No Harry Potter RPG?

[BrooklynKnight]

I think the emotional level of children varies more than you're taking into account.

Kids are people too, and many CAN grapple with complex ideas, emotions and morals.

My 6 year old cousin is extremly smart and understands concepts and ideas better then his 12/13 year old half-sister. (Same father diffrent mothers)

It makes me so proud of the little guy. Heh, in fact I think the next time he spends the weekend at my uncles I'll spend the night and start reading the Sorcerers Stone to him.

 

[seankreynolds]

Last I heard, Gygax wanted to destroy Greyhawk while many preferred the Carl Sargent's version but he somehow quit RPG altogether and is hiding in England.

Carl Sargent was in a very serious automobile accident in the 90's which severely limited his ability to work.

 

[arscott]

I think there's a problem that will pop up if Hasbro makes a Harry Potter RPG: They'll try to do it with d20.

I'm the first to admit that the d20 system is a lot more flexible than many folks give it credit for, but I just don't think it's up to the job. There are a lot of peculiarities and bits of uniqueness that aren't well reflected by the core d20 ruleset. Either WotC can ignore those peculiarities by turning HP into Dungeons and Dragons Lite, or they can tweak the rules until they fit the setting, but are way to complex for the target audience of preteens.

There are only a few designers I trust to be liberal enough with the ruleset to design an adequate d20 HP game. None of them work for Wizards, and therefore probably wouldn't bother sticking to a d20 format anyways.

 

[Omand]

You guys do realize that the seventh book has been done for over two years now ..they are released on a time table set by the publisher.

A&E network had a great program on JK Rowling and it was made in 2004 ...she had the manuscript in a sealed envelope. They also mentioned that HP has made her the richest woman in the UK. This aired when the 6th book was released she was talking about the 6th book and they asked if she knew what and where she was going with the 7th ..she stated that it was already all doen and had been done for quite some time. She mentioned as well that she had no plans to follow further, more grown up adventures after the 7th book. My thought is that if the money is offered she might do another one. Based on this interview, I highly doubt there will be a HP RPG or another book after the 7th that is written by JK Rowling. I could see stories being liscensed for this world though.

[snip]

Later,
Darius

This is not quite true. I saw the same special. J.K. Rowling stated that she had the LAST chapter of Book 7 completed and in a sealed envelope which was shown. The entire book is not written, just the LAST chapter.

As for the rest, as far as I recall, you are spot on.

Cheers

 

[ZombieButch]

Kids are people too, and many CAN grapple with complex ideas, emotions and morals.

My 6 year old cousin is extremly smart and understands concepts and ideas better then his 12/13 year old half-sister.

Which proves my point. Yes, kids are people too. Yes, they can grapple with complex ideas, etc. etc. But saying "kids are ready for X" is a pointless blanket statement; some kids are ready for things which other kids are not. That's where it becomes the parents' job to keep an eye on what kids are reading (or watching, or playing, or whatever) and determine if it's appropriate for that particular child.

And I say that as someone who actually has a kid of my own.

 

[johnsemlak]

They also mentioned that HP has made her the richest woman in the UK.

JK Rowling is definitely the richest self-made woman in the UK, if not the world. She is also the richest author, male or female, so I've read.

I can't say whether she's got the Queen beat but it's certainly possible. JKR is mega rich.

 

[ssampier]

....
All that said I think by the end of elementary school/beginning of middle school rpg's are something that kids can understand and play. They might not get all of the rules completely but they can get a basic game going. We played at that age.

A point worth noting. I was just thinking of my own experience. I started at 11/12, the game was mostly a hybrid of a board game and RPG. Then again, I purchased the books myself without a group.

BTW, in case it matters, I don't have children either.

 

[Ranger REG]

Carl Sargent was in a very serious automobile accident in the 90's which severely limited his ability to work.

Whoa. THAT I did not know. I wish him well.

 

[Ranger REG]

I think there's a problem that will pop up if Hasbro makes a Harry Potter RPG: They'll try to do it with d20.

I don't think it's a problem at all. REDHURST is d20, unless you have something negative to say about it.

 

[Kristivas]

Which proves my point. Yes, kids are people too. Yes, they can grapple with complex ideas, etc. etc. But saying "kids are ready for X" is a pointless blanket statement; some kids are ready for things which other kids are not. That's where it becomes the parents' job to keep an eye on what kids are reading (or watching, or playing, or whatever) and determine if it's appropriate for that particular child.

And I say that as someone who actually has a kid of my own.

I've got three. My stepson Brandon is 5, and then there's Jaden (he's 2), and Trinity (she's 1). Obviously, Trinity's not the one I'll be talking about, as she's too young to be interested in such things.

Brandon and Jaden both LOVE Harry Potter. So far, they've seen all the movies with us (except 4). I'm sure Jaden doesn't get all the plot stuff, but he's still pretty entertained. He'll run around after watching one of the movies, using a coathanger as a wand, trying to pronounce the spell-words.

My point is, I think the plots in HP are acceptable for children who are smart enough to understand them, and smart enough to work out at least rudimentary morals in their little heads. Then, they'll know the 'bad stuff' is bad, and they'll be able to understand that fiction is fiction. It would be up to the parents to see to it that their kids are able to handle such things.

And an RPG would be awesome. Sadly, I doubt my friends would play it with me. They all think HP is kid stuff.

Ah well...