The Heroes of Hesiod - Anyone think think they might try this?

[N0Man]

I just skimmed over the rules from Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (The Heroes of Hesiod) posted today.

The adventure "story" seems kind of lame, but mechanically it might be an interesting way to try to introduce a young player to RPGs.

Unless I'm missing something, it seems that crits are only possible from players, not monsters. That's probably a good thing, because they are pretty powerful compared to normal attacks.

I'm considering giving this a try with a few family members and see how it goes. I'd like to hear from anyone else if they give it a try.

 

[FireLance]

I had a quick read through it and IMO, although it might work as a very basic introduction to the combat mini-game aspect of an RPG, it doesn't have much in the way of the other elements which make up an RPG to me. In particular, the plot is pretty shallow and there is almost nothing in the way of problem solving and NPC interaction.

Frankly, I think that many kids' shows that are targeted at preschoolers already pre-dispose them to understand and appreciate RPGs. These shows usually narrate a story in which the protagonists are given a mission or objective which they achieve through solving problems and interacting with other characters (new and recurring). Perhaps the only thing that is missing is combat, and given the target audience, it is probably intentionally omitted!

If I was writing an RPG adventure for kids, I would probably adopt a similar "puzzle story" format, and the emphasis would be more on thinking, problem solving and interacting with interesting NPCs than on combat.

 

[Kirnon_Bhale]

Downloaded and about to set up to play with my boys tonight. This is perfect for them. I am really looking forward to running this and seeing how much they can throw me for a loop when they come up with something from left field completely.

 

[Klaus]

Downloaded and about to set up to play with my boys tonight. This is perfect for them. I am really looking forward to running this and seeing how much they can throw me for a loop when they come up with something from left field completely.

Let us know how this goes!

 

[solomanii]

I just played this with my kids - 7 and 5 year old with my wife playing two characters to pickup the slack. They loved it. But where to next? I am thinking of getting a 1e adventure and converting it to these 4e light rules and starting a regualer game with them.

Anyone done this?

 

[Tonguez]

I played it with my son and now he wants to take it to school and play it with his friends

Its a nice introduction to combat.