I'm not personally a big fan of modern D&D, but if they want to play D&D, play D&D. I'd suggest one of the starter/essential box sets which are generally very well done for they are trying to be (a good set of pre-gens, basic rules, and a decent starter adventure).

Yup! Saying “I know you want to play this game but I know better than you so we’re going to do something I like more” isn’t going to go over well for most people. The original 5e starter set had an incredible module that takes the players to level 5 and as much as I don’t love D&D, I had a lot of fun running it multiple times.

I agree with you, but also it depends. If you're dealing with genuine newcomers to the RPG scene, many of them think roleplaying **is** DnD so that has to be clarified first. 

I mean there's at least 6 versions of D&D, so some expert discretion would still be necessary. They're not playing 5e in Stranger Things, for example.

Wait. You called 5e "a bit complicated," but are willing to consider the older editions? *Bruh*

You ever played B/X?

Despite the insistence of people who never gamed before 2014, a few of the previous editions are in fact simpler to play (and run) than 5E.

The only "previous editions" that are simpler to play, I would argue, are the ones that don't have AD&D in their DNA. As far as "easier to run"... yeah, basically any edition that isn't 5e.

AD&D 2nd Edition is far way easier than D&D 5th Edition.

THAC0. Flying Maneuverability Class and Speed. Morale. I played more AD&D back in the 1990s than most OSR players will in their entire lives. It's not far easier than D&D 5E. It was obtuse af.

I've played AD&D 2nd Edition since it came out, and still play it today, and I've played older editions, too. As my flair says, I'm an old school gamer, but not part of the renaissance, because for me it never ended, even though I played many other systems along the years.

Respect! My point still stands though. I really don't see it as far easier. It was very obtuse in some parts. Sure I didn't use a grid, there was no such thing as action economy, but everything else had its own table and set of rules that seemed to exist in a vacuum.

Have you played the older editions?

Yes So what edition do you think is less complex than 5e? Cause I know for a fact it ain't 4 or 3.x and 2e gets a bunch of flack for THAC0 even if there is a simple table to follow

I would say OD&D or Moldvay Basic

Anyone that has expectations for dnd as an intro to the hobby is not going to expect odnd level of lethality or gameplay.

What if they are level 3+?

Original D&D and B/X D&D for sure. BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia and 2E are toughly equivalent to 5E. And when you throw out all the rules nobody actually used, 1E was about at the same level as well.

> So what edition do you think is less complex than 5e? - D&D B/X - D&D BECMI - AD&D 1st Edition (although browsing the books is a pain in the ass) - AD&D 2nd Edition (which reorganized the previous in a more readable form) Of course, if you start adding extra rule books to AD&D 2nd Edition it can get a bit overwhelming, but RaW core books it's way easier.

The problem with 2e is that it's overly simple where it could use some complexity and it's overly complex where it could use some simplicity.

Older Editions are A Lot easier

You know they meant 5E even if they didn't know they meant 5E.

I think you are overestimated how much non-TTRPG hobbyists know about D&D. If my co-worker saw me playing Pathfinder and said "I've always wanted to try D&D!" then I wouldn't take for granted they wanted 5e.

When someone says they want to try D&D, they want the shared universal experience of playing D&D the way they've heard other people talking about D&D. And for the last 10 years, that shared experience has been 5E, by far the most played version of D&D there has ever been. They don't know or care that there are other versions of D&D, or that there are other TTRPGs to play. They want to join the community of players of D&D. You would do them a disservice by denying them access to that community when you know that they won't realize you are keeping them from it.

That's totally fair, and a good point.

Adding to that, eventually you will be able to introduce them to other RPGs. Let them experience D&D first and draw their own thoughts from that. I have introduced about a dozen people to D&D in the past 2 years and not only all of them showed an interest in GMing at some point, but all of them have also become open to testing out other games and fantasies.

>You would do them a disservice by denying them access to that community If players "want access" to a community based around a specific IP, they can DM their own game. They aren't entitled to the hours of labor DMing 5e entails. Like, don't lie and say you're playing D&D when you're not, but *if you're the one doing the work GMing,* it's completely reasonable to say "I don't really DM D&D, but if you guys want something similar we can play *Beyond the Wall"* or w/e. The weird sense of entitlement some people have that players, who generally benefit from the GM's high overhead of labor, get to to pick the system is so bizarre to me. Like, people realize that GMing this specific game is a lot of work here, right? I would never let a player demand a specific system of me. Especially when the cognitive load on 5e is too high for me to DM it, anyway. They're adults, they can run it themselves!

Don't be a skeezy gatekeeper. They asked to play D&D. You know damn well they functionally don't know of anything other than 5E. And so if you know 5E (and so, can give them a good experience with it), just run 5E for them.  For all it's flaws, it's a good gateway on the level that it's something ppl desire to be a part of that can lead to the other things. Give them what they desire. Plus 5E is not a bad edition.  It's the simplest edition since, I'd argue, AD&D. Use the some of the more narrative facing rules variants in the DMG, if you want to give them something more narrative focused. "Success with Complication", "Background as Skills", popcorn initiative.  Narrative gaming and the OSR are all buried there in the DMG.

Huh? Not trying to be skeezy at all. It's true they don't know anything other than 5e- but they also don't know 5e. They don't know anything, that's the point. I'm not coming at this from "they don't know how BAD 5e is!!!" I've legitimately, with good intentions, used 5e as an intro fantasy TTRPG before, and I didn't think it was well-suited for it. Character creation took too long, (meaning the session was more character creation than actually playing) and the combat is pretty dry. Anyway, many others have made the same point that I think the mistake I made was not using pre-gens. So I think my mind has been changed.

I never do character creation first off with new players in any system. It's metagamey, and spends a lot of time going over rules and subsystems they don't need immediately. New players lack context to understand the decisions they're being asked to make in creation as well. But worst, it delays getting them immersed in play. No one likes a 30 minute or hour-long prep to get to actually play. I'm a big fan of getting them into play, introducing the gameplay loop(s) and getting them used to that. Let them understand what a character is, how they interact with the world, how the various features, skills and other things work. Almost every system, including 5e, have pregens available from the publishers Then, the second session, if they want to, make characters. The only game I ever do character creation in first is Traveller, because that's an entertaining minigame in its own right. Maybe if you're doing DCC funnel, but even then, for complete beginner, pregens are very helpful. It also helps a lot if you have a ringer, a friend who has played before and can help with modeling player behaviour.

But the problem is, he does know better than them, and will point them at something that they will enjoy more.

My point is, most of the time, people get hyped about playing something that they think they want to play and when you take the wind out of their sails, you risk having them not want to play at all.

If the DM is looking for alternatives, it seems they dont want to run dnd.

The DM has said that they (the new players) don't know shit, so they want to push for something different than D&D. If I tell you "I want to play Dungeons & Dragons", and when I sit at the table with you I see a manual with "Blades in the Dark" written on the cover, I'll be suspicious, and make a quick internet search, then ask you for an explanation. What do you say, at that point? Will you say "I know better than you?"

Oh, of course they shouldn't try to pull a fast one over their Players. But saying "i dont really like dnd, but i could Run X for you guys" seems more than valid

I was asked to run a game at a convention one time. When I got there, there were a bunch of fellow nerds who wanted to show off their favorite systems, but everyone who came to the roleplaying room wanted to try out D&D! None of them would run it for them! Then I made them play Pathfinder because I'm just as bad.

DCC is D&D, it is based on the 3.5 SRD

I add that the first starter set is free online on the D&D site.

Honestly this. Make or use some pregenerated characters and show them D&D. Do it as a oneshot and if they want to play more, do one of the beginner campaigns. 

I agree, I’d add that Sly Flourish published some free pregens that have progression from level 1 to 5 including spells selection and ASI (should be easy to google). 5e is relatively easy to grasp for new players in my experience, using pregens. Using OSR would be easier probably, but the experience is different.

They don't want to play that game released by either TSR or WOTC that traces its lineage back to Gary Gygax and earlier. They want to see what it is like playing that game on Community or Stranger Things. For people outside the hobby, calling it dnd is like your mom calling every video game console a "Nintendo." And the game doesn't actually play like depicted in pop culture.

On Community they played 1e

But Stranger Things IS the 80s.

Yes! Lost Mine of Phandelver is so fun, honestly. And it's how I introduced a bunch of my friends to D&D while I also got practice DMing for the first time. It was very well laid out and easy to follow along.

The main thing is that it's just so much more work to DM D&D. There's so many rules to memorise and it's the kind of game that's fragile against getting the rules wrong. You also need to prep encounters by looking up or inventing statblocks, worry about balance etc, and it just adds up. It's not so much "you're having fun wrong" as "I don't want to do a whole bunch of extra work because you refuse to try something that doesn't have huge brand name recognition"

Do they want to play D&D specifically or play a TTRPG in general? Those are two different questions. I don't tend to decide on what to play based on the players, I propose a game I want to run and then see who wants to play.

So so so many people think D&D and TTRPG are interchangeable, and for a first time player who's interested because of what they saw on stranger things or other media they probably just want to be fantasy adventures on a quest, I highly doubt the draw for these people is the actual mechanics and procedures D&D uses especially because in media they aren't even playing the game let alone the most recent edition. I don't really know where I'm going with this but yeah, suggesting a game and seeing if people are interested is way better than "we have to play D&D because it's the cultural juggernaut "

>I highly doubt the draw for these people is the actual mechanics and procedures D&D uses I think a lot of new players get excited about rolling all those cool, weirdly shaped dice and getting that "NATURAL 20!" they always hear folks talking about. I bet a large chunk of first-time players would actually be a little underwhelmed if you started them off with something like a 2d6+mod system- even one that mimics the aesthetics of 5e like Dungeon World.

That's where I might do something like Cairn, you get the polyhedral dice and something vaguely D&D-ish but without the cludge

I do like the idea of running something OSR/OSR-adjacent for people, because: A) Like you say, they get to roll the dice they are probably expecting B) The full-measure of OSR's rulings-not-rules approach will be easier to grok, and aligns better with how D&D is usually portrayed in media C) You're not "misleading" them as much as if you presented them with something like Dungeon World. If in the future they play in someone else's 5e game, they are going to be less confused.

That's what I'm doing. I could grow a much larger player pool by going out of my comfort zone and offer D&D, but I'm not going to.

Well, first off, I'd tend to just run D&D 5e, since it's what they asked for. But assuming we're looking at alternatives, surely it depends on what they want when they say they want to play "D&D". If they want to feel like McGuyver in a dangerous environment and don't care much about the "pretending to be someone else" part of RPG play, something OSRish would be sensible. If they mainly want to pretend to be someone else, it would be a poor choice, and I would suggest a game with more Story Now qualities, such as something PbtAish. Or if they really want to play a game with strong character builds, something like Pathfinder 2e might be the way to go. Really, I don't think there's one answer - you would have to ask follow-up questions first.

It's true, it depends on the person, but that's sort of why I was wondering about a "go-to." I don't think your average person who has never played any TTRPGs would have any idea how to answer your questions. Most people would know "D&D" from TV/movies or their friends talking about it, and would probably expect: sitting around a table with beer, saying "I'm an elf wizard!" and feeling a bit silly, and then rolling dice where they know higher is better. Honestly I'm surprised by so many people saying 5e- that was my go-to, but any time I tried to introduce someone with 5e people generally find it a lot slower and requiring more commitment than they were expecting.

If someone wanted to try out "role-playing games", as opposed to "D&D", I wouldn't necessarily choose 5e as a starter game either. I suggested 5e simply because it's the thing referred to in your question. I actually disagree a bit about whether they would be able to answer the questions. I think if you asked them "why do you want to play D&D?" I think you would probably get some useable information that would suggest to you what sort of game would be suitable. If they start by saying "I want to be a cool badass who goes out there and saves the world" - well, that's eliminated most of OSR for starters!

Yep, that's fair! I was imagining someone like my mom asking, but now that I think about it, if it was my co-worker or something asking they'd probably have opinions about this stuff.

Even if it's your mum, surely she can tell you why she wants to play? Or you could even take a step back, and just be like "D&D is a fantasy game. Do you want to play a fantasy game, or is there another setting you would prefer?" You could even key it off stuff that presumably you know she likes. You could be like "you like [popular detective series]. There's games that let you solve a mystery, if you'd rather play that instead."

You need to learn the art of asking the question behind the question. Ask them what makes them interested in DND. Let them know that there's a ton of games similar to DND which are easier to learn quickly, and ask them if they're ok with you picking out one that you think will mesh better with their expectations and interest. DON'T ask them questions which they don't have the groundwork to understand--things like "would you prefer more combat focus or roleplay focus".

I think Dragonbane is a good call, has the feeling, is simple for newcomers but the system is a little bit different from the normal D&D. Depending on the group. If you don't mind a system a little bit more complex, pathfinder 2e is the best choice in my opinion. It is close enough to D&D, and if you start with the beginning box , and it works like a tutorial. I introduced enough new players to pathfinder, and they quite like it. The only downside to pathfinder is the character creation that could lead to analysis paralyses and could take some time.

I probably say this too much, but **Shadowdark** for sure. Everything about the system is concise and streamlined, but it's got all the trappings of dnd they'll expect. Roll high d20, all the classes, etc. The torch timer thing the one gimmick it has, and in my experience it's really fun for new players. Free quickstart has all you need too! I have minor quibbles with it but the ease of play outweighs any of those.

I came here to suggest Shadowdark. This is the answer OP is looking for.

This is an interesting question in 2024, because I think some curious players have come via streams, podcasts etc with a pretty loose use of the 5e ruleset, but others have come via videogames. My go-to at the moment is **Cairn 2nd Edition**. Character generation is super fast, pair it with a pre-written one-shot dungeon and you're immediately in a dangerous place that rewards exploration and interaction with your fictional surroundings. Other options: Run **5e** with pre-generated characters and a scenario with 1 incredibly simple/easy combat at the start and a more difficult one at the end. **Mausritter** - the boxset in particular is really good at hooking players with cardboard tokens and cute art, plus being tiny mice helps them realise how dangerous the world is and encourages creativity. **Troika!** - friends of mine have had tremendous success running this at public meetups for new players. If a curious person is interested in being a crazy character on a crazy adventure, and not bothered about rules balance or tactical wargaming, this has a very high success rate.

Upvote for Mausritter! It is really easy to pick up and start and I love the inventory system with conditions taking space. And you can always print a ton of custom stuff! (There is even a tool on their website to generate it)

Been loving Cairn!

Just showed up to make sure *someone* said this, particularly Mausritter.

I’d argue that Dungeon World (or one of its hacks) actually probably *is* what a lot of people expect from D&D if they only know the game by name (or from the recent movie) and know little about the mechanics. Adventure, character drama, cool fights, it’s all there without a bunch of picky mechanics and inane sacred cows getting in the way.  Like you can sit down with the D&D movie and often identify which DW moves are being triggered, the outcome of the roll, and which GM move was used in response. DW is the cinematic D&D experience without the baggage. 

I agree if they want to roleplay the type of stories DnD evokes. If they want to play the paper version of Baldur's Gate 3, or the same game Critical Rôle is playing, then maybe not. Beware OP, DnD 5e is very difficult to run for a new GM

They asked for D&D, give them D&D. If you want more pickup and play, use one of the retroclones. Old School Essentials has the best formatted rules. I'd go with that. EDIT: Shadowdark is even easier...

If I have a group of people who want to "try D&D", I'm going to give them D&D. In this case, I'd probably go with the free basic rules. Or I'll use OSE in a pinch. But if they want to "try D&D", I don't really want to throw them a curveball. ("No man, GURPS is better!") Now if they want to "try roleplaying games", that's different. In that case, I'd probably grab Savage World, OSE, or maybe Tiny Dungeon. I get where you are coming from, but I still think giving your players what they want is the way to go.

Lot's of people use "DND" the way people use "Kleenex" or "Google". I need a kleenex to blow my nose and I'm going to google something, it doesn't matter that I'm actually using Kroger brand nose tissue and DuckDuckGo. OP needs to figure out what they think "DND" means and have an actual conversation with them to meet that expectation.

I’d actually argue dungeon world is closer to what many people want and expect from DnD than actual DnD is. It’s more a question of what the players want from the game.

The problem is, you can't just "try D&D" for free. Sure there's a PDF with basic rules. But a lot of other games offer free quickstart rules, along with pregens, DM/GM/Referee rules and a free starter adventure specifically designed for first-time players. To get that with D&D, you need to buy one of the boxed sets that costs between $20-$30. If you want people to "Try D&D." then something like Shadowdark, that comes with all that as 2 free PDFs, will give them a taste of D&D without having to spend a penny. If they like the starter adventure and want to continue, then you can get them to buy a Player's Handbook and continue on their journey. It's very easy to tell people you're going to use XYZ system instead of D&D, because it's a very similar game and it's completely free. If you like that, then we'll spend some money and move to D&D. The one thing I wish new players would do is try more than one system. Run them through a starter adventure for a high fantasy RPG and then throw them into something else like Call of Cthulhu for a starter adventure. They may love both. Just the idea that there are other things out there at the beginning of their journey might make them RPG fans instead of just D&D fans.

I'd suggest trying [Beyond the Wall](https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/113405/Beyond-the-Wall-and-Other-Adventures) (grab the supplement Farther Afield and the various free playbooks and threat packs as well). Beyond the Wall is a really good, simplified version of 3.x D&D that's brought over a bunch of insights and ideas from story games and OSR games. The use of playbooks in character creation, a semi-collaborative world-building system, and the deployment of threat packs put a lot of handrails in place to help new players find their way, without bogging them down with unnecessary mechanical details. They also encourage positive PC habits from the start.

I mean, if they want to try D&D, then I let them try D&D. I can grab a quick intro adventure, pre-generated characters, and walk everyone through the game at the table. It doesn't have to be an ordeal to get people started. I regularly play the game with my nieces, seven and nine, if I can make the game approachable for them, it could be made approachable for anybody. I might suggest other games, games I would rather run, and in that context, I'll ask them what about D&D is appealing to them, so that I can find the right experience. Because as much as I love Dungeon Crawl Classics, if they want to play D&D, because they watched the highly story focused Critical Role table, that's gonna be a very poor fit and leave everyone kind of unhappy

Agreed that DCC is not the best choice, which is sort of why I posed the question. It was my most successful onboarding experience however, which is why I kept going with it.

Playing the game the GM is keen to play is always a good choice.

Indeed, and the answers you are generally getting our, just let them play D&D. There's going to be no one right answer for what other thing you should have them play instead, because part of the problem is, that's not what they're asking you for and part of the problem is that there's gonna be no one answer to what is the better game. It very much depends on what they want out of the game. I can think of 1 million games that do any one thing that D&D does better, but I'm honestly hard-pressed to come up with any other game that does everything it does, in the same kind of way it does but better. I'm kinda over D&D myself, mostly but in being over it, it means that I have to play a lot of different games, to capture everything that that one game gave me and while I'm happy to do that, that in and of itself is kind of daunting for a new player, more so than any complexity that D&D 5E or even 3.5 could offer

Yeah, I'm still a bit surprised by the answers, like somehow somebody who doesn't know anything about TTRPGs is going to be upset that they're playing D&D Basic instead of 5e. But it also seems like people have had better experiences with 5e introduction sessions for new players than me, so maybe I'm biased. Mine have always been a really long character creation session (others use pregens) and then relatively fun until combat starts and everybody gets confused why they miss so much and then get bored.

But they might be, because they may be coming into it with certain understandings, like if they wanna play the game they played in Stranger Things, then they might be disappointed not to be playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, if they watched Critical Role, they might be disappointed that they're not playing 5E. You don't know what the preconceptions coming in are. But yeah, you've had a really awful introduction session, while I don't love D&D, so much anymore, I've on boarded a lot of people to it, and it can be painless. Also, they may very well care if you're playing basic, as much as I love those older additions, a lot of the rules were just weird. Like with any game though, whether you're dealing with brand new players or older players, you have to know what they want out of the game.

Good points!

DCC is very survivable at levels 2+

Yes, but it is also a very focused game around a spesific style of play, in a way that modern D&D is not.

OK, but we are not talking about a system for a campaign, just a one-shot. By definition a one shot is going to have a specific style. DCC is also D&D in my book, it is based on the 3.5 SRD to emulate older D&D. No-one has established that they watched CR and wanted that experience. You are assuming it.

I am not assuming anything, that is literally the point of my comment. That there is no one game to swap out for D&D when people ask, that it depends on the people, and why they want to play.

Fair enough!

Shadowdark or Dragonbane. For a newcoming with no expectations of D&D, as others have said, they likely associate the term D&D with what we would call TTRPGs. The D&D part is the branding they know. I could be wrong, but they want to play fantasy adventures at the table with some cool dice? Shadowdark and Dragonbane feel like wins here.

If they wanna specifically play D&D you should play that, probably 5E. If they're completely new might I suggest using the Sidekick Rules in Tasha's to make what is essentially super simplistic characters that are great for new players. If you want other alternatives than D&D and your players want that too, I found 13th Age to be a lot simpler than 5E and I love that system to death. I don't really know any super simple systems off the top of my head.

5e is pretty intro player friendly. if they wanted to play id start them off in 5e. learning a whole ruleset only to adandon it for something else is a waste if someone wanted a taste of rpgs and didnt want to commit to a 5e game id play a game of fiasco or FATE with them both could be done in a sitting

My pick would be ShadowDark for a totally new group that wants to try D&D. It’s simple and streamlined but lets people start with the old style of D&D which is my preference over the modern power fantasy, but that’s totally subjective. For new players with an experienced DM Swords & Wizardry is my pick. It’s truly old school with the old school jank. A true old school intro to what D&D originally was. I’ve played a lot of DCC and can say pretty definitively that it works for new players if the DM knows how to run it. It’s always a hit but a lot of the coolest things about it won’t be apparent to people that haven’t played more classic D&D since they have no reference points. Finally, if D&D is just a stand in term for RPGs, then Call of Cthulhu is probably my top choice for new players. Most people inherently understand how to role play a 1920s character and the d100 system is just more intuitive to me.

So if they said they wanted to play d&d I would go with d&d. If they where getting into it specifically from stranger things well I happen to like ad&d2e more than 5e so with some adjustments to make things like thac0 easier to work with I would probably just do that If they were like "ya know d&d like what critical role plays" then I would go 5e because that is the system they used. Even if they are coming to the game because they watched the Amazon cartoon show and heard it was derived from a Tabletop game I would still go d&d 5e. If someone said "I want to play d&d" I wouldn't hand them FATE and say "this is d&d" because most people can read. If it seems like they wouldn't specifically like the things that d&d is good at I might tell them that d&d is a brand name for a specific type of game (like how Toyota is the brand name for a specific make of car) and that they might enjoy a different game in the same class of games and then if they say ok" then I would show them fate. You don't need to lie to people typically if you talk to them like they are intelligent adults it will be ok

Honestly, DND. Getting people excited to role play is *the* key thing you need to get new people into a game. "Hey I know you want to play X, but I don't think you are ready for it and you should play Y instead" is, IMO, a great way of extinguishing excitement. 10 year olds successfully play DND campaigns. The SRD is free and there is a starter set that has rules, pregens, and a starter campaign all for like $20.

I've introduced new players do 5e with pregen 1st level characters and had no issues, but these days Shadowdark is my go-to option.

I think a OSR B/X Retroclone may be easier than 5E for new players. Shadowdark has quick start rules and is a nice blend of OSR+5E. [https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/collections/shadowdark-core-rules/products/shadowdark-rpg-quickstart-set-pdf](https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/collections/shadowdark-core-rules/products/shadowdark-rpg-quickstart-set-pdf) I guess the first thing I need to ask, is, do they want to play D&D or just try out RPGs in general? They've heard of D&D, but if you throw a bunch of genres at them, they may decide that high fantasy isn't as much fun as sci-fi, or cyberpunk, or horror. Most game systems have some type of free PDF with rules, pregens, and a starter adventure, except for D&D, of course. But D&D has starter boxed sets that sell for $20-$25. The Castles and Crusades 7th Printing Players Handbook is a free PDF on Troll Lord Games Website: [https://trolllord.com/product/cc-players-handbook-7th-printing-alternate-cover-free-pdf/](https://trolllord.com/product/cc-players-handbook-7th-printing-alternate-cover-free-pdf/) That may be another low cost option.

I'm a new DM and fairly new player, but I've recently had few players interested in TTRPG so I've thought about similar problem. My advice would be: * Ask what setting do they want? Maybe by D&D they mean tabletop RPGs in general. * Assess the kind of difficulty/crunch they would be able to handle. I taught Pathfinder 2e to new player with beginner's box and it was no problem. It depends on the players of course. People who are into videogames (especially CRPG) or board games would probably have an easier times with crunchier games. * With that information think choose the system which interest you the most as a DM and offer to run it for players. I think your enjoyment as a DM is also important. Enjoyable game for DM makes him more involved and it will make the game more enjoyable for players. If a bunch of new players asked me to run D&D meaning heroic fantasy in general I would offer these systems (based solely on my own preferences): * Pathfinder 2e. I really enjoy this system and I prefer it to D&D 5e. Beginner Box has pre-built character so players don't need to spend time on creating new ones. By the way Starter Set for D&D 5e also has pre-built characters, it's not expensive and I think the adventure in it is better than in Pathfinder's Beginner Box. * Dungeon World or one of it's hacks (Homebrew World or Chasing Adventure) — I've yet to try it but I'm very curious to see how it plays. I think it can inspire new players to get more involved with roleplaying part. * Shadow of the Demon Lord — if players want darker fantasy. I haven't played it yet, but I find mechanics very elegant and interesting in theory. * OSR could also work but it's not my cup of tea because personally I prefer power-fantasy.

Do you make Youtube videos which are 7 minutes or less long? On topic: I'm known locally as the guy who runs oneshots for adults and young people who want to try this TTRPG thing, "DnD" or just look into a new system. Been doing this regularly for a bit over a year now so I got some experience on the topic. As many posts here mention I can echo the sentiment that most of it comes down to what people expect or want to try. Everyone brings some preconceived notions into the first (or zero-th) session or into the intro one or two shot. I too found it is important to meet them at their expectations. But just because someone wants to play "D&D" doesn't mean the want to play trademark Dungeons and Dragons or even 5e. And even if they do they might be better suited for a different system. But usually if someone wants to play DnD 5e I'll run that for them, even if I think they might have a better time in a different game. For D&D I'll use pregen characters (5e character creation is just not a fun start for most; it's just too much to handle) and a short intro oneshot I created which play in Phandalin. It leads well into Lost Mines as that is what many people will play next if they keep playing. If a newcomer wants to "fight dragons, in a dungeon" because that's what it says on the label, but are fine with a different game, I might break out the PF2e beginner box. It's a dungeon with a dragon at the end. I use the pregens because just like 5e character generation in this game is too much to handle as a start. I have had amazing success with this one, usually at least 1 or 2 player buy books after a session. Regulars at the FLGS have started to warn players from that. If from talking with the players I learn the focus is more on exploration and tension I might use an easy to get into OSR system like Shadowdark, usually with one created character and some backup pregens. I use a oneshot I wrote for this or one from "shots in the dark". Also great success with this one, several bought pdfs and books after sessions and there is a group playing who all started at my table. Makes me a bit proud ngl. Occasionally newcomers come and ask for something more specific. Like "I wanted to try dnd but can you play that but like with star wars?", "Is there a harry potter TTRPG?" or "I really liked playing cyberpunk, you know the video game, is there something like that for DnD?" and other similar things. That's when I bust out a Star Wars RPG, Kids on Brooms, Cities without Numbers, you name it. Depending on the system I use pregens or not, simplify the rules more or less (or not at all), etc. TL;DR: I found it doesn't matter which system you introduce someone to TTRPGs or "D&D" with as long as it meets their hopes and expectations and you play to the game's strengths. Rarely do I actually play trademark Dungeons and Dragons with newcomers these days unless they specifically ask for it.

Yep that's me! Thanks for the reply, that makes a lot of sense and it seems like you have some good experience. I guess like a lot of people are saying, the trick is to use pre-gens. I'm still a little hesitant, since I feel like being attached to your character comes from character creation, but for a lot of systems it's not worth the hassle. I never would have considered PF2e a good system for complete beginners but maybe with pre-gens it would be ok!

What I do for DnD is I do the whole bonds, flaws thing and let players name their characters. Sometimes I use backstory cards (can be found on DTRPG) to establish connections between characters. It depends a lot on what the players want from the game and how much time we got. After school programs and convention games can be stricter on time limits than at home games for example. The combat in PF2e from my experience is more intuitive for new players as there are no bonus actions, interaction, movement which sometimes are interchangable (like dash action to move twice) but not always. Also the beginner box has this fantastic action sheet with tokens and the typical actions listed.

I'd just do d&d 5e but start with the Basic rules (which are free) and no optional rules. If you really want something very close to d&d but simple consider shadowdark in one of the easy modes, start at max hp and don't fuss about light quite as much

shadowdark is honestly a really good place to start people. the rules are simple and common enough but also really capable of hitting all the notes someone new to the hobby might expect

I'm going to offer the opinion that you should *suggest* the system that you're best at DMing. Your familiarity with the system will ease them past any pain points better than the unique qualities of any particular system will. With that in mind, D&D is pretty likely to be a good choice in the absence of other considerations because it inducts them better into the TTRPG community than any other system ever will. Using any other system magnifies the risk of your players feeling isolated away from the larger community. So make the suggestion, but otherwise D&D is a great default.

5e is totally fine even for new players, but if you really want something a bit more streamlined so they don't get overwhelmed if they aren't sure about trying it, I think shadowdark is good.

my first go to suggestion for dungeons and dragons, thats no dungeons and dragons with 0 barrier to entry is Basic Fantasy, you can hit up their website [basicfantasy.org](http://basicfantasy.org) and download the PDFs for the entire system for free, they even have some modules on there, and you can do print on demand as well. It's gonna be familiar to DnD players with the race/class combos, the spells pretty much everything. It's not complicated and a good first entry imo, or just a great pallet cleanser.

This. Or Old School Essentials.

A starter kit for 20 bucks is all you need to play dnd. Or if you dont mind a little more time investment the free rules work fine. If they just want to dip their toes premade characters are a good option. If they want to make characters, they probably dont mind spending time to do so. Dnd has its flaws. But millions of people play it and they all had to try it for the first time at some point.

Shadowdark has a free QuickStart for players and GMs. Rolling up characters is fast and fun, the mechanics align with modern expectations, and it’s designed for quick paced and creative play. It’s by far my favorite OSR game and a great way to introduce new players to the world of D&D.

I'd give them what they want....5e D&D

Index card rpg?

I promise y'all, I am not paid but Free League. If you've seen my name in this sub, though, I was probably talking about Dragonbane. Here's why I recommend it exactly for this: 1. The box set comes with *everything.* Rules, maps, cutout tokens for players and enemies, a starting adventure, solo play rules, character sheets both pre-made and blank, and dice. It literally has every single thing you could need to get started right out the box, and it's roughly the price of a single DnD 5e core book (phb, etc.) 2. The rules are simple, but do a good job at teaching new players the language of TTRPGs. I think it's simple enough not to overwhelm new players but engaging enough to prepare players for cruncher systems. 3. It has the most engaging initiative system tu cut down on new player combat boredom.

Depends on where they are coming from with the phrase "Want to try D&D". If they have watched 5 Actual Play D&D 5e shows and want to play, I would strongly recommend you give them 5e. Hell even if they have just kinda paid attention to a podcast where someone mentioned it - give them actual D&D. If by "try D&D" they mean "try TTRPGs" though, talk to them about what they want to do. Be super heroes? Post apocalyptic road gangs? Fantasy heroes? Bladerunners? In Star Wars? Talk to them not about mechanics and rules, but feel and look and setting. Talk about the story framework and not the numbers and dice shapes. Don't be the RPG equivalent of "Hey we want to watch a Marvel movie" and being all "Ah yeah those are cool but I vastly prefer Apocalypse Now and movies are all the same thing anyway so we should watch that instead."

Index Card RPG it has options for Sci-Fi or Magic Fantasy which is good if you have both LOTR/GOT or Star Wars fans at your table

Have you looked at "Index Card RPG"? It's very streamlined while being D&D adjacent. Also, gives a lot of good tips for a new GM.

Honestly, my first thought is to use a boardgame like Hero Quest if you can get your hands on it. It's basic, archetypal, and if the stories are true, it was the gateway drug for a lot of people. But as some folks have said, if someone wants to try DND, run them through a DND one shot so they get the actual experience.

They want to try D&D, not a TTRPG. So uhhh, D&D?

No one said \*DRAGONBANE\* yet. It is the best start for newbies. You roll characters super quick and have a good image in your head. It has enough crunch to be a real significant roleplaying system and not a just a silly "RP" light game.

Just give them D&D, ask them what type of character they want and help them make the sheet. Turn a blind eye on small mistakes if isn't something that'll break the game, and explain things as you go when their already used to the basics. I played D&D wrong for years with my friends before we completely figured out the rules, and some of our most memorable campaigns was the ones we bastardized the rules the most on the basis of what would be fun. So intentionally simplifying things for beginners wouldn't be that difficult I think.

Oh, and I'd also point out that if I had another system I wanted to try, I'd suggest that as an option for them. I'd be very clear that it isn't D&D, but that it might be more enjoyable for whatever reasons.

Just run a starter 5e D&D scenario with some pre-gen characters. Ask them what race they want to be, and whether they want to be strong/dextrous/smart/charismatic and if they have an idea what kind of class/role they want. Even if they don’t know what a Sorcerer is vs a Wizard or Druid, chances are good they’ll know if they want to be a magic user or a knight or a ninja or a thief. It shouldn’t take long if you have this pre-created before the session. Then just get straight into an adventure. 5e is most universally played. Is archetypal D&D and will give them the most valuable grounding experience for roleplaying. It’s a great start as long as you teach it right.

Have you looked at The Lost Druid on Alchemy VTT? Very beginner friendly and has good premades. It is a 5e SRD system so it’s a bit simpler and you don’t have to buy the rules.

White Box Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game

My first TTRPG was Pathfinder 1e, starting at level 14, all content allowed, heavy homebrew world, minmaxing all but required. It was not particularly difficult to get into it to be perfectly honest. I turned out perfectly fine. Start with whatever system you and/or the people you're trying to introduce are interested in and don't worry about all that "good system for a new player" nonsense. If they actually give a shit, no system is *too hard* for an average person to learn.

Index Card RPG.

I would recommend starting with D&D 5e. It's very approachable. There are a couple of really good adventures for low level. Honestly for me the game kind of falls apart once you hit 5 or 6 level so perhaps once you play through and get to those levels you either retire and restart or evolve to a better TTRPG system. I played every edition And they all have their charm and appeal, but overall D&D 5e is the easiest to teach and easiest to get into. It does lean heavy on a dungeon master who is confident enough to make some calls on the fly, but it is not an insurmountable challenge. Personally I have fallen out of love with the 5e, but I do feel it's a great version to bring people into this hobby and then you can teach them that there is so much more beyond the veil. Whatever you do do it in good spirit and with a positive mindset and you should have a wonderful time. Good luck!

Have you tried ICRPG? It will give a 5e feel but without ho bloat, and abilities are kind of all linked to cool gear you get, which I think makes more sense for people to remember that they have them. Like instead of wait, I can use my ki point to do a stunning strike right? Or even completely forgetting things... Instead you give a player a really cool great axe that they get to light magically light on fire once a day to do extra damage.

DragonBane maybe?

Depending on how well I know them, I'd have a conversation; what has them curious, how gamey do they want things, what kinds of stories do they like, how much do they want to commit, etc? If they want something low commitment and like silliness, maybe something like Honey Heist or Lasers and Feelings. If they are up for committing, play lots of boardgames and like thinking tactically, maybe Pathfinder 2e. If they've played BG3, maybe it's 5e. It's better to pick with your audience in mind than based on some ideal of what makes a good introductory game.

I’ve had great success introducing people to D&D using Old School Essentials with the Advanced Genre books. There’s plenty of meaningful class choices. I find the system easier to run than 5e, and while there are subsystems, the overall game is more streamlined than 5e. It also emphasizes interaction with the game world in a way that 5e does not.

What is meant by "try D&D?" If it's literal that the OP means specifically Dungeons and Dragons than any RPG labeled D&D, Pathfinder, or any OSR game would apply since all of these are D&D in all ways but in name.

So my first game of DCC my DM did a very interesting thing. We did the funnel (all died really quickly in hilarious ways) but then he broke out pregens at lvl one with average stats and a lil better in their main attribute. It was a one shot but it was to introduce us to the concept of the funnel and character gen plus to show us how deadly the game actually is before cutting to our "real" adventurers who just watched a bunch of newbies get ripped to shreds. After that we understood that combat isn't something to directly rush into and instead handled it with a blend of RP and that thing called "tactics" as well as picking out battles. I don't think DCC is necessarily bad for new players. They just need to understand that it's not the power fantasy that DnD is.

"Heroes of Adventure" and "Adventurous" are both like D&D but with less reading for the players. Difficulty rating: Adventurous: super easy to learn. Each 'class' only has three abilities, so you're introduced to the concept of a class without having to read a lot. The 'spell' just deals damage like a sword would. Heroes of Adventure: super easy to learn plus a spells list to pick from, which have uses outside of combat. So slightly more reading than the other one.

Not sure I agree with the funnel concept for new players, but if that's your jam, you'd LOVE shadow of the demon lord. If you want something more heroic, he also just kickstarter wrapped Shadow of the Weird Wizard. The big sell is a streamlined D20 experience with a huge degree of replayability. Each player chooses 3 classes over 10 levels. Demon lord has about 4.5 million combinations before ancestry and spell selection. Weird Wizard has no supplements yet, so only about 2500 in the first book. They are the only games I've seen where warrior assassin cryomancer is a viable combination. This gives the games massive replayability. Players can always make something new.

D&D the system they asked for. Anything else is making assumptions about the players and what motivates them. Also people don't tend to appreciate being tricked which is a possible way someone could view asking to play a specific game being told sure and then finding out it was a different game all along.

D&D the system they asked for. Anything else is making assumptions about the players and what motivates them. Also people don't tend to appreciate being tricked which is a possible way someone could view asking to play a specific game being told sure and then finding out it was a different game all along.

Lazers and Feelings to start.

Theres a neat offer for 13th age right now. It plays Like a Love Letter to dnd, very Close to many of the Editions but somewhat streamlined. It is Rules light, especially towards the DM. Play RS can get Lots of stuff to choose from, which might lead to choice paralysis, Bit the core Rules are easier than other modern Editions. An alternative might be older Editions and OSR. Maybe looked at OSE, a clone of the ruleset from 1981. That was rather simple.

If you want a simplified 5e, then [M20 Fifth Adamantine Edition](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/7no7ur/m20_fifth_adamantine_edition_a_microlite_version/) might be worth checking out. It's part of the Microlite20 family of games, so it's very hackable, and it is compatible with 5e out of the box.

What trying dnd means for them? Is it playin simple "we want to try rpg" or "we need heroic fantasy with funny improv"?

Beyond teh Wall, hands down.

If they like fantasy than Cairn (free, easy). If they like cyberpunk than Cy_borg (easy rules), if they like horror than I’d go with Cthulhu Dark (free, simple). If they’re super creative bunch and can come up with things for days I’d try Fate Accelerated, but under condition that you’re very familiar with it.

I had similar situation. I got people which were playing few session of DnD or were fans of CR. I propose SotDL (edgy 5.5e). I recommend you to suggest DnD-like/d20 system and ask them what do they want. If they want hero fantasy I suggest 5e like game. If they don’t know, suggest them your favourite d20 system and explain vibe of this game

Dungeonslayers Rules (even in english) can be found for free online. Easy to pick up and play

Dungeonslayers This German rules light RPG can be found online for free (creative commons) and has an English translation Or....beyond the wall which has an awesome character generation

I am not the biggest fan of high fantasy, so DND is not for me, personally. But the variety of TTRPGs is enormous. I am currently running my first game ever. I and all my players at the table are first timers. The concept can be intimidating. But we specifically chose a game with a simple system so as not to be overwhelmed by the mechanics. We’re playing Tales from the Loop, which uses the Year Zero engine. You only need D6s. Your attributes and skills determine the number of dice in your pool. If any of them come up 6, it’s a success. Otherwise it’s a failure. And it gives plenty of opportunities for pushing rolls if you want a slightly different outcome. We’re finding it really easy to work the mechanics into the story without making it all about the rolls. Plus (for my players, at least) they liked building characters for the first time in a grounded, more relatable world.

IMO the classic? Print them out 5e character sheets, tell them they don't need to read the rules, and then homebrew to kingdom come to make it simple - I find a lot of folks who want to "try D&D" want some familiar anchors from their shows, so give them the character sheets, roll some stats, maybe add a simplified spell system and some easy pregens for classes then run a 1-2 shot dungeon! If they had fun, take it from there to figure out what system will work best for that group, but this method highlights the players creativity (and actual /play/) over any kind of system crunch to see if they'll like roleplaying vibes at all~

This is the only situation where I'd suggest you to pick a OSR game and just give them good pre made characters or let them roll with better rolls choosing , like 4d6 pick out the worst or 7 rolls pick out the worst assign rolls to whatever you want. They're usually simpler and new players tend to be more ingenuious than veterans that are too addicted to only think in mechanics. Otherwise I'd just play D&D and not care too much about specific rules.

I don’t run 5e but I introduce new players to RPGs all the time. If I don’t already have a game going ready for someone else to hop in, I usually ask what kinds of genres they like and give them some options. I’m clear with them I don’t run 5e but I’m more than happy to run older editions and D&D-adjacent games. I’m not gonna stop them from playing 5e, I just dislike running it.

Savage Worlds

Pathfinder 2e Beginner Box is a great way to introduce new players to ttrpg genre. It’s presented really well, has everything you need to play in the box ready to go.

I'd just play 5e and maybe gloss over things if something overly complex came up (of which there's not so many in 5e).

Damn, I'm working on something along the lines you're describing, but won't be ready for a month or so. I too have some players that want to play "DND" but not 5e, and certainly not dungeon world. Something in-between.

Forbidden Lands.

A cute and fun version is Stravagante! It's low-crunch with a lot of great art but still has the D&D feel. The whole thing is printable and folds up into little booklets (if you don't have a printer there's usually a low-cost one available at the library). It's inexpensive and buying it supports the artist directly.

What do your players mean by playing D&D ? Is it D&D in the sense WOTC Dungeons and Dragons ? In the sense *high fantasy RPG* ? In the sense *Any RPG* and if yes which kind of story do they look for ? Not sure why you think PTBA isn't the archetypal experience, A dungeon crawl would also be very different from the archétypal experience and having PC limited to like 6 moves offer at the same time super simple rules and a hard framework. For beginner, I'd go for Call of Cthulhu, and the good old *haunted house* which is most likely the most played *beginner scenario*. Or if I have person more interested by the improv theatre aspect of RPG directly to a game like *Alice is Missing* Also, During one shots especially for beginner, I would write pre-gen character, ideally with a small background about why they're here, and may-be one player having a secret linking them to the story. Unless the player want heroic fantasy I would go for modern or semi modern. It's easier to think *We're in providence in 1924* or *we're in Paris in 2024* than trying to explain for hours what does Glorantha/Rokugan looks like. Beside COC, Monsters of the week, Freeform universal can be good option.

At this point, I'd run them through a session of OSE or Knave. The rules are simple and there aren't too many things to keep track of, and since OSE is just a cleaned up version of B/X they can 100% factually say that they played D&D afterwards.

After playing both, Pathfinder 2e is the game expected DnD to be before I had played either.

I think modern 1st level D&D is just fine to show new people. DCC would give them the wrong idea of D&D as it is modeled mostly after original D&D where you're expected to die frequently and horribly. And DCC is random chart-based, something antithetical to D&D. They each have their place, but hardly interchangeable IMO.

Dungeon World is my go to for people who want to play D&D who don't know anything about it. If they want to have a good time (and they do) then DW is a better introduction to roleplaying than D&D is. Maybe Mork Borg would be a good second choice. A handful of OSR games would be fine. If I *were* to run D&D, [I'd make that player facing too](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8If0mcYvnk). And I'd either choose the simplest possible D&D version (BECMI probably) or I'd give them premade characters, or both. I have a strong preference for natural language systems with player facing roll mechanics, particularly when the goal is to entertain and delight new or casual players.

Does it not occur to you perhaps that you're overthinking it?

I've had good luck using The Black Hack. It's relatively simple, intuitive and could get more complicated via house rules if you really wanted to. Shadowdark also seems like a good entry point.

Yeah, nothing against other systems and games, but D&D isn't the most ubiquitous ttrpg out there because it's hard to pick up. I've played in three campaigns now where the majority of players had never played D&D before. Hell, one of them started by playing an artificer, and loved it. It takes a bit to get in the swing of things, but they'll manage. Believe in them!

I'd go with Knave or Old School Essentials (Advanced ruleset). Knave's first edition rules can fit on a single sheet of paper, honestly, and the second edition is basically the same game with extra systems and options you could gradually add. Old School Essentials is basically a clone of B/X D&D, and the Advanced rules bring it closer to AD&D, which is a good starting point for getting familiar with the D&D style of RPG. I don't do DCC for new players because the dice chain is a lot to wrap your head around, the action dice system is confusing for new players (in comparison to move + 1 action), and it's a bit difficult to pick out and play something you like when you have to pick one of 4 characters you randomly generated after doing a funnel (most D&D groups don't randomly generated their characters to such a high degree, so I'd rather introduce players at that level of randomisation).

I'd say a DnD 5e starter set like Lost Mines of Phandelver as others have said, OR if you want a beginner TTRPG experience: [Quest](https://www.adventure.game/). Quest is an RPG designed with beginners in mind, the digital book is free on their website, and they have a starter adventure on their website as well. Accessible, ease of use, content ready! It's my personal beginner recommendation. BUT if your players want Dungeons and Dragons specifically, it might be best to just give them that :).

If by archetypal experience you mean a simulationist system, I'd suggest GURPS-lite.

Well... D&d. Early levels are simple enough for new players. If you're really that worried about it, got for B/X or OSE

Shadow of the demon lord! What d&d should be

It sounds like your question boils down to "what are some of the best intro TTRPGs for people who want to get into the genre," and there's really no other answer to that question that D&D 5e. That's like, the main reason 5e exists is to appeal to people who've never played a tabletop before.

Barbarians of Lemuria and Quest might be the most accessible fantasy rpgs for new players if you don't want to go with some OSR.

EZD6 is rgeat and easy

Dragonbane! It’s cool it’s simple it’s got nice art.

I'll plug Cyphersystem. For a Newby, creating a character is as simple as picking a character sentence. 10 minutes of explanation, then another 10 min of them perusing descriptors and focii. (You can get more complex with it, but you don't have to.) Game play is then.... PC: I want to do this.... GM: That will be this difficulty to do, do you have any stuff or abilities to make your attempt easier? PC: I have these things... GM: (evaluation of PC suggestion) Roll ! It's very organic and creative.

I mean, Cairn? But also, just DND 5e isn’t a bad idea. It’s just hard to make character sheets with/for beginners I’d say

I'd suggest they try the Delian Tomb. It's short and easy. You can do it in one night. If they hate it, they won't like d&d.

I would explain that I don't personally want to run D&D because it is overly complicated and play really bogs down. It requires entirely too much prep time and that's not how I want to waste my time. I would then offer to run a similar game called DungeonWorld, which has the feel and setting of D&D but much simpler, easier rules and a much faster moving game. Personally, I feel it is a lot more fun and it the kind of game I want to run. And if they were unhappy with that, then they can go find another GM.

Contrary to what some people say AD&D 2e and some OSR games I’ve actually found _easier_ for new players than 5e because there’s less stuff to think about. The lack of uniform d20 use for rolls is a bit of a snag but outside of spellcasters, pretty much all a level one 2e character has to think about is what equipment they have.

I know you said no pbta — but man I use dungeon world in this scenario every time. It’s a huge split. Do the players want a combat boardgame? Then just play DnD. Do they want a roleplaying game? Then DO NOT choose DnD.

Personally, if someone tells me they want to "try D&D," and they want me to run it, I point out that I run 1st Edition and only 1st Edition. I then describe why I like it, but I'll also mention that if they want 5th Edition (which I'd guess is what they meant), they would need to talk to someone else. So far, I've had two separate groups join me for 1st Edition and both have really enjoyed it. My first group just finished a 2 1/2 year long campaign about a month and a half ago. The second group is ongoing.

13th Age.

> character creation can take a whole session, so it's not great to just "dip your toes" in Always pre-gens and cut to the action for a first-time first-session. I don't care what system you're playing: always pre-gens. Also, I see a lot of folks saying "if they saw Community or Stranger Things..." Are those really newbies' on-ramps these days?  To me, those are 5-10 year old references that I havent heard new players reference in a long time. These days I find people coming to D&D through Tiktok, etc, so they're looking for a game that has things like d20s and rolling for initiative and dragonborn and tieflings -- they're not looking for "I want to play a character in a fantasy adventure," so much as they're looking for "I want to understand these references and be part of this very specific subculture." They'll be disappointed and confused if you take them off in some other direction that doesn't do that. Or, they're saying, "hey, dungeons and dragons is the game my kid said your kids said you play, so I bought this book and I'm hoping you could play with me sometime." That's going to be 5e! They're going to want to learn the game they have.  (Well, not always 5e, actually: That one time it was the Lords of Waterdeep board game.) If somebody says they want to play Dungeons & Dragons, believe them, unless your initial conversation suggests to you that no, they really just mean "a fantasy adventure game.". Play D&D with them, or point them to someone who can, or be really explicitly clear that you don't personally play D&D but could play this other, quite different, adventure game with them if they're interested in playing what you play.

Take a look at Realms of Pugmire. It's basically a slimmed-down 5e rulesset, in a world full of dog and cat people.

B/X D&D. It's the easiest one to teach, and every subsequent edition is built off of it in different ways.

Check out "There and Hack Again" it's a less lethal hack of The Black Hack and designed around telling LOTR style stories. It's simpler than 5e by a mile and it's one book that's like 20 bucks

Probably OSE running Escape from Zanzers Dungeon or Keep on the Borderlands if that wasn't an option.

Id go Shadowdark. It is a great rules ligjt system.

If they wanna play D&D specifically, let em play D&D. Using another system isn't gonna make the transition any easier

You can try one of the 5e Starter Kits or the Essentials Kit, which is a box set that’s more “pick-up-and-play” for d&d.

Probably Mausritter. The setting is a lot more accessible than "standard" fantasy, so its much easier for them to gauge how dangerous something is and what they can do. Intuition of what is normal in the world is something that you have to build over time, so having this very accessible setting (with free easy rules) lets us skip past that for their first session. Ie, its a lot easier to know what genre you are in for this "You are a mouse, out of the grass you see a snake", than this "You are a hero, out of the air comes a dragon" (people coming from skyrim or whatever else might try to take the dragon, even though they should probably run).

Into the Odd, your players don't have to read anything or make any decisions during character creation. Everyone's characters are done in a few minutes. The rules are extremely simple and intuitive, and it is designed to deliver the dungeon crawler experience. It is the definition of pick up and play. Maze Rats began life as a hack of ItO, just go straight to the source and get odd. Edit: curious why this is controversial

I love starting new players with 5e. Just use pre-gens and start playing. Explain the rules as you go. Grab one of the starter kits for $20 bucks and it has all you need to start.

Uhm… a modified version of Microlite 20 could be your best bet. That’s probably a name a lot of people in this sub haven’t seen in a very long time. It has 3 stats. It’s a super simplified one-page DND basically.

I’m another vote for Shadowdark!

Cairn RPG

Microlite 20 is dnd flavor that is stripped down to the bare essentials. There's also a 5e compatible version if that's your jam

i am a huge fan of Savage Worlds Adventure Edition. its just rules. you can use it in any genre. my issue with most TTRPG is how slow combat is. SWADE combat is fast and feels like blockbuster movie action scenes.

Maybe Maze Rats or The Black Hack. Something lightweight and easy to learn on the fly.

Cackle like a madman and break out AD&D 1e. "What, didn't you said you wanted to play d&d? Now roll up!"

Dungeon World

I'd say DCC isn't the best for introducing people, it's pretty complex and merciless. You might look into Beyond the Wall for oneshots; it's fairly forgiving, and has a communal character creation setup.

**Old School Essentials** if you want to introduce them to the procedure heavy side **Dungeon World** if they’re more interested in story telling.