TEXT: Doc’s Simple RPG © 2015 Doc & Krueger Games. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this game for personal use.
  SIMP LE R P G
  My “Simple RPG” has been around in one form 
  or another for about a decade. Originally billed 
  as the product of “literally minutes of testing,” it 
  has actually undergone the stress test of being 
  played by a few hundred school children—not 
  all at once, thankfully—about as many college 
  kids, and at least one graduate class. When I 
  created it, it was speciﬁcally for the purpose of 
  teaching the basics of storytelling in game 
  design—that is to say, the fundamentals of 
  tabletop roleplaying. It has been run with the 
  scenarios we’ve included here, on the ﬂy, both 
  with and without heavy lessons on theory 
  attached. (My personal favorite is my lecture 
  “Dice Math and Games,” which I’ve used to 
  teach probability theory to ﬁrst graders who 
  now know the difference between linear 
  probability and bell curves.) But, the truth is, it’s 
  still one of my favorite systems to pull out at the 
  restaurant with friends, in line for the theater, or 
  on a road trip to Grandma’s. That’s because the 
  simple system is, well, simple! Divide 10 points 
  into the three circles, do a little math, and follow 
  basically one rule: roll 2d6 with your favorite 
  dice app, and if you roll under your stat, you 
  succeed in what you were trying to do. Simple 
  as that! I hope you get some of the same 
  enjoyment from it as we have all these years. 
  - Do c B racki n
  
  Doc’s Simple RPG © 2015 Doc & Krueger Games. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this game for personal use.
  doc’s 
  S IMP L E R P G
  MIND
  SPIRIT
  BODY
  STAMINA
  WILLPOWER
  PSYCHE
  10 
  POINTS 
  TO SPEND
  My character: ___________________________ the __________________________
  CHARACTER CREATION  
  You have 10 character points 
  to work with. Divvy them up as 
  you choose and put them into 
  your MIND, BODY, and SPIRIT 
  circles. These are your primary 
  stats, used for offense. 
  Example: [MIND 3] + [SPIRIT 5] 
  + [BODY 2] = 10 
  Tip: having less than 2 in any 
  stat makes it impossible to 
  succeed when rolling that stat.  
  Add each pair of neighboring 
  primary stats and write the sum 
  in the area where those stats 
  overlap. These are your derived 
  stats, used for defense. 
  Example: [MIND 3] + [SPIRIT 5] 
  = [PSYCHE 8] 
  Add 1 bonus point to the 
  derived stat with the highest 
  value. This is your speciality 
  stat. If there’s a tie, pick one. 
  Example: if [PSYCHE 8] is the 
  highest derived stat, adding 1 
  bonus point = [PSYCHE 9]. 
  You may optionally assign a 
  class based on your specialty 
  stat. Write your class or another 
  title next to your name, below.
  MECHANICS 
  You’ll always roll two six-sided 
  dice (2d6) vs. your own stats. 
  Use primary stats to do things. 
  Pick the stat you want to use, 
  and roll lower than or match 
  that number to succeed. 
  Use derived stats to stop 
  things from happening to your 
  character. Roll lower than or 
  match the stat to succeed. 
  If two characters are directly 
  opposed, the “attacker” always 
  succeeds unless the “defender” 
  successfully rolls a derived stat. 
  Players competing or indirectly 
  opposed each roll primary stats. 
  Whoever rolls furthest below 
  their own stat wins. Re-roll ties. 
  Example: P1 rolls a 5 vs. her 
  [MIND 7] for a margin of 2. P2 
  rolls a 3 vs. his [MIND 4] for a 
  margin of 1. P1 wins. 
  Stats do not change. If the story 
  or a key roll calls for a character 
  to be removed, roleplay it out. 
  Large group variant: only the 
  GM rolls; rolls set the obstacle. 
  All players of [a class] with [stat] 
  over the obstacle succeed.
  
  Doc’s Simple RPG © 2015 Doc & Krueger Games. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this game for personal use.
  A N  O U T- OF - T HI S -W OR L D A L I E N S S C E NA R I O  
  (Originally for teaching open RPG design in the classroom)
  Illustration by Randall Worley
  INSTRUCTIONS 
  1. Players should follow the instructions 
  under CHARACTER CREATION on their 
  character sheets. 
  (Important: make sure everyone ﬁnishes 
  this step before moving on.) 
  2. Assign a character class to each player 
  based on their specialty stat: 
  a. Psyche: Alien Prisoner 
  b. Stamina: Human Trooper 
  c. Willpower: Human Scientist 
  3. In larger groups, the person with the 
  single highest derived stat is the 
  “leader” of their class. 
  4. Whoever’s specialty stat is a 9 or lower 
  is a child or new recruit of their class 
  and will be treated as such. 
  SETTING: AREA 42 
  (GM reads aloud to the players) 
  You are at work in a secret government 
  building known as “Area 42.” Your mission 
  is to study a group of alien prisoners. 
  Unless, of course, you are one of the aliens 
  currently being held behind a forceﬁeld in a 
  holding cell… 
  NPC SUGGESTIONS 
  Non-player characters (NPCs) you might 
  use, and their stats (BODY, MIND, SPIRIT): 
  •
  Men In Black: B8, M1, S2 
  •
  Alien Leader: B1, M8, S8 
  •
  Civilians: B5, M1, S2 
  •
  A Rival Alien Race: B10, M10, S10
  STORY SUGGESTIONS 
  Other than the setup, there is no speciﬁc 
  plot or action that must occur, but there 
  should be some resolution by the end of 
  your time playing. It is up to you, the game 
  master (GM) to decide what should happen 
  moment-to-moment to cause conﬂict using 
  a “yes, and” approach: reacting to what 
  the players say and do. Go crazy! 
  No single scene should last more than a 
  few minutes, especially toward the end. 
  If the story seems to be going nowhere, 
  introduce one of these (or your own) 
  elements as appropriate:  
  •
  An explosion rocks the facility 
  (Roll SPIRIT to identify the source: the 
  alien mother ship!) 
  •
  A gas leak has begun 
  (Roll STAMINA to defend against it) 
  •
  Steal a helicopter 
  (Roll MIND to ﬂy it) 
  •
  Mutate in the laboratory 
  (Roll MIND to use the machines there) 
  •
  UFOs 
  (Roll SPIRIT to mind-meld with them) 
  •
  Computers 
  (Roll MIND to use them) 
  •
  Anti-air Guns 
  (Roll BODY to ﬁre them) 
  •
  Base’s Self-destruct 
  (Roll MIND to arm it)
  
  Doc’s Simple RPG © 2015 Doc & Krueger Games. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this game for personal use.
  NPC SUGGESTIONS 
  Non-player characters (NPCs) you might use, and 
  their stats (BODY, MIND, SPIRIT): 
  •
  Guards: B8, M1, S2 
  •
  Pharaoh: B1, M8, S8 
  •
  Citizens / Slaves: B5, M1, S2 
  •
  Gods(?): B10, M10, S10 
  STORY SUGGESTIONS 
  Other than the setup, there is no speciﬁc plot or 
  action that must occur, but there should be some 
  resolution by the end of the time allotted (we 
  suggest 30-45 minutes). It is up to you, the game 
  master (GM), to decide what should happen 
  moment-to-moment to cause conﬂict if the major 
  conﬂict is not enough: only one race will get its 
  reward, if they are picked by the pharaoh as the 
  solution to immortality. Go crazy! 
  No single scene should last more than a few 
  minutes, especially toward the end. 
  If the story seems to be going nowhere, introduce 
  one of these story elements as appropriate:  
  •
  A human slave runs into the room and dies. He is 
  clutching an important message from the land of 
  the dead. 
  •
  One of the Egyptian gods appears in a cloud of 
  smoke and lightning bolts and bellows, “STOP!” 
  •
  The pharaoh gets angry with the monsters’ 
  negotiating and arguing and sends in slaves to 
  ﬁght them! 
  •
  The pharaoh decides that all the [werewolf/
  vampire/mummy] children must be saved! 
  •
  The ancient artifact glows and 
  sparks—another wish is 
  available!
  A  MY T HI C A L ,  M ON S T R O U S ,  E G Y P T I A N S C E NA R I O  
  (Originally a cooperation exercise for the classroom)
  Illustration by Adam “Doc” Brackin
  INSTRUCTIONS 
  1. Players should follow the instructions under 
  CHARACTER CREATION on their character 
  sheets. 
  (Important: make sure everyone ﬁnishes this step 
  before moving on.) 
  2. Assign a character class to each player based on 
  their specialty stat: 
  a. Psyche: Vampire 
  b. Stamina: Mummy 
  c. Willpower: Werewolf 
  3. In larger groups, the person with the single 
  highest derived stat is the “leader” of their class. 
  4. Whoever’s specialty stat is a 9 or lower is a child 
  or newcomer to their class and will be treated as 
  such. 
  SCENARIO 
  (GM reads aloud to the players) 
  This is ancient Egypt. You monsters have been 
  summoned by the pharaoh’s dying wish through an 
  ancient, magical artifact. His one desire is for eternal 
  life. You stand in the royal antechamber of his 
  palace. Guards stand between the pillars and block 
  the doors, guarding the pharaoh. 
  Each race has brought a gift to the pharaoh: 
  a. Vampires: Fine black silken shrouds 
  b. Mummies: Wrappings and funerary spices 
  c. Werewolves: (Normal) PUPPIES! 
  Each race has a desire that burns within you. It is 
  your “price” for cooperation: 
  a. Vampires: Sunscreen! 
  b. Mummies: Your old guts (Canopic jars) 
  c. Werewolves: Fancy grooming supplies
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Collections/Kid Friendly/3. Rules Lite Collection/Docs Simple RPG.pdf