BigBC
Sergeant
620 Posts
    
 | | 04/04/2006 10:02 AM |
| | I've DMed before but all the participants have been adults of 20 or older. Now my friends have asked me to DM again, but only my two friends are above the age of 15. The one guy's nephew, and the other guy's nephew and niece would be joining us and they're either young teens or pre-teens. Is there anything I should do differently when DMing for younger people then I would do for other newbies. I'm going to take it slow since this will be their first time getting together as a group and I want to gauge how they do, but anything else I should be aware of? | |
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The Mighty
jai
Commander
3235 Posts
| | 04/04/2006 10:16 AM |
| Well, without knowing what you have considered, here would be my list:
Keep away from houses of ill repute *and* watch the descriptions of barmaids.
Keep combat descriptions simple and watch the gore; if you can, instead of saying that dropping them to -1 "causes massive head trauma and blood loss" or "your crit cuts off his head" simply describe that action as disarming (the weapon not the arm) the opponent who falls and begs for mercy.
If they wanna cast spells, use Sorcerer or Warlock for less rules.
Be prepared for things you would never consider as viable options.
Prepare hints for puzzles (although you may not need them; see last comment)
Just a few things i would consider doing myself. | | | |
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griffrat
Commander
3506 Posts
| | 04/04/2006 10:46 AM |
| I would make the kids feel like they are not only in the game but in the world. The teens that I have DMed for before have always appreciated the things they do have a direct impact in the world. I don't know if this is all the teens or just the ones that I have corrupted...er. gamed with...[:D] | |
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Count Dooku
Commander
4636 Posts
New York
| | 04/04/2006 10:48 AM |
| Turn sex and gore down from an R rating to a PG-13 rating.
Also most younger people seem to charge and attack the enemy. Even young people playing wizards will want to run in and start whacking monsters with their staff once their offensive spells run out.
That tends to make a monster's challange rating seem higher.
Not all kids are the same..They may stare at the minis intently trying to come up with a battle plan using clever tactics...But that was definitly NOT my experiance :) | |
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jacksonm
Warlord
5560 Posts
River City
| | 04/04/2006 11:10 AM |
| As with all players have them stick to the simpler classes like Fighters, less things for them to be concearned with at first.
Keep the initial encounters small as to not overwhelm them.
And pull your punches so things go well for them and the rest of the party so they aren't left with a bad taste of negative things that happened to their characters.
And patience, lots of patience. [:)] | | | |
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kestrel.ca
Underboss
1678 Posts
| | 04/04/2006 5:33 PM |
| Some people will also be a little more careful of the types of opponents they face, and focus primarily on non-humanoid monsters. Killing a giant bug or giant rat is a pretty easy choice. Attacking and killing a possibly evil human/dwarf/etc. may not be such an easy choice -- especially if you're worried about carryover into RL. IE. make the moral decisions easy.
Undead should also be an easy choice, but I don't know how well kids of those ages would handle dead bodies coming at them. | |
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Talistran
Warrior
310 Posts
| | 04/04/2006 7:06 PM |
| Start with small battles (all of the group against one monster)... so that they don't have to worry about getting hit as much and can figure things out.
Roleplay WITH them, instead of just talk about descriptive rooms. Sometimes they are a little slow to get into roleplaying and sometimes it is 2nd nature.
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Zeb
Underboss
2027 Posts
| | 04/05/2006 3:17 AM |
| These are all good suggestions...It helped me find a movie that all of them had seen (preferrably Fantasy type [)]) and give descriptions of monsters/bad guys to fit the bad guys in the movie.
Above all, have patience! When I started running a campaign for my kids we would barely get through an hour to an hour and a half before their attention span died. Make sure you turn off external distractions, like TVs, radios, other activities in the house, etc. | |
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kestrel.ca
Underboss
1678 Posts
| | 04/05/2006 10:09 AM |
| I think I would also focus more on linear/discrete encounter types as opposed to much of the newer style of adventure. For example, with a group of young players, something like B2-Keep on the Borderlands is pretty understandable: You attack one room. When that's finished, you go to the next room. etc. Unlike nowadays when you attack one room, and the entire fortress mobilizes and you have a running fire-fight for 3 hours (Sons of Gruumsh)!
This goes with Zeb's suggestions for short sessions. You can do many small rooms very easily, and there become many logical break points. | |
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reezel
Sergeant
555 Posts
| | 04/05/2006 10:50 AM |
| | If there's anything I've learned over the years, it's this: Kids love Decapitated Heads. | |
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glumag
Warlord
5968 Posts
| | 04/05/2006 1:04 PM |
| kids love to win...make it challenging but let them win, specially if they are new to the game; encourages them enough to come back and eventually, once they understand the 'perils' and mature on the game then stay true to the rolls.
Also kids love the whole "saved the day" thing; give each one a chance to do something remarkable...it is a pissing contest for most kids, well the ones I have come across at least; it is not the most fun for a DM to deal with younger players but if you are looking towards the future then it pays off, imo. The reward is that their imagination is much more active, easier to involve and describe things and some of the paths chosen by younger players are a helluva more unpredictable and fun than more mature players.
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Count Dooku
Commander
4636 Posts
New York
| | 04/05/2006 1:46 PM |
| quote:
Also kids love the whole "saved the day" thing; give each one a chance to do something remarkable...it is a pissing contest for most kids,
I definitly agree with this to.
Players will want to "Scout Ahead" so they can loot rooms or kill monsters themselves and be glory hounds. | |
Champion of the Skulk
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K Rich
Sneak
69 Posts
| | 04/05/2006 2:22 PM |
| | Kids don't do storylines as well as some of the older players do. They would much rather just running around, lopping off the heads of some poor goblins. Don't get too discouraged if you try to create a good storyline, but they lose interest and get bored. Golden Rule of Kids: Killing=Fun | |
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BigBC
Sergeant
620 Posts
| | 04/05/2006 3:03 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Count Dooku
quote:
Also kids love the whole "saved the day" thing; give each one a chance to do something remarkable...it is a pissing contest for most kids,
I definitly agree with this to.
Players will want to "Scout Ahead" so they can loot rooms or kill monsters themselves and be glory hounds.
I have news for you, kids aren't the only ones. Last time I DMed for a group we had a 20 something guy who wanted to do the same thing. I guess it all depends on your maturity level. [:)] Anyway, thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'm going to try running 'Sunless Citadel' as it is mostly hack-and-slash with some good roleplay elements. Plus, I'm going to have one of my friends be the party leader to begin so that he can help me bring them more into the roleplaying side of the game. | |
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Bert the Troll
Commander
3858 Posts
Adelaide
| | 04/05/2006 7:15 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by reezel
If there's anything I've learned over the years, it's this: Kids love Decapitated Heads.
And severed arms if starwars is any guide.
If you have the time/inclination read a PC fantasy book like ones by Gareth Nix to see the difference in appeal to say a wheel of time novel. | |
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taliesin
Underboss
1113 Posts
| | 04/05/2006 8:18 PM |
| | With younger players, try to avoid questions of morality. All of the orcs are evil, and they only encounter warriors, not children and non-combatants (Nothing worse than slaying a band of marauding orcs, then finding the new orphans sniffling under a blanket). | |
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Bijan Ajamlou
Sneak
91 Posts
| | 04/06/2006 8:50 AM |
| I would like to add 3 things:
1. dont assume that the kids or preetens are stupid, create challenges that are challenging but are forgiving, so that the kids could learn from their experience in a inoative adventure.
2. Dont be afraid to include mature aspects in the game, but do it in a way that doesnt put any one in an embarrisning position (kids tends to now a lot more than adults think and are avere of topics like sex and voilance morality and so on to a suprising extant and to forcely avoid those aspects makes them feel that they are not free in the world. Eould a preeten like to flitter whit a barmaid let him, but dont describe the fysikalsex but describe the fealings and emotion in a poetik manner.)
3. Let the Kids play kids and preetens, and if they ask why say that in the middle ages you where assumed adult when you where 14 (and here them say: WOW!)
4. You are the adult so it is on your shoulder to act like one and take the resposibility of how the game progresses. And remember that you should remind the kids of rule aspect very often and if a wizard charges into the combat say: you feel that your feats ace and you realise that you cant contribute so much in close combat. Or if a party member is surrounded and takes all blows from multible enemys say: Your dear friend is surraounded by enemys and you realise that if you dont do anything fast to aid him he will face a surtain doom. So it is upp to you to give them strategic hints. | |
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Sulaco
Underboss
1605 Posts
| | 04/06/2006 10:51 AM |
| They will do stupid things.
They will act like maniacs.
They will defy logic and reason at every turn.
They will do all this cos they are having a blast and exploring the idea of a game without limits.
Be patient and roll with it. Instead of planning a game and expecting them to follow your plot, or indeed even notice it, you will likely find that ad lib is your best friend.
And don't be afraid to be silly right back at them. [:D] | |
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Scarecrow
Sergeant
788 Posts
| | 04/06/2006 10:00 PM |
| I host games at the library I work at twice a month. We have an older group, and a teen group. Teens, love the dungeon crawling. To be honest, the basic game is a great intro. I tweaked it a little, so that it had a bit more story, was a tiny bit easier, and was in a format that was easier for new DM's to read.
I've written a level one Eberron adventure for teens, and a forgotten realms one. I'd be glad to forward them to you in an email. They all use maps from WoTC products (I made photocopies of the maps, and keep them in a folder at work for when the kids need them.)
As things, progress, feel free to throw in more story. Some of our games have as many as 8 teens (two tables of eight teens is a handful). When it gets to be that many, they get real silly. Not that this is a bad thing, but dungeon crawling makes life easier for everyone here. Mostly, just enjoy yourself and they'll have a good time too. Don't be overly gory, but defintely add some descriptions to the fights. The kids love it.
Feel free to email me if you have any other questions. I'd be glad to send those mini adventures I did as well. | |
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Tickparasite
Sergeant
432 Posts
| | 04/07/2006 8:41 AM |
| Keep the story simple if they are really young.
I DM-ed for my 7 year old and made some simple linear story with clearly evil bad monsters. The funniest thing was that he looked through my miniatures and said "Can I have a pet?" I said 'sure' and suggested a felldrake. He 'upgraded' it to the huge gold dragon. I convinced him that it would wipe out all the bad guys and that instead I would give him the ability to call upon him 3x/per day (which made it easy if the encounter proved to be too tough).
Flexability helps too.
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Plasticrack Addict
Sergeant
588 Posts
| | 04/07/2006 4:21 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Sulaco
They will do stupid things.
They will act like maniacs.
They will defy logic and reason at every turn.
[:D]
Wow, is this a thread about wives?
Just kidding.. | |
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Feathers
Underboss
1140 Posts
| | 04/09/2006 1:48 AM |
| Some real good advice in this thread.
Have you had the game? If so, how did it go?
If you haven't DMed the kids yet, some more tips. I DMed several games for my students in afterschool a few years back. They were mostly 8-10.
I find they like animals, so try not to have them kill furry things, even rats.
Undead make fantastic enemies! Everyone loves to bash zombies and skeltons. And no one feels bad about it!
Since my kids were younger, I kept it clean and morally unambiguous. The bad guys were clearly villains and the quests were simple.
The kids loved to just kill things and get treasure.
Dragons, chimeras, hydras, and fantastic creatures really capture their imagination. Sometimes, they want to talk to them so throw in some real simple role-playing or puzzle encounters. But let them fight them and give them good reasons to (the cliched examples are saving the princess, bringing back stolen treasure, etc.).
Finally, I'd steer them towards melee characters. One of them should be a cleric because there is always one kid who wants to be helpful and support the others. At low levels, wizards tend to be pretty useless after their one or two spells, so I'd steer any kids who want to cast spells to a sorcerer or cleric.
I also always made sure to make the D&D games educational. I'd always prompt them to do the math when they rolled their attack rolls and such and encourage them to write down notes and then reward them with bonus xp when they were able to recall events or people correctly based on those notes. All this helps teach them better math and spelling skills and teaches them to pay attention and be aware of details.
Above all, remember it's all in good fun, so roll with it and let the kids do what they want, within reason.
Good luck and have fun.
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Luisjoey
Underboss
1704 Posts
Caracas Venezuela
| | 04/10/2006 2:44 AM |
| Interesting topic, how roleplaying gather peoples of all ages!
As DM you should take as every one said some considerations before describing actions, basic D&D don´t have gore nor sex in everywhere, so any setting could be nice.
If the guys are around 15 years they are old enough to understand many things but with caution from your part, they understand about dead and they have some notion about sex, i have a 14 year old brother and he know lots of things about sex and other "prohibited topics for childrens" that i start to know when i was 19 years old, Nowdays childs are more informated about world, and if you are DM them you should track about what they know and what they don´t, more than mature players you could teach some things that they don´t take real care for example fisical and Chemicals effects and even History (for gods) it´s a nice activity.
I clap you because i have no patience enough to deal with childs, well the younger i DM was a 5 years old cousin and he did really well and enjoyed a lot understanding everything. | |
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johnny.quest
Underboss
1341 Posts
| | 04/10/2006 10:15 PM |
| | I'd consider developing tests that don't always involve combat. For example: exploring ancient ruins, surviving a natural disaster, finding a lost loved one, freeing a trapped animal, etc. Even when combat is an option, a good adventure will allow for other possibilities. | | | |
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