It’s time for another Rules Ramble with Jonathan! Each week, I’ll introduce a topic in the DR rulebook in a deep dive that focuses on explaining it in more detail than the book alone can provide. Today’s series starts to delve a bit deeper into the logic behind some of the things involved with CvC, or Character vs. Character behaviors. For this first article, let’s talk at a high level about some of the concepts behind CvC.
part 1: The Basics - What is CvC?
CvC is an abbreviation for character versus character conflict. As a player, when you and at least one other player engage in some sort of in-character conflict, be it a tense role-playing argument, socially manipulating others into attacking someone, undercutting a price on an item to take a sale, stealing an item from a supply bag, or even directly attacking another character with a boffer, you are engaging in the system of CvC in Dystopia Rising.
In other game systems or video games, this concept is sometimes referred to as PvP, or “player versus player”. The core idea behind referring to these interactions as CvC instead is the idea that a PvP term encourages you to associate your negative feelings with the other player. On the other hand, CvC is intended to help you more easily assign negative feelings to their character instead. This change in language is designed to help players manage bleed (when your in-game emotions impact you out of game) and avoid negative out-of-character feelings that are often associated with in-character conflicts.
The world of DR is primarily focused on the CvE (Character vs. Environment) game, with bands of survivors relying on one another to survive the terrible dangers of a cruel world full of zombies and raiders. But sometimes the most dangerous threat isn’t the zombie at the door, but it’s the other survivor behind the barricade with you. And for some, there is nothing more thrilling than interacting with a challenging and intelligent threat like another player character!
The Rules
The rules for CvC start on page 159 in the DR Corebook, in a section titled “Conflict Between Leading Characters”. I highly recommend people take a moment to read through this section in its entirety, as it is an often overlooked part of the book.
There are a few core areas of the section on CvC, so we’ll take a look at each part in this series.
CvC in the Moment (p. 160) - Rules for spontaneous CvC encounters, and how to use the “C” symbol for conflict.
Long Term CvC (p. 161) - Suggestions for how to approach CvC that happens over several games or longer, including how to recognize your limits.
CvC in the Wastelands (p. 162) - Rules for the WASTELAND, an area where consent to CvC is implied simply by entering. I’ve included a breakdown of these rules below.
Thick as Thieves (p. 163) - Rules for THEFT in the world of Dystopia Rising, what you can steal, how you do it, and what consequences can look like.
In addition to the sections in the book on CvC, we also have some other additional resources for the game.
Wasteland Map - You can find a map of the current Wasteland Zones within the DR:TX game space at Camp Kachina.
Survival Ethos System (SES) - This is an out of character mechanic for “opting in” to CvC in advance, no matter where you are in the game.
Before we dig too deep, let’s talk a bit about what I call “the Four Pillars”.
The Four Pillars of Play
A clever friend of mine named Ryan once said that there are four major avenues of play in a DR game - combat, role playing, economy, and CvC. You don’t have to participate in all of them, but you are never immune to consequences from them messing up your day.
You might not want to swing a boffer, but eventually you’ll need an answer for the zed and raiders at the door, even it’s simply running away. You might not be the best role player, but politics of the player and NPC factions can quickly turn deadly based on a few charismatic words. You might not like dealing with money, but when you need a new weapon, a repair, or simply some scrap for that shiny new toy, you’ll need some currency or some way to earn value. And finally, you might not like CvC, but if you wander into the Wasteland you might have to deal with it sooner than you like. You have a lot of agency in avoiding parts of the game you don’t enjoy, but you can still feel the impact of those areas even if you don’t participate.
The ultimate zen of the game is to participate in the parts of the game you enjoy most and have fun with the friends you make along the way.
CvC can be an enjoyable part of the game, but we do want to encourage people to approach 3.0 CvC mechanics with an open mind. We know many people have had troublesome interactions in other LARPs, or in 2.0 in our game, but we would challenge everyone to come in with a fresh mindset and consider that many problematic attitudes and personalities have changed in the years since.
So let’s consider the different ways you can interact with other characters in CvC.
The Different levels of CvC Interaction
During a game, there are four levels of possible CvC interaction in Dystopia Rising. CvC interactions like these inherently apply to other player characters only, and not NPCs, just in case you were wondering.
Non-Wasteland CvC - Any CvC in a non-Wasteland zone against another player character requires explicit consent and discussion in advance. However, the book makes a key exception to this rule - the skill LARCENY (p. 118). Larceny and Theft will be the focus of discussion in a future article.
Wasteland CvC - While in the Wasteland, you do not require consent for CvC against other player characters, and you can be attacked, robbed, or even killed by other characters. However, if a conflict leads to Infection loss, you will have to have your sheet and items checked by a Guide.
SES System - This is a sign up list you do as a player out of game at the start of each game, affecting all of your characters in the game. You effectively give consent to CvC interactions in advance and “opt in” to a more deadly game. In return, you can earn in-character Red Ledger Currency that can be used for neat rewards.
CvC Faction Membership - While the SES system covers out of game behavior, there are several factions that can provide ready opportunities for CvC actions in game, including the Red Ledger, the new Murder Inc. faction, and even our local Texas faction the Widows of the Lonestar. If you reach the Master tier of Faction Society Membership, you could also encounter CvC.
The most common way to interact with CvC is through the in-game zone known as the Wastelands, so that’ll be one of the last things we address in this article.
THE WASTELANDS
The dotted line represents the areas of the camp that are NOT Wasteland
As you may have observed from the new map provided here, most of our campsite is in the wastelands. This is in line with the sort of experiences we want to encourage and make part of Bravado Culture in our setting.
The Wastelands engulfs the entire camp BUT the area around the General Store (Kiva), up to the tree line, the Dog Run (Wigwam) and the paths to it, and the corner of the campsite to the northeast of the Crossroads. While this may seem like a lot, keep in mind that most of this Wasteland area is heavily wooded forests that aren’t very easy to traverse or along the very long Lake Path. In practice, the usable areas of the camp end up in about a 50/50 split between Wasteland and non-Wasteland.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WASTELANDS?
More information about the Wastelands is available in the section CvC in the Wastelands on page 162 of the Rulebook. We will have this perimeter marked at the crossroads with signs and in other ways as well.
In short, when someone enters this area, it's assumed that they've opted into CvC. A person cannot be forced to enter this area either socially or physically. The Wastelands are a harsh place, and this area is assumed to be a CvC free-for-all zone where it is assumed that no quarter is given or received while you are within the boundaries of the zone. CvC society meetings like Murder Inc. or nefarious Criminal Influence meetings (p. 117) will normally take place within the Wasteland.
If you enter this zone with the intent of taking Infection from other characters, you should try to make sure that a Guide is present for ease of potential conflict. Having a Guide is not required for the actual CvC, but you will need to present your character sheet and all item cards used post-combat to a Guide so you might as well get one before you go hunting (p. 162).
IMPORTANT NOTE: the laws of Bravado and the san saba territories still apply in the Wasteland areas of the town.
Just because you can commit murder in the Wasteland doesn’t mean that a Law Dog won’t hunt you down as a Breacher! When you play the murder game, you need to expect murder in return! But in the world of DR, death is not the end as the Infection can bring you back just in time to confront your killer…
WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO GO INTO THE WASTELANDS?
Technically you do not have to! Within the ‘safe’ area of our town there are bunks, showers, bathrooms, food services, crafting zones (both Artisan and Culinary), Agricultural areas, and more. You will be able to use every economy skill without entering the Wasteland. There will still be attacks from NPC threats and non-combat NPC interactions as well. Non-Wasteland does not mean exempt from NPC-attack and interaction, horror, or survival themes. It does mean consent to CvC between leading characters must be explicit. Out in the wastelands this requirement is waived. We do still encourage you to find a guide if at all possible before initiating CvC, but technically it is not required.
Additionally, if you are very interested in CvC overall, you should consider signing up for the SES at check-in. Read more about the Survival Ethos System and its in-character faction The Red Ledger here.
WHAT IS THE REASON IT’S MORE SAFE IN-CHARACTER?
The relative safety of the General Store, Terminal Station, and the Dog Run, is due to the heavy Law Dog and Railroad Conglomerate employee presence in those areas, particularly during the day, which also results in a slightly lower chance of aggressive NPC attacks as well, though in character ‘safety’ is relative and never truly guaranteed!
The most important cvc rule — CONSENT
The last, and most important rule of CvC is the need for CONSENT. It is the single most important rule in our game, in my opinion. There are different levels of consent in DR, including inherent, implied, or explicit consent, and our pals at DR:NY wrote some fascinating articles on the subject HERE and HERE.
While the Wasteland Zone and the SES System provides some basic means to communicate consent under normal circumstances, you can ALWAYS withdraw your consent.
At any time, a player can opt-out and leave a scene or situation by using the OK Check-In System. You do this by simply making the symbol of a “thumbs down”, like in the picture provided here.
CvC doesn’t override the need to get consent for physical touch, nor does it override our Non-Combatant (orange headband) system, and it NEVER overrides real life safety.
Nothing, not even the Wasteland, overrides the ability for a player to “opt out” of an experience during game.
Period.
It doesn’t matter if you are in the middle of a fight, in the middle of the Wasteland, or enrolled in the SES System for that game. It doesn't matter whether the subject matter of the conversation, intensity, or emotions involved change, leave you feeling like you don't want to be a part of the scene. You can choose to control your comfort level and we want to provide you with the tools to do so. The OK Check-In System is not meant as an excuse to avoid consequences for your actions, but it is provided to help you have a safer experience in game.
If you have questions, just ask! Your Game Runners are here to help!
Wrap Up
CvC can be tricky, but it can also be very rewarding. As we continue this series, I’ll dig a bit deeper in the rules of the system and some pitfalls to watch out for. We have a new CvC organization called Murder Inc. which was introduced at the recent national event, Dead Water, that will have some new items in play soon as well. Our tickets for our February event, BEYOND THE HORIZON went on sale this Monday, so make sure you check out the start of the last half of our season! See you next week!