Synopsis of the D&D Elemental Planes Adventure ============================================== I ran a D&D campaign with my 6 & 7 (almost 8) year-old girls that spanned all of the 4 Elemental planes (plus the material plane). My older daughter, Lisa, played a Halfling Sorceress named "Geesa". My younger daughter played a Halfling Rogue named "Jetta" (and a very lucky rogue she was indeed). We used a very stripped-down version of the rules; basically a system I developed myself that would be more age-appropriate (the character sheets fit on a 3x5 card -- someday I'll do write-up on my system). It was immensely fun and lasted for a whole year (meaning they were ages 5 & 6 (almost 7) when we started). This file summarizes most of the events that took place, with a few holes due to lapses in memory. I'll also mention by way of introduction that my girls are most fond of playing with the little miniatures (I have scads of those WotC D&D minis), drawing on the vinyl mats with the wet-erase pens, using some "shiny stones" I have to count their hit points (Chessex gaming supplies) and they love handling & rolling the dice (don't we all). Picking up on this, I tried to make the adventures we played very "tactile", often using dungeon dressing (MageKnight, Dwarven Forge, etc.) and occasionally even using dollhouse furnature to help dress up the scene. Notwithstanding all this, I was pleasantly surprised to observe how they could visualize things that were described to them as well. They learned a great many things in each session we played, including but not limited to: arithmetic (addition, subtraction, division - when the time came to divide gold pieces), problem solving (working through traps & puzzles), vocabulary (I used some words they hadn't heard before to describe various places so they would stop me to ask what they mean), teamwork (Jetta used her Rogue skills to complement Geesa's spellcasting, or vice-versa), and good behavior (I didn't want them to be rowdy or goof off when playing lest they break things). It was a rewarding and educational experience for all of us. (Sometimes I think they learned more in a D&D session than they did in a week of school.) Backstory: "Return of the Crystals" --------- To understand the big goal of this adventure, it helps to know that they did another one previously called "The Return of the Crystals" where they recovered 4 magical crystals from various locations where they'd been lost. A "bunny" crystal (which conferred jumping abilities) was found in an Owlbear's den, a "healing" (green) crystal was found in a Lizard mound, a "crystal of second chances" (yellow - gave rerolls) was found in a Dragon's lair, and the "censer of undead turning" (silver casing with black stone inside) was found in an underground dungeon beneath the Sun Church where the clerics lived. The adventure culminated with the two of them using the censer to turn a Nightwalker that was unleashed and ravaging their village. Along the way they picked up numerous other treasures besides the crystals, including a wand of lightning bolts from the Lizard mound, some Lizard-scale armor (same place), some magic crossbows (from the dungeon beneath the church), and a "bracelet of friends" that basically consisted of a leather arm greave with an inset crystal that could contact a matching bracelet for long-range audio / video communication. (Effectively, a fantasy-genre video-enabled cell phone.) The other bracelet belonged to a pair of dwarves named Dugosh and Tordeck. An old Bard named "Humboffer" sang some old songs to them which contained the clues they needed to lead them to the dragon lair where the yellow crystal was hidden. Aditionally, Geesa learned the "Charm" spell (which she put to good use) and Jetta learned how to use magic devices. When the time came to rescue the yellow crystal from the dragon's lair, they wisely crept in and stole it, rather than trying to slaughter everything. I say "wisely" because the lair was inhabited by an _enormous_ Mommy dragon and about half a dozen wyrmlings. Well, they fled the lair unscathed, but the Mommy dragon discovered that some of her horde was missing and took wing to pursue. She began to rain down fire upon the village where Geesa & Jetta had come from. The bracelet of friends started flashing and "pinging", Geesa answered to find Tordeck on the other end, panic-ridden as he explained the village's immenent doom. Upon hearing the news, Geesa and Jetta sprang into action. Geesa charmed a huge bird (a Vrock) which they they mounted and flew toward the village. Descending from the clouds, they caught the Mommy dragon unawares, and using their combined skills, they activated the wand and tore holes through the Mommy dragon's wings. Naturally, the Mommy dragon plummeted to the earth where she died. The King of Town was most grateful and declared that today would be "Hobbit day" to celebrate the valiant Halfling girls who had slain the dragon, and that it would be celebrated every year. Geesa & Jetta's daddy, Kridlob Fannypants, was also very proud of them. After returning the crystals to the Sun Church Clerics, an angel appeared and granted Geesa and Jetta one wish each. Geesa wished for a Staff of Earth, Jetta wished for some immovable rods (she got a set of 4). Thus went the "Return of the Crystals" adventure. The Planes Adventure Begins --------------------------- Intro: The Lost Rug ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This adventure began innocently enough with the two girls playing in the mushroom garden when their daddy (Kridlob) called them to dinner. A dinner guest tonight was Humboffer, who told them about his life as an adventurer when he was younger. At one point, he told them about an old rug of his that took him on many adventures. The rug was a tapestry that displayed pretty clouds floating through a blue sky. Humboffer couldn't remember where he lost his rig, but he thinks some nasty Bugbears that he ran into may have taken it. At last, he turned to Geesa & Jetta and asked "Could you find my rug and bring it back to me?" Naturally, the two young halflings agreed, and set off after dinner. (Aside: One fun thing about roleplaying is you get to do things that you can't normally do in real life. Normally, my two girls go to bed after dinner, so this was kind of fun for them.) The Bugbears' Fortress ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After hiking across the land a ways, they came to an old, run-down fortress at the top of a hill. Some Bugbear guards on the ramparts told them they'd found the right place. Attempting to enter in through the front gate was unsuccessful as the gate was both locked and trapped (Geesa got hit by a falling boulder). Eventually, they decided to try entering into a window at the top of a tower by making a ladder with the immovable rods. After a little climbing, they were in. They slyly made their way through the fortress halls, sneaking past inattentive Bugbears and charming ones that spotted them. Eventually they found an old, twisting passageway that led them down to the lower chambers.