I’ve been a big fan of Dread, a diceless and numberless game of horror. It’s mutual, and cooperative storytelling has always been one of my favorite highlights of the gameplay of these harrowing tales. Most games of Dread are adrenaline pumping, tension rising, with constant shifts in emotions. The story has characters thrown into usually a hostile situation wherein the desire of survival or escape, and the fear of loss create dramatic tension, leading to sometimes terrible or horrific choices.

You can watch Wil Wheaton’s Tabletop episode of Dread (part 1 & part 2).

Are You Afraid?

Every Halloween since our first viewing of Dread has sparked the players of Team BAJA to occasionally play a scenario. Our first Dread game was a scenario crafted by me with references to the Clue movie.

Our second Dread game, which was last year, was a Stranger Things inspired scenario designed by Ian S. Frazier (you can find Stranger Dread here). It was loads of fun, I even wrote about our experiences about it here. My players went all out on the theme that year, we had carnival food, Christmas lights (spoilers if you haven’t watched Stranger Things), and everyone dressed as their characters. It was a great scenario, and after finishing up, I knew that the next Halloween event would need to be better or least as good.

I call this story…

Fast forward to Spring 2017, saw the familiar intro for an iconic 90’s tv show I loved, Are You Afraid of the Dark? I instantly knew what the theme for Dread this year was going to be, but I lacked the full grasp of freedom with the medium. A concept brewed in my head but its execution was nowhere in sight.

Enter Epidah Ravachol, one of the designers of Dread. I had the pleasure of speaking with him on Twitter about my idea, and after some brainstorming and advice, I came up with a few variations and plans based on a scenario presented in Eppy’s sword and sorcery ezine, Worlds Without Master.

So many special thanks to Ian and Eppy, without your inspirations and our chats, I would never have gotten here.

Submitted for your approval…

You can download a copy of the PDF to run this scenario of here.

Includes:

  • Two modes of play
  • Semi-Hostless system
  • Character Questionnaires
  • Tips & Suggestions

Handouts during gameplay

Thanks for reading! Please like, comment, and share. If you want to keep up to date with us, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We have an Instagram for behind-the-scenes Team BAJA campaign pics and boardgaming fun. If you want to support us, please check our Patreon. If you have any questions or inquiries, please email me at archmage@deathbymage.com. Thanks again and we’ll see you soon!