D&D 5E Gaming with children without changing the game (much)

[pdegan2814]

The MPMB character sheet included a section with two lists showing what the character can do as an Action and as a Bonus Action(abilities only, not individual spells). Creating a cheat sheet like that for new players of any age can be handy. "You can move, you can do one thing from Column A, and one thing from Column B, in any order you want. You, Mr. Fighter, can do two things from Column A but you have to sit down and rest for an hour before you can double-up like that again."

 

[Tony Vargas]

2. Iconic only: a party of Fighter, Cleric, Rogue and Wizard is perfect for their first ever game of D&D.

I'll quibble with this one. It's perfect if the intent is to give new players a feel of the traditions of D&D as well as teach them how to play it. Otherwise, 'iconic' might have a lot more to do with the expectations of the player and meeting those expectations. A Harry Potter fan might really want to play a wizard, but might not be too thrilled with the experience when wizarding turns out to be very different in D&D, for instance.

 

[Li Shenron]

I'll quibble with this one. It's perfect if the intent is to give new players a feel of the traditions of D&D as well as teach them how to play it.

Yes, that was definitely the intent!

And of course, my children are familiar with Harry Potter They have seen only the first movie (and got a bit scared, so we're holding out the next movies for a while), and they are reading the books.

But I think it's good to let them see that "Wizard" can mean different things in different fantasy worlds, and they haven't asked the game to be more "Pottery".

 

[Li Shenron]

The MPMB character sheet included a section with two lists showing what the character can do as an Action and as a Bonus Action(abilities only, not individual spells). Creating a cheat sheet like that for new players of any age can be handy. "You can move, you can do one thing from Column A, and one thing from Column B, in any order you want. You, Mr. Fighter, can do two things from Column A but you have to sit down and rest for an hour before you can double-up like that again."

I agree, and in fact this was one of the first ideas for my custom character sheets, i.e. having different sections based on the action type. Eventually I "rolled back" to simply have a column for marking the action type in the special abilities section and in the spell list.

 

[Eltab]

I started my son off in D&D with the Basic rules set and a Zelda dungeon to clear. He wanted to help design a mini-campaign when we finished.

I also set up a 3e combat scenario for a dozen 5th-graders to play at Church Camp if it rained. 12 was too many at once, but the ones who stayed had a blast "beating up Goliath".

 

[Lehrbuch]

But I think it's good to let them see that "Wizard" can mean different things in different fantasy worlds, and they haven't asked the game to be more "Pottery".

Yes, children are perfectly capable of understanding and accepting that Wizards are different in D&D.

In fact, in my experience, children seem much more capable of coping with this idea than adults. I don't see children wanting to either "re-fluff" or change the mechanics to pretend they represent something different. Children are much more prepared to accept that D&D is its own thing, and that these are the rules.

Also, the differences between Potter and D&D wizards don't seem that interesting or bothersome to children. Wizards still learn and cast spells, that's all that they really seem to expect.

 

[epithet]

I was 7 or 8 when my best friend introduced me to D&D, and I got the red box as well as the AD&D PH, DMG, MM, and Deities and Demigods (with all the Elric and Cthulhu stuff in it) within a year or so. I would probably have benefitted from having someone available to explain how a couple of things worked, but my friends and I managed to get it pretty well figured out without any adult assistance.

I think starting a new player with the basic rules pdf so that they get a feel for the rules before becoming overwhelmed with options is probably a good idea, regardless of age. By the time someone has played a few sessions, though, I think anyone should be able to deal with the full game, including kids. I get that we read a lot more back when I was a kid, but on the other hand the prevalence of video games should make this generation of kids more conversant with basic concepts of game mechanics. There will be things they need to figure out, and words they will mispronounce (I used to think that annihilation was a different word than "an-ni-hil-a-shun") but D&D is a great thing for kids precisely because it encourages that kind of learning and growth.

 

[Li Shenron]

Mmm... I just realized I have been doing something controversial (to put it mildly)...

I have been keeping track of monsters HP on a scrap paper during the encounters, and as my kids noticed it already in first session, so since then I actually didn't hide it but instead I put it pretty much in the open and let them see the HP remaining. I know this takes away some mystery in combat, but for the time being I think it's fine. I have even started to tell them a monster's AC. In the last battle they faced an Ogre and I flat out told them it was a "level 2" monster because I wanted to emphasize the risk of attacking it (they were still level 1). I am however keeping the special abilities hidden because I think they can deliver a more interesting surprise.

So all in all this feels a bit like playing a game with cards on the table (they are still learning after all), but revealing the stats definitely doesn't guarantee victory! It might however help them decide to retreat if things go badly.

I know a lot of people are against this, but I just wanted to share that for us it seems to be fine

 

[Gardens & Goblins]

Never game with children or animals!

Ok, fine, Kids can be great to game with - brutal, mercenary, utterly ruthless, but fun. Pandas though? Laaaaaaazy. And munchkins at heart.

 

[Irda Ranger]

I gave my eight-year-old a "D&D Starter Box" for his birthday in September. It included the "Dungeonesque Red Box" PHB and DMG with simplified rule options with just one version of Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, and Thief and one version of Elf, Dwarf, Human, and Halfling.

(Essentially what Dungeonesque does is rolls up the most common sub-class and sub-race into the main class/race rules and presents it as a unified option)

The main thing that helps him is "worksheets" I made for characters, monsters, dungeons, and overland areas. They're like the One Page Dungeon sheets, with spots for encounter tables and the like. Also we always play with a grid rather than theatre of the mind.

But he has already absorbed the simple version of the game and has recently started making characters with the "grown-up rules" (my PHB) and he's doing fine. I think the simplified rules were a nice introduction but he's got it figured out already and likes have sub-race and sub-class choices (just like I do!). And his birthday was only two months ago.

Kids can totally handle 5E's rules. The main thing is to keep the quests simple. Clear the dungeon. Go room to room. Don't worry about big meta-plots more complicated than you'd fine in a Voltron cartoon.