Free D&D One-Shots for Kids (Printable, by Age)

Looking for a free D&D one-shot for kids? Talewick Quests has 20 free one-shot adventures written for children aged 6 to 12, each with a printable guide sheet and a PDF, and each playable in one sitting of roughly 15 to 45 minutes. They are not official D&D or 5e material: they are tabletop adventures that work with simple tabletop rules, so a parent who has never run a game can start tonight. Pick one by tone and length below, print it with the character sheets, and play. The adventures are also available in Hebrew and Arabic.

Pick by age

Every adventure on the site is written for ages 6 to 12 and for 2 to 5 players, so the real choice is tone. For a younger or more sensitive child, start with one marked "no fight needed". For a child who wants a little thrill, try The Lantern Night or, for the bravest table, Escape the Skeleton Crypt, the spookiest of them all (written as a puzzle, not a horror story).

Lengths below are the shortest and longest options on each adventure's page. You choose the length when you open it.

Adventure	Age	Length	Players	Theme
The Goblin Camp Raid	6 to 12	about 15 to 40 min	2 to 5	Win back the village food chest from goblins who are frightened, not wicked
The Owlbear in the Whispering Woods	6 to 12	about 15 to 40 min	2 to 5	Clear a forest trail and learn what the owlbear is guarding (one sad note)
The Sleeping Dragon's Hoard	6 to 12	about 15 to 40 min	2 to 5	Bring a lost ram home from a lonely dragon's cave; can end without a fight
Escape the Skeleton Crypt	6 to 12	about 15 to 40 min	2 to 5	Rescue a cat from a sealed crypt with fussy skeletons and a riddle (the spookiest)
The River That Stopped	6 to 12	about 15 to 40 min	2 to 5	Walk an empty riverbed to find out why the river stopped (most puzzle-led)
The Morning in a Jar	6 to 12	about 15 to 40 min	2 to 5	The morning never came; follow its last gleam to an old watchtower
The Silent Landing	6 to 12	about 15 to 40 min	2 to 5	A harbour mystery with no fight at all
The Walking of the Light	6 to 12	about 15 to 40 min	2 to 5	Five plates, five posts and one hour of sun: a puzzle adventure
The Street That Came Home	6 to 12	about 15 to 40 min	2 to 5	Doors open onto the wrong streets: a mapping adventure
The Weather-Goose of Market Ward	6 to 12	about 15 to 40 min	2 to 5	Find the missing weather goose before the storm hits market day
The Lantern Night	6 to 12	about 15 to 40 min	2 to 5	Follow floating pumpkin lanterns to a shy ghost (gently spooky, Halloween)
The Year That Came Apart	6 to 12	about 15 to 45 min	2 to 5	A little valley with four seasons at once: a choosing adventure
The Ship the Tide Gave Back	6 to 12	about 15 to 45 min	2 to 5	A strange ship on the sand at the lowest tide, with a clock running
The Stakes That Wandered	6 to 12	about 15 to 45 min	2 to 5	Someone is moving the fen's marker stakes at night
The Ship That Tied Up Empty	6 to 12	about 15 to 45 min	2 to 5	A ship arrives with no crew; find them before the tide turns
The Light on Hare Down	6 to 12	about 15 to 45 min	2 to 5	Crack a signal light's code before the weather arrives
Moonlight on the Longsway	6 to 12	about 13 to 31 min	2 to 5	A bridge that swings with no wind; no fight needed
The Rumble Under Ferndown	6 to 12	about 13 to 31 min	2 to 5	Holes in the road before the bread festival; no fight needed
Thirteen O'Clock in Chimewell	6 to 12	about 13 to 31 min	2 to 5	The town chimes ring at the wrong times; no fight needed
The Lagoon That Lost Its Light	6 to 12	about 13 to 31 min	2 to 5	A glowing lagoon goes dark; ferry across to a shy giant, no fight needed

What you get with each adventure

Each adventure page has everything for one game: a "Read aloud" box for every scene, guide notes that say what happens next and how hard each roll should be, a list of who you meet with their stats, rewards and tips, and a simple map. You can tap a ready-made hero for each child, print the guide sheet, or download the player PDF. Every adventure can be finished by talking or sneaking instead of fighting, and a hero who runs out of Heart Points is only worn out until the next scene.

Pick by length

Every adventure page has length buttons, from a quick version to a full evening, and longer lengths add extra scenes (a puzzle, a twist or a bonus side quest) on the way to the same big final scene.

• About 15 minutes or less. Any adventure on its shortest setting. Good for a first try, a bedtime story with dice or a party with lots of children.
• About 30 minutes. The longest setting of Moonlight on the Longsway, The Rumble Under Ferndown, Thirteen O'Clock in Chimewell or The Lagoon That Lost Its Light, or a middle setting of any other adventure.
• About 40 to 45 minutes. The full evening setting of the other 16 adventures. The Saltmere Reach adventures, The Year That Came Apart and The Ship the Tide Gave Back go up to about 45 minutes.

Want more than one evening? Try a campaign. Our campaigns tell one story over three chapters, for ages 6 to 12. The Frostpeak Expedition is adventurous rather than scary: a storm, a hungry wolf pack and a creature guarding the ice, each written so that kindness settles it as well as a fight. The Tide-Bell of the Reach is gentle and adventurous, with a rising tide, a grumpy crab and thieving gulls. Play one chapter per session.

Seasonal one-shots

For Halloween, The Lantern Night is our seasonal adventure: pumpkin lanterns float away from the doorsteps of Tumblebrook, and the heroes follow them to find out who is borrowing them, and why. It is gently spooky, with nothing scary.

We do not have a Christmas or winter one-shot yet. For a wintry evening, The Frostpeak Expedition is the closest fit, with a storm, frost wolves and a creature guarding the ice, and The Goblin Camp Raid opens with winter coming to the village of Millbrook.

How to run one tonight

1. Pick an adventure from the table and choose your length on its page.
2. Print the guide sheet or PDF, plus the character sheets with six ready-made heroes.
3. Read the how to play page once. The rules fit on one page: roll a d20, add a trait, and beat 8, 10 or 12.
4. Read the first "Read aloud" box and ask each child, "What do you do?"

For a full step by step plan for your first game, read our guide: How to Run D&D for Kids: A First Game in 45 Minutes. No dice at home? Use the free dice roller. Players in different homes can join the same adventure at our free live online table, with no account needed.

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