Is old school a good way to introduce younger players to D&D?

[jasonzavoda]

You young whippersnappers just don't know what it means to color your own dice. It helps create a bonding experience between players that you young ones just can't appreciate these days with your entitlement mentality.

(Yes, that's a joke too.)

Dice! We had to walk 5 miles through the snow just to find a hobby & crafts store that had cardboard randomizer chits

(And that's a true story, minus the walking and the snow, but I was overjoyed when I got my hands on that first set of polyhedron dice. I particularly liked the 4-sider for some reason, probably because it worked so well as a plastic caltrop).

 

[Fifth Element]

Five isn't as young as you might think. My son is six and we played our first D&D session last week (along with his sister who's nine and my wife). I used a very stripped-down system that bears the most resemblance to 4E out of the various editions (specfically, they each had encounter attacks and at-wills). Out of the three of them, the 6-year-old was probably the most tactically adept (and my wife's been playing D&D for four years now), knowing to save his big attack for the big baddie for example, and came up with an idea for getting over a wide pit.

 

[delericho]

As a rule, I would advise introducing new players (of any age) to whichever style of gaming you enjoy most. Unless your preference is for some disturbed outlier (such as FATAL), you'll probably present the game in the best possible light if you're doing what you actually enjoy.

 

[rogueattorney]

I like introducing people, especially children, to rpgs with smaller, less imposing rule sets. Thus, to the extent that "old school" is also "rules light" (as it is with Basic D&D, Tunnels & Trolls, Star Frontiers, or Lords of Creation) I think "old school" is a good introduction.

I don't think heavier "old school" games are any better introductions than heavier "new school" games. (I also don't think lighter "old school" games are particularly better introductions than lighter "new school" games - I just happen to have a lot more old/light games on my shelf than new/light.)

 

[onedtwelve]

I'm gonna agree with everyone here and say that rules-light is the way to go. The Newbie DM has a game made specifically for kids that might suit you. rpgKids www. Newbie DM .com

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Old school is the way to go for new players regardless of age. I had some new players that were on the fence a out role-playing games but wanted to give them a try. I couldn't get them past 3.5 character creation.

I still get tired of complex RPGs. It's taking forever for someone to look over a character of mine in a Pathfinder game.

I prefer BECMI followed by Castles and Crusades for fantasy play. The old Marvel Superheroes from TSR for those that just want to try out RPGs. Marvel Superheroes and Star Frontiers are now public domain and downloadable.

 

[Mark CMG]

Here's a good thread with thoughts on this type of thing -

http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/275919-kids-easy-play-rpg.html

But I would also add some of the animals-as-characters type games like -

Tales from the Wood - 1KM1KT

 

[Herschel]

Old School is a good way to introduce kids to math. I was introduced to cribbage at a very young age for this reason and I think it really did help. I've started numerous kids gaming from 4-6 years old.

 

[Grimstaff]

I confess, I don't know much about old school D&D.

Do you guys think it would be a good way (perhaps less complicated, fewer rules) to introduce younger players to D&D? My son is 5 now (so too early), but I very much want to play with him when he's older.

I'm thinking that Pathfinder/3e/4e are too complicated for his earliest gaming, so I was wondering about OD&D.

Thoughts?

Also, please, if you think this might be a good idea, what old school version would be best? Actual OD&D? AD&D? BECMI? Castles and Crusades? OSRIC? Some other retroclone?

I'd recommend B/X or Labyrinth Lord for first-time players. I think its the most concise and easy to learn of all the D&D variants.

 

[OnlineDM]

I believe there was a "Heroes of Hesiod" game that Wizards of the Coast released for free on their web site last year that was intended to give little kids a flavor of D&D. It wouldn't do much for starting a long-term campaign, but if you want to just get them rolling some dice and learning some role-playing game mechanics (as a one-shot), it might be worth a look.