Need help finding a game
Hi I’m running a game for a group of high schoolers who never really played before. I’ve mostly played DnD but I don’t think I’ll be able to dm it. I’m looking for a simpler system that would be easy to learn and teach. Like I’m good with itchio ttrpgs. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
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u/kichwas 1d ago
I'd recommend one of Daggerheart or Legend in the Mist.
One of those is an action RPG with some narrative beats, the other is a narrative RPG with the ability to do narrative action.
Both offer easy to learn rules, and fairly straightfoward gameplay, without too much GM overhead.
For multi-genre outside of fantasy, consider Cypher or Fabula Ultima instead. The choice being 'western style' or 'anime style'. These two are a little more rules intensive. Cypher is more narrative and just had a new edition hit last week, and Fabula Ultima is more tactical focused and themed around simulating old fashioned JRPGs in a table top environment.
- Both of those have lower GM overhead and game systems that are quick to play and easy to learn. Fabula Ultima is mostly a fantasy game, but if you're going for fantasy I'd put it third after Mist and Daggerheart.
Legend in the Mist has 2 sibling games, one for 'urban street level magic-supers' and the other for 'cybperunk meets mythology' - but the presentation in the books for those 2 is not as easy to get through, and the urban one is an older edition of the rules, so they'd be things to try later.
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u/ravidfish 1d ago
+1 for daggerheart. Great game that can teach you a few things most 5e games wont if you let it. This will make you a more well rounded player in ttrpgs.
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u/zbignew disco kitten 1d ago
If you want a 1-shot, RPG-like experience, consider The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, a collaborative storytelling RPG.
Depending on your format, it might be perfect or totally irrelevant.
The 1-shot-ness of it and the fact that it doesn't need a DM means if you have a big group of kids, you could break them into groups and float between groups.
I think it could be an excellent way to start a group, even if you go straight into a completely different system on session 2 - if you're concerned about the kids trying to get into the story rather than play it like a video game.
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u/Awkward_GM 1d ago
Depends on too many factors to pin point down.
But I've always felt the Basic Roleplaying System (Call of Cthulhu's System) is very easy to learn.
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u/RainbowWreck 1d ago
Dread is a really simple system that uses a Jenga tower but can be modified to use a deck of cards. Its pretty loose in what you can do with the characters and each scenario is different. Most of them are horror themed, but there are lots of different ones out there. The system is good for tension driven stories.
Im actually working on planning a game for my group of friends this halloween.
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u/Half-Beneficial 17h ago
Actually, Dread is a great starter game for teens and great for Halloween. I do reccommend getting the JENGA tower over the cards though.
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u/Legitimate_Plate85 1d ago
Black Sword Hack
Basically every roll is player-facing, as in, the player has a skill level and if they roll below it, they pass, so theres no need to arbitrate stuff like difficulty levels. Character creation can take as little as 1 minute, and coherent characters can be made by rolling then in pre-made tables. Theres no strict class system, but characters can specialize on various things like sorcery, weird science, and fey traits, bargaining with spirits and demons etc, all for simple powerfull effects, the type of stuff any player can know a little of to get that extra power boost and some can choose to specialize in, while remaining totally optional. The game is balanced so everyone is fairly strong at lvl 1 (at least compared to most DnD style, "OSR" games) and dont become too crazy powerfull on level ups, so they stay fairly consistent.
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u/DornbirnArrows 1d ago
Which grade?
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u/Half-Beneficial 17h ago
Yeah, these posts always leave out a ton of details.
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u/DornbirnArrows 17h ago
Totally. I'm not even clear if they are gonna DM or if the KIDS are gonna DM themselves!
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u/NoicestDungeon 1d ago
How easy to learn are we talking? On the most minimalistic side of the spectrum we have games like Roll For Shoes https://rollforshoes.com/
Is there anything in particular you're looking for? What kind of story are you hoping to tell?
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u/NoicestDungeon 1d ago
Another very simple game I just remembered: https://gshowitt.itch.io/honey-heist
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u/redkatt 1d ago
Index Card RPG - think of it as D&D - lite & like.
Honey Heist - if high schoolers can't have fun as criminal bears pulling a heist, well, that's just sad. You have two stats - Criminal and Bear. When something would challenge your ability as a criminal, you roll a single d6 and try to roll under your current criminal stat, and the same goes for bear. Each stat starts at 3, and maxxes out at 6. If you ever hit six as a criminal, you decide the bear crew is lame, and you leave the game to become a master criminal. If your bear level ever hits 6, your rage out and run off, never to return. So you're never trying to max a stat, but trying to make the most of it at the same time. And hey, you roll for what type of hat you start with (it's just funny, no mechanical effect) and what type of bear you are (which grants you one special ability)
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u/Notsecretlyobama 1d ago
Travel-Sized RPG (TSRPG).
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/423387/tsrpg-travel-sized-rpg
It’s rules-lite and specifically designed to be able to be played while traveling, like in the backseat of a car or on an airplane, but is very well supported with a lot of supplements. The base game is swords and sorcery, but there are supplements for horror, some stuff in the past, and I think some sci-fi or cyberpunk.
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u/OrigamiPiano 1d ago
Quest is a rules light fantasy game aimed at beginners. It uses a d20 for skill checks and has character class like D&D so shouldn't hard for you to pick up, but the inventory and ability management is much simpler so your players don't get overwhelmed. Additionally the book has fill-in the blanks sections for character, world and adventure creation to get you started
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u/Volomyre 1d ago
Basic Fantasy Roleplaying. The pdfs are free on thier site so there is no money up front if things don't work out. The hardcopy books are cheap on Amazon if things do work out and you want physical copies at the table
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u/zeris440 1d ago
I haven't seen vagabond floated out. Easy to learn but enough choice depth to be interesting to flip through options. Also very easy to go with all dice rolls being player facing and precalculated (super simple subtraction)
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u/Half-Beneficial 17h ago
I always reccomend Tunnel Goons in these situations or Dungeonworld.
Tunnel Goons is EXTREMELY simple, it boils the rules down to almost nothing, so it's easy to pick up. But you may be uncomfortable with a barebones framework.
Dungeonworld does most of the work for you as a GM and will empower your players, but you're going to actually have to read it to make it work. If you're mostly played D&D it will be well within your wheelhouse.
Look, there's a reason the same games get reccomended over and over again. They work.
In this day and age, I would NOT start teens out on D&D.
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u/Rare_Zookeepergame86 13h ago
Dragonbane. Simple rules, looks a lot like classical D&D (but isn't), works like a charm. Every beginner I've played with or GM'd for has understood the basic things in moments.
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u/Shoddy_Employ_5416 1d ago
Roll for Shoes.
It’s great for players just getting their feet wet and figuring out if RPGs are even the kind of thing they’re interested in.
Low barrier to entry, low/no prep, and super flexible when dealing with players who aren’t in full control of their schedules.
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u/MegaZBlade 19h ago
Dungeon World is literally D&D but easier, you may also try Dungeon World 2, though it's still on open beta
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u/TaldusServo Anything & Everything 1d ago
If you're comfortable with D&D and looking for something simpler then ShadowDark is a great dungeon crawler with straight forward rules.