Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium is a roleplaying game about fighting ravening, destructive demons. The PCs are a Cabal of heroes recruited by a mysterious mentor who investigate and kill demons, with a selection of oddball spells. Only three attributes: Body, Mind, and Spirit. The basic game mechanic is equally simple: roll a pool of d12s equal to the sum of the relevant attribute and skill, with each additional match adding one to the result (three 6s = 9).

The first edition was released in 2002, and a second ("Unrated") edition in 2007.