From the mouths of babes

[Captain Obvious]

The other day, my six-year-old son and I were waiting out in the van for my wife and daughter to come out of the store, and he began describing "Mighty Men", this game he plays (actually, I suspect he was making it up on the fly, because he usually tells me what sorts of stuff he's playing at any given time). Whenever he's old enough to pay attention long enough, I'll be sure to get him into RPGs.

He started out by saying that the Mighty Men are cowboys who live in a jungle, where they have to fight gorillas and cheetahs, and they ride on giant bats. There is a group of knights that they fight sometimes, but both the Mighty Men and the knights fight Deegle and Spikes. These last two are apparently some sort genetic engineers, because (as my son described it), they put animals together in chemicals to make new animals. Spikes made himself as large as a rhino and put rhino horns all over his body. Deegle accidentally fell into the chemicals with a deer and an eagle, so he has wings and antlers. Some of the creatures they've made are lion-headed snakes, attack dogs the size of rhinos with rhino horns (he seemed to have a rhino theme going), and dinosaurs with elephant trunks.

Sounds like a wild post-apoc game, or some Rifts-like genre-melding thing. At the very least, if I'm ever running a dimension hopping Champions game, and I'm at a loss for a dimension the PCs accidentally find themselves in, the Mighty Men will make an appearance, I think.

[BobGreenwade]

This is a world that would definitely, if nothing else, make for an interesting DH article. :D

[aylwin13]

Hey Capt. it sounds like you have an up-and-coming GM there. :thumbup:

His ideas sound better than some of the ones I've had. :D

[ghost-angel]

GMs should fine the nearest 5-7 year old and get them involved in World Design.

[Lord Liaden]

Sometimes we spend too much time worrying about themes, logic and internal consistency in our game worlds, and tend to forget that first and foremost they're supposed to be fun. ;)

[L. Marcus]

. . . Sounds extremely Pulpy-fun!

[Susano]

GMs should fine the nearest 5-7 year old and get them involved in World Design.

I need to make a note of that.

[L. Marcus]

My four years old nephew likes to play Dinosaurs and Paleontologists. The latter tends to be eaten a lot. :) Same goes for Dragons and Knights.

[Major Tom]

GMs should fine the nearest 5-7 year old and get them involved in World Design.

If 5-year-old advisors are good enough for Evil Overlords, then yes, let them
design worlds for the rest of us to run amok in.


Major Tom :thumbup:

[NestorDRod]

I need to make a note of that.

Julianna's always available there, Sparky.

For those not in the know, Julie's my 7-year old and she continually concocts the most amazing stories as she directs her Polly Pockets and Lego people in their adventures. The kid's got more going in her noggin than her old man's ever been able to come up with. :winkgrin:

This reminds me of my currently 21-year old daughter, back when she was 7 or 8. A friend of mine and I decided to help her create a Champions character. If I recall, she had long tassels in her costume to entangle opponents, or something like that. Anyway, when working through the Characteristics, my friend asked her, "What's her EGO?" My daughter answered, shocked, "She doesn't have a EGO!" :lol:

From the mouths of babes, indeed.

[Enforcer84]

my GM's daughter designs encounters for us. Deadly encounters. We fear her.

[Susano]

I'm considering a DH article out of this. Basically a series of short setting "seeds" much like what the good Captain has posted. Would anyone have any such "game descriptions" they'd like to submit?

Ken, could I use "Mighty Men"?

[Cancer]

For my "family game", mentioned obliquely in the Xiaolin SHowdown thread, I'm using a world and geographic concept I first cooked up back in the 60's.

[OddHat]

I'm considering a DH article out of this. Basically a series of short setting "seeds" much like what the good Captain has posted. Would anyone have any such "game descriptions" they'd like to submit?


Your characters are space traveller explorers inside the body of a huge, 10,000 mile long living creature that is rapidly approaching the Earth's Solar System (it swallowed your ship, the first manned Earth Ship ever built with a working FTL drive). You have self maintaining Ship-Skin Suits that let you survive, but your ship is too damaged to escape. Inside the creature there are areas with an atmosphere (breathable with Ship-Skins), and entire civilizations of parasites that may have evolved from other travellers. Your goals: Make contact with the creature, or escape and warn Earth!

[BobGreenwade]

Sometimes we spend too much time worrying about themes, logic and internal consistency in our game worlds, and tend to forget that first and foremost they're supposed to be fun. ;)Right. Fun-ness first, logic second.

Hence Space Wizards. :D

[austenandrews]

When my kids make up adventure stories, they come out sounding like video games. Which is funny, because we don't play video games at our house (except an occasional Flash game at a web site like Nick Jr.). My four-year-old made a book (stapled and everything) the other day about a kid who takes a dangerous journey through mountain tunnels. At the end he meets an evil robot and beats it by draining its gasoline tanks. My older son used to make up stories about Everything-Proof Man and his enemy Half Man (half human, half robot). Usually EPM's spinosaurus mount wound up defeating Half Man's T-rex mount.

[Lysando]

Julianna's always available there, Sparky.

For those not in the know, Julie's my 7-year old and she continually concocts the most amazing stories as she directs her Polly Pockets and Lego people in their adventures. The kid's got more going in her noggin than her old man's ever been able to come up with. :winkgrin:
.

Where and when do we lose that easy, flowing creativity....?

[Susano]

Where and when do we lose that easy, flowing creativity....?

Right around middle to high school, I think.

[Captain Obvious]

Ken, could I use "Mighty Men"?

Sure. Credit to Cedric Moore.

[Captain Obvious]

Right around middle to high school, I think.

Yeah, just when we need it for gaming. :(

[L. Marcus]

. . . All creativity gets redirected at girls, presumably.

[mayapuppies]

. . . All creativity gets redirected at girls, presumably.
I've heard of those. A myth I say. :help:

[Badger]

Hey Capt. it sounds like you have an up-and-coming GM there. :thumbup:

His ideas sound better than some of the ones I've had. :D

I vaguely remember some of my old imagination games when I was little. I sometimes wish and could more vividly remember it. Because they seemed on the surface like pretty interesting things for RPG.

Anyhoo, what is playing pretend but a less evolved form of RPGs. ;)

[Badger]

my GM's daughter designs encounters for us. Deadly encounters. We fear her.

Bring lots of candy. :lol:

[Badger]

Right around middle to high school, I think.

You know when I think about it. I almost think imagination is discouraged then. Hmm, the best way to describe it I guess would be "make believe is for kids, you want to grow up dont you".

As far as make believe I do remember we had to make up an animal from 2 animals for some class exercise in 3rd grade. I think I made up a 100-foot long alligator that was part cat or something (I think one front foot was a cat's paw w/ claws)

[kjamma4]

<Lord Liaden said: Sometimes we spend too much time worrying about themes, logic and internal consistency in our game worlds, and tend to forget that first and foremost they're supposed to be fun.>

This should be Rule 0 of any RPG.

<Austenandrews said: My four-year-old made a book (stapled and everything) the other day about a kid who takes a dangerous journey through mountain tunnels.>

Make sure you safe guard that. Fifteen years from now you can pull it out and smile. Twenty five years from now you can pull it out and show it to the four-year-old child of your child.

[Susano]

Hmm... it seems that only Cpt. Obvious has given me anything to work with, despite my asking around on some other Mailing Lists. Pity... maybe I should post this on NGD?

[OddHat]

Hmm... it seems that only Cpt. Obvious has given me anything to work with, despite my asking around on some other Mailing Lists. Pity... maybe I should post this on NGD?

Eh? I thought the idea I posted in #14 wasn't too bad:

Your characters are space traveller explorers inside the body of a huge, 10,000 mile long living creature that is rapidly approaching the Earth's Solar System (it swallowed your ship, the first manned Earth Ship ever built with a working FTL drive). You have self maintaining Ship-Skin Suits that let you survive, but your ship is too damaged to escape. Inside the creature there are areas with an atmosphere (breathable with Ship-Skins), and entire civilizations of parasites that may have evolved from other travellers. Your goals: Make contact with the creature, or escape and warn Earth!

[Susano]

Eh? I thought the idea I posted in #14 wasn't too bad:

Your characters are space traveller explorers inside the body of a huge, 10,000 mile long living creature that is rapidly approaching the Earth's Solar System (it swallowed your ship, the first manned Earth Ship ever built with a working FTL drive). You have self maintaining Ship-Skin Suits that let you survive, but your ship is too damaged to escape. Inside the creature there are areas with an atmosphere (breathable with Ship-Skins), and entire civilizations of parasites that may have evolved from other travellers. Your goals: Make contact with the creature, or escape and warn Earth!

Oops... missed that. When did you come up with that? (as in what age?).

[OddHat]

Oops... missed that. When did you come up with that? (as in what age?).

Ah. PMed you before seeing this.

That was from my early teens, inspired by Heinlein's Universe (still a favorite for nostalgia value) modified in my early twenties by the first Wild Cards book (my first exposure to living ships).

[BobGreenwade]

<Austenandrews said: My four-year-old made a book (stapled and everything) the other day about a kid who takes a dangerous journey through mountain tunnels.>

Make sure you safe guard that. Fifteen years from now you can pull it out and smile. Twenty five years from now you can pull it out and show it to the four-year-old child of your child.
And in between those times you could probably develop it into a best-seller. ;)

[Pavanne]

Your characters are Space Navy officers, with a great big ship, only you fight some bad people with a bigger ship, so you need to make a bigger ship. You defeat the bad people.

Only then you run into other bad people with a ship bigger than yours, so you make a bigger ship. You defeat the other bad people.

But then you run into some more bad people whose ship is even bigger! So you make a really huge ship. You defeat the some more bad people.

Repeat ad nauseum. You now have a kid's campaign.


Or the entire Lensman and skylark series. :rofl:

[BobGreenwade]

Actually I was thinking of doing a DH article, using the Worlds Of Empire format, on a world founded as a colony during the Interstellar Age by a genetics corporation that had access to the DNA of several dinosaur species (yes, inspired by Jurassic Park) along with a group of conservation-minded Native Americans (somewhat like Chakotay's people in the Star Trek universe). With the right mix of circumstances they become blaster-toting, stegosaur-riding Apache.

[bigdamnhero]

Let me know when your son is ready to start GMing - I would totally play in that campaign! :D

[OzMike]

You are a team of space explorers aboard a small but sturdy starship. One day you crash on a planet populated by intelligent farm animals that are the slave race of a race of grotesque and cruel giants. Also, a monstrous feline roams the landscape, but after the initial fear factor the explorers realise it is a benevolent creature that means them no harm and in fact protects and warms them during the freezing nights, but the giants fear it.

The animals and the explorers join forces to overthrow the giants, who also have cruel and heaviliy armed guards and a battle ensues. In the midst of battle, the giants' power crystal is destroyed, and the planet begins to self destruct. So the explorers and intelligent animals board the ship and escape in the nick of time and begin the long journey back to earth as sort of a space going Noah's Ark.

The story is in my language now, but based a story I remember playing out with my toys at around the age of 7 or 8 I'd guess.

The cast:
Spaceship - lego
Explorers - Lego men and women
Intelligent Animlas - Plastic farm animals
Giants - My sister's dolls
Giant's guards - Pocket People, Star Wars Action figures, Micronauts
Monstrous Feline - My cat, Mickey Mouse (R.I.P.)

[austenandrews]

The story I recall from my own childhood (maybe first grade) concerned several adventurers who donned heat-proof suits so they could enter the lava-world inside a volcano and defeat the monster inside. The monster had a giant spike for a face. They nicknamed it Pinocchio. When they defeated it, they discovered a bejeweled crown as a treasure.

[Matt Frisbee]

I had a mad on for "Planet of the Apes" when I was a kid -- but that lasted only until I discovered Tolkien, D&D and Star Wars in a span of about three years...

Matt "Totally-ape" Frisbee

[Remjin]

wow... so, reading this, I tried to remember either of my daughters various play sessions and endless stories. I often ask them what they're playing at and watch them do so for hours sometimes while my wife and I read. So, let me try to summarize their running campaign (for it is truly epic and broad in scope and apparently serial) with a wide brush.

There are several families of anywhere from 4 to 18 in members, each family unique in origin from the large furry or puffy (stuffed) to the extremely short and rigid (block people) who ALL go to school together.

They love to go to the Ice Cream planet, sometimes the Candy planet, for field trips and reverie... and general bickering about dresses, shoes, and occupations. (yes, I'm in a lot of trouble when they get older... )

Now, these families are ruled by the various princesses, whose father gives them anything they desire, except candy, which they get from their mother. The orincesses rule by right and might, as they often explain to their populace that they shouldn't do whatever they were doing because its "not nice." And if they don't listen, they're gonna tell, or possibly kick some butt themselves. Often, they do it themselves.

The world they inhabit seems to be pretty nice, as a lot of people seem to own 67 Camaros (my daughter really likes my car).

However, despite all this creamy and sugary goodness, one must beware... because if you go too far, you'll end up in "the bad places" where roving zombies chase you to eat your brains (my fault, late night movie and sudden child visitation from slumber...)... unless you give them ice cream, which gives then brain freeze, thus allowing escape and occasionally a "you're not nice" talk followed by brain chewing. Amongst the other pitfalls of these places are the Eye on Fire (they love LotR), they flying bad faeries, and giant dragons and elephants that want to step on you.

A large part of the story tends to revolve around school and camping.

[Captain Obvious]

you'll end up in "the bad places" where roving zombies chase you to eat your brains


When my daughter was about 3, she was explaining to my sister-in-law that we have eyes to see the sun and stars and a nose to sniff the pretty flowers. My sister-in-law asked her why we have ears, and she replied "To hear ghosts and zombies."

I don't know where that came from...

[austenandrews]

When my daughter was about 3, she was explaining to my sister-in-law that we have eyes to see the sun and stars and a nose to sniff the pretty flowers. My sister-in-law asked her why we have ears, and she replied "To hear ghosts and zombies."
I like your daughter. My kinda kid. :)