Simple D&&D Rules

Here is a brief writeup of the simplified rules I used when I played D&D with my daughters from the time my eldest was age 5 until she was age 15.

Character Creation

Each character basically has three stats: Strength, Dexterity, and Wits. These were largely modeled after the three types of saving throws in 3.5 D&D. At character creation, you assign a d4, a d6, and a d8 to these. They are used for the following things:

• Strength (STR): melee combat, knocking things over, bend bars, lift gates, fortitude saves, used to determine hit points.
• Dexterity (DEX): ranged combat, stealth checks, thievery skills, dex saves, used to determine unarmored AC.
• Wits (WIT): perception checks, figuring things out, resisting magic effects.

Here are some example character sheets. (Click to enlarge.) Note that I drew pictures next to the stats & spells because at the time, they were pre-reading age and needed a visual cue to help them find the right stat when I asked for a roll of some sort.

There are also three derived stats:

• Hit Points (HP): How much damage you can soak up. At character creation, this is your full Strength die.
• Armor Class (AC): How hard you are to hit. Your unarmored AC is determined by your Dex: d4=1, d6=2, d8=3, d10=4, d12=5. Additional armor grants a bonus: light (leather)=+1, medium (chain)=+2, heavy (plate)=+3. A small shield adds +1, a large shield adds +2.
• Experience Points (XP): A measure of how seasoned you are. This number is the sum total of the hit points of the monsters you have defeated. The GM may award bonus XP for good teamwork, good role-playing, good problem-solving, etc. Character advancement occurs at various XP breaks (see table at right -- This is basically a simplified version of the 3.5 XP table). In practice, characters were always retired when they hit level 12.

Success Rolls

Whenever a character had to make a check of some sort (can I climb the cliff, can I avoid slipping, etc.) They rolled the die that was assigned to one of their three primary stats (d4, d6, d8, etc.). Target numbers were typically low (2,3,4), but increased as they gained levels.

If a saving throw was ever needed to resist the effects of an area-effect spell (like fireball, tangling vines, etc.) the target number was half the spellcaster's Wits die.

Character Advancement

• At each even-numbered level, the character gains more hit points, equal to half their Strength die.
• At each odd-numbered level (after level 1), the character can raise one of their three primary stats to the next die size (e.g. raise their Wits die from a d4 to a d6).
  • If they raise their Strength by a die size, they retroactively get more Hit Points. (I made a little table to make it easier for me to figure this out, but I think I lost it.)
  • If they raise their Dexterity, it will boost their AC.
• At every level (odd and even) they get a new spell (if a spellcaster, like a Wizard) or skill (if a non-spellcaster, like a Rogue). These were very loosey-goosey and I basically used the "real" D&D sourcebooks for inspiration. You can see some examples on the character sheeets above. I always tried to make the powers/effects/damage commensurate with the level they had obtained. (So, if they learned fireball at level 2, it would probably only do 1d6 damage. If they learned it at level 6 instead, it would probably do 2d6 damage. Best judgement.)

Equipment and Whatnot

If they get a mundane item (like a lantern) it does what they would expect.

If they got a weapon, I needed to indicate what kind of damage it did. Basically, small weapons (e.g. dagger, small bow)=d4 damage, medium weapons (e.g. sword, medium bow / crossbow)=d6 damage, and large weapons (e.g. battleaxe, spear)=d8 damage.

If they get a magic item, that's basically the equivalent of getting a new spell. (I wrote a similar table on the reverse side of their character sheet for magic items so they could see what their options were.)

A hallmark of my play experience with my daughters was finding four-leaf clovers. These would basically grant rerolls when they needed them (one roll per leaf). It was amazing just how often they seemed to be able to find four-leaf clovers during their adventuring.

They often found gold pieces and gems that they could use to buy equipment at a shop.

See Also

Many years after I invented this system, I discovered USR ( "Unbelivably Simple Roleplaying") and found that I had basically re-invented this same wheel. Savage Worlds uses similar dice mechanics to the ones I've outlined here.