[RPG]: Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium (Unrated Edition), reviewed by Thomas Ulricht (4/4)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13543.phtml

Thomas Ulricht's Summary:

Dread delivers high action and grotesque horror. A simple system keeps the action flowing. Horrible Demons are loose, time to load up and kick some ass!

Go to the full review for more information.

[Rafael Chandler]

Hi, Thomas,

Thanks for the great review! I appreciate you taking the time to write it.

You noted that Dread "practically screams for hordes of mooks to be slaughtered, but it seems difficult to find a reason for the characters to fight anything but demons, unless you shoehorn some random drugdealers or crooked cops in to the mix."

My suggestion would be to focus on the patterns of each individual demon. For example, the Ravaqat demon creates conflicts between criminals and police, which usually erupt in the form of savage gunfights in the streets. These battles are great places for the player characters to rack up points of Fury (by rescuing civilians or helping the cops), and also good places to whittle them down (by fighting well-armed human enemies). Even a trio of well-trained Disciples is going to take some damage when facing off against a dozen gang members with submachine guns.

You might also take a second look at the Death Spiral in Chapter 13 -- it allows you to set up scenarios by introducing escalating threats that the players will then have to contend with (prior to taking down the demon).

If anyone has any questions for me, I'd be happy to answer them in this thread.

Thanks again, Thomas, and Happy New Year!

-- Rafael

[Thomas Ulricht]

Hi Rafael, Happy New Year to you too.

After posting the review, I sat down to try and write a scenario using the death spiral and the random scenario tables(two concepts that I regretably missed in my review). I rolled up "car thieves" and "Dirty Feds" as hostiles, I then rolled some random locations including a parking cellar, car workshop and a ship. These helped inspire me to write a reasonable scenario without much effort.

A Daemuil had taken the body of a young murder/rape victim and was hunting the car thieves(who were responsible). I figure that the characters investigation will lead both the thieves and feds to conclude that the characters are the murderers, thus leading to violence. I'm just not sure about keeping it up for several cases, as the Disciples would seem to become more crime fighters than excorsists.

Something that struck me after writing the review was the fact that the game takes place after demonic activity has been(more or less) exposed to the masses. That means that people will be edgy, perhaps more likely to turn to violence if exposed to disciple Magic or evidence of the supernatural. I guess that could be used to make hostility more feasable.

I would like to see material on cults that worship demons, maybe secret societies working for heaven and hell getting in the Disciples way. Is that something that is planned for the other Books of Pandemonium?

[devlin1]

Neat. This reminds me a lot of "G vs. E," which always felt like an RPG anyway. "G vs. E" wasn't nearly as disturbing as this seems to be, but the basic premise -- humans taking on escaped demons -- is close enough for jazz.

[Rafael Chandler]

Originally Posted by Thomas Ulricht

A Daemuil had taken the body of a young murder/rape victim and was hunting the car thieves(who were responsible). I figure that the characters investigation will lead both the thieves and feds to conclude that the characters are the murderers, thus leading to violence.

That's perfect. That sounds like a great scenario. If you run it, please let me know how it turns out!

Originally Posted by Thomas Ulricht

Something that struck me after writing the review was the fact that the game takes place after demonic activity has been(more or less) exposed to the masses. That means that people will be edgy, perhaps more likely to turn to violence if exposed to disciple Magic or evidence of the supernatural. I guess that could be used to make hostility more feasable.

Good point. The other thing to bear in mind is that many of the demons in Dread are attracted to human vice, so while investigating demonic activity, the Disciples are likely to encounter violent people doing illegal things. Combat will doubtless ensue.

Originally Posted by Thomas Ulricht

I would like to see material on cults that worship demons, maybe secret societies working for heaven and hell getting in the Disciples way. Is that something that is planned for the other Books of Pandemonium?

Yes, definitely. Scorn: The Second Book of Pandemonium will feature information on demon-worshiping cults, including The Black Cross, Heaven's Children, and The Sicarii. The book will also some of the agents of Heaven, who will pose a serious threat to the Disciples.

Thanks for the great comments and questions!

[Rafael Chandler]

Originally Posted by devlin1

Neat. This reminds me a lot of "G vs. E," which always felt like an RPG anyway. "G vs. E" wasn't nearly as disturbing as this seems to be, but the basic premise -- humans taking on escaped demons -- is close enough for jazz.

Right on. I never saw the show -- is it worth checking out?

Oddly enough, if I had to compare Dread to a TV show, I'd point to The Wire or The Shield. Street-level violence, moral ambiguity, brutality, investigation, deeply flawed protagonists, and human misery. But with demons.

[devlin1]

Originally Posted by Rafael Chandler

Right on. I never saw the show -- is it worth checking out?

I loved it, myself. The first season or two were great, but then they retitled it "Good vs. Evil" and it went downhill.

Originally Posted by Rafael Chandler

Oddly enough, if I had to compare Dread to a TV show, I'd point to The Wire or The Shield. Street-level violence, moral ambiguity, brutality, investigation, deeply flawed protagonists, and human misery. But with demons.

Yeah, it sounds like grittiness is the order of the day for Dread, which makes sense. "G vs. E" was two parts comedy, one part funk, and one part demon hunting (although I think they called them "Morlocks" for whatever reason), so clearly the emphasis was elsewhere, but the basics are close enough. In "G vs. E," recently deceased humans who aren't good enough for Heaven or bad enough for Hell are recruited into the Corps and given another shot. If they serve the Corps well (by killing demons and preventing people from signing Faustian bargains, and/or convincing them to renounce one if they've already signed), they can earn their way into Heaven. It was a fun show.

As per the intro: "A man torn from his family, murdered in his prime, only to return to Earth, resurrected as an agent of the Almighty Corps. With no magic, no special powers, forbidden from intimate contact, unrecognizable to those from their past lives, Chandler Smythe and Henry McNeil now fight to save lost souls against the minions of darkness. It is a battle of Good versus Evil. G vs. E, that's what it is!"

[Rafael Chandler]

Originally Posted by devlin1

Yeah, it sounds like grittiness is the order of the day for Dread, which makes sense.

I tried to keep the focus on the juxtaposition between the darker aspects of human existence (war, self-abuse, murder) and the war between angels and demons.

Originally Posted by devlin1

In "G vs. E," recently deceased humans who aren't good enough for Heaven or bad enough for Hell are recruited into the Corps and given another shot.

That's not too far from where Dread's at. I need to check this show out. In Dread, mysterious entities (which may or may not be angels) recruit people to hunt demons (and rescue their intended victims, if the situation permits it). The Disciples are chosen from all walks of life, but the important thing is that they're people with nothing left to lose -- drug addicts, criminals, failures, the suicidal, the destitute. They're given a chance to redeem themselves by dying in battle, essentially.