Ideas for games with younger people

[Maldur]

About violence and what kids think about that:

Some years back they asked a lot of elementary school kids to create their own fairytales.

After transcribing the documents and tapes they bundlesd them into a book: I haven't read a more violent book in ages. It was hilarious

Shame it's in Dutch otherwise I would have recomended it.

( fro you dutch readers, ill post the name if someone wants to know, but Ill have to find it in my rooms/library )

 

[Uller]

About violence and what kids think about that:

Some years back they asked a lot of elementary school kids to create their own fairytales.

After transcribing the documents and tapes they bundlesd them into a book: I haven't read a more violent book in ages. It was hilarious

Yeah...it is adults who sugarcoat everything....Naturally, I read a lot to my son. He loves books. Most of the "modern" books are all happy and boring (Blues Clues, Bob the Builder, Veggie Tales, Disney's version of fairy tales, etc.) But crack open an older book of fairy tales and things get interesting. One story my son loves is The Tree Little Pigs. He first encountered the Disney version and we read it until he had it practically memorized. Then I read him the "real" version...when the first little pig was _eaten_ that got his attention. When the second one was eaten, he started to get genuinely scared. Then when the wolf was _killed_ he cheered!

So now I avoid reading him all the fluffy happy stuff. I don't force him to read violent or scary stories, but I keep it available for him to choose (and he often does). Strangely (not really), he is far less violent than other boys his age.

 

[mmadsen]

I played in a awesome game of pendragon. The 9 year old son of one of the other players played my squire. So I could teach him to be a knight, and help him with the rules. It turned out I had to keep his character out of trouble, except when we were in a dangerous situation ( he was a perfect squire handing new lances etc), and after two sessions he knew the rules better than the GM.

Excellent. I'm sure kids make good familiars too.

 

[MEG Hal]

slightly ot, but still has some relevancy

I played in a awesome game of pendragon. The 9 year old son of one of the other players played my squire. So I could teach him to be a knight, and help him with the rules. It turned out I had to keep his character out of trouble, except when we were in a dangerous situation ( he was a perfect squire handing new lances etc), and after two sessions he knew the rules better than the GM.

That is a great idea....playing a squire/assistant for a few games. I mean come on, Poncho and Cisco, Lone Ranger and Tonto, Batman and Robin....I have just gotten inspired, maybe I will do an article for d20weekly about this topic.

Great thread keep going!

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Start her off on the 3e "Adventure Game" boxed set. It's only $10, and comes with a set of dice, tokens, and a battle mat (one side just a grid, the other has a dungeon). There is a booklet with several small "missions" - rescue a unicorn is one of them.

My children started with this (ages 10 and 5 1/2), then graduated to some of the $4 mini-adventures (still ignoring Feats and Skills).

About a year later (ages 11 and almost 7), they started a real 3e game. They love picking their skills and feats, and often agonize over them. We have gone through Sunless Citadel, and 2/3 of the old "Saltmarsh" series. Three of their friends have started playing.

Yes, I'm a kinder, gentler DM with the children. But if they mess up the last "Saltmarsh" module (U3 - The Final Enemy), they'll pay the price....

 

[mmadsen]

Start her off on the 3e "Adventure Game" boxed set. It's only $10, and comes with a set of dice, tokens, and a battle mat (one side just a grid, the other has a dungeon). There is a booklet with several small "missions" - rescue a unicorn is one of them.

Rescuing a unicorn should be quite a hit with a little girl. Perhaps you can modify the whole string of adventures to go from clue to clue, with the big rescue at the end.

About a year later (ages 11 and almost 7), they started a real 3e game. They love picking their skills and feats, and often agonize over them.

I can totally see a young version of myself being the same way.

We have gone through Sunless Citadel, and 2/3 of the old "Saltmarsh" series.

Good choices for kids! (Or "normal" people.)

Three of their friends have started playing.

Very cool. How do their parents see the whole thing?

Yes, I'm a kinder, gentler DM with the children. But if they mess up the last "Saltmarsh" module (U3 - The Final Enemy), they'll pay the price....

If you haven't prepared them by killing off their 1st-level characters a few times, I don't want to be there when their high-level characters finally go...

 

[rackabello]

Uller & Maldur's comments put me in mind of an excellent recent book about children and violent media, Gerard Jones' Killing Monsters. based on his own work with kids, he argues that even the most violent or shocking media -- first-person shooters, Eminem, etc -- can be very useful in giving them self-confidence and a sense of power, in giving outlet to their wild energy and imagination, and in helping them come to grips with the uglier aspects of real life in a safe way. i heartily recommend it to all with kids in their lives. and even if you don't have little shavers it's a fascinating read -- he doesn't deal directly with tabletop RPGs, but his arguments make excellent ripostes for critics of the violence in gaming.

to bring this post back to your starting point, Merc, may i suggest that you try and take your cues from your sister -- perhaps you could combine reaching her how to play with a collaborative first adventure. ask her who she'd like to be and what she'd like to do, and let her create the adventure with you, working in a few surprises of your own along the way.

 

[mmadsen]

Most of the "modern" books are all happy and boring (Blues Clues, Bob the Builder, Veggie Tales, Disney's version of fairy tales, etc.)

So true. What particularly bothers me is that so many modern books are about terrible monsters that aren't so terrible once you get to know them. In fact, I don't know any modern children's books about terrible monsters who are in fact terrible. It's an amusing twist when the dragon doesn't want to eat people, but it's only amusing if you've already grown up on lots of classic stories of man-eating monsters.

 

[Zaukrie]

I hate to defend Disney, but Scar in Lion King had no redeeming values, he was just a bad guy. Also, if you aren't entertained by Veggie Tales, especially when compared to most other children's videos, I'm at a loss. Yeah, they are mostly all happy stories (they are based on moral lessons from the Bible, after all), but they are still pretty entertaining.

As for the question, thanks for asking it. My 6 year old son (I guess that makes me a little older than the originator of this subject) has been asking about the game a little lately, and I've been trying to figure out how to introduct him.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

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Start her off on the 3e "Adventure Game" boxed set. It's only $10, and comes with a set of dice, tokens, and a battle mat (one side just a grid, the other has a dungeon). There is a booklet with several small "missions" - rescue a unicorn is one of them.
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Rescuing a unicorn should be quite a hit with a little girl. Perhaps you can modify the whole string of adventures to go from clue to clue, with the big rescue at the end.

That was my thinking. There's another one where you can resuce some dwarves (or they're in the dungeon too, and will join you). We used them for NPCs to help the PCs live longer. But when one of the dwarves died, the other one had to leave (return the body home for burial).

quote:
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About a year later (ages 11 and almost 7), they started a real 3e game. They love picking their skills and feats, and often agonize over them.
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I can totally see a young version of myself being the same way.

Yeah, the only one that was a no-brainer was Improved Familiar for my daughter. She plays a wizard, and they ran across a pseudo-dragon in the first Saltmarsh module. She said she wanted it for a familiar, and I told her she'd have to take a feat to do it. Other than that, I have to explain whichs feats they might want to take, and let them agonize over which one to take.

quote:
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We have gone through Sunless Citadel, and 2/3 of the old "Saltmarsh" series.
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Good choices for kids! (Or "normal" people.)

Yeah, they really seem to be enjoying it. That series also has a good mix of role-playing along with combat (like Sunless Citadel).

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Three of their friends have started playing.
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Very cool. How do their parents see the whole thing?

Well, actually four friends want to play, but the fourth is a friend-of-a-friend. I made two of them ask their parents first, and the other two I didn't. (Guess maybe I should.) But the two who had to ask the parents got the go ahead. One of them even told me that he plays Diablo all the time with his uncle, so he didn't think his parents would mind. He was right.

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Yes, I'm a kinder, gentler DM with the children. But if they mess up the last "Saltmarsh" module (U3 - The Final Enemy), they'll pay the price....
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If you haven't prepared them by killing off their 1st-level characters a few times, I don't want to be there when their high-level characters finally go...

They have been close a couple of times, and some well-loved NPCs have died. Once, they almost died (TPK), but a viper familiar managed to attack the montser before the monster could hit it. A close one; my son still mentions it once in a while.

They also know I'm a hard-ass. When they roll for h.p., they can take their roll or mine. They roll first, and if they don't like it, then I roll. But, they're stuck with my roll, even if it's worse. My son rolled a 5 for his paladin and kept it. Decided he didn't like the possiblity of my rolling a 4 or less. I love it when a 7-year-old can analyze the numbers and make a decision.