On top of using props (such as crinkled up maps, game jewels, and other things), I have found that the use of puzzles, riddles, poems, and other brain-teasers and introducing mini-games during the course of campaigns has been very successful. My cousins actually prefer this to battling (opposite me and my adult gaming buddies). This was an interesting discovery I had stumbled onto was actually being able to witness a child’s perspective on RPG. It’s very different when you see a gaming world as a youngster. They have very different interests, goals, and priorities in the game. I guess this would be a no-brainer. But I didn’t really take note of it until I actually witnessed it (A couple breadcrumbs work, but for the majority, I like them to figure things out). All in all, I will be using more of these brain-teasers and mini-games during their second campaign.

One of the things I have also been doing is asking a lot of questions in between game sessions: what they want more, what they would want less, etc. It helps to establish what kinds of things I can use and what ideas to toss to help their experience be worth the time they spend playing this game (the ultimate goal for me: To make sure they have fun).

Not only am I keeping and tossing ideas, though, but rules as well. I am trying really hard to simplify the mechanics. OMG!! NOT an easy job. I have simplified mechanics (Spell Resistance) and even nullified others (Size, for one ~ which I probably shouldn’t) just to make sure I’m not boggled down with this stuff during game-play. But not being so by-the-book has enhanced our enjoyment ~ even if we’re not playing by all the rules. Call me ambitious or crazy ~ but I was thinking of attempting “rule changing” or dumbing down the mechanics for the youngster game just because, after all, this is their introduction into the gaming realm. I don’t want to scare off any potential future gamers due to the fact that the boggling down of game mechanics has scared them off from having any sort of fun during game. They can always learn that stuff in future games when they’re older. Besides, they are less likely to sit there and argue with the GM which percentile number goes with which action and for how many rounds. Kids don’t care. They like simplicity and that’s my goal ~ to make a kid-safe game using simplicity. Which, ironically enough, might be more complex than what I think. Here’s hoping it won’t be too much for me to handle!

I’ll keep you guys updated on the continually forming game, if you’d like, and I’m sure I’ll be back with more questions (posted where they should be).

It’s hard establishing a genre restriction when you’re new to the art of GMing; as you’ve discovered for yourself, your own inclinations will gradually metamorphose the campaign, changing it away from that pure ideal. We all encounter the problem the first few times we try and force ourselves into a different mould, so I sympathise with the problems that you’ve experienced. The only solution is to remind yourself constantly of who your target audiance is – pin up a photo of your cousins wherever it is that you do your campaign planning so that it will regularly catch your eye.

Concerning source material, it astonishes me that so few people know how dark the original fairy tales really were. Ironically, your original campaign was probably right on the mark in terms of being classically correct, not that this information will be much of a help to you. I suggest you check out some of the Enid Blyton stories, such as The Wishing Chair Collection and The Faraway Tree Collection. In terms of game materials, I suggest you try and track down a copy of Toon: The Cartoon Roleplaying Game. Lastly, in answer to your second question: there are lots of forums out there with people who will be happy to answer any questions you have. The two best sources would be through Google Groups and Yahoo Groups. Of course, if you have any specific big questions, or questions that you don’t have any success answering elsewhere, Johnn and I will be happy to do what we can through Campaign Mastery. Good Luck!

And what I meant to say on question 1 was *that is more similar to my game*

A few years back, I GM’d a group a kids through the magical world of D&D (a good starter game). However, I thought I could pull down the rating a bit for the youngsters (which I am sure it could have been done by an expert). It went from G, to PG, to PG-13 to… well, it went really dark really fast and out of my control.

Last year, I decided to introduce my two younger cousins to a Fantasy RPG. So, I decided to build my own world, create my own creatures (somewhat), and develop my own races and classes of characters (after using already commonly used ones).

The unfortunate thing is that I decided to go with what I already had material wise. I have a set of 3.5 D&D Guides (GM Guide, PHG, and the MM). So, naturally, this time around, I promised myself that the game choices of what I use need to be very selective (especially with the monsters). The PC’s, such as Peter Pan and villains, such as the Evil Queen, I haven’t even started working on, but I can tell, for me, it might be a bit of a challenge. I haven’t added a lot of the adversary’s on the simple fact I feel they need to level up more (they’re at 5 right now).

Just ended the first campaign (WHEW) and now they want to begin a new campaign.

To make a long story… kinda short… I was wondering two things:

1) Is there another game in which I can pull out material from and use that is more familiar with my Fables and Fairytales game I am creating now (BTW, they are 8 and 10)?

2) I have a friend who helps me understand gaming mechanics and is an expert himself, but I rarely get together with him. Is it possible to contact anyone here or to respond to Johnn’s emails that he sends for future advice or other little tid-bits I’m in need of help with?

@RPG Ike – I compose using the MIDI format, then use various soundfonts (instrumental variations) and a program called synthfont to render them as audio tracks, which are then edited and polished using various other pieces of software. I had built up a collection of several hundred originals before I started thinking about issuing them as CDs, mainly because of the inherant limitations of the MIDI format, where the composition will never sound exactly the same on any two systems. I have 8 CDs planned at the moment (each with full track lists), and will blog about each release when it actually happens.

@Cybersavant – funny you should mention those two particular systems. One of the authors of Space Opera (Phil McGregor) was president of our RPG club for as long as we needed one (1982-2002) and I still see him several times a month at the gaming table. I have the only autographed copy of Space Opera in existance! And, for about eight years, I ran a memorable TORG campaign, having decided to eschew the overarching WEG shared plotline for my own uberplot. In many respects, this system was the tabletop forerunner for modern online MMORPGS!

I own or have played many systems. I have the first few books of the WEG SW, but sadly never played it. However, i do like

Space Opera by FGU
TORG/Shatterzone by WEG

@Ryder – Ghostbuster? Neat! Did that PCs ever cross their beams? :)

Johnn’s last blog post..Johnn’s 2009 RPG Goals

I admire your work. Keep it up!

Ryder

I also want to run a game at least monthly while playing in another every couple of weeks (I think the key to this is more casual play and better overall organization).

@Mike: Original music? Cool. How do you do it?

RPG Ike’s last blog post..MOTHS!