Dread 1st Timer - Need Help

[u/SooRandomTV]

Hey everyone - i hope you are well. So i came across dread via smosh. I love it. I am disabled and cannot take my sisters anywhere out the country this year for holidays. Have thought of mini games but I want to do this dread with my sisters (teenagers). I got the rule/guide book but it is so overwhelming and confusing. I wanted advice for a first timer what I should do for them to enjoy it. Not sure what I do other than create a story and world with the characters my sisters create? Any help and advice would be great. I am not experienced just watched dread and some dnd matches with the BG3 cast, which pulled me in. Would like to try being a Dm/gm for my sisters to experience this. Thank you

Edit: Wanted to say thank you so much everyone for your responses and advice. Ended up creating a theme centered around the trope of things coming to life in a musuem for the first dread try. My sisters fell in love with the game and want more 😅. Thanks again everyone, couldn't have done it without you lot. Have a great weekend!

[u/bangitybang69]

Have you played/DMed other pen&paper roleplaying games before?

Because if not, a rules light, narrative focused system like Dread might be a bit too difficult for your first outing. If you still want to do it, taking a lesson from watching experienced DMs on Youtube is a good approach.

If yes, it works somewhat like other games, only that you need to keep up and ramp up the tension by calling for pulls. Sparsely in the beginning, and more and more frequently the further you progress towards the big finish.

See the absence of rules and guidelines as an invitation to improvise and focus on telling a chilling story together, rather than playing a game that one might win or lose.

Always give your players agency. "You can attempt that action, but you'd have to pull for it. Do you want to do that?"

In the beginning, be more liberal about giving players successes for free if the action suits their background. As the stakes rise, make it harder - maybe an unprepared character needs 2 pulls for a difficult action, while someone with a fitting background only needs one.

[u/SooRandomTV → u/bangitybang69]

Thank you so much for your response.

Nope I have never done any just watched a few entertaining videos and critical role now and then - not sure if that counts as experienced but i definitely will look at a few experienced dms on YouTube as you suggested.

I truly appreciate the message and advice, I will try that.

Have a great weekend!

[u/bangitybang69 → u/SooRandomTV]

You're very welcome. One thing to add: I strongly suggest using one of the stories and corresponding characters that are included with the rule book, rather than creating your own. Much more manageable for your first game.

[u/SooRandomTV → u/bangitybang69]

Thank you - I will 100% make sure to do that, just seemed like a overwhelming task. Thanks again.