Standard d6's are fine. You need maybe six or eight. Also some kind of tokens to keep track of points, you want maybe four or six per player (I think).

They do/did make faery dice and goblin(?) dice too, which are cute. The faery is blue, the goblin is green. The PC's, the good guys, use the faery dice and it's especially good if you roll (I think) a six, so the faery dice have a pic of a faery on the six side. OTOH the goblins (enemies) get it especially nice if they roll (I think) a one, so the goblin dice have a pic of <something> on the one side.

Been a while, we haven't played in years. But I should point out that you could easily play with adults, for those who like a lite game.

The old TSR "Dungeon" board game is great.

I recall Hero Quest (the board game) as being a great gatewa to RPGs, too.  There may be a moder equivalent.

HeroQuest is still awesome for that -- especially for making the switch from player to GM.

One thing I wanted to say was... don't underestimate them.  A whole lot of the advice you get (and are getting) for introducing children to gaming is to make it simple and easy and walk them through everything, and there is truth to that.  If nothing else, as much as there is for introducing anybody to anything; it's always best to start simple and build up.  We started a D&D game with them first as just sort of freeform gaming, and then introducing system-elements over time -- first character concepts like what classes they were, then actual sheets and dice, and soon, I'll drop Torg on them! (...No?  Maybe Torg can wait.)

But kids can handle more complicated issues than we think they can.  Our son, as stereotypical as it feels, really just wants a video game when he plays; he looks for the combats, and wants boss fights, and isn't so interested in all those extraneous details like his character's name.  But when he gets a battle, he can come up with some remarkably impressive strategies and clever ideas for how to win it.  Our daughter (also, yes, kind of stereotypically) gives her characters incredibly rich and interesting backgrounds, and fills in setting details almost without thinking about it.  Both of them are doing just fine keeping up with a game that has a whole lot of mystery and political elements along with your basic adventuring.

...In other words, yes, there's a definite risk of boring them with too much system; but you can bore them with too simple a game, too.  Keep your system simple, but don't hold back on the rest.  If anything, expect to be trying to keep up.

(For an example, have you read Darths & Droids?  It's a webcomic taking screencaptures from the Star Wars movies, and making a game out of it with a very different plot.  JarJar Binks and the Gungans and a number of other elements are all kind of thrown into the game by the 8-year-old sister of one of the players that they get stuck with part way through.. until after a while when the GM is stuck he just says, "Sally? What's this planet like?", and she spits out something weird but awesome.  She's written brilliantly.)

Okay, here's a thing I'm wondering about:

Is introducing children to RPGs at a young age really healthy for them? Won't it mess up their minds too much?

Plus, the violence...
This message was last edited by the user at 19:01, Fri 05 Sept 2014.

I've been considering introducing my grandson to RP and this will help me out tremendously in introducing him to RP. He is 8 going on 9 and is very capable to do this! I think it's healthy for children to RP and I think it helps fosters creativity and problem solving. It doesn't really have to be violent either.

On the other hand, RPGs work by taking people away from reality and their own identity. Is it safe to do with children, whose sense of reality and personal identity is just forming?

Kids play act all the time.  Cowboys and Indians; Cops & Robbers; Playing Pirates.  All healthy expressions and no rules.  This is no different save that there's less "I shot you!"  "No you didn't!" arguments.

Maybe you're right. I guess I'm just... overprotective.

Have your ever looked back at the hobbies you had while being a kid and having a thought of "I'd never let my kids read / watch / play with this stuff"?

I agree with this! I don't see the difference either. I've played lots of games like this with my kids and grandson! I enjoyed the hobbies I had and wouldn't keep my kids from those hobbies.

So, I've been reading through this thread and I've seen several valid points about the perils of encouraging RPG's for kids (introducing violence,  fantasy, etc). What it boils down to isn't just the game or system. The person introducing and playing with them plays a huge part in yhe game's impact on a young mind. In the context of this thread, it is the parent. For that, I am fully supportive. I work with kids and hear parents on a regular basis say how they wish they had more control over what, exactly, their child saw/heard/played (not just frequency but also content). This is the perfect opportunity to do just that.

You don't want a lot of violence? Don't make it a huge part of your story. Don't want dark and scary elements? Don't have them. Worried that they might lose their identity? Show them by example that you can separate the game and your real life.

I plan to continue gaming when I have kids and, if they want to do it with me, they are more than welcome to. I will just be selective of the stories to which they are introduced.
This message was last edited by the user at 19:37, Fri 05 Sept 2014.

I have a degree in psych, studied developmental psych and theories of learning, and am a certified teacher.

Roleplay is extremely beneficial to children (as well as to adults). "Make-believe," remember? Absolutely every kid with a toy in their hand plays make-believe.

As has been said, a parent GM is in control of what the elements are.

Children need to learn imagination, creativity, problem solving, and can work through behavioral ideas in a safe environment. This is all part of growing up. Plus, RPGs usually foster an interest in writing, art, acting and history.

Anyone who can become detached from reality in any meaningful way by roleplaying is just as likely to do so from some other avenue, such as TV, computer games or fiction. Or by withdrawing from others altogether. That's a problem that exists before the individual gets involved. At least in RPGs there are other players and a GM to interact with, so there are other perspectives being shared on everything that is described or done in the game. That kind of reality-checking provides feedback on what is and isn't appropriate.

Dice'd RPGs also teach math, probability, and statistics.  ^___^
This message was last edited by the user at 19:59, Fri 05 Sept 2014.

In reply to Dara (msg # 33):

Thank you for adding that, I was on a rant... ;)

Since my daughter's group included not just her, but other parents' ten year olds as well, I sent the parents a little introduction (already knowing the kids and most of the parents from their school and the small town we all lived in). In it I promised that the kids would always be on the side of good, that they would never play the bad guys.

While I knew the kids could handle the fantasizing and play acting involved, it was important to me that they not play evil characters at their ages. I also kept the violence fairly abstract, without graphic descriptions, at least until they were in their teens.

Same here. After I posted, I considered going back and editing to include that. Then I figured, with the community here, someone would add it in. ;-)

No need to apologize Baron, although I will say that the conversation has gotten off topic.  Does not matter what rpg'ing teaches or could teach, the fact the OP'r wants to teach his/her child(ren) about rpg's and wants to know what systems would be good for that purpose.  Although I do agree with Baron and Dara.  But I speak as a parent.

 I invented a simple card game rpg that used two decks of cards. I had my daughter make a simple character sheet with strength, weapons, gold, etc. Then each of the cards corresponded to a silly creature and location she would encounter in her adventure. Each one had a few different ideas for how to defeat it and what was at the location. It was a bit like making a choose your own adventure with some freeform elements. Then each encounter would tell her how many cards she could take from the treasure deck, these also had different things she could find, objects of magical power, weapons, spells that work on certain kinds of encounter creatures and special artifacts.

 All in all, it was extremely fun and we've revisited it a few times since then. I also know she enjoyed it because she's mentioned it several times since we lost the rules. To follow that up, I started giving her the basics of some super hero games, rules lite of course since she's just now eleven, but it's a good start and we have lots of fun with it.

 Oh, I should mention that this wasn't a blatant rip off of munchkin, even though it definitely has many elements that look like it. Though she's enjoyed that game immensely too.
This message was last edited by the user at 21:12, Fri 05 Sept 2014.

As far as trauma ... putting aside all the sources of real world trauma a child can experience, I remember some nightmares and superstitions arising from 'scary movies' (B-movie monster flicks) I saw incidentally on television or was exposed to because my parents happened to watch it.

I dunno, I barely have memories of it so I guess three to five years old at the time.

In that respect, I think free reign of television (or streaming computers) is more 'dangerous' than a controlled shared story. Getting sucked into a mood and then getting a big scary surprise with no control of the situation is powerful, sure.

But there was a big difference by framing -- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, shows like G.I. Joe (I didn't watch that one actually, but that genre) are full of "violence" but it's cartoon combat, which little boys often adore.

Many an action figure engaged in imaginary fights with running storylines. And cars fought. And anything else I had at hand when I was bored. That wasn't scary, I was just making up a 'cool' story. Fantasy Scifi books.

Usually was more interesting than trying to play hide and seek with the neighborhood kids (what's the point, you just go and try not to be found and waste dozens of minutes when you could be reading or something).

Anyway everyone will be a little different so don't try to get a kid into a game that isn't ready (you don't want them to hate RP gaming because their parents forced them to, now do you?)

Also, probably want to avoid Cthulhu sorts of games, hopeless situations about humanity's corruption, senselessness of war and slavery ... If and when a kid wants to, they'll start showing interest in those themes on their own.

We ran a little D&D game for my 6 six year old girl after she showed some interest in playing the games she heard us talking about a lot.  We were very loosey goosey on the stats and dice, mostly just using them to add flavor and set limits while we followed her lead about what kind of story we told.

She ended up making a gnome/smurf who tracked down an evil sorcerer/Gargamel and saved a village from slaving away to build his tower of doom.  She had to travel through the woods, fight off a wolf pack, and figure out how to cross a river without drowning.  There were lots of magical artifacts to be found, since she loved the first one, and it all had a happy ending when she made Gargamel promise not to make anyone be his slave (diplomacy).

She loved it!  Her favorite part was actually the maps and moving the little dice around to show where the characters were.  I was surprised by that.

Just a few thoughts: One could offer choices of which action/route/whatever to follows at the beginning and even preroll characters. Then have less structure. Mostly, it depends on what the children are comfortable with and find fun. IMO, they should have to do some communicating and thinking from the get-go.

When I was young I read a lot of sassafras books. Just because I'd prefer my kids not to read V.C. Andrews doesn't mean I'm going to keep them from reading.

And thanks, Baron and Caladin. I'm checking out Faery's Tale and Heroica right now.
This message was last edited by the user at 00:25, Sat 06 Sept 2014.

Some fantastic discussion here.

I don't think any of it is off topic, as the 2 questions in my OP are quite broad.

I've looked into a few of the suggested systems - lots of options!

My next question is:

Where can I find a resource (online or pdf) that contains encounters or ideas for adventures for kids?

My Google-Fu is weak with this particular topic.

In particular, something in the vicinity of How to Train Your Dragon, or Kung Fu Panda, or to alesser extent, the recent Tinkerbell films.

As far as plots go.  A lot of plots for young children revolve around getting some item to stop some evil force.  Getting the item allows someone to banish or stop some evil power from winning.

Suggestions would be, make opponents be more clearly fall into one of a few categories of characters.

1. Clearly Evil and inhuman (these, the heroes may actually try to destroy them)
2. Misguided (these people, the heroes should try to rescue from deceit)
3. Animals/creatures (these are not really sentient, so depending on the kids maturity, they might see opportunities to subdue them, or otherwise may be able to understand potential loss)
4. Nonliving... (constructions, robots, magical manifestations, traps, etc)  Undead (might fall into this or the first category, but also might be disturbing for some children, so that might be weighed in your decisions)

Keep in mind that you can probably use some form of rules to impart subdual damage for those whom it would make sense to insure a humane defeat.  Also, you can use damage thresholds to reflect a point where rather than dying, the creatures turn tail and flee.

Ideally, I'd have them gather things, in scenes, and then certain obstacles, if they have gathered the required items, have it be an automatic success to proceed through... if they failed to get something, let them make some kind of 'skill' roll or such, with modifiers based on what they have gathered, plus some bonus if they can come up with some problem-solving ideas to help them.  Stressing the action of problem solving, being more important than the solution being that good an idea.

If the heroes fail, you can have them be captured, and have someone unexpected help them to escape, potentially at a cost to the helpers.  (to help encourage them not to simply rely on getting captured and have someone help them)  It isn't uncommon in stories, for someone to help the heroes escape, but get caught, and have anything from becoming imprisoned, hurt, or even died helping the heroes return to their quest.

Well anyway, that was some quick thoughts.

Panacea, I loved your post.

As to plots, I recommend starting out simply.

Let the evil be discovered right away, either by having someone ask for help or give a quest. Maybe the Bad Guy has seized a castle or tower.

Let the path to the evil place be straightforward and/or known to the PC HERO, but let there be obstacles. These might be route obstacles, like a fallen or partially fallen bridge, or they might be oppositional, like the wolf pack mentioned above or a monster or a bandit gang.

A route obstacle might require a skill check to pass or maybe just the courage to climb across the remaining timbers of the bridge. Maybe an NPC HERO is present who, treated properly, will provide an alternative. [Here's a chance to impart some lessons about negotiation or humility or the like.]

Opposition is a chance to use combat or magic skills, but I agree with LoreGuard: battles needn't be to the death (and don't hesitate to do a bit of fudging in the PC HERO's favor). Maybe the alpha wolf challenges the PC HERO to single combat or the bandits are only marauding because the Bad Guy has kept them from working their fields or is keeping their families hostage to make them guard the route. Once they see that they cannot scare off or overcome the PC HERO, they flee or surrender.

These are also opportunities to provide some assistance. Perhaps the NPC HERO who guides the PC HERO around the obstacle is the daughter of the lady held by the Bad Guy and she knows a secret way into the tower. Or maybe there's a mage or cleric clinging to the bridge timbers who can be rescued and will give a potion or spell or magical artifact. Maybe the bandits or wolves become the loyal retainers of the PC HERO.

When the goal is reached, the Bad Guy should be difficult to overcome. He should have other forces he can call upon, like an army of skeletons (the least scary of undead because no one actually sees anything that might be skeletons walking around). This is where those bandit retainers and/or wolf followers come in handy -- and they need to.

Everything acquired should pay off at this point. Maybe the PC HERO's forces are getting the worst of it when the scroll from the cleric weakens them enough that they can be overcome.

In the end, it should come down to PC HERO versus BAD GUY. Again, the fight needn't be to the death. The BAD GUY might surrender when he realizes he cannot beat the PC HERO or he might simply flee when confronted by the PC HERO's victorious forces or maybe the spell he was under is broken by something the PC HERO does or says and he reveals the GREATER EVIL behind his actions.

That's sort of an eternal hero quest.