D&D Next Generation

I gave Matthew a very brief introduction to RPGs about a year ago when I showed him the Pathfinder Beginner Box. At the time, he wasn't quite ready for it. Lately, however, he's been begging me to teach him how to play D&D, so over the weekend we sat down for an official adventure, this time using an extremely abridged version of the D&D Next rules. Here's the character sheet (consisting only of attack bonus, Armor Class, and hit points) for Matthew's fighter, Egerren -- named after his beloved World of Warcraft character.

Matthew requested an adventure with an arctic theme, so I picked out some appropriate maps, grabbed a few minis, and got him started in a place that Druid Cycle aficionados should recognize -- the frozen island of Dinas Cefni. He was practically giddy with excitement.

Egerren and his NPC companion, the paladin Mairin, set out to track down the goblins that were harassing some local miners. Here they are battling the first few goblin scouts.

Later, the intrepid heroes stumbled upon a small keep from which hordes of enemies began to emerge.

They managed to defeat the goblins and bugbears, but what will they find within the keep? Judging from Matthew's enthusiastic response to the adventure, it won't be long before we find out.