Was just hoping to hear your thoughts on D&D for the super young crowd. Essentially, my kids and their friends have watched me and others play D&D. Naturally, they want to play too, so I’ve decided to DM something for them. They would be about 8 to 10. I’m not worried about math or reading as all of them can handle the level they’d need to play, but as far as campaigns go, can you think of any that would be a good start? D&D is such a fantastic way to boost creativity and it would get them away from the electronics a bit!
Was just hoping to hear your thoughts on D&D for the super young crowd. Essentially, my kids and their friends have watched me and others play D&D. Naturally, they want to play too, so I’ve decided to DM something for them. They would be about 8 to 10. I’m not worried about math or reading as all of them can handle the level they’d need to play, but as far as campaigns go, can you think of any that would be a good start? D&D is such a fantastic way to boost creativity and it would get them away from the electronics a bit!
Thanks!
I would check out Dungeon World instead, as a starter for 8 year olds. It is rules light, but has much the same theme as D&D. But anything that pulls kids away from electronic is always a good thing.
Thank you!! I will absolutely check that out! And I agree about the electronics, it's so hard to pull them away in this day and age (as I type away on an electronic LOL)
I started my daughters much earlier than that so there should not be any problem. I actually ran an introduction campaign for a friend's daughter, age 10, and used the Dragon of Icespire Peak, because there are short adventures that did not involve too much in terms of story, and were really good as introduction to various situations. The one that the kids enjoyed the best was the one in Gnomengarde, which I ran as a bit of a silly chase around, a bit like "the thing" in the sense that all the gnomes were really scared of the "shapechanger", but it was mostly an occasion for silly inventor gnomes roleplay. The combination of the mystery and the gnomes being frightened and going for ludicrous inventions to try and solve the thing was fantastic.
That's fantastic! I will check that one out. And I think silly chase around is good for that age :D It'll help keep them interested.
I run games for 11-14 year-olds, several of whom are multilingual language learners, and they have a blast. The adventures that come with the Starter Set and Essentials Kit are fantastic and work very well together, both using the same starting town location as a base for exploration of the surrounding areas. I'm currently working on incorporating a few adventures from Candlekeep Mysteries for some upcoming sessions. I have used The Death House from Curse of Strahd as well as The Haunt and Banquet of the Damned from the DM's Guild during Halloween season with good results too.
You could look into Animal Adventures, by Steamforged Games. Based on 5E, aimed at younger players, the PCs are dogs or cats, player companions and 3 adventure modules can be downloaded for free from the website.
If it doesn't have to be D&D there's quite a few TTRPGs suitable for children. Off the top of my head there's The Princes' Kingdom and Faery's Tale, Mouse Guard, Mice and Mystics, StarPort, Little Wizards, Amazing Tales, Maze Rats, Tales From The Loop, and so on.
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Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
I run games for 11-14 year-olds, several of whom are multilingual language learners, and they have a blast. The adventures that come with the Starter Set and Essentials Kit are fantastic and work very well together, both using the same starting town location as a base for exploration of the surrounding areas. I'm currently working on incorporating a few adventures from Candlekeep Mysteries for some upcoming sessions. I have used The Death House from Curse of Strahd as well as The Haunt and Banquet of the Damned from the DM's Guild during Halloween season with good results too.
Thank you! Might try those when they get a little bit older, but we've got several of those so they'll definitely get use!
You could look into Animal Adventures, by Steamforged Games. Based on 5E, aimed at younger players, the PCs are dogs or cats, player companions and 3 adventure modules can be downloaded for free from the website.
If it doesn't have to be D&D there's quite a few TTRPGs suitable for children. Off the top of my head there's The Princes' Kingdom and Faery's Tale, Mouse Guard, Mice and Mystics, StarPort, Little Wizards, Amazing Tales, Maze Rats, Tales From The Loop, and so on.
This is perfect! Thank you! And really I think it's just about getting them introduced to table top, and keeping them excited about it, so those options really do sound like just what we're looking for.
My daughter is 7. We started with LMoP at Christmas, and she has fully embraced D&D. I bought her the Young Adventurers Guides, and she constantly astounds me with how much she has picked up, and how creatively she solves problems in-game.
I taught myself to play D&D at 8, so I don't think age is a problem. New players can get overwhelmed by caster classes and attention span can become an issue for youngsters. You have to really kind of feel your own way around what content you want to use. Kids have wildly different levels of sophistication. Mouse Guard is charming, but some ten year olds might chafe at having to play a "baby" version of what they see you doing.
Kids have wildly different levels of sophistication. Mouse Guard is charming, but some ten year olds might chafe at having to play a "baby" version of what they see you doing.
I completely agree, some ten y/o's might want to play a fairy princess, while others see the Wizard class and want to be a student of Hogwarts, see Ranger and want to be Aragorn from the LOTR trilogy, or see Monk and want to be Goku from Dragon Ball, either way take baby steps with introducing younger folks to D&D, I remamber someone I knew was introducing D&D to their kid(s), and one wanted to be a princess, while another wanted to be a warlock, ( the second one was already familiar with 5th edition ), and he had them fight Nagas in a castles basement, I believe he had the princess have a pet lion that would take her commands, and he would have her roll 1d20, on a 11 or higher the task ( an attack roll, ability check, etc. ) would succeed, it was called somethings kid-aimed like d20 junior or something.
8 to 12 is a prefect age to start kids playing D&D. You will have to guide them through character creation to avoid such classic backstories as.. "and then after I killed the dragon and defeated the evil army..." But they should have no trouble wit the basic skills needed.
The website Pangurjan recommended is a great recourse as are Lost mines of Phandelver and Dragon of Icespire Peak. The main thing to keep in mind for younger players is that they tend to prefer a straightforward plot with clearly defined villains and the chance to shine as heroes. Quests to rescue, find or protect someone/something work well.
As far as simplifying rolls or game mechanics, you really only need to do that with much younger players. The youngest I have had at my table were 4-5 years old either brought to gaming by parents or determined to join older cousins or siblings. For kids that young, I've found it best to give them a companion sheet and only two dice: a d20 to hit and a d6 for damage. For one young player, we even colored the numbers on her d20 so that 16-20 were bright red. If she rolled in that range it counted as hitting her target. Not strictly by the rules, I know, but it averaged out just fine.
Young players can be so much fun. I love seeing the game through their eyes, listening to their stories and just sharing a hobby that has brought me so much joy over the years. Here is wishing you all the best. May there be many glorious adventures ahead.
I have been playing with my kids over the last 6 months. I try to stay away from a lot of fighting and make my adventures more like an escape room. For example, I may have a lock, somewhere in the room are keys each color of the rainbow, they have to figure out that the keys must be inserted in the ROYGBIV order or I may have a ghost that possesses a character that gives clues like "I am a room that cannot be entered" to hint they need the mushroom I described in detail. My kids a 10 and 12.
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Hi everyone!
Was just hoping to hear your thoughts on D&D for the super young crowd. Essentially, my kids and their friends have watched me and others play D&D. Naturally, they want to play too, so I’ve decided to DM something for them. They would be about 8 to 10. I’m not worried about math or reading as all of them can handle the level they’d need to play, but as far as campaigns go, can you think of any that would be a good start? D&D is such a fantastic way to boost creativity and it would get them away from the electronics a bit!
Thanks!
I would check out Dungeon World instead, as a starter for 8 year olds. It is rules light, but has much the same theme as D&D. But anything that pulls kids away from electronic is always a good thing.
Thank you!! I will absolutely check that out! And I agree about the electronics, it's so hard to pull them away in this day and age (as I type away on an electronic LOL)
That's fantastic! I will check that one out. And I think silly chase around is good for that age :D It'll help keep them interested.
I run games for 11-14 year-olds, several of whom are multilingual language learners, and they have a blast. The adventures that come with the Starter Set and Essentials Kit are fantastic and work very well together, both using the same starting town location as a base for exploration of the surrounding areas. I'm currently working on incorporating a few adventures from Candlekeep Mysteries for some upcoming sessions. I have used The Death House from Curse of Strahd as well as The Haunt and Banquet of the Damned from the DM's Guild during Halloween season with good results too.
You could look into Animal Adventures, by Steamforged Games. Based on 5E, aimed at younger players, the PCs are dogs or cats, player companions and 3 adventure modules can be downloaded for free from the website.
There's also this handy website: https://dndadventuresforkids.com
If it doesn't have to be D&D there's quite a few TTRPGs suitable for children. Off the top of my head there's The Princes' Kingdom and Faery's Tale, Mouse Guard, Mice and Mystics, StarPort, Little Wizards, Amazing Tales, Maze Rats, Tales From The Loop, and so on.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Thank you! Might try those when they get a little bit older, but we've got several of those so they'll definitely get use!
This is perfect! Thank you! And really I think it's just about getting them introduced to table top, and keeping them excited about it, so those options really do sound like just what we're looking for.
I think its fine to teach kids above 7 to play D&D, you just really need to tell them to roll the d20.
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My daughter is 7. We started with LMoP at Christmas, and she has fully embraced D&D. I bought her the Young Adventurers Guides, and she constantly astounds me with how much she has picked up, and how creatively she solves problems in-game.
I taught myself to play D&D at 8, so I don't think age is a problem. New players can get overwhelmed by caster classes and attention span can become an issue for youngsters. You have to really kind of feel your own way around what content you want to use. Kids have wildly different levels of sophistication. Mouse Guard is charming, but some ten year olds might chafe at having to play a "baby" version of what they see you doing.
I completely agree, some ten y/o's might want to play a fairy princess, while others see the Wizard class and want to be a student of Hogwarts, see Ranger and want to be Aragorn from the LOTR trilogy, or see Monk and want to be Goku from Dragon Ball, either way take baby steps with introducing younger folks to D&D, I remamber someone I knew was introducing D&D to their kid(s), and one wanted to be a princess, while another wanted to be a warlock, ( the second one was already familiar with 5th edition ), and he had them fight Nagas in a castles basement, I believe he had the princess have a pet lion that would take her commands, and he would have her roll 1d20, on a 11 or higher the task ( an attack roll, ability check, etc. ) would succeed, it was called somethings kid-aimed like d20 junior or something.
Mystic v3 should be official, nuff said.
8 to 12 is a prefect age to start kids playing D&D. You will have to guide them through character creation to avoid such classic backstories as.. "and then after I killed the dragon and defeated the evil army..." But they should have no trouble wit the basic skills needed.
The website Pangurjan recommended is a great recourse as are Lost mines of Phandelver and Dragon of Icespire Peak. The main thing to keep in mind for younger players is that they tend to prefer a straightforward plot with clearly defined villains and the chance to shine as heroes. Quests to rescue, find or protect someone/something work well.
As far as simplifying rolls or game mechanics, you really only need to do that with much younger players. The youngest I have had at my table were 4-5 years old either brought to gaming by parents or determined to join older cousins or siblings. For kids that young, I've found it best to give them a companion sheet and only two dice: a d20 to hit and a d6 for damage. For one young player, we even colored the numbers on her d20 so that 16-20 were bright red. If she rolled in that range it counted as hitting her target. Not strictly by the rules, I know, but it averaged out just fine.
Young players can be so much fun. I love seeing the game through their eyes, listening to their stories and just sharing a hobby that has brought me so much joy over the years.
Here is wishing you all the best. May there be many glorious adventures ahead.
I have been playing with my kids over the last 6 months. I try to stay away from a lot of fighting and make my adventures more like an escape room. For example, I may have a lock, somewhere in the room are keys each color of the rainbow, they have to figure out that the keys must be inserted in the ROYGBIV order or I may have a ghost that possesses a character that gives clues like "I am a room that cannot be entered" to hint they need the mushroom I described in detail. My kids a 10 and 12.