No kids are the same. For some, the method I used will spark their interest, for others it may not work at all.
The first time I tried to introduce Dungeons and Dragons to my kids was around 3 years ago and… it didn’t work. I tried again this year, with some major changes, and it worked perfectly. Being stuck at home while the virus is outside, somewhat helped a bit.
First, before even talking about the game, I decided to build their interest in the fantasy genre. I wanted to prepare their imagination. Thus, I started showing them pictures, we watched movies and I talked about the fantasy books I like to read. I could clearly see their interest growing for the fantasy genre
Under the influence of the movies and the books (LoTR, Dragonlance, etc.), I realized that my kids started to play an imaginary game where they could use magic spells and kill evil creatures with magic swords. They were basically role-playing. That was the sign, it was time to introduce Dungeons and Dragons once again. But this time, instead of trying to jump right into the RPG with the rules and everything from the Dungeons and Dragons (“DnD”) Starter Set, I would take it slow and give them more food for their imagination. I decided to get them the Dungeons and Dragons Young Adventurer’s Collection.
I got the case with 4 books plus the new one with the behemoth creatures.
They are very nice books, very simple to read with great illustrations. However, no rules at all. Their only purpose is to briefly present the world of DnD to young potential future players. Therefore, don’t expect much of these books. They are not intended to have all you need to play with kids, far from it. For me, they only helped to grow their knowledge about the world of DnD, such as knowing the races, classes, and creatures.
After they got a basic grasp of the world of DnD, I asked them to create their imaginary character. Wow, I was blown away by their imagination. They loved the idea of creating their own heros, with their own spells, strengths and weaknesses. After a long brainstorming session, they finally had their characters. The next step was to transfer all the information from their drafts to a simplified version of the Character Sheet. I guided them to fill it up. When the roll of dice was not very helpful… we cheated a little bit. I didn’t want them to have extremely weak character from the start. I didn’t want their characters to die from a single blow from a weak goblin. With the Character Sheets ready, it was time to improve the sheets with colours and drawings. They really enjoyed that step.
The next step was to chose a mini to represent their characters. Kids like to see and play with toys. They were familiar with minis since I collect Warhammer 40,000 miniatures. We spent hours looking for minis and I allowed them to choose one. In Canada a pack of 2 minis from Wizkids cost around cad$6.00. Amazon sells the same minis for double the price (just so you know).
I had their interests, the characters were created, the minis were ordered. So what was missing? Rules and a quest were still missing.
Since I had the DnD Starter Set, I already had the dice and rules necessary for our first game. However, I thought the official rules were way too complicated for kids. So I did an online search to find something more kids-friendly. After a long search, I decided to mix and match parts of the DnD official rules with the ICRPG (Index Cards RPG) rules and use some improvisation (I will create a post just for that later on). After the basic rules were set… I drafted our first quest. The mission I planned took place in the real world. Yes, I wanted them to connect with something they knew. So everything would take place in their school. Basically, they would arrive at school and something strange had happened. They would find some magic rings in the locker room and after that… goblins, ooze, spiders, etc would be waiting for them at each corner and corridors. I confess I didn’t know what to expect. I was a little bit nervous because I didn’t want to sink their interest to oblivion if the mission was considered boring or if they felt that DnD was boring to play. Children accustomed to video games might find DnD less appealing since it requires them to actively use their imagination, instead of just watch and be fed with images. For that reason, I printed some pictures of the creatures my kids would fight during the game. It proved to be a good idea since it helped them to understand what they are fighting.
Finally came the D-Day. The first game ever of DnD I hosted. I was the Dungeon Master and Mommy plus the kids were the adventurers. After around 45 minutes, mommy and the kids had slain all the evil creatures and saved all the teachers and friends. When the kids’ excitement was still at its peak, I said, “to be continued”. They jumped from their seats, they wanted more, they said it was too short. Even mommy liked (it was her first time too). I was blown away by their response. They really liked the game and it was an amazing time we spent together. The kids fought together, they helped each other and had fun. I can say that it was a success. It took a long preparation to reach this level of interest but it was worth it. Now, we have another great game to play all together. Another great excuse to be in the same room having fun and connecting with the kids.
In conclusion, after that game, almost every day my kids ask me when the next quest will take place. They have new magic spells they want to use. They also want to have pets for their characters. I didn’t tell them yet, but I also bought many other minis… and I am planning to build tiles and walls to make the game even more interesting. If you want your kids to play DnD or any other game, maybe you should start to build their interested in things related to the game. In my case it was with the fantasy genre. It helped a lot to watch movies and show books. Instead of jumping into the game right away, for me it proved to be more rewarding and successful to prepare their imagination first. After that, the game became the normal step in their evolution in the world of fantasy and RPG.
Let me know if you tried this method or if you did something else that also helped you bring your kids to the great world of Dungeons and Dragons.