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Spinoza
2012-07-12, 02:27 PM
I haven't played an RPG in many years. I kind of swore it off a long time ago as a colossal waste of time. (Which most of the time it was for me)

Anyway I saw the D&D episode of Community recently and kind of reconsidered my position that in a lot of ways at its best its interactive story telling. So I am a father now of 2 wonderful boys and I was kind of thinking that I could use this as a way to educate them, help them with developing non-standard problem solving abilities.

So with that said I am looking for interesting situations I could present them with or interesting story arcs I could use.

CET
2012-07-12, 02:57 PM
I'm not sure about particular situations, but tabletop games might be a useful way to explore some of the themes you see in history and fiction in a more interactive way.

In no particular order:

- The importance of being tolerant of other cultures, and the limits of that tolerance (at what point is a custom objectively wrong).

- The perils of using violence as a solution to all problems. The two complications that come to mind are 'the revolutionaries become the oppressors' and 'that orc had children too,' but there are probably better ones.

- The importance of gathering objective facts rather than going on hearsay and opinions. Also, the notion that things are not always as they first appear. The Friendly Prince might just be using you.

- Academic knowledge. One could run a game in which real-world knowledge of basic biology, or history, or whatever was important to the game (criminal investigation games seem to work well for this).

- Social skills. IIRC 'roleplaying' is a pretty widely used technique in therapy because it provides a controlled environment in which to explore social interactions.

Spinoza
2012-07-12, 03:12 PM
Thanks I think those are some great suggestions.

Some clarifications on what I plan on doing. I doubt this will be played as tabletop with dice, it's something I will use as story time at the end of the night before they go to bed.

I was thinking of giving it a 'Full Metal Alchemist' feel to start with set in a dungeon and dragons type setting. But I haven't yet decided why or how the boys will start their adventure. Suggestions welcome and I also need some antagonist ideas as well.

Kerrin
2012-07-12, 04:34 PM
That sounds like something my wife did with our boys. It was sort of narrative with fill-in-the-blank times in the story where one or both boys got to inject into the story what it was that their characters did in the given situation. Kinda cooperative storytelling like.

Epic good times had by all!

newBlazingAngel
2012-07-12, 04:58 PM
That sounds like an amazing bedtime story.

A simple question needs to be answered before I can give advice.

How old are your sons? That dramatically changes any and all content.

Fatebreaker
2012-07-13, 12:00 AM
What lessons do you want to teach them?

What kinds of stories do you want to tell?

Radar
2012-07-13, 02:06 AM
Thanks I think those are some great suggestions.

Some clarifications on what I plan on doing. I doubt this will be played as tabletop with dice, it's something I will use as story time at the end of the night before they go to bed.

I was thinking of giving it a 'Full Metal Alchemist' feel to start with set in a dungeon and dragons type setting. But I haven't yet decided why or how the boys will start their adventure. Suggestions welcome and I also need some antagonist ideas as well.
You can start as with any storytelling with some world introduction and then focus on a particular place and situation you want them to start in. Let's say there is a caravan travelling through wilderness and you take a moment to describe it and the surrounding, then something happens (to be specified) and this is a cue for your kids to step in.

Things to happen:
1. Broken bridge.
2. Deserted village.
3. Wounded messenger.

As for why they would start their adventure, they will most likely figure it out for themselves.

Spinoza
2012-07-13, 09:05 AM
Well I went a head and jumped in yesterday. We talked a little bit about what kind of characters they wanted and then I threw caution to the wind and started the story.

They went fishing on a log over a creek. One fell in and the other jumped in after him. Of course they were dragged down and when they surfaced again they were in a new world. We talked about what you would do to survive at that point. At some point they were chasing what they thought was a deer through the forest when they came to a trail.

They encountered Eliminster and then went to his house. They had some bugbear stew and the 7 year old immedietly pipes up..."eewww..Im not eating bugs"


My boys are 7 and 11.

Radar
2012-07-13, 09:39 AM
Heh,
'It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,' he used to say. 'You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.