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You are probably wondering why I tell you about it, since you are visiting an English roleplaying site. Well, the reason is simple: Rêve de Dragon (which means The Dream of the Dragon) was recently translated into English, thus getting able to reach a few more million RPG players in the world. The translator, François Lévy, asked me to review RdD for this site.
But first, I feel that I have to tell you a bit more about Rêve de Dragon and try to make you understand why it is so unique. Apparently, there is no difference between RdD and any other heroic fantasy game: heroic characters, wizards, monsters, travels, weapons… the usual stuff. But if you ever get to read the English rules, you will quickly notice that the feeling, the philosophy, and the cosmology of this game make it unique.
In Rêve de Dragon, the world is a dream. At least, the philosophers say so. They say that we all are dreamt by some "great dreamers". Who are these dreamers? No one really knows. And to be honest, very few really matter. As long as the crops grow and everyone gets something to eat, who cares? Still, some believe that the great dreamers are the dragons. Why? Because they are legendary creatures, the mightiest creatures to ever walk the land. So, they seem perfect for the job! But let us leave this discussion to the philosophers…
The important thing here are the consequences of this cosmology for the characters. First of all, this theory explains magic. What are magicians? Simply people with the ability to influence the dream of the dragons. They are able, by means of concentration, to tell the dragons: ‘Now, you will dream a zone here, where all the air is instantly turned into water.’ Or ‘You will dream that this dog looks like a cat.’ And if they can ‘convince’ the dragons, using their draconic skills, then the dragons obey and dream something else. Thus creating the magical effect. In Rêve de Dragon, magic is a very natural phenomenon.
This is but one example of the repercussion of this cosmology for the characters in the game. I will not present them all here, but I will name a few: reincarnation, travel through different worlds, importance of the dreams, absence of gods… With the great dreamers, Rêve de Dragon definitely gets a very unique feel.
And what about the characters? Well, they are travellers. They walk the dreams of the dragons, seeking adventure and novelty, discovering strange countries, crazy cities and bizarre customs. They encounter extraordinay beings, monsters, nightmares… They experience adventure. And what are they looking for? Nothing physical. They just answer the call of the travel. But in a world as extraordinary as this one, their quests can be very different from those of ‘regular’ heroic fantasy RPG’s. Maybe the entire adventure will consist in succeeding in smelling the scent of a particular flower or tasting a particular wine… You think it is very trivial matter? Maybe you do. But your character won’t. For him, it will be essential in his search for… well, maybe for himself.
It would take pages to describe the idea behind the world of Rêve de Dragon. The same goes for its game mechanics, which are as simple as they are precise and numerous. The most part of the actions is resolved through the use of a "resolution table", a table made of an abscissa (columns numbered from -11 to +7) and an ordinate, located under the -8 column and ranking from 1 to 20. The different crossings indicate different percentages: the chances of success.
How does the table work? Very easily. The ordinate represent the characteristics of the character. So, if you would like to open a closed lock and you have, say, 13 in Dexterity (the characteristic normally used for such an action), you will use the line where the number 13 appears. Then, you will cross it with the column where you skill in Locksmithing appears: for example +2. At the crossing of 13 and +2, we find 78 %. Therefore, your character has 78 % chances of opening the lock. Of course, conditions may affect your check. For instance, if the lock is complicated, or old, or if you do not dispose of the proper equipement, the game master can give you a malus, applicable to the +2 you would use in normal conditions. Imagine that the lock is old and difficult to operate – the game master can decide to give you a malus of -3. Therefore, you would then cross the line 13 with the column (+2 -3) -1, which would give you only 58 %. Conversely, if the lock is very simple, the GM can give you a bonus, which in turn raises your chances of success.
If the resolution table is used very often, it does not mean that it is the only way of resolving situations. Without going in every detail, just know that there are also some life checks, moral checks, dream regeneration checks, and so on. The rules are numerous, but one can learn them very quicly, as they are very simple and come up quite regulalry during play.
However, this review would not be complete without a brief insight in the magic mechanics, which probably build the best originality of Rêve de Dragon. To cast a spell, a High Dreamer has to raise his consciousness closer to that of the dragons, so that he can influence their dreams. In the game, this inner journey is simulated very poetically.
The mind of a High Dreamer is represented by a map, the Dreamlands Map, made up of 189 small fields. Each field belongs to a certain type (there are forests, cities, moutains, sanctuaries, etc), but each field is also unique (amongs the forests, there are the turmid forest, the harpy forest, the tangled forest, etc). Each spell is associated with a certain type of field: for example, enchantment, which allows to create healing potions, can only be cast in a city. Therefore, to cast a spell, a High Dreamer first must concentrate. He then finds a projection of himself, his astral body, on the map, where he has to reach the adequate field. Then, the casting is resolved with a check on the resolution table.
Of course, such an inner journey goes not without dangers. For each new field, the High Dreamer must roll a dice and, on a particular result, he makes an encounter, mostly aggressive. Nevertheless, the Dreamlands Map gives the player the possibility of developing a true magic strategy and definitely adds to the richness of the game.
For more information, I advise you to visit the English Web site of the game, where you’ll be able to find a more exhaustive description of it and to download the first rule book for free. The two other books are pretty cheap, and the translation is of very high quality.
As a French long-time player of Rêve de Dragon, I am extremely happy to see my favorite RPG now in English, a language accessible to many players. Needless to say, I would be delighted if English speaking players would appreciate the game as much as I do. It has brought me hours of fun and adventure, and I can only hope that it will appeal to others around the world.
