Getting Ready to Game

I must admit, there's a bit of nerves on this one. The gaming group is set; my son has four of his friends invited, and my wife, of all people, invited another homeschooling parent and his daughter to come along. The game is set for next Sunday, and it's going to be exciting. At least, I hope it will.

The thing I need to remember is that these kids are just that: Kids. And their experience with fantasy isn't the same as mine. My formative fantasy was Lord of the Rings and its eighteen bazillion pastiche/ripoffs from the 1980s and 1990s. Their is Harry Potter and its eighteen bazillion pastiche/ripoffs. Sure, they might have seen the LotR movies, and even read some of those types of books, but when it comes to fantasy, they're thinking about Muggles and Quidditch before hobbits and orcs. So, it's going to be an interesting experience for both them and myself.

One of the advantages of the old school system that I'm using (basically 1st edition AD&D, modified to a simpler base form to start out) is that character creation doesn't take long at all. In fact, if you give the players a basic equipment setup (backpack, food, waterskin, spikes, torches, etc.) that pretty much every adventurer is going to need, the rest of the creation time can be done in about five or ten minutes. With a group of six or seven players, it will take a bit longer, but still, it's a very simple process.

Roll ability scores. Choose class and race. Pick weapons and armor and/or spells. Write down modifiers. And...that's about it. Pick a name and alignment, sure. But otherwise, it's basically done.

With modern games, character creation ends up being a game all on its own. The phenomenon of 'Session Zero' is a relatively new concept that originated with 3e D&D. That system involved a lot of choices right at character creation, and some groups would basically spend their first session planning out their character's entire twenty-level career, setting themselves up for particular prestige classes, feats, class abilities, etc. And when a group was being put together, with the idea of parties being only four characters, the players had to work together to ensure that they would have all the important basics covered. Cleric, fighter, rogue, wizard...you had to have at least one of each type in the party, so what you played often ended up being a group decision.

Contrast that with old-school games, where you can have four fighters in the party if you want...or four magic-users, if you're really brave. But there were enough players in a group that you didn't have to guide a player into picking a particular class to 'fill out the group'. As long as everyone is playing something they like, that's all that matters.

So, how will this go? I was debating giving them pre-made characters to choose from, ensuring there were multiple options for everyone. But my son thinks it would be better to just let them create their own, and he's right. After all, it doesn't take long to get started with old-school games, because the point is to get to the fun stuff as soon as possible.

The next question, then, is what sort of adventure will they get to play? Well, I did create the Meterra setting specifically for this sort of gaming situation, although I admit I was pleasantly surprised to find out I'd actually get to use it. And it comes with a ready-made place to explore: The Devil's Playground. My son has read the book, and he actually blanched when I told him that was what I'd be running. That's a nice reaction to get, as a writer and as a DM. Still, I'm going to go easy on them at first; they are beginners, after all.

To get a taste of what these intrepid explorers are going to be in for next week, check out the book that I wrote about the place. It's deep, dark, and dangerous...but it's a lot of fun, too. And yes, the critter on the cover is somewhere in there...