 Goto [ Index ] |
The Good: Plenty of content. Good use of artwork. Enjoyable fiction. The author does an excellent job of providing examples for everything. There are lots of demons and they each receive plenty of detail. For groups that want to gear up and go fight demons this is a hell of a bargain and delivers excellent content.
The Bad: d12 dice pools are needlessly gimmicky and d12s are not necessarily easy to find in a moderate numbers. Some players may find the Wealth mechanic to not be very realistic in how it handles costs, though the mechanic is designed to create a certain style of play.
The Physical Thing
A 272 page softcover, Dread showcases incredible production qualities for its $24.95 price tag. The artwork is nicely evocative of the splatter horror the game strives for, the editing is good, and the writing is engaging. The large formatting and simple black on white presentation made the book particularly easy to read. All in all I’m surprised at both the amount of content and quality of the content for such a competitive price.Under the Cover
Dread has some interesting setting pieces, but most of the material comes in the form of support for play. Let’s delve into the setting aspects then play with the mechanics.Setting
Long ago demons were driven from the Earth. Now they’ve begun to return as the walls between Earth and Hell weaken. Based on group desire, the modern day setting for Dread either involves a world that is aware of the returned demons and trying to deal with it or one that hasn’t realized the threat yet. Players take on the role of Disciples, powered up demon hunters with dark magic who brutally destroy demons and do whatever it takes to protect humanity from their depredations.
System
The core mechanic is simple. Roll 1d12 for each point in the relevant Attribute or Skill and try to beat a target number typically ranging from 6 to 10 or so. If you beat it then you succeed, and in some cases (such as combat) multiple successes result in a superior result.
Character creation is equally straightforward, so let’s build a character together. All characters have three Attributes – Strength, Sense, and Soul – with nine points distributed between them, one of which must be a 5 or 6. Strength covers all physical tasks, Sense covers intellect and determines Skill points, and Soul represents otherworldly senses and the ability to use magic.
|
Example: Dewey was a humble librarian until the shit hit the fan and she barely survived a demon attack. Now she vomits up acid and uses her book learning to help out the rest of the Disciples she works with.
Strength 1, Sense 3, Soul 5. |
A character’s highest Attribute also determines their general role. High Strength characters are experts at all forms of combat. High Sense characters get to roll to try and uncover facts about demons. High Soul characters are allowed to take Exorcism spells which are extremely useful in fighting certain types of demons. Sense and Soul also determine a character’s starting Skill points and number of spells, respectively.
|
Example: Dewey has six (Sense x 2) Skill points to spend on any Skill I can think up, usually presented in the form of a broad profession. I choose to take Librarian 6, which will represent research, general academic knowledge, some computer ability, and everything else I would expect from an experienced librarian.
Dewey also gains access to 10 (Soul x2) spells, which can include special Exorcism spells. |
All characters have a Drive, such as Action, Love, or Salvation. When a Drive is thematically being called on in a scene the character gains a bonus die. All characters have Contacts which are considered to be allies that will help the characters despite the crazy stuff going on. These are the property of the players and can only be killed if the player allows it (by taking up a new Contact). Characters also start with a pool of 12 Fury points. Fury increases during play for certain acts and can be used to heal injuries and perform death defying stunts. It takes these dark heroes and turns them into action-oriented murder machines, or at least gives them the edge to survive an initial encounter with a demon.
In addition to having its own combat stats, gear (and we’re talking mostly guns, swords, and armor here) is purchased using a wealth mechanic that has the player roll once per session in order to acquire an item. As a default matter this is a 1d12 vs. a difficulty of 1 to 12, with nicer weapons falling in the middle range, but the wealth roll can be improved through cash acquisitions and other resources. What the Wealth mechanic says in Dread is “don’t worry about money, worry about taking down demons.” In this way I really like the mechanic. New, purchased gear can show up at the start of a new session with a good roll, but otherwise the Disciples have what they have and must make do.
It’s not just a good shotgun that every Disciple will want to have on hand, though. Every character has magical spells, from 2 to 12 depending on their Soul stat. These spells are varied and range from attack spells (spit acidic blood) to manipulation spells (make a person extremely paranoid) to utility spells (grow wings and fly for a short period). Characters can use a number of spells per day equal to their Soul score which keeps spells in the realm of precious commodity. While many of the spells can work very helpful effects, they tend to have short durations and mostly provide a much needed edge or escape when battling demons. They’re useful, but they’ll still take a backseat to a good gun when the fighting starts. Dread manages to pack in over 80 spells, and each one includes an example of its use in play. They’re fun to read, clearly useful in play, maintain a unique feel, and showcase to the GM situations to allow characters with that spell to shine.
Combat is going to be a major part of most sessions in Dread. After all, the characters are gun toting demon hunters – it would be disappointing not to have opportunities for them to show off. Every character has 12 Life. In combat a character Attacks based on their Strength and the opponent Defends. Dice pools are rolled and the highest non-matching dice are compared (so if both roll a 12 then both 12s are ignored and the next higher die is checked). If the Attacker has the higher roll then damage equal to the difference is inflicted on the Defender. If the Defender has the higher roll then the attack failed. Sound simple? It is.
One of the more unique approaches the game takes, though, is in how it handles ammo. Ammo is spent based on the number of scenes a weapon is used in, with some weapons able to last longer than others. Therefore, not all characters will always have the best weapons or ammunition available. Because of this planning and weapon conservation become an important part of the game, which is a very interesting approach that helps provide the game with a specific in-genre feel.
Two other parts of combat stand out. First, body armor is very useful but quickly degrades after taking damage. A vest will stop an attack or two, but once it’s shredded it’s worthless. As with ammo, body armor is a precious commodity. Finally, my favorite addition to the rules is that when a character reaches zero Life she Retires. This isn’t instant death. What it means is that the player gets to narrate a goodbye scene in the near future, and the character gets a bunch more Life and Fury to help make that happen. Disciples don’t fade away but go out in a blaze of glory worth remembering. Kick ass!
Let me sum up before moving on. Character creation is fast but creates unique characters that have meaningful connections to the world and clear goals. Magic is varied and so many spells are available that a full group could run several campaigns without touching the same abilities. Combat is simple, fast paced, and introduces novel elements that bring home the feel of the game. This is a well done game.
Support
Many games deliver interesting settings and at least acceptable systems but fail to provide any sort of GM support. Adversaries, plot hooks, and similar assistance can really make a game shine. It’s also refreshing to see games that don’t anticipate a lengthy supplement chains for players to follow in order to get what they want for running the game. Dread dazzles me with the amount of GM support it provides. In fact, I find it to be one of the very best RPGs I’ve ever encountered in terms of useful GM support. Let’s take a look.
First off, this is a game about hunting demons. Thus, there should be more than a couple of token demons lurking in the pages. There are about 70 pages of demons, many of which come with full illustrations, and all of them include information on behavior, appearance, and how fights with them will pan out. The demons are varied and occupy a broad variety of niches, easily allowing a GM to either build a story around a single demon or to find one that fits well with her ideas. They tend to be dangerous, cunning, and worthy of careful planning to combat. These are fantastic adversaries for the game.
Second, there are examples for everything. Example PCs, example plot hooks, example adventures, combat examples, and everything else you might want. The book is filled with useful, on point suggestions that give the GM everything she needs to easily run Dread. The GMing advice is quite good, focusing on the structure and pacing of adventures – information all too often overlooked in other games. You won’t leave this book in need of more material to have a fun game, and thanks to all the support it’s extremely easy to prepare an adventure.
