I've got twin boys, 11 y/o that have started to become interested in dad's wierd games alongside their video games. As kids they are pretty visually dependent so I thought about using my huge pile of unused Descent boardgames stuff to run a dungeon crawl. Any suggestions on a simple system?

Anyone else use their Descent game for a little RPG?

Quote from: rgrove0172;911662I've got twin boys, 11 y/o that have started to become interested in dad's wierd games alongside their video games. As kids they are pretty visually dependent so I thought about using my huge pile of unused Descent boardgames stuff to run a dungeon crawl. Any suggestions on a simple system?

Anyone else use their Descent game for a little RPG?

I'm just using D&D B/X to run games for my 6 and 9 year old nephews, with minis/toys and a battlemat used loosely. I map out the dungeons, and we use figures, but we never really count squares or measure movement. It gives them the visual reference they want, but doesn't cramp the creativity of their actions by sucking the board game mindset of later D&D editions. The figures are a mishmash of actual minis, Ultraman villains, lego guys, toy pirates and ships, Old Kenner Star Wars action figures and dollhouse toys. There is no sense of scale at all, but if it doesn't bother them, it doesn't bother me.

B/X is pretty damn simple, and if you don't own it, just get Labyrinth Lord.

I borrowed the funnel idea from DCC, letting them have a few characters, just to make the initial character deaths a little less painful. It hasn't gotten in the way of them role-playing at all. If anything, it frees them up to have their guys make in-character but clearly sub-optimal choices at times.

I'll probably make Stars Without Number the next jump in complexity.

Don't underestimate 11 Year Olds.  Get them interested in the setting, they'll work with a game.

I don't think you need a "simple system".

Just use Descent.  Instead of treating the Overlord player as an adversarial player role, just treat it like the GM in any other game.  Design dungeons, but only build part of the map, and when they decide to "explore" edges, lay more of the map down.  Then add more RPG focused material as you go along.

I'm making the assumption you're talking about 2e, so you already have a campaign advancement system.

It's not too complex.  And if they're getting interested in your games, they don't want to play dumbed down versions.  They'll dive into far more complexity quicker than you can possibly imagine, and they'll revel in it.

Quote from: Gabriel2;911669I don't think you need a "simple system".

Just use Descent.  Instead of treating the Overlord player as an adversarial player role, just treat it like the GM in any other game.  Design dungeons, but only build part of the map, and when they decide to "explore" edges, lay more of the map down.  Then add more RPG focused material as you go along.

I'm making the assumption you're talking about 2e, so you already have a campaign advancement system.

It's not too complex.  And if they're getting interested in your games, they don't want to play dumbed down versions.  They'll dive into far more complexity quicker than you can possibly imagine, and they'll revel in it.

THIS!  Listen to the second Gabe!

I play Descent2e and D&D5e with my 7 and 9 year old daughters. They both work in terms of complexity, though the adversial nature of Descent isn't as fun as the RPG experience. If it's just a visual thing, use your Descent figures and board pieces with D&D.

I've been playing Frostgrave with my son (10) and we're having a blast. It's technically a miniatures war-game, but it's really a great introduction to D&D-style games. All each player needs is a handful of miniatures, and then space to play on. You could have the boys play against each other, or figure out a simple way for them to team up against you in a GM role.

Don't forget, you can also play alongside your kids, if you have the Road to Legend app!

http://epicslant.com/2016/06/descent-2-0-road-to-legend-app-review/

I have the entire 1st edition collection as well as several 2nd edition products. My plan was to use Road to Legend or Sea of Blood as the campaign area and build as needed. Lack of towns and other outdoor tiles is an issue but can be worked around. The Descent system just seemed to episodic and lacks key rpg elements in my opinion.

HeroQuest and DragonStrike were my gateway board games to D&D. These days, I'd say the D&D 4e based board games or Descent 2e are the best bridge games. We haven't completed our 2e campaign (stuck at Level 16 I think), but I had a lot more fun with it than 1e.  

Descent if you drop the overlord concept can work well as an RPG. If you want a simple system, the Descent system works. It also has a lot of value because of all the figures and map tiles to playing other games like DnD. If you want a fairly simple system to use over DnD/D20, I recommend Bare Bones Fantasy. Its a d100 based Rules lite game that is only 80 pages of reading.

That's about the age I got into roleplaying games. So I recommend The Fantasy Trip, of course, and/or Dark City Games (the current TFT clone).

I found that my 10+ year old friends were quite able to be introduced and play right away.

Of course, I had been playing boardgames and wargames and designing my own boardgames and pen & paper games for years by the time I was 11 (I was into Squad Leader and other Avalon Hill games), so my view may be slightly skewed, but as long as one player knows the rules, it seemed quite easy to teach new players quickly. It was also great fun to play with my dad.

But on the other hand, kids these days have all sorts of computer game exposure that I had none of.

Quote from: rgrove0172;911714The Descent system just seemed to episodic and lacks key rpg elements in my opinion.

That's a big part of why I would be reluctant to use the Descent rules to introduce kids to RPGs. The magic of RPGs is the freedom they provide to do what you want, and a boardgame doesn't do that even if it is simulating  the common RPG trope of a dungeon crawl. I think its better to introduce kids with an actual RPG with light, loose rules than with a board game with complicated, restricting ones.

Yeah, at 11, give them the full rules and see what works.

At 4yo, my daughter happily played the Heroica game with me.  I look forward to teaching her Arcadia Quest soon.