I’ve taken it upon myself to homebrew a roleplaying system for my sister’s kids (since I probably won’t be DMing D&D now). The setting doesn’t really need to make sense (think Cowboys and Princesses taking on Sky Pirates and Dinosaurs… or… something like that), seeing as how old they are, but the rules should probably be simple enough to understand. Should I go diceless? Dying is (probably) a no, so maybe enemies should just be knocked out, or carried off to a hospital… or retreat… Maybe some challenges should be overcome with quizzes.
Why am I doing this? I don’t know. It just struck me as something fun to do today.
Diceless is good. Not only will it be less frustrating on small children, but will be an easier way to get them into math.
Here’s the start of a simplistic system like that, using a Square Grid battle map of course-
Hit points = Level
Speed = half level +3
Classes = Warrior, Wizard
Damage (Weapon and Magic) = Level - Opponents level, minimum 1
Weapons add to damage
Armor Reduces damage
Magic Spells- Extra Strong (+2 damage), Extra Fast (+2 speed), Firebolt (Damage = level), Fireball (Damage = level in 6 square block), Heal (Heal = level x2)
And with a six year old and four year old, you really don’t need to get anymore complex than that. Hell, it may be a bit too complex even, I’m not sure (not trying to insult their intelligence, just remarking that they are in fact REALLY young for roleplaying).
Hmm, dice would probably help rather than hurt. Preferably no greater than six sided though. It adds some concrete results in a flexible world and with kids that age, it probably would prevent arguments or disagreement. After all, the dice are plain and simple.
Yeah, dying probably not a good idea, but the hospital or getting sick thing is, with a penalty to movement or ability.
I assume they would be working together (which is a great teaching tool for cooperation) then require one to heal the other at some great cost, that way it encourages cooperation to avoid getting sick.
This is a great idea. I never thought of something like this or might have had a go at it myself.
And I could use Action Figures and dolls to represent the characters. If I can find a cowboy and a Princess (I actually like that setup because it’s really weird and would be fun to be a storyteller for)… And if I could get her parents to take part it could be even more fun.