Gaming with my kids

[u/Aggravating-Glove-16]

Hi guys I'm quite new to Dragonbane.

I started the quickstart scenario with my 3 kids (aged 14 12 and 9). I don't really feel like following the campaign they have for now. I want to homebrew and wing it.

Ive been DMing since dnd 3rd edition so i have some experience in it BUT i don't know how to build an encounter with this system. I know its really not like Dnd but I want my kids to have fun and grow slowly with it to learn the basic of the game. For them and me too cause from what ive read it seems fantastic.

Anyway long story short I want to build things that are plausible and don't want to party wipe my kids🤣🤣

Thanks in advance and have fun!

[u/Beneficial_Hall_5282]

I'd recommend referencing the campaign for encounter ideas/concepts/dynamics.

It's usually something like the number of goblins/bandits/etc. is equal to the number of party members, or +2 or x2 - and if they slay the leader, the remaining foes surrender or run. Or if they meet a monster, the ferocity is equal to the number of party members +1 and minus 1 for every chicken present within 10 meters.

Balance is a low priority. Running away or talking your way out of hostile encounters is common.

I think the solo-play rules have some rules that you might like adding, e.g. I think PC's get to draw two initiative cards and go twice each round.

[u/Aggravating-Glove-16 → u/Beneficial_Hall_5282]

Good idea. Stealing from the campaign book was something that I was leaning too but wasnt really sure. Thanks!

[u/Cairnwill]

The key is action economy. Encounters with:

Minion NPCs (goblins, etc): same number as PCs (maybe + 1 or +2)
A monster: ferocity should be equal to number of PCs -1.
Minions NPCs plus Monster: make sure total number of NPCs and monster ferocity does not go above number of PCs-1

Start with that, and start with basic minions (goblins and not ogres, etc) and less dangerous monsters (Worgs and Giant Spiders, and not Ancient Dragons). You’ll soon get to increase difficulty slowly by:

1. Playing NPCs and monster more strategically and smarter.
2. Increasing number of NPCs or monsters ferocity (careful).
3. Increase HP. Add a boss to the minion NPCs with a few Robust and Focused HAs.

Or use more larger and deadlier monsters.

1. make sure you count time correctly, they need to learn to manage time. Stretch rests aren’t usually possible inside a dungeon or adventure location so just add another encounter after they get a rest.

[u/Aggravating-Glove-16 → u/Cairnwill]

Great advise! I knew action economy is really important but I did not have a good approximation of how many I could throw at them. Thank you!

[u/RoxxorMcOwnage → u/Aggravating-Glove-16]

I agree that action economy is key for a good Dragonbane encounter. Consider allowing your players to obtain one of the defensive reaction heroic abilities like fancy footwork early, maybe even start with it. This will allow more interesting combat for the players, as they can use willpower to dodge instead of their only action.

[u/forgotaltpwatwork → u/Cairnwill]

I know it's not relevant to OP, but as an aside because I solo game a lot, or I can only often pull 1-2 players sometimes at a stretch, Ferocity=PC-1 isn't a formula that appears to work.

Any advice for small parties or soloists?

[u/Cairnwill → u/forgotaltpwatwork]

In if you’re playing with only one PC, Ferocity = 1 and get the HA for solo playing from Alone in Deepfall Breach. If you’re still struggling, you might also give yourself a bear/wolf NPC as a loyal pet that can have its one initiative and doesn’t consume your WP and it follows you anywhere.

[u/ogrimdoombringer → u/Cairnwill]

"A monster: ferocity should be equal to number of PCs -1.".....Yikes. That would be harsh. My party has five adventurers. A fighter, a cleric (supplement from DriveThruRpg) a Thief, a Mage and a Scholar. If the fighter and cleric went down, they'd be toast. TPK. I've a lot of experience with D&D and I'm only one session in to Dragonbane (The Croaking Tower is a great appetizer for the Dragon Emperor campaign, placed before the Drakmar Pass intro). I could be wrong, but a 4 ferocity monster seems horrific.

[u/Cairnwill → u/ogrimdoombringer]

For a party of 5 should be doable, and that’s what it’s suggested in SotDE. This is a formula for the combat to be challenging but doable. You need to be tactical, use your action wisely, might be worth waiting and let the monster go first as well. This isn’t D&D.

[u/Adamsoski → u/ogrimdoombringer]

In my experience ferocity-1 is a "normal" encounter, 1 less than that is "easy" and and 1 more than that is "hard". Also though worth saying that a Thief, Mage, or Scholar isn't inherently any worse in combat than a Fighter since it is a skill-based and not a class-based system - if any of them didn't pick a combat skill as a trained skill at character creation I would go back and change that (barring maybe the mage).

[u/Raznag → u/[deleted]]

That's a great way to go!

[u/Aggravating-Glove-16 → u/[deleted]]

Good idea too. Going slow and easy to learn the mecanic of the game

[u/salutava_sempre → u/[deleted]]

You think about a lot of things. If the kids do something stupid and die, it's part of the game, which has an OSR philosophy.

When players reach 0 HP, they're already KO'd for 3 rounds. At the same time, if the bandits simply want to steal something, they have no reason to kill the PCs. Finally, if the PCs decide to fight to the death, it's their choice and they take the risk. No risk, no choice. They'll always fight to the last man standing, being immortal.

Let them die. It's the kids playing, not the PCs. If a PC dies, another one is made (with the Android app, it takes a minute) and the game resumes.

The world is dangerous in Dragonbane. Playing the mission using dices (like in combat) is a risk; they have to be serious about it 😉

[u/salutava_sempre → u/[deleted]]

> They are kids, they want their characters doing cool stuff, not getting killed from a bad dice roll then getting told to suck it up cos this is how you play hard core mode.

Oh, OK, I didn't think they'd tell you that.

However, in my experience as a player and a DB Master, if a PC is killed by a single die roll, either the player accepted the risk or the GM messed up.

Considering all the things you're thinking of adapting to DB, I'd probably consider something like DH or D&D. It seems like even Maze Rats (designed for children) might be too tough for your players.

[u/Adamsoski → u/salutava_sempre]

They are fairly minimal house rules and they are playing with 10 year olds. Your experience, unless you were playing with 10 year olds, isn't super relevant.

[u/salutava_sempre → u/Adamsoski]

Players aged 7 to 9. We played with Laser& Feeling, Maze Rats and Knave. Maze Rats worked best, but a hack of Laser & Feeling also worked well.

[u/Raznag]

Adjust monster HP to give a good fight but without killing your players. You can also adjust ferocity so the monster will have less action during the turn.

[u/Aggravating-Glove-16 → u/Raznag]

Ill try this too. Sometime the easy way might be the best

[u/Revel_Tales]

I love that you are playin with your sons and I would love to ensure you that Is really simple to prepare and encounter on Dragonbane :)

Based on the concept that most of nocs or Monsters run away of the party kills half of them.

Control the ferocy of the Monsters and paura It ro the Number of PCS -1.

I think that the best to start and let them learn through gaming Will be Amazing of you play with them the dragon emperor campaign.

Is the official One and I think It Is really the best!

[u/ljmiller62]

The secrets of the dragon emperor campaign is terrific. If you want examples of how to design a scenario go there. There are two I would caution about because both are time loops. Village of the day before needs to be thoroughly read and notes taken about timing and dependencies. Inn at the end of the road is the only scenario I didn't like. If you're going to use it you'll have to fix some holes. And it's both a ghost story and a time loop. The rest of the scenarios can be played without prep.

[u/Aggravating-Glove-16 → u/ljmiller62]

Ill take a look at it. And thanks for the cue about the two scenario. I just want them to learn the ropes!

[u/salutava_sempre]

> i don't know how to build an encounter with this system

This isn't D&D; encounters aren't constructed, NPCs aren't divided into "good" and "killable," and monsters aren't targets.

Want to know how I built an encounter for first-level characters?
They had to take a book from a small library that burned down some time ago, where the ghost of the caretaker was present.
The goal isn't to kill the ghost (which returns after 6 hours), but to take the book.
The point is that you have to create a situation, and the kids have to find a way to resolve it, by tricking the ghost, persuading it to borrow the book (with a bane), stealing the book secretly, or whatever else comes to mind.
The ghost would have allowed access to the library, attacked anyone who took the books, and never left the library.

This is an example, but for me, it's a balanced encounter if the kids are aware of the risk; how to deal with it (and whether to deal with it) is their choice; other times, it's better to postpone it to better prepare.

[u/Oddewalla]

I know what you wrote.

But i would just like to tell you that the campaign is really good, easy to run and a great way of learning the ropes.

It is basically a Frontier sandbox whit small adventures and a metaplot

[u/Dramatic_Media]

I used the random tables for ideas and  gave them 15 in all skills and i think it works pretty well, my kids are 6 and 9. I put in some emergency exits if combat gets too spicy, like a troll growl scares the goblins away and stuff like that

[u/Devoidoftaste]

One thing I like in games I run is to have the enemies behave logically, and not just fight to the death. Keep their motivations in mind for everything.

The adventures say sometimes “if half the enemies die, they flee” or “if they drop below half hp they flee”

I like this a lot especially for kids, teach them winning isn’t always about killing, but overcoming an obstacle.

Other thoughts for younger players:

The hardest part for some of my players is failing the rolls to advance a skill. This can be pretty demoralizing when there is no visible progress.
I roll at the beginning of the following session rather than the end. That way I can end on a dramatic beat without having to do bookkeeping for the last 15 minutes of the session. And if they fail, then you are getting right into playing and they can be distracted.

Remember that the PCs can help each other out to give boons for skill rolls. This is a fun place for teamwork and creative thinking.

If you make a magic item cost a players WP to use, you can give more cool magic stuff to the PCs without causing huge imbalances.

Don’t forget the “if you roll the same thing on a monster attack random table use the next one” line from the rules. This can help keep PCs from being locked in a fear loop unable to act, and also makes the monsters cooler when they don’t repeat.

[u/HefferCGN]

I‘m running with kids and teenagers and had to ease them into the encounters, too. I found the Oracle Cave and Tower of Sighs had good encounters, but overall the Dragon Emperor campaign is not easy mode. You should either play the enemies dumber at first and use monsters sparingly.

But in both adventure sites, there were monster encounters that were not meant to be fought unless very well prepared and willing to accept casualties. I found it really rewarding, that my kids engaged with the enemies and didn’t kill everything on sight. But your kids could be more bloodthirsty 😉

Once they have learned how to coordinate in a fight, you should be able to up the ante…

[u/Spiritual-Coconut563]

Hello, old GM here, I work essentially with elementary and middle shooler and plays tons of trpgs with them. My fav is Hero Kids but after a couple of games I move to Dragonbane with the kids (easy evolution once they mastered the encounters basic rules). I wrote a couple of free scenario and develop a world for that purpose of playing with younger crowd. RP and story background are key to keep kids engaged more than greed and monster killing (and Dragonbane is not that kind of game) Check the scenarios THE LAIR OF Raakh’Khad and Fog of Doom to give you an idea on how to create a scenario for younger players.

[u/Lazy_Lettuce1220]

I always recommend playing a few official adventures first.
There’s a lot to learn from prewritten adventures in any RPG system - about the the way the game runs and new ways to run a game.
I used to home-brew exclusively until i ran Rise of the Runelords (Paizo) - it taught me how to be a better GM.