How did you teach your kid to play D&D?

[Drowbane]

I taught my niece how to play D&D Minis when she was 10, I would've started sooner, but this was the first time we were in the same state (much less the same town ).

Shortly after her 11th B-day, I helped her rolled up her first 3.5 D&D Character and ran her through a rather simple seek & destroy session involving undead and a necromancer/warlock. The Necromancer killed her PC after two hours of playing. At first she was disappointed... then she couldn't wait to roll up her next PC!

She is 13 now and reads a steady stream of fantasy books and occasionally bugs me to run a D&D game for her. My current group plays 6-9pm on Mon or Tues, otherwise I'd take her to game...

 

[Treebore]

I started my kids when my daughter was 7, then my son when he was 8. then my second son wasn't really ready until he was 10. All with 3E, but we all use C&C now, and my kids and I like it much better now.

My adult groups like it better to, for the most part. A couple are just "OK" with it, and stick with it because they like the adventures and the players.

 

[Thunderfoot]

My son started playing when he was 4. He is an anomaly, DON'T expect this!
My daughter played at 10 and quit before her 11th birthday. now at 13 (14 in a couple of weeks) she's back on the band wagon (Thank You GenCon!).

To get them started, don't push, watch fantasy movies and read them fantasy novels, you now, the things that got you interested. Don't make them 'go away' when you play, let them watch, let them help you run your game or roll your dice once in a while. Let them see that there is no win or lose and that its a game about life, imaginary as it may be. When they are ready, they'll let you know, then treat them like adults, help them read and understand the rules and let the dice fall where they may.

I've found this is the easiest way to introduce anyone to the game, don't press, teach, and understand their needs. Soon your ankle-biter will be a full fledged gamer geek like the rest of us.

 

[Richards]

When my sons were 8 and 6, I started them out on the HeroQuest boardgame, to introduce them to the main fantasy concepts and get them used to teamwork. Then, after about a year of that, we moved over to AD&D 2E. It was a fairly smooth transition.

Johnathan

 

[ZombieButch]

When my sons were 8 and 6, I started them out on the HeroQuest boardgame, to introduce them to the main fantasy concepts and get them used to teamwork. Then, after about a year of that, we moved over to AD&D 2E. It was a fairly smooth transition.

Johnathan

My son's 5, and he LOVES playing DragonStrike (this one , not the one with the cheesy motorized dragon). He likes describing things that happen during the fight and making sound effects, so he's already about 90% there.

Seriously, anyone who wants to see if there kids might be interested in D&D ought to pick up either HeroQuest or DragonStrike on eBay.

 

[theredrobedwizard]

Well, Dad and Gramps started me on Ye Olde Keep on the Borderlands when I was 8. I was Geoff, Human Magic User. Some of the spells (ie. the non-damage ones) were a little out of my grasp at the time, but that corrected itself soon enough.

It seems to be the median starting age for getting one's offspring into gaming is 8. Speaking of, my good friend's kid is turning 8 this May. I wonder what else comes out in May?

-TRRW

 

[Zaukrie]

We started with D&D minis. The oldest reads alot of fantasy. I bought the basic game box and that was great for teaching the game. Super great, super easy. My oldest would role play every day if we could find time now.

 

[Raven Crowking]

My son started playing when he was, I think, 13, 3.0 straight from the book, and has enjoyed (and help design) house rules for my game.

My daughter (8) started playing with a mini-adventure I designed for that purpose, full rules with house rules. There's a thread with the full text on EN World, although I don't have a link handy.

Like many, I read to my kids, and brought a love of fantasy, as well as a knowledge of myth and fable, into their lives from an early age. If you can take your kids to forests, caves, etc., to give them a love of mysterious and wild places, that doesn't hurt either.


RC