Don't Rest Your Head
At‑a‑glance: Psychological horror • d6 dice pools (Discipline/Exhaustion/Madness) • 2–5 + GM • Near‑zero prep • Rules‑lite • 2–3h sessions
Theme and Setting
You can’t sleep. As insomnia pushes you past the edge, you slip into the Mad City—an uncanny, predatory reflection of our world ruled by Nightmares. You are one of the Awake: desperate, gifted, and hunted. Every hour you survive is a victory bought with fraying sanity.
Core Mechanics and Rules
The system runs on opposed d6 pools. You always roll Discipline; you may add Exhaustion dice to push harder and Madness dice to unleash dangerous talents. The highest die (and then majority) determines which pool dominates the outcome—steady Discipline, overtaxing Exhaustion, or chaotic Madness—each with narrative fallout.
Two economy tokens, Hope and Despair, pass between players and GM to bend results and heighten stakes. Exhaustion spirals toward collapse; Madness risks losing control to your Nightmare self. The rules are compact, teach in minutes, and keep scenes sharp and lethal.
What Makes It Unique
Play focuses on the tension between power and price. Pushing with Exhaustion guarantees competence now but drags you toward burnout; invoking Madness can solve impossible problems while inviting the Nightmares in. The game’s fiction and mechanics lock together to manufacture dread without heavy prep or complex subsystems.
Its one‑book format and strong GM guidance make it easy to run: frame scenes hard, escalate pressure, spotlight each character’s Scar and Madness talent, and keep clocks (literal and figurative) ticking.
Target Audience and Player Experience
Ideal for groups who want a visceral, cinematic horror night: quick to learn, intense at the table, and best in one‑shots or short arcs. Safety tools and tone calibration are recommended; the game leans bleak, surreal, and confrontational. If you enjoy Dread’s rising peril or Ten Candles’ inevitable doom but want mechanical push‑your‑luck dials, this hits the mark.
