Just got my copy of Dread

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Hey, for those of us who are totally clueless about this new awesomeness, can someone ... summarize the game?

Thanks!

EDIT:

Ah - just saw PC's other thread. Awesome! I might need to get this ...

 

[Waite]

I'd love to provide this. What should this product have in order to best suit your needs? Adventure seeds? Sample questionnaires? Examples of play?[/QUOTE]

Hi there. Well for me it would be adventure seeds to give me a ssemblance of an innovative idea which I could flesh out as needed. It wouldn't be too long, probably an outline at most and the author's expectations for how the seed would play out. Then it would be great to get some sample questions to show how these answers would directly correlate to the seed. Examples of play would also be great.

 

[woodelf]

As for wider distribution ... yeah, that would certainly be nice ... but I'm not sure if the game would benefit from flying too high on the radar. Hasbro may not be amused.

While it's not inconceivable that Hasbro might have a problem, what we're doing is pretty clearly legal--we are not trading on their property (notice that we don't advertise the game as "Jenga--Only Better!" or use the image of Jenga), and we properly declaim their trademark the few times it shows up. So while they could certainly muscle us with the spendy lawyers (though, i've got a stubborn streak, and if i thought i could handle it myself, or get someone to represent us just for the winnings...), i doubt they'd have much of a case, or that it would get past initial filings.

After all, if we can't make a Jenga-compatible game, then there go all the Ford-compatible oil filters. And the auto-parts manufacturers definitely have Hasbro trumped in biggitude.

That said, what makes me leery of wider distribution is that it would mean getting into the book trade. That would likely mean larger print runs (and i'm not willing to incur any debt for this, so that might not be possible), and would definitely mean 90-day payment cycle. And it's a much riskier move: book trade means returns. So, in the game trade, once we sell it to a distributor or retailer, it's their problem. If they order too much, they're stuck with it. In the book trade, we have to take stuff back. So what can happen, and has, is they order a ton of copies (after all, how many Borders or B&Ns are there? even if each one only wants 2 copies...), so we print a ton of copies. We ship them out, and we don't see a penny for 90days. And, at the end of those 90 days, we might get not a big check, but a small check and a pallet full of unsold books. Or, worse, they send us the big check. We deposit it--maybe spend it on our next print run. And then 6mo later, they return a pallet of unsold books, and demand their refund. Nonetheless, I'm actually starting to investigate Borders, and to find out if it's possible to sell through Amazon *without* discounting. We shall see.

Update on Dread in PDF: i'm trying to have it reformatted by the end of next week, and seem to be on schedule. If that happens, look for it to appear in online venues shortly thereafeter.

 

[woodelf]

I missed it at the show, alas. Where was it Crothian---the GPA booth??

IPR booth. On the one hand, with the hundred-odd other games there, it's hard for anything to stand out. OTOH, it has a very striking cover, almost completely unlike any other RPG to date (with the notable exceptions of the just-released Dirty Secrets, and the just-released Cookie Jar).

 

[woodelf]

I ran "The Curious Murder of Artemis Hume" a total of eight times, and it was different every time. Man, Dread is fun.

Did you do anything *else* at Gen Con? Wow, that's a lot of game-running.

Wish i'd remembered that you were doing that, or had thought to plan ahead--i would've loved to at least watch one of the games, if my schedule had permitted (which it probably wouldn't've).

I'm happy to post the character questionnaires I used if anyone is curious. Oddly enough, my actual notes on the game's plot never exceeded one page of notes.

You're welcome to post them in a thread on our forums, as well. It'd be a good place to collect them, if you want people to see them, since there's a lot less to wade through to find them, then on a site like EnWorld.

 

[woodelf]

Hi there. Well for me it would be adventure seeds to give me a ssemblance of an innovative idea which I could flesh out as needed. It wouldn't be too long, probably an outline at most and the author's expectations for how the seed would play out. Then it would be great to get some sample questions to show how these answers would directly correlate to the seed. Examples of play would also be great.

So, like, "One of the characters should have a question relating to nightmares, because the demon can bring dreams to life when there are no electric lights around, and will do so to manipulate the characters."? Or "Be sure and have painful questions about loved ones--'Who have you disappointed?', 'Which parent do you no longer trust and why?', 'What one thing do you wish you'd told your grandma before she died?'--because this scenario deals with issues of trust and self-worth, and such questions will give you lots of ways to help the players hang themselves."? That sort of thing?

----
Oh, and to the person complementing the layout and organization: that's my fault, so thank you for the warm fuzzy.

 

[Waite]

I have a question for all you Dread experts. Have any run an investigative-style horror game using Dread. Something akin to The Ring with multiple venues and a string of clues which result in a final showdown? Most of the examples I have seen really focus on physical isolation and wondered whether this sort of story could be done using Dread. What would be the significance or consequences of this? Thanks!

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Did you do anything *else* at Gen Con? Wow, that's a lot of game-running.

Unless Piratecat has another twin I'm unaware of, he only ran it twice at Gencon. To great acclaim both times, to be sure. The other times were at other gamedays, etc.

A properly edited videotaped session would make an awesome PR tool.

There were occasional spectators, but the downside to running it at the Embassy lobby was the constant hubbub of people coming and going acted counter to the sense of doom and isolation that the game was trying to foster. It was still awesome thanks to PCs skills, but would have been ever awesome-er in a more private location.

 

[Rel]

Did you do anything *else* at Gen Con? Wow, that's a lot of game-running.

I am no Piratecat but I'll represent to you that he didn't run all 8 of those at GenCon. I'm pretty sure he ran 2. The balance of them have been at various other locations and events, including the North Carolina Game Day in April.

It was at the NC Game Day and I could see those people over there with their Jenga tower having SO. MUCH. FUN. I wanted some of that so I forced my way into one of his Dread games at GenCon and it was fantastic.

It's really a fantastic idea and I enjoyed playing it immensely. It even inspired me to throw together a "towerless system" using playing cards though I've not gotten to try it out yet.

 

[Piratecat]

I ran it once at the NC game day, twice at GenCon, and four or five times in MA at various cons or game days. I'm lazy enough that I like to get good mileage out of a scenario nowadays. Besides, it was a heck of a lot of fun.

Woodelf, you did the graphic layout? Great job!

As Rodrigo said, the scenario suffered somewhat from the noise and bustle of the Embassy lobby. I should have had it in someone's room.

Waite, that sort of scenario would work really well. The only kind I'd personally try to avoid would be ones with lots of combat and gunplay.