Simply6 RPG from EnWorld Review

What follows is a short review for "Simply6" from ENWorld Publishing. My goal is to put a really awesome RPG that you may not know about on your radar.

Simply6 is a rules light universal RPG designed to cover most any type of traditional RPG play experience. The types of experiences where one player is the referee, narrator, or game manager, and two or more other players are the protagonist characters in a shared story.

This one is pretty light and looks perfect for quick one-shot sessions when someone is unable to attend your regular weekly game session. The game offers a long list of traits as things you are good at like: Fighting, Thievery, Perception, Knowledge, etc. You pick a few and invest a few dice in them.

By default, most actions see you rolling 3 dice and trying to hit a target of 10. If you have invested in an ability then you will have more dice and you will be able to hit that target of 10 more easily. But that target can go up, especially in combat where the higher level a monster is, the higher you will have to roll to hurt them.

Players start with 3 dice to improve abilities but can't spend all three on one ability. Your level is equal to the number of extra dice you have. So, a brand new character is 3rd level. Your hit points are equal to your level, so new characters will have 3 hp. Most equipment is assumed, some will grant you extra dice when rolling to do things, but most is handwaved as something you will have when you need it.

There is a page about magic, but it doesn't seem like a viable option for a one-shot. Maybe if a group was planning to play a short campaign using Simply6 they could have a magic using character. Magic doesn't start with the initial 3 dice that all other skills get. So, magic skill has to be built up from 0. That's going to require a few sessions.

There are two sample adventures included with Simply6. A fantasy adventure with an interesting twist, and a zombie apocalypse type adventure. I really like the fantasy one and might run it some time.

Simply6 is really well laid out and easy to understand. It's a great example of a rules light, accessible universal toolbox kind of system and one that is worth a look.

Join my Facebook Group to discuss this post and anything related to RPG's and geekdom!