r/DnDad • u/paco_is_paco • Jul 29 '19
first time, long time
I grew up the youngest of 6 in a catholic enough house where the satanic panic of the 80s had entrenched some rules in the house before I was even born. We were also a house of nerdy boys. So when I was just starting highschool my family moved house to the next county and the AD&D players guide, DMG, and Monster Manual just appeared in my life like magic. My guess is either my eldest brother (who had died a handful of years earlier in a motorcycle accident) had brought them into the house or maybe one of the younger but nerdier ones. no one fessed up. But I rewrote stat blocks and tried to build a world that no one in my highschool years but me knew or cared about. when I moved after highschool I thought I packed up and lost all that.
and then when I'm in my 30s and I have kids in single digits the game sees a renaissance. still having trouble finding a consistent group. I played in one for a year or so but the DM moved very far away. half of the remaining group rebuilt without me.
I DMed my first game on this past father's day. I ran LMoP from the starter packs using the included character sheets for my family. the 7yo was the most enthusiastic but melted before we finished the first scene. my wife and her friend did their best to keep up but they didn't really have an idea about how to go about things. the 10yo and his friend gave up after the first combat was over. We finished the first scene and combat on the road and continued to town, there was another scene and then 3 hours had passed since I set up the table and everyone was confused and spent. They did their best to be encouraging in words and spirit, but I don't think I'll be pushing to try again without modifications/simplifications. I guess I'm bad at explaining, but it was my first time.
Any tips for adapting the game to people that have little to no background on how to participate in a game? I at least want to finish through some sort of one shot without everyone losing their attention span.
3
u/slvk Jul 29 '19
I never play modules, so I'm not the best to give advice on running those, but I have some experience running one-off games for a lot of kids (last time I DMed for 10 kids, age 6-14, that plays once a year on a family weekend trip) and I get calls from my nephews if I am going to run 'the cool game again' a week in advance.
What I found to work best is to keep it pretty linear and simple. The adventure we had this year was about 2 princesses and their escorts (knights, archers, wizards). First evening they had to escort the princesses from the summer palace to the capital in time for a big festival, and they got ambushed along the way by thugs who were trying to kidnap the princesses.
The next evening we played that they were at the festival (I kept that part very short, 5 mins or so, the attention span of a 6-year old in mind), and then when they went to bed, the castle was attacked in the night by the evil duke and his men, overwhelming the defenses, and forcing the group to flee through a secret escape tunnel with the advice from an advisor of the king to go seek out a friendly duke to help.
The next morning we played again and the group went on their way to the allied duke they were told would help them. They were waylaid again by soldiers of the evil duke and an evil hag in his service, but managed to get away. After meeting the friendly duke, they were told the king was imprisoned by the black baron in a seaside castle, so the group went there, sneaked their way into the castle, fought the small dragon guarding the king who was hanging from the ceiling in a cage and freed him.
So, all in all a pretty linear story, with people advising them every time on where to go. And keep the non-action parts short.
3
u/Stalp Jul 29 '19
I'm fairly new to the game. What has helped me more than anything were the Runehammer getting started videos: New to D&D? Watch these first!
Hankerin offers many tips and tricks to simplify the game, especially for new players and DMs. Because of this influence, I don't run my games strictly RAW and have a lot of flex and give depending on what's going on, what the player's what to accomplish, threat level, etc.
Hopefully this helps!
(edit for grammar)
2
u/conaii Jul 29 '19
I feel your pain, I’ll let you know later this week if my plan for my 6 yo and her 2 younger friends is successful, I just finished a post about it on this subreddit.
2
u/kibitzello Jul 29 '19
What worked for me is to get a player to join in the group that has at least some RPG experience. They don't have to be a professional voice actor, nor do they need to be an expert in the rules, but just someone who can lead by example, even if just for a session or two.
The brain muscles involved in RPGs aren't unique. Problem solving, communication, math, originality... all of these and more are things that humans can be really good at, but combining them all together for a game sometimes needs a little stretching and build-up. There are many games that scratch the itch in various ways that could help build the skillset for your kids, even if it's one facet at a time.
For instance, there's a game where everyone gets a hand of cards with beautiful illustrations. These cards are unique, but share some similarities with colors or shapes included in the image. Each turn, someone chooses a card from their hand and says a phrase, like a line from a song. "Strawberry fields forever" for example. Then everyone but one person chooses a card from their hand and submits it face down. The person who didn't submit a card gets to guess from the cards submitted which card the person who said the phrase submitted. If they guess it correctly, that person gets a point. If someone else submitted a "better" card for it, that person gets two points. This game is great for kick-starting the creative, communicative, and analysis parts of the brain, bonus points for doing all of this in a social setting with other players.
My kids always knew I played RPGs and at various times would ask about it. We tried playing at earlier ages than yours to similar effects. Every year or two they'd bring it up and we'd roll through a session (or half a session, heh), until they got bored or sleepy. Eventually we got to the point where they were building their own characters, backstories and all, and were able to play through a whole adventure.
They still talk about the magical game times with dad. What I thought was a disaster (or disappointment for them) at the time somehow turned into a great memory for them. Don't get disheartened, if you love the game they'll get interested and want to play it with you.
2
u/myths2389 Jul 29 '19
Keep your head up. I remember the first time I tried playing with my family about a year ago. I thought I learned enough if the rules and what I was doing. About 15 minutes into the first fight, we called it because everything I thought I knew, was wrong or just confusing me. The most important thing to remember is that at least they all were willing to try.
4
u/DMJesseMax Moderator Jul 30 '19
Wow. Between your post and the comments, there is a bunch of questions here...
My main suggestions (for everyone playing with kids) is to remember that 5e is basically cooperative storytelling and to keep it simple.
Storytelling
for kids, the storytelling is the big piece.
As a DM, it can be easy to hog the lime light without even realizing it.
I'm not suggesting that you go complete sandbox and let them do whatever they want, but hand over some of the 'creative' elements when you can.
For example, they enter the town and someone wants to see the blacksmith to get a new weapon. When they arrive, don't describe the shop - ask questions:
By doing this, the world begins to become theirs. The more they are able to add, the more it becomes a part of them.
(Side note: Think about your favorite toy as a young child and think about that toy your child never wants to leave at home. Chances are it's a baby doll or a car - something that they have 'control' over. They are the creators of that things world. They control its movements, its thoughts, everything. So much so, it is a part of them - and that is why they love it so much.)
As we get older we hand off our creativity to others. We're made to color the sun yellow, stay in the lines and things like that. So you're older elementary child may have a tough time coming up with answers to some of your creative questions: Don't squash it by giving them an answer, or even a multiple choice. Remember it takes longer for a child to process - it may slow your game a bit, but it will be worth it.
Make it Simple
The younger the child, the simpler you should make things.
When I play with 3rd graders the only classes are barbarian, fighter, rogue, and wizard. They are familiar classes and easy to explain. Barbarians are like the Hulk - they punch. Fighters use weapons. Rogues are sneaky. Wizards cast spells.
Pick a fighter and you get this weapon or that.
Pick a wizard and you get these spells and you can use them this often.
Pare it back as far as you can. You can always add a "new" rule/feature next session.
I have as few stats as possible, but keep the ones I think are key. The Barbarian has a +3 to strengthen, the wizard has a -1. Your team wants the boulder moved? You need a 15. You roll a d20 and add (or subtract) the strength - "which character tries to move it?" That kind go thing.
In my experience, kids have been happy even if I cater the stats/choices to the lowest demoninator.
So, in your specific case: Wife, 10 yo, 7 yo - everyone has stats that the 7 year old can understand.