Friday, May 4, 2012

I play with my kids

This here blog is my place to explore role playing games (and other forms of creativity) in relation to my children.  I have two, a boy, Kiddo, and a girl, Baby.  (I call them that at home, and I don't trust the whole world enough to give you their real names or ages.)

We play Savage Worlds, but have dabbled in several other systems.  Of course, there is the obligatory try at D&D.  I have had other people tell my my kids are old enough to comprehend all the rules.  Perhaps, but I don't have the time to learn them all.  (Kiddo tried reading the DM's manual, but Baby didn't even try glancing through the PHB.  It fell to me to read and understand everything, even though Kiddo was the one DM'ing for us.)  That lasted for one whole session.

Old School Hack was great fun.  Quick.  Simple.  I loved the weapons systems.  You have four types of weapons, IIRC.  Heavy, light, ranged, and, um, reach, maybe.  It didn't give stats on individual weapons.  If you wanted to fight with two pewter beer steins, label them "light" and go with it.  (Light weapons are faster, but do less damage.)  My character ripped the fangs out of fallen orcs and used them as throwing daggers.  As a goblin, at higher levels, a bigger character could pick me up and use me as a ranged weapon as one of my chosen feats.  I got a free grapple out of the deal.  However, the game was in its testing stage, and we leveled up so fast I had to start manufacturing my own feats and advantages.  (Plus, school started up and there went all our free time.)

I have vague memories of trying MicroLite 20.  I had a good setup, scenarios, ideas.  Once again, Real Life intervened, and the kids started spending every weekend at their grandparents, and we lost play time until it all faded to dust.

Savage Worlds is easy enough we can create characters in a few minutes if we want.  The new Deluxe guide has Archetypes, so all you have to do is slap on a name and go if that's what you want.  I may go that route with Baby, since she isn't really showing the drive to assign her own stats.  Kiddo is done, and has been, for a week.  I've made up two of my own, in the hopes that each of my kids will try running some scenarios so I get a chance to play, too.

Do any of you play with your kids?  How do you handle setting aside time for games when you are with them all the time in the first place?  What about younger kids who don't manage their own characters?  Any ideas on teaching them how to run a  gaming session?