Dread is a game of horror and hope. Those who play will participate in a mutual telling of an original macabre tale. The goal of Dread is to sustain the delicate atmosphere that invokes the hand quivering emotion that lends its name to the game. The thrill of a Dread game lies within the tension between desire and loss. You will take on the role of someone trapped in a story that is only as compelling as it is hostile—someone who will find themselves making decisions we hope never to face in real life.
It is the horror roleplaying game that uses Jenga® instead of dice. Pull from the tower and you succeed. Refuse to pull and you fail. The choice is yours. But if the tower falls . . .
You can get:
- The Dread PDF which includes everything in the softcover for $12.
- Or the 167-page softcover book of Dread for $24 plus shipping and handling.
- Or a short, 4-page reference pamphlet that contains all the rules for free.
- Or just learn more about the game here.
About Epidiah Ravachol, the Author
In addition to his writing in Dread, Eppy is the overeditor of and a contributor to the sword & sorcery ezine Worlds Without Master as well as the creator of other games, like Vast & Starlit—a game of interstellar crime that fits in your wallet; Time & Temp—adventures in history and underemployment; and What is a Roleplaying Game?—the game his mom has used to successfully explain the hobby to his aunt, which in turn may be the proudest moment of his life. Learn more about these and his other projects at Dig a Thousand Holes Publishing.
Dread 
I play tested the WWII War is Hell scenario at Gen Con on Friday 8/14/09 and loved the experience. Even though the room conditions were not ideal (in the con ballroom setting) the RP was excellent and the “tower” game mechanic really built tension. I got the book today and the guidelines are well written and easy to read while including enough flavor text to keep you in the spirit of the system. I haven’t seen a system as concisely or elegantly written in my many years of gaming. Even after 4 straight days of gaming I am already building my own Dread scenario to try my hand at hosting. Very innovative system. Thanks!
Wendy
(aka Landon Caldwell)
We need some Drad judges for Wolfcon, which is in Chicago the three days after Thanksgiving – Nov 25, 26, 27. Judges get in free at Wolfcon on any day they run a game – and we have a giant Jenga set (5′ tall) for anyone who wants to use it! Contact Rlindauer@LindauerConsulting.com if you have any interest.
My experiences of playing the Dread: http://blog.guildredemund.net/2014/09/04/trying-out-dread/
It was awesome.
Why does dread cost $12 on the link that says it costs $3. Seems shady to me.
Apologies. The Dread pdf reverted back to its original $12 price point just a few days ago and I had forgotten that I mentioned the price on this blog. I just edited this page to reflect the current price and I’ll dig through the rest of the blog to see if I still have the wrong price posted elsewhere. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Hi,
I have played rpg:s for a long while but only as a player. Now I going to try out the role as a GM and I am going to use Dread and the scenario Beneath the Mask.
I am wondering if I were to play with a group consisting of me and three other players, how do I deal with the three remaining characters (i.e. charachter nr 4, 5 and 6)? Can they be left out completely? Should I play them as NPCs? Or do I need to find me some more players so they get played?
Thanks for a nice rpg.
Regards from Sweden.
/Lars Rignell
If I remember correctly, you can leave them out. Though you may want some NPCs around to whittle away as the scenario goes on.
If you like Dread but don’t like the physical dexterity requirements of the Jenga tower, an alternative is the free rpg GRIN (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/154984/Grin).
Guys, I have placed an order for a printed version but I haven’t received any confirmation. Now I am unsure whether I dreamed of doing it or not. Could you please check?
Luv,
Arturo
I’ll check in with the “home office” for you & see what I can find out.
Thank you sir, absolutely no hurry (since my PDF version is always with me).