Also: where can we read the After-Action Report on how this goes?

I’ve always thought that the rules were there to keep the GM honest, not the players :)

Anyway, I have two 4E resources worth checking out. One is Keith Baker’s take on the Skill Challenges and the roleplaying mechanics, which as i said are underplayed in the core books. Keith is the creator of the Eberron setting, and has lots of good tips on running 4E with extra roleplaying. Here is one of my favorite articles:
http://gloomforge.livejournal.com/12135.html

Second is the RPGA, or as i like to call it ‘a 4E adventure at your table in 30 min or less’. You have to register and qualify (an easy test) as an RPGA GM, and also ‘register’ your game, but you get access to the RPGA adventure archive. The adventures (mostly well written) are tailored for ~4 hours play in clubs or conventions, but are easy to adapt into whatever story you’re telling. The RPGA has other benefits, but as a busy dad myself, a 30 min prep time for an adventure is a godsend.
http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Events.aspx

Good luck with the 4E and try and get a followup posted :P)

I agree with all of the comments about being a good DM/GM. I have to stop myself from guiding them too much, and I have ignored a number of rules that would crush the flow of the game. So far we’ve played halfway through the starter dungeon over three 90-120 minute sessions, and they beg to play more. Honestly, it is making me wish I had more time to play, both with them, and with my gaming friends…

They want to do something impossible? Then ask, “How would you do that?” They want to do something very improbable, say, “You can try!” They want to do something that could work but would be very silly? Say, “Yes, but…”

Do not, at any point, see yourself as an adversary of the players. This is basic GMing, but it’s crucially important when dealing with children.

When I used to babysit, the kids would adamantly request playing make-believe over watching TV or playing video games. I wish I had known about FATE then, because it would have been fun to run a game for them.

My son is now obsessed with GMing his own version using his own made-up classes and spells. It’s totally unbalanced, of course – he’s 7, and doesn’t get that a level 4 character should not have a bomb that does 4d12 damage – but he is creating every day. It’s awesome.

I think RPG’s that are not too rules heavy are very close to the way children play themselves.

…

So, in a move that leaves me questioning my sanity, I’ve decided to run a real D&D game with these kids using the new fourth edition essentials rules, albeit somewhat simplified.”

there’s your problem right there. 4E is a combat simulator, and nothing more. I hated every session of it, and our group gave it up for Pathfinder.

The rules are much, much simpler than the current editions of D&D/Pathfinder – they are clones of the ones we grew up with as kids in the 80s.

They are freely available as PDF downloads (or as a nice glossy printed product).

[1] http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.html
[2] http://www.swordsandwizardry.com/

Enjoy your game!

http://newbiedm.com/2011/05/18/staring-at-the-dd-bookshelf-a-guide-for-new-players/

I bought a set of D&D dice last week. When my wife saw them, she asked if I was going to turn our six year old into a geek. Yes, yes I am.

We’d also do a lot of silly sessions, like you’re a delicious burrito in a dingy bar in New Mexico, and a large drunk patron is very hungry and intent on eating you. Then you, as the burrito, attempt to squirt hot cheese in his face and roll in dog hair until you’re sufficiently unappetizing.

Also, of note, in Israel they have D&D games set up as an extracurricular activity for kids as young as 7 at local community centers. I think that the Israeli distributor (or someone of the sort) hires young adult D&D players to run a weekly game with the kids, teach them the rules, and get them hooked.

Or maybe something like Call of Cthulhu, which in my experience is a fairly simple system where almost everything resolves down to a D100 roll, although you might need to rein in the cosmic horror. (Or not. Lovecraft was an extraordinarily imaginative child, and there’s lots of amazing monsters to find. Plus I think most kids would love roleplaying insanity!)

This goes double for kids, who will gleefully make any setting into Axe Cop given the opportunity.

For example, my pirate ships’ engines now use live puppies as fuel, which evidently makes killing the pirates morally defensible. This has manifested itself in a number of ways, among them external puppy storage tanks which can be shot off and spared, puppy flow valves and puppy dispersement nozzles as background technobabble when aboard pirate vessels, etc.

And I don’t even play with kids.

Oh. My. God.

I started out playing MouseGuard, because I’d heard it was great to play with kids. I really had a hard time getting into the mechanics, but I (and my kids) really like the setting and tone.

I modified it to use very simple FUDGE mechanics and we play mostly narrative style, rolling as infrequently as possible as long as the story is going in a good direction.

Role-playing with my kids has been a dream of mine ever since the oldest as in diapers, and it has paid off. It’s even more amazingly fun and rewarding as you imagine it might be.

Also check out Burning Wheel. That game will teach you everything you need to know to be a better GM. http://www.burningwheel.org/?page_id=2 You can find it a most Game Stores.

Kids and D&D make for a fun weekend.

So far, Savage Worlds has come up as the system of choice for most parents I’ve talked to. It seems to give the most bang-for-buck for kids style of play. It makes it easy to GM more sandboxy/random mayhem games. And because it does not have a default ‘setting world’, is not limited to use for high Fantasy games. There are published settings available for every genre Fantasy, SuperHeros, SciFi, Steam/Cyber/Rune-Punk, Naval/Pirates, Modern etc. There are also lots of fan ‘ports’ of other systems and settings to Savage Worlds, by GM’s who want an easier life.

The Savage Worlds Explorer Edition is very rules light and is a bargain for ~$10/10 Euros. There is a “Test Drive rules” PDF available to try before you buy.
http://www.peginc.com/downloads.html

In the interests of disclosure, i do not work for or associate with the Savage Worlds creators. It’s just that the Explorer Edition book is now my “backup system” if I have to stand in at the last minute for a missing GM at our club meetups. I used to carry 3 x 3.5ed hardbacks, now all I have is one or two easily portable A5 books.

The other game that comes up is InSpectres (also ~$10). Its a narrative style game where you play normal people starting up a Ghost-busters like franchise in your town. The plots are random, Its all imagination, and i can honestly say I’ve never laughed so hard playing any other game.
http://memento-mori.com/inspectres/

The kids friendly version is a free supplement called ‘In-Speckers’. Here the concept is an after school secret club, where the players have pet monsters, and go ghostbusting with them.