Including Kids in Tabletop RPGs

I am not in denial of the fact that I am a nerd. I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games since was 14, and D&D night remains the highlight of my week. Maybe it's silly that I still have fun playing fantasy tabletop games at 24, but I get a tremendous amount of enjoyment out of this weekly social experience.

At first, D&D nights were a bit complicated, since I have a 3-year-old daughter. She hated being sent to bed early while grown-ups stayed up late playing some mysterious game, but I thought she was too young to participate in any way. I quickly learned that this isn't the case -- that even the youngest kids can play tabletop RPGs. Here are some tips for including your kids in tabletop RPGs.

1. Explain to them what's happening. To a child, there's nothing more bizarre and mystical than a bunch of grown-ups huddled around a tabletop talking about elves, dragons, unicorns, fairies and other make-believe beings. A child isn't likely to leave you alone until you take a moment to explain what the game is, and what's going on in the plot of the tabletop RPG.

2. Let young kids play companion animals or familiars. My current D&D character is a beastmaster ranger, and my daughter plays as my animal, a mountain lion. Since animal characters have low intelligence scores and must follow the commands of their guardians, it's ideal to let a child play an animal who is in the control of a playable character. This way, the child can participate without having to make the complex decisions associated with complex RPG campaigns.

3. Let kids play independently, then get back to grown-ups-only playing. Before we start "real" gameplay, we let my daughter have half an hour of independent role-play, where she gets to play a highly simplified version of the game. The dungeon master gives a very simple scenario to her character, the mountain lion, such as saying, "There's a tiny fairy who is being carried away by a goblin," then allowing her to roll skill checks to catch the goblin and rescue the fairy. These simplified games are easy and fun even for the youngest kids, and my child will gladly leave the grownups alone after she gets her solo play fix.

4. Encourage your child to do illustrations. My refrigerator is absolutely covered with my daughter's drawings of tabletop RPG characters and scenes from our D&D adventures. One picture shows our characters -- a "tree person" and a mountain lion -- hugging each other, while another shows the entire party together. The drawings are adorable and help to ignite her imagination and her capacity for creative play. "Draw a picture of what's happening," is also a great way to keep her entertained while we play the RPG.

5. Remind kids that it's just pretend. This can be a problem for the youngest of children, who sometimes struggle to understand the difference between fantasy and reality. Be sure to remind your child that the game is pretend and that the miniatures are just toys. It's also important to distinguish between characters and actual people. While your child is participating, it might be a better idea to say, "My character opens the door," instead of "I open the door," to minimize confusion about what's real and what's pretend.

6. Integrate kids into the game as they get older. Even toddlers are able to roll dice, and perhaps tell you what number they rolled. By school age, kids might be able to grasp some of the basic rules of gameplay. By the time your child is 10, you can use highly simplified character sheets and scenarios to integrate the child into actual tabletop RPG gameplay. As he gets older, you can begin hosting a D&D night for your child's peers, so that they can enjoy an age-appropriate night of role-playing fun.

Becoming a parent doesn't mean surrendering fun forms of entertainment, including -- if you like them -- tabletop role-playing games. By allowing your child to play RPGs with you, you make the games more fun for you, for your child, and for the other people around you.