It’s Jonathan with another weekly Rules Ramble, this time focusing on stuff that might be super important for our upcoming event, THE LONG NIGHT. We’ll be covering some basic rules from the book, as well as some unique skill calls you should be ready to hear this weekend.
Website Updates & BUY LISTS
I’ve also updated a few sections of the website that might be of note this week as well.
Collectors rejoice!
New Skill Buy Lists have been released! These change several of the available items for Trade Connections, Sailing, and Criminal Influence. The overall goal of this change was to reduce items that replaced Skills entirely or made some Skills obsolete. Also, this is first time that Basic Scrap is now available without relying on a Raider or Forage card and you might recognize a few of these items from the Faction Buy Lists we released earlier this year.
Updated rules for Oxblood, and our new Essex Collectibles SET BONUS! Shamelessly inspired by New York’s bonus for the Rings of the Fold, these should be particularly useful for our travelers from New York, since Anton is signing that fancy contract this weekend.
Last but not least, new Skill Calls are available on the website, including Impale, Terror, and Faith Bane! I’ve also listed other recent keyword updates like Overpower, Horde, and Reliable. These reflect upcoming new Augment blueprints, new monsters, or other ways to interact with the world. As new stuff comes out, we want to make sure you have a place to reference the new rules that are not in the DR Corebook.
On to the rules of note for this weekend, and a brief introduction to some of the antagonists that’ll you encounter in the darkness of the LONG NIGHT.
Armor in Dystopia Rising
This is a big topic and can be a pretty confusing one, I’ll admit. Armor is gained in a few different ways throughout the game. There are Skills like Master Combat Tactics that can grant everyone temporary Armor for the next hour, items that use PFA abilities to grant Armor buffs, or just the old fashioned Armor items themselves like the recently popular Striker’s Coat.
Basic Armor Rules
Regardless of the source, Armor functions in the same way as found on page p.169 of the DR Corebook. Armor is a very handy tool for newer players, as it lets you quickly gain additional combat survivability without requiring XP! Let’s cover the basics:
Armor is equipment that gives you additional pool of Body to your character equal to the Armor rating. This ranges from 5-20 points of Armor at the moment, but later Augment blueprints will allow you to exceed the cap of 20.
Damage is dealt to these Armor points FIRST, unless you take a call with the “Body” modifier (p. 103, DR Corebook). If your Armor is reduced to zero Armor Points, it is BROKEN and cannot be used to absorb damage until it is repaired.
Temporary Upsurge buffs like Master Combat Tactics can stack on top of item card sources, and go above the cap of 20. Remember, most temporary buffs are Upsurge effects and you cannot have more than one Upsurge effect.
Weapons like the Moulen Shank, Glass Stilleto, or skills like Pyrokinetics or Piercing Strike that deal Body Damage skip this pool of Armor altogether and deal damage directly to you. This means that Body damage does not actually Break your armor. This is an important distinction, for reasons you’ll find out this weekend. :)
If someone uses the Break Skill to declare “Break Armor”, or a monster uses a Break Armor ability on you, your Armor is considered BROKEN, regardless of how many Armor points you had remaining.
When you lose Armor points or the Armor is broken, the only way you can regain them is by someone either using the Basic Artisan skill (p. 117) or by using a similar item or room augment. This can also be done for FREE by any character using the Starter Workstation room augment (there’s even one of these inside the Depot in Bravado!).
armor Coverage
Armor must also be represented by a physical representation of some sort. This doesn’t have to actually be metal or heavy material, but should at least appear to be a protective layer of some sort (metallic paint is your friend!).
You must cover a portion of your body equal to 5% per Armor Point, up to a maximum of 80%. This means that Basic Armor (10 points) requires 50% coverage, Proficient Armor (15 points) requires 75%, and Master Armor (20 points) needs 80% coverage. There are some other types of Armor that can reduce the amount of coverage you need, like the Merchant’s Coat or the Striker’s Coat.
You can use a burn coverage chart (see to the right) as a loose approximation of what kind of coverage you need. In general, torso coverage (front and back) is about 40%, Each arm is about 10%, each full leg is about 20%, and head coverage is about 10%. In DR: Texas, during inclement weather we will reduce the total coverage to only you need to portray to only 50%, cause it’s too hot to wear that much!
“Reliable” and Reactions on Armor Breaks
Certain actions on Armor can be used as a reaction to an event, like entering Bleed Out or becoming Unconscious. Some monsters have effects that trigger upon their Armor being broken, so any effect like Break or doing enough damage to the Armor can trigger this event.
Let’s talk about a few specific rules and Skills that interact with Armor.
Blinding (p. 112) - This skill prevents a target from using Skills, or Proficient, Master, or Achievement abilities of equipment from being activated while under the 10 second Blinded effect, or any equipment that uses a Skill that costs XP. An often overlooked, but VERY important loophole here is that the Killing Blow protection of the Striker’s Coat is a BASIC item effect and doesn’t use a Skill to use, and specifically cannot be stopped by being Blinded.
Break (p. 112) - If you manage to land a Break Armor call on during a strike to the Armor, it will immediately remove the protection of Armor, even if it has Armor points remaining. However, if an effect triggers on the Armor breaking, this Skill will also trigger that effect, just as if the Armor had been reduced to zero Armor Points.
Reliable - Most Armors have this Keyword now, or specify that an ability can be used in Bleed Out. Reliable simply means that the equipment can still be used, even if Broken. This is important because you can’t use Skills or equipment while in Bleed Out or use Broken equipment unless it specifically says you can.
A few notable pieces of gear that let you do this is the OOPH Tactical Armor Veteran Achievement ability, or the Striker’s Coat protection from Killing Blows.
Striker’s Coat - An important distinction of this Armor is that the ability can only be used on the trigger of entering Bleed Out, not the Armor being broken.
Subdued (p. 107) - A character that is Subdued (say, by being tied up by a Law Dog), they cannot use most skills or items unless they specifically say you can.
Unconscious (p.108) - While you are Unconscious, you cannot use equipment, or use Skills, unless that Armor that states it activates when you go Unconscious!
That about covers it for our discussion on Armor, but this is a very important tool for surviving the zombie apocalypse. Lastly, let’s talk about some new friends you’ll meet this weekend.
Longwalkers & Rimebound
There will be two new antagonists in play this weekend for our LONG NIGHT event. You can find some narrative details of these folks below:
The Rimebound zed are a terrifying foe of the Long Night!
Rimebound Dead
Icy variants of the undead, the Rimebound were created by the creeping chill of the Bravado morgue. Last seen two years ago, these undead are covered in a hardened, frozen ichor. The makeshift armor breaks into icy shards that can explode out from them when broken. Possessing a frostbitten blue tinge to their skin, their muscles constantly contract creating the appearance of shivering to onlookers. There have been recent appearances of new forms of Rimebound Dead, including variants of Tanks and Gorehounds.
The Rimebound are virtually immune to common melee and ranged weapons, but if the icy armor is melted by an application of fire or intense heat (aka BODY DAMAGE) they become vulnerable. If this vulnerability is not exploited, breaking apart their icy armor will cause a razor sharp cloud of ice to be sprayed around them. Even without fire, they can eventually be taken down by enough attacks, but they are tougher than a common shambler.
Like the more common Lost Boy zed, the Rimebound can mimic some short phrases and sounds, but it is generally some variation of “I’m so cold..” or shivering sounds. It is suspected that the appearance of the Rimebound is but a symptom of the continuing sickness in the morgues of the San Saba after the Hiway War.
Longwalkers
The gallery of cryptids who, during the Long Night, stalk the darkness of Widow’s Peak. Some in search of prey, others absolution, most - with opaque motives. Are they strains gone mad in the blind eternity of the Long Night? Are they expressions of our terror made manifest in the chaos of sensory deprivation? Are they the Gravemind itself dreaming in the siesta between seasons? It depends on who you ask.
Some Longwalkers have strange tells that indicate they are present. Water running backwards, the scent of rotten fruit, a glowing will-o-wisp in the darkness, the sound of tinkling chimes. These mysterious entities stalk the Long Night looking for something. The Nowhere Man, the Behemoth, the Midnight Gardener, the Shadow People, the Lady of the Long Night, and The Click - these figures sometimes derive from folktale and myth - and others are the inspiration for the same.
The Longwalkers are strange and unknown entities, but one thing is certain - they CANNOT BE KILLED, only survived. You should either run if you can or hide if you can’T.
While virtually invulnerable, Longwalkers are more than capable of impacting YOU with their Skills and abilities. They can be quite deadly, but during our Hearthbound online event, the Quiet Folk of Widow’s Peak talked about using light sources, like the candlelight of Winter Lights to ward them away. This may be one way of finding a vulnerability, but sometimes old superstitions are just that - simple stories told to children on cold winter nights...
We will see you this weekend for our December Premiere event, THE LONG NIGHT!!!