Knights and Knaves

Knights and Knaves is a hack of Ben Milton's Knave, a rules toolkit for running old school fantasy RPGs, modified to include D&D 5e races and a simple object-based magic system.

I've been asked often to "teach how to play D&D". Usually the person asking has never played TTRPGs, and uses D&D as a synecdoche for the whole genre of games (which is a widespread habit and hardly their fault). Seldomly the person has been exposed to other D&D-based products or live-plays, so they have an idea of the overall setting and tone, and/or they took part in the community around the game even if they never tried playing themselves. Even more rarely, the person who asks is interested in the actual current incarnation of D&D (5e at the moment). 

I've internally debated how to best comply with the request. I don't feel any particularly allegiance to 5e, as most of the people asking me to play. However, there are some tropes and vocabulary that makes playing D&D a shared experience (rolling a natural 20, having insanely high AC, learning what Wisdom or an Halfling are). Moreover, as many people remarked, making a new pg in 5e is fun only AFTER you know how to play, but having pre-made characters robbed the player of some agency, and put me in the condition of having to explain a lot of class-specific abilities before being able to have fun.

Therefore this is my best attempt at having the cake and eating it. The OSR is full of similar attempts at "distillating" D&D (off the top of my head: SADFAG, Word of Dungeons, Down We Go...). This is mine.

I used Knave as a basis because it keeps the d20 and has compatible vocabulary with 5e. It also comes with some remarkable "editor notes". I added races, a (kinda loose) object-based magic system, and I implemented a speedy procedure for character creation that leverages the centrality of inventory typical of Knave.

I've tested it and I'm satisfied with how it turned out. I feel comfortable putting it on the table in front of newcomers, and it still leaves them with enough understanding to speak with other D&D players and understand each other easily. 

I hope some of you'all will find it useful!