Rediscovering HQ with the next generation

[TheWiseOldElf]

Hi all, newbie here, so apologies if this is a bit of a FAQ...

I had HQ from the very begining (was 11 or 12 when it first came out in the UK and I instantly took to it as I was already seriously hooked on "Fighting Fantasy" books).

Now a lot older and I've just introduced my Firstborn (she's 5) to the game. She used the Dwarf solo for "The Maze" (to keep things simple) and then added the Barbarian for her second attempt at rescuing Sir Ragnar, after dying at the first attempt.

I'm using a kind of "Neutral Dungeonmaster"-type attitude myself, as you might in D&D, rather than playing an "aggressive" Evil Wizard role. For instance when body points were running low, I've substituted Goblins for Orcs, or made the monsters more likely to stand guard over certain doors, rather than harass the Hero/es.

Just wondering if other people had advice or experiences to share - any tips of ways to play the game with young kids? Rule tweaks, etc? Also, I'm aware that the game has changed a lot in the intervening years - I have the core game and KK, and was aware of RotWL, but I see that there's since been a number of other extension packs and mods - are there any major rule changes in these later additions that have been widely adopted for use in the basic game?

Thanks in advance,
Jim

[Goblin-King]

Top of my head...

* You are doing it right by not executing the kid. "Cheat" to keep a good balance. Add extra potions or weaker monsters. It should still be a challenge though. It's a fine line.
* Use a lot of narrative: describe rooms or monsters. This room smells horribly and is littered with bones that might once have belonged to humans... It's more in the vein of D&D but kids love that stuff.
* Generally adding more "roleplay". Monsters might flee or react in certain ways. Also allow the kid to roleplay her way out of certain situations if it's called for.

The rules haven't really changed. Any new rules are basically only relevant if you own the corresponding expansion.

[TheWiseOldElf]

* Use a lot of narrative: describe rooms or monsters. This room smells horribly and is littered with bones that might once have belonged to humans... It's more in the vein of D&D but kids love that stuff.

That's a great tip, and I can see her really enjoying that
Also, I suppose that's a good way of giving hints that a certain room might be worth searching, and avoid having to prompt her directly

* Generally adding more "roleplay". Monsters might flee or react in certain ways. Also allow the kid to roleplay her way out of certain situations if it's called for.

Also helpful - so far I guess I've been playing it a bit "straight" - more boardgame than roleplay, but will try to ham things up a bit more.

* You are doing it right by not executing the kid. "Cheat" to keep a good balance. Add extra potions or weaker monsters. It should still be a challenge though. It's a fine line.

Yeah - had occured to me that I could also add potions to the list of purchasable equipment, to allow a bit of "stocking up" - especially as we're not using any spells yet.

Thanks for a very helpful reply

Two further questions:
1.Does anyone know if there are printable record sheets that are better designed for the purposes than the original ones seem to be, with specific sections that allow tracking of attack and defend scores, as well as gold, equipment, potions etc. If not, I might try to concoct my own.
2.Can you recommend any really good one-off user-created adventures that work with the original set and rules, and are really worth playing?

[cornixt]

Goblin-King covered all the bits I was going to suggest. Kids don't mind "winning" every quest, but don't make it a walkover. I use tokens for body points to reduce the penciling needed.

The proper tracking sheets aren't very good. I edited them to increase the equipment section, but it still isn't enough for child-size writing. I'd recommend just using a plain piece of A5 paper, write their name and body/mind at the top and use the rest for gold and equipment.

[cynthialee]

I'd have each child play 2 heroes. That way if one of their heroes die, they will be that much more excited about the one that lives to finish the quest.
Also by playing two heroes the children will develop favorite heroes and do their best to keep that hero alive. Then you can use this knowledge as a Game Master to really make them sweat and plot.

Edit to add: Just noticed I am a Scout now instead of an Arch Mage....so...? How is a scout more powerful than an Arch Mage?

[TheWiseOldElf]

Kids don't mind "winning" every quest, but don't make it a walkover.

Yeah - I deliberately didn't intervene when she died in the first attempt at the Sir Ragnar quest, as I didn't want to set a precedent of her always expecting to win.

I use tokens for body points to reduce the penciling needed.

Good idea!

[IvenBach]

Make sure it's fun for them. Don't force them to win, I learned this the hard way. Condensed version being my daughter only needed to go through one more door and she was finished. She didn't want to and being the logical father I am I simply told her that her character goes over and opens the door & switched it out. She later tells snitches on me to my wife saying 'Daddy cheats...' Again, make sure it's fun and don't force them to do stuff.

[Sjeng]

Two further questions:
1.Does anyone know if there are printable record sheets that are better designed for the purposes than the original ones seem to be, with specific sections that allow tracking of attack and defend scores, as well as gold, equipment, potions etc. If not, I might try to concoct my own.
2.Can you recommend any really good one-off user-created adventures that work with the original set and rules, and are really worth playing?

Hi and welcome to the Inn! Great to see the game being passed on over the generations

The forum has a huge amount of game resources, including custom record sheets and quests. Also tiles to put on the board (rooms), additional cards and equipment, potions, magic scrolls, monsters etc. But you'll need to dig a bit. Everything should be organized in seperate subforums, but there are so many threads, you might need to use the search function now and again.

We also have a blog (see my signature), and I've placed many quests from the forum there as well, as well as character sheets and extra cards. Might be easier to spot them on the blog (it also has a search funstion, and categories you can browse).
Good luck!

[Goblin-King]

Make sure it's fun for them. Don't force them to win, I learned this the hard way. Condensed version being my daughter only needed to go through one more door and she was finished. She didn't want to and being the logical father I am I simply told her that her character goes over and opens the door & switched it out. She later tells snitches on me to my wife saying 'Daddy cheats...' Again, make sure it's fun and don't force them to do stuff.

I'm curious... Why didn't she want to enter the door? And what did she want to do instead?

make sure it's fun and don't force them to do stuff

And actually, this universal advice really goes for adult players as well...

[Lemmeron]

Hi and welcome to the inn !

My girls are a little older being 9,11 - but I think they are close enough in age to give you a few of the things they like..

I allow them to creep up to a door and 'peek' through the key hole - and I will put anything out in the room that is in the same line only as the door - this gives them a little bit more of a chance to think about what they want to do and they enjoy sneaking up on things, peeking through the key hole and throwing open the door and scarring all the monsters !

One of my youngest favorites was seeing 2 goblins at a table and decided they were having a dinner date.... she found it super funny to barge in and interrupt them (me of course doing my best imitation of a squealing goblin with a mouth full of food)

If you allow them to use their imagination, it is amazing what they come up with and how much fun it can be for them.

They were also obsessed with trying to drag monsters to the torture rack because once I put a goblin on it with the intent on them rescuing it from the orcs in the room, but of course they killed it along with them so they were trying to drag another monster there so they could pretend to rescue it instead....

So my advise, have fun and immerse yourself in their world, it can be a nice change as a father.