"Roll one die and charge in."
EZD6 is DM Scotty's (Scotty McFarland) light fantasy game from Runehammer Games. One six-sided die against a number the GM calls decides everything. No hit points, skills or levels: heroes have paths, strikes instead of HP, and karma that piles up with every failure. Explained in five minutes, played all night.
- you want rowdy fantasy mayhem with rules explained in five minutes
- your table has newcomers and you want almost nothing to teach
- you like failed rolls paying back as karma for later
- you want tactical depth and detailed character builds
- your GM dislikes ruling improvised spell effects on the fly
Setting-free classic adventure fantasy: dungeons, goblins, cursed towers and dragons. The players are a rowdy band of heroes and the GM is the Rabble Rouser. Separate playset books carry the same rules into the post-apocalypse (Wasted World) and horror (Dreadful Doomscapes).
One d6 and a difficulty scale
The Rabble Rouser names a number from 2 (easy) to 6 (super hard); the player rolls a d6 and must meet or beat it. A 1 always fails, and most fights need a 3+. A boon adds an extra die and you keep the best, a bane makes you keep the worst; they cancel out one for one.
Karma and the Hero Die
Everyone starts with three karma and earns one more for every failed roll. Each point of karma adds +1 to any roll. The Hero Die is a token you cash in for a reroll. Failure stops stinging: every miss banks luck for later.
Strikes, not hit points
A hero can take three strikes; each enemy hit that gets past your armor save costs one. Monsters get as many strikes as their toughness deserves. No damage arithmetic — combat flies.
Circles of sorcery
There are no spell lists. A caster knows circles of sorcery and improvises any effect inside them, with the GM ruling on the result. Pushing more power dice helps, but every 1 that comes up brings backlash.
Open in Session Zero to let every player vote and see the results.