Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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It's not so much geared for younger audiences (although it's certainly one of the easiest adventure to turn into one that is), but it's not inherently violent and doesn't demand combat, which is a lot of what people are uncomfortable with when it comes to minors.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
This might be instinct drilled into our lizard portion of the brain (the most basic and primal portion of the mind) so to speak. Yes, I'm not a biologist, but you know what I mean.
Even if you don't like kids there is a something that makes us want to protect them from the world. This is why we go mama bear/papa wolf when we see a kid in danger in the real world, and hae a more highented sense of dread if a victional charecter goes for that. I can see where this can get tricky with players be that PC's or DM's.
This gets worse when we see characters that would hurt a child that are adults, and are not defending themselves but on the offence makes us see them as real scummy. Its also why adult soldiers and PMC's that have fought child soldiers also feel extra scummy after words. I forget which Gundam it was in (One of the One Year War ones), but a enemy soldier see the gundam pilot is a teenager and is bawling even at gunpoint that the enemy sis using a child soldier. Gundam Wing had another where Hiro steps out of his cockpit and reveals he's just a 15 year old and everyone is shocked a kid is in piloting a WMD.
Obviously there is some handwaving and suspension of disbelief here and there, otherwise Naruto, Dragon Ball, Huckleberry Fin, Tiny Toons, and a whole lot of other properties would have sent entire generations into therapy. But a mishandling of it can cut the cords suspending that disbelief like a knife through butter. So while I would allow it, I see why OP and other DM's would have strong and LEGIT good reasons not to. End of the day, its just a game we play to destress, and if this would cause more stress on the DM or other players don't have it.
Have you ever played Ocarina of Time? Link starts as a 10-year old and he fights monsters and undead regularly. The whole game is an allegory for the transition from childhood to adulthood and the responsibility that comes with it and the protagonist is someone who was robbed of his childhood. You can have some pretty unique stories if you expand the age range and are not afraid to try new things.
Ocarina of Time is a fundamentally different game than D&D. OOT is a scripted experience, where the violence is generally cartoony, the themes and story are simple, and there’s no permanent consequences to the child.
First, what makes D&D fun is the lack of script - anything can happen, in a way video games and other media cannot replicate. Add a child to the mix and the improve suddenly becomes “anything can happen, but what can we do with a child here?”
D&D’s level of violence is whatever the group wants it to be - and the addition of children tends to limit what groups feel comfortable with.
D&D can also explore an infinite number of themes already - even the themes you address can be done with someone just barely over the age of majority. Once a child is in the picture, a number of themes become more difficult to do - so you end up with more overall limitations.
Finally, D&D is a game about consequences, both good and bad. With a child character, the problems often come from imposition of those consequences. Child characters greatly impede the DM and the shared narrative by constraining certain elements of the game, including the kind of meaningful death OoT lacks.
Overall, these games are not analogous and something working in OoT does not mean it will work in D&D. Given you can already explore the same things you mention with a young, but not technically child, adventurers, I think you end up limiting the “unique stories” more than you add to them.
I mean it depends on what is going to be involved in. If there are no sexual content, should be fine. Look at Shonen Anime, some of those contain protagonist who are underage who go on some gnarly adventures. I remember reading a quote from I think an how to draw anime character book. It said something to the effect of "Some anime have children as the protagonist. In these stories you can think of them as tiny adults." It really depends on if they going to play their PC as competent adventurer or is the kid going to be helpless and need baby sitting when combat starts.
Have a talk with the player, it is completely possible to play a younger character. Literature is full of urchin thieves, princes forced into leadership roles too early, young wizards being kept from their legacy and so forth. Typical campaign might be the issue as there is no such thing really and some DMs go a little dark. At 11 children of my generation were latchkey kids babysitting their younger siblings, cooking, doing chores and many outdoor activities unsupervised so there is certainly potential. Stephen King has a few books with young protagonists who are up to a challenge.
What you cannot have is a player who wants to be a distraction or interfere with others' fun by claiming "it's what a child would do."
Best of luck with it!