The angry bugbear dangles the pale, terrified mayor by his ankle and snarls, “Open vault or Fluggek smash!”
A small, elven druid wrapped in a rainbow cloak approaches, scolding, “That’s mean! Put that man down and be nice!”
The bugbear blinks slowly at the newcomer, squinting to see what danger she poses. Distracted, he lowers the mayor to the ground.
“That’s better. Do you want to be friends?”
The bugbear’s eyes widen in surprise. “Fluggek never had friends before!” A wide, toothy grin appears on the monster’s face.
What are Rated G Adventures?
Rated-G Adventures are gaming scenarios suitable for players both young and old. While older players may choose to play these scenarios in adult ways, these settings provide opportunities (and rewards!) for solving problems with persuasion, intelligence, and empathy rather than mere combat. Combat encounters themselves can be non-lethal without harming the story, and room is provided for open-ended play for younger, first-time players who are being introduced to rules-heavy systems that we adults love.
Why would we do such a thing?
While there are excellent role-playing game systems that cater to the very young, there is a market for good, solid adventures that introduce younger players to the gaming systems with which so many adults are already familiar such as D&D, Pathfinder, Starfinder, and others. Children are curious about the games they see their parents and older friends playing. While some children are ready to jump right into a full-fledged D&D campaign, others – particularly those younger than eight or nine – can find the rules cumbersome and distracting from the open-world play that these environments provide.
Role-playing is shared storytelling, and it is our hope that these adventures strike a balance between the childlike joy of free narrative play while providing fun, structured scenarios that older players will love.
While these adventures are suitable for family play, they do not attempt to avoid tragedy and danger: indeed, tragedy still exists and danger abounds. But our Rated G Adventures encourage the gamemaster to allow players to solve problems not only with fighting and looting, but with creativity and imagination. And that’s good fun for young and old alike!
Some tips for gaming with the very young
While some children appreciate and enjoy learning rules and algorithms, others may desire a more open-ended fantasy play. You may find this particularly true If the child you are gaming with is younger than eight or nine. Some children will love rolling dice. Others may find the rules around dice distracting.
As a gamemaster, let the child guide you to what they find most fun during play. Rather than making dice rolls a simple “yes” or “no” result – temper your storytelling by encouraging “Yes, And”, “Yes, But”, “No, And”, and “No, But” especially for great successes and great failures. When possible, encourage the child to explain what happens when they succeed or fail. Doing so will invite them to participate in the narrative. Don’t be surprised if some of the places you end up are crazy and wild – but that’s all part of the fun. If a child abhors killing (or if you deem that inappropriate for their age), let them solve a combat encounter without a fight or non-lethally.
Most importantly, keep it fun, and if the game structure goes a little off the rails, that’s ok! The young child will learn the nuances of the rules soon enough.