Building a Kid-Friendly RPG – Need Help Brainstorming Archetypes

[Twiggly the Gnome]

My son’s about at the age where he can start learning to play RPGs, so I’ve been thinking about designing a game from scratch to run for him and his friends. The idea is to keep things light and cinematic, an all-ages action-adventure game that runs on the rule of cool.

I’m using a role structure inspired by 4e D&D, with flavorful archetypes to help define character abilities. Here's the setup so far:

Guardian (defender)

Trickster (striker)

Mystic (controller)

Sage (leader)


I also have a fifth class that’s basically a consolidated pet/companion class. It’s defined by the companion creature and has archetypes that align with the four main roles.

What I’m looking for are some fun, all-ages action-adventure tropes to use as archetypes.. stuff like Guardian - Knight or Trickster - Ninja. They don’t have to make logical sense together. I’m going for the kind of fiction where a pirate, a robot, and a magical girl can all team up without anyone batting an eye.

Any suggestions for archetypes that kids would find instantly cool or imaginative?

 

[aco175]

My 7yo nephew can tell you anything about dinosaurs. Now sure they should be more a pet or all the animal/monsters can think and talk like a cartoon.

You can also cross the 4 main characters with the others to get something. A fighter and cleric becomes a paladin or druid, while a thief and mage becomes an archer or ranger. Something like this.

Is your race the class as well. Is a ninja what you are like a robot or dog? Does this make the game easier or harder? Something to think about.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Yeah the fifth class, the Compeer, is sort of a "adventure buddies" class. Like Ashe from Pokemon or Ryder from Paw Patrol. You choose an archetype and it gives you talking, lightly anthropomorphic companion. The "controller" Compeer archetype is Familiar.. stuff like that.

The kinds (race/species) are all basically humanoid. Class would be layered on that.

 

[zottel]

When I started playing with my kid (5) last year, I found that she could handle skill based characters very quickly, but had a harder time understanding class based designs/archetypes. This makes sense, because thus far we have not delved far into fiction.
No idea how applicable this is to your situation, but might be food for thought. Depending on the fiction those kids have experienced thus fur, they might not have a clear picture in mind of what those archetypes mean, basically.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

No idea how applicable this is to your situation, but might be food for thought. Depending on the fiction those kids have experienced thus fur, they might not have a clear picture in mind of what those archetypes mean, basically.

Yeah, it's a good thing to keep in mind. I've sort of been inspired by how the new starter set does character creation, so I was looking to make it a sort of "construct your own playbook" type process.

 

[Tonguez]

Knight
Mecha Pilot (from Iron Man to Voltron)
Dinosaur Rider/Herder
Big Guy (Wrestler/Hulk)
Skater Hero (Speed and big aerial tricks)
Jetpack Gadgeteer
The Monster's Friend (his imaginary friend is right behind you)
Magic Girl/Boy (Witches, Wizards and Fey)
Ghost Boy (has the powers of a ghost)
Science Nerd (chemical goop, nanotech, tesla coils)
The Artist (what they draw becomes real)
Nature Girl/Boy (he talks to the animals)