Product– Dreadnought RPG

System- Dreadnought RPG

Producer– Liminal Artifact

Price– FREE here https://liminalartifact.com/  

TL; DR– Rules light horror. 90%

Basics– Don’t worry, you are already dead.  Dreadnought is a simple RPG of horror and monsters beyond the waves.  Players attempt to solve problems, get gold, and serve the gods in this simple RPG.

Base mechanics– This game has VERY simple mechanics.  Players roll 2 d8s when they want to do anything.  This action is called a move.  The Dread maker (DM, nice!) rolls a die: either a d4, d6, or a d8, and you compare.  If one of the player’s dice is a larger number, they succeed.  If both succeed, it’s even better, and if none beat the DMs dice, the player has a problem!

Characters– Players get four different archetypes that range from pirate, aboriginal fisherman/warrior, fleshwizard, or paladin.   You have NO stats.  The archetypes give you different moves that other characters don’t have.  You also have the same number of hit points called wounds as everyone else.  When you get four wounds, bad things start to pile up quickly!

And that’s it.  It’s very rules light, but action forward!

Mechanics or Crunch– This is a simple RPG with simple mechanics.  I don’t hate what’s here.  It almost feels like a GMless system with how few rules there are.  It’s got all the elements of a standard RPG, but with almost no rules to it.  I’d like a bit more description of things, but it works.  Then again, I think the goal is to be as rules light as possible.  4.5 /5

Theme or Fluff–  This book feels like Mork Borg had a baby with Scary Stories to tell in the dark and it was raised by Lovecraft.  I like the art and tone.  It feels dark and dreary.  And it’s supposed to.  5/5

Execution– This book choose style over substance, and it might have hurt the overall project.  I like what’s here, but I also have been playing RPGs for almost 30 years.  I know what to expect.  If you are completely new, this might not be the best book for you.  The theme is everywhere, but the flow of ideas is a bit off if you don’t know what each section generally is.  I can follow, but newer players might need a few read throughs to understand.  I also feel some sections are not as clear as they should be.  Furthermore, it’s all digital, but there are no hyperlinks.  Help me navigate this book!  Lastly, I must commend the book as it’s got an adventure that you and your friends can start playing in about 20 minutes. This book is rules light, and the adventure reflects that.  Good, but help the newer players see what this is about.  4/5

Summary– Style and execution are a hard mix.  I love what’s here.  The atmosphere and crazy mechanics are a fun way to approach challenges.  It’s random as hell, but that can be fun.  However, I feel this book needs some editing to really help newer players get into it.  This is more indy rock and less top 40 pop.  If you love that kind of thing, you will absolutely love this.  Especially if you love horror!  However, if you want nice clean tables and combat flow charts, then you will be a bit lost.  But, don’t fear the nonstandard.  Check this one out even if you’re not sure you’ll like it because it’s free!  90%