I was going through my checkbook the other day, getting ready to pay some bills, when I noticed a purchase for a little under $50 for Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium which I ordered from Lulu.
Damn you, C.W. Richeson, I thought, another $50 thrown away on another rpg I don't need.
I had placed an order for the game pretty much right after reading Richeson's review.
Shortly afterwards though I begun thinking all the other things I could have bought for $50 (the game itself was about $40 hardcover plus shipping from Lulu). A really nice meal, three or four pizzas, some new pants, an oil change, tank of gas, the possibilities were endless!
And did I really need another rpg, especially since I don't game that often these days?
No, I really didn't need another game, but after receiving my copy of dread a few days ago I can say that this is one of the best games I've bought and well worth the price of some pizzas or a tank of gas.
This really is just a well-put-together product. The layout is one of the most atmospheric I've seen in any rpg product. The typewriter font used for the wonderfully violent, funny, and horrific fiction helps set the tone of the game. The use of black and white photography is genius and I still wonder why more games don't use photography for their artwork. It's also easy to find information you're looking for thanks to the uncluttered design.
Although it's going to be a minor inconvience to have to buy some 12-sided dice for this game, the system is one of the most simple and easy to understand systems I've come across. I've read through the rules only twice and I already feel I have a good enough handle to run a game confidently (except I don't have all of the uses of Fury, a stunt-type mechanic, down).
If you're a fan of light systems, then you need to pick this up for the rules alone. Actually, the creator of the game was cool enough to post the core rules for free at his website, dread-rpg.com, so check them out for yourself.
I like how players can defend against as many attacks are thrown at them in a round, I like how simple damage is calculated -- attacks are an opposed roll, if you roll higher add the difference to your weapons bonus and you get damage.
This one of the most unique magic systems as far as terms of presentation that I've seen. Ruleswise, it's very simple. Most of the time, you automotically cast the spell, sometimes you have an oppposed roll. The automatic success is tempered by the fact that most spells last only 1-3 rounds and you are limited to so many spells a day - yet you can always try to cast more spells by pushing your body and risking damage.
I like how when a player is brought down to 0 health, they get all their health back and their Fury (powering kick ass abilities) for the chance to make a final stand. They will die, but get to do major damage before dying. This is awesome and can make players actually look forward to dying.
I've just now started reading the section on demons, but even if this part is complete crap I'll be happy with my purchase.
I was a little leery after ordering this because I did some more research and read other reviews, almost all of which were unabashadly positive. Anytime I see nothing but praise I think that the product can't live up to expectations or that I'll be in the minority who hate it.
But Dread really is that awesome.
If you're a fan of horror, high-powered dark heroes, or simply systems, you should at the very least check out the Dread web site and take a look at the free downloads.
'That is the lethest movie I've ever seen!' 'Reading porn is lethe!' 'If you disagree with me, you're a lethe!' 'That die mechanic is lethe, dude!'
'Raping people is just lethe!' 'Don't you hate the way those lethes act in public?' --- Droog
Pardon my French, but how the fuck do energy blasts end poverty and starvation? --- Korhal_IV
It says something when my biggest complaint about the game is the fact that I'm going to have spend a few bucks to buy dice.
Really, that's the only *complaint* I have as of right now. That, and the cover art doesn't really do a whole lot for me. It's well done - I just would like something a little more gritty and rough around the edges like the interior layout.
And I don't know if it was a cost consideration or not, but the choice to use the rougher paper instead of glossy was a good one in my opinion.
'That is the lethest movie I've ever seen!' 'Reading porn is lethe!' 'If you disagree with me, you're a lethe!' 'That die mechanic is lethe, dude!'
'Raping people is just lethe!' 'Don't you hate the way those lethes act in public?' --- Droog
Pardon my French, but how the fuck do energy blasts end poverty and starvation? --- Korhal_IV
__________________
Yes, a good GM and a good group of players can make an awesome game out of anything. But the game can certainly help or hinder that effort.
-Elemental
Currently running Exalted: The Infernals.
'That is the lethest movie I've ever seen!' 'Reading porn is lethe!' 'If you disagree with me, you're a lethe!' 'That die mechanic is lethe, dude!'
'Raping people is just lethe!' 'Don't you hate the way those lethes act in public?' --- Droog
Pardon my French, but how the fuck do energy blasts end poverty and starvation? --- Korhal_IV
Having played in a few mini-con sessions run by the author, I have to agree that Dread is one of the coolest games out there. And the D12 love is nice to see!
I was looking at both Hunter: The Vigil and Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium while at Gen Con. Both are games about modern people chosen to fight the horrors that most people hardly realize exist.
Hunter is a more subdued game with a much stronger political/social group bent, and a much heavier background. It also has a long list of monsters that are based on real world mythology and more easily recognized.
Dread is sort of what I wanted the OWoD Hunter to be... a violent, high-action game of engrossing mystery and utterly bizarre demonic warriors. Add in the angst of being close to death all the time, never being able to rest, and suddenly discovering the truth behind what the PCs are doing... and, well, I'm all over it.
The two games are different, but where they touch on the same subjects, I far prefer Dread.
__________________ My Blog, About Games
Read about my rotten luck in Race for the Galaxy!
Linear Mode
