BigVanVader
First Post
Seriously though, if I can ask a question, why does it need to be fantasy? Is that something they particularly enjoy?
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Fantasy RPGs for Kids
- Thread starter pukunui
- Start date
TrippyHippy
Hero
The issue is to do with children’s ability to think in abstract from the perception of another person. It’s not an issue of them being slow or unimaginative - they are quite the opposite. It’s an issue of normal cognitive development in children when they are still forming their own perception of the world around them. Children are not ‘little adults’ and they don’t look at the world in the same way that adults do.
As suggested, a game like Once Upon a Time provides them with an imaginative fantasy experience and allows them to creatively tell stories. The use of cards and direct imagery gives the youthful brain something concrete with which to build their thoughts on. The step up to full D&D-esque roleplaying is an abstraction - and that is what young children find difficult. This is a fundamental understanding of teacher training:
http://www.kidspot.com.au/discovery...t-in-babies-and-children+5357+553+article.htm
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pukunui
Legend
They want to play what daddy is playing, which just happens to be D&D at the moment. I could possibly get them interested in sci-fi as they do enjoy watching Star Wars, but I wouldn't really want to run anything else.
My children are fully capable of roleplaying. They do it all the time with their Barbies and ponies and whatever else. I'm still failing to see the issue here, and to be perfectly honest, this is not really a discussion I'm interesting in having. I didn't post here to be talked out of teaching my children how to play RPGs. Thank you just the same.
That's nice. I'm honestly not interested in playing a storytelling card game with my children, and I don't think they would be interested in playing it with me either. They want to play D&D. I am confident they can handle the roleplaying aspect. It really just boils down to the mechanics. As I mentioned before, Sidekick Quests looks like it would be perfect. The problem is that it's only in a semi-playable state right now, and I have no idea when that will change, as the designer seems to be moving very slowly with it. I was hoping somebody might know of something else I could try in the meantime, as I'm not really relishing the prospect of stripping down a version of D&D to make it more kid-friendly myself, although I'll do it if I'll have to. I might even try using a version of FATE or the AGE system from the Dragon Age RPG.
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TrippyHippy
Hero
I sometimes wonder why people bother asking others for advice online when they’re simply seeking to confirm their own views, but I’m sure you’ll be wonderfully successful with whatever you choose to do with your children.
Playing with a Barbie doll and My Little Pony, incidentally, is not roleplaying in a D&D sense. Teenagers get into roleplaying easily, younger children generally don’t as you alluded to before in your first post. Nothing personal.
Playing with a Barbie doll and My Little Pony, incidentally, is not roleplaying in a D&D sense. Teenagers get into roleplaying easily, younger children generally don’t as you alluded to before in your first post. Nothing personal.
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pukunui
Legend
Sounds intriguing.
Wednesday Boy
The Nerd WhoFell to Earth
I haven't tried it but I think 6-9 year olds could understand WEG's d6 Star Wars system fairly easily. The character sheets can be very simple. And you could help them navigate the mechanics to make a character with the skills and aptitudes they want.
I think Fate Accelerated (http://fate-srd.com/fate-accelerated/get-started) would be a great fit for kids. I think approaches (how the character tackles a problem) as opposed to specific skills is easy for new roleplayers to grasp. And approaches give characters a competency that you often see in other media, as long as they play to their strengths. (Ex: as long as Robin is being sneaky or clever, he does well against the problem. But if he rushes headlong and tries to use force to solve the problem, he ends up doing poorly.)
The "create an advantage" action is sometimes a little complicated for even adults to understand but if you let them tell you what their doing and adjudicate the outcome narratively, it should play smoothly.
Aspects and fate points might be a little complex to know when to use them but if you keep the number of aspects per character low, I think a little experience with the system will be enough to learn how they work.
Good luck!!
Highland Raider
Explorer
Have you looked at First Fable (available through RPGNow)? It's available as a Pay What You Want product. It might be a bit too basic for your needs, but I figured I'd toss it into the mix. I picked it up thinking I'd use it with my kids, but they jumped into D&D 4e and enjoyed it so wound up not playing First Fable, which looks fun and is designed for kids as young as 6 (but could easily be used with kids even younger, I think).
Deuce Traveler
Adventurer
I would also consider board games for now like Dungeon! and HeroQuest. They are D&D-lite. If you are also looking at another type of rules-lite system try Tunnels and Trolls or BECMI D&D. I cut my teeth in D&D when I was 8 through BECMI's red box.
pukunui
Legend
It's possible. I'm not too familiar with the system and haven't got any of the books, unfortunately.
The issue I have with using something like FAE is that it hasn't got a built-in setting. If I were to use FATE, I'd rather use one of the actual setting-based versions. The one I have is Bulldogs!, which is a rather tongue-in-cheek space opera game. I think my girls would get a kick out of that one. Bulldogs! PCs start with quite a few aspects but I could easily reduce it to just a few.
I haven't looked at that one yet. Thanks.
I thought about Dungeon!, especially since WotC just rereleased it. I've had people tell me there really isn't any roleplaying involved, though. I've looked at BECMI, but I think it may still be a little too fiddly for my purposes.
I found one yesterday called "Faery's Tale" that looks pretty intriguing. It would let them play as Tinkerbell. It uses three stats: Mind, Body, and Spirit, plus some things called Essences that appear to be a bit like Fate Points. The only disappointing thing is the dice mechanic, which can quite easily be replaced with a coin toss. My girls like the sound of the game, but if I were to run it, I think I'd want to replace the default mechanic with something a little more nuanced. I want them to be able to practice their basic addition/subtraction skills.
