Isaac and Lauren (my 8 & 9 yo) have rolled their first D&D characters after finding out that Uncle Karl started playing aged 7 - me and my friends were 14/15.
(5K3 for those who also love L5R)
Isaac (watched by me) 17, 17, 17, 15, 16, 12 Me - What race? Isaac - Human Me - Ok, add one to all of those.... Isaac -
Also (Uncle) Karl's reading age at 7 was 6.5 (6 years 5 months) - he was tested again a year later and got a score of 11.2 (11 years 2 months)
My mother was asked what books he was reading at home - she took in the 1st ed DMs guide - enough said!
I mean one player having all 18's and you being stuck with like all 12's (or whatever she ended up rolling). YOu gotta feel at least a little inferior in comparison.
I mean one player having all 18's and you being stuck with like all 12's (or whatever she ended up rolling). YOu gotta feel at least a little inferior in comparison.
No, that is not at all a mandatory thing to feel. It's not even a thing that is likely to be felt, unless the rolls that both are going to need in order to be successful are so high that "they both succeed most of the time" is no longer an accurate statement, and/or the game is for some reason framed as though the characters or players are in competition against each other rather than in cooperative "his high stats are cool because they make my character's life easier too" terms.
This is great. I play with all my kids, the youngest is 5. Fittingly he's a barbarian, you ask what he's going to do and it's either "greataxe!" Or "javelin!"
my 6 yo is a dragonborn sorcerer, and I had to homebrew some boots of kicking, as that's all he ever wants to do. Looking forward to getting his wings so he can kick dumb bugbears in the face.
I started the rules out pretty basic, and am slowly introducing more difficult ones and deeper concepts.
For us it's great family time (5 kidlets + mum) that's not around a screen.
And completely agree, for kids it's less about the stats, and more about the characters and the story.
Ok they survived - had to remind Isaac killing sleeping Goblins is bad (evil) so they ended up marching them back to town for trial. I can feel a new thread coming on here - what do you do with incapacitated enemies if you are Good (or Lawful)....?
Do what James Bond does and leave them knocked out all over the place.....then conspicuously forget about them when you blow up the whole base. Oooor, you can just scold them about their poor life choices and then let them go, hoping that your intervention is the turning point they needed to get themselves on the right track. Oooooooooor, you can just classify certain humanoid monsters and "not people" and slay them indiscriminately like cleansing an infestation. Nothing that you do will change their lives for the better short of ending them. To let them live is to let them suffer. Do the right thing. Leave no survivors.
Somewhat complicated. 1st you can never leave a mage alive. This might be an internal conflict within the PC but even a lawful good character would know that leaving a mage alive means hundreds dying of the mage escapes. Also there are very few places equipped to deal with one and all it takes is a brief second out of an anti magic zone (and some seemingly innocent items) and the mage is free.
Question is whether or not Goblins pose the same threat. It's unlikely that you are ever going to rehabilitate the goblins, so bringing them to a town is going to drain resources on that town and risk chaos of the goblins escape.
But even more importantly.... Whose law? This is somewhat of a complex issue and is often debated. Maybe the villagers actually built their city near the goblin camp and the villagers are the ones in the wrong? The goblins of course have broken no laws that they are part of and never agreed to the laws of the humans nearby. Then there is the question of whether or not war is against law... And when is war just and when is it not?
The goblins are also evil. They will kill again given the chance. To take them back into town is to burden the town, risk many deaths, and subject the goblins to laws of a society they don't belong to.
Ok - I get all of this - but I am not having my two kids under 10 kill things while they are sleeping. Defending themselves is ok.
Also defining something that is basically a short green human as not people is not worth the hassle since it covers everyone. Now it may get interesting as they get older but right now they want to enjoy the adventure - save the day - find treasure and go home.
Cool! How is it like having your kids play. Any tips for dealing with immaturity or metagaming? I'm planning to run a game with my younger brother (9) and my cousins (11)
They both like minecraft - so have an idea about exploring. They have been told they are the good guys and are saving the day. Immaturity - you just have to know them and play to their strengths - my lad is a fighter - he wants to fight - lots of little encounters. My girl is an elf wizard - she has done way more reading than him and just enjoying this big wide world where she can do what she wants and it reacts to her. metagaming - no problems yet -they like the immersive aspect at the moment - it's a big world go and explore..
I guess you can solve this issue by not having them run into sleeping monsters. Always have at least one or two goblins on guard that sound an alarm to wake the rest up for the fight. It sounds like you're thinking too hard about a problem that only exists because you put it there. If you don't want your 10-year olds having to deal with moral quandaries yet, then don't introduce them into your story.
Wizard cast sleep - put 4 to sleep. No quandary except killing sleeping things is evil - I am not over thinking it gave them a clear guideline. Other people got all weird with their funny suggestions...the kids accepted it and moved on.
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I've seen things you people wouldn't believe....
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Isaac and Lauren (my 8 & 9 yo) have rolled their first D&D characters after finding out that Uncle Karl started playing aged 7 - me and my friends were 14/15.
(5K3 for those who also love L5R)
Isaac (watched by me) 17, 17, 17, 15, 16, 12
Me - What race?
Isaac - Human
Me - Ok, add one to all of those....
Isaac -
Also (Uncle) Karl's reading age at 7 was 6.5 (6 years 5 months) - he was tested again a year later and got a score of 11.2 (11 years 2 months)
My mother was asked what books he was reading at home - she took in the 1st ed DMs guide - enough said!
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe....
Cute. Got any fun adventures planned or just basic modules? What classes did they choose?
Lauren - Elf Wizard training Isaac - Human Fighter(bodyguard) ready to be Eldritch Knight. Running Prepared! A dozen adventures of 5th ed D&D....
Playing tomorrow night - clearing the road of bandits.
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe....
Poor Lauren, she can't possibly top that.
I mean one player having all 18's and you being stuck with like all 12's (or whatever she ended up rolling). YOu gotta feel at least a little inferior in comparison.
This is great. I play with all my kids, the youngest is 5. Fittingly he's a barbarian, you ask what he's going to do and it's either "greataxe!" Or "javelin!"
my 6 yo is a dragonborn sorcerer, and I had to homebrew some boots of kicking, as that's all he ever wants to do. Looking forward to getting his wings so he can kick dumb bugbears in the face.
I started the rules out pretty basic, and am slowly introducing more difficult ones and deeper concepts.
For us it's great family time (5 kidlets + mum) that's not around a screen.
And completely agree, for kids it's less about the stats, and more about the characters and the story.
:)
- Stu
#6321 on Discord.
Lauren is the calmer older one (she is an elf after all) - she is happy with her character.
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe....
Ok they survived - had to remind Isaac killing sleeping Goblins is bad (evil) so they ended up marching them back to town for trial. I can feel a new thread coming on here - what do you do with incapacitated enemies if you are Good (or Lawful)....?
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe....
Do what James Bond does and leave them knocked out all over the place.....then conspicuously forget about them when you blow up the whole base. Oooor, you can just scold them about their poor life choices and then let them go, hoping that your intervention is the turning point they needed to get themselves on the right track. Oooooooooor, you can just classify certain humanoid monsters and "not people" and slay them indiscriminately like cleansing an infestation. Nothing that you do will change their lives for the better short of ending them. To let them live is to let them suffer. Do the right thing. Leave no survivors.
I'm mean....those are a few options.....>_>
Somewhat complicated. 1st you can never leave a mage alive. This might be an internal conflict within the PC but even a lawful good character would know that leaving a mage alive means hundreds dying of the mage escapes. Also there are very few places equipped to deal with one and all it takes is a brief second out of an anti magic zone (and some seemingly innocent items) and the mage is free.
Question is whether or not Goblins pose the same threat. It's unlikely that you are ever going to rehabilitate the goblins, so bringing them to a town is going to drain resources on that town and risk chaos of the goblins escape.
But even more importantly.... Whose law? This is somewhat of a complex issue and is often debated. Maybe the villagers actually built their city near the goblin camp and the villagers are the ones in the wrong? The goblins of course have broken no laws that they are part of and never agreed to the laws of the humans nearby. Then there is the question of whether or not war is against law... And when is war just and when is it not?
The goblins are also evil. They will kill again given the chance. To take them back into town is to burden the town, risk many deaths, and subject the goblins to laws of a society they don't belong to.
Ok - I get all of this - but I am not having my two kids under 10 kill things while they are sleeping. Defending themselves is ok.
Also defining something that is basically a short green human as not people is not worth the hassle since it covers everyone. Now it may get interesting as they get older but right now they want to enjoy the adventure - save the day - find treasure and go home.
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe....
Cool! How is it like having your kids play. Any tips for dealing with immaturity or metagaming? I'm planning to run a game with my younger brother (9) and my cousins (11)
Just an average metalhead who plays DnD in his spare time.
PbP Character: Roberta Thalan, Void Beyond the Stars Otherside
PbP Character: Primus Eidolon, Eotha 2
PbP Character: Usmor Illiqai, Tomb of Corrosion
PbP Character: "Templar" Danver, You're the Villains
Homebrew stuff
They both like minecraft - so have an idea about exploring. They have been told they are the good guys and are saving the day. Immaturity - you just have to know them and play to their strengths - my lad is a fighter - he wants to fight - lots of little encounters. My girl is an elf wizard - she has done way more reading than him and just enjoying this big wide world where she can do what she wants and it reacts to her. metagaming - no problems yet -they like the immersive aspect at the moment - it's a big world go and explore..
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe....
I guess you can solve this issue by not having them run into sleeping monsters. Always have at least one or two goblins on guard that sound an alarm to wake the rest up for the fight. It sounds like you're thinking too hard about a problem that only exists because you put it there. If you don't want your 10-year olds having to deal with moral quandaries yet, then don't introduce them into your story.
Wizard cast sleep - put 4 to sleep. No quandary except killing sleeping things is evil - I am not over thinking it gave them a clear guideline. Other people got all weird with their funny suggestions...the kids accepted it and moved on.
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe....