want this to be fun for them).
The Paladin takes out the Skirmisher and heads over to the Dragonshield, simultaneously fighting off the attacker while Laying Hands on his dying partner. Slightly healed, I burn my Second Wind and manage stand up, but the Wyrmpriest rolls a critical and I'm back down for the count. The Paladin finally dispatches the Dragonshield and heads for the Wyrmpriest, but not before taking a brutal Energy Orb shot that also sends him into the realm of the dying.
It's down to 2. Jack's wizard has one more shot at the Wyrmpriest before he will be targeted by Energy Orbs. He can take one, maybe two hits before he is also killed. He needs to roll an 11 or higher to hit, and does! All he needs to do is roll a 3 or a 4 on a d4. Another 50-50 chance.
And then came one of those magical D&D moments.
Casey is cheering on his little brother, his fists pumping with excitement, "Come on, Jack!" Jack shakes and releases the die. A 4! Jack shouts for joy - Casey shouts for joy - Dad shouts for joy! Casey hugs his brother and they high-five. Victory is ours!
And with that, we had to take a break. Yes, it was only 2 battles with some roleplaying in the middle, but it was some of the most fun I've ever had playing D&D. Why...?
1) I was playing with my kids. Nothing beats that.
2) I am now thoroughly convinced that 4e is best played as a board game/roleplaying hybrid. To get the most enjoyment from the game, you need to get out the minis and maps (or whatever works for you) and run the combats as tactical exercises. D&D combat is board game combat. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Yes, D&D is a roleplaying game, and roleplaying really needs no rules. But the combat aspect is a board game. And it's a damn good board game. Combat used to be a bit of a chore, now it's a very fun and challenging aspect of the game.
3) All of our 1st level characters were powerful enough to get by, and useful members of the team. Everyone contributed, and contributed equally.
4) We had to think, and strategize, and plan, and measure our resources in order to win the most basic of battles.
The kids had a great time. I had a great time. And I discovered that the elusive "perfect dungeon crawling board game" has arrived. And all the other ones now seem a bit more pale in comparison. No one is more surprised than this jaded old roleplayer.
Dungeons & Dragons is back. And I love it.
First, Some Exposition
I am an old-school D&D player. My first purchase was the original 1977 edition edition blue box that contained the basic rules, the B2: Keep on the Borderlands module, and a cardstock insert of numbered chits that you cut out and used instead of polyhedral dice. I'm not kidding. Perusing Wikipedia, I have discovered that I purchased one of the 6th through 11th printings (probably closer to 6th, based on the year):
Quote:
This box set contained a 48-page rules book (with a light blue cover and artwork by David C. Sutherland III), and 2 sheets of numbered cutout cardstock chits that functioned in lieu of dice. The rulebook also included a brief sample dungeon (complete with a full-page map), although starting with the fourth printing in 1978, the two booklets of maps, encounter tables, and treasure lists were replaced with the module B1: In Search of the Unknown; printings 6-11 (1979-1982) instead featured the module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands.
Needless to say, my young, impressionable mind gobbled it up and sent me on a path that took me into Advanced D&D. Man, it was hard to drink it all in, but we got though it, and the fun times really began. My friend had the original edition of the Deities & Demigods book, which I always coveted. That's also an interesting story for the uninitiated:This box set contained a 48-page rules book (with a light blue cover and artwork by David C. Sutherland III), and 2 sheets of numbered cutout cardstock chits that functioned in lieu of dice. The rulebook also included a brief sample dungeon (complete with a full-page map), although starting with the fourth printing in 1978, the two booklets of maps, encounter tables, and treasure lists were replaced with the module B1: In Search of the Unknown; printings 6-11 (1979-1982) instead featured the module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands.
Quote:
For the first 1980 printing, TSR obtained permission from Michael Moorcock for inclusion of Melnibonean material (from his Elric series of books). The Cthulhu Mythos was believed to be in the public domain, so TSR assumed they could legally use it without any special permission. However, Arkham House, who held the copyright on most Cthulhu books had already licensed the Cthulhu property to the game company Chaosium. Furthermore, Chaosium had also licensed the Melnibonéan copyright from Moorcock. When Chaosium threatened legal action, the first printing was halted and the two companies agreed on a compromise: TSR could continue to use the material but must provide a credit to Chaosium to do so. TSR added the credit for the second printing of the book.
For the third printing, however, TSR felt its material should not contain such an overt reference to one of its competitors and removed the Cthulhu and Melnibonéan pantheons altogether, thus negating the need for the credit. For this reason, the first and second printings have generally been in greater demand by D&D fans and collectors. Ironically, the credit to Chaosium and some references to the deleted pantheons were still included in some of the subsequent printings.
Anyway, I digress. Many years of hacking and slashing and delving and dice rolling passed, and I found myself in college, working at Rider's Hobby Shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In the games department. How could life get any better? (It did, but that's another story). For the first 1980 printing, TSR obtained permission from Michael Moorcock for inclusion of Melnibonean material (from his Elric series of books). The Cthulhu Mythos was believed to be in the public domain, so TSR assumed they could legally use it without any special permission. However, Arkham House, who held the copyright on most Cthulhu books had already licensed the Cthulhu property to the game company Chaosium. Furthermore, Chaosium had also licensed the Melnibonéan copyright from Moorcock. When Chaosium threatened legal action, the first printing was halted and the two companies agreed on a compromise: TSR could continue to use the material but must provide a credit to Chaosium to do so. TSR added the credit for the second printing of the book.
For the third printing, however, TSR felt its material should not contain such an overt reference to one of its competitors and removed the Cthulhu and Melnibonéan pantheons altogether, thus negating the need for the credit. For this reason, the first and second printings have generally been in greater demand by D&D fans and collectors. Ironically, the credit to Chaosium and some references to the deleted pantheons were still included in some of the subsequent printings.
TSR then rocked our collective worlds by announcing a Second Edition of Advanced D&D. But how could that be, the Dragonlance modules were not all released yet! Well, before you could say, "Where'd the half-orc go?" there it was. And what do you know, it was pretty darn good. That Monstrous Compendium 3-ring binder was a good idea. And yeah, it did have that "we yield to the right-wing squeaky wheels" whitewash to it. But hey, there was a ton of new stuff, and the Forgotten Realms got updated, and it was shiny and new and we ate it up as well.
After a while, though, real life kicks in. My stint in the games industry was ending on a bit of a sour note. I had to get a "real job." But I had a beautiful new wife and a baby on the way and I discovered that there are more important things than staying up all night drinking caffeine and pretending to be an Elf.
Also during this time, bad things started happening to the game industry. WotC bought TSR. They moved GenCon out of Milwaukee (an hour drive from my new home of Madison, WI). There was a disturbance in the Force. I became a bit jaded. I started to pass over the D&D aisle at the FLGS. I started boardgaming more. My interests shifted.
Still, you don't just drop it all and burn your bridges. I still kept track of D&D, but only casually. I was pretty-much done with the game.
And then came Third Edition. It was the final nail in the coffin. I couldn't read it. I'm not saying that I couldn't bring myself to read it, I'm saying I could not physically read the words on the pages. It's like WotC told the graphic designers, "You know all that stuff you learned in graphic design school about legibility and font use and white space? Yeah, do the opposite."
And then the open gaming d20 experiment was let loose upon the world. To this day I believe this was a horrible, horrible idea. Goodbye originality. Homogenization is good.
So, that was it. D&D was dead to me. I stopped roleplaying altogether. Boardgaming was more fun.
Several years passed. I had a son, and then another. They grew into great kids. Smart, literate, friendly, exactly what you hope for in a child. (But hey, not perfect, I'm not that presumptuous). We've played many of "Dad's games" and they (like me) have a particular love of the fantasy genre. That took us to the RPG-esque boardgames such as HeroQuest and Warhammer Quest (plus most of the other adventure-type games). We locked into Descent and we even played a good deal of a Descent: The Road to Legend campaign.
And while that was all happening, WotC started talking about 4th edition. And my friend who was an avid 3rd ed player started talking about it. And I started doing my own research. And I liked what I was hearing. Complaints like, "it's becoming too much like the D&D minis game" sounded like a good thing. So I bit the bullet, and bought the 3-volume set with the slipcase. On release day. It was a sign.
I then poured through the books. Having skipped 3rd ed, I did not expect the extent of the changes. But hey now, this was good. It was boardgamey. Very boardgamey. With RPG elements that were not whacking you on the side of the head. It was Descent, and Warhammer Quest, rolled together and modernized, with that old-school TSR charm. I liked it. I really liked it.
But the proof is in the playing. So, after much humming and hahhing, and after more than a few eye rolls from my wife, I introduced the whole concept of Dungeons and Dragons to my kids. They wanted to try. So we did!
Preparation D (&D)
Now, I knew that the only way this was going to fly was to do it right. The kids love Descent, so I needed to Descent-ize the D&D experience:
OK, after several days of planning and prepping, I was ready! Wait! Popcorn! (pop pop pop) OK, now I was ready! But were the kids? You bet your d20 they were.
Finally, the Session Report
The players are:
Casey - age 9 - Dragonborn Paladin
Jack - age 7 - Elf Wizard
Dad - age 42 - Half-Elf Warlord
DM: Dad, pulling double-duty
I had been introducing them to the general rules for a while, so they had the gist. We transferred our major stats and modifiers from our character sheets to our player mats, and I explained what each "thing" was as we did this together. All in all, they grasped the rules extremely easily. Chalk one up for board game experience.
And with that I set up the first encounter and I started playing D&D for the first time in maybe 15 years. For the kids, it was the first time ever.
And we had a blast.
We stumbled through our first battle, everyone figuring our their various powers, and me trying to remember all the nuances of combat (high ACs are good now, no more THAC0, a kobold with 36 hit points?? WTF?).
Everyone managed to take out the Kobold patrol with minor damage, and we headed for Winterhaven (an very appropriately-named town given our last name). Now I shift into DM mode and start easing the kids into actual roleplaying. "So, what brings you around to these parts? ... Anything happen on the road? ... You should talk to the Mayor!" They did a good job, and were soon hired to eliminate the Kobold menace.
We head off to the Kobold lair, and (spoiler alert) are ambushed! The Kobold Skirmisher heads toward the Wizard, but is intercepted by the Paladin. The Warlord marks the Dragonshield to prevent it from also going after the spellslinger, while the Wyrmpriest chucks Orbs of Energy at my head.
Meanwhile, Jack has let loose his Flaming Sphere, which starts rolling around the battlefield whacking the bad guys. The Warlord takes too much damage from the severe ass-kicking he's receiving from two measly kobolds, and is soon unconscious with -3 hit points. The Wizard does what he can to maintain his Sphere and attack the Wrympriest, who is just barely in range (thanks to an advantageous placement by the DM - remember, I want this to be fun for them).
The Paladin takes out the Skirmisher and heads over to the Dragonshield, simultaneously fighting off the attacker while Laying Hands on his dying partner. Slightly healed, I burn my Second Wind and manage stand up, but the Wyrmpriest rolls a critical and I'm back down for the count. The Paladin finally dispatches the Dragonshield and heads for the Wyrmpriest, but not before taking a brutal Energy Orb shot that also sends him into the realm of the dying.
It's down to 2. Jack's wizard has one more shot at the Wyrmpriest before he will be targeted by Energy Orbs. He can take one, maybe two hits before he is also killed. He needs to roll an 11 or higher to hit, and does! All he needs to do is roll a 3 or a 4 on a d4. Another 50-50 chance.
And then came one of those magical D&D moments.
Casey is cheering on his little brother, his fists pumping with excitement, "Come on, Jack!" Jack shakes and releases the die. A 4! Jack shouts for joy - Casey shouts for joy - Dad shouts for joy! Casey hugs his brother and they high-five. Victory is ours!
And with that, we had to take a break. Yes, it was only 2 battles with some roleplaying in the middle, but it was some of the most fun I've ever had playing D&D. Why...?
1) I was playing with my kids. Nothing beats that.
2) I am now thoroughly convinced that 4e is best played as a board game/roleplaying hybrid. To get the most enjoyment from the game, you need to get out the minis and maps (or whatever works for you) and run the combats as tactical exercises. D&D combat is board game combat. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Yes, D&D is a roleplaying game, and roleplaying really needs no rules. But the combat aspect is a board game. And it's a damn good board game. Combat used to be a bit of a chore, now it's a very fun and challenging aspect of the game.
3) All of our 1st level characters were powerful enough to get by, and useful members of the team. Everyone contributed, and contributed equally.
4) We had to think, and strategize, and plan, and measure our resources in order to win the most basic of battles.
The kids had a great time. I had a great time. And I discovered that the elusive "perfect dungeon crawling board game" has arrived. And all the other ones now seem a bit more pale in comparison. No one is more surprised than this jaded old roleplayer.
Dungeons & Dragons is back. And I love it.
That's an awesome story, and it's good to see people on the internet find the bright side of things once in a while 
