Rêve de Dragon
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- Jean-Charles Rodriguez
- Roger Ronsin
- Bernard Verlhac
1993 (2nd edition)
 Cover of 1st edition, 1985 | |
| Designers | Denis Gerfaud |
|---|---|
| Illustrators |
|
| Publishers | Nouvelles Éditions Fantastiques |
| Publication | 1985 (1st edition) (French only) 1993 (2nd edition) |
| Genres | Fantasy |
Rêve de Dragon (French: Dream of the Dragon) is a medieval fantasy role-playing game published by Nouvelles Éditions Fantastiques (NEF) in France in 1985, in which dragons, dreaming together, have created a world in their dreams as well as the characters that explore this world.
Book I: L'Aventure (The Adventure)
Rêve de Dragon posits that each player character is created in the dreams of a sleeping dragon, and that many dragons, while dreaming together, have created an entire imaginary world in which their characters live.[1] From adventure to adventure, the dreams change, bringing new worlds with new physical laws and new customs. Some powerful characters, known as Hauts-Rêvants (High Dreamers) can affect the dragons' dreams, and thus change the world.[2] If a dragon awakens, the character which had been created in its dreams dies.
The first edition consists of two 80-page softcover books encased in a folder that serves as a gamemaster's screen:
This book sets out the mechanics of the game in six parts:[3]
- Character creation: There are no character classes. Instead, each player buys various skills using a point-buy system to bring the character to life.[1]
- Game rules, including the effect of astrology on a character's luck.[2]
- Combat: Critic Dave Nalle called this "detailed and fairly realistic, using a modifier system."[2]
- Medicine
- Equipment
- Creatures, encounters, traps and poisons
Book II: La Rêve (The Dream)
This book explains magic and wizards. Magic is divided into four schools, each named after a powerful Haut-Rêvant: Hypnos (nature and illusion), Oneiros (enchantment), Narcos (rituals), and Thanatos (summoning and spirit magic).[2]
The book also includes an introductory scenario.[3]
Publication history
French game designer Denis Gerfaud was influenced by the 1980 novel Les Hautes Terres du rêve ("The High Dreamland"), a fantasy novel by Jacques Sadoul. Gerfaud subsequently created Rêve de Dragon, which was then published in France by NEF in 1985, with art by Jean-Charles Rodriguez, Roger Ronsin, and Bernard Verlhac.[3] It was one of the first role-playing games designed and published in France.[1] It proved popular, and the supplement L'Auberge des Derniers Voyageurs was published in 1987, as well as several adventures.
A second edition, illustrated by Florence Magnin, was published by Multisim in 1993. A third edition was published in 2018.
An English translation titled Rêve: the Dream Ouroboros was published by Malcontent Games in 2006.