[Dread] Jenga beat up my dice! My results from the indie horror RPG.

[Hypersmurf]

It was more like, I dunno, Ghostbusters than an actual horror movie.

Heh. I played in a Scooby-Doo Dread game, and watched part of a Breakfast Club Dread game, and there was plenty of creepy to go around along with the comedy

But people take for ****ing ever to pull pieces sometimes, and it's really hard to actually narrate something interesting while they're doing it.

Try to gauge the mood of the players.

I found that sometimes, the GM would tell a player "Make a pull", or even "Make five pulls", and everyone else would be feeling "Okay, but what about us?", and the GM would continue on with a "Meanwhile" for another character or group of characters. The pulling player would let the GM know when he was done, and whether he'd succeeded or bailed. (If the tower actually falls, of course, everyone notices!)

Other times, the GM would say "Make a pull", and everyone at the table (and often the unrelated players at the next table) would be so riveted on the tower that attempting to carry on with a "Meanwhile" scene would be futile. It's easy to spot when the table is in this mode - if the tower moves very slightly, and you hear a simultaneous hiss of breath from all sides, they're feeling it...

-Hyp.

 

[Epidiah Ravachol]

Actually, the berry conversation was in a different game last week, the bumps were made on Friday, and it was just by odd coincidence that berries also played a role in this game. Sorry.

Curses! Now I'll have to start all over again and design a new, sexier game--perhaps using spin the bottle.

Plus the game went from 8pm to 5am, one player got ill at 11, and another fell asleep at 3. I'm running the same game again for another group of players this next weekend, and I hope I'll have learned from the experience.

But people take for ****ing ever to pull pieces sometimes, and it's really hard to actually narrate something interesting while they're doing it. I guess I need to enforce "everything you say is in character" more, but I worry players would get bored waiting around.

Whew, a nine hour game would run me a bit loopy, too. When Dread really shines, it can be a bit physically draining--especially in the long haul. The 3 to 4 hour mark is a good place to wrap things up. It's long enough to put the characters in serious risk (which usually happens after about 40 pulls), but not so long that the players start to burn out.

And you don't have to narrate during the pulls. Hypersmurf's advice is great, there are definitely times when it's best just to hold your breath along with everyone else.

 

[WizarDru]

And you don't have to narrate during the pulls. Hypersmurf's advice is great, there are definitely times when it's best just to hold your breath along with everyone else.

That was my experience, certainly. When I told someone 'take a pull', there was a pregnant pause and then the person in question would get up and walk hesistantly to the tower. The rest of the group would watch him/her like a dead man walking and all eyes would focus and breaths would be held as he or she carefully performed the pull. The tension was palpable. Anything I said would just distract everyone from it.

 

[Piratecat]

Some of the scariest games I've ever run were Dread games, but I wouldn't want to run more than a four hour game. It wouldn't work nearly as well.

 

[RangerWickett]

The long Halloween game is a tradition of our gaming group. To adjust for the longer game I had a few back-up characters. People still enjoyed it despite the longer period, but I suppose this confirms my suspicion that I wasn't using the system optimally.

 

[madwabbit]

I got a chance to play in one of Eppy's Dread games at Dreamation this past weekend. A post-apoc zombie scenario -- started off as a pretty straightforward setup, but then we had some nice character hooks and twists. The game rocked, as I fully expected it to... but I will warn anyone who plays in one of Epidiah's games: he cheats.

[sblock]Just kidding -- no, he doesn't cheat. He used a brand new Jenga Onyx Edition (which I also have), in which several of the blocks had apparently stuck together because the excess varnish hadn't quite worn off). I was the first to die, and it was hilarious when one of the players noted the blocks were stuck together. Eppy had a look of ... well, dread, actually when he saw that, and was absolutely mortified as well. Which was awesome! [/sblock]

 

[Seonaid]

[sblock]He used a brand new Jenga Onyx Edition (which I also have), in which several of the blocks had apparently stuck together because the excess varnish hadn't quite worn off). I was the first to die, and it was hilarious when one of the players noted the blocks were stuck together.[/sblock]

Moral of the story: knock over entire Jenga tower a few times before using it to play.

Got it.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

I got a chance to play in one of Eppy's Dread games at Dreamation this past weekend. A post-apoc zombie scenario -- started off as a pretty straightforward setup, but then we had some nice character hooks and twists. The game rocked, as I fully expected it to... but I will warn anyone who plays in one of Epidiah's games: he cheats.

[sblock]Just kidding -- no, he doesn't cheat. He used a brand new Jenga Onyx Edition (which I also have), in which several of the blocks had apparently stuck together because the excess varnish hadn't quite worn off). I was the first to die, and it was hilarious when one of the players noted the blocks were stuck together. Eppy had a look of ... well, dread, actually when he saw that, and was absolutely mortified as well. Which was awesome! [/sblock]

At least you died making a pull this time. Not, say, while tapping the tower to find the loose blocks while the GM was talking...

 

[madwabbit]

At least you died making a pull this time. Not, say, while tapping the tower to find the loose blocks while the GM was talking...

I was a rock-star during that pullfest, and you know it -- it was my own arrogance that killed me, and NOT the will of my opponent.

 

[Epidiah Ravachol]

... but I will warn anyone who plays in one of Epidiah's games: he cheats.

When the game designer does it, that means it's not cheating!