Adventures for eight-year olds

[Huw]

I'll be DMing for my son this weekend, and I'm looking for advice. Here're the facts

• He's eight
• He loves Doctor Who, Ben 10 and Pokemon
• It'll just be him and me
• 3.5 rules, with simplifications as necessary

I was thinking of running The Sunken Citadel, as it's straightforward and fun. I'll help him create a character, and I'll send along a DMPC to move the plot along as needed.

Anyone done this before with their children? Any alternative adventure recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Are there any "The Dark Eye"/"Das Schwarze Auge" adventures available in your area? The Dark Eye has a lot of single-player and young player adventures.
They tend to avoid combat. Of course, that's not D&D, so you would need to convert. (But not too much - from the perspective of a player, most adventures i played seemed not to be very rules-focused.). It's not really my game, but the adventures seem well suited for younger gamers.

 

[S'mon]

Sunless Citadel sounds good.

I think B3 Palace of the Silver Princess should be good for a younger player, download the free orange version off WotC's website, you'll need to convert. It has a nice mix of whimsy, action, a bit of horror et al. Likewise B1 In Search of the Unknown might work well. The Endless Tunnels of Enlandin (on Dragonsfoot) is good but a bit combat heavy, maybe halve the monster numbers.

Of 3e modules, Scourge of the Howling Horde is a basic hackfest, ok but needs more roleplay IMO.

 

[Gentlegamer]

The plots of the old Endless Quest books such as Pillars of Pentegarn, Return to Brookmere, Mountain of Mirrors, and Dungeon of Dread would make great solo adventures for a young first time player.

 

[Zaukrie]

If you have access to the free adventures on the WotC site, I'd run burning plague or something like that.

I'd use tiles if you have them, and minis. I'd certainly fudge rolls and let him do what he wants. My sons started about that time. Have fun before they become little rules' experts!

Frankly, I wouldn't really worry about the rules at all with an 8 year old. This is about creating wonder and bonding with your child.

If it was me, I'd:

Build a simple tile or 3D layout of a tower. have the tower have portals to small encounters.

I've run this multiple times for birthday parties, for kids that have never played.

That way, they don't get bored with the sameness of a coherent dungeon.

Heres the list from the last one:

Orcs in a ruined fortress, about to sacrifice a unicorn.
Two ships in an ocean fighting, with sahuagin rangers coming on board
dragon graveyard, where the bones come alive, and a dragon lives.....

if he's in danger, he can always go back through the portal and close it.

 

[Dragonbait]

I'd reccomend the Burning Plague. It's shorter, simpler, and the characters can save everyone they meet (unlike Sunless Citadel where the characters are stuck killing those they try to save unless they are several levels higher than the adventure is intended for.

The tower is a great idea.

You could also say that the guy hiring the PCs to fight the BBEG is really a fantasy-version of a Raxacoricofallapatorian in disguise.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

Keep on the Borderlands.

That's the adventure that I started with at eight years old. My first character got eaten by a bugbear.

 

[Daniel D. Fox]

Use minis. Use terrain. Use maps.

It really doesn't matter what adventure you plan to run, so as long as you can associate physical things in the game to your child to match with his imagination. Children have a much better understanding of physical principles than imaginary ones when it comes to following rules. Heck, go buy him or her a plastic shield, helmet and sword to wear whenever you play to better help your child imagine themselves as the hero in the story - you can pick up one of those cheap sets at Target or Wal-Mart for around 25 bucks. Allow the props to help suppliment your storytelling.

And in all honesty, I'd shy away from ANY published adventure. Make it up as you go. See how receptive the child is to complex thoughts and go from there. Make up some cool scenarios for battle, and let him roleplay the class before roleplaying the character.

Best of luck!

Cheers~

 

[Huw]

Thanks for the advice. I'll let you know how it goes.

We've rolled up the character. He's made a warlock called Snake

We'll start Saturday afternoon with The Sunken Citadel, but I'll be ready with some of the other suggestions here (I like the portal ideas) if he starts getting bored