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12 months ago ::
Jun 03, 2012 - 12:30PM
#1
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Date Joined:
Aug 16, 2007
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I just ran the playtest material for my 7-year-old son and wife. He played the rogue and she played the Moradin cleric. He saw a mini of a monkey that he liked, so I quickly made up some stats for him as an animal companion. It was much more successful than trying to run 4e for him (or even the Castle Ravenloft boardgame). Given the structure of the game, he could really just describe what he was doing and I would tell him what attribute to roll. We ran through the kobold caves. I cut the number of kobolds in half, since there was just the two of them (plus the monkey). Some of the high points: - With the rat swarm bearing down, he said he wanted to rig the pit trap so he could open it with the pull of a rope and trap them inside. - In the battle with the elite kobolds, he said he wanted to convince the last one to join them and be a good guy. He rolled a 20 on his Charisma check, so they acquired a new henchman, Dave the Kobold. - He tried to convince the kobold chieftain to give up but didn't roll nearly as well. After being attacked, my son announces that he is going to cut his leg off and rolls a 20. My wife, using Crusader's Strike, followed with a 20 of her own. Dave also hit and the monkey finished him off.  One thing that was nice was not having to deal with the battle mat. We had the minis out, just because my wife paints them and they look awesome, but other than some vague positioning, we did it all Theater of the Mind.
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12 months ago ::
Jun 03, 2012 - 12:34PM
#2
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Date Joined:
Aug 17, 2007
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That sounds like a great experience overall, thank you for sharing it! What about stumbling blocks, did you hit any?
'That's just, like, your opinion, man.'
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12 months ago ::
Jun 03, 2012 - 12:47PM
#3
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Date Joined:
May 31, 2012
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This is excellent and I'm glad you had a blast.
Chidlren don't need all the extraneous materials adults do. Their minds are not cluttered with useless information.
A smart move business-wise for WoTC - you should always work on the next generation of consumers.
And what an awesome family night.
I'm a little envious I'll admit.
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12 months ago ::
Jun 03, 2012 - 1:22PM
#4
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Date Joined:
Aug 31, 2007
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Glad you had a pleasant experience. My son (who is 9 and loves 4th ed) hated it though this morning he did say after thinking it over he'd give it a 3 or 4 out of 5. Ah well.
visit my blog about writing, voice-over,and games (and not necessarily in that order) at mdarinyoung.wordpress.com
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12 months ago ::
Jun 03, 2012 - 2:27PM
#5
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Glad you had a pleasant experience. My son (who is 9 and loves 4th ed) hated it though this morning he did say after thinking it over he'd give it a 3 or 4 out of 5. Ah well.
I played with 3 children 8-12 years old. They all said they preferred 4E, and near the end of our last session they were getting pretty bored and having their characters do back flips (with dex mod of -1) out of sheer boredom...
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12 months ago ::
Jun 03, 2012 - 2:45PM
#6
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Date Joined:
Aug 31, 2008
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@HighlandRaider and lokiare: did you ask them what, specifically, they like so much about 4E and dislike so much about the playtest? That sort of feedback would help a lot more than simply saying, "He hated it" or "They were bored".
@OP: Sounds like a lot of fun. I played with my friend's son (who is 7), and he had a lot of fun. He played the wizard and really liked all the different spells. Thought to use Comprehend Languages right away.
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12 months ago ::
Jun 03, 2012 - 3:02PM
#7
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Date Joined:
Jun 29, 2008
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Sounds like an awesome game... I love the monkey and Dave... Kids have great imagination.
I am so stealing that idea and giving the players an opportunity to aquire Dave the Kobold next session. :D
It will be a great catalyst.
The Character Initiative
Show
Every time you abuse the system you enforce limitations.
Every time the system is limited we lose options.
Breaking an RPG is like cheating in a computer game.
As a DM you are the punkbuster of your table.
Dare to say no to abusers.
Make players build characters, not characters out of builds.
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12 months ago ::
Jun 03, 2012 - 4:11PM
#8
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Date Joined:
Aug 16, 2007
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That sounds like a great experience overall, thank you for sharing it! What about stumbling blocks, did you hit any?
None, really. He was very upset the first time he took damage, but he's generally a bit excitable. Once we calmed him down, things were fine.
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12 months ago ::
Jun 03, 2012 - 4:18PM
#9
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Date Joined:
May 25, 2012
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I used the playtest material to introduce the game to my 9 y.o.
He had mixed feelings. He liked the combat but not the story telling.
My 4 y.o. loves the game. He calls it "That Game." He keeps asking to play it and loves using magic missile. He loves rolling the dice and making the decisions.
I started playing D&D in the 80's. I've played D&D, 1e, 2e, and 3.xe (and many other RPGs). I also played Magic since it came out (except for a few years around the change of the millennium. I say this so you know a bit of my experience, not because I care about editions.
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12 months ago ::
Jun 03, 2012 - 4:46PM
#10
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Date Joined:
May 24, 2012
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Eberg, very nice post, sir! Wish I had kids to share things like that with. I love how kids some up with creative ideas and think outside the box. I know that being young, they might not have a lot to compare it with but what did you guys think about the Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic? The Race/Class/Background/Theme options? Healing?
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