BLUF: Any recommendations for session zero, game systems to run, and co-dming with teens?
As a bit of background:
I used to run Hero Kids games with my wife back when the kids were 8, 6, and 4. They enjoyed them and we occasionally run other games with them now, but the younger ones aren't as interested in them anymore, so getting them in has been more difficult. All of them have differing levels of ability to sit through a game, and keeping combat turns quick has been a key focus.
My eldest is now 12, and is interested in playing more TTRPGs and learning to DM her own games. She's been playing D&D 5e weekly with a group of teens at a FLGS, but she's probably one of the youngest ones there. She's also neurodivergent, as are several others in that group. So there's often been struggles with things not being done "the right way" as well as attention spans growing short and wandering. The gaming group has already grown too large and unruly and been split once, so now it's two different games meeting every other week each instead of one game meeting every week.
The owners of the FLGS have expressed interest in having other people help run games for teens there, and I'm interested in helping, but I'm less fond of D&D 5e myself, especially for teens with short attention spans. So my idea currently is to come up with a "Survey of TTRPGs" and just run one shots in multiple systems, and end with offering some games where interested teens can run a one shot and I'd just serve as co-dm with them. I'd be available to help plan, as well as to help run the game day of.
My thought process here is that experiencing several different systems would help expand their experience of play styles, and would hopefully make it easier for them to accept players at their table having different preferred play styles. The experience would also hopefully illustrate different situations and scenarios in play, and make it easier to accept new ideas at the table. To me, the ideal help for the ongoing situation is to have a group of teens willing and interested to run games for other teens, and my daughter is interested in being one of those teens but isn't comfortable doing so yet.
I want to start by coming up with a session zero that is geared for teens, and then do some very rules lite systems for the first few weeks. The goal being to introduce some role playing concepts and decision making options without a lot of rules involved up front, then work to other systems that have additional rules as time goes on. I imagine we'd start with something like Heroic Tales, work in Tiny D6 based games, look at some OSR type stuff, check out some PbtA, and end on D&D 5e and/or Pathfinder 2e. When we make it to the point of offering co-dm sessions, the kids could pick anything we'd run already as the base system.
My personal struggle is that I enjoy a lot of systems, and am interested in a lot more that I haven't gotten to play yet. So I've been trying to work several of those into this idea. I tried to work out a list of systems, and eventually had 13 one shots I was going to try and run, with multiple options in systems at basically every one of them (and multiple genres to boot), and I feel like it is probably just a bit too ambitious, and want to pare it back further.
So does anyone have:
- Any tips to offer for running games for teens (current group is ages 12-17),
- Suggestions for systems that have quick combat turns to help maintain the interest of short attention spans,
- Extra tips for Session Zeros that come up more often with teens than adults
I'm pretty new to backpacking, but from what I've read/learned, I wouldn't think there is any one best pack to get. There's several brands making good packs, and the variances between any two different people make for a lot of variability in which brands make packs good for any particular person. Then there's the goals of that person that further influence which brands and which packs within a brand are good.
If you have access to a bigger camping/outdoors shop to try things on, get the pack fitted, and wander around the store wearing it with some weight in it, that would probably give you a good place to start.
Beyond that, how much gear do you tend to carry? Do you have a budget? How long do you tend to stay out when you go? What activities do you enjoy doing while out: do you tend to go out and base camp for a bit, do long marches and cover lots of miles? What kind of trips you make adds in a lot of variability on what you would want in a pack for your trip!
So, do you have any further details about the kinds of trips you're taking, how long they last, and what you enjoy doing while out? That would go a long way to helping get decent recommendations!
If you're unfamiliar with them: Moosejaw, Backcountry, Garage Grown Gear, and REI are some pretty good sites for new equipment, and REI tends to have physical locations in various places around the country too, as well as periodic "garage sales" of used equipment. There is also Geartrade to buy used or overstock equipment from both retailers and direct from consumers.
Hope you're having fun out there!