I was going to call this TEARS & TANTRUMS™ RPG. But I feel this heading is more apt, since I have corrupted little minds.
Firstly, I probably should explain: My father-in-law Doug Williams recently visited us and he brought along our niece and two nephews. Kayla is age 10 and Kane and Ashley are twin boys, age 7. Being an impromptu visit by the latter three, I was kinda thrown aback when it was announced that they would be staying with us for four days. As I am still working two jobs these days (writing and factory working), I knew that trying to write in our 2 bedroom home would be merely pretence, so I swallowed my pride and let that go for those days. I
remembered a little while ago early 2010 when I was entertaining the thought of having both of our families visit us for Christmas in Bega. One of the activities I planned to do was to introduce Kayla, Kane and Ashley to Fighting Fantasy, specifically Warlock of Firetop Mountain.
I have posted about WoFTM before. Pundits will know that this book was first published in 1982. I remember receiving it via the primary school book club in 1983. As a December baby, the astute of you will calculate that I was 10 when I first challenged the creatures of the underworld therein. I surmised that Kayla perhaps mature enough to do the same. However, I didn't just want to throw the book in her lap, along with two dice, a pencil and an eraser, and then expect her to instantly find the book cool.
I did the next best thing: I read it to her. Like a Dungeon Master would.
Naturally, Kane and Ashley wanted in on the action. So I briefly explained the concepts of SKILL, STAMINA, LUCK and the basics of combat. During this process, I watched each of the kids roll their respective d6s for their attributes.
Finally, three adventurers stood before me, awaiting the horrors of Firetop Mountain:
- KANE, the Swordsman.
- KAYLA the Amazon.
- ASH the Axe-battler.
I read out the ‘RUMOURS’ section of the book, making special note to emphasise the part about the Warlock’s magical power. There was a lot of text to get through and I could see already that I was losing the twins rapidly. Then, I showed them the picture of the mountain, and how it looked as if the cliff face had been savaged by some gargantuan beast.
‘Whoa! Look at the skulls on the post! I wonder what lives in the caves?’
I had them hooked. We had a great time. It took us three days to get to the inner sanctum of the Warlock (I helped them a little with the Maze of Zagor).
* * * * * * * * *
NO TEARS & TANTRUMS™ GAMEBOOK ROLEPLAYING.
Here are a few suggestions that may help when introducing youngsters to (the dark and evils of!) Roleplaying Games.
START SIMPLE: When exposing youngsters to RPGs, please remember that you are exposing them to concepts that may be alien and a little frightening to them. Take it slow and start with something simple.
KNOW YOUR GAMEBOOK: If possible, play through the book yourself and make notes. Keep an eye out for things which might be frustrating, quarrel-inducing and the like. It will help you to manage things when it comes time for the children to play.
BEHAVIOUR AT THE TABLE: A zero tolerance of children fighting/quarrelling with others is a good start. Reinforce that your word is final.
DICE: Let the dice fall where they may. As you might expect in my game, there were a lot of 6s rolled during the character creation process, but thankfully as the game wore on (mainly because after ‘magically’ rolling a ‘6’, imagine their surprise when that number came straight off their respective STAMINA), they were all inclined to let the dice fall where they may. Watch their rolls if you need to and admonish them for not rolling properly or are caught cheating. All rolls not made on the table do not count. To not tolerate tears/tantrums from those who roll low at a crucial juncture. This is a game.
MATH: Encourage them to add up their own numbers. Do not help them to speed play.
CHEATING: Thankfully this did not come up for me, but I was prepared to impose some harsh penalties (like missing out on treasure for 3 goes).
DECISION MAKING: As there were three players, I gave each of them a vote. The majority vote dictated the decision of the party. For impasses, have players must throw two dice and whoever gets the highest, gets to make the decision for the party.
TREASURE: Try and divide treasure evenly if you can, but do not adjust the amounts of gold dictated in the book.
ITEMS: Pass out the first item yourself and then explain who gets the second, third (and so on). This establishes an acceptable routine for them to follow. As an alternative, have the children roll two dice at the start of the adventure to determine who gets the first item. In some instances, I used large amounts of gold as an item to offset the other two getting something.
NARRATING: Practice your narrating skills. It helps to treat it like a bedtime storybook. Try and avoid a monotonous tone when reading out descriptive text. Don’t forget to show them pictures if you have them.
COMBAT: Try and run combats as written if you can, but do not be afraid of adding in extra monsters if you need to. For Fighting Fantasy, brush up on your rules for ‘Fighting more than One Opponent.’ Also, make it exciting; like you would if you were Dungeon Mastering for a group of your regular friends. Just saying ‘Miss, Hit, Hit’ gets boring very quickly.
MAPPING: Draw the map for them, so they understand how to do it.
Children are quick studies and learnt their boundaries fast. Despite my having to shut down play at one point, I only had to do it once. They understood the consequences of bad behaviour.
* * * * * * * * *
DAY 3: THE WARLOCK’S SANCTUM
On the morning of the day they were leaving for Great Aunty Shirley (they call her Aunty Grandma); they finally burst through into the Warlock’s sanctum. After robbing him of his power (which they remembered from RUMOURS), they defeated him in combat and set about looting his chest. They found to their dismay that despite them having three keys, only two of them were correct. I fully expected either one or both the twins to have a fit.
Kane said: ‘Right! I hit the chest with my sword!’ Ashley and Kayla also agreed to do the same thing.
I followed their lead and backtracked a few references, as giving them the option for doing so had already passed. The thunderous rumbling once again filled the air and everyone was required to Test your Luck. Kane was unlucky that time and ended up a sooty outline upon the floor.
This is it: The time where indelible marks are left upon people’s minds and souls.
‘Hahaha! Cool!’ Exclaimed Kane and Ashley. “Can we keep this book so we can try again?”
“Sure.” I said, smiling.
But remember: For once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.
It was time to go, so I gave them their map, some pencils and some dice each. I also gave them some books to take with them.
- Island of the Lizard King
- Eye of the Dragon
- Crypt of the Sorcerer
- And my copy of Warlock of Firetop Mountain.
So long, my old friend. I will miss you.
Those days playing Warlock of Firetop Mountain with Kayla, Kane and Ashley have stayed with me, reminding me of a time when I played Blood Sword with Mark and Adrian James. (Blood Sword –incidentally-- is set in the same world as Dragon Warriors). Blood Sword is a series of 4 game books that (ended weirdly) could be played with up to 4 players. I loved Blood Sword as it eliminated the need for a Dungeon Master and yet was still an RPG of sorts. We three ate those books alive.
I am eager to do this again: I hope my niece and nephews feel the same way when next we meet. I am dying to try Deathtrap Dungeon or even Return to Firetop Mountain as a multiplayer book.
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