How old do you have to be to play Dnd?

[Pbartender]

The issue here seems more to be about your mothers fear about D&D then your brothers age. I for one dont think there is any problem with 8 year olds playing the game but thats me.

His mother isn't afraid of the game, otherwise kanithardm, who's not quite fourteen years old himself, wouldn't be playing D&D to begin with.

Obviously, she thinks a thirteen year-old is old enough to play D&D, but 8 and 10 year olds are not... That's fine. It's really no different than refusing to let a 10-year-old go to a PG-13 movie. It's his mother's perogative.

Kanithardm already has a precedent for a minimum age that his mother finds acceptable for playing D&D (12 or 13 years old)... The best thing would be to wait until his brothers are that old, and ask her again then.

In the meantime, why the big push to get your brothers to play, kanithardm? Are they really that interested on their own? Or are you having trouble finding others your age to play with?

 

[Umbran]

The issue here seems more to be about your mothers fear about D&D then your brothers age. I for one dont think there is any problem with 8 year olds playing the game but thats me.

Let us remember that Mom there is the one in the position to know her children best.

Whatever we think in terms of generalities and averages, with kids the development distribution is not very tight. One kid may be ready at 8, while another is ready at 14, and so on. Whether or not the game is appropriate for a given child can only really be judged by the folks who know them best.

 

[bento]

There's other ways to play D&D with out RPGing.

Do you own any of the D&D minis?

When my 5 & 9 year old want to play D&D with dad, it usually means they want to play with the minis. We get out the map from the 3.0 basic set (the same that's in the DMG), pick out our team and play. We don't keep score or stick solidly to the rules, usually just roll a D20, add to the attack and compare with the AC. If we beat it by more than five, the critter goes down.

Something simple like this might be fine and make your bros happy. Be sure to check with your mom first!

 

[Felix]

Dudely, if you mom says, "No", I'd recommend shelving the argument for another few years. Like the old saying goes, "When mother is upset, the entire family is upset."

As for how old kids need to be? Meh. Depends on the kid. A willingness to sit for long periods of time and remain interested is hard to find sometimes.

 

[kanithardm]

What is her idea of what D&D is? Unless you're in the "D&D is the spawn of the devil" camp, it's ALL pretend, isn't it?

Im in that camp

 

[kanithardm]

In the meantime, why the big push to get your brothers to play, kanithardm? Are they really that interested on their own? Or are you having trouble finding others your age to play with?

I played it with them once and they really liked it and they asked me if they could do it again.

 

[Vanuslux]

Just for clarification, is your mom not allowing you to play with your brothers or is she just doing the classic mom "I'm not sure they're old enough for something so complicated." discouragement but isn't actually going to be mad if you do play with your brothers?

 

[Rothe]

Being a father of 3, I'd ask your mom why she doesn't think they are old enough in a non-confrontational way. She may be concerned that the themes are a little too mature for them (if she even knows what they are), she may be concerned with the friends it may expose them too. As a parent what would sell me: it is interactive entertainment not passive entertainment like TV. It is a social activity. It requires the use of reading and math (or as DM you can make it so for your younger brothers). You can also add an educational component based on your setting, that is, you may inspire your brothers to read history by setting things in the middle ages (I know, done before, but not for them).

Finally on themes, if you are playing CN thieves that kill at will, a parent is probably going to have as much trouble with that as GTA. Instead, if your brothers are interested in heroic character's that rid the world of evil and do the right thing in the campaign even when it means less character power or loot, then as a parent that is good. (As a personal note, my momther became one of those D&D=spawn of the devil types until she saw that we were playing heroic do-gooders and found out ole' JRR was a devout christian. I started at 11, but the earliest I could have started was 8.edit clarification in that D&D wasn't availble until I was 8 ).

My final advice is don't whine about it (not that you do) but whining often triggers my innate parent response that I can't give into whining since next time they will just whine for it. Not that whining doesn't work sometimes. Good luck, you sound pretty decent in that most 14 year olds wouldn't give the time of day to their little 8 year old brothers.

 

[Mark]

I guess I was eleven but D&D wasn't around when I was ten.

I've seen kids as young as eight play but you'd probably want to be sure the scenarios are designed with them in mind. Try to be careful to properly gauge their emotional intelligence. Be sure not to overly frustrate them when you devise a series of challenges suitable to the group of players involved. Make sure there is an emphasis on teamwork and sharing the spotlight.

Naturally, that's good advice no matter what the age of the players.

 

[Roadkill101]

Like it or not, best do as Mother says.
I'm in the "it all depends on the kid in question" camp myself, when it comes to the starting age for RPG's.
Just this summer I introduced my 12 years old stepson to RPGing. He does better than I expected by paying close attention to what's happpening in the game and deciding on what to do based on his characters capabilities and equipment. His father would hit the roof if he knew about this because he's from the "D&D ='s Satanicism" camp (luckily for him his mother supports his playing RPG's).
One of my best friends made his son wait until he was 12 to start playing because that was the age restriction on the front cover of the D&D books. This kid was bright enough to have started around age 10 or possibly younger, unfortunately my buddy is somewhat dense and couldn't pick up on the fact the age restriction was just a guideline and that his son was ready at an earlier age.
I've got another friend with a 13 years old daughter who wants to play. Unfortunately the girl is very dense. The one time we let her play she couldn't focus on anything, other than having her character pick fights with my stepsons character. We let her watch us game but she doesn't seem to pick up on anything or pay much attention from whats happening in game from the questions she asks, it'll be several more years before she's ready to play.
So far my 9 years old daughter and 7 years old son show no interest in gaming at all, but if they do, I'll start them off with dumbed down style of play.