Gaming with the kids ...

[WayneLigon]

The religion issue is a good point!

I have presented the cleric class as a "healing spellcasting" class, and none of the kids wanted to play it, but if they chose it, I think I would tackle the issue - the kids have watched Disney's Hercules, and one of them reads Thor comics, so they have a concept of mythological gods, I'd just have to keep it in that perspective, somehow.

Edith Hamilton's classic Mythology book might be a good intro to the entire concept. It covers Greek, Roman and Norse myths. The reading level might be slightly high for them at that age, but there are dozens of sourcebooks for the classic gods and heroes that are aimed right at their reading level.

 

[Blackwind]

My partner and I recently babysat a couple of six-year-old girls. They were getting a little bit bored, so I handed them a box of D&D Miniatures and a big bag of dice. They had a blast just setting up the dice in different patterns and structures, and arranging the miniatures all over the floor. Kids are naturally drawn to the minis and and the weird, colorful dice. I'm sure dungeon tiles would help too. When I first got into gaming at the age of ten, I was very impressed with the elaborate terrain set-ups in the back room of my FLGS - they were for Warhammer, of course. Interestingly enough, girls seem to be just as excited about this sort of thing as boys.

Our own daughter is only 6 months old, but my partner Beth is coming along nicely; she has a 2nd level Pixie in our Eberron game. We're definitely looking forward to family game nights. By the way:

6-year-old girl: "Why is the dice bag made out of chains?"
I: "That's chainmail. Knights used to wear armor made out of it."
She: "But why is the dice bag made out of it?"
I: "Um... I don't know." :\

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Good point on the religion. I don't run a game with alignments or clerics usually (since I started with Arcana Evolved for my family - plus elves).

You should also encourage your children to help you paint miniatures and terrain! Start simple and have fun!

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

The games sounds like it will be great. Enjoy it!

But, I have two small concerns:

a rat swarm (so the druid can shine), and finishing up with maybe a Vargouille.

Swarms are deadly in third edition. A swarm nearly TPK'd a group of first level PCs I was playing with once (all very experienced players). A couple of PCs brandishing torches finally (and only with much luck) prevented that. How do you think a druid will shine against a swarm? What if the druid is out of spells? Remember, a swarm only has to occupy your space to do damage. It's a "creature" that can auto-hit multiple PCs each round.

A vargouille flies. Make sure they can all be effective against flying creatures. It's very frustrating when you can't even attemp anything during combat.

Good luck with the game!

 

[Archade]

By rat swarm I meant a group of rats, not the swarm monster -- something that will allow the druid to use wild empathy (hopefully she'll think of making friends with the rats). That'll encourage diplomacy.

Vargouilles are creepy but fragile. It should go down from a thrown dagger or an arrow reasonably well. I'll add two skeletons to the final battle as a distraction, I think.

Thanks for the input guys!

 

[rom90125]

This is a great thread! My nine-year-old twins (boy-girl) want to play and initially I was planning on starting them with C&C / AD&D modules, but, I've decided to start them with a stripped down 3.5 game. I too worried about religion and the whole killing sentient beings but I decided to take others advice and make the cleric a healer class and only have the kids go after rats and similar creatures. I will post updates here if others are still interested.

One question. My son's best friend lives next door, and that boy has shown real interest in wanting to participate, but, I am finding it difficult to address the topic with his parents even though we get along. I'm concerned about the negative image D&D still gets to this day, and I know that some of our neighbors would view introducing D&D to kids akin to practicing 'evil'... Because of this concern, I had to explain to the kids tonight that other people might view their participation in D&D as evil and sinful. My main arguement will be that D&D is no different than the xbox 360 games these parents let their kids play...games my kids are not allowed to play. Have any other parents that allow their kids to play encountered anything along these lines?

 

[Treebore]

If they have internet access and they are christians send them to the Christian Gamers Guild website. If they see that other Christians play it and even have a website dedicated to it they will probably be more receptive. Of course this particular site is Catholic, so that may or may not be helpful.

BTW, I am non-denominational, and I am not trying to insinuate anything about anyones particular beliefs, so no flame war or debate about religion, that is not allowed on this website. Go to Circus Maximus if you want to discuss such things.

 

[gunter uxbridge]

One of my players asked earlier this year if his 14 year old step-son could join our game. As the DM I had no problem with it, and the other guys went along with it just fine.

When it came time for game play, I just kept things a little simpler for the younger player. I tended to present him with choices instead of just asking "What do you do?" I kept his barbarian character involved in combat where he could shine, and presented NPC encounters in a way that was straightforward. It has worked out pretty well, and when we start up again in October after the summer break I expect him to be there at the table with my other players.

 

[Thunderfoot]

I can look at this thread and think "I remember when..." My son started playing around the age of 5. Yep, 5, regular rules, no stripping them down (AD&D 2E, even). He started small (literally - forest gnome fighter) and branched out as he went.

He turned 17 in May, he is now an active part of my current campaign and is playing a very surly, but effective dwarven cleric... My advice for all of you is to take the time to explain things, help them understand what is involved when a character dies and help them bring the world to life. Occasionaly they'll do something really dumb, don't chide them, punish them (in game of course) and they learn not to do it again. Use the game to help with real world explainations of world affairs and make sure they read things other than just sourcebooks.

Vocabulary will increase and mental accuity will skyrocket. I hope all of you experience the joy of bonding that I have had with my family. I am currently helping two other sets of parents introduce their kids (11 & 13) into gaming. Q (my boy) is right there helping them understand the rules and when to jump in and when to "wait for it."; yes the future of gaming is in good hands.

 

[JoeBlank]

If they have internet access and they are christians send them to the Christian Gamers Guild website. If they see that other Christians play it and even have a website dedicated to it they will probably be more receptive. Of course this particular site is Catholic, so that may or may not be helpful.

Thanks for the heads-up, Treebore. The site looks interesting.