TheRPGSite

I'm talking little kids here.  I'm not looking to cut and slash through an existing RPG to give them just part of it. I want to let them have run of the whole kit and kaboodle right off the bat. I'm looking for something short. Trivially short.  The Squirrel Attack! at 60 pages might even be a bit much, though I'm definately going to check that out (hey, for some reason kids just eat up the anthropomorphic characters, might be that they wear their personalitys on the outside? *shrug*)

Anyway what else is there for out-of-the-can super, super simple. So kid friendly that it might not even show up on the normal RPG radars.  I'm talking approximately 1st grader level here. So diceless/statless would be distinct a possibility, but not as absolute nessesity as my one son has recently learned to tolerate the randomness of actually rolling a die (welcome to the ridgedness of autism :rolleyes: ) and the both know their numbers and have some measure of adding skills (and reading).  However I've found so far that dice with larger number of sides, particular getting up to d20, makes it harder to focus on the actual number rolled since there are so many visible.  As well double digit numbers would seem to create issues that need not be.

So what be out there folks?

Heroscape

Shadows (http://www.harlekin-maus.com/games/shadows/shadows.html)

-Stuart

Nighttime Animals Save the World. (http://www.septemberquestion.org/lumpley/tnaplay.html)

Maybe BESM 1st ed., help them make characters based on what they want to do.  It really boils down to 3 stats plus a few special abilities.

If you haven't done so, you might want to start with a boardgame with rpg overtones such as heroquest, dungeon or something along those lines.


By the way, there's a yahoo group devoted to rpgs for kids:  http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/kids-rpg/

I haven't looked at it much but bookmarked once when I came across it.

Faery's Tale

I know you mentioned Squirrel Attack! in your OP, but I would point out that most of that is just adventure material and pregen characters.  The actual system bits only take up about a dozen pages, if I recall properly.

I've also heard very good things about Firefly Games' Faery's Tale.

How long is Meddling Kids?

After running into problems with BESM (point gen systems not proving good for beginners), I was considering adapting FUDGE to run a little Pokemon style game for my daughter.

Quote from: Zachary The FirstI know you mentioned Squirrel Attack! in your OP, but I would point out that most of that is just adventure material and pregen characters.  The actual system bits only take up about a dozen pages, if I recall properly.

A dozen pages sounds more in line with what I was thinking of.  Damn it, where's the author to pimp his stuff when you need him??? ;)

Quote from: Abyssal MawFaery's Tale

Expressly designed for kids, rules light (reasonably), there are reviews on rpg.net discussing how it fared with people running it for their kids and the author is incredibly helpful.  I recommend you check it out.

Edit:

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12347.phtml
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12352.phtml
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12387.phtml

My son's just starting 2nd grade, and I ran a game of Faery's Tale for him which went pretty well.  It was hard for him to keep his attention focused, but part of the problem was that there were also older kids playing and the mix was difficult.  

There's also Annie Rush' Secret Lives of Gingerbread Men (http://www.itesser.com/cookies/) and John Wick's Cat (http://www.wicked-dead.com/cat/).  

Clinton Nixon's The Prince's Kingdom (http://www.crngames.com/the_princes_kingdom/index) probably would have to wait for 3rd grade, though, because the dice mechanics are more involved.

Quote from: blakkieA dozen pages sounds more in line with what I was thinking of.  Damn it, where's the author to pimp his stuff when you need him??? ;)

He's been unpacking his house. Those *expletive deleted* packers lost a good chunk of cabling for my server farm. Grrr.

Alright, deep breath.
The Pimping
Here is the Iridium Lite system  (http://www.hinterwelt.com/Squirrels/Squirrel-Demo.pdf)for SA! More info. (http://www.hinterwelt.com/Squirrel-Ref.html) It is about 6 pages in full trade size (i.e. 8x11) and 13 in its statement (5.5x8.5) size. Although I did not design it with children specifically in mind, it was designed with people new to the hobby as a priority. The main concepts behind the design was fun, pregenned characters, quick adventure (about 2-4 hours depending) and simple play. The character sheets are set up with the skill check already calculated. Iridium Lite uses a Stat+Skill+Aptitude to determine a target number you must roll under on a d20. Combat uses a d20 + bonuses to hit and must be higher than the opponent's Defense (STR+AGL ~ 10-20). All the characters in the game are on the site. A character sheet is one sheet, one side.

An added point, this is also the same system our Supers Inc. uses. If you want to transition into other games Iridium Lite is not with out support. I am also planning Chevalier (medieval fnatasy centered on the Legends of Charlemagne) and Future Skein (a post apoc/ sci-fi setting where the robots win). Also, we have The Pie Incident which is an adventure for SA! In this line we are planning Shaolin Squirrels: Nuts of Fury and Squirrels Ahoy! Squirrels of the Spanish Maine.

The Bad
Points that may give you pause are mainy the hit location system. There are ten locations for armor and body. In SA! it is mostly body (only Sir Grais deNwutt has armor). A popular solution to people who do not like the book keeping is to just use Base Fortitude (the base number that is used to calculate the specific Hit Locations). I would suggest looking at a filled out character sheet first as most people don't have too much trouble with it in play.

If you have any questions feel free to post here or email me at bilbo@hinterwelt.com.

Bill

Over the Edge?? :eyecrazy:

I mean, hell.. if you're going to warp your kids' minds with RPGs, you might as well go all the way...

   :combust:

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditOver the Edge?? :eyecrazy:

I'd have to run it some other time than Friday then, because that's Family 'Shroom Tea Night. Doubling up those could lead to a seriously bad trip.  :discoball:

FYI - if you are interested, a fan is running an SA! PBP over here (http://rpgrm.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1567). Just a way to try it out and see if it fits.

Bill