Passing the Torch – 2012 Summary
We often see the doomsayers predicting the imminent demise of the RPG hobby, and given the gray at my temples, I can certainly say that I’m part of the aging RPG community. Graceful aging, I assure you, but aging nonetheless.
However, two years ago, I introduced my boys to RPGs and the Pathfinder RPG in particular and have posted a few times about how that experience has gone successfully. While it’s great for the nostalgia effect, I do take great joy and some pride in the idea that I’m passing the RPG torch to the new generation.
Back around Father’s Day, I posted about my experiences of introducing Pathfinder to a larger group of kids as my eldest had recruited several of his friends. The results have, candidly, surpassed my expectations by leaps and bounds.
The Gaming Group Make-up
What originally started as a game for my two kids has grown to a core group ranging in ages from 7-15. The two youngest players are casual players that play when/if they want to which is fine given their ages, attention spans, and the length of your average gaming session. The others range from 11-15 and since June we’ve picked up another player’s sibling and recruited two other players. All have become rabid Pathfinder fans. There are currently 3 ongoing campaigns:
Campaign A – Just for my sons. The game we run when no one is available.
Campaign B – Primary group campaign consisting of 8 players (10 when the little guys want to play).
Campaign C – Campaign consisting of 4 players for when the other 4 are unavailable.
So here’s my completely anecdotal take on gaming with the under-18 crowd:
Skyrim is the Gateway Game, not D&D
Every single player in the kid group above was introduced into the idea of pen-and-paper RPGs via something along the lines of “It’s like Skyrim but it’s not a video game. You can play with a group and you can have your character try to do whatever you can think of. It’s awesome.” In my earlier post, I referenced how Skyrim provides an easy point of reference. However, even in that regard, I underestimated how powerful an introduction that can be and just how popular Skyrim is with the under-18 crowd.
Pathfinder (or any brand) is as strong a brand as you make it
While their parents have heard of D&D, most of these kids hadn’t. However, they had all heard of or played Skyrim, and for every single one of them, pen-and-paper RPGs now equals Pathfinder. They don’t say they’re playing D&D and if you asked them if they were they’d look at you like you were weird. Even my old modules and rulebooks are “Pathfinder books” to them.
I’m not making that observation as a knock against D&D. When my adult group plays, that’s what they tell their spouses – “we’re doing D&D on Friday”. However, my point is that the hobby isn’t dependent upon a single brand. In videogame parlance, kids play Dishonored, not “that game that’s like Thief: The Dark Project”. Props to Paizo for things like the Beginner Box, the Comic, Pathfinder Tales, and other vehicles that are not only cool but increase brand awareness. On the older-gen side, if you want to promote your game system, the call it what it is, regardless of whether that’s Pathfinder, Mutants & Masterminds, Warhammer, Shadowrun, or whatever else you might be playing.
The Magic of RPGs
Yeah, maybe I’m just waxing nostalgic given that we just came out of the Christmas season, but when you can get 8 kids under the age of 18 to sit around a table for eight hours and the session ends with a Mexican-standoff over a masterwork longsword being acted out where people are talking in character, pantomiming holding swords and aiming bows and crossbows, all screaming over one another and you, as a GM, didn’t have to do a damn thing but take it in and smile… (And for two of the player’s it was their 1st session.)
The only thing that made it even better was in the midst of the yelling and arguing, I let out a roar. Every single player, remembering rumors of a fire drake in the region, yelled (in-character) “Run to the cave!” Now THAT was priceless!
An Unexpected Upside
So it’s New Year’s Eve, and we’re at a party at a neighbor’s house. As parents will do, much of the talk was about the kids. I was taken by surprise when one couple thanked me for running Pathfinder and introducing their kids to it. They loved the fact that it wasn’t a video game, it used their imagination, that they were spending time with friends, and it helped them get along better at home because collectively they all wouldn’t stop talking about Pathfinder. At this point, one of the other couples chimed in and thanked my wife for “letting me” (married guys know what I’m talking about…) run Pathfinder for the kids and that it allowed them to have a night out without the kids.
Somewhere along the way, RPGs became cool in the minds of parents… but I’m not telling those kids that anytime soon!
One Weird Thing
I’ll never get used to being called “Mr. Porter” while GMing.
So for 2012, particularly the latter half, next-gen gaming was a huge success. At present, aside from my little stories above, we have:
2 of my players dipping into the GM-pool running games for friends; My eldest child is prepping an adventure for Dad to play through
2 Core Rulebooks & 2 Bestiaries purchased
1 Beginner Box purchased
2 Hero Lab core licenses purchased
… and a whole lot of “when can we play Pathfinder again, Mr. Porter?”
Happy New Year, all. Since the world didn’t end in 2012, here’s hoping 2013 is a banner year for RPGs in general, and Pathfinder in particular!
We often see the doomsayers predicting the imminent demise of the RPG hobby, and given the gray at my temples, I can certainly say that I’m part of the aging RPG community. Graceful aging, I assure you, but aging nonetheless.
However, two years ago, I introduced my boys to RPGs and the Pathfinder RPG in particular and have posted a few times about how that experience has gone successfully. While it’s great for the nostalgia effect, I do take great joy and some pride in the idea that I’m passing the RPG torch to the new generation.
Back around Father’s Day, I posted about my experiences of introducing Pathfinder to a larger group of kids as my eldest had recruited several of his friends. The results have, candidly, surpassed my expectations by leaps and bounds.
The Gaming Group Make-up
What originally started as a game for my two kids has grown to a core group ranging in ages from 7-15. The two youngest players are casual players that play when/if they want to which is fine given their ages, attention spans, and the length of your average gaming session. The others range from 11-15 and since June we’ve picked up another player’s sibling and recruited two other players. All have become rabid Pathfinder fans. There are currently 3 ongoing campaigns:
Campaign A – Just for my sons. The game we run when no one is available.
Campaign B – Primary group campaign consisting of 8 players (10 when the little guys want to play).
Campaign C – Campaign consisting of 4 players for when the other 4 are unavailable.
So here’s my completely anecdotal take on gaming with the under-18 crowd:
Skyrim is the Gateway Game, not D&D
Every single player in the kid group above was introduced into the idea of pen-and-paper RPGs via something along the lines of “It’s like Skyrim but it’s not a video game. You can play with a group and you can have your character try to do whatever you can think of. It’s awesome.” In my earlier post, I referenced how Skyrim provides an easy point of reference. However, even in that regard, I underestimated how powerful an introduction that can be and just how popular Skyrim is with the under-18 crowd.
Pathfinder (or any brand) is as strong a brand as you make it
While their parents have heard of D&D, most of these kids hadn’t. However, they had all heard of or played Skyrim, and for every single one of them, pen-and-paper RPGs now equals Pathfinder. They don’t say they’re playing D&D and if you asked them if they were they’d look at you like you were weird. Even my old modules and rulebooks are “Pathfinder books” to them.
I’m not making that observation as a knock against D&D. When my adult group plays, that’s what they tell their spouses – “we’re doing D&D on Friday”. However, my point is that the hobby isn’t dependent upon a single brand. In videogame parlance, kids play Dishonored, not “that game that’s like Thief: The Dark Project”. Props to Paizo for things like the Beginner Box, the Comic, Pathfinder Tales, and other vehicles that are not only cool but increase brand awareness. On the older-gen side, if you want to promote your game system, the call it what it is, regardless of whether that’s Pathfinder, Mutants & Masterminds, Warhammer, Shadowrun, or whatever else you might be playing.
The Magic of RPGs
Yeah, maybe I’m just waxing nostalgic given that we just came out of the Christmas season, but when you can get 8 kids under the age of 18 to sit around a table for eight hours and the session ends with a Mexican-standoff over a masterwork longsword being acted out where people are talking in character, pantomiming holding swords and aiming bows and crossbows, all screaming over one another and you, as a GM, didn’t have to do a damn thing but take it in and smile… (And for two of the player’s it was their 1st session.)
The only thing that made it even better was in the midst of the yelling and arguing, I let out a roar. Every single player, remembering rumors of a fire drake in the region, yelled (in-character) “Run to the cave!” Now THAT was priceless!
An Unexpected Upside
So it’s New Year’s Eve, and we’re at a party at a neighbor’s house. As parents will do, much of the talk was about the kids. I was taken by surprise when one couple thanked me for running Pathfinder and introducing their kids to it. They loved the fact that it wasn’t a video game, it used their imagination, that they were spending time with friends, and it helped them get along better at home because collectively they all wouldn’t stop talking about Pathfinder. At this point, one of the other couples chimed in and thanked my wife for “letting me” (married guys know what I’m talking about…) run Pathfinder for the kids and that it allowed them to have a night out without the kids.
Somewhere along the way, RPGs became cool in the minds of parents… but I’m not telling those kids that anytime soon!
One Weird Thing
I’ll never get used to being called “Mr. Porter” while GMing.
So for 2012, particularly the latter half, next-gen gaming was a huge success. At present, aside from my little stories above, we have:
2 of my players dipping into the GM-pool running games for friends; My eldest child is prepping an adventure for Dad to play through
2 Core Rulebooks & 2 Bestiaries purchased
1 Beginner Box purchased
2 Hero Lab core licenses purchased
… and a whole lot of “when can we play Pathfinder again, Mr. Porter?”
Happy New Year, all. Since the world didn’t end in 2012, here’s hoping 2013 is a banner year for RPGs in general, and Pathfinder in particular!
