[RPG]: Don't Rest Your Head, reviewed by Colin Fredericks (4/5)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12435.phtml

Colin Fredericks's Summary:

A highly atmospheric modern horror game inspired by Dark City, Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol, Neverwhere, and Midnight Nation. Excellent combination of mechanics and setting.

Go to the full review for more information.

[iago]

Those looking to learn more should look here: http://www.evilhat.com/dryh.php

Thanks for the review!

[Dan Davenport]

What sorts of powers do the Awake gain?

[rgalex]

Pretty much whatever fits your character's concept. It's very open and suggests working with the GM to come up with something fitting. The book uses the example of a character being able to teleport.

I pick this up at GenCon after reading some good things about it here. After reading it (haven't played yet but I do want to give it a shot) I must say I'm a little disappointed. The physical book is fine. It looks nice and is pretty clearly presented (although I'm not a fan of the art at all). The rules, however, seem to be stacked against the players. Again, this is the impression I got from reading the book, not playing it.

There is plenty of room for player input and control, but it seems like death is a very certain thing for the characters. For example, if you accumulate too many Exhaustion Dice (which seems like it could happen very quickly) you fall alseep and it's suggested that really terrible things (like dying) happen to those that fall asleep. Other bits throughout the book seem to poke the GM toward being harsh on the PCs. I got a strong GM vs Player vibe from reading it.

Also, I was disappointed in the setting. I loved the source material that was suggested but the Mad City came off too Tim Burton campy-creepy instead of something truly frightning.

If I were to score it I would probably give it a 3 for Style (it's clean, easy to read but nothing special) and a 3 for Substance (good use of examples, all the rules you need, decent setting material but again, nothing to boost it past average).

[iago]

I'd recommend reading this actual play thread for a sense of what the game feels like "in motion": http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=278777

One of my favorite madness talents I've encountered over the course of running or playing the game is from a particularly cracked player of mine. It was this: "I am able to shapeshift into the form of my 12-year-old dead son who's a super detective like Encyclopedia Brown."

It was fantastic.

As to things being stacked against the players, it's no worse than a game of Call of Cthulhu and is actually, at times, considerably more hopeful than that. At least, in my experience.

[Tancred]

Originally Posted by rgalex

There is plenty of room for player input and control, but it seems like death is a very certain thing for the characters. For example, if you accumulate too many Exhaustion Dice (which seems like it could happen very quickly) you fall alseep and it's suggested that really terrible things (like dying) happen to those that fall asleep. Other bits throughout the book seem to poke the GM toward being harsh on the PCs. I got a strong GM vs Player vibe from reading it.

Like you, I haven't played DRYH (though as of Monday I hope to have remedied that).

It's worth bearing in mind that Exhaustion and Madness dice are player controlled, at least initially - if a player wants to play things safe, I think they can. Once they have a few Exhaustion dice out there, or roll a bunch of Madness dice, sure there's the chance of things spiralling out of control but that gives some great tension I think. And 7+ Exhaustion doesn't = Death in the same way as Hit Points of 0 = Death. It just means things are truly dire for the character, and shouldn't be taken lightly - which gives the system its necessary consequences, otherwise why not ramp up the dice pool if there's no risk if you go too far?

There's also the whole hope/despair economy going on - if the GM uses Despair to make Madness or Exhaustion dominate, then later the players have a resource to buy off Exhaustion and Madness effects. They can use them to pull back from the edge.

Personally, that's exactly the sort of tension I'm looking for in game design, and it makes the system about interesting decisions as well as the in-character decisions.

As for an antagonistic relationship between GM and players, I didn't get that impression - sure, it's the GM's job to pressure the players into hard decisions (should I use Madness dice to win this conflict, but risk going over the edge?) but not to whack them over the head with the system. In this it's no different from any game, it's not like you put your 1st level D&D characters up against a dragon is it? Pain dice shouldn't be overwhelming in the same way, IMO. I certainly don't see Snapping or Crashing as inevitable.

Anyway, I'll find out soon enough when I run the game.

[Azidhak]

What impressed me after a read-thru was that there was examples for everything. Also the examples expressed also some of the mood of the game. It reads very easily.