D&D 5E Kids playing dnd?

[Umbran]

For young kids, I might well choose to start them on something else - "No Thank You, Evil" for example.

Back in my day, my first game was actually Tunnels and Trolls - a good choice, as it was rather simpler than D&D, and didn't require the GM to edit things down.

 

[jgsugden]

Don't start with D&D. Start simpler and work up.

1.) Tell stories with them. Go through a story like Goldilocks that they know and ask them what Goldilocks does at each of the pivotal moments in the tale. Then tell it again, but give her some other choices - Does she drink from the giant cup that is too big, too small or just right? Then tell the story with her again, but add in the trip to the cottage... Each time you make the story more expansive with new challenges. No dice. No damage. Whatever they attempt, works.

2.) Then add a simple rules mechanics system to add a chance to fail things. I like the Dread system for the simplicity: Set up a Jenga tower. Whenever a player needs to have their character try something, have them pull a piece from the tower. If it falls, they fail. I modify it when 'training' to roleplay by having both the DM and the player pull from the tower and whoever pulls that piece that fells the tower 'loses' the encounter at the climax of the story.

3.) Basic D&D is now ready to be played. Simplify the rules and handle all the math for them so that all they need to do is tell a story and roll a d20. They should roll to hit, roll saves, roll initiatives, etc.... but you should tell them what they need to roll to succeed before they roll. Then, as you play, explain the math that is going on 'behind the scenes' and ask them if they want to start to roll damage, etc...

There are also some great roleplaying light games, like Mice and Mystics or Betrayal at House on the Hill, that can give some idea of being a character.

 

[hawkeyefan]

My copy of No Thank You, Evil just arrived yesterday. I plan on using that to introduce my 4 year old to RPGs. She's seen my friends and I play, and she seems fascinated, and I've let her roll my dice for me on a few occasions, and it just seems like something she'll be into. But I don't think she's quite ready for the complexities of D&D, so I wanted to get her feet wet with another game first.

Having looked through it, it seems perfect for her age, so I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Ath-kethin]

We started with HeroQuest and No Thank You, Evil! when my kid was 4. He's 5 now and is capable of GMing HeroQuest dungeons by himself (with a little help on the bits that require reading).

But I've been talking to him about D&D and RPG concepts literally since he was born, and so he gets the idea of levels and progressions and numerical values for abilities.

Patience will get you farther than anything else in my experience.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Bupp]

I wouldn't do anything different with kids than I would with any new player. I taught my kids to play a few years ago when they were 13, 8 and 8. In the past year, I've taught a group of 30-40 year olds. Honestly, I think the kids grasp the mechanics better than the adults do. Video games and apps use a D&D type structure, so many terms are already familiar to them.

 

[Eltab]

Plan to be rules-lite.
Prepare ahead of time anything that involves math.
Explain the game as "make-believe for adults".
Set up a simple familiar scenario - bandits are robbing the bank!
Let the kids' characters swing from the chandeliers. But not the kids, not literally.
Take turns around the table to talk.
And gently remind the players that teamwork and cooperation work better than charging in all alone.

 

[Eltab]

Let the littlest kids roll the damage dice: more is better, nobody is ever disappointed. Even a 3-year-old can do it! (I know this from DM experience.)

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I would suggest "Magissa" but this RPG for children is still only Spanish-languange.

About background I suggest some mash-up with parodies of famous cartoon, or videogames, characters, Shreck, Disney's descendants or Ever After High for example, but with other names, and some ideas of background from "Changeling: the dreaming" and "Changeling: the lost" by White Wolf game.

To avoid violence you could allow magic item with no-lethal damage effects, like dreaming spells or spider webs. or no-living enemies like constructs.

If players are your children, then you could give extra XPs rewads for solutions by means of social skills (points of virtue as reward), good behavior at home (real life) and for creating their own stories, or adding new things to the world (new characters and ideas).

The first games may be like mixing Hero Quest and the game-books "Endless Quest". Simple and fast. Offer oportunities to be jokers and spending jokes to no-good nPCs. Later Allow monster pets but with gradual responsabilities about caring them.

Little kids are easily distracted and with a lower tolerance to fustration.

 

[CydKnight]

I found the Starter Set campaign Lost Mine of Phandelver worked just fine for a group of 10 year olds. They had the option of using the pre-generated characters that came with the set but they all wanted to roll up their own. I tried not to bog them down too much with details but give them enough to keep their 10-year old minds engaged for 3 or 4 hours. They even wanted to keep going after we ran through the campaign so I supplemented with some of the After Lost Mine adventures on the DM's Guild. It went fine for the most part though we did have one player death late in the game when the Wizard decided to go solo against Glasstaff and his henchmen. The player was fine with it in the end as he rolled up a Barbarian that he seemed to be even happier with.

I would just watch out for too much graphic horror or gore descriptions or adult-oriented themes especially if you are playing with kids not your own. What you may find is just fine for your child, may not be ok for someone else's.