DFRPG for kids
 

Background: We've got an active gaming community in the middle school where I work. I often sponsor RPG activities for students, sometimes managing 40+ students at tables in multiple classrooms. We've generally fallen back on D&D as the default system since it is better known, it was easier to pick up used rulebooks, and it required less work from me and the other adults. We could pull sets of pre-generated characters from on-line sources, purchase cheap, age-appropriate PDF adventures, and give an initial presentation about the d20 mechanic so that even totally new players could have a game going within 45 minutes. With the arrival of the DFRPG, I have a GURPS-based system that I can easily introduce to younger players. I think it will be a hit.

We're planning on purchasing a few boxed sets and offering a DFRPG activity this spring. Leading up to that, I've got a few questions:

1. Do you think we need to have a boxed set for each table, or could two tables share a single set? (We're not sure yet what our budget cap will be.)
2. Are there any other DFRPG adventures out there that are suited for new, younger players? (In case some groups finish I Smell a Rat and want further material.)
3. Any recommendations for what to go over in an initial presentation? I'm thinking I'll go over the basic skill roll mechanic and model a simple combat. I always talk briefly about the GM's role and the importance of keeping the game fun and moving forward. Ideally, the kids will have enough of an understanding that they can ignore most rules and just fall back on skill rolls.
4. Any other tips or ideas?

Thank you!

Re: DFRPG for kids
 

2. There is the sequel to I Smell a Rat, Against The Ratmen. After that, there is Mirror of the Fire Demon (which may be too fiddly for inexperienced GMs), The Pagoda of Worlds, and a few Pyramid adventures, all for the DF line, but mostly easily used with the DFRPG.

Re: DFRPG for kids
 

How old are these "kids"?
How many sessions are they going to play?


The big thing that immediately leaps out to me if you plan to have players ready in "45 minutes" is that it takes much longer to fill out a GURPS/DFRPG character than a D&D character (even if you know exactly what you are doing) simply because there is so much to write.

I think either giving the players pregens, or at least pre-genning some elements (eg, let them fill out the char sheet as they like, but have cultivated lists of spells for all the casters, or figuring out a way to have most of the "mandatory" fields filled out for the templates so that you can at least save them from writing out tennish skills, and 1~4 advantages per occupation)

You might also specifically ban buying up any attributes to start with because that is the biggest headache on the template, and without the relative skill levels on the template, it makes adjusting the skill levels if you DX+1 someone annoying at best for someone that has memorized all of the skills already, and a huge timesink at worse as they have to look up all the skills on a cross-reference table to see if that one gets a +1 or not.

Casting talents are a little better in that regard because spells have their own section on a worksheet so it's obvious that "all these things get a +1"

Re: DFRPG for kids
 

Ages range from 11-14. Typically we have six 45-minute sessions. I encourage the GMs to focus on having one significant encounter with each session. I haven't plotted "I Smell a Rat" out carefully to see how it will fit, but ultimately it's not that big a deal. Lots of the groups continue playing on their own time once they get the game going.

I will definitely have the pregens from Delvers to Go available for students. In the past, most groups opted for pregens unless they knew the rules already. Even with D&D rules, some groups spent the first three sessions making characters, of course, but as long as they're having fun I don't intervene. (Some groups, in fact, seemed to spend all six sessions vociferously arguing about the rules, and appearing to have a blast while doing so. Early preparation for law school?)

With a less familiar game, I think most groups will dive in with the pregens. Plus, the pregens are pretty great. Might even create a few additional ones if I can find the time.

Re: DFRPG for kids
 

Are there any criteria that need to be met for the adventures that you are after? Language/content/cultural issues and so forth.

Re: DFRPG for kids
 

Typically we would avoid explicit sexual references, vulgar language, and extreme violence. That last category means that I would avoid anything with major torture themes, though certainly "bad guys in a castle with a torture chamber" is fine. Generally, Lord of the Rings is good, Game of Thrones, not so much.

Re: DFRPG for kids
 

In play, I suspect you could share one set between two groups. It's broken up into multiple parts that make sharing easy. For character generation, I think the need for everybody to use the first book means you can only have one group making characters at a time.

sir_pudding has mentioned the existing adventures. I think you're OK on content. There's some gruesomeness (the preferred topics of conversation for one of the NPCs in Against the Rat-Men are on the creepy side), but nothing prohibitive to a middle school audience.

Re: DFRPG for kids
 

Yes. For character creation, honestly, even sharing one Adventurers book with four or five students at a table would be a stretch. I'll recommend strongly against it. But I figured sharing the rules would work ok, especially if I help GMs figure out how to plausibly wing most situations. I'm not sure if having a few printed copies of GURPS Lite would help or just confuse everybody.

In the past, most students have preferred not to run published adventures, even when we have them available. The GMs whip stuff up on their own. When I've run tables (I often run a table for complete novices), I tend to improvise my own material too, since it's easier to fit a great encounter into each 45-minute segment. It's actually a pretty fun way to game. You have to skip just about everything except the key scenes. With DFRPG, I'm guessing most players will want to start with something pre-written until they get the hang of it.

Re: DFRPG for kids
 

I would spring for a GM screen for at least one table, maybe both so the rule books could be more easily passed around.

Re: DFRPG for kids
 

If you can wait until the PDFs are available, you're allowed one physical copy per PDF purchased, which means you can have a tablet in play at one table and a physical copy at another, or two copies at one table for character generation, then put the tablet away for play (or paper, depending on preferences, but I'd be happier not trusting electronics to children not related to me).

This obviously works best with a laser printer and a cheap in-house binding option, and assumes you have access to tablets or laptops. I understand some schools do these days.. *feels a zillion years old*