After reading and hearing some experiences of parents playing Dungeons & Dragons with their kids, I was sold. Playing a game with kids at an age where they still largely live in a world of make-believe sounded amazing to me. I’ve spent about a year now reading rules, running adventures, and watching/listening to others play. I’m still sold and excited for my kids to be old enough to play.
However, it’s worthwhile to keep in mind that D&D itself is intended to be a very deep game in terms of complexity, as it can easily keep a group of adults entertained. While I firmly believe that 5th Edition (the current iteration of the game) is incredibly accessible and can be taught to a younger audience than many previous versions, for those of us champing at the bit to get started, I wanted to see what I could it pare down to, with the idea that it could be built back up by introducing a concept or two at a time.
I've playtested with the most simplified version I could make (detailed below) and I had an absolute blast with my three-year-old. We had tried a couple sessions where he rolled dice and I ran numbers with full rules, but it resulted in too much downtime while I checked modifiers or flipped pages. Also I should note that within a few years I expect to be able to introduce more and more rules with him, growing with him to practice basic math and things in a little more detail. 5th Edition is probably playable as-is with grade-school kids, so if your kids are that age, you may even be able to start "full rules" and just use the notes below for guidance of subject matter.
The common notion seems to be that “a reasonably experienced DM could adapt D&D for their kids.” While I’ve found this to be true (after only a year of DMing a group of 8 or so adults, I didn’t have a hard time coming up with things that could be simplified), I generally found that people who set out to write down such endeavors seemed to end up making their own kids’ role-playing games. To me, this defeats the purpose of an introductory set of rules to a larger system that can be played for a lifetime. So here goes...
The below is not a full set of rules, which would requiring wholesale copying material from the Resources section below. Instead this is intended to be a "Parent-DM's guide" to the resources presented, along with some ideas and experiences.
Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Monster Slayers, and probably other terms here are copyright Wizards of the Coast. The material presented here is in no way official, sponsored, sanctioned, or approved by Wizards of the Coast. All material in this text can be used for any purpose you like, just make sure you have fun.
Just in case this stuff is new to you, these are some terms I use below:
- DM (Dungeon Master) - The person running the game (and probably reading this).
- PC (Player Character) - A character controlled by a player.
- NPC (Non-Player Character) - A character controlled by the DM, could be a Monster.
- Monster - An NPC that might enter combat with PCs; can be a human or other creature.
- AC (Armor Class) - The number to meet or beat to hit a character.
- DC (Difficulty Class) - The number to meet or beat to perform some tricky task.
Monster Slayers (Heroes of Hesiod and Champions of the Elements) - https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/monsterslayers
My inspiration for starting on this, I liked the idea of distilling D&D down to some core principles.
However, I saw three challenges with using these games as a basis for playing with kids:
- It focused almost exclusively on combat, at the expense of any real story or exploration.
- I could see no obvious conversion formula for a larger source like the Monster Manual.
- No opportunity to grow with players by gradually sprinkling in more and more “real” D&D rules.
Nevertheless, I’d recommend taking a look if nothing else to get an idea of what inspired the “Simplified Hit Points” variant below, along with the great artwork and layout for character info.
D&D Basic Rules - https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
The easiest starting point if you have any experience with table-top RPGs, as well as a fine substitute for a Player’s Handbook, especially if you’re modifying/simplifying rules. The DM rules contain a good selection of monsters to get started with some adventures as well.
Dungeon Master’s Guide (“DMG”) - Notes on rules variants and tables for creating adventures quickly are phenomenal for new DMs and playing with kids. This book’s intent is to show you a bit about what makes D&D tick, which is precisely what can help you with customizing for kids.
Monster Manual (“MM”) - Information about monsters, their stats and special abilities, as well as beautiful (though sometimes scary) artwork. A very useful resource for having some variety.
Player’s Handbook (“PHB”) - The full-blown rules for players (and a bunch of info that can be useful to DMs as well. If you want to play with the full 5e rules, you really ought to have a PHB.
A Practical Guide to Monsters - I can’t recommend this enough. The artwork is beautiful and there are great descriptions of both monsters and their lairs/homes that with a little experience this can be how your little adventurers decide what they’d like to face in their next quest.
For a lot of players, creating a character is a huge part of what makes D&D fun. Make sure they have plenty of time to create a back-story, draw their character, etc. This can have as much or as little impact on the gameplay as you like, but for some kids it is what will really draw them in and make it their own.
Use the standard ability score array (8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15), emphasizing the modifiers (-1, 0, +1, +1, +2, +2) more than the scores themselves. Feel free to include (or not) things like racial ability score increases, just remember they affect the score, not the modifier).
I’d probably recommend customized character sheets, as customizing the game may warrant a simplified sheet. Then again, if the kids are young enough, you're the only one who will read the sheet, so use a standard one and just ignore the parts that aren't relevant to them yet.
While a lot of players (and this document) devote a lot of prose to combat, don’t think that D&D is only about fighting. Some of the most memorable experiences come about in non-combat situations. One of the most well-known dungeons, The Tomb of Horrors, was created specifically to be light on combat and heavy on things like traps and puzzles. (Note: I’m not suggesting you play Tomb of Horrors with kids, but there’s a reason it stands out- it’s not simply an endless series of fights.)
Don’t be surprised if kids gravitate just as much or more toward non-combat activities like talking to townsfolk or exploring caverns simply to see what they find. On the flip side, don’t be surprised if all they want to do is fight. This is where the DM uses the players’ interests to craft the story.
The Basic Rules refer to exploration, social interaction, and combat as the “Three Pillars of Adventure” for a reason; going too heavy on one while neglecting the others can make for a dull adventure for someone. (Even the DM! It’s ok if you get sick of running caves full of skeletons!)
There are certain things that you as a parent or your kids may be uncomfortable with in D&D. The good news is, as the DM it’s all under your control, and your primary job is to make sure everyone is having fun.
Death is a big part of the full Dungeons & Dragons experience. However, this may be one of the first topics you run across that make you say “maybe this isn’t for kids”. Well, there are certainly ways around that...
Consider the term “knocked-out” if you and/or your players are uncomfortable with (both PC and Monster) death being a part of your game. Even young kids grasp that getting “knocked out” means the person/creature is out of a fight, and it can allow for some open-ended role-playing after the fight as the monster or PCs come to.
Either skip PC death saving throws and massive damage rules entirely, or have them result in unconsciousness. If the entire party gets knocked out, this means you’ll need to create some sort of situation in which they are brought back to town, captured, etc. while unconscious.
Depending on your players’ levels of empathy, the types of monsters you choose as the DM have the potential to turn the game into a negative experience. Be aware that you may be placing them in an uncomfortable position by expecting them to fight certain types of monsters.
Fighting creatures with the subtype “beast” (e.g. wolves, bears) is probably the biggest one to give pause, as even young kids understand that a dangerous animal defending itself isn’t necessarily making a choice or being evil. You don’t want your players to come away from the table saying, “Daddy made me kill a wolf!”
On the flip side, undead (e.g. skeletons, zombies, ghosts) seem to be inherently understood by kids to be bad/evil and “ok” to take down. From what I’ve seen, have at these guys for a first go.
Obviously in both the above cases your characters could have a wolf pup that they rescue and raise or a sad ghost that sends the party on a quest to help it rest in peace. This is where you as the DM can throw things at them that fall outside their expectations.
You can certainly experiment a bit- maybe they don’t mind battling giant spiders, but goblins being small and sometimes endearingly dim-witted might end up having them opt for things like deception or diplomacy.
Remember that as the DM, non-combat solutions are just as valid and are great things to encourage. It can sometimes be hard to grown-up players to grasp the idea that “you don’t have to kill everything”. Let your players guide you if things are getting too intense and switch it up.
The below can help distill things down even more. Please note these are largely untested ideas (except where noted with references) and are subject to needing adjustments/tweaks as you go.
Even if these get some playtesting and feedback, you’re still likely to want to adjust based on the attitudes, interests, and maturity of your players.
Key concept: Focus on the 6 abilities (charisma, constitution, dexterity, intelligence, strength, wisdom) rather than the 18 skills listed in the Basic Rules and PHB.
For very young kids (and even some adults), figuring out the possible uses of skills can be tricky. Furthermore, skill checks are simply ability checks with proficiency bonus for a character with that skill.
You can flatten ability checks out into the six basic abilities and removing proficiency in specific skills. Each character should simply have proficiency in two types of ability check. See DMG p.263 for more info.
There are a few options when you make ability checks with proficiency, a couple of which result in more dice being rolled (which for some kids means more fun):
- Use the default +3 proficiency bonus as in the Basic Rules/Player’s Handbook.
- Roll a d4 when doing an ability check with proficiency. See DMG p.263 for more info.
- Roll with advantage. This is a bigger bonus but keeps the focus on d20 rolls and moving on.
Key concept: Flatten damage into “hits” to speed up the action and reduce the math required.
Players and Monsters can each take a number of hits before being knocked out. See the Monster Slayers games in Resources for an example of D&D-like game that does this.
Below are some example techniques for doing something similar (and could use some testing):
- PCs can take 6-12 hits. Determine how many by which hit dice their class would normally roll. e.g. a wizard can take 6 hits while a barbarian can take 12.
- Monster Manual Number of Hit Dice. e.g. if a monster’s HP is XdY+Z, change it to simply be X (Mike Mearls from Wizards of the Coast acknlowedged that this sounded like a reasonable choice)
Example of tracking combat encounters
Alternatives for monster hits:
- Monster Manual Average Hit Points / 10. Minimum of 1, toss out any remainder.
- Monster Manual Size of Hit Dice. e.g. if a monster’s HP is XdY+Z, change it to simply be Y
When a player rolls an unmodified “20” on an attack roll, they score a Critical Hit. In this case, have them roll a d6. They land that many hits on the enemy. (Again borrowed from Monster Slayers)
Key concept: Remove the need for addition. Reduces nearly all rolls to a d20.
As far as I can see this is about the simplest form of D&D you can reach. Most likely all you need in terms of equipment are some d20’s (my kids love the Chessex 34mm jumbo ones). By doing this, you really flatten the game out so be aware that you can easily make the game boring for older kids if there is no difference between characters (younger kids may not care).
All you’re working on mathematically at this point is recognizing numbers and comparing them (did you roll high enough to hit the AC or make the DC for a skill check). For the youngest of the possible players, that is probably challenge enough. At some points I found myself doing the rolling and just narrating what happened. My son didn't seem to mind.
To adjust stats, subtract 5 from monster ACs. This accounts for the base +3 proficiency and +2 ability score modifier, assuming the character has one of their higher ability scores in the ability used for their attacks (which is not uncommon). Same goes for monsters- just have them do the straight d20 rolls, you might want to adjust the players’ AC (or not) to make it tougher (or easier). Make sure you retain multiple attacks for monsters that have it- this is how more powerful ones will be dangerous.
Sliding the DC for ability checks down one “notch” where moderate is 10 instead of 15 is probably reasonable for similar reasons, and that it will skew the stats in favor of being a little more successful, since kids may give up too easily if the dice aren’t going their way. Remember that as the DM you don’t have to tell them the DC of an ability check, so if you want it to happen, let it, even if it’s a partial success or one with a cost.
I also did a straight d20 roll per "side" (players and monsters) at the start of combat to decide who goes first (suggested alternative to normal initiative in the DMG). This avoided the monotony of one side always going first and let me explain "the troll snuck up on you and attacked!"
Key concept: Remove the need to study every class option as characters progress and gain power.
You can adjust the concept of “gaining a level” to simply add +1 to rolls. In a full game, this would be affected by things like new abilities, racial and class traits, as well as newer, better weapons and items (some of which might be magically enhanced).
Note this is only necessary if you play for long enough to want to have some progression to the characters, allowing them to take on larger groups or more dangerous monsters. On the flip side, you can scale monsters down to make them more challenging without requiring PC levels.
You might also need to add some hit points to PCs as they level. I haven't gotten here so this is not particularly developed. As an alternative to leveling, perhaps the adventurer(s) meet some new NPC friends, who they can decide what they do on their turns, helping them to take on biggers threats, and perhaps creating some role-playing opportunities, even if you only have one player.
Key concept: Reduce down to a more manageable set with simplified effects.
Sooner or later (possibly on day one), one of your players is going to want to play some sort of spellcaster. These are generally the more complex character classes to play even for adults, so they’ll take some tweaking for kids, but can be a rewarding way to give older siblings more choices while the younger ones smash stuff.
For combat, spells should be usable in place of weapons. Start with something like a cantrip (a spell that can be used any number of times) that uses an attack roll (ray of frost or firebolt are classics). Then add something that can hit multiple targets that can be used once (or a few times) per fight like burning hands or thunderwave. You can possibly remove or simplify the concept of spell slots, but remember not to leave your weapon-wielding players out in the cold by making spellcasters too powerful.
Beyond a couple damage-dealing spells, consider a handful of non-combat spells for use during adventures. The Quick Build suggestions under the Wizard class in the Basic Rules or PHB are good suggestions for a good mix of interesting spells. Cantrips or spells labeled “ritual” are often good choices to include as it’s expected that characters can cast these often at little or no cost.
Once you get started down this path an easier way to approach this can be based on what best fits the character concept. Your player wants a storm mage? Look around at Lightning Bolt and Shocking Grasp. Poke around the Basic Rules or PHB and find some options.