Well, I dont know how well versed he is with the game. Do you think he could do it?
If you wanted to, you could co-dm with him. He runs the game mostly but you help him with rule checks or even creating the story if you are making your own.
For a dm that age, the most important thing would be a good party that are going to be super tolerant, super supportive, non argumentative and not going to take advantage of a young dm.
beyond that, I would say start with small published adventures. Stuff out of yawning portal, adventurers league or ghosts of salt marsh would be a good place to start. A good dm screen with notes for quick reference that he can update as he finds the things he needs often, and probably someone else (a player) taking the bulk of the notes during a session.
Hi, I DM mostly for kids, and recently helped a 12 year old develop his first adventure and run it. (Also, I absolutely agree that a supportive, small group is important.) It's awesome that you want to help him run an adventure!
First, I recommend you modify expectations a bit. Introduce him to the "one shot." A mini adventure is a good place to start, rather than a long campaign or 50 room dungeon. I would actually help him develop his own adventure, because this will let you design something short and sweet. Ideally, the whole adventure should fit on 1 page, and take less than 2 hours.
To develop an 8 year old sized adventure:
1. Ask him what environment he wants. Tell him it could be an underground dungeon or caves, a forest, a swamp, snowy mountains, or somewhere else he imagines.
2. Ask what kind of goal he wants. Again, offer some basic ideas, such as rescue someone a monster has captured, or find a magic item.
3. Help him make a 3 phase adventure (or even 2 phase, skipping the trap): 2-3 small monsters (give some options that fit the environment), 1 trap area (again, give options like a pit trap, or flamethrower trap), and 1 bigger monster at the end (once again, give options). Any more than this and an 8 year old might be over it.
4. Write a hook for him, which can be as simple as a villager coming up to the party and asking for help.
5. Come up with a reward for the party.
Make sure you write the trap DC/damage, and put the monsters' AC/HP/to hit/damage right there on the single page so it's easy to find. Bookmark the Monster Manual just in case.
When we did this, I came along as a player/NPC hybrid (promising to give nothing away about the adventure!!). I basically just encouraged the group to keep going if they started milling around (they were all kids, too). I helped out as co-DM when needed, and made sure the players didn't give him too hard of a time.
I first DM’d when I was 9, but this was in the BECMI days, and I was playing with a bunch of other 9-year-olds. In those days, the game was more go to the dungeon, kill the monsters, take their stuff, repeat until you level so you can fight bigger monsters. We never bothered with plot, it was basically, there’s a monster hotel type dungeon (there are skeletons across the hall from orcs and for some reason, neither leaves their respective rooms) just outside town, let’s get em! If he’s into that, it can still work and be pretty fun.
If not, that could work too. What part(s) of the game does he like best? Have him focus on that.
If he’s running the game with older people, then make sure they buy in to it and be willing to indulge him a bit. If he’s just wanting to play with friends his age, I’d say hand them the essentials box and generally leave them to it, except to help them if they have questions. Even then, I’d encourage them to just figure it out for themselves. If everyone is having fun, there’s no wrong rulings.
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My 8-yr-old brother wants to DM a campaign. So far, he's only played in games with me. Got any tips to help him out?
Well, I dont know how well versed he is with the game. Do you think he could do it?
If you wanted to, you could co-dm with him. He runs the game mostly but you help him with rule checks or even creating the story if you are making your own.
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"Play the game however you want to play the game. After all, your fun doesn't threaten my fun."
For a dm that age, the most important thing would be a good party that are going to be super tolerant, super supportive, non argumentative and not going to take advantage of a young dm.
beyond that, I would say start with small published adventures. Stuff out of yawning portal, adventurers league or ghosts of salt marsh would be a good place to start. A good dm screen with notes for quick reference that he can update as he finds the things he needs often, and probably someone else (a player) taking the bulk of the notes during a session.
Hi, I DM mostly for kids, and recently helped a 12 year old develop his first adventure and run it. (Also, I absolutely agree that a supportive, small group is important.) It's awesome that you want to help him run an adventure!
First, I recommend you modify expectations a bit. Introduce him to the "one shot." A mini adventure is a good place to start, rather than a long campaign or 50 room dungeon. I would actually help him develop his own adventure, because this will let you design something short and sweet. Ideally, the whole adventure should fit on 1 page, and take less than 2 hours.
To develop an 8 year old sized adventure:
1. Ask him what environment he wants. Tell him it could be an underground dungeon or caves, a forest, a swamp, snowy mountains, or somewhere else he imagines.
2. Ask what kind of goal he wants. Again, offer some basic ideas, such as rescue someone a monster has captured, or find a magic item.
3. Help him make a 3 phase adventure (or even 2 phase, skipping the trap): 2-3 small monsters (give some options that fit the environment), 1 trap area (again, give options like a pit trap, or flamethrower trap), and 1 bigger monster at the end (once again, give options). Any more than this and an 8 year old might be over it.
4. Write a hook for him, which can be as simple as a villager coming up to the party and asking for help.
5. Come up with a reward for the party.
Make sure you write the trap DC/damage, and put the monsters' AC/HP/to hit/damage right there on the single page so it's easy to find. Bookmark the Monster Manual just in case.
When we did this, I came along as a player/NPC hybrid (promising to give nothing away about the adventure!!). I basically just encouraged the group to keep going if they started milling around (they were all kids, too). I helped out as co-DM when needed, and made sure the players didn't give him too hard of a time.
I first DM’d when I was 9, but this was in the BECMI days, and I was playing with a bunch of other 9-year-olds.
In those days, the game was more go to the dungeon, kill the monsters, take their stuff, repeat until you level so you can fight bigger monsters. We never bothered with plot, it was basically, there’s a monster hotel type dungeon (there are skeletons across the hall from orcs and for some reason, neither leaves their respective rooms) just outside town, let’s get em! If he’s into that, it can still work and be pretty fun.
If not, that could work too. What part(s) of the game does he like best? Have him focus on that.
If he’s running the game with older people, then make sure they buy in to it and be willing to indulge him a bit.
If he’s just wanting to play with friends his age, I’d say hand them the essentials box and generally leave them to it, except to help them if they have questions. Even then, I’d encourage them to just figure it out for themselves. If everyone is having fun, there’s no wrong rulings.