Starting prep for a game of Dread. I am wondering what is the best way to handle an early exit for a character in the game? I understand the ghost or doomed method of allowing the player to continue to participate, but he is no longer allowed to pull, especially if they knock the tower over doing something that should not be lethal. This seems like a pretty good method, but what about a bit later in the game when doomed is not a real option?
Does the player continue to stay at the table and just stay for the story? How do you keep players with dead characters interested in the game after their PC is dead?
Best Answer
I play quite a lot of Dread, and I really love the tension and the flow of the game. As @Graham mentions- You have to let them die
It isn't the right kind of horror if bodies aren't dropping.
However, what you can do is control the pacing of the story and the number of pulls. In every game of Dread I've played the GM leads with a slow buildup. You can set the tone, let the PCs discover where they are and learn a little about the story before they start having to make a lot of pulls. Around the midpoint, the intensity cranks up and more pulls become important.
I know Jenga varies and it is possible to make a mistake, but in general, the tower won't go down until people have made 20 some odd pulls. You can use this by pacing the number of pulls so the first death happens at about the 3/4 mark of the gaming session. Then, really jack up the speed to get the players back to a high tension point again and kill off one or two more by the end.