Oddman80
2014-06-17, 10:58 PM
I started playing D&D just a few months ago. I fell in love with it instantly. The campaign I am in runs weekly late on friday nights. The following morning, my 7 year old son asks me how my game is and i usually end up giving him an in-depth summary (often takes about an hour to tell). he just soaks it up. He remembers details about my campaign i often forget - and reminds me of things (why the thing my character did was a bad decision) i had forgotten. He has also been begging me to play. I am pretty sure the 3.5 system is a bit too technical and too difficult for my 7 year old son.. but i am less and less sure these days. Especially after today.
It started off during a drive with him, when he was asking me more about details of my game. then out of the blue, he drops this on me:
"When I am old enough to play, I want to be a Half-Orc Barbarian just like you!"
Oh. My. Goodness!!! I think maybe I should be ashamed about how tender that moment felt, but screw it - I know he has no interest in my actual profession, so this may be the closest I ever get to that "Dad, I want to be just like you" moment every father longs for.
Well, I can't leave it there. I ask him to tell me a little about the character he wants to play.... And I kid you not - my son goes into an incredible back story. We spend the rest of the car ride, and a good half hour or so after that, flushing out the story, and putting together a myth-weavers sheet for him. So - in case you are interested in reading more about the world my son created in that little brain of his, I give you the Saga of Zev Thunderbird:
The Saga of Zev Thunderbird
Zev grew up in a big city on the coast. Both his parents were were half-Orcs, and they raised him along with his two older sisters. The younger sister had the makings of a would be ranger, while the older sister... well, she is rogue material through and through. On most evenings growing up, his whole family would go down to the beach and they would swim. He and his sisters would challenge each other who could swim the farthest. Despite his young age, Zev would often win.
Zev's dad had been a great barbarian adventurer in his younger days, but had since settled down and opened a blacksmith shop in town. In his spare time, he would teach Zev some of his best moves with his Greatsword, though Zev was till too young to wield it by himself.
When Zev was 9, his mother and sisters went on a long trip, leaving Zev and his father back in the city. However, while they were away, a series of strange events started happening in the city. Ghosts, Vampires, and goblins were all working together, little by little, each night, to take out more and more of the city guard. Word started to spread about the nightly invasions, and a panic descended upon the city. Masses of people were fleeing in fear, when the great attack happened.
Zev had never seen anything like it… he wasn’t sure if anyone had. But it seemed like tens of thousands of creatures were attacking the city in waves. Zev's father tried joining in the fight to save the city, but the invading forces were too many, and the guard had become too weak. He told Zev to run - to get away - but how could Zev leave his father behind? He knew he could not fight - so he hid as best he could. And from the the upstairs window of a now then-abandoned building - he watched as his own father was struck down.
When the hordes of ghosts and goblins moved on - deeper into the city, Zev ran down to his father. Sadly, there seemed to be little he could do. He said a prayer, took his fathers Greatsword and ran - for what seemed like forever. He lost track of time, but he was pretty sure several days had passed when he stumbled into the wreckage of another city. It too had been the victim of th attacks his own city fell to.
On and on he traveled. Alone. In mourning. Unsure where exactly he was. Or where he should go. He wandered this way for months. The story was the same at every town he arrived in. Goblins Vampires and Ghosts - hordes of them had ravaged the towns. he began hearing tales of a city that would be a safe haven - though no one was sure how to get there. The town was called Marta, and it was part of the Thunder Isles. Zev learned that as far as anyone knew, any ship that had ever sailed too close to the thunder isles was destroyed by mysterious tempests that would come out of nowhere. The only reason anyone has ever heard of the town is because of a legend. A legend of a man who once swam there and back.
Zev set off to the east, trying to get the coast off of which he could see the Thunder Isles. He was hopeful that if he was ever going to see his mother or sisters again, it would be in Marta. When he arrived at the coast, he went to a local butcher and bought several sheeps lungs, which he inflated, and secured to his father’s Greatsword. he left all of his other possessions behind, and dove into the sea.
For four days he swam - and the gods must surely have been smiling upon him - for, at last, he reached the shores of Marta. It was no Utopia - but it was, true to the legend, a safe haven. It was a peaceful but militant city made up entirely of Aasimars. They had maintained their safety by requiring all inhabitants to serve in the city guard for 6 years. The men were all raised as paladins, while the women were all raised as clerics - all devoted to the Goddess Beory. All of the paladins had special celestial spirit lion mounts that helped patrol the island. Together with the clerics, the citywide guard was able to ward off all evil and all undead threats to the Isles. They did not call for the tempests that destroyed incoming ships, but they did not question the supernatural events either - as they trusted that they were all carried out by Beory herself.
It was an old man named Greago Thunderbird that noticed Zev’s exhausted body washing up on shore. He took the boy is, and helped nurse Zev back to health. Upon hearing what had occurred on the mainland, Greago welcomed Zev into his household, offering him a safe place to live if he so chose. For three years, Zev has lived with Greago. Greago has taught him some of the ways of the paladin’s on the aisle. he has helped hone Zev’s martial skills, but has been clear from the start that Zev is no Aasimar Paladin. He is a Half-Orc - and a Barbarian to the core.
Now - I helped him with the Aasimar race (He asked what a mysterious type of person would be that would be really good as a paladin?) as well as a solution to how he could swim with his Dad's Greatsword - but the rest of the details - that was all straight from him.
So I guess i need to learn how to DM - because after hearing that story - there is no excuse for keeping him from playing in a game... its just not going to be with any of the players at my campaign table (who could all make sailors blush).
So I'm curious - how old were you all when you started playing?
It started off during a drive with him, when he was asking me more about details of my game. then out of the blue, he drops this on me:
"When I am old enough to play, I want to be a Half-Orc Barbarian just like you!"
Oh. My. Goodness!!! I think maybe I should be ashamed about how tender that moment felt, but screw it - I know he has no interest in my actual profession, so this may be the closest I ever get to that "Dad, I want to be just like you" moment every father longs for.
Well, I can't leave it there. I ask him to tell me a little about the character he wants to play.... And I kid you not - my son goes into an incredible back story. We spend the rest of the car ride, and a good half hour or so after that, flushing out the story, and putting together a myth-weavers sheet for him. So - in case you are interested in reading more about the world my son created in that little brain of his, I give you the Saga of Zev Thunderbird:
The Saga of Zev Thunderbird
Zev grew up in a big city on the coast. Both his parents were were half-Orcs, and they raised him along with his two older sisters. The younger sister had the makings of a would be ranger, while the older sister... well, she is rogue material through and through. On most evenings growing up, his whole family would go down to the beach and they would swim. He and his sisters would challenge each other who could swim the farthest. Despite his young age, Zev would often win.
Zev's dad had been a great barbarian adventurer in his younger days, but had since settled down and opened a blacksmith shop in town. In his spare time, he would teach Zev some of his best moves with his Greatsword, though Zev was till too young to wield it by himself.
When Zev was 9, his mother and sisters went on a long trip, leaving Zev and his father back in the city. However, while they were away, a series of strange events started happening in the city. Ghosts, Vampires, and goblins were all working together, little by little, each night, to take out more and more of the city guard. Word started to spread about the nightly invasions, and a panic descended upon the city. Masses of people were fleeing in fear, when the great attack happened.
Zev had never seen anything like it… he wasn’t sure if anyone had. But it seemed like tens of thousands of creatures were attacking the city in waves. Zev's father tried joining in the fight to save the city, but the invading forces were too many, and the guard had become too weak. He told Zev to run - to get away - but how could Zev leave his father behind? He knew he could not fight - so he hid as best he could. And from the the upstairs window of a now then-abandoned building - he watched as his own father was struck down.
When the hordes of ghosts and goblins moved on - deeper into the city, Zev ran down to his father. Sadly, there seemed to be little he could do. He said a prayer, took his fathers Greatsword and ran - for what seemed like forever. He lost track of time, but he was pretty sure several days had passed when he stumbled into the wreckage of another city. It too had been the victim of th attacks his own city fell to.
On and on he traveled. Alone. In mourning. Unsure where exactly he was. Or where he should go. He wandered this way for months. The story was the same at every town he arrived in. Goblins Vampires and Ghosts - hordes of them had ravaged the towns. he began hearing tales of a city that would be a safe haven - though no one was sure how to get there. The town was called Marta, and it was part of the Thunder Isles. Zev learned that as far as anyone knew, any ship that had ever sailed too close to the thunder isles was destroyed by mysterious tempests that would come out of nowhere. The only reason anyone has ever heard of the town is because of a legend. A legend of a man who once swam there and back.
Zev set off to the east, trying to get the coast off of which he could see the Thunder Isles. He was hopeful that if he was ever going to see his mother or sisters again, it would be in Marta. When he arrived at the coast, he went to a local butcher and bought several sheeps lungs, which he inflated, and secured to his father’s Greatsword. he left all of his other possessions behind, and dove into the sea.
For four days he swam - and the gods must surely have been smiling upon him - for, at last, he reached the shores of Marta. It was no Utopia - but it was, true to the legend, a safe haven. It was a peaceful but militant city made up entirely of Aasimars. They had maintained their safety by requiring all inhabitants to serve in the city guard for 6 years. The men were all raised as paladins, while the women were all raised as clerics - all devoted to the Goddess Beory. All of the paladins had special celestial spirit lion mounts that helped patrol the island. Together with the clerics, the citywide guard was able to ward off all evil and all undead threats to the Isles. They did not call for the tempests that destroyed incoming ships, but they did not question the supernatural events either - as they trusted that they were all carried out by Beory herself.
It was an old man named Greago Thunderbird that noticed Zev’s exhausted body washing up on shore. He took the boy is, and helped nurse Zev back to health. Upon hearing what had occurred on the mainland, Greago welcomed Zev into his household, offering him a safe place to live if he so chose. For three years, Zev has lived with Greago. Greago has taught him some of the ways of the paladin’s on the aisle. he has helped hone Zev’s martial skills, but has been clear from the start that Zev is no Aasimar Paladin. He is a Half-Orc - and a Barbarian to the core.
Now - I helped him with the Aasimar race (He asked what a mysterious type of person would be that would be really good as a paladin?) as well as a solution to how he could swim with his Dad's Greatsword - but the rest of the details - that was all straight from him.
So I guess i need to learn how to DM - because after hearing that story - there is no excuse for keeping him from playing in a game... its just not going to be with any of the players at my campaign table (who could all make sailors blush).
So I'm curious - how old were you all when you started playing?