Hi, so i have a game I'm gonna run soon and I'm DMing my family (finally) and I'm super excited for that. However I've found a difficult bump on the way to starting up the game. My little sister who is about 8 or so really wants to be a wizard (more specifically cast spells) and I started going over what a wizard was and how it worked and i realized that things like spell slots and the differences between cantrips and spells can be a little tricky to explain to an 8 year old who's never played before. Do you guys and gals have any tips to either explain it better or even simplify wizard for her? Thanks in advance.
"What do you want to do? Describe it in great detail! Got it? Great! Awesome, that happens." Then explain what happens in game terms, assume she uses very flexible versions of spells to make it work. My kids are 7 and 12 that play and this is how I handle it.
It really depends on the 8 year old. Some can handle complex systems, some don't have the attention span yet. I think your biggest stumbling block will be the difference between Spell Slots, and Spells Known.
That sounds like a great way to get the right feel across without having to overload her with all the complex technical stuff that wizard has, thanks a ton!
yeah that sounds like a good way to let her learn as she goes how spells work exactly and kinda get used to them and not feel overwhelmed off the bat thanks.
I would also make a special player character sheet with the cantrips and spells listed in a format so she can check them off as she uses them, and then erase the check marks when she takes a long rest. Then, for the whole family, I would run a sample battle for them so they understand how fighting and spell casting works in the heat of battle.
I would also find a magic user character drawing online and print it off for her. Kids that age would think that was really something special. Good luck finding one dressed in modest fashion.
Hi, so i have a game I'm gonna run soon and I'm DMing my family (finally) and I'm super excited for that. However I've found a difficult bump on the way to starting up the game. My little sister who is about 8 or so really wants to be a wizard (more specifically cast spells) and I started going over what a wizard was and how it worked and i realized that things like spell slots and the differences between cantrips and spells can be a little tricky to explain to an 8 year old who's never played before. Do you guys and gals have any tips to either explain it better or even simplify wizard for her? Thanks in advance.
"What do you want to do? Describe it in great detail! Got it? Great! Awesome, that happens." Then explain what happens in game terms, assume she uses very flexible versions of spells to make it work. My kids are 7 and 12 that play and this is how I handle it.
The easiest way to simplify the wizard class is to play a sorcerer :)
"Not all those who wander are lost"
It really depends on the 8 year old. Some can handle complex systems, some don't have the attention span yet. I think your biggest stumbling block will be the difference between Spell Slots, and Spells Known.
That sounds like a great way to get the right feel across without having to overload her with all the complex technical stuff that wizard has, thanks a ton!
yeah that sounds like a good way to let her learn as she goes how spells work exactly and kinda get used to them and not feel overwhelmed off the bat thanks.
I would also make a special player character sheet with the cantrips and spells listed in a format so she can check them off as she uses them, and then erase the check marks when she takes a long rest. Then, for the whole family, I would run a sample battle for them so they understand how fighting and spell casting works in the heat of battle.
I would also find a magic user character drawing online and print it off for her. Kids that age would think that was really something special. Good luck finding one dressed in modest fashion.
I have trouble getting some adults to understand that.