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Hi,
I'm looking to start a simple first rpg game with the family. Kids are 11 and 7. 11 year old play WHFB. Any recommendations for a starter game that's not too complicated. I have no experience with RPGs.
Thanks a lot.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Should have said fantasy theme rather than sci fi

The FFG Star Wars one is a nice idea.

The rules are simple - built around nice visual 'play aids' rather than mental arithmetic - and there are 'starter sets' with pre-made characters with some basic character development options in the boxes along with dice and tokens.

Plus, you get the advantage of "it's star wars" - so you don't have to spend forever explaining the setting.

There are three 'games', all intercompatible - Edge of the Empire is essentially "Star Wars Firefly", Age Of Rebellion is "Star Wars Band Of Brothers" (or rogue squadron), and Force and Destiny is "we want to be jedi".

The basic rules and a starter adventure which is perfectly kid-friendly is available off FFG's page, along with the 'dice conversions' if you don't want to get a pack of their dice (or the app) before you've tried it.

WHFRP - FFG's Warhammer fantasy one - plays on similar mechanics, but it depends if the 11 year old actually knows much of the background or just plays the game - Star Wars is a generically safer bet.

If you're looking for a fantasy themed RPG, the D&D 5th edition rules are very straight forward. I enjoy them very much, and I think they are easy concepts to learn.

They sell a starter set with stream-lined rules, a simple scenario and pre-made characters you can try for less that $20. If your kids and you enjoy that, then you can buy the full rulebook, GM's guide and go from there.

D&D Starter Set Description:

Explore subterranean labyrinths! Plunder hoards of treasure! Battle legendary monsters!

The Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set is your gateway to action-packed stories of the imagination. This box contains the essential rules of the game plus everything you need to play heroic characters on perilous adventures in worlds of fantasy.

Ideal for a group of 4 6, the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set includes a 64-page adventure book with everything the Dungeon Master needs to get started, a 32-page rulebook for playing characters level 1 5, 5 pregenerated characters, each with a character sheet and supporting reference material, and 6 dice.

However, I've played RPGs since 2000, so I'm used to RPG rule sets.

DnD 3.5/Pathfinder. Get them indoctrinated early.

Will really help their math and reading comprehension skills too.

 Sinful Hero wrote:
DnD 3.5/Pathfinder. Get them indoctrinated early.

Will really help their math and reading comprehension skills too.

If you want them to hate you and hate themselves, then yes, follow this advice for the terrible choice of 3/3.5/PF. If you want to introduce them to fun and interesting RPGs go with locarno and kronk has said.

 Ahtman wrote:

 Sinful Hero wrote:
DnD 3.5/Pathfinder. Get them indoctrinated early.

Will really help their math and reading comprehension skills too.

If you want them to hate you and hate themselves, then yes, follow this advice for the terrible choice of 3/3.5/PF. If you want to introduce them to fun and interesting RPGs go with locarno and kronk has said.

But how else will they learn how to make an optimal build, or min/max? 3.pathfinder will teach them important CharOp skills they can use in any system!

But I used an Orkmoticon and everything.

I have to recommend D&D 5th edition. The starter set is just amazing! It comes with tons of intro material, 4 pregenerated characters so you can grab and go, and lots of easy tips for newcomers.

While I do love 3.5, I've played D&D for years, both 2nd edition and 3.5, and it is not for the inexperienced/new comers. It's complex, rules heavy, and takes a while to get used to.

 jreilly89 wrote:
It's complex, rules heavy, and takes a while to get used to.

It also isn't very good, comparatively. Don't forget that.

I play both games and enjoy them both, for very different reasons. If I had my druthers, I'd just play 5th edition, though.

The D&D Starter Set is very good, but you can download the actual core rules for free:

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

They're a good follow-on from the starter. The player's book has full character creation, combat and a decent selection of magic; the DM's book has monsters (lots of monsters) and treasure. It's a surprisingly complete game.

The Pathfinder Beginner Box is great, with a gridded map and standees for PCs and monsters. I just don't love the 3.x system any more - there's a lot of detail and bonuses to this and that flying around, although at the level of the starter set that's not as much of a problem as in later games.

Both boxes are very cheap - the Pathfinder one edges the D&D one in content, but the game is more fiddly, and the D&D one has a full, free game behind it.

Fifth Edition is not the only free rule set out there - but its real advantage is how "easy" it is compared to many other recent rulesets.

That said, I would recommend using Basic D&D for introducing new players, especially young players. This is not because the rules are simple (which they are) but rather because the heart of the game is making rulings rather than applying rules. This means:

- the player describes what her character is attempting
- the DM tells the player what to roll in order to succeed
- the DM narrates the consequences of the character's success/failure

That is the "magic formula" that made D&D radically different from any previously published game. I say published because this is of course a variant on what we all do as kids when we play pretend. All D&D does is add a bit of formality.

Now the question is - how much formality do you need/want? As for how much you need, the honest answer is that Basic D&D provides more than enough in the way of guidelines for running a classic, generic RPG session.

In terms of how much more formality you want - this is where enjoying miniatures gaming as well as RPGs becomes important. Certain RPGs, famously including the 3rd and 4th editions of D&D as well as Pathfinder (a more intricate version of D&D 3rd), incorporate full blown tactical skirmish games. I do not recommend starting non-gamers with these because the miniatures combat side of things can easily dominate a session, stealing the limelight from what ought to be the focus for new players.

Those tactics-heavy games are not bad or anything BUT what new players really need to "get" about RPGs from their introductory experience is the roleplaying part, such as

- getting into and staying in-character
- creatively solving problems
- actively contributing to the narrative the DM is guiding
- exploring "the world"

Again - these things are all possible in games like 3rd, 4th, and 5th ed. D&D ... the difference is that these more recent games tend to emphasize applying the rules (yes even 5th!) as opposed to the core back-and-forth, case-by-case style of the players describing a plan to the DM and the DM making a ruling on what dice to roll/narrating the consequences.

So Basic D&D has had many permutations including (thanks to a legal document called the Open Gaming License, or OGL) a great deal of unofficial "remixes" called retroclones. You can find a lot of these available online for free (largely minus the evocative but extremely expensive artwork you find in official products published by corporations). I would recommend trying Labyrinth Lord, which you can download here:

http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.html

Heroes Against Darkness is also a fun one, and free to download so there's no risk checking it out. I personally think it might be one of the easier to introduce D20 rulesets out there.

http://heroesagainstdarkness.blogspot.com/p/heroes-against-darkness-downloads.html

I think another system that's pretty easy to digest is the "Age" System, which began as a RPG of the videogame Dragon Age, and now has a standalone rulebook.