[4E] Running a Game for 9 Year Olds. HELP!

[AtlanteanTroll]

So yeah. Monday I'm baby sitting a kid (or two or three) and the one whose definately going to be there wants me to run a 4E D&D campaign. I don't have my books w/ me, but the kid's dad has some Playtester stuff, so the kid has some sort of starter kit. We ran a game back when he was 7, and he did pretty well from what I remember. So basically what I want is this: Some help creating a quick campaign with an apoximately 2-3 hour play time. Set for 9 year olds (1-3 of them).

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

D&D isn't really a great game for 9-year-olds (too many options and too slow game-play). You should try BRP instead.

[Loki Eremes]

D&D isn't really a great game for 9-year-olds (too many options and too slow game-play). You should try BRP instead.

I widely agree with josha. D&D is not for 9 year old people. Heck, its still difficult for a 20 year old one xD. Not only is difficult all the variables that exist for PC creation but for Roleplaying.
Im not calling them stupid, but you have to agree that you need a good ammount of concentration and dedication for this that young folks dont have. (even if its only 1 sesion)


So...
1- you change the rules a bit to make the game easier to understand and fluid to play with REALLY easy missions.
or....
2- change the game.



PD: Try to be easygoing with them, dont expect them to act "mature" or "responsibly" in game. xD

[Warlawk]

They're guards in a small village away from the major cities. A hunter runs into town, wounded and alerts everyone that there are orcs coming this way!

Give them a little chance to prepare, scout it out if they are interested and maybe even set up an ambush or choose their best location to fight from.

Send in some "orcs" that use goblin stat block. Melee heavy with a couple of crossbow snipers for support. If you feel like they are handling the combat well and can deal with it, hit em with a skirmisher. Depending how they do, both in game context and attention span, give them a couple small fights (maybe they slowly get pushed back into town, then make a heroic stand at the gates) and then the Big Boss Fight with a real tough orc.

When they triumph, they can chase down a fleeing orc to a nearby camp that contains some sweet loot for them. When they return they are congratulated by the mayor and a big feast is held in their honor.

9 year olds aren't stupid but they are inexperienced. Things that seem cliche and played out to most of us are probably going to be pretty cool and interesting to them simply because they lack that level of exposure to the subject.

[AtlanteanTroll]

Josha & LE: Thanks but rules aren't the problem, it's the plot. I should have specified. I've run a game with one of these kids when he was 7 and he got what was going on. (And we were playing 3.5, which I think is a tad harder.)

Warlawk: Ooh. That sounds great! And I agree, 9 year olds aren't stupid. But I just thought of something. Since one of the kids has a starter kit of some sort (Im still not sure exactly what that is) so maybe that has some pre-set Adventure... (But he's probably read it, so it may be best not to use the pre-set. Or just alter it.)

[Skaven]

Try a basic dungeon crawl. You can always have an extra cave / chamber leading on from the last, and you can time the last chamber for the end of the session.

[Pink]

Be careful my friend. If you make the experience too good, they will want you to run a game for them every week.

[Ravens_cry]

Be careful my friend. If you make the experience too good, they will want you to run a game for them every week.

<sarcasm> Right, because we totally don't want new people learning to love what we have loved. </sarcasm>

[AtlanteanTroll]

Be careful my friend. If you make the experience too good, they will want you to run a game for them every week.

lol. Well, that's not a problem, because I'm harldy ever around.

[Gamerlord]

Maybe have them fight a dragon using Wyrmling stats with the size upgraded?

[Hazzardevil]

Try doing somethign like have a group of NPC's that are somethign like the exact opposite of you rplayers, EG they have a warlock you have a wizard and so on to see how they fight against certain opponents, I'm planning on somethign like that in a game I'm going to be DM'ing soon.

[WitchSlayer]

Red box? WORDSWORDSWORDS

[Talyn]

Rescue a princess.

I'm dead serious. A bunch of 9 year old boys playing knights and wizards? Find a damn princess, put her in a tower, and tell 'em to rescue her.

If you are playing for 3 hours, that's roughly one setup encounter and two decent combat encounters, assuming you are low level and things aren't too complicated. That means, you should break it down as:

Intro - there is a princess in a tower. She needs rescuing.

Setup encounter - on your way to the tower, you run into (a pack of wolves/marauding bandits/a gryphon) while in interesting terrain (on a bridge is usually good).

Intermission: There is a door with a (very easy) puzzle. Solve it to get through.

Combat Encounter 1: You will have to fight your way up the tower, defeating the evil guards.

Intermission 2: A magical fountain/mirror/statue which explains WHY the princess was captured. If Combat Encounter 1 was too hard, it allows them to heal or recharge a daily power or something so they won't be too crippled for Combat Encounter 2.

Combat Encounter 2: Boss fight with the wizard/dragon/evil baron who has the princess captive. Boss taunts them, activates interesting terrain, and then fights them.

Reward: One rescued princess!

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

Rescue a princess.

I'm dead serious. A bunch of 9 year old boys playing knights and wizards? Find a damn princess, put her in a tower, and tell 'em to rescue her.

If you are playing for 3 hours, that's roughly one setup encounter and two decent combat encounters, assuming you are low level and things aren't too complicated. That means, you should break it down as:

Intro - there is a princess in a tower. She needs rescuing.

Setup encounter - on your way to the tower, you run into (a pack of wolves/marauding bandits/a gryphon) while in interesting terrain (on a bridge is usually good).

Intermission: There is a door with a (very easy) puzzle. Solve it to get through.

Combat Encounter 1: You will have to fight your way up the tower, defeating the evil guards.

Intermission 2: A magical fountain/mirror/statue which explains WHY the princess was captured. If Combat Encounter 1 was too hard, it allows them to heal or recharge a daily power or something so they won't be too crippled for Combat Encounter 2.

Combat Encounter 2: Boss fight with the wizard/dragon/evil baron who has the princess captive. Boss taunts them, activates interesting terrain, and then fights them.

Reward: One rescued princess!

I will steal that idea.

[werik]

First of all, let me say that I think that it's great that you're doing this. My brother and I started playing D&D when I was seven and he was nine because our uncle set up a little AD&D mission for us. I think the two scenarios suggested seem like fun for 9 year old kids, but I wouldn't suggest making it too simple by replacing orc stats with goblin stats for example. If there's enough detail, imagery, and imagination involved they'll have fun even if they die. My brother and I died fighting a hydra in our first mission and it's one of my fondest childhood memories.

[Sipex]

One thing I will recommend, keep things obvious. The evil guy is the evil guy, the good guys are the good guys. Things that look trapped are trapped, things that aren't normally trapped aren't trapped. Goblins are evil, gold buys stuff, etc.

Not saying that 9 year olds aren't old enough to learn the ramifications of morality, betrayal, and not checking the dragon's treasure horde for traps but it makes the game less fun for them. They're still learning tropes so it's still nice and original when the tropes fit.

Given time they'll evolve and want more complex games.

[Gamerlord]

One thing I will recommend, keep things obvious. The evil guy is the evil guy, the good guys are the good guys. Things that look trapped are trapped, things that aren't normally trapped aren't trapped. Goblins are evil, gold buys stuff, etc.

Not saying that 9 year olds aren't old enough to learn the ramifications of morality, betrayal, and not checking the dragon's treasure horde for traps but it makes the game less fun for them. They're still learning tropes so it's still nice and original when the tropes fit.

Given time they'll evolve and want more complex games.

Seconded, but there are times I wonder what it would be like for a bunch of 9 year olds to run Tomb of Horrors .

[TheEmerged]

I widely agree with josha. D&D is not for 9 year old people. Heck, its still difficult for a 20 year old one xD.

PD: Try to be easygoing with them, dont expect them to act "mature" or "responsibly" in game. xD

Tell that to the 9 year old and 7 year old at my gaming table Of course, their dads are at the table too and both of the kids are sharp as tacks so my situation may not apply to yours.

1> Get them into the idea that they're playing pretend, but with rules. Having miniatures is a huge help here. Use action figures/dolls and a tape measure if you think it's going to be too structured for them.

2> In terms of motivating them? This differs greatly from kid to kid. It's tough to do without knowing the kids. The 7-year old at in our group has gotten into the idea that he can get into mischief *and that's a good thing* -- like going stabbity on the bad guys (no really, he uses that term). The older one on the other hand has grasped the idea of playing out a story and is becoming better at it than many adults.

Most kids understand the classic fairy tale motivations ("Rescue the Princess", "Find the Treasure", "Beat up the Bad Guy", and "Find the McGuffin"). So I'd recommend starting episodic and build from there as possible.

One of the most successful motivaters I've found? Particularly good snacks. Some kids will do an awwwwwwful lot for the right ones

3> Encourage creative problem solving. They'll come up with really outlandish ideas sometimes. Do NOT penalize this. Don't make it easy on them, don't let them get away with being silly. But just as strongly? Don't force them to play a board game either. This is an RPG, there are rules for stepping outside the boxes

This weekend's session included a tavern fight. The kids came up with stuff like throwing the tables for cover, finding stuff to swing from, and (bless his roguish heart) smashing the bottles so they could try and set the bad guy behind the bar on fire.

Seconded, but there are times I wonder what it would be like for a bunch of 9 year olds to run Tomb of Horrors.

I'd say you were an evil, evil man... if our group wasn't talking seriously about that as the next step in the campaign after the Underdark

[hamishspence]

Sally in the Darths & Droids outline of Episode I, seemed like an interesting player.

Just because someone's young- doesn't mean they're incapable of playing- it just means the DM needs to be more patient. They might turn out to be imaginative and interesting as a player.

[Sipex]

I find children tend to be easier to immerse too which is a big plus in your court.

[AtlanteanTroll]

Red box? WORDSWORDSWORDS

Well, the kid ended up actually having a Red Box. But the kids I was baby-sitting decided to have a Nerf War isntead, so everything was OK.

[Ravens_cry]

Sally in the Darths & Droids outline of Episode I, seemed like an interesting player.

Just because someone's young- doesn't mean they're incapable of playing- it just means the DM needs to be more patient. They might turn out to be imaginative and interesting as a player.

Ah yes Sally "Jar-Jar, You're a Genius!" Sally.
LAaely she has been a bit . . . schizophrenic, jumping from character to character. I guess this is a bit of a necessity considering they are working from screenshots. Kudos to them that make for working all this out, while making a story that is turning out better then the prequels.