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REVIEWS
"It's easy to pick up, easy to understand, yet designed well enough you don't feel cheated. Unlike other "simple" systems it doesnt put a lot of work and resolution back on the DM's plate. This leads towards fast action, and a really nice pace overall. Even though it's mechancially simple, a lot is accomplished with those mechanics... Overall I had a LOT of fun, and found this one of the better systems that I've had the chance to learn in quite some time."
"The writing style of Dread makes it easy to pick up the rules and build a Disciple ready to join the hunt... One of the big things that makes the Disciples different from regular citizens (beyond knowing about demons and hell) is the ability to do magic. Dread certainly does not let us down here. Tons of nasty spells are featured in the book.... If you are looking for a supernatural game that rocks out, with deadly demons and hunters just as scary, Dread is the game for you."
"These are just three examples of the various demon types. They're all very creative, and without a doubt the best part of the book; I could see them being generally useful for any Horror game, and possibly for other types of fantasy or sci-fi genre games. They are similar and yet different to both classic demons and lovecraftian "old ones", and what stands out about them are not stats or special powers, but the uniqueness of their styles and methods."
"Speaking of the demons, the book has over forty of them written up and described beautifully. They range from the brutish Vouzire, a beast who feasts on the teeth of small children(!), to the subtle Paikhalix who possesses the body of coma patients and sets deadly traps for others. Some of the demons are so disturbing that I would actually think twice about using them in my game... Clear crisp writing from a guy that's clearly very enthusiastic about his work. Great game fiction, that reads well and clearly shows what kind of game this is supposed to be."
"Dread is an A-Team episode written by Clive Barker and directed by Robert Rodriguez. It's the characters from Sin City in the world of Kult. It's Whispering Vault, but dirtier, and with testicles... Scenario construction is well-developed and very clear. The structure features the Death Spiral, which involves player characters with an instigating action (the Trigger) until the demon's Takedown. This is done in a nonlinear fashion. In summary, let's just say that it's well-written, intelligent, and extremely useful."
"The prose bits, the fiction pieces I usually skip in a role-playing book, are entertainingly written and convey the feel of the game very well. The rules are presented in a straightforward manner, with just the right amount of repeating and summarizing important points. And, a great point: Magic spells, demons and skills are each presented with examples of how they can be used in play... The rules are pretty much a perfect fit for the setting. They're easy to understand, yet they give the players a lot of choices that affect play... Dread is one of the best traditional RPGs I've seen. It's rock solid entertainment with rules that are easy to grasp, cool to play with, and make play fun."
"The flavour text is enjoyable, the gaming prose is clear and concise, the description of spells and demons is excellent, the illustrations are very good, and the layout is outstanding... Forty-one demons, the formula structure and the random scenario generator make Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium the sort of game that requires very little prep work prior to the gaming session... If you're a fan of splatterpunk and you're looking for a game that'll deliver a lot of flavour while requiring a bare minimum of prep work, Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium is a game that might very well belong in your collection."
"The demon took the body of a mummified Aztec priestess of Tezcatlipoca who was raped and murdered by conquistadors more than three centuries ago. He then started to search for the descendants of these conquistadors, killing them one by one... The players arrive when the Demon has made his troops kidnap all the males inhabitants of a mexican village. They first think a band of outlaws may be responsible, but after a combat with them they find about the involvement of the Jaguar warriors. It doesn't take long for them to find an hidden Aztec city, fight Jaguar warriors and send the demon back to hell."
"One of the Disciples sends the police scattering by making them all hallucinate a demonic attack, while another runs into the kidnapper, taking them both off the roof and tumbling down to smack into the ground many floors below. A third Disciple runs over to the edge, grabbing an assault rifle of one of the policemen and dodges sniper fire while shooting at the kidnapper on the ground below. The last disciple provides a distraction by throwing a grenade into a water tower, creating enough chaos that everyone gets away without being shot too much. It was a successful operation and not many people died."
"Before a policeman could stop him, Beef ran into the building and up the steps. Synapse sprouted huge bat-like wings, and in full view of the fire, police and the public, flew up there and in through a broken window. Synapse got to the burning apartment first, and through thick smoke ran in and grabbed a woman who was screaming out the window. He managed to drag her halfway to the door, and then she stopped moving. He could see a shiny female hand with black claws dragging her back towards the fire."
"Robert Gambino leads the group to an old, abandoned school. He tells them not to go in and that he never approaches the demon personally. Bode commands him to show them the way and Gambino cannot resist. The group is lead to the old school gymnasium, where they see most of the kidnap victims in cages, the demon working at a flesh canvas, with the remains of one of the victims surrounding his feet. The Cabal moves in to action. This was a tough battle and the group pulled out all the stops and used every dirty trick it could think of. In the end, two members were close to death by performing death defying stunts, and the Cabal was victorious as the Curhadac lay dead at their feet."
"We ended up going to a warehouse with some mafiosos where we were discovered. We intensely slaughtered them and took a video camera that they had and some heroin. As far as I know, we never used the heroin. We watched the video and saw another sickening and gruesome scene involving a demon with multiple external stomachs mutilating a woman."
"Tighter, meaner, much more focused. Sweet!"
"My players are very skeptical about new games and mechanics, but I will say that they all enjoyed the game and were all willing to play when I said recently that I wanted to run another scenario with the new second edition."
"My general experience with the rules was a fun one. This definitely won't be a game for everyone, but for someone looking to delve into the Horror Genre, or the 'From Dusk till Dawn' Quentin-Tarentinoesque genre of Horror/Action, it's a fun game... In some ways, it reminded me of a cross between White Wolf's World of Darkness and Feng Shui in terms of actual mechanics, but mixed with a dose of "Raw" that would be at home in a Tarantino movie."
The new edition is everything the original edition promised, DELIVERED. With a fucking kukri to the neck... It's become my go-to game since it's so easy to think of adventures and roll with them quickly."
"Everyone who has played in my scenarios has had a blast and had a lot of positive comments after the sessions were over. It is a great, over the top, action packed horror RPG. The demons are just sick and wrong (in a good way) and the stunts are simply great when you get a group together willing to go over the top with them."
"What Tom B said. I ran a one-shot of the first edition years ago and we had a lot of fun. I didn't run it as bleak as I could have (I think everyone survived), but there was a lot of violence and mayhem. One major high point that everyone liked was the spells (they're called something different, can't remember what). They are just as freaky as the demons. I'll try to dig up an actual play post I made a long time ago."
"What's even better is that the theme of the game is so universal (a warrior, a sage and a sorcerer teaming up to kick demon's ass) that you can easily play Dread in any era you like for a little change of pace. I ran a "Wild West" version of Dread and it played like a charm. The next session will probably be set during the Crusades or WWII. Dread is now my "pick-up" game of choice. Teaching the rules, explaining the theme and creating the characters took less than 20 minutes (with one GM and three players)."
"Dread is a very, very well-made game. Everything fits snugly, and is easy to use. A wonderful engine for fun action horror. So, you know, I like it a lot. And it's its own thing. It sticks out in the current indie crop and is just... itself."
"I really appreciate the lightness of this system. The one time I've run it so far, I dished out pre-gens and we were playing within five minutes. There were very few pauses to explain rules, and, once the players had got into the mindset of the game, it moved damned fast."
"The spells are definitely my favorite part of the book. They're just so damn cool. Great work on everything, I love the fiction. The paragraph accompanying each spell description is also especially fantastic."
"Point is, the game is brutal, fun and worth picking up."
"For Dread, it's more than a bless. I've been a a Kult GM for a long time, and for me dread is Kult with Balls. It's as desperate, almost as deadly but PCs are given a few weapons to help (or not) humanity). The game mechanics seem simple at first, but when you see that everything can be supported by narration, it brings another level of gameplay. I love the rules for the 'retirement' of the players, I love all the text flavor for each spells, etc. I've bought this game for my GM, so I've only read the Player part. But, I've just read a Deamon entry, just for te flavor, and it's a blast. Rafeal, you really did an outstanding job."
"Picked up a copy of it after being rather enthused by it. I'm a guy who lives for some quality cinematic action. Dread can be described as Clive Barker does Delta Green."
"If I had anything to add it would be how truly brilliant and creative the demons are - in a very twisted way, that is! :D"
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