Cave of the Crystal Kings
I set up the second and final encounter of our little game by piling books and boxes to create a ‘throne’ for the Crystal King.
Chatty: All right, the king awaits your arrival.
Nico: Oh Dad, wait, I’ve got these gems in the Rock Wrecker.
Chatty: You mean those Crystals Outgrowth you put on top of the machine?
Nico: No, there are nicely cut gems in this little box here, can I use those?
Chatty: Sure, what do you want them to do? Do you want them to allow you to ‘re-roll’ a contest?
Nico: No, Can they explode if we throw them?
Chatty: Sure!
Nico: And the Crystal Outgrowth can be used to re-do a contest okay?
Chatty: Great! Let’s see who starts (I win the contest). Okay, The Crystal King picks up the newly created Lil’Crys and throws it on top of your Rock Crusher. It will try to eat your Crystal Outgrowth to steal your ‘re-rolls’
Nico: No!
Chatty (Winning the contest): Okay it lands on your Wrecker. What do you do?
Nico: I shoot the Wreckers’ net at him! (Misses the contest).
Chatty: I eat a Crystal, Yum!
Nico: No!!! I shoot a gem at him! (Misses) Since he’s going to eat all the crystals, I’m, going to use them! (Misses another time before winning). Yay! He’s caught in the blast, falls off the Wrecker and the machine crushes him.
Chatty: Poor lil’Crys. Okay, the Crystal King gets real mad. He’s a large monster so he gets 2 actions okay?
Nico: Okay!
Chatty: He jumps from his throne and lands before the Crusher (Wins contest) and tries to rip out the Wrecker’s cab roof to try to eat the driver! (Wins contest)
Nico: I use another crystal (there were 2 left, he won the contest) so instead of ripping the cab’s top, I ram you with the Wrecker real hard.
Chatty: Okay, the King gets knocked back onto it’s throne. It screams in anger. What now?
Nico: I shoot a stick of Dynamite in its open mouth.
(Why does that sound familiar?)
Chatty: Huh Oh. Okay (Nico wins contest). The King closes is mouth on the dynamite, surprised and not too sure what just happened. Then he explodes. Good job Nico.
Nico: Yay! I take all the crystals!
And thus was the game concluded. It lasted about 20 minutes.
RPG with Nico post mortem
A battle game using Legos lacks the enchantment that many of the early story games Nico and I used to play when he was 5 and 6. It’s still highly enjoyable but not quite as magical.
Also, as he grows older and gets used to taking instruction from adults all around him, it gets easier for him take a more passive role in such games (and for a parent like me to stay the active voice).
Also, this is a combat encounter, my role becomes closer to the Game Master in insuring turns are taken and narrative control is shared according to the rules we made for ourselves. Regardless, I liked playing Legos like that. The uncertainty of success and possible complication coming from failure is a surefire way of having fun.
Maybe I should try to give Nico the role of the Game Master when next we play. See how that goes. 🙂
I will continue playing RPGs like that with Nico. Hey, Maybe we’ll start building Lego dungeons soon and make monsters in it…
Playing with Legos, plastic army men, and Hot Wheels is what eventually led me to D&D. My friends and I created countries and conflicts that we narrated to one another as we played together. Our adventures usually happened side by side, rather than in opposition, with each of us taking the time to listen to the other’s story. I probably did this actively until I was 13. D&D arrived for me at about 15, and so I just kept playing with my friends.
Great read as always. Using LEGO for miniatures is actually an interesting idea…I mean, they can bend and flex and express more than regular “static” DnD-figures, they’re less expensive (at least if you’ve got a box from your childhood days stashed away in the attic – but don’t we all? 🙂 ), armour and weapons can be equipped and give direct visual feedback…
Or maybe I’m just looking for an excuse to play with LEGO 🙂
.-= Jens´s last blog ..God jul! =-.
@Anarkeith: Legos is possibly what brings Storytellers, Worldbuilders and Action players around the same table first. The evolution seems natural after.
@Jens: I’ve read about many people using Lego minifigs and regular blocks to play D&D. There are no cheaper tokens than those already lying around in the house.
You might want to make that “see part one here” text a link?
Letting Nico GM sounds like a great idea. You’ve got to start sometime!
Dude, that was epic. And incredibly fun-sounding. What I really love is how every choice was geared towards letting coolness happen, as opposed to limiting the players.
On a random side note, although the system I’m thinking of isn’t an RPG system per se, and it’s more rules-heavy than what you’ve been doing here, there’s a fun little system called BrikWars, which is essentially LEGO armies blowing each other up.
http://www.brikwars.com/
.-= Andy´s last blog ..Of Dice and…Well…More Dice =-.