My 5-year-old son defeated his first dragon...

[Uller]

[Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil Spoilers!!!!!]

I was reading Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil last night and my son asked if he could play D&D. He's 5 and can barely read. We sometimes play Mech Warrior Dark Ages, but he hasn't really played D&D yet. He's watched my friends and I play and I let him play with my plastic minis.

So I said what the heck...I asked him what kind of character he wanted to be..."Gimli! I want to be Gimli!" (Gimli is his favorite Lord of the Rings character). So we sat down and made him an 8th level Dwarf fighter with a Waraxe (+2 Keen) and I made an Elf clr6 for an NPC to help him with healing magic and a long bow. Off they set to the moat house. The dragon got the jump on them, but Gimli made his save. The elf cast Protect from Elements to ward off future lightning bolts. After a brief melee and a critical hit from Gimli the dragon surrendered and offered up the location of the secret door...He seemed to really enjoy himself...

Off to the dungeon level...

 

[JoeBlank]

Awesome! You are brave. My sons, 5 and 3, are still using first level iconics from the boxed adventure game. If you don't have it, look for it. For $10, it is the best intro I have seen for that age. Easy to read boxes on the character sheets, so my 5-year-old son can figure out most stuff on his own, once I tell him what to look for.

 

[Monte At Home]

That's so cool.

Some of my favorite gaming experiences have been running games for really little kids who are really into it. I ran a game at a convention for a boy about 7 and his little 5 year old sister. When they had defeated a big monster and taken it's treasure (which the little boy enjoyed more than the girl, I was thinking), I asked them what do they want to do now?

The little girl said, "We take the money home and throw a big party!" Which I still think is my favorite response I've gotten from any player.

 

[Uller]

That's so cool.
The little girl said, "We take the money home and throw a big party!" Which I still think is my favorite response I've gotten from any player.

That's not really all that different from a grown up player saying "I blow it all on ale and whores" right?

But yeah, it's pretty cool. I try really hard not to "impose" my interests on my kids. Other than stories that contain certain moral lessons, I generally let them pick the movies we watch (within reason of course...we're not going to watch Kill Bill...), what books we read (they like Treasure Island, Call of the Wild and The Hobbit), what sports they play and so forth. My dad didn't impose his interests on me. He encouraged me to find my own path and presented me with lots of options...some were things he liked, others weren't. But when they express interest in something I like, I'm not going to discourage them...

I'm keeping it simple. I've consolidated his character sheet into Attack Bonus, Hit Points, AC, saves and possessions. I worry about the rest. He can read well enough to understand numbers and recognize simple words like "Hit Points" and such. I use it as an exercise in simple math and reading.

Oh...by the way, Monte. My wife got a kick out of your wife's Spring Cleaning Auction. She's already eyeing all my old 1e and 2e books and wondering what she could get for them....thanks a lot.

 

[PA]

*mumble* a dragon... in his first game... *mumble* munchkin *mumble*

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

That's awesome. Wow! That's a lot of XP for a little guy

Congrats!!!!

 

[Uller]

*mumble* a dragon... in his first game... *mumble* munchkin *mumble*

Well...it is called Dungeons & DRAGONS after all. And don't blame me...Monte is the one that put the wyrm in the Moathouse...I'm just the DM. Besides...we all started out as munchkins. In many ways, I still am.

The funny part is that when my older brother introduced me to D&D it was right after he took me to see the animated version of Lord of the Rings (1978 or '79). I was 8. My first character's name? Legolas. I played him for many years. So the seed doesn't fall far from the tree I guess.

 

[PA]

Well...it is called Dungeons & DRAGONS after all. And don't blame me...Monte is the one that put the wyrm in the Moathouse...I'm just the DM. Besides...we all started out as munchkins. In many ways, I still am.

The funny part is that when my older brother introduced me to D&D it was right after he took me to see the animated version of Lord of the Rings (1978 or '79). I was 8. My first character's name? Legolas. I played him for many years. So the seed doesn't fall far from the tree I guess.

You beat me. I was 9 when I first played a game of D&D. And yes, we got to face, fight and kill (and I got to get maimed for life by) a dragon.

And I do blame Monte. And Gary too. And his daughter also: I seem to remember she's the one who picked up the name, Dungeons and Dragons.

 

[Gadodel]

*mumble* a dragon... in his first game... *mumble* munchkin *mumble*

laffs.

Nothing wrong with beginners luck.

Though, if we hear that the little guy defeats Tiamat the next session; I will definitely feel inadequate.

 

[Uller]

laffs.

Nothing wrong with beginners luck.

Though, if we hear that the little guy defeats Tiamat the next session; I will definitely feel inadequate.

No. No Tiamat. Just the priests of Tharizdun down in the moathouse dungeons...