My son is new to the hobby - which game to start him on?

[Maerdwyn]

(Sorry - initially posted this in the wrong forum)

Hi all,

It's been a long while since I've been around - I stopped gaming to concentrate on RL issues just before 3.5 hit, and now things have gone all 4.0 on me, and meanwhile my shelf is still full of 1E stuff.

Happily my son is just about to turn ten and is showing some interest, so I'm thinking of trying to start a game for him and a couple of his friends.

The question is, what to run for him, and I'd appreciate a little input.

I'd like to run something that strikes a nice balance between fun and complexity - the kids are beyond "Once Upon a Time" but not yet up to Hero System. I think they could handle D&D (OD&D through 3.0 is what I've got on my shelves), but I don't necessarily want to teach them a system they aren't going to be able to get new stuff for in a couple years when it's not longer cool to be playing with dad.

So, in people's opinion, is 4e compatible a good system to start a 10 year old on? How about the Star Wars Saga Edition? (He loves Star Wars almost as much as Harry Potter) Any other newer systems out there I should check out?

Or, should I just break out the OD&D red box and the crayoned dice, and sic them on Bargle?
(worked for me when I was 10.)

 

[Wicht]

Have you considered playtesting the Pathfinder RPG with him?

My kids love the idea that they are not just learning a game, they are actual playtesters.

Of course I started my kids out young on 3e and they've been playing for a few years already and somewhat into the concept of role-playing games.

 

[Hjorimir]

I've got two new players (less than 6 months of RPG experience) who have played both 3e and 4e. Hands down, 4e has been much easier for them to grasp, which I think is important if you want new players to also get their heads around the entire concept of role-playing at the same time.

There are certainly strengths to both, but there is just so many modifiers for a new player to remember in 3e that it can distract from what's happening in the game itself. Imagine the amount of work your son would have, for example, if he was playing a cleric or a druid just figuring out which spells to memorize.

3e is a great game (and Paizo is a great company, which will support the 3.x engine through its Pathfinder products), but one of 4e's design points was to make it more accessable to new players, so that's definately where I'd start.

If 4e isn't your cup of tea, I'd go basic D&D all the way with young players. Rules Encyclopedia, probably.

 

[Shawn_Kehoe]

(Sorry - initially posted this in the wrong forum)

Hi all,

It's been a long while since I've been around - I stopped gaming to concentrate on RL issues just before 3.5 hit, and now things have gone all 4.0 on me, and meanwhile my shelf is still full of 1E stuff.

Happily my son is just about to turn ten and is showing some interest, so I'm thinking of trying to start a game for him and a couple of his friends.

The question is, what to run for him, and I'd appreciate a little input.

I'd like to run something that strikes a nice balance between fun and complexity - the kids are beyond "Once Upon a Time" but not yet up to Hero System. I think they could handle D&D (OD&D through 3.0 is what I've got on my shelves), but I don't necessarily want to teach them a system they aren't going to be able to get new stuff for in a couple years when it's not longer cool to be playing with dad.

So, in people's opinion, is 4e compatible a good system to start a 10 year old on? How about the Star Wars Saga Edition? (He loves Star Wars almost as much as Harry Potter) Any other newer systems out there I should check out?

Or, should I just break out the OD&D red box and the crayoned dice, and sic them on Bargle?
(worked for me when I was 10.)

I think 4th Edition, Mutants & Masterminds or Star Wars would all be great choices!

 

[Mr Baron]

C&c

My son is 9, and I am starting him out with C&C. It is a rules light system that I thought would be easy for him to master. He is very bright, but not much of a reader yet, so I wanted to start him off with an easy system that was light on reading. So far he has really enjoyed the game.

Once he gets a bit older I will introduce him to Pathfinder and 4th ed.

I have a lot of 1st ed stuff also, but I like the mechanics of C&C a bit better. With the C&C ruleset, running 1st ed stuff is easy!

 

[Wicht]

There are certainly strengths to both, but there is just so many modifiers for a new player to remember in 3e that it can distract from what's happening in the game itself. Imagine the amount of work your son would have, for example, if he was playing a cleric or a druid just figuring out which spells to memorize.

It's not really that big a deal, they learn by doing. If you start them off with 1st level characters, they add the spells a little at a time. Plus, a little guidance goes a long way. I will admit, there have been times I have said to one of my kids, 'you remember you're fighting undead right, the disrupt undead cantrip might be more useful than the daze cantrip.' At which their little faces light up and they say, 'oh, right. Okay, I'll take disrupt undead today."

I could have mentioned this above, but another advantage of the Pathfinder rules is it lets you use any of the 3e adventures you already own.

 

[Hjorimir]

It's not really that big a deal, they learn by doing. If you start them off with 1st level characters, they add the spells a little at a time. Plus, a little guidance goes a long way. I will admit, there have been times I have said to one of my kids, 'you remember you're fighting undead right, the disrupt undead cantrip might be more useful than the daze cantrip.' At which their little faces light up and they say, 'oh, right. Okay, I'll take disrupt undead today."

I could have mentioned this above, but another advantage of the Pathfinder rules is it lets you use any of the 3e adventures you already own.

Sure, at 1st level it's pretty straight forward. But before long you're asking them to balance power attack conversions, remember their combat expertise, and which buffs do and do not stack. 3e is a great system, but it is certainly sophsiticated (if you base sophistication on the number of options and moving parts). I just think a new player (especially a young one) would be better served with 4e or Basic D&D. The more I think about it, Basic D&D is probably the best way to go as an introduction to the RPG hobby.

 

[Maerdwyn]

Thanks guys.

I hadn't heard of pathfinder before today - I'll at least check it out to see what it is.

What I really wish is that there was OD&D for Star Wars, because I think that would be perfect for these particular kids.

Anyone have experience with the Star Wars RPG and younger kids?

 

[Glyfair]

Honestly, if you are looking for a good but simple system to introduce roleplaying to young players, I'd recommend Greg Stafford's Prince Valiant game. It uses coins instead of dice, and is very basic. Even the advanced game (which even allows for players GMing sections of the game) is pretty simple.

Unfortunately, it is long out-of-print, but copies can be found and prices aren't astronomical.

 

[jmucchiello]

Run what you are most comfortable running. You have to have fun too and time is your enemy. So if you can prep for BECMI faster than you can prep for 2e and have the most fun running BEMCI then go BECMI. Don't worry about them not being able to find books later. Once they have a couple years of gaming under their belts if they are still interested in RPGing, they will be able to learn a new system quickly. You don't know what will be en vogue in 2010 any more than I do. Nor do you know what genre sparks their interest most in 2010. Maybe they'll want to play HERO at that point. Or Storyteller. Or GURPS.

Besides, if you start them with old school D&D they'll say thief instead of rogue and use the terms sneak attack and backstab interchangably like us old folk.