Hello, I have a background in old-school dnd rpg, but no longer have enough time to play in-depth versions of rpg. My lifestyle allows for 1 Saturday a month with friends, and we can run from 4-6 hours. As I have searched for something I would describe as “RPG-Lite”, I found/purchased 3 boxes from the D&D Adventure System games:
- Castle Ravenloft (August 2010)
- Wrath of Ashardalon (February 2011)
- The Legend of Drizzt (October 2011)
There are other boxes available in the series too, though I have not run them yet:
- Temple of Elemental Evil (April 2015)
- Tomb of Annihilation (October 2017)
- Dungeon of the Mad Mage (April 2019)
- Ghosts of Saltmarsh (Q3 2021)
Here are two places where you can read more about the series:
- https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/9547/series-dungeons-dragons-adventure-system-board-gam
- https://ddadventuresystem.fandom.com/wiki/D%26D®_Adventure_System_Wiki
As it turns out, no only are they a good fit for me and my group out-of-the-box, but the original designers encouraged fans to create their own Adventures and Campaign Systems, taking advantage of the fact that most of the game assets in each box are interchangeable, and the base rules are simple and easy to adjust for special adventure scenarios.
Along those lines, I would like to post a list of material for these games that I have published and run with my group:
- https://dnashkreat.wixsite.com/dragonlance
- https://dnashkreat.wixsite.com/dnashk (this is a large integrated campaign that uses the Adventure System boxes, as well as Roll20 for a few adventures developed/used during the pandemic)
- https://dnashkreat.wixsite.com/miniexpansions
Also, here are some BGG blogs that list other fan based material:
Q: Has anyone else out there found/played a good RPG-Lite system?
You might also want to check out Fate or Fate Accelerated. They’re fast. I honestly think they’re closer to how people imagine RPGs are than DND is. Ironically that can make it harder for DND veterans to get into it because they have to relearn some creativity.
A lot of my newer players have basically tried to invent Aspects as they are in Fate without realizing it. But unfortunately a lot of systems don’t really work that way, and players learn that “I attack” is the optimal move.