gaming with kids – Page 2

Actual Play – Journey to Dissapearing Lake (5/19/2012)

GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Three kids 10 and under
System: Dungeons & Dragons 4E

We picked up the Dragon Tree campaign with the funeral of Nadaar. The girls told me me a couple cool things about the world. First, that the king’s advisor “Andraste”, who was an Eladrin Wizard was very old, very wise, and a good person. This meant by default that the king’s son (the prince) was a real jerk.

The also told me that fallen heroes are sent off on a barge on Disappearing Lake, where they, no surprise here, disappear.

A quest

We opened with the king in mourning (all dressed in white) and Naddar’s body being prepared (his armor cleaned, his sword placed on him, and his body preserved for the journey to Disappearing Lake).

While this was taking place Andraste summoned the heroes an asked that they accompany Naddar to the lake. She mentioned that he was trying to set the dragons free and that there were people who did not want that to happen. She talked about the darker times, but it seemed the kids weren’t very interested, so we quickly moved the conflict… Continue reading Actual Play – Journey to Dissapearing Lake (5/19/2012)

Dragon Tree – Fronts

All these ideas came pounding into my head this morning. I was thinking about my daughters “Dragon Tree” campaign and started wondering. Why are the dragons all locked up in a tower and gone from the Dragon Tree?

Here are some game facts:

The players (my kids) want to free the dragons and train/ride them.
The players characters are renowned for their climbing skills, and while they haven’t reached the top of the tree (where the dragons used to roost) they have gotten higher than anyone in recent history.
There was a great hero, Nadaar, who was trying to free the dragons, a process that involved a great quest, ending (or at least including) climbing the Dragon Tree with a ruby pendant. However, he fell from the tree and then was beset by agents of an evil vampire dragon (apparently the only kind that is free of the Red Tower), who stole the ruby pendant after killing him.
The king is unconsolable (due to a failed diplomacy roll) and will weep for his fallen knight for a year and a day, rather than take any action to avenge his murder.
The players wish to explore these places in game: Ghost City, Troll City Ruins, Dissapearing Lake, and the Red Tower.
The players failed a History roll to do research in the library, resulting in finding books that they knew were old because it held contradictory information (namely that all the ruby pendants were destroyed when they just saw one the day before)

Questions for developing Fronts

What if the dragons didn’t leave the Dragon Tree, but instead were banished? What if they were banished because they used to rule over men (that they kept as slaves) and the races of men (PHP playable races) eventually overthrew them?

What if all that was true, but it had been so long that people forgot, and instead remembered Dragons as mythical creatures of legend, diefying them? What if only the line of kings or some holy order, or what not still remembered the truth. And those people were charged with stopping anyone from releasing the dragons, lest they rule over man again?

What if it was someone in that line or order that actually pushed Nadaar off the tree, rather than just him falling. What if they were doing it to stop him from releasing the dragons. What if he was going there to free the dragons (or some of them) to help fight the evil vampire dragon Visceriath who had escaped (or perhaps was never caught)?

What if the author of the book they read, was an elf named Glessil, who had been cast out, killed, cursed or otherwise had to leave Dragon Tree, and now resides in Ghost City (as a ghost of course), where the rest of her (more accurate) works are kept. What if her name is on the text and it is known that the rest of her works are in Ghost City?

What if I ask the kids if the kings son is a good guy or a jerk. If he’s a good guy, he might say that there is more to Nadaar’s death than they know. That they should try and avenge him but keep quiet about it and sneak out of Dragon Tree to find out more in Ghost City? If they say he is a jerk, what if he banishes them because they are Dragonborn. He was the one that pushed Nadaar off the tree and wants them out of the city because he knows they were Nadaar’s allies. What if he sends them to the Ghost City as punishment?

What if, on their way to Ghost City, the Tanglewood forest presents many dangers but a specter in the woods encounters them with riddles. Easy ones like “how far can you walk into a forest?” The riddles, if answered incorrectly will lead to an encounter that shows them the answer, so they can be asked again later. If answered correctly, will grant them a boon in the form of avoiding some danger. Either way they will a) get them closer to Ghost City and b) answer 1-3 riddles which answers can be brought back in later in the game (if applicable) to help them or reinforce a theme?

Mature Content

I’m liking where these ideas might be going. I can see lots of turmoil between the people that want to free the dragons and those that want to keep them caged. I wonder though if introducing slavery, and the possible redemption or forgiveness of the slavers is too mature a theme for kids? Also, how will they feel if the creatures they worship end up being slavers? Does that betray their original campaign concepts?

Actual Play – The Dragon Tree (4/29/2012)

GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Three kids 10 and under
System: Dungeons & Dragons 4E

My daughter and her friend have been asking me for a while to play Dungeons & Dragons. Not TSoY, not Dungeon World, not Burning Wheel or Mouse Guard. Dungeon & Dragons. Like Ron years ago, I lost to the cultural icon of D&D.

We stated by talking a little about Dungeons & Dragons as a game. A little about the setting (fantasy setting, magic, dragons, etc) and then a talk about what kinds of things they wanted to do. What I got from the three of them was: Explore dungeons, Solve mysteries, and train dragons. I told them that D&D is built on fighting monsters, so a lot of the game would be trying to achieve those ends and enemies trying to stop them. They were pretty down with that.

I wanted to build the world around locations and events, so I pulled out a blank piece of paper, write down dungeons, mysteries and dragons on it and then told them to start drawing major landmarks and naming them. Continue reading Actual Play – The Dragon Tree (4/29/2012)

Actual Play – Pilgrim Flashing Flashlight and Pilgrim Smart Phone (11/2/2011)

Players: Sean Nittner and daughter.
System: Do, Pilgrims of the Flying Temple (hacked a lot)

My nine year old and I are starting to play a Do variant based on this post. The idea is to practice spelling works, while having fun telling a story. The Letter and words are on that post as well.

The Pilgrims

Pilgrim Flashing Flashlight helps people see in the dark and gets in trouble when her flashlight starts flashing because it has a low battery.

Pilgrim Smart Phone helps people by making phone calls but gets int trouble by being a smart ass.

The Rescue

Pilgrim Flashing Flashlight is in trouble because her simple flashlight has a low battery because it started to sparkle and twinkle.

Pilgrim Smart Phone called the people in the castle order a new battery.

Pilgrim Flashing Flashlight’s battery got stuck in a bottle with noodles in it.

Pilgrim Smart Phone whistled in a very high pitch; breaking the bottle and freeing the battery in the middle

Pilgrim Flashing Flashlight’s battery got wet because there was apple juice in the bottle and a nickel mad a dent in it.

Pilgrim Smart Phone found a new battery he wiggled free from the poodle phone.

Pilgrim Flashing Flashlight tickled freckles which made the water in the puddle go all over the place and only a little bit was left.

Pilgrim Smart Phone thought he was so smart that he would sample how to get out of the puddle, but fell in instead!

Pilgrim Flashing Flashlight blew a bubble which made Pilgrim Smart Phone and Freckles jump out of the puddle.

Thoughts on the game

My little one rolled odd three times in a row. She was having a lot of trouble (both due to morale and having a hard time thinking about what would happen) writing herself getting into trouble over and over. I may have to tweak that. On the flip side she was really happy when she rolled even and got to help. She was also happy when I got in trouble and she got to help me out of it.

We needed a list of words again for this game (using the same print out from last time where we had crossed out the words we used). I had my little one copy all the words so we had a fresh list… more practice writing them and she didn’t even notice!

Actual Play – Pilgrim Flying Squirrel and Pilgrim Mixing Bowl (11/1/2011)

Players: Sean Nittner and daughter.
System: Do, Pilgrims of the Flying Temple (hacked a lot)

My nine year old and I are starting to play a Do variant based on this post. The idea is to practice spelling works, while having fun telling a story. The Letter and words are on that post as well.

The Pilgrims

We decided to stick with Pilgrim as a title instead of Student as my little one liked the art on the front of Do and wanted to be pilgrims instead of students, but we use the perms pretty interchangeably when we’re playing.

Pilgrim Flying Squirrel helps people by collecting stuff and gets in trouble by falling when she tries to fly.

Pilgrim Mixing Bowl helps people by holding their things and gets in trouble by mistaking things.

The Rescue

Pilgrim Mixing Bowl holds little in the middle’s apple and bottle of bubbles.

Pilgrim Flying Squirrel collects the noodle that tickled freckles out of the puddle.

Ut oh! Pilgrim Mixing Bowl accidentally took Little’s things to the castle and was not able to get to the poodle.

Pilgrim Flying Squirrel collects nickels to give to the people and buy Mixing Bowl out of the castle.

Pilgrim Mixing Bowl grabbed all the fireworks that sparkle and twinkle so the people would notice Freckles.

Pilgrim Flying Squirrel find a simple sample of dirt that wiggles with worms that she drips in the puddle.

Pilgrim Mixing Bowl whistles and Freckles runs out of the dirt puddle!