A system for children

[Niven81]

My daughter is interested in tabletop gaming and has been talking about it to our neighbors. They are 6 to 9 years of age and while I got my brothers into D&D that early I'm not sure my daughter and her friends will enjoy 3.5 and it's mechanics as much.

Any one have any ideas for a good system? I was thinking maybe basic D&D from the late 70s.

[JohnD]

Basic D&D would probably be the easiest for first exposure.

If you're looking at FG, Castles & Crusades is very similar to AD&D.

[Willot]

My daughter is interested in tabletop gaming and has been talking about it to our neighbors. They are 6 to 9 years of age and while I got my brothers into D&D that early I'm not sure my daughter and her friends will enjoy 3.5 and it's mechanics as much.

Any one have any ideas for a good system? I was thinking maybe basic D&D from the late 70s.


mmm 6-9 is young.Would thought 70s AD&D woulda been harder that 3.5 or Pathfinder. I remeber alot about THACO and stuff



Pathfinder do a beginners box set (https://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/v5748btpy8osv)

However for small children I suspect this might be better, but the ruleset isnt on here

In the world of Mouse Guard, mice struggle to live safely and prosper amongst harsh conditions and a host of predators. Thus the Mouse Guard was formed: more than just soldiers, they are guides for common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one village to another. They see to their duty with fearless dedication so that they may not simply exist, but truly live.

MOUSEGUARD! HOORAH! (https://www.mouseguard.net/books/role-playing-game-boxed-set)

looks ok for kids

[Gwaihir Scout]

You can use the Beginner's Rules easily with the PFRPG ruleset in Fantasy Grounds. You simply ignore Combat Maneuvers, some skills, and anything else that's different. There's full details on the differences on Paizo's website.

[Niven81]

Basic system. Same as the Swords & Wizardry system (https://www.swordsandwizardry.com/). Basically attributes and a save and everything else is winging it on the dm's part.


mmm 6-9 is young.Would thought 70s AD&D woulda been harder that 3.5 or Pathfinder. I remeber alot about THACO and stuff



Pathfinder do a beginners box set (https://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/v5748btpy8osv)

However for small children I suspect this might be better, but the ruleset isnt on here

In the world of Mouse Guard, mice struggle to live safely and prosper amongst harsh conditions and a host of predators. Thus the Mouse Guard was formed: more than just soldiers, they are guides for common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one village to another. They see to their duty with fearless dedication so that they may not simply exist, but truly live.

MOUSEGUARD! HOORAH! (https://www.mouseguard.net/books/role-playing-game-boxed-set)

looks ok for kids

[adammar]

As far as kids go something like Faery's Tale would be great. I know I run a campaign with my 9 year old and she enjoys it. Easy to understand and can be found at RPGNow. (I believe the game Mermaids uses a very similar system but I have not seen that one.)

[Valarian]

I've run Mouse Guard and Dragon Warriors for my two (9 & 6). The system in Mouse Guard was a little difficult for them, but they got it and love the setting. Castles and Crusades would be a good D&D replacement. It's pretty much basic D&D with the 3e combat system. Best of both worlds.

[Manium]

Numenera - a roleplaying game by Monte Cook - is looking like it could be a system just about anyone could pick up. An experience that definitely would change depending on the age-group/experience/backgrounds of all players involved.

[Zeus]

You may also want to check out the new (free) FGII Advanced Fighting Fantasy (https://www.arion-games.com/AFF-FG.html) ruleset from Cubicle7 and Arion Games, its a new incarnation of the old AFF game.

I remember playing this when I was quite young, basic rules are simple enough but the games can be expanded with greater depth.

[GunnarGreybeard]

Was running a GURPS Lite (https://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG31-0004) game for my 8 and 13 year olds earlier in the summer. Loosely based in Kung Fu Panda and we kept the rules to a minimum so it had more of a cartoonish feel than an RPG might normally be.

[Ardem]

My vote is dragon warriors, very easy system to learn. Also it was the first system I learnt on was a lot of fun. I think I was about 10 or 11. Played with my brother which was 7-8.

[neilgfoster]

My vote would also be for the Advanced Fighting Fantasy system, although I am slightly biased as I created the ruleset.

If you remember the old Fighting Fantasy gamebooks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_Fantasy) then AFF is a rpg based on the system used in the books. Nice things are that the new AFF rules by Arion games are compatible with the gamebooks (which are still in print) - you can pull monsters and adventures straight from the books as use them as the basis for an RPG.

[Arion]

My vote would also be for the Advanced Fighting Fantasy system, although I am slightly biased as I created the ruleset.

If you remember the old Fighting Fantasy gamebooks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_Fantasy) then AFF is a rpg based on the system used in the books. Nice things are that the new AFF rules by Arion games are compatible with the gamebooks (which are still in print) - you can pull monsters and adventures straight from the books as use them as the basis for an RPG.

I am also obviously biased, but once they grasp the simple rules, they can play the gamebooks on their own and get an even better feel. Trying to stop my 7 year old "borrowing" my FF and AFF boks is quite a task!

[Niven81]

Lot of good ideas. I'm looking into them all ( a lot of work surprisingly). Thanks so far everyone! Hopefully I can have something up and going by the end of October for these kids (maybe a post trick-or-trick short).

[damned]

definitely AFF for absolutely rules lite easy system. few stats - just start playing.
then i would look at castles&crusades if you want a bit more meat to the game. dead easy for players and gm.

[Willot]

Lot of good ideas. I'm looking into them all ( a lot of work surprisingly). Thanks so far everyone! Hopefully I can have something up and going by the end of October for these kids (maybe a post trick-or-trick short).

Let us know what you end up with when you decide, and how the kids liked playing it :)

[wbcreighton]

I would look at the d6 system. It was the system for the original WEG Star Wars rpg. I use a simplified version with my 7 and 5 year old. The d6 system is OGL and you can download the books off of Drivethrurpg.com for free. There is also this cool stripped down version:

https://www.antipaladingames.com/p/mini-six.html

[Niven81]

I would look at the d6 system. It was the system for the original WEG Star Wars rpg. I use a simplified version with my 7 and 5 year old. The d6 system is OGL and you can download the books off of Drivethrurpg.com for free. There is also this cool stripped down version:

https://www.antipaladingames.com/p/mini-six.html

D6 was something I was thinking about after I started this thread. My daughter and the neighbors are big Ghostbusters fans and I still think I have my Ghostbusters 2 copy of D6.

[Djmaxx]

D6 was something I was thinking about after I started this thread. My daughter and the neighbors are big Ghostbusters fans and I still think I have my Ghostbusters 2 copy of D6.

If you cant find your book i have the pdf that i can try to send to you via email if you would like

[Niven81]

If you cant find your book i have the pdf that i can try to send to you via email if you would like

Thank you DJ, but I found the book in question.

To everyone that's helped me a big thanks once again. I've picked the system (mini6) but have found a few good systems I didn't previously know about (Dragon Warriors and Fairy's Tale to be sure). So thanks again and I will be sure to post on how things went with the kids!

[NeoFax]

Old School Hack or derivative Fictive Hack
Dungeon Slayers

I have ran both of these and still running OSH for my kids. They enjoy both of them and find them entertaining. Plus, they are free.

[Niven81]

Old School Hack looks interesting. I haven't had a chance yet to look at Dungeon Slayers but I'm planning to look that over as well.

[Trenloe]

Paizo has just released their kids track document, a free download from their website available here:

https://paizo.com/products/btpy8vq8?Pathfinder-Society-Kids-Track


Kid’s Track offer four lesson plans, broken down by minutes spent on each subject. It discusses the basics of roleplaying games and utilizes the Pathfinder RPG Beginner Box to teach those fundamentals. Each lesson builds on the previous lesson and helps a GM teach children as young as six, what roleplaying games are and how to play roleplaying games, specifically using the Pathfinder Beginner Box rules. Each lesson plan is followed by the four children playing one of the four Beginner Box Demo adventures

It uses the Pathfinder Beginner Box Set which is a good intro to Pathfinder in general, with a lot of the more complex stuff removed. It is also a very well presented product with the visuals needed by new players (both young and old) taken into account. More info (and a bunch of free downloads) here: https://paizo.com/beginnerbox

[Niven81]

Paizo has just released their kids track document, a free download from their website available here:

https://paizo.com/products/btpy8vq8?Pathfinder-Society-Kids-Track



It uses the Pathfinder Beginner Box Set which is a good intro to Pathfinder in general, with a lot of the more complex stuff removed. It is also a very well presented product with the visuals needed by new players (both young and old) taken into account. More info (and a bunch of free downloads) here: https://paizo.com/beginnerbox

I just picked up the beginner box for my 11-year-old nephew in-law for christmas. I may have to add this to the box before wrapping it. Danke, Trenloe!