Quote from: Benoist;382313I just imagine parents not playing games with their children because some anonymous guy with a made-up persona would object on the intarwebz.

:hmm: Tough choice.

But he might call you a swine! Screw spending time with your kids, you can't have people insulting you on the internet.

Quote from: Fifth Element;382316But he might call you a swine! Screw spending time with your kids, you can't have people insulting you on the internet.

That's right! How could I forget?!

Now compare the pic in the OP to this. Notice any discrepencies?

Quote from: The Shaman;382303Pundit, stick with railing against imaginary enemies and regurgitating Nineties political slogans, 'cause you're waaaaaaaayyyyy out of your depth giving advice to parents.

I think it was less about giving advice and more about aiming a barb at "losers who can't find adults to game with and have to enlist their kids in order to game."  However, I suspect that target may fall in the "imaginary" category.

Are we going to get some expanded character creation rules?  I swear, those kids are just trying to get us to buy the new edition.

So many things to say here.

1.  Chorus - cute stuff.

2.  I rarely use this phrase but LOL here, even the Pundit made a...oh, he was serious.  Awkward...

3.  Make sure hp means hp means hit points and not something like hope power:)

Quote from: IMLegend;382289:hmm: Insight into Pundits childhood? Chilling.

Hardly. I grew up with parents who were initially ignorant and later tried to forbid me from playing ("satanic panic", don't you know?).

Of course, by then I was at an age to do it anyways, and you know what their forbidding it did? IT MADE ME WANT TO PLAY IT MORE.

On the other hand, I can imagine few things that would have made it more likely for me to drop D&D like a hot potato than if my parents had said "this game is awesome, you can play it with us".
Which is what an entire generation of geek dads are doing to their children, often at frighteningly young ages, when they're not really capable of defending themselves or even understanding how they're being USED by their dads as a substitute for a real, adult, gaming group.
Its very little difference, in my mind, from the moms who put their little princesses in Child Beauty Pageants. The little girls might actually think they like it at the time, but in more than a small number of cases its bound to leave them fucked up in the years to come.

RPGPundit

Quote from: The Shaman;382303Pundit, stick with railing against imaginary enemies and regurgitating Nineties political slogans, 'cause you're waaaaaaaayyyyy out of your depth giving advice to parents.

I probably shouldn't, but.. ok, I'll bite: Nineties political slogans?

RPGPundit

Quote from: Koltar;382308Thats because she wants him to have elf-confidence.


- Ed C.

Jesus Christ. This one made me chuckle, though. Your puns may be improving, Ed.

Quote from: RPGPundit;382546On the other hand, I can imagine few things that would have made it more likely for me to drop D&D like a hot potato than if my parents had said "this game is awesome, you can play it with us".
Which is what an entire generation of geek dads are doing to their children, often at frighteningly young ages, when they're not really capable of defending themselves or even understanding how they're being USED by their dads as a substitute for a real, adult, gaming group.

In that case, they should use reverse psychology.  

They should be telling their kids that D&D sucks, and is only for uncool geeks.

Quote from: Benoist;382313I just imagine parents not playing games with their children because some anonymous guy with a made-up persona would object on the intarwebz.

:hmm: Tough choice.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I think its fine to play games with your kids. But RPGs are not games you are playing for them. Its not teaching them snakes & ladders, monopoly, chess, card games, uno, stratego, etc.
Its something everyone here is passionately obsessed with, and its very difficult to imagine that you're showing them RPGs for the "kids' sake". For starters, no one under the age of about 12 even needs RPGs. Kids play freeform.
So why aren't you just playing cops & robbers with them? Why are you trying to tell them about armor class and saving throws? Simple: because you want them to do a thing for YOU.

Its not the best thing for the kids (though I'm not saying it'll necessarily scar them for life, either), its not the best thing for the hobby (because I'm quite willing to bet that 90+% of those kids who were coerced into playing RPGs with daddy before they were 12 are not going to want to have ANYTHING to do with RPGs by the time they're teens), its just the best thing for the dads who are desperate to game and have a captive and probably relatively willing audience in the form of their young impressionable children.

RPGPundit

Quote from: ggroy;382551In that case, they should use reverse psychology.  

They should be telling their kids that D&D sucks, and is only for uncool geeks.

In the case of parents? Yeah, probably. I don't know. At the very least, they shouldn't be gaming with them, not until they're old enough that its clearly and unequivocably their choice.

You see, I had some experience with this in the form of my (much) younger brother. He's over a decade younger than me, and throughout his childhood watched me gaming, looked at my books with their awesome pictures, my dice, etc.
He asked me to play dozens and dozens of times, from the age of more or less 8 onwards.
Now, I did play lots of other kinds of board or card games with him, but I explained to him that RPGs are games that require certain maturity and that I'd gladly game with him from the moment he turned 16, but not a day earlier.

And of course, the little bastard, by the time he was 12, started buying his own RPG books, desperate to prove that he was mature enough to game with the big boys; he started his own gaming group, and true to my word when he turned 16, he joined my gaming group (and continued on his own).

In other words, I created a gamer.

Had my little brother been allowed to play at age 8, I can't say for certain what would have happened. Had I been one of those socially inept losers without a group of my own, and made him play for long hours on end, I can strongly imagine that by his teens my brother would likely have thought that RPGs were one of those lame things his brother did (he certainly thinks that plenty of things I do are lame).

So yes, I'm quite convinced that the way to get a kid to want to game is to tell him he can't.  It worked for an entire generation.

RPGPundit

Quote from: Philotomy Jurament;382068Thought you guys might get a kick out of it, too.

I asked for some info about the character when the kids got home from school.  Apparently it was a bit of a collaboration, with my older daughter coming up with the game and helping my younger daughter make the character.  My youngest son apparently assisted with the coloring, too.

Anyway, the stats were reported to me as follows:

S = Strength
W = Wisdom
P = Power (asking for clarification, I was informed this was like "raging" power, so I figure it's aggression/rage, like the Hulk)
O = Optimism
H = Hope

So Sister Kate is a wise, hopeful, and optimistic character who apparently keeps a cool head and uses her big brain (and her doughty band of followers) to address the obstacles she runs into.

Sounds like a future Ars Magica player Great stuff, she rocks.

Quote from: RPGPundit;382552So why aren't you just playing cops & robbers with them? Why are you trying to tell them about armor class and saving throws? Simple: because you want them to do a thing for YOU.

How about, they want to play the game they see you playing? Kids have this thing where they like to be like mom and dad. It's how they learn shit.

Quote from: RPGPundit;382553Now, I did play lots of other kinds of board or card games with him, but I explained to him that RPGs are games that require certain maturity and that I'd gladly game with him from the moment he turned 16, but not a day earlier.

Maturity? Do you read these boards?

Quote from: RPGPundit;382553Had my little brother been allowed to play at age 8, I can't say for certain that would have happened.

But you can say for certain that it would have been a bad idea?

Quote from: RPGPundit;382553So yes, I'm quite convinced that the way to get a kid to want to game is to tell him he can't.  It worked for an entire generation.

Didn't work for me. When I showed interest in the game my parents were only too happy to buy me some books and dice. They didn't play with me but did nothing to discourage me from playing.

Great OP. Very cute.
Does Pundit have any clue how laughably ridiculous he's being?
Probably not. Great thread all around. Puts a smile on my face.