Family
For this whirlwind tour I'm joined by Colin Anderson, a.k.a. Family Fantasy RPG, and we take you through what it means to find a family through TTPRGs. Colin has a wealth of experience in the family-friendly homebrew and TTRPG space, and he shares his insight and experience gained from designing child-focused role-playing games. One thread which is universal, however, is that D&D is an evergreen learning activity for all ages and experience, and every sessions is a learning opportunity. This is true whether you're playing with three-year olds, or grizzled OD&D veterans. Having run games with both his child and partner, Colin explains the challenges that accompany a group of younger players, and how it can be uniquely rewarding. We also discuss why child-friendly TTRPGs are even required; the inherent complexity of the rules that I struggle with to this day! By offering simplified tiers of play through games such as Dino Riderz and Hero Kids, you can slowly and safely introduce new players to the wonders of RPGs, without the dense baggage of three hardback rule books.
- 02:44 - The role of "family" within D&D
- 09:36 - TTRPG'ers: The extended family you get to pick
- 20:00 - Family friendly games and their hidden benefits
- 36:03 - Tying family into character backstories
- 49:19 - Constructive criticism in the TTRPG family
Follow Colin (@FamFantasyRPG) on:
- Website: https://familyfantasyrpg.com/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/FamFantasyRPG
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/familyfantasy_rpg/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FamilyFantasyRPG
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM_jSH6OOILuH5w_PXf2xgw
- Heroes of Sol'an: https://familyfantasyrpg.com/other-projects
- The Turtle Guild: https://www.instagram.com/the_turtle_guild/
Follow me on:
- Website: https://www.thinkingcritically.co.uk
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Danilo_DnD
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinking_critically_dnd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThinkingCriticallyDnD
References:
- WildSpire Miniatures
- Expeditious Retreat Press
- Hero Kids by Hero Forge Games
- No Thank You, Evil!
- Amazing Tales by Martin Lloyd
- Fairies of the Mistglade on DMs Guild
- Dino Riderz on DMs Guild
Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod
Colin Anderson (Family Fantasy RPG)
Kids 5e RPG Creator and 5e Homebrewer
Colin has been playing Dungeons & Dragons since his first game in high school, DM'ed by a 3e content creator who went on to start Expeditious Retreat Press. A Ph.D. research scientist by training, COVID kept him out of the lab with idle hands when he decided to write homebrew content for his friend Wildspire Miniatures. In this collaboration, he has written over 200 pages of 5e homebrew content including Guardinal (celestial anthropomorphs) playable races. Also, he is a founding member of The Turtle Guild, a collaborative community of artists, writers, and homebrewers making 5e homebrew content.
During this time, he also began searching for ways he could get his 3 year old son into RPGs, particularly building off of his D&D 5e expertise. Thus, Family Fantasy RPG was created, with the aim to introduce table top role-playing games (TTRPGs) to children in an exciting and engaging way in order to promote problem solving, imagination, and creativity. His children's game is loosely based on the 5e rules used in the most popular TTRPG systems. His first game, Fairies of the Mistglade, have 5 playable character classes for 2 adventure PDFs. He plans to expand his game into two new settings (Champions of the Reef and Dino Riderz) and offer many more adventures this year!
