D&D 5E Kids playing dnd?
Baldurs_Underdark
Hero
Depends on their age.
For young kids, all the stats may be a little overwhelming, the character sheets a little too cluttered, and the monsters perhaps a little too scary or even too abstract. Typical campaigns are also too long. I'd keep sessions to max. 1-2 hrs, and then send them to outside the house to run around.
I think that the Honey Heist is a great roleplaying game with much simpler rules. For young kids, the most important is the realization that they are really allowed to do anything in such a game. After that, you can drop a hint that there exists a far more awesome version of that game called D&D.
For young kids, all the stats may be a little overwhelming, the character sheets a little too cluttered, and the monsters perhaps a little too scary or even too abstract. Typical campaigns are also too long. I'd keep sessions to max. 1-2 hrs, and then send them to outside the house to run around.
I think that the Honey Heist is a great roleplaying game with much simpler rules. For young kids, the most important is the realization that they are really allowed to do anything in such a game. After that, you can drop a hint that there exists a far more awesome version of that game called D&D.
A lot of it depends on the age. I started my kids at 6 years old with Hero Kids. Great simple system with a bunch of addons. They loved it. At 9 they moved to 5th edition and we play with the standard 5E rules now at 10 & 11.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/106605/Hero-Kids--Fantasy-RPG
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/106605/Hero-Kids--Fantasy-RPG
Li Shenron
Legend
I got my 7-to-11 children into D&D in the following way:
1) Fully pregenerated characters stats, while the non-stats (e.g. name and description) are added by the children themselves: in other words, all the crunch is on me, all the fluff is on them. This removes the needs for understanding any rule and spend time filling a character sheet before starting to play, without removing the concept of character creation entirely. Then, as soon as they levelled up to 2nd level, they got to also make crunch choices, but by that time they had already played a few times.
I needed a trick with races: I wanted them to choose race as part of designing their characters identity, but I still wanted the stats to be pregenerated and ready to use, so all the pregenerated characters used Human stats, and race was demoted to a cosmetic choice only.
2) Simplified character sheets: http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1415
I wanted the character sheet to have less stuff but more open space, so I removed anything that was non-essential, duplicate, or temporary.
3) No rules explanation until a rule needs to be used. This allows to start playing the game very quickly. The only thing I explained was the role of each character class (only 5 of them were used in the pregens) in the world, so that they could choose the pregen they liked most.
4) Gradual introduction of complications. The first adventure was short (1 session), with straightforward plot, and TotM combat encounters against 1-2 monsters at a time. Then I introduced the idea of investing treasure in upgraded equipment. With the second adventure, they got more freedom in choosing what to do. Then a combat against one monster per PC. Then a more complicated combat with terrain features, which prompted us to start using minis (but no grid, thanks!)... Trying to add ONE complication at a time and its required rules helps a lot. It could be cover, darkness, flying monsters, stealth, etc.
5) Have some gadget, novelty or multimedia boost added to the game every few sessions if you feel they are getting tired a bit. In their first session it was the character sheet and polyhedral dice, something they've never seen before in other games they played and they were immediately interested into. The character sheet was later expanded with a page for treasure/equipment, and another page with more room for character description, history and social connections, as they grew with the story. Then we added Lego minis, followed up with more Lego bricks constructions to represent obstacles and terrain features. Then we added appropriate music in the background, to change the mood with the adventure scenes. Now we start using action cards to better visualize/remember which spells or abilities they can use, and using what action type. Kids seem to love every new idea being used to expand their gaming experience!
1) Fully pregenerated characters stats, while the non-stats (e.g. name and description) are added by the children themselves: in other words, all the crunch is on me, all the fluff is on them. This removes the needs for understanding any rule and spend time filling a character sheet before starting to play, without removing the concept of character creation entirely. Then, as soon as they levelled up to 2nd level, they got to also make crunch choices, but by that time they had already played a few times.
I needed a trick with races: I wanted them to choose race as part of designing their characters identity, but I still wanted the stats to be pregenerated and ready to use, so all the pregenerated characters used Human stats, and race was demoted to a cosmetic choice only.
2) Simplified character sheets: http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1415
I wanted the character sheet to have less stuff but more open space, so I removed anything that was non-essential, duplicate, or temporary.
3) No rules explanation until a rule needs to be used. This allows to start playing the game very quickly. The only thing I explained was the role of each character class (only 5 of them were used in the pregens) in the world, so that they could choose the pregen they liked most.
4) Gradual introduction of complications. The first adventure was short (1 session), with straightforward plot, and TotM combat encounters against 1-2 monsters at a time. Then I introduced the idea of investing treasure in upgraded equipment. With the second adventure, they got more freedom in choosing what to do. Then a combat against one monster per PC. Then a more complicated combat with terrain features, which prompted us to start using minis (but no grid, thanks!)... Trying to add ONE complication at a time and its required rules helps a lot. It could be cover, darkness, flying monsters, stealth, etc.
5) Have some gadget, novelty or multimedia boost added to the game every few sessions if you feel they are getting tired a bit. In their first session it was the character sheet and polyhedral dice, something they've never seen before in other games they played and they were immediately interested into. The character sheet was later expanded with a page for treasure/equipment, and another page with more room for character description, history and social connections, as they grew with the story. Then we added Lego minis, followed up with more Lego bricks constructions to represent obstacles and terrain features. Then we added appropriate music in the background, to change the mood with the adventure scenes. Now we start using action cards to better visualize/remember which spells or abilities they can use, and using what action type. Kids seem to love every new idea being used to expand their gaming experience!
abe ray
Explorer
Have you allowed any children playing wizards to have familiars yet? Or do you prefer the term life-link?
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akr71
Hero
I started with my dad & brother around 8 or 10. My kids started at 6 and 11 and I ran a game for my daughter's birthday party (a bunch of 11 & 12 year old girls). That was 4 years ago & we still play as a family - here is what I've learned.
1) Short sessions, especially for younger kids. Be prepared to end the session when you notice attention waning, but not in a negative way - don't say "you aren't paying attention, we're done" - find a hook to engage them and say you'll pick up there next session.
2) They get really attached to their characters, so be careful of the difficulty of the encounters. Again, this is especially true for younger players.
3) Its a game and its meant to be fun. If that means handing out more treasure and magic than normal, so be it. They'll think its awesome and feel like heroes.
4) Sit back and be prepared for their creativity to blow you away. There have been a number of times that my kids have approached problems from an angle I hadn't expected and to be honest, their solutions have been ingenious.
1) Short sessions, especially for younger kids. Be prepared to end the session when you notice attention waning, but not in a negative way - don't say "you aren't paying attention, we're done" - find a hook to engage them and say you'll pick up there next session.
2) They get really attached to their characters, so be careful of the difficulty of the encounters. Again, this is especially true for younger players.
3) Its a game and its meant to be fun. If that means handing out more treasure and magic than normal, so be it. They'll think its awesome and feel like heroes.
4) Sit back and be prepared for their creativity to blow you away. There have been a number of times that my kids have approached problems from an angle I hadn't expected and to be honest, their solutions have been ingenious.
AkaKageWarrior
Explorer
I started playing Pathfinder (full core rules) with my kids when they were 11 (son) / 8 (daughter), with 2 friends of them the same age.
The big boys really gripped it fast, but they are both rather talented in the math & logic division.
We switched to 5e about 4 years ago, I really prefer 5e - even more so with kids.
And after Pathfinder, 5e is sooo simple...
My son is 16 now, and for 3 years now he has perfected 5e min-maxing so far that he usually outshines his co-PCs...
He started DMing quite early as well, for 2 years now it's actually okay (lacking in the role-playing department...).
Just keep it colorful, use lots of NPC-roleplaying, many pictures.
AND as someone already said: be really careful about killing their PCs. I definitely remember my daughters' tears (at the age of 10) when she lost her once played paladin.
The big boys really gripped it fast, but they are both rather talented in the math & logic division.
We switched to 5e about 4 years ago, I really prefer 5e - even more so with kids.
And after Pathfinder, 5e is sooo simple...
My son is 16 now, and for 3 years now he has perfected 5e min-maxing so far that he usually outshines his co-PCs...
He started DMing quite early as well, for 2 years now it's actually okay (lacking in the role-playing department...).
Just keep it colorful, use lots of NPC-roleplaying, many pictures.
AND as someone already said: be really careful about killing their PCs. I definitely remember my daughters' tears (at the age of 10) when she lost her once played paladin.
OB1
Jedi Master
The advice from [MENTION=6801213]akr71[/MENTION] is spot on with my experience over the last year. I started my nieces and nephews ages 7, 9, 11, and 13 with the starter set last Christmas and we continued throughout the year and are getting ready for our second adventure. My wife and I helped them create their characters, Druid, Bard, Cleric and Fighter and as I DM'd she would help them (especially the younger ones) with what they could do while playing along side them as a Paladin who could take the brunt of my attacks if they got into trouble.
When the youngest wanted to play Luke Skywalker, it was simply yes, and we created a champion fighter for him named Luke Skywalker, described his longsword as a laser sword, and went on. The pure excitement in his voice every time he would roll a critical 19 and yell "nat 20!" was amazing. For the next campaign that my wife is running (they asked for a Wild West theme) he asked to be Spider Man, so we've made him a Tabaxi Sun Soul Monk who's blasts we will describe as web slingers.
Playing with a younger group really forced me to go back to the basics as a DM. Describe the scene, let the players describe what they want to do, then describe the results. They came up with a lot of creative out of the box stuff, and it was my job to connect what they were describing with a rule when necessary. The Help action was my friend in combat, allowing me to always say yes to their plan by describing it as giving help to another team mate. IME this has worked better than trying to figure out ahead of time how to lighten the rules, with the older ones quickly figuring out that if they wanted to do something specific, they needed to know the rule they wanted to use and describe that.
When the youngest wanted to play Luke Skywalker, it was simply yes, and we created a champion fighter for him named Luke Skywalker, described his longsword as a laser sword, and went on. The pure excitement in his voice every time he would roll a critical 19 and yell "nat 20!" was amazing. For the next campaign that my wife is running (they asked for a Wild West theme) he asked to be Spider Man, so we've made him a Tabaxi Sun Soul Monk who's blasts we will describe as web slingers.
Playing with a younger group really forced me to go back to the basics as a DM. Describe the scene, let the players describe what they want to do, then describe the results. They came up with a lot of creative out of the box stuff, and it was my job to connect what they were describing with a rule when necessary. The Help action was my friend in combat, allowing me to always say yes to their plan by describing it as giving help to another team mate. IME this has worked better than trying to figure out ahead of time how to lighten the rules, with the older ones quickly figuring out that if they wanted to do something specific, they needed to know the rule they wanted to use and describe that.
dave2008
Legend
I started my sons at 6 and 8 (and their friends ranging from 7-10) on 4e. I didn't really change anything. We just played it straight. I only did a few things different:
1) I helped with character creation
2) I helped with character leveling
3) I explained the rules as we played. They didn't have a copy of the PHB so we just started with the basics (actions, powers, what to roll, when and why) and then I would introduce rules as it became relevant or they asked questions.
4) I tried to encourage more exploration & investigation over straight combat as I originally didn't want it to be overly violent - but that went out the window after about 6 months.
Since every character was fairly complex with lots of choices in 4e, I imagine it is even simpler to do this with 5e.
Li Shenron
Legend
None of them chose to play the Wizard, and the one I had pregenerated did not have the Find Familiar spell known (I chose spells which IMO were the simplest and most iconic such as Magic Missile and Mage Armor). But had one of them chosen the Wizard and later learned the Find Familiar spell, I don't think I would have had problems with that.
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