I started my first ever TTRPG experience (one-shot DnD) back in August. It’s been a blast, I wish I had got started earlier in life with it.

But beyond the fun I have in-game, what’s been the best part for me is, I have three kids ages 3-7. When I put them to bed after a session earlier in the evening, I tell them the story of what happened in our game. They love this. The day of, they will constantly ask me when I’m playing and if I’ll tell them about what happened. Last night, when they weren’t listening to their mom I told them if they don’t listen I won’t tell them the story. The look of terror on their faces…. they were good the rest of the night.

So I really want to use this as an opportunity to get them into kids’ RPGs. My problem is, I’m new to this whole world myself and I’m having trouble narrowing down the possibilities for their first adventure. They really like a fantasy world so I’m trying to stick to that. FirstFable and Hero Kids looks interesting, but I wanted to make a post to solicit ideas from the community: what are some RPGs you would recommend for little kids for their first experience with it?

  • Pencilnoob@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    7 days ago

    I have GMed hundreds of sessions of Fate Core and I think is the best of all the systems for just getting the mechanics out of the way and having fun and letting the players go wild with their imaginations.

    You can play it with the classic fate dice, or modify it to just use coins, a D20, whatever. There’s even an easier system called Fate Accelerated that boils it down that even a fairly little kid can grasp.

    I like both systems because rather than try to be a “realistic” physics and combat simulator, it’s a just a loose set of mechanics for making any type of game.

    Last week I ran a session that was the main characters getting ready for a fancy ball where they needed to convince the regional governor to quarantine the station against a deadly plague.

    They prepared by:

    • designed costumes and dresses to blend in
    • invented a new makeup style to help catch her attention (that went on to become a huge trend in the net)
    • organized evidence of the plague into a punchy short form video
    • collected more data from the local station researchers
    • planned how they would get the regional governor alone at the ball to have a few minutes word with her to make the pitch
    • hacked into the station network to control the lights and music and see where everyone was

    All of that played out with dice rolls using their skills.

    Fate has an easy mechanic for preparing advantages in advance, so they were able to do all this before even showing up for the ball, so they rolled in with a pile of advantages like consumables they could use to boost bad rolls when trying to build trust with the governor.

    At the ball they had to race against their competitors who were trying to sow distrust with the governor, stopping them while at the same time building confidence with the governor. Impassioned speeches, perfectly timed dance moves, the best etiquette at dinner, and even intimidating the lead researcher so he didn’t panic and cause the station to fall into a riot.

    This isn’t even anything weird or crazy, Fate is more flexible than any other system: your players make an impassioned speech, swing from the rafters, or take the epic sniper shot. They can alter the fate of the universe with a new makeup style or the right cut of dress (my players spent a good ten minutes deciding if they should wear a princess cut or Cinderella cut gown!)

    Highly recommend it for a kid’s game or adults! It’s just better for playing games that are only limited by the imagination of the players.