Introducing the kids to role playing
The adventure (hopefully) starts...
A few weeks ago my old high school gaming crew threw out the idea of getting together for a RPG adventure. I jumped at the chance to fight some monsters while solving some puzzles with a great group of friends. To prep I bought a copy of the latest Players Manual, downloaded the D&D Beyond app and got to work making up a character. Both kids thought it was fascinating, they even asked to roll up characters with me. A few days go by and their enthusiasm hadn’t waned (see Abby’s D&D drawing) so I asked if they wanted to watch a documentary, called Eye of the Beholder on Amazon Prime, about the art of D&D. It especially caught Abby’s eye; she’s always enjoyed drawing & imagination play. She snuggled up with me to watch, asking lots of questions along the way. This Dad was mighty proud, answering away. Ethan seemed to enjoy the idea of fighting monsters but was less enthralled by the story telling aspect of roll playing.
They asked if they could play D&D sometime. “Of course!”, I replied. Then it hit me, they’re only 6 and 7 it’s a bit much for the two of them to take in. I thought I could take the existing rules and simplify them for their ages. That seems like a daunting task, one others must have faced and solved somehow. That led me to finding a couple options that hit their age range.
The first is D&D Adventure Club which I found via an ad on Instagram of all places. It takes the rules for D&D and simplifies them mightily for kids around their ages. The package I got came with the rules, 3 modules and a set of dice. From what I’ve read, it looks quite promising.
The second is called No Thank You, EVIL! which was recommended by a friend & by a guy at the local game shop. The guy said it was really good because the rules are flexible by age, as the kids get older you can add additional details to keep them interested. I just got this one and haven’t cracked the rules yet. Hopefully this weekend allows me a bit of time to do so.
I plan to post about these as we start to play, hopefully it’ll help others with kids who want to try a bit of role playing.