Seonaid
Explorer
If you are asking, JC and I would be fine with it.
[Dread] Jenga beat up my dice! My results from the indie horror RPG.
Any way you could see if they'd be alright with posting it? That sounds like the Dread dream team to me, and even hearing a game like that would be incredible!
As for the role of the GM in Dread: I don't think I'm overstating it, as Rodrigo suggests. It's true, other systems require more preparation than Dread, in terms of notes and the like... but I find that running them requires less "on-your-feet" expertise. Pacing, atmosphere, mood, tone, player "management" (for lack of a better word), etc. are less of an issue in other systems, whereas they are central to Dread. I think this is because those games inherently allow for more interruptions in the flow of the game, which can be quite damaging to Dread.
As an aside, I actually like this aspect of Dread --- less interruptions equals a more consistent "in-game" experience, which is exactly what one needs to create a genuinely horrific atmosphere. It's just a bit harder to pull off!
*hug* Thank you!
malcolypse
First Post
Holy crap, I may actually get to play in a game of Dread!
My wife's planned a shindig for her office, and some of them have played Dread before and wanted to do so again.
And my awesome wife has volunteered to run a game for me and several of her co-workers.
I'm giddy.
My wife's planned a shindig for her office, and some of them have played Dread before and wanted to do so again.
And my awesome wife has volunteered to run a game for me and several of her co-workers.
I'm giddy.
I hope its alright to resurrect this thread again. Ive always been a lurker on EN World, but was recently introduced to Dread by a friend. I wanted to post here and share my thoughts and ask for advice.
Ive played in some 4e games and tinkered with Mouse Guard before. Ive never run a game before. I read this entire thread just as Eunomiac did, and cant wait to play. Ive been wanting to introduce my girlfriend to rpgs, and Dread is a perfect system. No numbers for her (or me) to keep up with, only determining what needs a pull from the tower. We are big fans of horror movies, so this is a great fit.
My only concern is that I will only be able to get two people, her and her brother, to play at first. Can you guys suggest an existing adventure that would work with 2 people? Or should I just make something up for them? We are all big fans of zombies and ghost stories, but anything would probably work. What does everyone think?
Ive played in some 4e games and tinkered with Mouse Guard before. Ive never run a game before. I read this entire thread just as Eunomiac did, and cant wait to play. Ive been wanting to introduce my girlfriend to rpgs, and Dread is a perfect system. No numbers for her (or me) to keep up with, only determining what needs a pull from the tower. We are big fans of horror movies, so this is a great fit.
My only concern is that I will only be able to get two people, her and her brother, to play at first. Can you guys suggest an existing adventure that would work with 2 people? Or should I just make something up for them? We are all big fans of zombies and ghost stories, but anything would probably work. What does everyone think?
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Rodrigo Istalindir
Explorer
Check out the date on the first post. This is possibly the most-resurrected thread on ENW
You're going to run into a few issues with only 2 players.
First, you're going to have the same people making a *lot* of pulls, which I think would get kind of repetitive, and if one player consistently chickens out, the game could stall. With more players, it's a little easier to spread the danger so it creeps up on them, and any one person doesn't feel put upon.
Second, once the tower falls, the game is apt to get kind of linear (and exacerbate issue #1), and your chance of a premature TPK goes way, way up.
Third, a lot of the joy in a good Dread game comes from the interactions of the characters, and the way those interactions can change the course of the game. Fewer players cuts down on that pretty dramatically. It might enhance the tension, since there's little respite, but it also cuts down on being able to do cliffhangers, etc.
To counteract some of those, I'd be tempted to go with some sort of closed-environment survival game, ala The Thing, or Alien, etc. Exploration and resource-management can give you some filler scenes to keep the roller-coaster of lulls and terror going.
Consider ahead of time ways to use 'dead man walking' to keep the first player to 'die' in the game in a meaningful way for as long as possible. Maybe also consider using one of the various 'freebie' optional rules that gives a player a way to buy off a pull a couple times, so if the pacing is off and the tower gets rickety too soon, you can buy some time to get to the good stuff before someone dies.
You might also want to take a look at Fiasco, which is another very rules-light RPG that is GM-less, is exceptionally playable with 3 people, and is an excellent 'gateway RPG' for introducing new players to the hobby.
You're going to run into a few issues with only 2 players.
First, you're going to have the same people making a *lot* of pulls, which I think would get kind of repetitive, and if one player consistently chickens out, the game could stall. With more players, it's a little easier to spread the danger so it creeps up on them, and any one person doesn't feel put upon.
Second, once the tower falls, the game is apt to get kind of linear (and exacerbate issue #1), and your chance of a premature TPK goes way, way up.
Third, a lot of the joy in a good Dread game comes from the interactions of the characters, and the way those interactions can change the course of the game. Fewer players cuts down on that pretty dramatically. It might enhance the tension, since there's little respite, but it also cuts down on being able to do cliffhangers, etc.
To counteract some of those, I'd be tempted to go with some sort of closed-environment survival game, ala The Thing, or Alien, etc. Exploration and resource-management can give you some filler scenes to keep the roller-coaster of lulls and terror going.
Consider ahead of time ways to use 'dead man walking' to keep the first player to 'die' in the game in a meaningful way for as long as possible. Maybe also consider using one of the various 'freebie' optional rules that gives a player a way to buy off a pull a couple times, so if the pacing is off and the tower gets rickety too soon, you can buy some time to get to the good stuff before someone dies.
You might also want to take a look at Fiasco, which is another very rules-light RPG that is GM-less, is exceptionally playable with 3 people, and is an excellent 'gateway RPG' for introducing new players to the hobby.
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Great advice Rodrigo. I was actually thinking of making a tower drop equal incapacitation, instead of outright removal from the game. Have the other player pull to wake them up or assist them in some way.
Im thinking that since they are brother and sister they will be more likely to interact with each other. Thats my hope anyway. I know they can work together well, so maybe a scenario based on Alien or a zombie theme would work well. I like the idea of survival horror a lot.
Im not looking for an amazing gaming experience so much as a good story telling experience. If they get into the groove of the game, thinking the problems out and being creative, I think it will be a success. Their only exposure to rpgs is DnD and think its a boring dice fest. Ive asked them both to play DnD and get an eye roll as soon as I say those words. With this, her brother seemed really interested in it, especially with the Jenga mechanic. Im confident that if they are happy with the first session, they will recruit other players for me.
Maybe it would be something like 'I Am Legend'. Only two survivors left, out looking for resources then found by some monster or zombies. Or theyve found where youre making camp, and attacking it. I want to use background music and lighting at the very least, and maybe some handouts if they will be finding clues. So many possibilities!
And I will definitely check out Fiasco. Thanks for the advice!
Im thinking that since they are brother and sister they will be more likely to interact with each other. Thats my hope anyway. I know they can work together well, so maybe a scenario based on Alien or a zombie theme would work well. I like the idea of survival horror a lot.
Im not looking for an amazing gaming experience so much as a good story telling experience. If they get into the groove of the game, thinking the problems out and being creative, I think it will be a success. Their only exposure to rpgs is DnD and think its a boring dice fest. Ive asked them both to play DnD and get an eye roll as soon as I say those words. With this, her brother seemed really interested in it, especially with the Jenga mechanic. Im confident that if they are happy with the first session, they will recruit other players for me.
Maybe it would be something like 'I Am Legend'. Only two survivors left, out looking for resources then found by some monster or zombies. Or theyve found where youre making camp, and attacking it. I want to use background music and lighting at the very least, and maybe some handouts if they will be finding clues. So many possibilities!
And I will definitely check out Fiasco. Thanks for the advice!
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I'm pretty sure you're going to need The Virgin, The Scholar, The Athlete, The Whore, and The Fool.
Don't forget to kill them in the right order.
Thatll start it off well with the girl. "Ok so for tonights game youre going to be The Whore..."
Just tell her that you'll work with what you've got...
And go see The Cabin In The Woods for inspiration.
