It might help to point out that sean is could be playing a "knight in shining armor" type character. I don't know if sean will be receptive to that, but if you illustrate that A) Not only can he take the damage in combat, and keep on going, but B) He's protecting the party and playing the hero. If he gets into the role, and starts feeling important for standing toe-to-toe with the baddies, it might help him ease up on the survival tactics. If he really starts to get into it, you can play around with what the monsters do. Have them chase other characters until he steps in to save the day. Who knows, you might even give him the opportunity to defend his father's character from a "life-threatening" situation. Hehe, that's got to be empowering.

I think I can see why the boy wants his character to run away when hit. (Yes, this is going to be something of a rag against D&D.) Most kids are going to be exposed to adventure stories and movies. Let's use the Lord of the Rings movies as an example.

In the entire series, the heroes are rarely stuck by a weapon. Either they parry or dodge out of the way. Every time there is a hit, there is death or near-death. (Except when Frodo is skewered by the Cave Troll. Let's hear it for mithril!) Never do you see the heroes chugging gallons of Healing Potion after evey fight.

These are the images that are in the child's head.. you get hit.. you could die. You can argue all you want that the loss of Hit Points merely represents the character becoming fatigued in battle from all the parrying and dodging, and that Healing Potion is a fantasy-type of Gatorade. However, Hit Points don't fit in this boy's fantasies about being in in battle. The mechanics make you "feel' like you are getting hit. Your opponent rolls damage and you have a chunk taken out of your character.

D&D Hit points are a leftover from its wargaming roots, and in my opinion, really doesn't simulate the feel of fantasy battle. I would suggest something like Green Ronin's True20.

The above two posts were split from [D&D 3.5] Kids in the game.

Best,
Ron

I am fighting a Scandinavian keyboard at the moment. Expect all posts to be brief.