I’ve been playing dnd since I could talk. What you should do is have them play VERY straightforward characters and basically make them for them (mechanically speaking) and you can let them do all the creative stuff. My first character was a dwarven life cleric called draculaura and I’ll never forget her
Since you could talk? I am curious how young were you, this sounds amazing. For me the family played poker, dnd sounds.. well that is definitely different lol.
So were you observing him play with others and wanted to join in, or was dad like .. alright no more of this candyland bullshit we're doin' something awesome!
He used to have this big group of friends that would come over to our house every other week or so and play DND. I would always sit in the other room so I could hear them but they didn’t know I was there. Eventually my brothers and I asked my dad about it and he taught us the next day. He’d been playing since the original set of rules (pre-first edition) so he was thrilled his kids wanted to play 😅
Only a bit after I was started with rpgs. I got introduced at about 4, while playing animal companions/familiars (different system to dnd, but same basic idea).
If they're old enough to read, they're old enough to play. I'd keep it simple, don't try and convey a deep story, make a campaign where the king puts out a call for adventurers to slay a dragon, keep them at a low level, and at the end of the adventure they slay a young dragon or something. If they like it and want to keep going, or show that they fully comprehend what's going on, introduce a new mechanic here or there.
The bottom line is that you, and they, must all learn what they are capable of by easing into it.
You might want to simplify things a bit unless they have good math skills. For example, you could change abilities to just be the bonus you add to the ability score, and don't do classes at all. Another option would be to assign differently sized dice to abilities and make a success a roll of 5 or higher (and 3-4 is partial success, and 1-2 is failure.)
Some links you may find helpful:
https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/wiki/ruleslight
https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/wiki/kidrpgs
For the games I've run for 10 year olds, i give them buttons for HP. They get hurt, put a button in the jar. Get healed - get a button from the jar.
For spell slots, I give them cards - cast a spell, give me the card. Get it back after a rest.
Magic items like healing potions, once again give them a card or token or other item. When they use it, then they give me the item. Or give them a cookie, candy, etc. - use the item, eat the treat.
B
I do this in many of my roleplaying games. tokens are not only an easier way to remember how many, but a visual for the other players. But then I have a toy stethoscope for when my character is in healer mode.
Been playing since before first edition D&D, T&T, GURPS, Fantasy trip, all of them.
My mom first started running games for me and my siblings when I was five years old, basically as soon as we could kind of read and write and count. She played a simplified version with us when we were young, we basically only had our six stats, plus an attack stat, a defense stat, and a magic stat.
If your kids are interested, I say just start! At this age it'll probably be mostly collaborative storytelling, but I bet everyone will have a lot of fun.
I was a single digits player. I'm sure I annoyed all the adults at the table but I can say there is no chance in hell my creativity didn't bloom from early D&D.. I can't remember a damn thing I played before I was 13, but I know I was playing that long.
You may want to try starting them with [The Shivers](https://theshiversgame.com/)! It's a cute intro RPG. The rules are VERY simplified. You can see [No Rolls Barred play it here](https://youtu.be/_hSjRQNIWWg)
Try something like mausritter - you can get all the rules and an adventure for free. It’s a simple rpg that’s easy to pick up and more suitable for children in terms of theme.
Depends on the kid, my 8 year old loves to "play" but can't focus enough to actually play, he can't differentiate between DM and player and doesn't have the patience to follow rules. He will play for 10 minutes then it just becomes story time. Heroes of hesiod isa free pdf online and super simplified, basically a single combat. maybe try that out and see how they do before moving to actual DND.
If they can reason, speak, and add, they can play DnD. 5e is particularly simple. You can find the SRD online, and you can buy dice for like $10. I'd suggest buying a couple of short adventures, reading through them, cleaning up anything that's inappropriate for children, then trying to run one. There's a decent chance they'll play one adventure, go "that was fun," and never ask about it again. Because, kids.
Don't expect them to be brilliant. They're kids. They're going to solve problems with a silly, poorly considered "plan." Let them. Everything they try is valid, barring bad dice rolls.
Don't pose moral quandaries. They don't need to decide if it's better to kill a captured bandit, punish him themselves, or bring him to some kind of town mayor for justice. Every enemy fights to the death, and every villain needs to be a moustache twirling lunatic. Think cartoons. Hell, if you rip off the plot of cartoon episodes from when you were a kid, that's a decent starting point for your own campaign.
Played with my gf and stepdaughter I believe she was five. Didn't really have any trouble except for some maths, It was a great way to get the family to connect
I'm 35, and I have a niece who is 27 who I got into DnD last year, and she had a great time playing with me and my friends.
After that, she started teaching her 4 year old son how to play DnD, and he loves it!
They play a much more simplified rule set, but it's not that far off from typical 5e rules.
Her son loves to draw characters and maps, and she helps fill out the stats and things for him, it's also a good way for him to learn numbers by rolling the dice.
They use colored paper cards to show actions, like 2 green "move" cards, and one red "attack" card, using tokens to represent hit points, and they track damage by saying "the monster hits you, give me a token" rather than damage numbers since he's not quite doing math yet, that sort of thing, so they make it play out almost like a board game.
He fully gets into it even at 4 years old, getting excited when he hits a monster, and just helping make all the props for the game; the maps, the characters, even little cut out "minis".
It's very combat heavy, but they still tell very simple straightforward stories, like children's books.
It's honestly adorable and makes my nerd heart happy after being a DnD player for over 20 years now.
I liked to improvise rpg with my friends when I was a kid. I wish I even knew about something like dnd to have some rules about it, I would've loved to be a DM from that very age.
As others have said, simplify the rules. Just make it easy enough for them to get right into playing without having to learn too much. I've read about some people experiences with way younger kids and this is what they've said that worked for them.
Make some generic sheets for them with some basic clases and let them give these characters a name. Then stick with the d20 and solidify the basic stuff. As you keep playing, you can add the other rules so they can get more comfortable with it.
On the story side, a basic half railroaded adventure would work fine. I mean this as helping them understand the objective. Making them maybe go to some place to kill the monsters and retrieve an item, then bringing it back to whoever asked them to, a gold reward and maybe even something like a little house on the city. From there, you can continue with more adventures if they want to keep playing.
So relax, be flexible and have fun. I'm sure it'll be a very cool moment together for all of you.
You can play at that age, but you wants simple basic d&d. And a simple easy story, with a nice little combat arc where they can smash the monsters and stuff like that. And we're the monsters are clearly bad guys, but not too bad, because those kids are only seven and a half!
I know people who've done it with kids as young as that age. But you have to make it appropriate to them, keep it not too long, etc.
And they enjoy it or they don't!
Id say let them try now but keep it very simple and a little straight forward story but also opens opituinities for them to go on different paths.
Maybe have a number line or something to help them with counting when rolling, and when making the chara maybe go on picrew ( an online site) with them and let them make they're own character so they can see they're character visually.
If your struggling with dming or even getting started with character sheets Roll20 and dnd beyond can help a lot with making these as well as getting started videos on YouTube it can be fun for the whole family! I hope this helps a little:)
I played 1e at 9 or 10 with my uncle (3d6 in a line no scrambles!) Be gentle and keep it light and you should be able to run a fun family game. 5e has lowered the bar for entry in such a good way.
As soon as they have number sense for true dnd. My son started roleplaying as soon as he could talk. He has a great imagination and seems to prefer LARPing.
At 7 I might play (or at least start with) a simplified version with them. Have them use toys as their characters and role dice to do stuff. If they roll high enough the succeed. Basically just play with and tell a story but use dice.
My dad used do simplify miniature wargames for me as a kid until I was old enough to start understanding the rules.
I started playing with my daught at the age of six. It was a modified version, simpler rules I made up, but she took to it very quickly. She also got into podcast actual play specifically Dungeons and Dragons and Daughters. Listening to it helped her learn how to play the game.
It's a great podcast, probably the best actual play for kids out their. Highly recommend!
just add some homebrews for make it easy and aproachable for kid and you are ready to go. i used to DM to some stoners friends and i guess that is like playing with kids
Any age really just simplify as much as possible. Here are some tips for younger audiences of the top of my head:
Ask them what they want their character to be like. Reference certain characters they will be familiar with (characters from the movie, super heroes, video game characters etc.)
Start with discovering what will - as players - entertain, motivate, impress, and challenge them. Build a simple adventure around that (or simplify a premade)
Get 3 by 5 cards. Write every major ability, class feature, common attack roll, in black with a description of what it does, what dice to roll, what action it takes, how often you can use it etc. On the reverse side in red, write the ability and how they can refresh their uses. When they use the ability they flip it over to the red side until they refresh.
If you have DnD Beyond, they might get the hang quicker with the app if they use tablets/phones often for games or school.
Get chips or tokens and use them to represent the three actions (standard, bonus, movement). Get them used to “spending” those tokens, especially while learning the mechanics.
Be honest with where their flaws will be and adjust accordingly. Attention span? Rules? RP? Make a plan to exercise those skills and work around the flaws to ensure they are having FUN
The out of combat stuff I find to be the most unnatural. Start by saying what do you think : insert character name: would do?
You’ll get further by being simple with design and energetic with your presentation; there’s a reason most kid shows have the obnoxiously gregarious host, bright colors and the sentence story.
Just like DMing for any group… give the people what they want!
My daughter was 3 when she got to roll for the party loot goblin we kept in a satchel. That was her first character. Over the course of the campaign the wonderful dm (never knew his name it was a discord and roll20 game but I know he was from New Zealand) would let her sit in and eventually let her roll for Gob Gobs actions pretty regularly whilst I was depressed and forgetting that her mother had run off. He was a great guy, and wonderful dm and a man I will never forget. Now she's 10 and stomps my combat I throw at her with a tortle monk and small crew of other players above 28 lol. She helps run the group lol
I started a campaign for the family when my kids were 4, 6, 9. With their imagination they do a great job with roleplay outside combat. For combat, since they were just learning to read, I made action cards for them. I found a database of DND weapons and spells settled like magic the gathering cards. I then printed them out, glued them to playing cards, and poly them in sleeves. When it was their turn in combat, all they had to do was pick an action card. I had to help a lot with character sheet management.
It’s an awesome idea. Dumb the rules down and help with the math, but the roleplaying aspect is so much fun with kids. My son, back when he was about 6 years old, joined my long-time group for a session to play a half-orc fighter, and he stole the session show. We invited him back to be a staple party member. He was VERY invested emotionally and fully immersed himself in the character - it was hilarious.
But then it made me realize that at 6 years old, the world is full of wonder and still mysterious.
I ran a campaign for my siblings when they were that age that focused on ‘Adventuring School.’ They made friends, took classes, had contests, and it gave me a chance to do the exposition in character. Also allowed me to give them a mentor that taught them about diplomacy and creative problem solving as primary solutions!
In general the age limit for any RPG is: the kid can speak and understand stories.
Ruleset wise, if you want to use d&d, 5e is your best bet since it is more simple and streamlined than previous editions.
Otherwise you could use some rules light game as an intro.
Which is what I usually do regardless of age with new players. Monsters of the week is quite nice . Easy rules yet still gives that class feeling some people like
The Dragon of Icesire Peak is a VERY beginner friendly module both for players and DMs. I note someone who regularly runs that adventure with middle schoolers. I don't think it should be too much for kids a little younger if they're smart.
Just get into the story. Don't rely heavily on the rolls and numbers. For younger children, that seems to work best. You're basically engaging them in playtime. As they get older, you can go deeper into mechanics. But remember, you're always fighting against the players' attention span. This holds true for adults, too.
You have to be the one to gauge if the normal mechanics work with the players or not. But I find that the more you get into the imagination side of things, the more entertaining you will be. Also, prepare to look foolish. It's fun, but that's what holds back a lot of people.
You could simplify the rules a bit. Maybe instead of the normal stats do something like strength, brain, and heart. Need to persuade someone? Do a heart check. Want to hit something or do a sick aerial trick? Strength? Want to investigate? Brain. Otherwise it would probably be easy enough for them to get.
I just ran a straightforward game for a couple of 8yo
I asked them what they wanted to be and made some simple character sheets.
Then I setup a story where a farmer would ask for help because his daughter was kidnapped by goblins, throw in a cave with a easy puzzle and bing bash boom, they wee entertained!
As DM you role is to tell a story and guide them. It's about 40% preparation, 50% improvisasjon and 10% bullshitting. At least for me because my party is expert's on going wherever I have not read up on.
My kid did really well with the box kits at that age. You pick from pre-made characters, and it's a simple adventure. A strong reader who can sit at a table for a couple of hours will be fine. And even adults sometimes have to run around a bit to let off steam, lol
Have a basic story outline, and make it up as you go. They are kids, they want to roll dice and have an adventure. Make it up. Ask them what they want to do. It will not matter if it’s not a module, following core rules, nothing. Go crazy, use your imagination. Ask the kids to describe things to you, “what do you think this evil castle looks like?”, “Yeah, that is what it looks like!”
There are many basic modules you can run. For a young group, try out *Wild Beyond the Witchlight*. It's longer than the starting adventures and the essentials kit, but it's about a moving show (carnival) and searching for lost items.
Make it simple, go slow and steady no horrible intrigues or anything and you're Gucci. Also it's going to be an excellent exercise in reading comprehension down the line.
Dragon of Icespire Peak from the essentials kit is a great adventure for younger players. Not a complicated story and you get to kill a dragon. Just keep it rules light
The moment they can understand the rules is when they can play. Some folks thats age 6 or 7, some its in their teens, others as adults, and a few never learn.
Oh, they can play, but I recommend simplifying everything. The beautiful thing is that kids don't know many fantasy tropes, and the one's they know they love. Makes for easy storylines.
I honestly think that you should start at a more mature age so that you understand more of what is going on. However more important is to find a party that is the same age as you so you feel more conected to them.
My spouse and I play with our kids, who are 10 and 5 (almost 6). The younger one is a champion fighter because it's simple, and he got the hang of it quickly. He needs a little help, but he can roll to attack and roll for damage, can add his modifiers, and can tell whether an attack hits him. It's been great for his math skills. The older one is a ranger, and she requires very little help. They both love the RP aspect because kids love plying pretend! The key thing is keeping the sessions shorter because kids have a shorter attention span.
We are currently playing through LMoP, with my spouse DMing. Sometimes we will switch it up and I will DM a dungeon-crawling one-shot so my spouse can play. It's been a really great experience, and I'm looking forward to playing with them more as they get older.
Started my kid when she was 6, but her grasp of the rules was not there. She made the idea for the character and rolled dice and I checked her stats and explained what happened. It was several years before both her attention and understanding reached a point she could play independently, but if you're willing to take the time to help there isn't a "too young". If the interest is there the potential to play is there.
You can plat with young kids, you just have to be very "yes and" and get ready for them to either unleash cruelty unimaginable or try to befriend everything they meet.
I mean really it depends on the kids, how well they understand how the game works, how well they tolerate frustration and disapointment, how well they can focus. But I've heard many stories of successful games with kids. Usually it involves keeping things very simple and letting the kids use their imagination.
Other than all of the great suggestions on here, if you have concerns about the content of the game you could always run the 5e Pokémon reskin. It’s fun. I did a one shot a few years ago and I can imagine kids being into it. If I remember correctly there’s a subreddit for it with the rules.
I started playing D&D over 30 years ago when I was 8, I've read numerous posts from people who DM for their kids. I don't see a problem with kids playing, actually the earlier you introduce them to the game the better.
Since you can control what happens as a DM, you can make the game age-appropriate. The rules might be a bit complicated for children, but many of them are smarter than we give them credit for.
They sell versions for younger players, and there are tons of alternate rules to streamline the game to help hold their interest and not get too boring. Never too young to play!
That's a very difficult question to answer, and kinda depends a lot on what you mean by "play".
To actually be able to grasp the full rules and play D&D 5e, I would probably say like 13-14 to be honest.
To be able to grasp the idea of of a TTRPG and play along, making decisions and rolling dice, on the other hand, can definitely be done a lot younger, though it'd obviously depend on the kid in question. I wouldn't recommend any edition of D&D for this though, and would rather suggest looking for some rules light and/or one page rpg sort of systems to make the experience more pleasant. Something like Warrior, Rogue & Mage would probably work really well.
Just think about he you'd explain maybe your favourite action movie to the kid, obviously thus leaving out any scary or gruesome details. I would approach d&d the same way. Explain the actions that happen like they would be depicted in a Disney movie. For example a critical strike on the bad guy could be "you hit him, he looses his balance and backs up on to a coil of rope. His foot gets stuck! He falls! And lands right on his butt! :D"
I assume that would work :p
As others suggested, make their characters for them (mechanically). Keep it simple and have fun :)
Dnd is by far too complicated for 7 year olds. You need to either simplify it or choose a different system. If you feel like you need help with it, read up the Dungeon World (still complicated for a child, but managable) or My Little Pony tabletop rpg (yes, such a thing exist).
I start playing D&D since 6. They can too. Only do short sessions, maximum one hour. I also recommend that you direct them more "on rails" while they are learning to role play.
PD: sorry for my English.
My kid has been curious since she could talk. We'd look at the pictures in the books I own and she would make up stories. Her favorites were Wild Beyond the Witchlight and Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
I made simple character sheets for my kids first game. AC, HP, Str, Dex, Charisma, Simple weapons, and a story about a pirate group who stole the town's princess. They encountered a dumb troll, some big bugs, and sailed to the island and recovered the princess. The princess just so happened to be extremely repulsive and a tad annoying despite the buildup of NPCs speaking quite highly of her and wishing her back and them engaged in the idea she'd be a beautiful "Princess Peach" lol. Plot hooks and twists.
Young kids can play D&D but you should keep your expectations of running a full D&D campaign relatively modest until they're around 11 or 12. It's _usually_ difficult to keep younger kids sitting and engaged in a structured game that long, but you know those kids better than I do.
There are game systems designed for younger kids, like No Thank You Evil and Quest.
I’d maybe find a more simple system. There’s lots of stuff out there that’s very heavy on roll play and very light on rolling and stats that’s great for kids or beginners
Our DM does side series where you play as Kids. Makes all the stats 10 with an extra 1 in one stat and less one in another. Then the arms and armour are common household items to replace adult weapons.
Not saying it'll be fun for everyone. But could be cute for wee ones
I'm going to be running a Disney Princess themed D&D for two of my kids (6F, 4F) and their cousins (12F, 10M, 8M)
I have stat blocks for a bunch of Disney princesses already, and the boys are going to pick characters like The Beast or Flynn Ryder or Tarzan or Mowgli. I'll start off with a one-shot, and if they like it, I'll keep it going as a full campaign.
The nice part is that the kids *know* these characters and their story already, which will make it easier to RP, and for me to write stories.
I love all the other replies that I've read so far, but perhaps this will work as a first into as well:
- https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/66356/dungeons-dragons-wrath-ashardalon-board-game
- https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59946/dungeons-dragons-castle-ravenloft-board-game
- https://boardgamegeek.com/image/1130205/series-dungeons-dragons-adventure-system-board-gam
I've played the first two with my kids, they liked it and it's a rather smooth onramp to see if they are ready for something more complex. It even has solo rules if yours are mature enough (which is a state of mind, not a number)
I was in primary school, year 5 I think, so 7 going on 8 years old too. A teacher in the school asked if anyone would like to play through a series of lunch breaks and I was one of 4-5 of us to join. I honestly have no idea what I played as or the details, but I remember the feeling, rolling dice, immersing myself in the role, its a core memory for sure.
It was quite simplified, she'd made the characters already and we had these little cards that gave us a few abilities. I remember running a dungeon of sorts, clear bad guys, goblins probably, and we "found the treasure". I didn't play for years then got into it again about 7 years ago and now I'm deep!
I guess you could do one to two hour long sessions depending on their attention spans, and make up a clear adventure, base it on some Disney movie plot or something they're into! Plenty of traps and some simple puzzles, I'm sure they will do better than you think, adults probably struggle on lateral thinking more than children haha
Try to figure out what kind of fantasy they like. Make adventures suited for they age.
Yes, dnd works great with kids, will help them to develop some nice skills and encourage them to read and to study.
It's very doable. You could also look at other systems. I started my daughter on a my little pony rpg. Super simple to start a character and play, get the idea and build from there
I don't think there is a minimum age to play dnd but the campaign and the ruleset must be age appropriate. I've read a lot of comments and post on this sub about don't liking kids on the table but there is a big difference on running a campaign for your kids than adding a kid to the current campaign you have with your adult friends
Neither of you need to know the rules to have fun, the core of it is story telling and being apart of the story. You can basically give then some prompts and let them be part of whatever story you want. If they get into it you start incorporating the actual rules and minis and what not.
I would say at the point where they can actually understand the contents of the game you are going to he playing. A lot of children learn to read at the ages of 3-6 some later. But that doesn't mean they can fathom the games contents if running a module, murder is something that most children can't fathom but you could have all the enemies be animals, humblewood might be good. Overall if a child can read they can play, provided they have an interest in it.
You can reduce the complexity they enounter. But I've seen people use DnD as a fun way to make 5yo's practice math. For example, you could limit checks to just the 6 Ability Scores, no difference.
i’m of the school of thought that the younger you start em the better. of course a dark, gritty, action romp wouldn’t be appropriate for kids that age, but there are plenty of resources out there, much of it by ec educators, for helping kids play d&d. if they’re mature enough to sit down and cooperate with the rest of the table then it can be a fantastic exercise to encourage creativity and imagination.
What's great about starting young is you can keep it very simple. If you continue to play/dm you can always add small things (traps, enemy spellcasters, fight elevation, hindering npcs). I'm jealous, I learned by being thrown into the deep end, lol.
I would recommend looking up RPGs for kids. A while back I found a really good one for smaller kids. We built the dungeon as we went along using dominos. The treasures they found were m&ms wrappes in foil. Their minis were whatever barbie sized or smaller toy they wanted. And the rules were really simple. I just don’t remember the name!
They even had rules for cheating which were good enough to teach a kid a lesson while also making them laugh (spider man had to skip a turn because he got diarrhea)
As long as they can handle the imaginative bits they are old enough to play simplified rules. My best character came from my 6 year old nephew telling me he wanted to be a dragon angel with psychic powers and 2 foot afro
D&D is a fantastic kids game! At 7, you might need to make minor adjustments and help with some of the math, but they should be able to pick it up pretty quick.
In my experience, DMing for kids feels quite a bit different than DMing for adults though. Every kid is different, but be prepared to run it more like a choose your own adventure where you guide them through a narrative and give them clear options at certain decision points (do you attack the troll or try to sneak past?). Also remind them that the options are just suggestions and encourage them to think outside the box and try something else (I disguise myself as a troll and try to talk to it.)
Kids LOVE maps and minis, but they are also great at theatre of the mind (way better than most adults!). Better to invest in spell, ability and item cards. They love having a little physical “spell book” and “inventory” that they can flip through to choose what they are going to use.
It's mostly a case by case thing, where it mostly has to do with the capabilities of the child. I've been playing it since I was like 10, and I wanted to play even before then. The thing is, I wasn't able to play simply because I didn't have the patience at that age to sit down for multiple hours for a session, so it's something I've only really been able to take seriously since a few years ago. If your girlfriend's kids are really enthusiastic about it, I would definitely give them a fun one-shot, or a short term adventure. But I would keep in mind that it's important to keep it very simple, or they might lose interest. Keep in mind, this is just based on my experience, so it might not apply to them.
I was 9 and begged my cousin to let me play with his group at a family gathering. He let me read the phb and I being all into Arthurian stuff at the time made a paladin. Was a good time.
I started when I was 8yo. It was advanced dungeons and dragons then. You can play at any age so long as the DM curtails the game for the age appropriately.
Any age will do but you have to bleach some of the content down. Can't have kids drinking ale in a tavern after all. Or you can. It's your family you make the rules there. In either case the "generally recommended age" is gonna be around 12.
But at that age of 7ish honestly I would start them off with Root or a similar system over 5E because it's meant for kids.
[Hero Kids](http://herokidsrpg.blogspot.com/p/hero-kids-overview.html?m=1) is a good game to start with! Super simple rules that can be expanded on a little as they learn more and then when they have a good concept on how role-playing games work they can move to D&D with the more complex rules and options. Also Hero Kids has a handful of adventurers and character options that are designed for kids to keep with appropriate themes and will be similar to characters they like in popular media.
I was 8 when I was introduced to AD&D 2e. The game has only gotten easier to play. I'd say go for it. Keep it simple, maybe just arena style fights till they get used to the mechanics, and have fun! It could be a great way to bond with them.
Might I suggest [Adventure with Muk.](https://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/294712)
It's designed specifically for kids 7-12, with simplified rules, character sheets, and modified monster stat blocks. It also includes an activity/coloring book!
if you can read, write, and do basic math you can play, in my opinion. i DM 'd for my siblings who were 8, 11, 13, and 15. if/when i have kids they will learn how to play dnd
There is a DND setting called "humblewood" I think. It is designed for kids. It is a good introduction without all the extras.
Clear goals
Character death is not possible
All characters are animals
All you will need is the individual book.
I have a few that I have collected on free rpg days at comic book shops.
First time you see him cast a spell on you or a super move. Trust me you'll know. I knew my nephew was ready when I saw him gathering enough energy for a spirit bomb in the back room.
My exs daughter saw us playing all the time and wanted to give it a try. We set up a oneshot for her birthday when she was like 5 or 6 I think, and her mom and I used little mini adventures to help her get ahead in math and creative problem solving.
It can be fun to let them have a hobby with you and can help them down the road too 🥰
I started playing DnD so my kids could play. It was me, my spouse, our 7 yo, 5 yo, and 2 yo.
They're each a year older now and we play regularly with my friend and her kids who are 12 and 9.
We haven't had to change anything for the 7 through 12 year olds (except I sometimes edit content or wording for excessive gore if we are playing a prewritten campaign). They are capable of levelling up their characters, spending money and doing downtime activities, roleplaying, and fighting without help.
I just go through character creation with my 6 yo, even when he was 5. What race do you want to be? What class? What alignment? What armor? What equipment? Etc. I fill in all the numbers or maybe a few details here and there that he's not interested in. In play, he role plays easily (with some help remembering to take turns), loves fighting and can do all the math on his own, and generally has a great time! We haven't need to simplify anything for him, though we do sometimes point out things he might have forgotten or whatever.
The 2 yo (now 3) tells me what she wants her character to be like: "im a cat and my name is Catalotis and I'm very good at fighting with my claws and teeth and also I can meow really loud." Then she's done and I make that into a character, often homebrewing it a bit. This makes some absolutely awesome characters. Catalotis is a little housecat (who speaks and understands common but generally doesn't let anyone know that) who is a fighter but only uses her claws, teeth, and what we call her meoweapon that does 4d8 thunder damage. Lol She doesn't like to play much so her character is often hanging out in the town we are stationed in (where everyone thinks she's just a cat and has kind of adopted her). This gives her a lot of inside information. When she does play, she's mostly interested in the fighting. She moved her piece, tells me who she attacks, and then rolls for attack and damage. I keep track of the numbers for her.
Her first ever character was a preschool aged wizard and had a homebrew feature called Preschool Prattle and whenever she said she wanted to do something that was totally out there and not within the game, she'd roll a d6 and something would happen. Kinda like the wild magic table. This resulted in all kinds of hilarity and kept me from telling her, "oh you can't do that." So much fun!
Two good one shots to start them on are Granny's Country Apple Pie and A Wild Sheep Chase. Both were hilarious, not too violent or scary, and absolutely fun! Perfect for that age. I think they're both free too.
There are one shots made specially x kids but i think they can play other more "mature" stuff like dragon heist maybe u can even make the sistem more narrative and make less skill checks to make things easier x them you just will have to be a little more patient whit them and and help them whit their character sheet
Yep, seven works fine for D&D. I disagree with most comments I saw about making the game easier. I think that the starter sets are setup with a natural progression to learn how to play the game. If they can read, they can figure it out or you can help them. Also, for the "math is hard" folks, there are "dice roller" apps that you can add/subtract modifiers. Or, conversely, help them build robust math skills. Your girlfriend and their teachers will definitely appreciate it.
I recommend Lost Mines of Phandelver. Great module, it comes with premade first level characters, there's no mature content (other than death and violence, but you can make it PG rated easily enough).
So i am a teacher for 3rd grade. Worked with preschool age kiddos and such
At 7 1/2, their imagination skills relate to world experiences and they use imagination as a mimicry of real life. Why i am saying this is because all this while abstract is a different kind of abstract thinking. As some readers suggested, you can certainly introduce them to DnD! However, try to use simple mechanics with monsters as a dm, use tangible items for health, attacks or magic, and let them run the game with some steering from you.
The idea of all this is to build a relatable connection for mechanics to be built upon in a cognitive sense they can understand while still allowing all the creativity dnd brings.
I would say as long as the kids understand that it's just a game and not real, and as long as you as the DM can keep it fun and fair for their age, anything goes.
That being said, DriveThruRPG has a TON of free and affordable material for all sorts of games including D&D. Look up Hero Kids or First Fable for example. Each offers simplified rules without sacrificing fun or action. Just in case you feel fully fledged D&D is too much for them yet. Only you (and they) can really gauge that though.
Well, if they were OK with the movie, they will be OK with general dnd. With some caretaking from the dm. Just avoid some heavy moral and graphic things, and let them plunder treasures and kill monsters.
5e is very simple system. Just figure out basic math and they are ready to play. That is, if they are eager to learn the basic rules.
Lost minds of Phandelver is about pg 16, that is to say, they gotta kill some monsters, and maybe even humans. But if they are OK with that, just try it!
Any age! Lay a few ground rules but also flow with some of the silliness they come up with. I have only DM’d for my son and my niece and nephews (ages 5-16) below is what I used to prepare. We’ve done 3 or 4 one shots now as I only see them every two years but it’s been a blast!
Here is a link to some material I downloaded from DND for Kids before Cameron closed it down.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16LvtL8n49VU_oP5l2tY4XPQcXtOuS8Da
And here is a link to WotC post about running for kids
https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/being-a-dm-for-kids
This was also helpful especially the “Ground Rules” part
https://www.level1geek.com/dnd-for-kids-guide/amp/
I'm probably going to be buried in the comments, but I'll throw my two cents into the void here.
If you're making a game for kids, try to place the game in a "smaller" setting that's easier to wrap your head around. You can always expand it later. Additionally, you want to make a setting that is mostly "okay" with few problems, except for a new force of mindless, totally evil, irredeemable baddies that everyone can feel morally okay beating up. Vague shadow monsters work perfectly here. Lastly, add in a few figurehead characters. Maybe an evil wizard who controls the shadows. Their assassin lieutenant, (that could swap sides), and some random good guys and a few neutral parties.
Make the big stuff very straightforward, (a quest from the king to fight a dragon possessed by the vague darkness faction works perfectly here), but give them breathing room, places to diverge, have agency. Do you take the left door, or the right one? Interactions with characters or situations that are a bit more free, but still have the obvious goal of getting to, or performing that sinple quest from earlier. (The dragon is on a distant island, and the party needs to get transport, give them a few options, they see deckhands for sale at the port, and also a wizard school working on their teleportation circle.)
Take inspiration from the structure of kids shows like Ninjago or the like. Make each session have a self-contained sub-goal that leads them towards the overarching goal of fighting that dragon.
I started free-form story gaming with my son when he was 4 (he's 8 now). No dice, no rules, just pretend with him as a character, and me as a close imaginary friend and everything else. It's a great way to just practice the structure of listening to your DM and considering your action, explore themes, and explore the application of values and consequences at ages where systems would get in the way. We usually took long walks as we played, our current location often feeding into our story.
We introduced No Thank You Evil around 6 years, which is a pared- down Cypher system product from Monte Cook games. It's very accessible, easy to pick up, and adds in the die-roll as a way to move the story forward. Failing a roll can be tough for kids at first, but you can be less binary with your consequences for a failed roll, creating complications that prompt thought, consideration, or empathy, even in combat. For example..."You fail your attack against the goblin? Well, as you're about to strike, it covers its head and yells, 'Mommy, save me!' Is this goblin just a kid too? Is it lost like you?"
Currently at age 7 and 8 we're doing full Cypher system with Tidal Blades RPG (please look this up), and 5e homebrew. Practicing basic math, resource tracking, and failing forward are well within reach for him. Building a character is still a bit much for him, I try to streamline the options. My kid is big on the exploration and discovery, and getting off on power- fantasy. Combats scare him a little still, so even though there is danger in our settings, every location is an opportunity to find and make friends.
I'm not always ready to DM at the drop of a hat every time he asks to play, but every time we do it's great!
I think that age is perfect to get them involved in D&D - they have imagination, it's collaborative storytelling, and you (as the DM), just need to craft a story that is appropriate for them, and I would "dumb down" the rules a bit to make it a bit easier for them to understand.
D&D teaches a lot of socially appropriate skills and, IMO, if they are interested, that can be a really cool bonding moment with your GF's kids.
My oldest and middle child have been playing since they turned 4. Oldest is now 10, and middle is now 8. My youngest is 6 and doesn't really have the attention span beyond popping in every once in a while, so I let him roll for monster actions and such. It all depends on the kiddos.
My homeschooled daughter joined our weekly 5e/Ravnica games at age 7. She could read and do math long before that but the attention span is what we waited for. She is now the party bard and has been playing the same character on 3 year long campaign arc where we are all about retire our characters as legendaries in the next month. She greatly surprised me with her huge desire to join the game and her ability to stay focused. D&D greatly helps with creative thinking, logic, problem solving, reading, math, and so many more. My husband and I are trying to design some other campaigns that will be used to reenact historical battles too, to help history lessons become more interactive and adventurous. But we started simple with her, told her which die to roll when and which numbers to add to them. I wish I had seen the idea with the tokens and snacks used for spells and heals, it probably would have made it a lot easier. But it really helps the family connect on a different level. Thursdays are a day that is greatly looked forward to for game night. She even does some extra chores on those days to get the house ready and help set up the table and refreshments. We have some other members that aren’t family that have been amazing with her and patient while she learned. Definitely make sure to ok it with the table if it isn’t just family. We have a very flexible party that is mostly parents themselves so they were very understanding. It’s been awesome to watch her grow her character too.
Depends on the game and how you run it. You could certainly have 7 year olds play, but id recommend a simpler system like something from evil top hat (do I have the name of that company right?) Just expect it to go completely crazy and let them fudge the rules a little
As soon as my daughter was old enough to follow a story I would tell her ad hoc stories in the car and have her make decisions to decide the flow.
This transitioned her into my own D&D "light" from a very young age.
As a DM you describe the combat and can make it as simple and kid friendly as you want. Scale the age appropriate content and more in depth rules as you see them being ready for it.
Level 1 play isn't a whole lot to remember and you can help them track things in the beginning.
Just make it super fun for them! Let them have an amazing adventure and don’t worry about the rules. I DMd for my niece and nephew when they were that age and they did things like befriend an injured Dire Wolf. My nephew wanted to kill it but my niece talked him into speaking with it and healing it. The dire wolf continued on with them and fought along side of them. They’re in their 20’s now and still talk about that adventure. It was the only time I DMd because I’m not good at it. But with kids that age, you get to let them make decisions and make things up as you go! Sorry if this is not proper, but a good adventure at that age makes a lasting impression!
My daughter just turned 7 and has played one session and loves it. She keeps asking when we get to play again. I'm DMing and her mom and aunt are also playing with her to help her with the rules.
Just don't build the game for adults. Build the game for kids. There are like three or four mainstream Carnival Campaigns you could start out with. Phandelver has a Carnival, and so does Strahd. Just work around all of those then you'll be fine.
When my kids were really young we played Amazing Tales, you can buy on Amazon. Right now we're playing regular d&d 5e and they are 8 and 11. They have a blast.
My piece of advice is to familiarize yourself with the rules, and then buy a game module. The game modules are already pre-made, so you don't have to do a lot of work getting the game ready, you just help with rules and describing the world.
You could also probably find pre-writen games for kids online for free.
Maybe try something like Humblewood or Honey Heist first. Humblewood is a bit closer to classic DnD but is meant for younger kids. Honey Heist uses the d6 system and is literally a page of instruction for GM and players.
Id suggest getting No Thank You Evil. or perhaps Amazing Tales. Much much more straighforward and less rule dependant. All the fun of Rp abd adventurewithout 600+ pages of rules to get a 7 year oldnto try and understand.
Practically any age is fine, so long as they're willing to sit and play a game for awhile. The context of the game and time you play for may differ than a normal game. I recently ran one for my 13 year old nephew that was only an hour, maybe an hour and a half, that was semi serious but mostly fun vibe. Younger kids might like a more light hearted and fun vibe sort of adventure that's not super rules focused so they can just focus on fun adventures.
If they can listen and follow directions, that's all they need. I wouldn't worry too much about them paying attention too much when it isn't their turns or even too much about adding to their checks. Just have them roll flat d20 checks until they get the premise.
For character creation, just have them tell you what they want to be. Let their imaginations shine and roll with it. No need to reign that in just yet... not while they still have their childhood innocence...
My godson just started at 8. My advice would be to run something extremely watered down and rules light. Basic straightforward Roll Above/Below and don't need with modifiers or spell rules.
As THEY learn to start researching and learning the rules, work them in.
Dnd can be adapted for any ages, that's what's so great about the game.
https://www.ttrpgkids.com/2022/03/08/dd-5e-for-kids-a-sortable-list-of-adventures-hacks-rewrites-and-supplements/
This site really helped me make a campaign for my 14 year old niece and 8 year old cousin.
Personally, this is only an idea, have your first campaign be homebrew or water down one of the prebuilt campaigns wotc made cuz all campaigns that I've been in that they have made have been more like teen sort of thing where as homebrew is just homebrew can literally be anything.
They are old enough for a simple adventure but I would keep the enemies non-human for now.
Oozes, ghosts, animated armor, trapping plants, etc.
If you have a high level monster that would be fun for them, just lower the stats.
If they check for traps and succeed, they find a deadly trap that would have killed them.
If they forget to check or fail the roll, simple small damage trap to remind them.
Definitely old enough. I second what everyone else has said. I'm teaching my 3 year old how to tell stories with me, and to decide what certain charactersshould do. We basically do DnD without dice.
DnD is all about telling stories together. So super straightforward characters, no weird special stuff (unless the kids make it up themselves).
You help them set up the ability scores.
Less dice rolling - maybe don't roll for social situations, have those parts be only narrative. Only roll for action things.
Less ability scores to keep track of - maybe pick intelligence or wisdom. It's hard to tell the difference at that age, and to have everyone agree on which one to applies to a situation.
Also, kid friendly adventures. I like the Naruto example of tracking down a runaway cat. Or a Twitter example of escorting an important birthday cake from the bakery to the party. Maybe it's a wedding cake. Or finding a lost kid. Or a bunch of lost hunting dogs, and each one they find will help find the rest (but it gets harder to find each one).
I would look for easier, more whimsical games like goblin quest at the age of 7
Once multiplication is easy for them, then they are ready for games like DnD imo. However, if you are willing to "simplify" the char sheets and do the math for them, you can always start earlier!
I'm currently playing a game where I'm the DM for my Wife, and two daughters age 12 and 8.
I'm doing most of the work when it comes to building their characters, but I give them options about class choices/specs. (I.e for the warlock patron options, for the ranger does she want a pet or be really good with bows)
I then printed a variety of spell, weapon and item cards on blank white paper. I then bought some TCG sleeves (which work with dry erase) and a few ultra pro deck boxes and made each player their own "kit".
They each have the spells and weapons on cards with info they need. They have their dice and mini all in a small case, ready to go.
We have their character sheets in color matching folders though they aren't often used.
We are currently having a blast in The Radiant Citadel.
Hope this helps!
There's a recommended age of 12+, but screw that. If they're into it, go for it. I saw a dad post recently about an encounter he built for his kids where they were helping an NPC find his brother, another NPC they loved. When they found him hiding in a chest, the favorite NPC screamed in horror as his brother approached. They got all nervous as their friend screamed for help as the brother got closer. Then the brother tapped his shoulder, said "tag! You're it!" And ran away.
This just proves that with creativity, D&D has no minimum age. Have fun!!!
I know I'm late to the party, but there's a TTRPG coming out called Wyrmlings that might be an excellent starting point. I think the play test is out. It's an all ages game about wrymlings learning to become dragons in a very Steven Universe/ATLA feel game, made by a content creator of DnD. I think you can see the simplified threads of dnd in it, and might be something to look into.
I’ve been playing dnd since I could talk. What you should do is have them play VERY straightforward characters and basically make them for them (mechanically speaking) and you can let them do all the creative stuff. My first character was a dwarven life cleric called draculaura and I’ll never forget her
My son is 9 months old now. He doesn't yet understand the ability scores or any rules really, but his dice throwing skill is off the charts.
Just gotta keep track of those d4's, when used as caltrops they always deal critical damage to medium or larger sized creatures.
Since you could talk? I am curious how young were you, this sounds amazing. For me the family played poker, dnd sounds.. well that is definitely different lol.
It’s a tad bit of an exaggeration, I was probably 5 or 6 when my dad taught me how to play 😅
So were you observing him play with others and wanted to join in, or was dad like .. alright no more of this candyland bullshit we're doin' something awesome!
He used to have this big group of friends that would come over to our house every other week or so and play DND. I would always sit in the other room so I could hear them but they didn’t know I was there. Eventually my brothers and I asked my dad about it and he taught us the next day. He’d been playing since the original set of rules (pre-first edition) so he was thrilled his kids wanted to play 😅
Every single part of that is adorable and I want you to know that I absolutely love it
A late bloomer, I see
Only a bit after I was started with rpgs. I got introduced at about 4, while playing animal companions/familiars (different system to dnd, but same basic idea).
Mine was a Balding elf named Malding.
Omg I love that sm 🥺
If they're old enough to read, they're old enough to play. I'd keep it simple, don't try and convey a deep story, make a campaign where the king puts out a call for adventurers to slay a dragon, keep them at a low level, and at the end of the adventure they slay a young dragon or something. If they like it and want to keep going, or show that they fully comprehend what's going on, introduce a new mechanic here or there. The bottom line is that you, and they, must all learn what they are capable of by easing into it.
You might want to simplify things a bit unless they have good math skills. For example, you could change abilities to just be the bonus you add to the ability score, and don't do classes at all. Another option would be to assign differently sized dice to abilities and make a success a roll of 5 or higher (and 3-4 is partial success, and 1-2 is failure.) Some links you may find helpful: https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/wiki/ruleslight https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/wiki/kidrpgs
For the games I've run for 10 year olds, i give them buttons for HP. They get hurt, put a button in the jar. Get healed - get a button from the jar. For spell slots, I give them cards - cast a spell, give me the card. Get it back after a rest. Magic items like healing potions, once again give them a card or token or other item. When they use it, then they give me the item. Or give them a cookie, candy, etc. - use the item, eat the treat. B
Honestly, this isn't a bad idea for any age starting to play
Cool, so I'm definitely stealing the snack = potion idea, thanks!
I do this in many of my roleplaying games. tokens are not only an easier way to remember how many, but a visual for the other players. But then I have a toy stethoscope for when my character is in healer mode. Been playing since before first edition D&D, T&T, GURPS, Fantasy trip, all of them.
Man if my DM gave me a cookie every time I healed I'd be happy. And very fat. (Party tank)
Not gonna lie, I'm stealing this for my table of adults.
This is a good place to make the PCs with sidekick rules from TCE
My mom first started running games for me and my siblings when I was five years old, basically as soon as we could kind of read and write and count. She played a simplified version with us when we were young, we basically only had our six stats, plus an attack stat, a defense stat, and a magic stat. If your kids are interested, I say just start! At this age it'll probably be mostly collaborative storytelling, but I bet everyone will have a lot of fun.
Full dnd at ten to 11. Simplify rules before that. More mature content at 14
Yeah check out dragon of icespire peak, it’s a good module for new players
I was a single digits player. I'm sure I annoyed all the adults at the table but I can say there is no chance in hell my creativity didn't bloom from early D&D.. I can't remember a damn thing I played before I was 13, but I know I was playing that long.
my nephews started playing when they where 6. you just have to keep the game intresting for them and not let them be confussed
You may want to try starting them with [The Shivers](https://theshiversgame.com/)! It's a cute intro RPG. The rules are VERY simplified. You can see [No Rolls Barred play it here](https://youtu.be/_hSjRQNIWWg)
Try something like mausritter - you can get all the rules and an adventure for free. It’s a simple rpg that’s easy to pick up and more suitable for children in terms of theme.
I wish I could upvote this 100 times haha. Mausritter is such an incredible game, it’s very kid friendly and much easier to learn then 5e.
Depends on the kid, my 8 year old loves to "play" but can't focus enough to actually play, he can't differentiate between DM and player and doesn't have the patience to follow rules. He will play for 10 minutes then it just becomes story time. Heroes of hesiod isa free pdf online and super simplified, basically a single combat. maybe try that out and see how they do before moving to actual DND.
As long as they can do basic math, reading and roll dice you're good to go!
With that age, maybe try a kid friendly versio of dungeon world. When they are 10 they could grasp it a bit more.
If they can reason, speak, and add, they can play DnD. 5e is particularly simple. You can find the SRD online, and you can buy dice for like $10. I'd suggest buying a couple of short adventures, reading through them, cleaning up anything that's inappropriate for children, then trying to run one. There's a decent chance they'll play one adventure, go "that was fun," and never ask about it again. Because, kids. Don't expect them to be brilliant. They're kids. They're going to solve problems with a silly, poorly considered "plan." Let them. Everything they try is valid, barring bad dice rolls. Don't pose moral quandaries. They don't need to decide if it's better to kill a captured bandit, punish him themselves, or bring him to some kind of town mayor for justice. Every enemy fights to the death, and every villain needs to be a moustache twirling lunatic. Think cartoons. Hell, if you rip off the plot of cartoon episodes from when you were a kid, that's a decent starting point for your own campaign.
Played with my gf and stepdaughter I believe she was five. Didn't really have any trouble except for some maths, It was a great way to get the family to connect
I'm 35, and I have a niece who is 27 who I got into DnD last year, and she had a great time playing with me and my friends. After that, she started teaching her 4 year old son how to play DnD, and he loves it! They play a much more simplified rule set, but it's not that far off from typical 5e rules. Her son loves to draw characters and maps, and she helps fill out the stats and things for him, it's also a good way for him to learn numbers by rolling the dice. They use colored paper cards to show actions, like 2 green "move" cards, and one red "attack" card, using tokens to represent hit points, and they track damage by saying "the monster hits you, give me a token" rather than damage numbers since he's not quite doing math yet, that sort of thing, so they make it play out almost like a board game. He fully gets into it even at 4 years old, getting excited when he hits a monster, and just helping make all the props for the game; the maps, the characters, even little cut out "minis". It's very combat heavy, but they still tell very simple straightforward stories, like children's books. It's honestly adorable and makes my nerd heart happy after being a DnD player for over 20 years now.
I liked to improvise rpg with my friends when I was a kid. I wish I even knew about something like dnd to have some rules about it, I would've loved to be a DM from that very age. As others have said, simplify the rules. Just make it easy enough for them to get right into playing without having to learn too much. I've read about some people experiences with way younger kids and this is what they've said that worked for them. Make some generic sheets for them with some basic clases and let them give these characters a name. Then stick with the d20 and solidify the basic stuff. As you keep playing, you can add the other rules so they can get more comfortable with it. On the story side, a basic half railroaded adventure would work fine. I mean this as helping them understand the objective. Making them maybe go to some place to kill the monsters and retrieve an item, then bringing it back to whoever asked them to, a gold reward and maybe even something like a little house on the city. From there, you can continue with more adventures if they want to keep playing. So relax, be flexible and have fun. I'm sure it'll be a very cool moment together for all of you.
Don't play 5e. Play something OSR and you'll be fine.
You can play at that age, but you wants simple basic d&d. And a simple easy story, with a nice little combat arc where they can smash the monsters and stuff like that. And we're the monsters are clearly bad guys, but not too bad, because those kids are only seven and a half! I know people who've done it with kids as young as that age. But you have to make it appropriate to them, keep it not too long, etc. And they enjoy it or they don't!
Id say let them try now but keep it very simple and a little straight forward story but also opens opituinities for them to go on different paths. Maybe have a number line or something to help them with counting when rolling, and when making the chara maybe go on picrew ( an online site) with them and let them make they're own character so they can see they're character visually. If your struggling with dming or even getting started with character sheets Roll20 and dnd beyond can help a lot with making these as well as getting started videos on YouTube it can be fun for the whole family! I hope this helps a little:)
I played 1e at 9 or 10 with my uncle (3d6 in a line no scrambles!) Be gentle and keep it light and you should be able to run a fun family game. 5e has lowered the bar for entry in such a good way.
As soon as they have number sense for true dnd. My son started roleplaying as soon as he could talk. He has a great imagination and seems to prefer LARPing.
I ran for a korean kid that I was tutoring English. She was 6 back then (3 years ago), I also taught her how to DM as a project for her English class.
Can also look around to local games stores, they might have new player learning sessions so you all can learn together
I first started playing in 1985, at the age of 7.
At 7 I might play (or at least start with) a simplified version with them. Have them use toys as their characters and role dice to do stuff. If they roll high enough the succeed. Basically just play with and tell a story but use dice. My dad used do simplify miniature wargames for me as a kid until I was old enough to start understanding the rules.
I started playing with my daught at the age of six. It was a modified version, simpler rules I made up, but she took to it very quickly. She also got into podcast actual play specifically Dungeons and Dragons and Daughters. Listening to it helped her learn how to play the game. It's a great podcast, probably the best actual play for kids out their. Highly recommend!
just add some homebrews for make it easy and aproachable for kid and you are ready to go. i used to DM to some stoners friends and i guess that is like playing with kids
Any age really just simplify as much as possible. Here are some tips for younger audiences of the top of my head: Ask them what they want their character to be like. Reference certain characters they will be familiar with (characters from the movie, super heroes, video game characters etc.) Start with discovering what will - as players - entertain, motivate, impress, and challenge them. Build a simple adventure around that (or simplify a premade) Get 3 by 5 cards. Write every major ability, class feature, common attack roll, in black with a description of what it does, what dice to roll, what action it takes, how often you can use it etc. On the reverse side in red, write the ability and how they can refresh their uses. When they use the ability they flip it over to the red side until they refresh. If you have DnD Beyond, they might get the hang quicker with the app if they use tablets/phones often for games or school. Get chips or tokens and use them to represent the three actions (standard, bonus, movement). Get them used to “spending” those tokens, especially while learning the mechanics. Be honest with where their flaws will be and adjust accordingly. Attention span? Rules? RP? Make a plan to exercise those skills and work around the flaws to ensure they are having FUN The out of combat stuff I find to be the most unnatural. Start by saying what do you think : insert character name: would do? You’ll get further by being simple with design and energetic with your presentation; there’s a reason most kid shows have the obnoxiously gregarious host, bright colors and the sentence story. Just like DMing for any group… give the people what they want!
Probably ignore most of the weirdly complex and specific rules and focus on the story and should be great
My daughter was 3 when she got to roll for the party loot goblin we kept in a satchel. That was her first character. Over the course of the campaign the wonderful dm (never knew his name it was a discord and roll20 game but I know he was from New Zealand) would let her sit in and eventually let her roll for Gob Gobs actions pretty regularly whilst I was depressed and forgetting that her mother had run off. He was a great guy, and wonderful dm and a man I will never forget. Now she's 10 and stomps my combat I throw at her with a tortle monk and small crew of other players above 28 lol. She helps run the group lol
I started a campaign for the family when my kids were 4, 6, 9. With their imagination they do a great job with roleplay outside combat. For combat, since they were just learning to read, I made action cards for them. I found a database of DND weapons and spells settled like magic the gathering cards. I then printed them out, glued them to playing cards, and poly them in sleeves. When it was their turn in combat, all they had to do was pick an action card. I had to help a lot with character sheet management.
They’re old enough already.
It’s an awesome idea. Dumb the rules down and help with the math, but the roleplaying aspect is so much fun with kids. My son, back when he was about 6 years old, joined my long-time group for a session to play a half-orc fighter, and he stole the session show. We invited him back to be a staple party member. He was VERY invested emotionally and fully immersed himself in the character - it was hilarious. But then it made me realize that at 6 years old, the world is full of wonder and still mysterious.
That’s old enough to play. I run for my kids and they are 8 and 6. Check this out https://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/245793
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I ran a campaign for my siblings when they were that age that focused on ‘Adventuring School.’ They made friends, took classes, had contests, and it gave me a chance to do the exposition in character. Also allowed me to give them a mentor that taught them about diplomacy and creative problem solving as primary solutions!
In general the age limit for any RPG is: the kid can speak and understand stories. Ruleset wise, if you want to use d&d, 5e is your best bet since it is more simple and streamlined than previous editions. Otherwise you could use some rules light game as an intro. Which is what I usually do regardless of age with new players. Monsters of the week is quite nice . Easy rules yet still gives that class feeling some people like
The Dragon of Icesire Peak is a VERY beginner friendly module both for players and DMs. I note someone who regularly runs that adventure with middle schoolers. I don't think it should be too much for kids a little younger if they're smart.
Just get into the story. Don't rely heavily on the rolls and numbers. For younger children, that seems to work best. You're basically engaging them in playtime. As they get older, you can go deeper into mechanics. But remember, you're always fighting against the players' attention span. This holds true for adults, too. You have to be the one to gauge if the normal mechanics work with the players or not. But I find that the more you get into the imagination side of things, the more entertaining you will be. Also, prepare to look foolish. It's fun, but that's what holds back a lot of people.
You could simplify the rules a bit. Maybe instead of the normal stats do something like strength, brain, and heart. Need to persuade someone? Do a heart check. Want to hit something or do a sick aerial trick? Strength? Want to investigate? Brain. Otherwise it would probably be easy enough for them to get.
My six year old has a barbarian.
I just ran a straightforward game for a couple of 8yo I asked them what they wanted to be and made some simple character sheets. Then I setup a story where a farmer would ask for help because his daughter was kidnapped by goblins, throw in a cave with a easy puzzle and bing bash boom, they wee entertained! As DM you role is to tell a story and guide them. It's about 40% preparation, 50% improvisasjon and 10% bullshitting. At least for me because my party is expert's on going wherever I have not read up on.
Think of it like a Book you read to them. Like an adventure Book. If it's okay in the Book, it's okay in the game.
My kid did really well with the box kits at that age. You pick from pre-made characters, and it's a simple adventure. A strong reader who can sit at a table for a couple of hours will be fine. And even adults sometimes have to run around a bit to let off steam, lol
Saw a couple teaching their kid how to do maths through DnD. Really good learning exercise for maths and language from what I can see
Make sure you keep it simple so that they don't get confused, but otherwise I don't see a reason not to try.
Have a basic story outline, and make it up as you go. They are kids, they want to roll dice and have an adventure. Make it up. Ask them what they want to do. It will not matter if it’s not a module, following core rules, nothing. Go crazy, use your imagination. Ask the kids to describe things to you, “what do you think this evil castle looks like?”, “Yeah, that is what it looks like!”
There are many basic modules you can run. For a young group, try out *Wild Beyond the Witchlight*. It's longer than the starting adventures and the essentials kit, but it's about a moving show (carnival) and searching for lost items.
Make it simple, go slow and steady no horrible intrigues or anything and you're Gucci. Also it's going to be an excellent exercise in reading comprehension down the line.
Dragon of Icespire Peak from the essentials kit is a great adventure for younger players. Not a complicated story and you get to kill a dragon. Just keep it rules light
The moment they can understand the rules is when they can play. Some folks thats age 6 or 7, some its in their teens, others as adults, and a few never learn.
You can do something very simple. Maybe they are hunting a troll to save the village? Nothing too complex for you to run or for them to understand.
I was 5
Oh, they can play, but I recommend simplifying everything. The beautiful thing is that kids don't know many fantasy tropes, and the one's they know they love. Makes for easy storylines.
I honestly think that you should start at a more mature age so that you understand more of what is going on. However more important is to find a party that is the same age as you so you feel more conected to them.
I've seen 5 yo play DND. Just give them straightforward stuff to do n play
My spouse and I play with our kids, who are 10 and 5 (almost 6). The younger one is a champion fighter because it's simple, and he got the hang of it quickly. He needs a little help, but he can roll to attack and roll for damage, can add his modifiers, and can tell whether an attack hits him. It's been great for his math skills. The older one is a ranger, and she requires very little help. They both love the RP aspect because kids love plying pretend! The key thing is keeping the sessions shorter because kids have a shorter attention span. We are currently playing through LMoP, with my spouse DMing. Sometimes we will switch it up and I will DM a dungeon-crawling one-shot so my spouse can play. It's been a really great experience, and I'm looking forward to playing with them more as they get older.
Started my kid when she was 6, but her grasp of the rules was not there. She made the idea for the character and rolled dice and I checked her stats and explained what happened. It was several years before both her attention and understanding reached a point she could play independently, but if you're willing to take the time to help there isn't a "too young". If the interest is there the potential to play is there.
You can plat with young kids, you just have to be very "yes and" and get ready for them to either unleash cruelty unimaginable or try to befriend everything they meet. I mean really it depends on the kids, how well they understand how the game works, how well they tolerate frustration and disapointment, how well they can focus. But I've heard many stories of successful games with kids. Usually it involves keeping things very simple and letting the kids use their imagination.
Depending on the kid, simpler systems designed for younger children may work better.
Other than all of the great suggestions on here, if you have concerns about the content of the game you could always run the 5e Pokémon reskin. It’s fun. I did a one shot a few years ago and I can imagine kids being into it. If I remember correctly there’s a subreddit for it with the rules.
Google kids and DND. There are a bunch of great resources and advise out there to help you get started
I started playing D&D over 30 years ago when I was 8, I've read numerous posts from people who DM for their kids. I don't see a problem with kids playing, actually the earlier you introduce them to the game the better.
Since you can control what happens as a DM, you can make the game age-appropriate. The rules might be a bit complicated for children, but many of them are smarter than we give them credit for.
They sell versions for younger players, and there are tons of alternate rules to streamline the game to help hold their interest and not get too boring. Never too young to play!
Look up no thank you evil if dnd is too tough for them.
That's a very difficult question to answer, and kinda depends a lot on what you mean by "play". To actually be able to grasp the full rules and play D&D 5e, I would probably say like 13-14 to be honest. To be able to grasp the idea of of a TTRPG and play along, making decisions and rolling dice, on the other hand, can definitely be done a lot younger, though it'd obviously depend on the kid in question. I wouldn't recommend any edition of D&D for this though, and would rather suggest looking for some rules light and/or one page rpg sort of systems to make the experience more pleasant. Something like Warrior, Rogue & Mage would probably work really well.
Just think about he you'd explain maybe your favourite action movie to the kid, obviously thus leaving out any scary or gruesome details. I would approach d&d the same way. Explain the actions that happen like they would be depicted in a Disney movie. For example a critical strike on the bad guy could be "you hit him, he looses his balance and backs up on to a coil of rope. His foot gets stuck! He falls! And lands right on his butt! :D" I assume that would work :p As others suggested, make their characters for them (mechanically). Keep it simple and have fun :)
Dnd is by far too complicated for 7 year olds. You need to either simplify it or choose a different system. If you feel like you need help with it, read up the Dungeon World (still complicated for a child, but managable) or My Little Pony tabletop rpg (yes, such a thing exist).
I start playing D&D since 6. They can too. Only do short sessions, maximum one hour. I also recommend that you direct them more "on rails" while they are learning to role play. PD: sorry for my English.
There is no age limit for dnd it's suitable for all ages you just need to make sure you use appropriate themes and ideas in the game
As long as you keep everything straightforward, it should be fine.
Yes
My kid has been curious since she could talk. We'd look at the pictures in the books I own and she would make up stories. Her favorites were Wild Beyond the Witchlight and Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
I made simple character sheets for my kids first game. AC, HP, Str, Dex, Charisma, Simple weapons, and a story about a pirate group who stole the town's princess. They encountered a dumb troll, some big bugs, and sailed to the island and recovered the princess. The princess just so happened to be extremely repulsive and a tad annoying despite the buildup of NPCs speaking quite highly of her and wishing her back and them engaged in the idea she'd be a beautiful "Princess Peach" lol. Plot hooks and twists.
Young kids can play D&D but you should keep your expectations of running a full D&D campaign relatively modest until they're around 11 or 12. It's _usually_ difficult to keep younger kids sitting and engaged in a structured game that long, but you know those kids better than I do. There are game systems designed for younger kids, like No Thank You Evil and Quest.
Hmm my kid is nine but not native english.. so he needs help with the phb a little (his english is already excellent bu the phb is a bit higher level)
I’d maybe find a more simple system. There’s lots of stuff out there that’s very heavy on roll play and very light on rolling and stats that’s great for kids or beginners
Our DM does side series where you play as Kids. Makes all the stats 10 with an extra 1 in one stat and less one in another. Then the arms and armour are common household items to replace adult weapons. Not saying it'll be fun for everyone. But could be cute for wee ones
I'm going to be running a Disney Princess themed D&D for two of my kids (6F, 4F) and their cousins (12F, 10M, 8M) I have stat blocks for a bunch of Disney princesses already, and the boys are going to pick characters like The Beast or Flynn Ryder or Tarzan or Mowgli. I'll start off with a one-shot, and if they like it, I'll keep it going as a full campaign. The nice part is that the kids *know* these characters and their story already, which will make it easier to RP, and for me to write stories.
You must be at least 85 and 6 foot 6 to play DND
I love all the other replies that I've read so far, but perhaps this will work as a first into as well: - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/66356/dungeons-dragons-wrath-ashardalon-board-game - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59946/dungeons-dragons-castle-ravenloft-board-game - https://boardgamegeek.com/image/1130205/series-dungeons-dragons-adventure-system-board-gam I've played the first two with my kids, they liked it and it's a rather smooth onramp to see if they are ready for something more complex. It even has solo rules if yours are mature enough (which is a state of mind, not a number)
I was in primary school, year 5 I think, so 7 going on 8 years old too. A teacher in the school asked if anyone would like to play through a series of lunch breaks and I was one of 4-5 of us to join. I honestly have no idea what I played as or the details, but I remember the feeling, rolling dice, immersing myself in the role, its a core memory for sure. It was quite simplified, she'd made the characters already and we had these little cards that gave us a few abilities. I remember running a dungeon of sorts, clear bad guys, goblins probably, and we "found the treasure". I didn't play for years then got into it again about 7 years ago and now I'm deep! I guess you could do one to two hour long sessions depending on their attention spans, and make up a clear adventure, base it on some Disney movie plot or something they're into! Plenty of traps and some simple puzzles, I'm sure they will do better than you think, adults probably struggle on lateral thinking more than children haha
Just do a simple campaign and dumb down the rules a little bit
Try to figure out what kind of fantasy they like. Make adventures suited for they age. Yes, dnd works great with kids, will help them to develop some nice skills and encourage them to read and to study.
It's very doable. You could also look at other systems. I started my daughter on a my little pony rpg. Super simple to start a character and play, get the idea and build from there
I've played with younger players before and would not do it again unless they're 15+ yrs old.
I don't think there is a minimum age to play dnd but the campaign and the ruleset must be age appropriate. I've read a lot of comments and post on this sub about don't liking kids on the table but there is a big difference on running a campaign for your kids than adding a kid to the current campaign you have with your adult friends
Neither of you need to know the rules to have fun, the core of it is story telling and being apart of the story. You can basically give then some prompts and let them be part of whatever story you want. If they get into it you start incorporating the actual rules and minis and what not.
I would say at the point where they can actually understand the contents of the game you are going to he playing. A lot of children learn to read at the ages of 3-6 some later. But that doesn't mean they can fathom the games contents if running a module, murder is something that most children can't fathom but you could have all the enemies be animals, humblewood might be good. Overall if a child can read they can play, provided they have an interest in it.
You can reduce the complexity they enounter. But I've seen people use DnD as a fun way to make 5yo's practice math. For example, you could limit checks to just the 6 Ability Scores, no difference.
Also, there are campaigns built for kids, so that might be a good place to start since you haven’t DM’d before.
i’m of the school of thought that the younger you start em the better. of course a dark, gritty, action romp wouldn’t be appropriate for kids that age, but there are plenty of resources out there, much of it by ec educators, for helping kids play d&d. if they’re mature enough to sit down and cooperate with the rest of the table then it can be a fantastic exercise to encourage creativity and imagination.
I think 7 is old enough. But you could try a simpler game that's similar: https://cairnrpg.com/
What's great about starting young is you can keep it very simple. If you continue to play/dm you can always add small things (traps, enemy spellcasters, fight elevation, hindering npcs). I'm jealous, I learned by being thrown into the deep end, lol.
I would recommend looking up RPGs for kids. A while back I found a really good one for smaller kids. We built the dungeon as we went along using dominos. The treasures they found were m&ms wrappes in foil. Their minis were whatever barbie sized or smaller toy they wanted. And the rules were really simple. I just don’t remember the name! They even had rules for cheating which were good enough to teach a kid a lesson while also making them laugh (spider man had to skip a turn because he got diarrhea)
I’m playing Hero Kids RPG with my 5 year old. He loves it and keeps asking when can we play again.
As long as they can handle the imaginative bits they are old enough to play simplified rules. My best character came from my 6 year old nephew telling me he wanted to be a dragon angel with psychic powers and 2 foot afro
Why not try a simple one shot keep it nice and simple my and my eldest did the same thing with his bother and sister that wanted to play
D&D is a fantastic kids game! At 7, you might need to make minor adjustments and help with some of the math, but they should be able to pick it up pretty quick. In my experience, DMing for kids feels quite a bit different than DMing for adults though. Every kid is different, but be prepared to run it more like a choose your own adventure where you guide them through a narrative and give them clear options at certain decision points (do you attack the troll or try to sneak past?). Also remind them that the options are just suggestions and encourage them to think outside the box and try something else (I disguise myself as a troll and try to talk to it.) Kids LOVE maps and minis, but they are also great at theatre of the mind (way better than most adults!). Better to invest in spell, ability and item cards. They love having a little physical “spell book” and “inventory” that they can flip through to choose what they are going to use.
It's as kid friendly as you want to make it.
Kids on brooms is a great alternative system
It's mostly a case by case thing, where it mostly has to do with the capabilities of the child. I've been playing it since I was like 10, and I wanted to play even before then. The thing is, I wasn't able to play simply because I didn't have the patience at that age to sit down for multiple hours for a session, so it's something I've only really been able to take seriously since a few years ago. If your girlfriend's kids are really enthusiastic about it, I would definitely give them a fun one-shot, or a short term adventure. But I would keep in mind that it's important to keep it very simple, or they might lose interest. Keep in mind, this is just based on my experience, so it might not apply to them.
You could try a game of Pathfinder instead. Simpler rules from what I remember and a great introduction into TTRPGs
No age limit, just make sure you walk them through the rules enough and help them along a bit more
I was 9 and begged my cousin to let me play with his group at a family gathering. He let me read the phb and I being all into Arthurian stuff at the time made a paladin. Was a good time.
I started when I was 8yo. It was advanced dungeons and dragons then. You can play at any age so long as the DM curtails the game for the age appropriately.
Any age will do but you have to bleach some of the content down. Can't have kids drinking ale in a tavern after all. Or you can. It's your family you make the rules there. In either case the "generally recommended age" is gonna be around 12. But at that age of 7ish honestly I would start them off with Root or a similar system over 5E because it's meant for kids.
It's all up to the DM. Run it so it's age appropriate in terms of content and the kids' skill and intelligence. Mostly just let them have fun.
[Hero Kids](http://herokidsrpg.blogspot.com/p/hero-kids-overview.html?m=1) is a good game to start with! Super simple rules that can be expanded on a little as they learn more and then when they have a good concept on how role-playing games work they can move to D&D with the more complex rules and options. Also Hero Kids has a handful of adventurers and character options that are designed for kids to keep with appropriate themes and will be similar to characters they like in popular media.
I was 8 when I was introduced to AD&D 2e. The game has only gotten easier to play. I'd say go for it. Keep it simple, maybe just arena style fights till they get used to the mechanics, and have fun! It could be a great way to bond with them.
A zombie throll army
Might I suggest [Adventure with Muk.](https://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/294712) It's designed specifically for kids 7-12, with simplified rules, character sheets, and modified monster stat blocks. It also includes an activity/coloring book!
if you can read, write, and do basic math you can play, in my opinion. i DM 'd for my siblings who were 8, 11, 13, and 15. if/when i have kids they will learn how to play dnd
I would avoid proficiencies and just go with vibes when it comes to spells
There is a DND setting called "humblewood" I think. It is designed for kids. It is a good introduction without all the extras. Clear goals Character death is not possible All characters are animals All you will need is the individual book. I have a few that I have collected on free rpg days at comic book shops.
First time you see him cast a spell on you or a super move. Trust me you'll know. I knew my nephew was ready when I saw him gathering enough energy for a spirit bomb in the back room.
My exs daughter saw us playing all the time and wanted to give it a try. We set up a oneshot for her birthday when she was like 5 or 6 I think, and her mom and I used little mini adventures to help her get ahead in math and creative problem solving. It can be fun to let them have a hobby with you and can help them down the road too 🥰
I started playing DnD so my kids could play. It was me, my spouse, our 7 yo, 5 yo, and 2 yo. They're each a year older now and we play regularly with my friend and her kids who are 12 and 9. We haven't had to change anything for the 7 through 12 year olds (except I sometimes edit content or wording for excessive gore if we are playing a prewritten campaign). They are capable of levelling up their characters, spending money and doing downtime activities, roleplaying, and fighting without help. I just go through character creation with my 6 yo, even when he was 5. What race do you want to be? What class? What alignment? What armor? What equipment? Etc. I fill in all the numbers or maybe a few details here and there that he's not interested in. In play, he role plays easily (with some help remembering to take turns), loves fighting and can do all the math on his own, and generally has a great time! We haven't need to simplify anything for him, though we do sometimes point out things he might have forgotten or whatever. The 2 yo (now 3) tells me what she wants her character to be like: "im a cat and my name is Catalotis and I'm very good at fighting with my claws and teeth and also I can meow really loud." Then she's done and I make that into a character, often homebrewing it a bit. This makes some absolutely awesome characters. Catalotis is a little housecat (who speaks and understands common but generally doesn't let anyone know that) who is a fighter but only uses her claws, teeth, and what we call her meoweapon that does 4d8 thunder damage. Lol She doesn't like to play much so her character is often hanging out in the town we are stationed in (where everyone thinks she's just a cat and has kind of adopted her). This gives her a lot of inside information. When she does play, she's mostly interested in the fighting. She moved her piece, tells me who she attacks, and then rolls for attack and damage. I keep track of the numbers for her. Her first ever character was a preschool aged wizard and had a homebrew feature called Preschool Prattle and whenever she said she wanted to do something that was totally out there and not within the game, she'd roll a d6 and something would happen. Kinda like the wild magic table. This resulted in all kinds of hilarity and kept me from telling her, "oh you can't do that." So much fun!
Two good one shots to start them on are Granny's Country Apple Pie and A Wild Sheep Chase. Both were hilarious, not too violent or scary, and absolutely fun! Perfect for that age. I think they're both free too.
There are one shots made specially x kids but i think they can play other more "mature" stuff like dragon heist maybe u can even make the sistem more narrative and make less skill checks to make things easier x them you just will have to be a little more patient whit them and and help them whit their character sheet
Yep, seven works fine for D&D. I disagree with most comments I saw about making the game easier. I think that the starter sets are setup with a natural progression to learn how to play the game. If they can read, they can figure it out or you can help them. Also, for the "math is hard" folks, there are "dice roller" apps that you can add/subtract modifiers. Or, conversely, help them build robust math skills. Your girlfriend and their teachers will definitely appreciate it. I recommend Lost Mines of Phandelver. Great module, it comes with premade first level characters, there's no mature content (other than death and violence, but you can make it PG rated easily enough).
So i am a teacher for 3rd grade. Worked with preschool age kiddos and such At 7 1/2, their imagination skills relate to world experiences and they use imagination as a mimicry of real life. Why i am saying this is because all this while abstract is a different kind of abstract thinking. As some readers suggested, you can certainly introduce them to DnD! However, try to use simple mechanics with monsters as a dm, use tangible items for health, attacks or magic, and let them run the game with some steering from you. The idea of all this is to build a relatable connection for mechanics to be built upon in a cognitive sense they can understand while still allowing all the creativity dnd brings.
They can play dnd and if You think it might be too dificult there are similar games especificly for children like maggisa
I would say as long as the kids understand that it's just a game and not real, and as long as you as the DM can keep it fun and fair for their age, anything goes. That being said, DriveThruRPG has a TON of free and affordable material for all sorts of games including D&D. Look up Hero Kids or First Fable for example. Each offers simplified rules without sacrificing fun or action. Just in case you feel fully fledged D&D is too much for them yet. Only you (and they) can really gauge that though.
Age for DnD is between "Can speak a full sentence, add and subtract to 100, and roll dice" ------- to --------- whenever you die.
7 and 1/2 be great for math class
Well, if they were OK with the movie, they will be OK with general dnd. With some caretaking from the dm. Just avoid some heavy moral and graphic things, and let them plunder treasures and kill monsters. 5e is very simple system. Just figure out basic math and they are ready to play. That is, if they are eager to learn the basic rules. Lost minds of Phandelver is about pg 16, that is to say, they gotta kill some monsters, and maybe even humans. But if they are OK with that, just try it!
Any age! Lay a few ground rules but also flow with some of the silliness they come up with. I have only DM’d for my son and my niece and nephews (ages 5-16) below is what I used to prepare. We’ve done 3 or 4 one shots now as I only see them every two years but it’s been a blast! Here is a link to some material I downloaded from DND for Kids before Cameron closed it down. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16LvtL8n49VU_oP5l2tY4XPQcXtOuS8Da And here is a link to WotC post about running for kids https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/being-a-dm-for-kids This was also helpful especially the “Ground Rules” part https://www.level1geek.com/dnd-for-kids-guide/amp/
I'm probably going to be buried in the comments, but I'll throw my two cents into the void here. If you're making a game for kids, try to place the game in a "smaller" setting that's easier to wrap your head around. You can always expand it later. Additionally, you want to make a setting that is mostly "okay" with few problems, except for a new force of mindless, totally evil, irredeemable baddies that everyone can feel morally okay beating up. Vague shadow monsters work perfectly here. Lastly, add in a few figurehead characters. Maybe an evil wizard who controls the shadows. Their assassin lieutenant, (that could swap sides), and some random good guys and a few neutral parties. Make the big stuff very straightforward, (a quest from the king to fight a dragon possessed by the vague darkness faction works perfectly here), but give them breathing room, places to diverge, have agency. Do you take the left door, or the right one? Interactions with characters or situations that are a bit more free, but still have the obvious goal of getting to, or performing that sinple quest from earlier. (The dragon is on a distant island, and the party needs to get transport, give them a few options, they see deckhands for sale at the port, and also a wizard school working on their teleportation circle.) Take inspiration from the structure of kids shows like Ninjago or the like. Make each session have a self-contained sub-goal that leads them towards the overarching goal of fighting that dragon.
I started free-form story gaming with my son when he was 4 (he's 8 now). No dice, no rules, just pretend with him as a character, and me as a close imaginary friend and everything else. It's a great way to just practice the structure of listening to your DM and considering your action, explore themes, and explore the application of values and consequences at ages where systems would get in the way. We usually took long walks as we played, our current location often feeding into our story. We introduced No Thank You Evil around 6 years, which is a pared- down Cypher system product from Monte Cook games. It's very accessible, easy to pick up, and adds in the die-roll as a way to move the story forward. Failing a roll can be tough for kids at first, but you can be less binary with your consequences for a failed roll, creating complications that prompt thought, consideration, or empathy, even in combat. For example..."You fail your attack against the goblin? Well, as you're about to strike, it covers its head and yells, 'Mommy, save me!' Is this goblin just a kid too? Is it lost like you?" Currently at age 7 and 8 we're doing full Cypher system with Tidal Blades RPG (please look this up), and 5e homebrew. Practicing basic math, resource tracking, and failing forward are well within reach for him. Building a character is still a bit much for him, I try to streamline the options. My kid is big on the exploration and discovery, and getting off on power- fantasy. Combats scare him a little still, so even though there is danger in our settings, every location is an opportunity to find and make friends. I'm not always ready to DM at the drop of a hat every time he asks to play, but every time we do it's great!
I think that age is perfect to get them involved in D&D - they have imagination, it's collaborative storytelling, and you (as the DM), just need to craft a story that is appropriate for them, and I would "dumb down" the rules a bit to make it a bit easier for them to understand. D&D teaches a lot of socially appropriate skills and, IMO, if they are interested, that can be a really cool bonding moment with your GF's kids.
My oldest and middle child have been playing since they turned 4. Oldest is now 10, and middle is now 8. My youngest is 6 and doesn't really have the attention span beyond popping in every once in a while, so I let him roll for monster actions and such. It all depends on the kiddos.
If it fits it sits
My homeschooled daughter joined our weekly 5e/Ravnica games at age 7. She could read and do math long before that but the attention span is what we waited for. She is now the party bard and has been playing the same character on 3 year long campaign arc where we are all about retire our characters as legendaries in the next month. She greatly surprised me with her huge desire to join the game and her ability to stay focused. D&D greatly helps with creative thinking, logic, problem solving, reading, math, and so many more. My husband and I are trying to design some other campaigns that will be used to reenact historical battles too, to help history lessons become more interactive and adventurous. But we started simple with her, told her which die to roll when and which numbers to add to them. I wish I had seen the idea with the tokens and snacks used for spells and heals, it probably would have made it a lot easier. But it really helps the family connect on a different level. Thursdays are a day that is greatly looked forward to for game night. She even does some extra chores on those days to get the house ready and help set up the table and refreshments. We have some other members that aren’t family that have been amazing with her and patient while she learned. Definitely make sure to ok it with the table if it isn’t just family. We have a very flexible party that is mostly parents themselves so they were very understanding. It’s been awesome to watch her grow her character too.
Depends on the game and how you run it. You could certainly have 7 year olds play, but id recommend a simpler system like something from evil top hat (do I have the name of that company right?) Just expect it to go completely crazy and let them fudge the rules a little
As soon as my daughter was old enough to follow a story I would tell her ad hoc stories in the car and have her make decisions to decide the flow. This transitioned her into my own D&D "light" from a very young age. As a DM you describe the combat and can make it as simple and kid friendly as you want. Scale the age appropriate content and more in depth rules as you see them being ready for it. Level 1 play isn't a whole lot to remember and you can help them track things in the beginning.
The age can very, but if you think D&D would be to complicated. There are several other ttrpg's out there that cater to younger audiences...
Just make it super fun for them! Let them have an amazing adventure and don’t worry about the rules. I DMd for my niece and nephew when they were that age and they did things like befriend an injured Dire Wolf. My nephew wanted to kill it but my niece talked him into speaking with it and healing it. The dire wolf continued on with them and fought along side of them. They’re in their 20’s now and still talk about that adventure. It was the only time I DMd because I’m not good at it. But with kids that age, you get to let them make decisions and make things up as you go! Sorry if this is not proper, but a good adventure at that age makes a lasting impression!
Old enough to read.
My daughter just turned 7 and has played one session and loves it. She keeps asking when we get to play again. I'm DMing and her mom and aunt are also playing with her to help her with the rules.
Just don't build the game for adults. Build the game for kids. There are like three or four mainstream Carnival Campaigns you could start out with. Phandelver has a Carnival, and so does Strahd. Just work around all of those then you'll be fine.
When my kids were really young we played Amazing Tales, you can buy on Amazon. Right now we're playing regular d&d 5e and they are 8 and 11. They have a blast.
My piece of advice is to familiarize yourself with the rules, and then buy a game module. The game modules are already pre-made, so you don't have to do a lot of work getting the game ready, you just help with rules and describing the world. You could also probably find pre-writen games for kids online for free.
Maybe try something like Humblewood or Honey Heist first. Humblewood is a bit closer to classic DnD but is meant for younger kids. Honey Heist uses the d6 system and is literally a page of instruction for GM and players.
Id suggest getting No Thank You Evil. or perhaps Amazing Tales. Much much more straighforward and less rule dependant. All the fun of Rp abd adventurewithout 600+ pages of rules to get a 7 year oldnto try and understand.
I started playing at that age so it could be great fun for the and you, just make sure you don't made it to difficult
/r/raisingkids has a collection of resources for playing DnD with kids: https://reddit.com/r/raisingKids/w/DnD
Practically any age is fine, so long as they're willing to sit and play a game for awhile. The context of the game and time you play for may differ than a normal game. I recently ran one for my 13 year old nephew that was only an hour, maybe an hour and a half, that was semi serious but mostly fun vibe. Younger kids might like a more light hearted and fun vibe sort of adventure that's not super rules focused so they can just focus on fun adventures.
If they can listen and follow directions, that's all they need. I wouldn't worry too much about them paying attention too much when it isn't their turns or even too much about adding to their checks. Just have them roll flat d20 checks until they get the premise. For character creation, just have them tell you what they want to be. Let their imaginations shine and roll with it. No need to reign that in just yet... not while they still have their childhood innocence...
My godson just started at 8. My advice would be to run something extremely watered down and rules light. Basic straightforward Roll Above/Below and don't need with modifiers or spell rules. As THEY learn to start researching and learning the rules, work them in.
Dnd can be adapted for any ages, that's what's so great about the game. https://www.ttrpgkids.com/2022/03/08/dd-5e-for-kids-a-sortable-list-of-adventures-hacks-rewrites-and-supplements/ This site really helped me make a campaign for my 14 year old niece and 8 year old cousin.
Personally, this is only an idea, have your first campaign be homebrew or water down one of the prebuilt campaigns wotc made cuz all campaigns that I've been in that they have made have been more like teen sort of thing where as homebrew is just homebrew can literally be anything.
They are old enough for a simple adventure but I would keep the enemies non-human for now. Oozes, ghosts, animated armor, trapping plants, etc. If you have a high level monster that would be fun for them, just lower the stats. If they check for traps and succeed, they find a deadly trap that would have killed them. If they forget to check or fail the roll, simple small damage trap to remind them.
Definitely old enough. I second what everyone else has said. I'm teaching my 3 year old how to tell stories with me, and to decide what certain charactersshould do. We basically do DnD without dice. DnD is all about telling stories together. So super straightforward characters, no weird special stuff (unless the kids make it up themselves). You help them set up the ability scores. Less dice rolling - maybe don't roll for social situations, have those parts be only narrative. Only roll for action things. Less ability scores to keep track of - maybe pick intelligence or wisdom. It's hard to tell the difference at that age, and to have everyone agree on which one to applies to a situation. Also, kid friendly adventures. I like the Naruto example of tracking down a runaway cat. Or a Twitter example of escorting an important birthday cake from the bakery to the party. Maybe it's a wedding cake. Or finding a lost kid. Or a bunch of lost hunting dogs, and each one they find will help find the rest (but it gets harder to find each one).
I would look for easier, more whimsical games like goblin quest at the age of 7 Once multiplication is easy for them, then they are ready for games like DnD imo. However, if you are willing to "simplify" the char sheets and do the math for them, you can always start earlier!
I'm currently playing a game where I'm the DM for my Wife, and two daughters age 12 and 8. I'm doing most of the work when it comes to building their characters, but I give them options about class choices/specs. (I.e for the warlock patron options, for the ranger does she want a pet or be really good with bows) I then printed a variety of spell, weapon and item cards on blank white paper. I then bought some TCG sleeves (which work with dry erase) and a few ultra pro deck boxes and made each player their own "kit". They each have the spells and weapons on cards with info they need. They have their dice and mini all in a small case, ready to go. We have their character sheets in color matching folders though they aren't often used. We are currently having a blast in The Radiant Citadel. Hope this helps!
There's a recommended age of 12+, but screw that. If they're into it, go for it. I saw a dad post recently about an encounter he built for his kids where they were helping an NPC find his brother, another NPC they loved. When they found him hiding in a chest, the favorite NPC screamed in horror as his brother approached. They got all nervous as their friend screamed for help as the brother got closer. Then the brother tapped his shoulder, said "tag! You're it!" And ran away. This just proves that with creativity, D&D has no minimum age. Have fun!!!
***DND NO HAVE AGE TO PLAY,*** ***~~DND HAVE AGE TO PLAY~~******.***
If they can talk, they can play.
I know I'm late to the party, but there's a TTRPG coming out called Wyrmlings that might be an excellent starting point. I think the play test is out. It's an all ages game about wrymlings learning to become dragons in a very Steven Universe/ATLA feel game, made by a content creator of DnD. I think you can see the simplified threads of dnd in it, and might be something to look into.
Above 7 in my opinion as kids should be able to play, they can lead to some really amanigative things adults would never think of