D&D General Besides Nimble, are there other stripped down versions of 5e...

jdrakeh · Feb 18, 2026

Besides Nimble are there other stripped down versions of 5e that aren't limited to covering levels 1-5 only (I own a few of those)?

jayoungr · Feb 18, 2026

Just use the PHB only, no supplements. Boom, done.

jdrakeh · Feb 18, 2026

jayoungr said:
Just use the PHB only, no supplements. Boom, done.

That's plain old RAW 5e, not stripped down anything. Which is not what I'm looking for.

Distracted DM · Feb 18, 2026

What would you consider stripped down, and what would you consider still 5e? Are you talking Nimble 1e or 2e?
Does Shadowdark count, for example? What about something like 5 Torches Deep or one of the other OSR-5e's?

Tigris · Feb 18, 2026

I was also thinking about shadowdark. It has some changes (mostly spellcasting) but to big degrees its just 5e stripped down (with more focus on dungeon crawling).

Wolfram stout · Feb 18, 2026

Thank you OP, I have been contemplating opening a thread like this myself.
Specifically I am looking for something inbetween Shadowdark and 5e. Something like 5e without subclasses.

TheWyrdOne · Feb 18, 2026

It has built-in flavor (grimdark fantasy), but maybe Deathbringer fits your needs?

It's 5e-compatible. Definitely a stripped down ruleset. Quite brutal, though!

Cruentus · Feb 18, 2026

Bugbears and Borderlands by Rod Waibel is a rules lite take on 5e (levels 1-10). It is on its second edition. Written by @Sacrosanct here on ENWorld.

There is even a 2e starter box.

darjr · Feb 18, 2026

@mearls has something called Moldvay.

I think @SlyFlourish has a couple things. My memory is not working at the moment.

Ben talking about Nimble 5e, if people want to know more about it.

dave2008 · Feb 18, 2026

jdrakeh said:
Besides Nimble are there other stripped down versions of 5e that aren't limited to covering levels 1-5 only (I own a few of those)?

Mike Mearls (@mearls ) is working on a stripped down version of 5e called Moldvay. You can download the working documents on his patreon page: Mike Mearls Games | Patreon