Jonathan Hinson

Why make a 5e Lite?

I played D&D a bit in the 90’s. My Kids are nearly old enough to play, but in my eagerness to start a game, I simplified the rules a little – which also made it easier to on-board my wife, and reduced the amount of bookkeeping I needed to do as a GM. I like the 5e system in general, but – couldn’t help myself but to streamline things a bit, and add a Piecemeal Armour System.

Generally the GM has some extra liberties when determining what checks to roll for, and as 5e Lite is technically compatible with standard 5e rules, the GM can start introducing more advanced rules as needed.

There are significant changes to a few rules, and other tidbits that I first need to explain to my players, that ties all of these rule changes together. But an experienced GM would be able to peruse these changes, and other pages here in this section of the site and quickly see the key changes that make this iteration of the game “easier”, but also more complicated in some other areas (hopefully for the better!) 

List of my 5e Lite Changes

My 5e Lite differs quite a bit from standard D&D 5e. See key changes below.

Key Changes

  1. Only 2 Classes for PCs, and no Sub-Classes.
  2. Only 4 Races for PCs, with no effects on stats.
  3. Only 3 Ability Scores. Strength, Dexterity, and Mind.
    Consitution is just bundled into the Strength Ability.
    Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma (and their associated Skills are bundled into Mind Ability.)
    With regards to NPCs, and Creature Stat Blocks, the GM is free to use the “missing” Abilities).
  4. No Class or Race Proficiencies. The GM just determines which Ability will be checked for success on any typical Proficiency, Skill check etc.
  5. Players start with 10 points in each Ability, and assign 6 more points anywhere (15 max on one ability)
  6. Piecemeal Armour system
  7. Slight changes to Weapon and Spell Damage Stats.
  8. Players assign 1 Ability point per level (This compensates for removed proficiency system, race / class specialisations, and assists with difficulty curve and CR at higher levels)

Key Ommisions:

  1. No Lance, Nets.
  2. No Equipment Packs
  3. No Channel Divinity.
  4. No Finesse on weapons.
  5. No Feats (these are bundled into “Level Milestones”)

Other Changes:

  1. Weights, Distances, and Speeds are in Metric.
  2. Players all have the same speed (8 meters per round).
  3. Players each start with 10 Hit Points, and Gain 4 Hit Points (Spellcaster), or 6 Hit Points (Fighter) + Strength Modifier per Level.
  4. Base AC is 12
  5. No cap on Ability Scores during level up.
  6. Removed Copper and Electrum. There is only sp, gp, and pp. (Price tables have been adjusted, and cp is rounded up to nearest sp).
  7. Strength requirements for  Weapons (or roll with disadvanage)
  8. A Short rest restores half of missing Hit Points automatically. You can restore more with Hit Dice.

Spellcaster Changes

  1. The Spellcaster Class is essentially an amalgam of various Spellcasting classes from 5e.
  2. Spellcasters just choose prepared spells from list of Spells available to their level. 
  3. Spellcasters enjoy “Persistent Spells” which are spells that are always available and can be used any time.
  4. No Material requirements for player character spells

Fighter Changes

  1. No Archetypes.
  2. Fighters choose from a “Feat Tree” that determines if a player takes a Melee or Ranged fighter path.