>I'm faced with a new problem: over the holidays I'm supposed to
>introduce not only my girl-friend but also her kids (12 and 10) into
>roleplaying, and, by preference, to HW/Glorantha. I thought it might be
>best to have the kids play not yet initiated but extraordinary Heortling
>clan members. But:
>
>do kids have any magic prior to formal initiation?
No, which is why it's a bad idea for them to play kids. Kids identify with adult heroes. How would you have liked gaming if you had to play a student when you first started in gymnasium or college? Let the play Conan or Xena or a horse princess or something.
>Any hints or experience with this age group in Glorantha greatly
>appreciated, by private e-mail as well.
I have run a Hero Wars game for a 12-year-old (or possibly he was 13 then). He ran a normal character. I pretty much gave him the choice of a warrior, maybe letting him choose between warlike deities. I had him use the list form of character creation, and let him create an incomplete character, adding interesting things as he went until he filled up the slots. As I recall, he got himself in trouble by not considering that his actions might have consequences, but I've had adult players with much the same problem.
I'd give the kids opportunities to roll dice, and wouldn't worry too much about the exact rules (easier to do with Hero Wars than say RuneQuest). And treat them as equal (if inexperienced) members of the group. It would probably help if you had at least one experienced RPGer around. (If everyone is a newcomer I might have them pick between pregenerated characters instead.)
Finally, I wouldn't do it if they're not interested (though I suspect it's easy enough to interest them in engaging in a grownup activity - -- main reason I haven't tried with my grandchildren is that we play in the evening past their bedtime).
Oh, and try to keep it short enough that they don't lose interest -- kids have shorter attention spans if things aren't interesting. Maybe you can give them paper to draw their character if they start getting bored.
David Dunham dunham_at_pensee.com
Glorantha/HW/RQ page: http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html
Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein
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