So I just have to start off Spooky Season with one of my absolute favorite tabletop roleplaying games of all time. A game that I not only enjoy immensely, but one that has had a profound influence on the way I approach game design.
That game is “Dead of Night“, from Steampower Publishing.
This obscure little TTRPG is an absolute wonder. Easy to learn, easy to play. Characters can be created in a few minutes. There is almost no prep work for the gamemaster. I originally bought it so I could run some short one-shot games during the Halloween season, and it turned out to be perfect for that purpose, but also for campaigns, if a group were willing to step out of the usual dynamic. Players would have to be willing to change characters often, and it would really help if they were big fans of horror films that have lot of sequels, like the “Friday the 13th” and “Halloween” series’.
But that’s not the point. What I found so interesting is the focus on quick and simple gameplay in DoN. The GM doesn’t make any rolls, everything is in the Player’s hands. The GM just plays the roles of the Non-Player Characters and Monsters/Enemies, and helps to describe the world the PCs are inhabiting. Building the mood, so to speak. The story itself is steered entirely by the Players themselves, and the choices they make. They get to go hog-wild in cheesy horror films, and play the roles of often-doomed characters being stalked by some implacable evil.
It’s fucking great. I haven’t had so much fun running a game than I’ve had running this one. And I’ve run hundreds of TTRPGs over the years.
Anyway, what influenced me the most is the focus on simple gameplay, taking a large part of the burden from the GM, and giving Players more freedom to explore and “ham it up” in the world. While there are plenty of other games that lean this way, “Dead of Night” absolutely nails it. I am absolutely shocked that it isn’t one of the most popular TTRPGs on the market today.
I have two copies already. I wish I had more players to enjoy this game with, to give me an excuse to buy even more physical copies.
