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Author Topic: "Dead of Night"  (Read 2698 times)

mattormeg

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"Dead of Night"
« on: November 27, 2006, 08:03:33 PM »


“Dead of Night” is a new horror roleplaying game from SteamPower Publishing, authored by M. Shanmugasundaram (Merwin), and Andrew Kenrick.

Described as a “pocket roleplaying game,” it is a compact little book that fits snugly in one’s pocket, perfect for gaming on the go. It is handsomely illustrated with black and white illustrations from Michael Cunliffe and Eric Lofgren, an industry veteran who also supplies the book’s striking cover image: a man being graphically ravaged by a pack of werewolves.

Although there are no reasons why an enterprising GM couldn’t use “Dead of Night” for an extended campaign or series of games, it really isn’t made for this. In some ways, the book’s design really says a lot about the sorts of games for which “Dead of Night” is ideal: compact “pick-up” games of high-intensity horror.

Character generation is swift and loose, and takes a minimum of time. Rather than defining characters through physical and mental attributes, “Dead of Night” utilizes four pairs of related skills, or potentialities if you will: Identify/Obscure, Persuade/Dissuade, Pursue/Escape, and Assault/Protect. Players divide ten points between each pair in any way that they might like. After this, at the player’s option, he may choose to take specializations that can provide bonuses in specific situations. The text supplies a few examples, and the player and GM are encouraged to define more together. Once this is done, the character is given five “Survival Points” and the process is complete.

Task resolution in “Dead of Night” is extremely simple to the point of abstraction. All actions, included combat, are resolved by rolling two ten-sided dice, and adding the result to the total of the character’s appropriate attribute. If this roll equals or exceeds the target number, the action is a success. Normally the target number is a default “15,” unless the action is opposed, which in case the target number equals the antagonist’s opposing attribute.

The gamemaster can also modify the character’s task resolution rolls through the use of “Tension Points,” the total of which he or she has available at any time depending on the circumstances of the scenario. Through this mechanic, the gamemaster can assume an antagonistic role in relation to the characters, making their lives more or less difficult as he or she sees fit.

Combat is handled the same way as any other task resolution process, with the exception that any time a character fails a combat roll he loses one of his Survival Points. Success results in the opponent losing one of his Survival Points. Weapons play absolutely no role in the “Dead of Night” combat system, with potentially troubling results: a character armed with his bare hands stands just as much of a chance of defeating an opponent as a character armed with a shotgun.

Speaking of Survival Points, combat isn’t the only way that they can be lost. They can be spent to re-roll failures, affect the storyline and other things. In this sense, Survival Points represent the character’s potency and importance in the evolving story. A Character whose Survival Point total drops below zero is taken out of the game by the GM, but he or she can earn more in-play through consciously embracing horror movie clichés (splitting up to investigate the haunted house, for instance), surviving challenges, and otherwise adding to the storytelling experience.

“Dead of Night” comes fully-stocked with all sorts of horror movie baddies, as well as several very good starting scenarios and probably some of the more useful gamemastering advice that I’ve read in a roleplaying game, and I like the overall emphasis of the system on dynamic tension levels, short and bloody play, and story-focused gamemastering with a reverence for horror movie standards.

However, the system itself left me a little disappointed. Rules-lite in every sense of the word, there just isn’t a lot in the game to really sink one’s teeth into. For a quick, single game session “Dead of Night” works out fine. More than a couple of sessions would be difficult for me to do without a more robust system under the hood. Still, for the gamer looking for a highly narrative storytelling horror game, “Dead of Night” will probably suit the bill.
 

mattormeg

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Ack! Rating!
« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2006, 10:14:33 PM »
I forgot to assign a rating to "Dead of Night". It's a pretty decent game over-all, so let's give it a seven.

Mcrow

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Dead of Night
« Reply #2 on: November 27, 2006, 10:35:21 PM »
Quote from: mattormeg
I forgot to assign a rating to "Dead of Night". It's a pretty decent game over-all, so let's give it a seven.


I added the rating for ya.

rumble

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Correction and explanation
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2006, 12:07:28 AM »
Thanks for your review! I hope you give DoN a chance, and actually try it out in play, though I realize it may not be to your taste. It's definitely not a "crunchy" system, and has never been billed as such. DoN is built for portability and speed, and while I myself enjoy crunchy games, crunch ALWAYS contributes to bloat and drag.

Minor correction:
For conflict checks, the target number is 10 + the opponent's opposing attribute.

Weapons in DoN:
I have covered this topic at great length on RPG.net here:
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=295990

Short version: In horror stories, weapons make no difference at all to your survival unless they're the RIGHT weapons for the job. And while the person with the better skill will be able to use the weapon successfully more often, the impact on the creature remains the same whether the weapon was successfully used with or without skill.
 

mattormeg

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Dead of Night
« Reply #4 on: November 28, 2006, 08:34:27 PM »
Thanks.

Quote from: rumble
Thanks for your review! I hope you give DoN a chance, and actually try it out in play, though I realize it may not be to your taste. It's definitely not a "crunchy" system, and has never been billed as such. DoN is built for portability and speed, and while I myself enjoy crunchy games, crunch ALWAYS contributes to bloat and drag.

Minor correction:
For conflict checks, the target number is 10 + the opponent's opposing attribute.

Weapons in DoN:
I have covered this topic at great length on RPG.net here:
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=295990

Short version: In horror stories, weapons make no difference at all to your survival unless they're the RIGHT weapons for the job. And while the person with the better skill will be able to use the weapon successfully more often, the impact on the creature remains the same whether the weapon was successfully used with or without skill.

mattormeg

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Dead of Night
« Reply #5 on: November 28, 2006, 08:39:34 PM »
Thought I should clarify -
I do actually like DoN. Hence the "7" rating.
I know it isn't supposed to be CRUNCHY, and I didn't willfully attempt to misrepresent your game.
My opinion was that it didn't have enough crunch to support ongoing play.
I disagree with you on weapons, but you're the designer and I respect that.
I'll be happy to forward the copy of DoN to another reviewer, or back to you if you like.

mattormeg

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Dead of Night
« Reply #6 on: November 28, 2006, 08:50:11 PM »
Additional addendum:
I've stolen the laptop from my wife again for another two seconds -
I realized that my comments might be perceived as persnickety by a reader who hasn't been privy to me and Rumble's prior correspondence.

I said that I would be happy to send the book on to another reviewer or back to Rumble not out of a sense of covert hostility (far from it - Rumble is cool in my book), but because I had initially offered to do so prior to receiving the book for review (basically to keep Rumble and co. from being out the cash on a review copy).

So, anyhoo, Rumble - let me know if you still want me to send it on down to our Uruguayan Overlord for a second look, or if you'd like me to drop in on back into the mail to you.

If you don't want me to do either of those things, that's cool too. It will get played at Chez Mattormeg.

Again - thanks for the opportunity to review the book!

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Dead of Night
« Reply #7 on: November 28, 2006, 10:45:15 PM »
Hmm, odd... I recall they once said they'd send me a review copy of this game, but it never arrived. That was like, months and months ago.  I don't know if its that it got lost in the mail, or if they just never sent it after all?

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mattormeg

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Dead of Night
« Reply #8 on: November 28, 2006, 11:29:51 PM »
I think that they sent it over to me because they thought you were busy (vacation, other reviews, etc.).
I'd be happy to shoot it down to Uruguay, just email me your address to the email address you have for me.
Matt

rumble

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Dead of Night
« Reply #9 on: November 29, 2006, 02:47:54 AM »
Quote from: RPGPundit
Hmm, odd... I recall they once said they'd send me a review copy of this game, but it never arrived. That was like, months and months ago.  I don't know if its that it got lost in the mail, or if they just never sent it after all?
RPGPundit

Not odd. I just got lazy about it. :( One of my many fatal flaws.

And then when I got around to it, I'd read on your blog that one of your reviews had resulted in a slew of free product that would have you busy through the holidays.

So I sent it over to mattormeg. If he forwards it to you and sends me the bill, I'll paypal him the shipping costs. If he wants to keep it and play it, that's super cool by me (just let me know, mattormeg). I'll get another copy over to our Overlord.

No persnicketyness perceived on my end from the review or comments. And mattormeg's correct on the long-term playability of particular characters. There's no experience point mechanism, so you're not really intended to "build" a character over time.

I mean, how many new skills did Mulder and Scully get by Surviving through all those seasons of the X-Files? LOL

Just thank your lucky stars if you make it through a scenario. Survival is its own reward in a horror tale. :)
 

mattormeg

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Dead of Night
« Reply #10 on: November 29, 2006, 08:13:20 PM »
OK - I'm happy either way - just let me know whatcha want to do.
I won't make you pay the bill to Uruguay if Pundarr the Barbarian wants me to shoot it down to him.
Otherwise? I'll be running Dead of Night in my backyard by the Chiminea.

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Dead of Night
« Reply #11 on: November 30, 2006, 12:49:18 PM »
Well, you guys decide. I just want my review copy! Whether its secondhand from Matt or he gets to keep his, either way is fine by me.

Meanwhile, Vellorian, if you're reading this:  where the fuck is that copy of Promised Sands that was promised to me, while we're talking about games that were going to be sent my way? I was looking forward to that one.. :(

At least I got my copy of Cold Space and FTL Now; that should keep me for a while...  :D

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rumble

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Dead of Night
« Reply #12 on: November 30, 2006, 01:59:15 PM »
BAH! mattormeg, if that game has the slightest chance of you taking it to your table, you keep it.

Pundit, ya game grubber, I'll get your copy in the mail and post an update here so you KNOW it's on its way. I hope you like it enough to get your proxies to buy copies. .  .

... and from there, the world!
 

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Dead of Night
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2006, 12:46:18 AM »
Quote from: rumble
BAH! mattormeg, if that game has the slightest chance of you taking it to your table, you keep it.

Pundit, ya game grubber, I'll get your copy in the mail and post an update here so you KNOW it's on its way. I hope you like it enough to get your proxies to buy copies. .  .

... and from there, the world!


Its not just my proxies you want.. with my reviews you win either way; I've been told that apparently I'm now some kind of a litmus test for whether a game will be "in" for the mainstream RPG fandom or "in" for the Theory/Art Swine crowd, depending on whether I give the game a good or a bad review.

So either way you win. I don't know how my readership splits exactly, but you're looking at hundreds of people in either direction.

RPGPundit
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you've played 'medieval fantasy' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

rumble

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Dead of Night
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2006, 02:19:25 AM »
Quote from: RPGPundit
Its not just my proxies you want.. with my reviews you win either way; I've been told that apparently I'm now some kind of a litmus test for whether a game will be "in" for the mainstream RPG fandom or "in" for the Theory/Art Swine crowd, depending on whether I give the game a good or a bad review.

So either way you win. I don't know how my readership splits exactly, but you're looking at hundreds of people in either direction.

RPGPundit

Then I can only hope you have the most extreme love-hate reaction to Dead of Night. :D