I'm Running CoS For A Group Of Children Ages 12 At My Local Game Store And One Of The Wants to Play ******* Shrek, Please Help. Its A Total Nightmare. One kid Brought His Friends And They Have No Idea How The Rules Work And The Store Pre-Picks What Adventures We Can Run. Also They Made Characters On Their own and the gave them selves max stats and magical items and one took a ancient gold dragon as a Familiar and i'm not sure how to respond. I Can't Tell If Their ******* With Me.
Um... this has nothing to do with CoS per se, but basically you have to decide what degree of chaos you're willing to run, and if players aren't willing to meet those standards, don't run.
My opinion is to just say no to all the crazy magic item stuff, the gold dragon, and shrek (f for shrek). Tell them that the mood of the campaign is supposed to be dark and that stuff like that would break immersion and the game. Also tell them that what they want isn’t balanced at all. Personally I don’t think the guy who wants to play shrek is that bad. I’ve even joked around about wanting to play that.
I think these kids have fallen to the mindset of “This is D&D and I’ve heard that I could be whatever I want because D&D”. I kinda fell to that belief before I read the PHB. As a young person (teen) I could relate to these kids in a way. Don’t get angry to them and just calmly tell them stuff. I don’t think that a player would cry if they are all age 12 about being unable to be a Mary Sue with an ancient dragon. I mean 12 year olds are still grown up enough to not cry about that.
For the dragon familiar, just replace the ancient dragon with a gold pseudodragon and tell the kid who wants the dragon that the game needs to be balanced, so he would get a “pet dragon” but not an OP one.
For the OP items, depending on what it is (most likely weapons) then just say that the cool gear could look like whatever you want, just must conform to the game mechanics itself.
The guy who wants to play shrek is obviously doing it as a joke. Just tell them about the mood of the campaign and that shrek is too holy and epic to even be playable because he is so powerful and that he could one shot strahd or something. Maybe embrace the meme a bit while talking to him/her about why shrek can’t be played, or the kid might start calling you a boomer or something.
Okay, so I've taught 8 kids, ages 5-13, how to play D&D. I've dealt with most of the things you're mentioning, so your situation is totally normal.
Before I put in my 2 cents, some questions:
1. How are you connected with the store? I feel like a lot of your difficulty lies in how the store is setting up their sessions for kids. If you do this again, they could do a lot to make your life easier.
2. What have you done with the kids so far?
3. How readily can you help them adjust their character sheets? (ie would you have to do it by hand, or is it on their devices and you just tweak some things?)
Running for younger players can be a very different type of experience, but it can also be extremely rewarding. That said, I would probably not choose Curse of Strahd for starting players twelve years of age. So, my first suggestion would be to talk to the game store owner or organizer and see if they are willing to let you run something different and preferably of your own choosing.
The second thing would be to offer the players their choice of Pre-gen characters. There are a number available for free beginning with those available here https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/trpg-resources/trpg-resources If that is not an option, then try to have a character creation or re-creation session and go over the rules with your players. You said that "the[y] gave them selves max stats and magical items and one took a ancient gold dragon as a Familiar and i'm not sure how to respond."
Chances are good that they do not understand the normal character creation process and just tried to do anything that sounded fun. You just need to tell them firmly and clearly that you do not allow maximum stats, but instead you will use (insert chosen method of stat generation here.) Frankly, I recommend a point buy system for pick-up games, since it gives every player an equal chance to shine.
I do not believe that they are trying to mess with you or intend any malice. Given the age group, you can expect a lot of over enthusiasm and a degree of silliness.
As for magic items, You are running the game, so it is up to you to decide what -- if anything -- they have at starting. If you are starting at first level, let them each pick one or two trinkets from the list and maybe add a healing potion apiece, but that is it. Explain that they will get treasure and items as they adventure and that doing so is part of the game.
_Nano's suggestion for the pseudodragon familiar is also a good one. Or you could include an NPC pseudodragon. This will give you a direct voice to question their actions and decisions as well as encouraging in character conversation. I suspect your players would love talking to a tiny dragon and may even compete with each other for whose shoulder it rides upon at any given time. [Tip: spread your (as the dragon) attention around to include them all]
As for Shrek, do not despair. The player probably thinks this is a fun and silly way to play the game. I agree that does not fit well with the proposed setting, but there is a good chance you can resolve this by talking to the player and sorting out what led them to that choice in the first place. I actually had an enjoyable game where the youngest player's character was in fact Rapunzel from Disney's Tangled. We asked her to pick a different name and let her use a frying pan as an improvised weapon.
I apologize if this is too long winded, and hope some of my comments / suggestions help.
Running for younger players can be a very different type of experience, but it can also be extremely rewarding. That said, I would probably not choose Curse of Strahd for starting players twelve years of age. So, my first suggestion would be to talk to the game store owner or organizer and see if they are willing to let you run something different and preferably of your own choosing.
The second thing would be to offer the players their choice of Pre-gen characters. There are a number available for free beginning with those available here https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/trpg-resources/trpg-resources If that is not an option, then try to have a character creation or re-creation session and go over the rules with your players. You said that "the[y] gave them selves max stats and magical items and one took a ancient gold dragon as a Familiar and i'm not sure how to respond."
Chances are good that they do not understand the normal character creation process and just tried to do anything that sounded fun. You just need to tell them firmly and clearly that you do not allow maximum stats, but instead you will use (insert chosen method of stat generation here.) Frankly, I recommend a point buy system for pick-up games, since it gives every player an equal chance to shine.
I do not believe that they are trying to mess with you or intend any malice. Given the age group, you can expect a lot of over enthusiasm and a degree of silliness.
As for magic items, You are running the game, so it is up to you to decide what -- if anything -- they have at starting. If you are starting at first level, let them each pick one or two trinkets from the list and maybe add a healing potion apiece, but that is it. Explain that they will get treasure and items as they adventure and that doing so is part of the game.
_Nano's suggestion for the pseudodragon familiar is also a good one. Or you could include an NPC pseudodragon. This will give you a direct voice to question their actions and decisions as well as encouraging in character conversation. I suspect your players would love talking to a tiny dragon and may even compete with each other for whose shoulder it rides upon at any given time. [Tip: spread your (as the dragon) attention around to include them all]
As for Shrek, do not despair. The player probably thinks this is a fun and silly way to play the game. I agree that does not fit well with the proposed setting, but there is a good chance you can resolve this by talking to the player and sorting out what led them to that choice in the first place. I actually had an enjoyable game where the youngest player's character was in fact Rapunzel from Disney's Tangled. We asked her to pick a different name and let her use a frying pan as an improvised weapon.
I apologize if this is too long winded, and hope some of my comments / suggestions help.
Yes! Yes on everything you said! (Also, we had a Rapunzel too! Life cleric for the healing hair, mace reskinned as a frying pan, and a chameleon (lizard) familiar.) I also have twice given out a mini dragon familiar too, using owl stats.
Also, you could have them put a magic item (less than legendary--like an uncommon or rare one) on a wish list, and sometime later in the campaign give them a chance to find it.
Sorry that the start up was rocky. I would definitely talk to the store owner about everything, including adventure choice.
Running for kids is super fun. If you have time, these videos were super helpful in this:
Pre-emptively, this "Rule of Cool" video, cause kids try some wild stuff. Find ways to adjust or allow their ideas, with some skill checks.: https://youtu.be/fWZDuFIYkf0
New players (also, this talks about when players want to play something pop culture, and how to help them get that idea without breaking with the game vibe): https://youtu.be/yxnrhClNmak
I'm Running CoS For A Group Of Children Ages 12 At My Local Game Store And One Of The Wants to Play ******* Shrek, Please Help. Its A Total Nightmare. One kid Brought His Friends And They Have No Idea How The Rules Work And The Store Pre-Picks What Adventures We Can Run. Also They Made Characters On Their own and the gave them selves max stats and magical items and one took a ancient gold dragon as a Familiar and i'm not sure how to respond. I Can't Tell If Their ******* With Me.
Um... this has nothing to do with CoS per se, but basically you have to decide what degree of chaos you're willing to run, and if players aren't willing to meet those standards, don't run.
My opinion is to just say no to all the crazy magic item stuff, the gold dragon, and shrek (f for shrek). Tell them that the mood of the campaign is supposed to be dark and that stuff like that would break immersion and the game. Also tell them that what they want isn’t balanced at all. Personally I don’t think the guy who wants to play shrek is that bad. I’ve even joked around about wanting to play that.
I think these kids have fallen to the mindset of “This is D&D and I’ve heard that I could be whatever I want because D&D”. I kinda fell to that belief before I read the PHB. As a young person (teen) I could relate to these kids in a way. Don’t get angry to them and just calmly tell them stuff. I don’t think that a player would cry if they are all age 12 about being unable to be a Mary Sue with an ancient dragon. I mean 12 year olds are still grown up enough to not cry about that.
For the dragon familiar, just replace the ancient dragon with a gold pseudodragon and tell the kid who wants the dragon that the game needs to be balanced, so he would get a “pet dragon” but not an OP one.
For the OP items, depending on what it is (most likely weapons) then just say that the cool gear could look like whatever you want, just must conform to the game mechanics itself.
The guy who wants to play shrek is obviously doing it as a joke. Just tell them about the mood of the campaign and that shrek is too holy and epic to even be playable because he is so powerful and that he could one shot strahd or something. Maybe embrace the meme a bit while talking to him/her about why shrek can’t be played, or the kid might start calling you a boomer or something.
Okay, so I've taught 8 kids, ages 5-13, how to play D&D. I've dealt with most of the things you're mentioning, so your situation is totally normal.
Before I put in my 2 cents, some questions:
1. How are you connected with the store? I feel like a lot of your difficulty lies in how the store is setting up their sessions for kids. If you do this again, they could do a lot to make your life easier.
2. What have you done with the kids so far?
3. How readily can you help them adjust their character sheets? (ie would you have to do it by hand, or is it on their devices and you just tweak some things?)
Running for younger players can be a very different type of experience, but it can also be extremely rewarding. That said, I would probably not choose Curse of Strahd for starting players twelve years of age. So, my first suggestion would be to talk to the game store owner or organizer and see if they are willing to let you run something different and preferably of your own choosing.
The second thing would be to offer the players their choice of Pre-gen characters. There are a number available for free beginning with those available here https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/trpg-resources/trpg-resources If that is not an option, then try to have a character creation or re-creation session and go over the rules with your players. You said that "the[y] gave them selves max stats and magical items and one took a ancient gold dragon as a Familiar and i'm not sure how to respond."
Chances are good that they do not understand the normal character creation process and just tried to do anything that sounded fun. You just need to tell them firmly and clearly that you do not allow maximum stats, but instead you will use (insert chosen method of stat generation here.) Frankly, I recommend a point buy system for pick-up games, since it gives every player an equal chance to shine.
I do not believe that they are trying to mess with you or intend any malice. Given the age group, you can expect a lot of over enthusiasm and a degree of silliness.
As for magic items, You are running the game, so it is up to you to decide what -- if anything -- they have at starting. If you are starting at first level, let them each pick one or two trinkets from the list and maybe add a healing potion apiece, but that is it. Explain that they will get treasure and items as they adventure and that doing so is part of the game.
_Nano's suggestion for the pseudodragon familiar is also a good one. Or you could include an NPC pseudodragon. This will give you a direct voice to question their actions and decisions as well as encouraging in character conversation. I suspect your players would love talking to a tiny dragon and may even compete with each other for whose shoulder it rides upon at any given time. [Tip: spread your (as the dragon) attention around to include them all]
As for Shrek, do not despair. The player probably thinks this is a fun and silly way to play the game. I agree that does not fit well with the proposed setting, but there is a good chance you can resolve this by talking to the player and sorting out what led them to that choice in the first place.
I actually had an enjoyable game where the youngest player's character was in fact Rapunzel from Disney's Tangled. We asked her to pick a different name and let her use a frying pan as an improvised weapon.
I apologize if this is too long winded, and hope some of my comments / suggestions help.
So I Guess I Have To Find A Build For Shrek
Yes! Yes on everything you said! (Also, we had a Rapunzel too! Life cleric for the healing hair, mace reskinned as a frying pan, and a chameleon (lizard) familiar.) I also have twice given out a mini dragon familiar too, using owl stats.
Also, you could have them put a magic item (less than legendary--like an uncommon or rare one) on a wish list, and sometime later in the campaign give them a chance to find it.
Sorry that the start up was rocky. I would definitely talk to the store owner about everything, including adventure choice.
Running for kids is super fun. If you have time, these videos were super helpful in this:
Pre-emptively, this "Rule of Cool" video, cause kids try some wild stuff. Find ways to adjust or allow their ideas, with some skill checks.: https://youtu.be/fWZDuFIYkf0
Kids at the table: https://youtu.be/hVaSzIIoA9Y
New players (also, this talks about when players want to play something pop culture, and how to help them get that idea without breaking with the game vibe): https://youtu.be/yxnrhClNmak
Half orc barbarian. Easy peasy.
I Was Actually Thinking A Firbolg
with barbarian/ranger