Dreams & Machines: Gamemaster's Guide TTRPG Review

I’ve always been on the fence when it comes to the purchase of Gamemaster Guides as part of any tabletop roleplaying game collection. There’s always the question about how much of it really pertains to your games and how often I will reference it to justify its purchase. For Dreams & Machines: Gamemaster Guide I had a general idea of what I wanted to see appear in the book.

The first thing that stuck out to me that I preferred not to have in the book was several pages dedicated to a story. I feel these are a great addition to players in the Player’s Guide to help set the game's tone. For the GM, on the other hand, it feels that they detract from getting to the so-called “meat and potatoes” of what the book really is about. Upon reaching the second chapter, I was disappointed to see a word-for-word duplication of the History and Lore section from the Player’s Guide. From the Introduction to Chapter 2, I feel that eliminating the 39 pages would do the book some good. 

Chapter 3 gives a far more in-depth look at the different factions which exceeds anything that was provided in the Player’s Guide, and it is very valuable information if you want to bring your Dreams & Machines games to life. Each faction receives four to six pages worth of fantastic information about their society, philosophy, naming conventions, and more. I feel my excitement for the book would been far higher had it started with this information as the first chapter. 

There is GM guidance in Chapter 4. This chapter seems dedicated to those who are new to being a gamemaster, and potentially to tabletop roleplaying in general. I appreciated reading about how the GM is not the adversary to the players, which is easily forgotten among some gaming groups. I did find some of the paragraphs in the Skill Challenge to be a bit wordy, but overall there were a lot of great tips and tricks for GMs to use. I especially enjoyed the sections expanding on Threat and Spirit, framing Threat in such a way that it creates a tit-for-tat for the game while at the same time illuminating the possibilities of a Spirit-based economy and how to deal with player spending habits. There are also safety tools that are mentioned over a few pages to help make games feel enjoyable without making players feel awkward or uncomfortable. 

I did not expect to see an entire chapter dedicated to NPCs, the different types as well as their role in the story. I feel that NPCs don’t get as much love or attention in other tabletop roleplaying books and yet NPCs are so integral to the games. The section in Chapter 5 that provides more NPC statistics is incredibly valuable. 

The book ends with a three-act adventure that can be a great launch point for your first campaign or incorporated into your current one. For anyone new to Dreams & Machines I think this offers a lovely means to get a feel for the game. 

Overall, I find this book to be a mixed bag, but the pros certainly outweigh the cons. So if you liked the Player’s Guide I can confidently say that the Gamemaster’s Guide is certainly worth it! 

Dreams and Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide can be located here:

Dreams And Machines: Gamemasters Guide (PDF)

Dreams And Machines: Gamemasters Guide - Modiphius | Dreams and Machines | DriveThruRPG

More about the author: The Author – NRM Books