D&D 5E Adventures for young teens

[evil homer]

My son wants me to run a game for him and his friends. They are all 13 or so. This will probably be their first or second d&d game for any of them. There will be 4 to 5 players.

Looking for suggestions on what to run both system and adventure. I run a regular game for adults as it is so I'm looking for something adventure wise that has a low overhead for me.

System wise I can run 5th or pathfinder. PF is appealing just for the plethora of adventure's available but 5e is so much easier to run.

Anyhow, if you have run for teenagers before what are your thoughts?

 

[S'mon]

I think GMing for teenagers is much the same as for new adult players in terms of desired
complexity.

Maybe use Pathfinder Beginner Box? It's brilliant, it has an adventure, it can be used with full PF stuff though frankly it's a better system...

It has pregens plus full chargen rules and is a bit simpler than full 5e, about the same as 5e Basic I think.

 

[jgsugden]

5E, try Tales of the Yawning Portal. Stand alone adventures work best when they're getting their footing, then an adventure path down the road once they have some experience.

Also, for a first game, to get them used to role playing without a rule focus, I like Dread. A Jenga tower resolves all challenges.

 

[LordEntrails]

I think you will find that either system has entry/basic versions that will work just fine, and both have plenty of adventures to draw from that are appropriate.

I prefer 5E because it has so much less potential for power gaming and the tendency to min/max and power game. Long term, I think most players find that power gaming works well with fewer other gamers than roll-players (non-power gamers) do.

i.e. I suggest 5E because your son will have better chance to learn "good" (IMO) roll playing tendencies that will lead to more enjoyment over his lifetime.

 

[Alex Bates]

i have nearly finish running my players through "5e mines of phandelver" and they have loved it ! They were all new to D&D bar one more experienced player and they all are loving it. It gives plenty of information and side quests with room to add your own stuff in multiple places as desired ~ As well as plenty of interesting characters and important lessons to learn through out.

 

[aco175]

You could most likely get a free or pay what you want from DMsGuild. I know there are a lot for level 1-3. I have been playing with my son who is 11 with my regular group at odd times. We use the Leilon series of adventures, but most of them are level 3+.

 

[uzirath]

Anyhow, if you have run for teenagers before what are your thoughts?

I regularly introduce teens to RPGs at my middle school. They're going to love it!

I'd go for 5e myself, but PF works too. Phandelver or Yawning Portal are good entries, easy on the DM and fun for players. It's pretty easy, too, to adjust adventures on the fly, especially with new players who won't hear you filing off the serial numbers. I often fall back on favorite 1e modules or even adventures from other RPGs. For example, I've run the first Saltmarsh adventure for all five editions.

Young teens can be pretty lawyerly about the rules once they understand them, so I usually try to steer them toward focusing on the story and simply describing their intended actions. I look up rules or improvise as needed.

Be sure to update us with how it goes!


Sent from my iPhone using EN World mobile app

 

[alienux]

I agree that LMoP or Yawning Portal would be a great starting point.

 

[Tormyr]

The beginning adventure of Storm Kings Thunder is quite fun and suitable silly. Very much along the lines of Goblins Behaving Badly. The Whispering Cairn, the first chapter of the Age of Worms adventure path is also a very good first adventure, and I have a conversion guide posted. http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1254

 

[Guest 6801718]

I just rand Lost Mine of Phandelver for some teens and they loved it. It's 5E's beginner adventure, so you really can't go wrong.