OVERVIEW:
Before I get into the review of the contents of the book, how the rules work, and my opinions, I want to mention a few things about the product itself. Dreamwalkers is written in a style that is very easy to read, like your friend is sitting in the room with you explaining how to play the game. The game, while comparatively thinner than most games out now, is very straightforward. It gives the rules, and campaign material in streamlined, and easy to understand way, without all the excess fluff of most books. I could easily imagine this book having gone the same direction as most games today, and having another 50-100 pages of fluff, and longer (though unessisary) explanations and examples of everything. Personally I found this very refreshing.
I had a few misgivings about this game at first. On first impression, it seems like a game with a very small focus, and only good for one play, maybe 2. The more I read, the more I saw the possibilities. Others may get a different impression, but I might call this: the king of the one pops. The game is perfect for one-offs, and a lot of them with different settings, tones, and genre. The rules are easy enough to pick up quickly, and not forget. It would be excellent for first timers, or casual players. Honestly, I think this game might have merit for a lot of people, especially those who’s gaming times are limited. It borders on a bear and pretzels game, with attitude, of course it also has the potential for in depth campaign play also.
The game has a unique feeling of an “older” game, while having all the elements of a newer game. It is a good example of rules fitting the setting. Right up front, this game uses a percentile system. It is a fairly straightforward one, with a few bells and whistles (I’ll get into later). Personally, I like (even prefer) percentile systems, so I like it. I know that (for reasons I’m not sure of) there are some people who hate them, so I thought I should mention it right away. I’m really glad they didn’t take the popular route, and go with the d20 system, as that system wouldn’t have fit the game at all.
Reading the book, it becomes obvious that this game is a labor of love. It is nice to see books like this still exist in an industry where it seams like everyone compromises to increase sales. Hopefully it won’t HURT their sales. Golden Pillar Publishing also seems pretty bung-ho about supporting their game on the net (that means free stuff for us!), as their web page is listed at the bottom of every page ( http://DreamwalkerRPG.home.att.net ), and mentioned at the back of the rule book.
Last, but not least, while you could consider the game multi - genre, at it’s heart it is supernatural horror. If you don’t care for the game system, the ideas the setting offers are pretty interesting, and it would be a cool addition to any generic horror setting. I’m already thinking how nicely it will fit in with CHILL, and will be a better sourcebook that most of what was actually put out for that game.
WHAT DREAMWALKER IS ABOUT:
“Humanity is under attack. The enemy is an alien species that assails us in our most vulnerable state, while we sleep. The Taenia Spiritus are a race of soulless, hive-minded creatures that invade our dreams in order to foster and feed off the negative vibes and emotions caused by their presence.
You are a Dreamwalker. Whether through the use of drugs, prayer, meditation or natural ability, you are able to leave your own dreams and travel into the Dreamworlds of others. Once there you can manipulate the dreams spiritual energy, or mana, to produce wondrous effects.
You have been recruited by project Dreamwalker - a government backed organization that unites others like you in order to rid the spirit world of the Taeniid plague. The task is difficult. Not only do you face the Taeniid but you must also satisfy the whims and desires of the dreamer in whose mind they ensconced. Can you do this and still maintain a grasp on your own sanity?”
That’s the opening paragraph in the book, and does a pretty good job of summarizing the game. It does kind of give a misleading impression of the Taeniid. They are more supernatural, than “alien” as, implying, from outer space. The best way to describe the setting in comparison to other things you might be familiar with are, one part MATRIX, one part THE CELL, two parts QUANTUM LEAP, with a healthy dose of Stephen King sprinkled all over the top!
Dreamwalkers enter the Empyream (the land of dreams) via a vividly described Periphery,” an unbelievably vast, ocean-like realm of spirit mana set beneath a brooding, purple sky.” From there they have access to anyone’s Dreamworlds. Underneath the Dreamworlds (the active dreams) lie the Underpsyche, a nearly infinite number of dormant Dreamworlds.
The beings that inhabit the Dreamworlds are the Dreamer himself (the most bright and vibrant being in the dreamworld), the Unreal (pseudophysical manifestations of all people, animals, and monsters. They act as they would in the real world, except bound by the dreamers perception of reality.), and the Taenia Spiritus (those nasty parasites that derive sustenance from the negative emotions generated by the human psyche, more on them later).
Players (Dreamwalkers) enter the Dreamworlds to help the troubled dreamer complete his Denouement (the “mission” he is trying to accomplish in his dreams) (ala Quantum Leap on steroids). The Taeniid are there to muck things up, in many different ways!
Of course, this description only touches on the setting, but gives you the basic idea.
APPEARANCE:
While the game itself has a lot going for it, it’s appearance may hurt initial interest. It is a 150 page, perfect bound book on good sturdy paper. The cover is color, but an unremarkable design (you can see it on their web site). The interior is black and white. The text is double column, and easy to read, and properly titled, subtitled, and separated. It has an “older” game look to it, that I like. The artwork will probably hurt the game. The full pagers, by John Carlos, are interesting (and personally, I generally like his style)but might be hurting from the reproduction process. I can’t tell the medium, but I have a feeling these pictures look better in real life. I’m not an art critic, but I’ll risk these comments...While Johns work isn’t particularly on par with most gamebooks of today, I think he has real potential, and, as his style and experience matures, I expect to see some extra cool things in the future, I wonder why he didn’t do a full color cover? While some of the line drawings by Milton, are OK, there are as many that should have never seen print. I don’t mean that as a personal insult, just the fact that the first impression anyone is going to get of the game is a flipping through at the store. This art might have been acceptable 10 years (or more) ago, but at $24.95, sitting next to, say, the D&D Players handbook (hardcover,full color, with profesional artists), well, you know what I’m saying..I think a lot of people will miss out on a good little game due to the presentation. Of course, I have no problem with the price, but some people might. I have no ideas of the workings of production costs and profit, but I think a $19.95 pricetag would have helped sales in this market.
THE RULE BOOK CONTENTS:
Introduction:
After the title page and the table of contents, we get to the introduction. It gives a pretty good overview of what the game is about, and why they produced it in the first place. Again, that “friendly” style of writing comes through, and settles you down for the read.
There are some comments about what the game is, and isn’t. It is also warned that the GM of Dreamwalkers is going to have to be a bit more flexible, creative, and on his toes than in other games, due to the setting.
The creators also give insight to why they created the game, “We get bored playing one type of game setting each night, and tired of changing settings and systems each month.” And some more comments. The last line is, “Oh, and because we want to make money”, which, after other comments (and plain old reality, we hear game designers telling of the pathetic pay all the time) I can only assume is a joke.
Also in this section is a 4 1/2 page story to set the mood. I can’t say enough good things about this story, and how it relates to the game. By the end of the story, you know the purpose of the game, the basics of the setting and your enemies, and the expectations of players. On top of it, the story is well written, and interesting. I usually hate these story things, White Wolf and GW come to mind, but this one isn’t just useless fluff, it is perhaps the best tool to explain the game to someone new. If you are debating this game in the store, read this story (if you can get away with it, and the bastards didn’t shrink wrap it!) and you’ll have a great idea of how the game feels, and what it is about.
BOOK ONE, Players Section (page 9-71):
Roleplaying 101:
3 pages describing the basics of role-playing. Not the best, not the worst. The first page really isn’t part of the description, it is one of the few fluff ( these are throughout the book, but limited enough so as not to get annoying, and someone may enjoy them) quotes, the poem Kubla Khan. The second page actually covers the “what is” part, while a margin box contains some terms. While you can skip the other part, you should read the terms, as they describe the dice mechanics. As mentioned before, it is a percentile system, so most rolls are made on a d10 (or d100). A d6 is also used for various things. All d6 rolls are open ended (re-roll a 6 and add indefinitely). The last page is an Example of Play, that is to short, and a tad disappointing, compared to the short story (those nifty little script examples of play are always one of my favorite parts of a book).
On Dreams:
This one page section gives some real-life information on dreams, REM sleep, and nightmares. It is an interesting read, and kind of sets the mood for the rest of the game. It’s a kind of eerie link between reality, and the fantasy of the game.
History of Project Dreamwalker:
Well, the PC’s work for Project Dreamwalker, an organization based on the work of Dr. William Morris Black, started in the 1940’s. The Project was underground, and, when exposed (due to a death), caused a lot of problems in the scientific community, and for Dr. Black himself. Later Dr. Black died while trying (successfully) to revive Sarah Wilson from a coma, via a Dreamwalk. Sarah Wilson currently leads the Project. This 3 page section is meaty and to the point, and I’ve barely touched the tip of the iceberg, but to tell the rest, I would pretty much have to quote the whole section. While the setting of the game is in the actual Dreamworlds, it’s nice to know about the Project, the rival “Clinic” who has it’s own addenda, and other aspects. I can easily see players and GMs wanting to tackle some adventures in the “real world”, and this section already has me thinking about a few plot hooks.
Character Creation:
Now we actually start to get into the rules. The next 4 pages describe the character creation outline. Creating characters is very easy and quick. Dreamwalkers is a game that is going to rely on the players making their characters interesting through role playing, and not a long list of skills, stats, and powers. Pages 21-28, section entitled: Dreamwalker, describes the attributes, types, skills, ect. determined in the Character Creation section. So, to avoid repeating myself, I’ll combine the two sections.
There are 3 systems for generating and advancing characters, one for beginner, Intermediate, and advanced. To be honest, I’m not sure why the 3 types were included, as they are all very simple. I’ll just go with the “advanced” in this description. The others are just variations of the same.
The first thing you are to do, is come up with the concept for your character, as in, what he did before he became a Dreamwalker, and what type of personality and hobbies he might have, this is all to help with assigning points to attributes, traits and skills.
Next, you must decide what “type” of Dreamwalker the character is. There are 4 types:
Analyst. Students who were interested in dreams and psychology, that excel, and are singled out by Project Dreamwalker. They Dreamwalk through the use of Black25, the drug created by Dr. Black.
Natural. Creative adults born with the ability to Dreamwalk. These start out weaker than the other types, but have unlimited ability to advance.
Mystic. Spiritual or holy men from all walks of life, and religions. They have learned to Dreamwalk through intense rituals, meditation, and/or prayer. This is my favorite :)
User.Drug addicts! They are addicted to some form of hallucinogenic drug. These are the crazy Dreamwalkers. Personally, I could have done without this, but, I know this will be the favorite of a lot of people. In fact, my first “playtest” of the game, one of the players just HAD to be a user (wasn’t to far from the truth either!).
After you choose your type, you can determine your attributes. There are 7: Strength, Stamina, Dexterity, Acumen, Appearance, Reason, and Perception. Acumen refers to mental quickness, the rest are self explanitary. These attributes range in score from 01 (bad) to 100 (great). Each start at 50, and you have 100 points in addition to add as you like, however no score may start higher than 85.
Next we have Secondary Attributes that are determined by the primary attributes via some formulas (you’ve done it before). There are 6 secondary attributes: Health (hit points), Defense (Subtracted from the attackers base chance to hit), Reflex (reaction speed), Charisma, Persuasion, and Wisdom.
Next we have Traits that are used to define a characters mental and physical makeup. There are 3: Creativity, Courage, and Sanity. These start at 50 each, with 40 points to divide among them as you like, with none starting at more than 85.
Next we have skills. There are primary skills (20), and secondary skills (37), each with its own list of specializations. The skill list is very typical of a contemporary setting. Skills are graded in ranks of 1-5, and you must have 2 ranks in the general skill before you can take a specialization. You have 10 ranks plus Acumen, Reason, Appearance and perception modifiers (-5 to plus 5 each depending on the ability score, per a chart), to divide among beginning skills. No beginning skill may start higher than rank 3. To use a skill (basicly, a bit more on this in Task Resolution below), you add the appropriate Attribute, to the skill rank (1d6% for each rank, or 5% if you don’t like all the rolling), and roll equal to or under on a d100.
Last, but not least (no really, this is probably the most important!), you see how many Mana points (MP) you get. You start with 10 plus an amount of d6 determined by your type, Naturals start with the least, and Users start with the most. More on Mana later.
The Empyrean:
This goes into the stuff I mentioned above in the section on what the game is about. This is the really juicy setting stuff. It describes all the areas of the Empyrean, and how it works (what the players are familiar with, this is the Players section after all). It also mentions how Dreamwalkers can recognize Dreamworlds with Taenia infestations. We also touch on such interesting things as Animal dreams, child dreams, and Criminally insane peoples dreams, Coma victims, Mentally challenged, and out of body experiences as they relate to the players. Another thing mentioned are “Islands” apparently the product of mass dreams. Islands seem to be included to give you an excuse to adventure in your favorite book or movie. We also get the eerie. but elusive mention of the Broodkings (very powerful and nasty Taenia).
Task Resolution:
If your getting the idea the book jumps around a bit, well, it does. However it really isn’t hard to follow, and is still easy to read. It is nice to break up the rules with the interesting stuff. No, it’s nothing as terrible as Palladiums organization, not even close, in case you’re wondering. It does a nice job of mentioning things early, and then building on them as the rule book continues, so you can get a grasp as you read. With things like “the Empyrean” and other names that take a while to get used to, this is nice.
This 8 page section could be considered, The Rules, less the combat stuff. It goes into more detail on skill rolls, to include unskilled attempts, situation bonuses, automatic success, ect. It also goes into the mandatory listing of a ton of things you just might try to do like climbing, first aid, hunting, running, ect. ect. Thankfully, these are all covered briefly, as the read is rather dry. At the end we have a bunch of examples of rolls, that is much more useful. However, any experienced GM won’t have problems with the system at all, it’s really just percentile, after all.
Combat:
And we get to combat. 9 pages of it. While the basic combat system is very simple, there are all the mandatory (as in the task resolution section) possibilities that must be mentioned. I’ll summerize combat so you have an idea, but rest assured, that all that other crap for those hundreds of possibilities is in there too. Use it if you like, or it can be easily ignored, if you prefer more rules-lite stuff (like myself).
Initiative is determined by rolling a reflex plus reaction ( a primary skill) roll on a d100. If you fail, you take action in “segment 0”, the last segment. If you succeed, you act in the segment that equals the difference between the number rolled and the target number. After this, you may act again in any segment at least 10 segments apart (less than the previous segment acted in), but suffer a cumulative 15% chance to hit. It’s simpler than it sounds, but I still hate it! I quickly changed this to, roll 1d10 and add your reaction bonus, highest goes first. That’s just me, you may like the given system.
To hit boils down to a skill roll with the appropriate skill, plus or minus any appropriate modifiers (this includes the targets Defense score). Again, all that other stuff you want is there to, but that’s the basics. Standard % system.
Vehicles:
Vehicles, and doing stuff with them is handled in 4 pages. I haven’t had a chance to use any of these rules yet, but they seem pretty sound, although I challenge the authors to get my Toyota Corolla up to 120 mph without it rattling apart!!! This includes combat as far as vehicles are concerned, and is why it is located in this particular spot.
Injury:
This is a 6 page section, and is a bit different from the standard fare. Due to the common setting (the Dreamworlds) characters damage isn’t REALLY physical damage, although it CAN cause characters physical bodies to suffer.
In the Dreamworld, characters have wounds equal to their Health score. For every 5 points of damage taken, characters suffer a -5% chance to any skill rolls (representing the difficulties of performing while in pain). I decided that just reducing the skill rolls by the ACTUAL amount of damage taken, reduces book keeping. Again, my personal taste, I would try the published system first and see if you like it. I actually think this is a pretty neat little rule, even though I’m not heavy into “realism”. When Health gets to 0, you fall unconscious, and die at -10. I don’t like this, to D&D. I think players would play more responsibly if once they reached 0, they were dead, again, just my opinion. Health is healed at a rate of 1d2 health points plus Stamina bonus per day (with a few other modifiers).
Of course, all kinds of interesting things happen when the players, or the Dreamer whos Dreamworld they are in, gets killed or traumatized, to include going into a coma, or suffering all kinds of nasty psychological effects. This section covers “Dump shock” what happens when a Dreamwalker is killed, ejected, or otherwise rudely awakened from the dream. Damage from various sources (again, the mandatory list, falling, poison, ect.). And what will become the famous Mental Injuries, that include phobias, dementia, amnesia, ect., ect. A character with suicidal mania may be fun to play if you don’t mind hopelessly annoying the rest of the players.
Mana:
“Mana, is the raw spiritual energy from which the Dreamworlds are formed. Within the dream, Dreamwalkers are able to manipulate this energy to produce various spectacular effects.”
And there you have it. The interesting descriptions of the setting is cool, but Mana is what is going to make the players go gaga. Characters start out with a certain amount of mana, and can use a set amount per turn depending on their experience.
This 11 page section finishes off the Players Book. It describes the types of things you can do with Mana, from the mundane (healing, extra actions, ect.), to the cool (reshape item, create, Joining (becoming melded with the actual dreamer, and having access to his thoughts and memories, ect.). The catch is, you have to balance what you do with mana, or risk traumatizing the Dreamer.
There is a list of minor and major talents, but GMs should be ready, I guarantee characters are going to want to spend mana to try all kinds of unexpected things! For players, conserving their mana for when they really need it, is going to be the problem (of course, this is half the fun for the GM). Mana points replenish each time the characters return to his own Dreamworld, of may be “harvested” at other locations, usually at some kind of risk, as Taenia are also attracted to these catches.
BOOK TWO GAMEMASTER SECTION:
The Gamemaster section tarts on page 73, and basicly goes to the end of the book (page 150) if you include character sheets, and the index and such. Due to the fact that Dreamwalkers is focused, this section is really nice, as far as covering the information a GM needs to know, as far as running and creating an adventure for this game.
Behind the Scenes:
Since the Player section has pretty much explained all the obvious things about the setting, this section starts to cover the less obvious. We get a more in-depth look at Project Dreamwalker, as well as more specific information on the actual Dreamwalking Process. We also get all the information on some of the nasty things that can happen in the Periphery (on the way to the various Dreamworlds), such as astral storms, and of course another mention of the Broodkings, to tantalize us but not satisfy us!
We also have a more specific discussion of the denouement of the dreams, and how important it is to the Dreamer. Of course, after the denouement is completed, the players still have to go after the Taeniid Queen! Also covered are the effects of a sucessfull Dreamwalk, and a failure.
Taenia Spiritus:
Well, GMs made it through 78 pages, wondering just what the hell Taenia Spiritus really are, and finally on page 79-84, we get the information. I would strongly recommend that GMs don’t allow the players access to this information. Not because it will help them much, but, because it will not only destroy the mystery ,and it will also make the opponent much less fearsome. I found the “reality” of the Taeniid, a lot less “scary” than I had built up in my mind to this point.
The Taeniid are hive minded creatures, whose entire existence seems centered around protecting the Queen, and enlarging the colony. They are only active during sleep, and lay dormant while the host is awake. Thy feed off negative vibes and emotions of the Dreamworlds, so they want things in the dreams to go wrong.
There are 4 types described, the Larva, Drone,Queen, and Broodking. The Larva and the Drones will be the most common (in fact they will be in every Dreamwalk) while the Broodkings are very rare, and of course the most interesting and fearsome.
Larva. The Larva are wormlike critters with several lamprey-like mouths surrounded by hooks. They only live for the duration of a dream, after which they become a drone, of cease to exist. They attach themselves to the Unreal (possess them) and actively work to make things in the dream go bad. The Dreamwalkers CAN see them on the host.
Drone. The drones are fearless and fight to the death. They are near mindless and only live to serve the queen. They manifest in the dreams in forms appropriate to the Dreamers fears.
Queen. The Queen is the heart of the colony. Her natural form is unknown, as her shape is bound to the fears of the Dreamer, and often changes from dream to dream. She never leaves the vicinity of her nest, can communicate telepathicly with her drones, and can manipulate mana in the same way as Dreamwalkers.
Broodkings....HA! Just for fun, I’m not going to tell you! I’ll let you know, though, that they do have the ability to enter the real world by killing a Dreamwalker’s pseudophysical form and riding his consciousness out of the Empyrean. This gets the GM (at least me!) thinking about several plot possibilities.
This section also covers special Taeniid Mana, appearance, behavior, and strengths and weaknesses, I’m not going to put here for all your players to read :).
This section ends with the disappointing notes on how the Taenia re not inherently evil, they do what they do to survive, ect. That’s OK, I prefer to think of them as nasty evil little buggers who want to drive people nuts! Of course they do represent a threat to the psychological well being of mankind.
The World at Large:
More information on Project Dreamwalker, and how the public views them. We also see how it relates to religion, and Government. This section also covers “the Clinic”, a rival Dreamwalking organization, that has selfish goals, other than helping the Dreamer, and destroying the Taenia. We also get a (much to brief) mention of “The sword of Gaia”, an independent group of Dreamwalkers bent on destroying Broodkings, and Dreamstalkers, rouge Dreamwalkers. We also get a few pages of typical NPC stats, and animal stats.
Dream Design:
This section is the “bare bones” of designing a Dreamworld, and dream. By now, in this review you have the basic idea of what that is. This section is done well, and makes the GM think about a few elements he may have overlooked. It is mostly ideas, rather than instructions.
Adventure:
This is a more complete section on detailing and fleshing out the Dreamworlds, and designing Dreamwalks. Notes on the different Genre you might want to try are included here, in an effort to bring in that multi-genre feel, however, I’m sure by this point, the GM has a grasp on the limitless possibilities. The section is good, and should give the GM a few ideas, and helpful tips.
Game Master Tips:
Standard generic GMing tips. I doubt if anyone picking up a game like this is going to be a role-playing virgin, but you never know. This section is fine, but doesn’t really offer the experienced GM anything new. Rewarding XP, however is at the end of this section. There are few charts with suggested XP awards, as well as details on how players can spend these points to improve their characters. Nothing exceptional here, other than the fact that gaining Mana talents costs WAY to much, since these are one of the main things that are going to keep player interest.
The Pinebrook Chapter (a setting for Dreamwalker):
This is a very good idea. This section describes a chapter of the Project Dreamwalk that the PCs can belong to. It also gives stats for all the other members (NPCs) and Patients (dreamers). Since Dreamwalker comes across (to me anyway) as a fast sort of pick up one-pop, type game, this is nice as it reduces work for the GM. It also allows you to start playing out “out of the box” rather than creating all this boring detail from scratch.
Sample Dreamwalks:
From page 113-135 are 4 sample Dreamwalks. I won’t spoil them for potential players, but they all are decent and fun. Including so many is a very good idea, and, again, saves the GM a lot of time and gets him started fast. I played the first 3, 2 of which are placed in the “realistic world”. I skipped the 4th, due to its fantasy/science fiction elements. I prefer to explore this game as a supernatural horror game (just me), but it’s nice to include this to show some GMs the possibilities.
Experienced GMs are going to have an easier time with these, as they give an overview and denouement, but there is an awful lot of room for players to do the unexpected.
Afterword:
A nice page about the authors, and the reasons behind making this game. It caps off that friendly reading style. It also mentions their hopes and expectations for Dreamwalker.
Handy Charts:
The book finishes of with reference charts, an index, and a very functional character sheet.
PERSONAL SUMMARY:
Well there you have it. I think Dreamwalker is a nice little game with possibilities. It players well, and is easy to learn. To me, the main strength is the ability to use it for pick-up games or one-pops, with a wide variety of players (this would be good for novices, they could even play themselves, as Dreamwalkers). I’m sure I will play this game off and on.
Is this going to make my personal top 10 list? Well, probably not, the last game I added to this list was CHILL, and that game is 12 years old. So, ask me again after I’ve had 10 years to play Dreamwalker :).
Will this game be the end all multi-genre game to me as it is to the creators? Probably not. I like to play different games, and different Genre, with characters exclusive to those games. However, Dreamwalkers may be just the ticket that some GMs are looking for.
Go to forum!
(Due to spamming, old forum discussions are no linked.)