Would you GM for Kids at GenCon '06?

[Quartermoon]

Thanks for all the interest--I knew this was the group to go to. I have pointed Peter to this thread again, hopefully he will join in the discussion.

As for timing, IMHO 3 hours is a good compromise. Two is really too short for a good story, considering the amount of time needed for younger folks to choose characters/read sheets/ask questions in the beginning. Four is long only because at a Con the kids are likely getting a little sleep as we are, and it probably disrupts them more.

Roleplaying is key for this age, I think...my daughters don't like being bogged down with math or complicated rules--they just want to ride the dragon!

Quartermoon, if I could get a game together of your girls and the Gelflings, that would be wicked.

Absolutely! I'd call it a plan.

Oh, and Adventures in Mommyville is my very favorite Story Hour (sorry, PCat!).

 

[Rel]

Oh, and Adventures in Mommyville is my very favorite Story Hour (sorry, PCat!).

 

[nsolo]

Hi All. This is Peter Hildreth, the guy trying to set this up with Peter Adkinson for Gen Con 06. Quartermoon sent me the link and I just read all the posts. So, let me give you my thoughts and perhaps add my two cents to some of the comments.
(1) When our girls were younger, I ran "kids games" at Gen Con (back in the mid-90s). I did it because I knew the kind of roleplayers they were and I was surprised at the impact of even one adult in the party. It really hinders their roleplaying. It might not be for everyone. But, I saw it in a lot of games with different players. So, the rule was (and is): No adult players.

(2) as to the length of games, four hours is too much, especially for the younger ones. Three is a good compromise, although I may need to work with the con for that. I THINK they require games in two hour segments, but we can deal with it.

(3) We re-learned a lot this Gen Con. Holly and I are putting our thoughts together so I can forward them to Peter Adkinson.

(4) Those who said the kids don't want to take breaks are right on. If the game is going well, you have to force them to break. And, they have more stamina than we do.

(5) As to system or genre, I think it is wide open. I use the Savage World system. I ran both a typical fantasy adventure and a 1930's pulp adventure (this is the one that Quartermoon's daughters played - it worked well as they had Indiana Jones and The Mummy as reference points).

I will be keeping Quartermoon informed as this progresses and will also monitor this thread myself.

 

[Romnipotent]

Here we call that "DMing Wes and his kids" for LG stuff.

I would DM kids in a awakened animal game, they play squirrels, rabbits, and the like and have to save bambi, but will ultimately fail... and santa claus will be the guy lighting the fires, cause its cold.

 

[Kapture]

He is the expert.

The issue about "crimes in the community" does remind me of a problem I faced: one of my cousins, on being given a barbarian to play, wanted to be able to wreak a swath of destruction through town, killing and looting. I had to be pretty heavy-handed to keep the one-shot from veering off into grim and unpleasant territory.

If the games are being run for kids who have already played in RPGs before, that might not be such an issue; but still, it might be a good idea to have a one-page flyer full of tips for running games for kids.

Daniel

When I started the group here, one of the players was a problem child. He preferred to steal teapots and rob general stores to participating in the story, refused to fight but wanted a share of everything. I was worried for a little bit, until I remembered how we played the top secret introductory adventure in middle school. It was... carnage and looting. Even more so than in DND for some reason.

I've been pretty frank with him: I'm running a non-evil game, and evil acts are summarily punished because I have no desire whatsoever to drag the game down into a crime scene narrative involving him. There are other players, and they tell him what they don't like (fair is fair: it has to be civil both ways). Over time, he's gotten a little more cooperative, both with me and his peers.

The other kids are great: they have the heroic story narrative down pat. They get really excited and participate. A couple will be splitting off to run this fall. It's just the one kid who's been a real hassle. This reinforces my personal opinion that individual personalities have more effect on behavior than any kind of media, and that as violent media goes, DND is a much better media that others because it involves the mediation of other players.

 

[Quartermoon]

Thanks Peter/nsolo--let us know how your proposal progresses, and what you might need from prospective GMs.

And thanks to all who have shown interest in this!

 

[Varianor Abroad]

How about group size? I was musing on this. Would smaller groups (like four) allow for more individual attention? (Because 2 three-hour groups of 4 is fine by me instead of one three-hour group of six.)

 

[UniversalMonster]

I DM for my son all the time. He's 6. So yeah, definitely.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Sure, I'll DM for children at GenCon next year. I'll even bring my own two children, so I know I'll have at least two players in my game.

I would probably run 2 hour sessions for kids. I doubt they would have the patience to sit still for four hours.

If you keep the game moving, kids will play for hours. At least, the ones I DM for will.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Hi All. This is Peter Hildreth, the guy trying to set this up with Peter Adkinson for Gen Con 06.

Just FYI, his last name is Adkison (no 'n' in the middle); you can see his bio bio at the Gen Con site