The next generation of gamer...

My 5 year old nephew plays his console games, and even has his own laptop.  Children growing up in the technological age are learning to play with these new toys before they can fully talk and walk. In some cases it helps with learning and developing the skills he will need to function in a technologically based society. I enjoy the next new gadget as much as any technophile, and encouraged his use of a laptop and kid-centric websites. I even passed down a old used Dell Laptop for him to use. I help him learn to solve problems and find clues in console games. With all this technology and the easy access to instant gratification of video games it was a very happy day when my nephew expressed interest in paper and dice games.

Sure, he had no idea what it was, but the images on my latest Dungeon and Dragons purchase made him curious. Sneaking peaks at the monsters and vivid images in the book he wanted to know more. A few times he has been around while I ran my current game, and between that experience and seeing the books it prompted one of the most exciting questions he has ever asked me. "Can I play?"

Of course the basic game is still to complicated for a 5 year old, but that didn't stop me. "Sure, I need to get the game ready for you." I spent the next few weeks searching and looking for suggestions on how to simplify a game designed for 12+ to be easy enough for a 5 year old. With some luck and a few parents who have been gaming their entire lives, I found a few versions to help with developing an idea.

This all leads up to the first game session. Using some simple tools and handing him his own set of dice, that he picked out, we set out to conquer some monsters. The premise was simple, and all the damage and hit was simplified to allow for easy tracking.  Barely able to contain his excitement he actually threw his dice across the room trying to roll them. After completing the challenge he was elated and we will be making some modifications to help with some of the specific restrictions on playing with a 5 year old. The game is still a little to complicated for him, but I believe as time progresses we can introduce the more complex mechanics. Next up an actual dungeon mission. I am looking forward to running his little mini campaign as much as my full one.

Update: I have ran a couple of sessions with my nephew over the past few years. He is 7 now and can do the math that is needed to figure out his attack and damage totals. I think that using miniatures helps him visualize the game since he is distracted easily and with the larger group gets bored easy. Running with a small party has seemed a better environment for him to experience the game. On several occasions I have overheard him talking to neighbor children about DND and he gets super excited about it. One evening I let him and a friends child play with the map grid and mini's to find him telling his own adventure, building the map and rolling dice to fight the dragons. He was very excited to tell us what happened later as well. I feel very fortunate that although my sister (his mom) is not a "gamer", she is supportive and allows me to introduce this into his life.

The Mighty Kobold!

As part of a discussion regarding an evil aligned campaign, we decided to create a pack of Kobolds. First up, Meepo the Psion, worshiper of  Tharizdun. With the ability to fling her foes across the room, she runs around threatening to kill everyone with "mind bullets". 

Orphaned as a child by some meddling "good" adventures, she discovered that she was able to move things with her mind by focusing her anger on the villagers as the smugly go about their lives. Oblivious to what they did to her when they sent "heroes" into her home. She has vowed to kill any adventures that would thoughtlessly kill one of her kind. 

More to come... 

The global picture... or at least regional

Recently it has been my fortune to attend the Camarilla Southwest Regional Event held in Phoenix, AZ. This was my first Camarilla Con, and my Second time playing games outside of the state. It is a different experience playing with "strangers", but very exciting to meet so many new people. I was able to put faces to many of the staff I have worked with and talked to over the last 3 years, as well as meet some great people. Many folks were very friendly, and I enjoyed my conversations with them. In character all of my PC's learned a great deal about the world outside of their local stomping grounds. Here is a brief overview of each of the games.

Vampire: The Masquerade - [Cam/Anarch] Mostly hobnobbing, and socializing. It was obviously a political game with people learning about each other with the recent launch of the venue. Of course the more... rash characters found a way to get involved in trouble, and even NPC got in on the action of pushing buttons of these characters. It was fun being in a really thought out costume, and seeing all the great period and appropriate costumes. All in all, I made my first new friends of the weekend at this game and hope the venue lives up to its reputation. [Sabbat] I did not play, but watched a few scenes.. seemed again very political but in a more volatile fashion. Costumes were fantastic for this game as well. Mush more on the visual side of the monstrous nature. I wondered repeatedly what the many non-camarilla guests at the hotel thought about the strange appearance of our group.

Mage: The Awakening - The location was hosted in St. George, Utah, and therefore became a bigger stress for my PC than I had anticipated. Knowing this I might not have had as much to drink the night before.  With this I spent the first part of game running around trying to organized a group of Mages that seemed to have the attention span of squirrels.  They all seemed to understand the  need for organization, but when asked to form into groups.. it seemed near impossible to get them moving. My PC now has the understanding that not only does her local group have serious issues, but the entire awakened society is confused and disorganized. After spending enough time trying to swim upstream with a group that made some decisions with out her input.. she stopped fighting the current and found a group of Silver Ladder and Guardians of the Veil Mages to sit and talk with. All in all.. was an ok game.. Plot was restricted to a few individuals let in, and combat monkeys.. so kinda a let down for some players. I did get some networking done, so that is a plus.

Changeling: The Lost - IC premise was a challenge, of sorts. I think many of us thought it was going to be gladiator style with an audience. Unfortunately not. Those selected to participate got swept off to do their bit, and left the rest of us to our devices.. well that being said.. my PC of course found a way to cause trouble. After getting in trouble for public indecency, She found a way to entertain herself via a limo, and some really fun people. It was very fun to see how another storyteller deals with the antics of our sex driven characters.. All in all, it was a very funny scene and everyone enjoyed it greatly.

Vampire: The Requiem - Another event I was looking forward to greatly. It gave me the ability to see some very interesting things from an IC perspective. Carthians are diverse but like a great dysfunctional family.. when it comes down to it.. no matter how stupid you are.. we got each others backs. With many great scenes and RP moments with a lot of new people I really enjoyed the time and meeting many more new people.

With that said - All in all I had a great time. The presentation by Shayne was amazing and made me really want to go to ICC in September. So... with a little help from a friend, it looks like we are going to go.. the experience at SWRE was amazing and I am totally looking forward to the big event in New Orleans.

In the Beginning....

I love DND, my introduction into RPG's and dice games was back in the mid 90's. A group of friends had been convinced to play a 2nd edition DND game. Most of us had no clue what we were doing, but for me it opened up a new world of opportunities. That game ended with graduation, and friends drifting apart. For a very long time I did not play paper and dice RPG. After several years of gamer drought, I found a co-worker that was also looking to start gaming again. I hooked up with a group playing 3.5 edition right after it was released. That group didn't last long, but a few of us formed another group, that played for several years. We introduced many friends to the game, and explored the new campaign setting Ebberon. My love of the game was renewed.

In a naive, sort of oblivious way, I hadn't' really thought much about other rpg options until I was introduced to World of Darkness. I have now immersed myself into the greatness of  Live Action Role Playing (LARP) with the White Wolf Fan Club known as The Camarilla. I have found a group of dice gamers that have been entrenched in the depth of story for many years, some almost as long as I have been alive. For the first time I am also running a DND game.  DND, will always be near to my heart, and remain in a special place for me.