D&D 5E Looking at getting my kids started on DnD. Need advice

[pdzoch]

Lots of good suggestions so far. I'll add a different angle on the game. Think about how your boys interact with each other. Because of the age difference between the youngest and oldest, you may want to sit down with the oldest and remind him that the game is for everyone. The youngest may want to do things that the oldest disapproves of. And the oldest may become impatient of the youngest who is still mastering reading comprehension. While conflict among players in the game is not a new thing to the hobby, my experience with family members (I DM for a couple of large families, including my own) is that siblings are quicker to squabble when gameplay expectations are different. The oldest may naturally assume he is in charge (or whoever is you more "take charge kid"). Just like any new set of players, establish game conduct up front so the brothers do not carry their sibling issues to the table. The last thing you want to do is invoke your Dad powers as the DM (which will happen from time to time anyway, but you want to set the tone early so it doesn't become the norm).

Anyone who has DM for spouses has seen the same thing. The familiarity between players sometimes allows for quick tempers when their play styles clash.

I have waited until age 8 to start any children playing D&D. It just seemed and felt like the right developmental age. For younger children, the game will have to be simpler and the previous comments have provided tons of good advice to make it enjoyable and manageable for the youngest. For the oldest, he will want to get into the meat of it sooner.

Good luck with the game. DMing for your children is awesome! I'm already counting the days to DM for my grandchildren.

 

[77IM]

My kids are 5 and 8 and we play No Thank You, Evil from time to time. Here is what I've noticed.

1) My kids are very visual. They want pictures of everything. I wind up doing a lot of Google Image searches during the game.

2) My kids are not very interested in combat. Even when conflict is unavoidable, they prefer to set traps or act through allies, authorities, etc., or research their foes' special weaknesses. (NTYE explicitly makes this a viable course of action.)

(Unsolicited Parenting Advice: Please, please, don't push your kids towards the ethic of "virtuous violence" if they're not into it. Let them feel secure in their ability to solve problems cooperatively before teaching them about standing their ground, choosing the lesser of two evils, etc. Of course, your kids may already be past this phase, if they enjoy watching Aragorn decapitate orcs.)

3) My littler one has a very vivid imagination and the game sometimes gets very scary for her; the plot twists that work well for grown-ups can quickly get too intense for kids. NTYE has a special move for this, called "No Thank You, Evil" that forces the GM to fast-forward past the scary parts.

4) My kids don't always accept my authority as the Game Master. They frequently want to declare their PCs as having magical powers that solve the problem before them and are grossly overpowered. I've found that relying on a die roll works well to resolve this. Let them have the cool power temporarily if they can make a die roll, or permanently if they roll well enough! My kids enjoy rolling the dice; and leaving it up to the dice makes the outcome seem much more impartial. (Don't tell my regular grown-up players, but I use this technique on them, too -- letting narrative authority ride on a die roll and disguising it as an "ability check.")

 

[since1968]

I have three boys: 5, 8, 10.

Your kids are the perfect age. Mine started last year at 6 and 8. Lots of great advice in this thread. To add:

• Consider a hex mat. We got a huge one from Chessex that we spread across the dining room table. This enhances the communal feel and now our kids draw their own dungeons & encounters.
• Watch out for what's scary. My wife tried DM'ing a werewolf encounter and she was a little too good at setting the tone. The kids were frightened and hated it.
• Consider a DM-PC to help the kids learn the rules. I have a Battlemaster who takes maneuvers like rally and commanding strike to set the kids up for success, never outshine them.
• Let your kids pick their own alignments, even if it's not what you would pick for them. It's been a great pleasure watching my boys become their own thoughtful, moral beings and helping them shape themselves in a safe environment.
• Kids love recurring characters.

Happy playing.

 

[alienux]

I started my kids when they were 7 and 9 and they had no trouble understanding how to play at that age. I didn't have them read any rules, and I didn't read them to them, I just gave them a basic description of the game, helped them choose their characters and options, and started playing. Then I let them know what their options were when it was time for them to make a decision, told them what dice to roll when necessary, and reminded them to keep looking at their character sheets to know what their abilities and skills were. It was too long before they were doing fine on their own.

When we first started, I used minis fairly often. Now I mostly just use grid paper to draw maps on so they can see the layout of where they are.

 

[akr71]

I started DMing for my kids when they were 6 & 11 (two years ago). Keep sessions short. Let them express their creativity - they will completely blow you away! Keep it structured (ie. railroad them a bit - too much choice can lead to frustration).

Be wary of intense combat. By that I mean, don't be afraid to fudge rolls and let them win. Character death is likely to be devastating. Let them feel like heros and get tougher on them as they get older.

Just my 2cp

 

[Sacrosanct]

First and foremost, is "do they want to" or "do YOU want them to" needs to be answered. I see this a lot in my coaching of youth sports. Way too many parents want their kids to have the same interests as them, and that's not fair to the kids at all.

If they do have an interest and have fun playing, then my advice would be to not shut them down. IME, kids are some of the most creative players because they don't have an preconceived notions as to what their PCs can and can't do that people more familiar with the rules have. Unless it was a spell, most everything I did was made everything come down to an ability check for the wild and crazy ideas they had. It's a simple rule that applied to most everything, rather than complicate it with more "official" rules that might be there. Give them the benefit of the doubt if it helps their ideas work. It fosters creativity where shutting them down hurts.

E.g., the player might say "I want to charge and yell really loud, and smash it's shield with my ax!" I'd do that as a normal attack, and if successful, they succeeded.

 

[halfling rogue]

I started my kids at 10, 7, and 4 (now 12, 9, and 6!) and I tracked our first experience with 5e in this thread: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?364748-5e-with-Young-Kids

Might help a bit