I'd like to give one of my kids the opportunity to play an old-school dungeon-exploring, monster-bashing, puzzle-solving, reward-granting FRPG. I'm an RQ buff but RQ typically demands some understanding of cultures, settings and whatnot, and I think that makes it too difficult to bake in that old-school vibe that reminds me of 1970's - 80s D&D modules for a sub-10 year old, and I and eventually want to turn the game over to my son to run with by himself (with friends or siblings).

So I am guessing get my hands on the right edition of D&D. My last D&D experience was AD&D 1st, that was many years ago and I have not even read, let alone played, subsequent editions. Before that I had the Basic and then expert boxes, but that's so long ago I couldn't say whether that was Holmes or Moldvay.

I still have my original AD&D 1e DMG, but nothing else. So ease/cost of getting hands on the materials is a consideration. And I don't want PDFs (at least not for the rulebooks), I want a physical product. Some level of future proofing in case he gets into it - ability to get more complex/interesting in the longer run.

SO:

B/X
BECMI
AD&D 1st; or 2nd?
3E, or Pathfinder?

You can get both the PH and MM of first ed for extremely reasonable prices on eBay.

Now that said, the answer to your question is "whichever D&D you feel most comfortable with." Generally, the one you started with and/or had the most fun with is the one you should use, because that enjoyment is what you want to communicate to the newbie.

AD&D1e; with the reprints from WotC you can get (very nice, gilt-edged and built-in bookmark) brand new Monster Manual and Players Handbook, but they'll cost you.

On the other hand you can pick up used copies of the 77-85 AD&D books off of Amazon or Ebay for a song, so...I'd go that route.

I'd also recommend getting more than one Players Handbook.

Quote from: Iron Simulacrum;746980I'd like to give one of my kids the opportunity to play an old-school dungeon-exploring, monster-bashing, puzzle-solving, reward-granting FRPG. I'm an RQ buff but RQ typically demands some understanding of cultures, settings and whatnot, and I think that makes it too difficult to bake in that old-school vibe that reminds me of 1970's - 80s D&D modules for a sub-10 year old, and I and eventually want to turn the game over to my son to run with by himself (with friends or siblings).

So I am guessing get my hands on the right edition of D&D. My last D&D experience was AD&D 1st, that was many years ago and I have not even read, let alone played, subsequent editions. Before that I had the Basic and then expert boxes, but that's so long ago I couldn't say whether that was Holmes or Moldvay.

I still have my original AD&D 1e DMG, but nothing else. So ease/cost of getting hands on the materials is a consideration. And I don't want PDFs (at least not for the rulebooks), I want a physical product. Some level of future proofing in case he gets into it - ability to get more complex/interesting in the longer run.

SO:

B/X
BECMI
AD&D 1st; or 2nd?
3E, or Pathfinder?

I recommend either OSRIC, Swords & Wizardry Complete, or Advanced Edition Companion.

All three them have roughly the same range of detail and are presented in a straightforward and clean.

Or just print out the combat section of the OSRIC PDF and go on ebay and buy a Player's Handbook and a Monster Manual.

Quote from: Iron Simulacrum;746980B/X
BECMI
AD&D 1st; or 2nd?
3E, or Pathfinder?

I would go for simple editions. 3e and Pathfinder seem too complicated, however there is Pathfinder Beginner Box which many say it is an excellent product as a streamlined and simple version of D&D.

Mentzer Red Box Basic D&D -It was written to teach the basics of D&D.
AD&D 2E PHB - Additional class and spell options.
AD&D 2E Monstrous Manual - Color illustrated MM with extra material for ecology and such.
AD&D 1E DMG - For treasure since you already own it.

Forget about D&D and get Ancient Odysseys: Treasure Awaits! from Precis Intermedia. It does exactly all the things you're looking for. There's a number of favourable reviews on The RPG Site.

B/X strikes me as the best opening salvo for this game system. I like playing 1E AD&D more, but the volume and complexity of material is significantly greater.

Under 10 years old?

Get the 1981 Moldvay box with B2 - Keep on the Borderlands.

If they keep going, go for Moldvay Expert Set

Plan on moving to the AD&D PHB, DMG, MM in a couple years.

Don't buy the new stuff, grumpy old bastards with 40+ year old eyes and decades of experience want a crisp, clean layout.

Kids want to explore the book as much as their characters will explore the game, the quirky stuff is magic when you're 9 years old.

I'd go with D&D Classic or D&D Classic-inspired retroclon (like Sword & Wizardry, which is available for free). I'd totally ignore AD&D 2nd (I don't know much about AD&D 1st, so I can't say) and all editions afterwards, since I find them too unnecessary complex for a kid (or an adult, for that matter, xD).

The Beginner Box for Pathfinder could be another good option. It's more simple that the regular game, and the artwork can be very attractive and evocative for young kids.

Finally, if you don't mind a slightly darker (but in a funny way) take on the game, you may want to try Dungeon Crawl Classics (but it probably works best for kids with 10-years and up).

Also, if you are going to play with your kid alone, you may want to check Scarlet Heroes (you can play a few sessions only using the free Quickstart), since it's focuses on single player games.

Quote from: Iron Simulacrum;746980I'd like to give one of my kids the opportunity to play an old-school dungeon-exploring, monster-bashing, puzzle-solving, reward-granting FRPG. I'm an RQ buff but RQ typically demands some understanding of cultures, settings and whatnot, and I think that makes it too difficult to bake in that old-school vibe that reminds me of 1970's - 80s D&D modules for a sub-10 year old, and I and eventually want to turn the game over to my son to run with by himself (with friends or siblings).

For under 10, I think you definitely want to get one of the boxed sets and not hardbound books. I have no strong opinions about the different Basic Set variants. I used the Pathfinder boxed set for my son and nephews when they were 10-ish. I thought it was pretty well put together for kids - though the Pathfinder full game is definitely not.

All of the boxed sets are a little tough for under-10, though. You might consider more simplified RPGs designed for those ages. I have listed some here:

http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/whatis/kids.html

If you can get hands on the old basic set Red Box, or the basic rules D&D cyclopedia; the artwork is perfect for that age group as are the rules.

I'll second the opinion to go with Basic and Expert D&D. My friends and I started with the red box and went from there. Yeah, start with simple adventures such as Keep on the Boarderlands, Village of Hommlett, Palace of the Silver Princess, maybe the one with the pyramid in the desert (damn, what was that called?)

I don't know. Maybe I'm prejudiced but I've seen kids 10 and under try to play the game and it's just so... ewwwww. So raw and simple. Ever watch an 8 year old play WoW? Kinda like that. Half of me just wants to say "No! Stop! Don't teach him gaming until he's at least 11." Maybe kids today are different and can handle the concepts better. I dunno, I stay away from them. (My friends and I started D&D around age 12 and today I think back and cringe at half the stuff we did.)

Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide.

Village of Homlet baby; that's where it's at! Maybe my favorite low-level, old school adventure.

Quote from: Doughdee222;747009Maybe I'm prejudiced but I've seen kids 10 and under try to play the game and it's just so... ewwwww. So raw and simple. Ever watch an 8 year old play WoW? Kinda like that. Half of me just wants to say "No! Stop! Don't teach him gaming until he's at least 11." Maybe kids today are different and can handle the concepts better.

In my experience, kids under 10 can play RPGs run by older folks just fine - but I'd agree that it can be cringe-worthy when they're running games for each other.

For my son, I kept him mostly on RPG-like games like Talisman when he was younger than 10. He's never tried GMing yet.