Running Games for Kids / Adventure Club Modules

[RaynorReynolds]

I have two questions:

Has anyone run the Adventure Club "modules" for kids like 8-10/11?

I've DMed before, but DMing for kids makes me nervous. I don't want my games to turn into a murder-hobo mess. Anyone have any tips for DMing for kids? How do you keep things PG? How do you keep them focused? I was thinking a max of 2 hours, but that is still a long time for most kids to pay attention.

[paddyfool]

I hear good things about an RPG called “No thank you Evil” that’s designed to run for kids.

[Beelzebub1111]

Best advice I can give is to find out the kind of game the kids want to play and then deliver that.

If they want to play a murderhobo killing spree adventure. run a dungeon crawl like a wargame. satisfy the primal urge for combat as well as giving them sparce NPCs to interact with as long as you keep their lust for violence sated. In my experience kids that resort to murderhoboing are mostly bored with whatever you are doing, and if you don't give them a little excitement then they will try to make it for themselves.

If they want to play a game where they befriend the kobolds and help them out and be friends, by all means give them that, but remember, RPGs are play and not a lesson in good behavior. kids can tell when they are being lectured on good behavior and those "lessons" never stick. You need to be subtle and let the kids figure out their own lessons and questions. Let them make their own decisions on how to experience play, and the consequences thereof.

[J-H]

I've done a simplified "Knights & Dinosaurs" homebrew system, and now with my boys 7 & 9, we are doing actual D&D characters.
-Help them with their character sheets.
-Help them with their action economy.
-Print off spell cards for the casters.

Don't expect them to handle the social aspects super well. The town blacksmith being gruff and going "Well, what do you want?" made a 7 year old lock up when he was trying to shop for armor.

I'm picky about the monsters. I started with a maze, but they got bored with that, so now we're doing a set of Arenas ripped off from Battletech. Opponents are either monsters/beasts, or get teleported out when they "die," so no worries about killing.

[RaynorReynolds]

I've done a simplified "Knights & Dinosaurs" homebrew system, and now with my boys 7 & 9, we are doing actual D&D characters.
-Help them with their character sheets.
-Help them with their action economy.
-Print off spell cards for the casters.

Don't expect them to handle the social aspects super well. The town blacksmith being gruff and going "Well, what do you want?" made a 7 year old lock up when he was trying to shop for armor.

I'm picky about the monsters. I started with a maze, but they got bored with that, so now we're doing a set of Arenas ripped off from Battletech. Opponents are either monsters/beasts, or get teleported out when they "die," so no worries about killing.

I like that last idea. I'm not super experienced as a DM but we'll see if I can make it fun for them.

[Just to Browse]

An RPG in a non-murder-y genre will probably help. If the kids like cats, Magical Kitties Save the Day is a good option. Here's a quick pitch from one of the authors (https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/45655/roleplaying-games/character-creation-in-7-sentences-magical-kitties-save-the-day) and a short scenario you can run in half an hour (https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/50433/roleplaying-games/magical-kitties-the-witchs-hut) for it.

[Slipjig]

Or, if your players are absurdly bloodthirsty... lean into it? Either give them REALLY evil opponents, or make them oozes, undead, and constructs.

Or have MOST of the bad guys mindless, but have the quest-giver specify that he needs the few sentient villains alive.

Or make it very clear during your setup that the sentient enemies aren't actually bad, but have been mind controlled. If you do this last one, let everything the PCs have do non-lethal damage, even if it's things where it wouldn't be an option (e.g. fire spells).

I'd be surprised if little kids go full murderhobo in town, but if they do, let there be some real consequences, like the guard locking that character up and removing them from the game. Maybe specify that there's a snooping town guard who doesn't trust adventurers following them around? Let them get away with some shenanigans or even a round or two of a fistfight, but if weapons get drawn he's stepping in (and blowing his whistle for backup).

[J-H]

I like that last idea. I'm not super experienced as a DM but we'll see if I can make it fun for them.

Of the 3 arenas we've done so far, they've liked Mechanus the most so far.

https://i.ibb.co/b5wTJQT/arena.jpg (https://ibb.co/7tMP4jP)
The arena has an iron floor, iron outer walls, and stone pillars (the black squares). Between the pillars and walls are large iron doors going from floor to ceiling (20' high). The doors slide down into the floor when they are open. There are 6 colors of doors. On the first round, and every 3rd or 4th round thereafter, roll 2d6s. Those doors open (rerolling any that are already open). On each other round, roll 1d6 for what door opens, and 1d6 for what door closes. If you're standing on a door when it closes, Dex DC 12 to move to 1 side or you take 2d6 bludgeoning damage (3rd level characters).

They had a lot of fun with it. They've done 2 of their 3 rounds for the day there (short rest between each). The other finalist for today's championship will be a gelatinous cube. The party wizard got boots of flying, but he's going to be surprised when it climbs the walls to get to him, especially if he (again) lets himself gets separated and just hovers over enemies thinking himself invulnerable!

Boreal Reach (Ice)
Ice fields with snowy patches. On ice, take damage, DC 10 Acrobatics check or fall prone and slide back 10’. DC 10 Acrobatics check to move full speed.

Coliseum (sandy arena with traps)
Trap chart:
1 6 Scarecrows scattered around activate.
2 Roll 1d6 for everyone. On a 1-2, 2d6 lightning damage Dex DC 12 half.
3 Roll 1d8. If you roll a 1, springs go off underneath you. Dex DC 12 or be catapulted 20’ into the air in a random direction, taking falling damage when you hit.
4 Acid jets shoot across the arena from marked areas on the wall.

Ishiyama “black mountain” (caves/tunnels)
Small maze, two levels, main area. Make it a pair of infinity symbols overlapping.
Darkmantles in 2-3 random spots.
Roper in the middle ceiling.

The Jungle (underbrush, limited visibility)
20’ visibility, lots of difficult terrain.

Harbor (beach / water)

The Pits (mud pits with rock platforms)