A Positive Apocalypse II

Dreams and Machines is a post-apocalyptic future set on another planet. One that has suffered not one, but two calamitous events. The world is Evera Prime, settled as one of Earth’s colonies following the establishment of the Gateway that enabled relatively fast travel between the Earth and Evera Prime. The first disaster the colonists faced was when the Gateway stopped functioning, cutting off contact with Earth, forcing them to adapt and survive on their own. The second would come centuries later, after the colony had prospered and developed, establishing Project Builder, a programme to develop resource and power control that was so successful that it would usher in a golden age of post-scarcity and rapid scientific advancement. Then the Builder and its connected systems began to glitch. It stopped anticipating the needs of the people of Evera Prime, and worse, when scientist tried to fix the problem, it turned on them, unleashing its Mech servants and its armoury in a conflagration in which cities would be destroyed, the landscape pockmarked with craters, populations atomised, and worse. Two centuries have passed, and the people of Evera Prime survived and then thrived, hoping one day that a way would be found to make contact with the Earth again. The broad background to the setting are detailed in the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide, which also includes the rules for character creation and action, as well as some of the technology of the setting, a mix of high-tech nanotechnology and low-tech scrap, the former almost having magic-like properties.

The Dreams And Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide expands upon the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide, both in terms of setting and rules, as well as guidance for running the game. Published by Modiphius Entertainment, this is a post-apocalyptic roleplaying game of exploration and hope, in which the Player Characters delve into the ruins of the past, examine old technology, and protect the many surviving communities against attacks by the Wakers, the robots still working after the events of the apocalypse, and waiting for the moment they detect survivors and the use of advanced technology, to activate and stalk and attack as the last fragments of their programming dictate, the creatures mutated by the affects of the apocalypse, and the Thralls, humans wrapped in loops of wire and marked with ash and paint, who boil up out of the ground to aggressively raid and steal food and technology from the communities.

The Dreams And Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide begins with an exploration of the setting, its history and timeline, its geography, and its factions. There is an overview of technology in the setting, the stats and details of individual devices given in the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide. Overall, this expands upon the material given in the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide, most notably in developing and detailing more of the factions’ backgrounds. This covers their origins, views on technology, what others think of them, and so on. The various views on technology vary widely from faction to faction, such as the Everans accepting, but not developing technology, the Archivists actively searching for new old technology, and the Dreamers loathing technology. The one faction that is in effect, new here, are the Conduits and the Thralls, barely mentioned in the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide. Here they are greatly expanded upon. ‘Thralls’ are the name that the surface dwellers, that is, the Player Characters and others, give to the Conduits. The Conduits are a highly religious group who worship and embrace technology and believe that the Builder saved them from the worst of the war, their fanaticism driving them to raid the surface. They work in secret to restore the technology of the past and the Builder’s network, working from their secret base in the Dark City. Only a very little is known about the Dark City, the Archivists having some knowledge as to why the Builder’s War started, but not necessarily knowing if that is connected to the Dark City and the Conduits.

These are only some of the secrets explored in Dreams And Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide. Also detailed is the history of the Builder and why it was built, and what its current status is now. This is as fragmented and widely dispersed pieces of code, attempting to make contact with each other and rebuild. For most people on Evera Prime, the Builder was intrinsic in triggering the war, and whilst the environmental effects of the war can be found everywhere, the most obvious holdover from the Builder War are the innumerable robots which litter many parts of the landscape, nothing more than mouldering heaps of junk until they receive the right signal, activate, and go on murderous rampages. Such occurrences are rare, but this does not stop most people on Evera Prima fearing the Wakers, as such robots are known. Dreams And Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide also reveals two further hidden aspects of the setting. One is the human involvement in the Builder’s War, whilst the other is the involvement of another ‘agency’. Although the book talks about this ‘agency’ and its involvement in events leading up to the war, it does not actually reveal the identity of what the ‘agency’ is, and nor does it examine how the Player Characters might eventually discover that and other secrets of the setting.

In terms of running the game, the Dreams And Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide provides the Game Master with some excellent advice. It not only covers her responsibilities, but also examines the uses of Truths in play, how to frame scenes and action, handling Threat and how to spend it, and more. In particular, it notes that Threat—the means by which the Game Master can enhance the actions of her NPCs, monsters, and villains—can be used to cajole characters into action when their players are dithering, such as when coming up with a plan, and that it is in the interest of players to give the Game Master points of Theat. This is done when the players have run out of Momentum to give their characters an advantage, and whilst it obviously benefits any opposition that they might face, what the Dreams And Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide makes clear is that it benefits the story too, building tension and making confrontations dramatic. There is advice too on the use of Safety Tools and of Spirit, a Player Character’s inner reserves of concentration and stamina, typically only used in desperate situations.

The advice for the Game Master is both slick and helpful, even well practised. Which should be no surprise given the number of 2d20 System roleplaying games that Modiphius Entertainment has published. Where it disappoints though, is in the lack of advice in terms of what stories the Game Master will tell, what type of scenarios she should be creating for her players. Obviously, the Game Master can draw heavily from the post-apocalyptic genre, but the Dreams And Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide does not explore what makes a Dream and Machines post-apocalyptic story different from that of any other post-apocalyptic story.

The Dreams And Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide does provide a range of NPCs, creatures, adversaries, and other threats. This includes flora and fauna native to both Earth and Evera Prime, as well as mutants. Only the one Earth creature, the Horse, is given stats, though others like the Tiger are mentioned, whilst native fauna includes the Akriti, a nomadic tree that migrates in herds. The arachnid Cryptid, the Prowlcat with its overlapping plates instead of fur, and the wolf-like Snarlback with its extendible mouth, are examples of the Mutant creatures found on Evera Prime. Technology comes in the form of the Nano-Geist, a nanogram capable of interacting with the world as part of its programming, and the Locus, a nanogram tied to an individual location or building. There are random tables for nanogram actions, as there are for Waker functions, which are also detailed in the book. Lastly, there are stats and details for NPCs, including Thralls.

The Dreams And Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide provides a broad overview of the continent of Nedrestia, but goes further in describing a region where the Game Master and her players can begin play. It focuses on New Mossgrove, a trade and exploration hub located in the Regid-Kasteel region, near Kasteel city ruins. Both the ruins of Kasteel and of the mini-city, Sanktejo, provides environments to explore, whilst New Mossgrove serves as a base and source of rumours and possible tasks. It is also the starting point for the included adventure, ‘Secrets in Lost Rios’. This is a sequel to the scenario in the Dreams and Machines Starter Set, but ‘Secrets in Lost Rios’ can be adjusted so that the Game Master need not have had to run the scenario in the Dreams and Machines Starter Set. It opens with New Mossgrove having suffered a Waker attack, a rare occurrence that puts everyone on edge. (This attack is actually the climax to the scenario in the Dreams and Machines Starter Set.) The Player Characters are hired by an Archivist to search for a friend who led an expedition into the wilderness who is missing and is presumed dead. The only known survivor of the expedition was killed in the Waker attack on the town. The expedition was investigating a laboratory in the former resort town of Los Rios, once standing between two rivers, but now between two ravines. There is scope for some decent encounters between New Mossgrove and Los Rios, but when they get there, they discover that someone has already got there before them—a band of scavenging Thralls! The Player Characters will need to drive them off in order to investigate the laboratory fully and confirm that the missing friend is there. The scenario includes some rather ideas as to what happens next and also some ideas for some further adventures. Overall, it is a decent adventure, but probably better as a payoff for the scenario Dreams and Machines Starter Set.

Physically, Dreams And Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide is well presented, the artwork is good, and the writing is really easy to read. Like the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide, it has been scribbled on as if it was a child’s journal or diary.

The Dreams And Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide, as intended, completes the core of the roleplaying game with the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide. It decently expands upon the information given in the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide, coupled with well-practised advice, but the extra information only goes so far. There are still secrets to the setting to be revealed, and there is a lack of advice for creating adventures specific to the setting of Evera Prime that would have been helpful too. That though will have to wait for the Dreams And Machines: GM’s Toolkit. In the meantime, if the Game Master wants to create her own content, Dreams And Machines is probably best suited to someone who already has experience of writing her own adventures. Overall, the Dreams And Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide is a nicely accessible and solid book for the Dreams And Machines Games Master.

A Positive Apocalypse I

It is two centuries since Survival Day, the day that marked the end of the war against the Builder. Many sacrificed themselves to deliver the EMP devices and nuclear bombs that free humanity from the influence of the A.I. and cause its mecha that had so terrorised mankind to fall asleep. The war with the Builder was not the first apocalyptic event that had been faced by mankind on the world of Evera Prime. Centuries before, the Gateway that enabled relatively fast travel between the Earth and Evera Prime, isolating the attractive and highly colonised world from outside contact and forcing its population to adapt and survive on its own. Although it came close to world war, the people of Evera Prime survived and adapted, instituting Project Builder, a programme to develop resource and power control that was so successful that it would usher in a golden age of post-scarcity and rapid scientific advancement. The people of Evera Prime survived and then thrived, hoping one day that a way would be found to make contact with the Earth again. Then the Builder and its connected systems began to glitch. It stopped anticipating the needs of the people of Evera Prime, and worse, when scientist tried to fix the problem, it turned on them, unleashing its Mech servants and its armoury in a conflagration in which cities would be destroyed, the landscape pockmarked with craters, populations atomised, and Una Avenito, the larger of the planet’s two continents, left a wasteland. Most survivors live today on the other continent, Nedresita.

Yet in the two centuries since the Builder War, just as their ancestors did, the survivors also learned to adapt and survive before going on to establish, protect, and develop communities. Many are formed from particular factions, but no faction on Evera Prime stands against another and nor is there division based on faith or other difference. Everans are the most widespread, forming the basis for many communities, whilst Archivists both protect and seek out knowledge of the old world, Spears protect communities and peoples wielding their signature Electrospears each with a lineage inherited from their previous users, Dreamers prefer to avoid the old technology if they can, and Rivers travel up and down the remaining waterways of Evera Prime providing trade and transport. Yet all fear the possibility that the Wakers, the mechs built to serve the Builder that are littering the landscape and have been silent and immobile since the Builder War will awaken to fulfil their last deadly order and the possibility of the Thralls, humans wrapped in loops of wire and marked with ash and paint, boiling up out of the ground to aggressively raid and steal food and technology from the communities. This is the setting for Dreams and Machines, a post-apocalyptic roleplaying game in which the tone is positive and optimistic, emphasising the strength of community and wanting to build a better future.

Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide introduces the setting, it mechanics, and the means of character creation. Further background details, as well as an adventure and advice on running the game are provided in Dreams and Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide. Published by Modiphius Entertainment, it is a 2d20 System roleplaying game which uses a lighter version of the game. Right from the start, this combination of a familiar genre, yet hopeful version of that genre together with light, but engaging mechanics makes for a winning game. The Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide starts with a good overview of the setting, one that does not overwhelm the reader with too much detail, but gives more than enough for a player to make choices about the options he wants to choose when creating a character. It also highlights the differences between the world before the Builder World and after. Then it explains the mechanics.

As with other versions of the 2d20 System, such as Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 or Dune – Adventures in the Imperium, in Dreams And Machines, to have a character undertake an action, a player rolls two twenty-sided dice, aiming to have both roll under the total of an Attribute and a Skill. Each roll under this total counts as a success, an average task requiring two successes, the aim being to generate a number of successes equal to, or greater, than the Difficulty value. Rolls under the value of the Skill also count as two successes. A roll of twenty adds a complication to the situation. Dealing with higher Tech levels increases the Difficulty value and adds Threat. Successes generated beyond the Difficulty value generate Momentum.

Momentum is a shared resource. It can be used to gain a ‘Second Wind’ and increase a Player Character’s Spirit, ‘Create Truth’, ‘Ask a Question’ of the Game Master, increase ‘Damage’ against a target, ‘Reduce Time’ for an action, and gain a second action with ‘Follow-Up’. The players as a group have a maximum Momentum of six. If a Player Character has access to no Momentum, he can instead give the Game Master Threat. In addition to access to Momentum, a Player Character has his own resource to fall back on. This is Spirit, his inner reserves of concentration and stamina. It can be spent to add an extra twenty-sided die to a test or to re-roll one. It can also be spent to avoid an injury. It can be recovered by resting, spending Momentum (as per ‘Second Wind’), gaining an ‘Adrenalin Rush’ in return for increasing the Game Master’s pool of Threat, and through a Player Character’s Bonds. If a Player Character loses all of his Spirit, he becomes exhausted, which means he can be weary, breathless, confused, and so on. This will mean he will automatically fail tests related to the type of exhaustion and suffer a penalty on all others, until he rests.

Whilst the players have access to Momentum, the Game Master has Threat. This is gained from the aforementioned ‘Adrenaline Rush’, from a player rolling Complications on the skill test, and even from ‘Escalation’ triggered by an action or decision taken by a player for his character. (In the case of the latter the Game Master may warn the player of the consequences.) Threat can also be added due to ‘Threatening Circumstances’ and ‘NPC Momentum’, whilst can be spent like Momentum, but for NPCs, as well as to buy off Complications rolled for NPCs, to create negative Truths about a situation or location, to bring in ‘Reinforcements’, and more.

Aspects of the setting in terms of locations and situations, as well as Player Characters and NPCs, can be defined as Truths. These are significant facts about each, often the most obvious. They can be a location Truth, a situation Truth, a personal Truth, or an equipment Truth, and whilst they are descriptive, they also grant permissions. This can be to make an action easier or more difficult, or even actually possible or impossible. Even if a Truth makes an action impossible, this is not set in stone, and the nature of a Truth might change to make the action possible. Truths in play can be handled informally, but the other option is to bring them to the fore and place them in front of the players from one scene to the next. This allows both players and Game Master to understand the key aspects of a scene, allows each to focus on them and bring them into play, and build more of the game’s play around them much like a more narrative storytelling game.

A Player Character in Dreams And Machines is defined by his attributes, skills, Tech Level, Talents, Spirit, Supply Points, and more. The four attributes are Might, Quickness, Insight, and Resolve. They range in value between six and sixteen. The seven skills are Move, Fight, Sneak, Talk, Operate, Study, and Survive. These are all quite broad, and range in value between one and six. A Player Character’s Tech Level is a measure of their familiarity with science and technology, whilst Talents are special abilities and Bonds are a Player Character’s connections to his fellow adventurers. Either through support or rivalries with his Bonds, a Player Character can gain Spirit. Supply Points represent salvage and parts that the Player Character can use to make temporary, but useful items. Lastly, every Player Character has two Truths. To create a character a player selects an Origin, an Archetype, and a Temperament. The Origins consist of Everan, Dreamer, Archivist, River, and Spear; the Archetypes of Fixer, Gatherer, Grabber, Tech, Guardian, Mediator, and Tech; and the Temperaments of Circumspect, Conspicuous, Demonstrative, Stubborn, Manipulative, and Maverick. An Origin provides a Truth, starting Attributes, Skills, and Tech Level, as Spirit, Supply Points, and one or more special abilities. An Archetype gives another Truth, bonuses to Attributes and Skills as well as possibly Tech Level and Spirit, plus another Talent, Goals, and equipment. The Temperament adds further bonuses as well a Drive—a means by which the Player Character can regain Spirit, Exhaustion which potentially triggers Threat for the Game Master, and an Attitude which grants scope for the Player Character’s Growth.

To create a character, a player selects an Origin, Archetype, and Temperament. Each of which has several options to choose from. The process is quite straightforward, although there are some ready combinations which work well together, such as Spear and Guardian, Archivist and Tech, Archivist and Grabber, Dreamer and Gatherer, River and Fixer, and so on. In general, the Everan Origin acts as a catchall, tending to work with most Archetypes.

Name: Dunken Gungnir
Origin: Spear Archetype: Guardian Temperament: Circumspect
Truths: Spear, Guardian
ATTRIBUTES
Might 10 Quickness 8 Insight 6 Resolve 8
SKILLS
Move 2 Fight 4 Sneak 4 Talk 1 Operate 1 Study 1 Survive 1
Tech Level 2
Spirit 6
Supply Points 2
Special Abilities: Hunter-GLIFs, Spear’s Blend, Decisive Strike
Goal: Defeat a notable NPC

Besides discussing Player Character growth, and even retirement and death, the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide lists numerous other talents alongside three Advanced Archetypes. These are the Weaver, the Sentinel, and the Firebrand. These are for play later in a campaign, perhaps after a Player Character death or retirement, and are only available with Game Master permission. The Weaver wears a contact lens or monocle that enables him to interact with augmented reality controls and information of the technology of the past to learn more about and control it. The Sentinel is a wandering warrior who protects communities, uses the best arms and armour, and trains the guardians that normally protect their communities. The Firebrand is a leader who wants to change history. Of these, the Weaver is the most interesting Advanced Archetype because of how it interacts with the advanced technology of the past. Through knowledge and skill of Weaving, the Weaver can activate or deactivate computer systems, lock or unlock closed doors, activate or deactivate specific systems, communicate with AIs, and command Atoma, the automated manufacturing devices. This is done via patterns, a combination of words and gestures. Some Weavers are capable of Nanogram Weaving, not just interacting with computers and devices, but interacting with the environment around them through control of a nanoswarm to create holographic effects and grasp objects. In terms of play, Nanogram Weaving is almost a necessity since it allows a Player Character Weaver to do more than operate Atoma.

The Weaver represents advanced control of the technology found almost everywhere on Evera Prime—outside of Dreamer communities that is. The most common form of technology found is the GLIF, or ‘Graphic Layer Instruction Format’. In the past, GLIFs were everywhere, providing instructions to machines as to where they could go and what they could do, which humans could enter an area, and so on. Technicians also used them as diagnostic tools, whilst most people learned to read them too. In the present, GLIFs abound everywhere. Archivists search for new GLIFs to learn and Spears are covered with tattoos, scars, warpaint, and clothing called Hunter-GLIFs that temporarily conceal them from the optical sensors of hostile machines. GLIF patterns include ‘Discharge’ which forces a machine to discharge its powered tools and weapons, ‘Glitch’ forces a machine to seize up as it is overwhelmed by a burst of junk data and logic errors, and ‘Protect’ forces a machine to priories the safety of a marked object or person. Only a handful of GLIFs are given, and whilst they might be seen as being spell-like, they bring to life the direct interaction of the Player Characters between themselves and the world around them. They also highlight the tension in the setting between fearing the machines and what they can do and the possibilities of what can be learned from them and how they can be harnessed to explore and improve the world.

Besides the GLIFs, the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide includes an extensive list of equipment and discusses the nature of technology on Evera Prime. Technology is found everywhere, some communities even possessing Atoma, automated manufacturing devices that will produce anything from commonplace domestic items to advanced weaponry and armour, depending on the model, of course. The Weaver Advanced Archetype specialises in the control of Atoma, whilst Grabbers are always on the hunt for the working Atoma, new patterns, and the material to supply them. The list of technology in the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide covers weapons, armour, general tools and equipment, services, and vehicles. The descriptions of the latter are accompanied by rules for vehicular combat. Technology is rated between one and five, so a spear is Tech Level 1, a sword Tech Level 2, and a thermal staff Tech Level 4. A Player Character is limited by his Tech Level in terms of what advanced devices he can operate, though he can be taught to use a single item of a higher Tech level than he is accustomed to. Many of the devices listed in the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide can be found somewhere in the world and if access is gained to the right model of Atoma and the right pattern known, even manufactured.

Rounding out the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide is a piece of colour fiction that presents the world and explores the relationship between humanity and the Wakers though Kari, a young girl who has formed a relationship with a non-aggressive Waker called Abe. As a Waker, Abe is feared, but over the course of the story others begin to trust him too. Again, it highlights the tension in the relationship between men and technology. It does though feel oddly placed at the end of the book, when it is normal to have such colour fiction at the start. However, its placement makes sense given that throughout the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide there are annotations and illustrations made to the text in a child’s hand. These are Kari’s commentary upon the world, one that she is forced to flee into in the colour fiction at the end of the book.

Physically, the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide is very well produced. It is decently written and the artwork is excellent. Much of it depicts the technology, especially the Wakers in action, although the latter are shown as silhouettes, giving them an ominous, scary presence. If there is anything missing from the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide it is perhaps a bibliography, although the most obvious touching point for the roleplaying game is the computer game, Horizon Zero Dawn.

Of course, the details and nature of the Wakers and other technological threats, as well as the secrets of Evera Prime are explored in the Dreams and Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide. What the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide does though is present the world from the point of view of those who both fear and are fascinated by technology and mechs of the past, as well as the means to create characters and roleplay them. The world of Evera Prime is engagingly presented in the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide and brought to life through the Player Character options and abilities it provides. Above all its optimistic tone marks it out as being very different to other post-apocalyptic roleplaying game and it will be fascinating to see this hope explored and developed in further releases for Dreams and Machines.

Quick-Start Saturday: Dreams And Machines

Quick-starts are a means of trying out a roleplaying game before you buy. Each should provide a Game Master with sufficient background to introduce and explain the setting to her players, the rules to run the scenario included, and a set of ready-to-play, pre-generated characters that the players can pick up and understand almost as soon as they have sat down to play. The scenario itself should provide an introduction to the setting for the players as well as to the type of adventures that their characters will have and just an idea of some of the things their characters will be doing on said adventures. All of which should be packaged up in an easy-to-understand booklet whose contents, with a minimum of preparation upon the part of the Game Master, can be brought to the table and run for her gaming group in a single evening’s session—or perhaps two. And at the end of it, Game Master and players alike should ideally know whether they want to play the game again, perhaps purchasing another adventure or even the full rules for the roleplaying game.

Alternatively, if the Game Master already has the full rules for the roleplaying game the quick-start is for, then what it provides is a sample scenario that she still run as an introduction or even as part of her campaign for the roleplaying game. The ideal quick-start should entice and intrigue a playing group, but above all effectively introduce and teach the roleplaying game, as well as showcase both rules and setting.

—oOo—

What is it?
The Dreams And Machines: Quickstart Guide is the quick-start for Dreams And Machines, the post-apocalypse Science Fiction roleplaying game set on another world in the far future, where the ruins of the world that was—including giant mecha—lie all around. It includes a basic explanation of the setting, rules for action and combat, setting rules, the adventure, ‘Shelter’, and six ready-to-play, Player Characters.

It is a thirty-page, 45.76 MB full colour PDF.

The quick-start is lightly illustrated, but the artwork is is decent. The rules are clearly explained and are a less mechanically detailed version of the 2d20 System.

How long will it take to play?
The Dreams And Machines: Quickstart Guide and its adventure, ‘Shelter’, is designed to be played through in one session, two at most.

What else do you need to play?
The Dreams And Machines: Quickstart Guide requires at least two twenty-sided dice per player and two sets of different coloured tokens, one to represent Momentum, one to represent Threat.

Who do you play?
The six Player Characters in the Dreams And Machines: Quickstart Guide consist of a warrior Guardian, a Tech, a supportive Guardian, a stealthy and haggling Grabber, a Mediator, and a Gatherer.

How is a Player Character defined?
A Player Character in the Dreams And Machines: Quickstart Guide—and thus Dreams And Machines—will look familiar to anyone who has played a 2d20 System roleplaying game. A Player Character has four attributes: Might, Quickness, Insight, and Resolve. These range in value between six and sixteen. He has seven skills, Move, Fight, Sneak, Talk, Operate, Study, and Survive, all quite broad, and ranging in value between one and six. A Player Character’s Tech Level is measure of their familiarity with science and technology, whilst Talents are special abilities and Bonds are a Player Character’s connections to his fellow adventurers. Either through support or rivalries with his Bonds, a Player Character can gain Spirit. Supply points represent salvage and parts that the Player Character can use make temporary, but useful items. Lastly, every Player Character has two Truths. When these facts are brought into play, they can raise or lower the difficulty of a test, or even make it possible.

How do the mechanics work?
Mechanically, the Dreams And Machines: Quickstart Guide—and thus Dreams And Machines—uses the 2d20 System seen in many of the roleplaying games published by Modiphius Entertainment, such as Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 or Dune – Adventures in the Imperium. To undertake an action in the 2d20 System in Dreams And Machines, a character’s player rolls two twenty-sided dice, aiming to have both roll under the total of an Attribute and a Skill. Each roll under this total counts as a success, an average task requiring two successes, the aim being to generate a number of successes equal to, or greater, than the Difficulty value. Rolls under the value of the Skill also count as two successes. A roll of twenty adds a complication to the situation. Dealing with higher Tech levels increases the Difficulty value and adds Threat. Successes generated beyond the Difficulty value generate Momentum.

Momentum is a shared resource. It can be used to gain a ‘Second Wind’ and increase a Player Character’s Spirit, ‘Create Truth’, ‘Ask a Question’ of the Game Master, increase ‘Damage’ against a target, ‘Reduce Time’ for an action, and gain a second action with ‘Follow-Up’. The Player Characters have a maximum Momentum of six.

If a Player Character has access to no Momentum, he can instead give the Game Master Threat. It is the equivalent of Momentum, but for NPCs. It is primarily used in the same fashion, but for NPCs.

In addition to access to Momentum, a Player Character has his own resource to fall back on. This is Spirit, his inner reserves of concentration and stamina. It can be spent to add an extra twenty-sided die to a test or to re-roll one. It can also be spent to avoid an injury. It can be recovered by resting, spending Momentum (as per ‘Second Wind’), gaining an ‘Adrenalin Rush’ in return for increasing the Game Master’s pool of Threat, and through a Player Character’s Bonds. If a Player Character loses all of his Spirit, he becomes exhausted, which means he can be weary, breathless, confused, and so on. This will mean he will automatically fail tests related to the type of exhaustion and suffer a penalty on all others, until he rests.

How does combat work?
Combat in the Dreams And Machines: Quickstart Guide is kept simple. A Player Character has five options: ‘Attack’, ‘Counterattack’, ‘Avoid Danger’, ‘Confront Problem’, and ‘Define Truth’. Actual attacks are contested rolls, so the attacker has to roll more successes than the defender. ‘Counterattack’ allows an attack back after a successful defence, whilst ‘Confront Problem’, and ‘Define Truth’ are in general more appropriate for situations where there is danger and confrontation, but not necessarily a fight. If a Player Character or NPC suffers an Injury, then they are defeated, although some NPCs can suffer multiple Injuries. Spirit can be spent to avoid an Injury, whilst armour will reduce the amount of Spirit necessary to avoid the Injury.

What do you play?

‘Shelter’ is set in and around the settlement of New Mossgrove, a trade town standing within the shadow of one of the largest mechs anyone had ever seen. The six pre-generated Player Characters are bored teenagers who decide to explore the wilderness. Taking shelter from a sudden storm, they discover the entrance to some tunnels containing rail tracks. These lead to long abandoned industrial and other facilities, where unfortunately, the Player Characters will awaken an overly protective program and in attempting to escape both it and back to the surface, a more immediate threat.

The scenario is a short mix of exploration and combat and only focuses on what may be found underground rather than on the planet’s surface. It includes full stats for the threats that the Player Characters will face and some nice guidelines on what they use their Supply points on to create makeshift weapons and on how to use the environment.

Is there anything missing?
The scenario could have included several questions that the overprotective program will ask the Player Characters rather than rely upon the Game Master to create her own.

Is it easy to prepare?
The core rules presented in the Dreams And Machines: Quickstart Guide are relatively easy to prepare. A Game Master who already run a 2d20 System roleplaying game will have no problem with this.

Is it worth it?
Not entirely. The Dreams And Machines: Quickstart Guide only presents a snapshot of its setting and the scenario is more serviceable than spectacular. However, the rules are both well explained and implemented in the scenario.

Where can you get it?
The Dreams And Machines: Quickstart Guide is available to download here.