The bodies that were found were, in many cases, unrecognizable. James Yarborough, 24, a gas station attendant, had been crucified in his garage. Dennis Atwater, 39, a farmer, had been impaled on a pitchfork in his back yard. His right arm was missing, and appeared to have been twisted off. Mary Ann Walker was found in her bathtub, fully clothed, her lower jaw sliced off neatly, as if by some impossibly precise blade. Inexplicably, many of the injuries appeared to be self-inflicted. 

This is the 140-page Player Section of Dread, which features everything you need to know (except for setting information and enemies). If you enjoy this free download, please consider picking up the full version!

Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium is a tabletop role-playing game of modern horror-action, set in a world of black magic and demonic possession. Originally released in 2002, the game has been streamlined and revised.

Dread is a game about failures, drifters, and addicts who are recruited to fight the Last War against the demons that feed on an unsuspecting humankind. Armed to the teeth, trained in horrific magic, and utterly expendable, these Disciples wage their secret battles against an army that most people don't even believe in. The game features 88 gut-wrenching spells, including Caliban, Bile, and Viscera, and includes 41 demons, including the seductive Laradina and the pyrokinetic Gatterag.

REVIEWS

"I think the game is damn near perfect for a lot of folk who want to play horror games involving humans with supernatural gifts, especially if they're focusing more on the monster take down." (Christopher W. Richeson, RPG.net, August 2008, rating: 10/10)

"This is an independent-publishing triumph. Highly coherent, clear, and extremely accessible, among my top choices for straightforward, rules-say-reality violent adventure." (Ron Edwards, Indie-RPGs.com review, April 2003)

"It's easy to pick up, easy to understand, yet designed well enough you don't feel cheated. Unlike other "simple" systems it doesn't put a lot of work and resolution back on the DM's plate. This leads towards fast action, and a really nice pace overall." (Hayley Dawson, RPG.net, February 2008, rating: 9/10)

"Dread is an A-Team episode written by Clive Barker and directed by Robert Rodriguez. It's the characters from Sin City in the world of Kult. It's Whispering Vault, but dirtier, and with testicles." (Kobayashi, CasusNO review, December 2007)

"Dread is one of the best traditional RPGs I've seen. It's rock solid entertainment with rules that are easy to grasp, cool to play with, and make play fun." (Matthijs Holter, RPG.net review, October 2007, rating: 8/10)

"It's like Little Fears grown up, the dark mirror of Inspectres, Cthulhu without all the boring book-learnin' or Unknown Armies without the post-modern magic. It's tempting to say it is what Hunter: the Reckoning should have been... Replace Mr Blonde with a Cenobite and it would be the archetypal Dread game. Tarantino filming Barker is the core of this game." (Steve Darlington, RPG.net review, October 2003, rating: 7/10)

"If you're a fan of splatterpunk and you're looking for a game that'll deliver a lot of flavour while requiring a bare minimum of prep work, Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium is a game that might very well belong in your collection." (Jocelyn Robitaille, RPG.net review, September 2007, rating: 9/10) 

This is a preview of Pent: The First Gospel of Pandemonium. It features three full-length scenarios for Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium, along with two adventure hooks to get you started. If you enjoy this free download, please consider purchasing the full version of Pent!

Pent: The First Gospel of Pandemonium is a sourcebook for Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium. It includes five ready-to-run scenarios (each of which features thoroughly fleshed-out locations, characters, evidence, and hostiles). This supplement also includes eight short scenarios, six adventure hooks, stats for dozens of hostiles, and an updated weapons list.

Fight Fire With Firepower

It's hotter than hell out. Sweat beads on your skin, slides off, sizzles on the pavement. Dogs don't run, they walk. Then they collapse on the shady part of the sidewalk, ribs heaving. Everything stinks. The garbage guys are on strike, and the trash is piling up on the streets. You're starting to get used to the smell. It's hard to act civilized in weather like this. The city feels like a prison just before a bloody riot, the kind where old grudges get worked out and snitches get beaten to death in the laundry room, the kind of shitstorm where guards just start sniping from the watchtowers for the hell of it. It's hotter than hell, but somebody's getting ready to turn up the heat. Time to gear up and go to work...

Art Imitates Death

The most disturbing piece of evidence you've ever seen is a painting. Originally, it was a lawyer. When the cops found him, he was stretched across the canvas. Not pretty. The second victim was a sculpture. You have no idea what the third one will be. A flower arrangement, maybe. Who cares? You don't know much about art, but you know what you don't like. And you definitely don't like demons. Time to assemble the Cabal and get to work.

The Devil Made Me Do It

There's something nasty about the New World Church, though you can't quite put your finger on it. Could be something to do with the fact that people connected to the congregation keep turning up dead. That, and the fact that every time you walk into the place, the holy water starts boiling. Word on the street is that something huge is going down, and you're the only ones who can keep it from happening. Typical.

First-Degree Martyr

The first victim was found, mutilated beyond recognition, inside a bathroom. The door was locked from the inside. The second victim was torn to pieces, and the damage was so severe that the body was initially thought to belong to two victims. The coroner's report indicated that cause of death was suicide. It's going to be another one of those days.

Lose-Lose Situation

The small town of Anderson just tore itself apart. Fourteen murders in as many days, with dozens of people in the hospital and several homes burned to the ground. No one is talking, but you can spot the work of a Stalker Demon from a mile away. There's something sinister at work, and lucky you: you pulled the search-and-destroy duty on this one. Only thing is, it's starting to look like somebody's got you in the crosshairs. But who's got the nerve to take on a locked-and-loaded Cabal?