It’s Jonathan here again with another Rules Ramble! Each week, I’ll introduce a topic that will be important in an upcoming game, explain some new mechanic or system for DR:TX, or discuss a particular rule from the DR Corebook. In each ramble, I’ll focus on explaining that topic in more detail than the book alone can provide and help provide one place to reference all the various errata or rulings that might be relevant. Sometimes I’ll even drop a few Story Teasers or provide a summary of the last game in a Game Recap.
As we get ready for our next event this weekend, THE EMERALD GALA, I'm going to be covering a bit about Rules You Should Know. We have a number of special things happening during this game, and we want to make sure you have a head start on any particular mechanics to watch out for. This week, we are going to cover a bit more about some changes to our game schedule, some ways to earn a new Blueprint, Alone in the Dark, and the dangerous abilities of the Archons your character could face like Devour Imprint, Abyssal Rift, Aberrant Consumption, Sever Imprint, and Frequency Inversion.
TICKETS ARE still on sale at the door starting at 5pm on Friday! DON’T MISS OUT ON THE NEXT DR:TX EVENT!
Photo credits in this post are from Max Pohlmeier, Lainey Weiss, and Noah Goodman. Gauntlet posters were made by the talented Aesa Garcia.
Culinary requires a certain amount of patience… and charcoal.
Changes to the Schedule
This month, we are testing some changes to our game schedule to accommodate some feedback we’ve received over the past few months, and to really allow our EMERALD GALA to be an event that is pretty special.
Extended Siesta
First, we’ve extended the AFTERNOON SIESTA. The afternoon break will be EXTENDED from 12:00 pm-4:00 pm on Saturday. This is an experiment to allow for spookier late-night content by shifting our STs and NPCs to better times. Plus, Texas tends to get a bit hot in the afternoon if you didn’t notice. During this four-hour window, we will have very few or no combat mods in play so this is a perfect time to schedule that player event, potluck, gang-up, or just get some crafting done in peace and quiet. Now, this is still a DR game, so it’s not always entirely safe during these hours (especially for a few folks below...), but there won’t be hordes of zombies at least.
Post office closed from 7pm-9pm
Secondly, to make sure that ALL players and staff can attend the Emerald Gala festivities, we will be CLOSING the Post Office from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm on Saturday night. You will still be able to complete projects using the One Job Policy (p. 174) during this time and turn them afterwards, but we will not have Postal Workers to issue cards during this time. Enjoy the Gala and save the crafting and farming for later!
The Emerald Gala Events
Lastly, the Emerald Gala will be trying something a bit different. During the two-hour window of the Gala on Saturday night, we won’t be running many NPCs or events of note. Instead, we will be allowing folks to join together in the Winter Lights spirit, enjoy music, food, and games during the party. We will have some face NPCs present, some opportunities for contests and fun, and generally lots of opportunity for showing off your best outfit and not worrying about running to grab that shield or brew.
We can hunt you down with the Archons at the end of the party after all, so enjoy the nice, safe fun while it lasts! And hope they get the Emerald Arsenal ready in time!
Again, Boris?
Spicy! Maybe the Butcher will finally answer for their crimes…
NEW NATIONAL RULES UPDATES
There has been an update to the National Lexicon and the Undead Threat Guide since our last event. They didn’t really advertise this change outside of a post on the Discord channels and the updated site on November 16th, but here’s the details in case you missed it:
RANGED REDUCTION (UPDATED FROM THE BOOK)
Possessed by many zombie threats and some exceptionally armored critters, Ranged Reduction reduces the amount of damage taken from firearms, bows, and thrown weapons to the target. Ranged Reduction (Minor) means that the target reduces incoming damage by 5 from a Ranged Attack, minimum 1, while Ranged Reduction (Major) means that the target reduces incoming damage by 10 from a Ranged Attack, minimum 1. Ranged Bane attacks do normal damage to the target, but do not double their damage.
TL;DR: THE BIG CHANGE HERE IS THAT RANGED REDUCTION for the undead HAS BEEN SPLIT INTO TWO VARIETIES, MINOR (REPLACES mINIMAL) AND MAJOR (REPLACES iMMUNE)
Previously, most dangerous Rank 3 Undead had Ranged Reduction (Immune) while lesser threats had Ranged Reduction (Minimal) instead. This meant that most firearms or ranged attacks were worthless against most Rank 3 zombies, including the iconic Tank. This has long been a point of contention for all those NERF gun lovers out there, as they would have to switch to a melee weapon to deal with most zed.
With this change to Ranged Reduction, it is a brand-new day for firearms. Basic Zombies still reduce damage by 5 unless it’s from a source of Undead Bane or Horde Bane, while higher ranked zombies now simply reduce damage by 10 instead of being completely immune to ranged.
That means that upgraded attacks from some ranged weapons like the Candlepin Flame Belcher, the Mountain Rifle, and the Al Buquerue's Left Turn can be useful against the most powerful types of Undead. If you can deal more than 10 points of damage, you’ll get some damage past the defenses of the zombie. And it’s even better if you have Undead Bane, since the damage won’t be reduced at all.
Enjoy!
Now I gotta make a new gun to kill my first Tank at range…
National Blueprints & Local Blueprints
During this weekend, you will have an opportunity to earn a chance at a BRAND NEW BLUEPRINT. We talked a bit about this in my post on the Emerald Arsenal, but there will be a custom Zone of Mechanics in play this weekend called EMERALD INVESTMENTS.
emerald arsenal blueprints
During the event, our players will choose which of the seven Emerald Arsenal items they are interested in making into reality. The top winners will be incorporated into the next National Blueprint to fight against the impending Archon threat. This item will be useful in facing Outsiders during future encounters and will be themed around the winning Emerald Arsenal items.
Zone of Mechanics: Emerald Investments
You may pay 10 Brass to the Post Office in order to receive a copy of the Emerald Arsenal blueprint when it becomes available. This item will be delivered by postal worker or placed in your LIT inventory.
Characters with Master Society Membership in a San Saba Faction may pay 100 Brass to the Post Office for a crafted item in addition to the Emerald Arsenal blueprint once it becomes available. This will have an expiration date starting from the event you receive the item.
Players that complete this Zone of Mechanics will receive a copy of the new National Blueprint generated by the Emerald Arsenal during the next event in February (if it’s ready!). If you are a traveling player, this item will be placed into your LIT inventory instead, or I’ll find a way to get it to you once it releases.
I can’t reveal exactly what this item will do yet, but the first way to get access to this new blueprint is attending our Premiere event. If you interact with the Emerald Arsenal ZOMs this weekend, you might get a taste of what might be in store.
local blueprints
This weekend will also see the release of several new Local Blueprints. These are DR:TX ONLY local plot items that will allow you to make new Local Plot Cards through crafting. These Local Blueprints will be printed on a different color of paper than the traditional blue of normal blueprints to mark them as unique.
They will use the normal rules for blueprints, including being able to be copied, used for crafting, or even stolen. These blueprints will commonly require Society Memberships with the San Saba Factions to use or create. However, these blueprints (or the items they make) cannot leave play from DR:TX or impact other games at all.
Since they are Local Plot Items, they are only usable at our game. Sorry!
These new Local Blueprints will be one way we play test potential future submissions for national blueprints during Premiere games and the like, and we look forward to your feedback on these new prints.
“Hey there Tenderhorns! Have you heard about Blood Ghosts yet?”
Alone in the Dark
DR:TX will be releasing a new global mechanic for this event, borrowed from our friends in DR: Virginia, originally designed by Phil Grau. This mechanic also saw use in DR: Michigan, and we will be including our own DR:TX take on the concept below.
ALONE IN THE DARK
At any time after the sun has set that a player finds themselves alone and without the ability to see another person, that person is considered to be Caught Alone.
That player must, at their next convenience, drop out of character and report to Ops.
Results for being Caught Alone vary wildly and could be a slight scare or a grievous consequence.
Players under the effect of Basic Stealth may move after dark as they wish, but should beware anything that would cause them to become seen.
If you are caught alone at night, one of the many things lurking in the shadows may find you first. You might wander through a weak part of the veil between the worlds or get too close to some early abyssal incursion. Maybe you just got caught alone by one of the Longwalkers or experienced some strange time dilation as you get lost in the woods. Perhaps some local terror like a Nemesis or Murder Goat Deer found you as prey in the darkness. Maybe it was nothing at all. Whatever the result, it’s best to walk in groups or be able to evade prying eyes in the darkness with Stealth during this event.
NOTE: Several of the events you can encounter with this mechanic may offer unique consequences, conditions, Roleplay Burdens, local plot cards, or even Body damage or Mind loss. Not all of the potential consequences are negative, but they all represent an encounter during the Long Night that marks your character in some indelible manner. If a particular condition is something you are not comfortable role-playing, you will always have an option to re-roll for a different consequence or you can use the OK Check-In System to let us know to calibrate the results.
Better yet, the candle lights and altars of the Lovelace Family are said to protect you from the darkness, provided you can convince them to part with their lanterns to protect you. There will be access to certain Local Plot Cards during this event that can interact with this mechanic and perhaps even give you a way to avoid the consequences of wandering alone in the dark…
The Buddy System isn’t just a good idea, it’s a lifesaver!
Archons 201
apocalyptic Threat Skills of NOTe
The ultimate threats of the wasteland have a host of skills that they can employ while within our reality. We talked a bit about the known lore about the creations in my post on Archons 101, but let’s dig a bit into the mechanics of what they can do. To be clear, I’m not covering EVERYTHING an Archon can do, but I’m going to cover some of the major ones to worry about.
Archons have three major modes of interacting with you violently: Attacks, Abyssal Attacks, and Global Effects, and they have several unique Defenses.
Attacks & Defenses
Archons have Attacks & Defenses like most threats, of course. They have some innate defenses based on their unique physiology and even active defenses like Defend, Balance, and Mental Endurance. Archons have a number of deadly basic attacks including Scattershot, Knockbacks, and Strikes. Like many Threats (even the lowly Shambler), they even have attacks they can make every flurry of blows. This means that even if they use all their active skills, they still have some dangerous attacks for the entire fight.
Rend: [Damage Type]. If a Threat hits you with this type of basic attack, you lose points from both your Armor AND your body with the same swing. For instance, a call of “Rend 5!” will deal 5 points of damage to your Armor and 5 points of damage to you directly. If you are not wearing armor, this call simply deals Body damage. These types of attacks are brutal, and even armor will not save you!
Psionic Stun: This is a melee strike frequently called by an Outsider. This can be Avoided OR can be resisted with Mental Endurance. Since this ability only deals a Stun, it can also be countered by Balance. If you get hit, you’ll crumple to the ground (or take a knee), be unable to move, and will be unable to use skills or use any equipment except for Armor for 5 seconds while stunned. (Stun, p. 107)
The last common defense of an Archon is their hefty slate of immunities:
Invulnerable State: Immune to all Damage. The Outsider will declare “Immune” periodically during the fight. This is the default state of the Outsider until it has fully crossed into this plane of existence or been rendered vulnerable.
Unnatural Physiology: Strong Limbs (Immune to Mangle), Immune to Stun, Immune to Knockout, Immune to Blinding
Like I mentioned in my blog post, Archons are completely immune to all damage and most effects until they’ve been made vulnerable in this world. Hopefully the Emerald Arsenal will do the trick, but it might be necessary to simply RUN from an Archon if you don’t have the means to hurt them. You’ve been warned!
Abyssal Attacks
These are unique attacks to the Outsiders, and they have devastating potential to be lethal. These attacks often bypass common rules, break the laws of reality, or are completely unique and deadly methods of eliminating their foes. They have many (or even unlimited) uses of these abilities and can often refresh their uses by killing an enemy.
Abyssal Strike: The Archon will call “50 Damage” with an apocalyptic melee strike. This can be combined with Scattershot for full damage, for this monster only. Normally Scattershot is capped at 20 damage, and most big hits can’t be used with Proficient Combat Tactics (p. 114). For the Archon, the laws of reality don’t apply so they can deal massive amounts of damage to a large crowd of targets. Yikes!
Devour Imprint: Upon the next successful strike to an LC, the Archon will declare “Devour Imprint: Absorb 6 Resolve”. This skill can NOT be modified by Scattershot. This skill can (and should) be Avoided.
If you get hit by this attack, you immediately lose all of your remaining Resolve, and the Archon regains their lost Resolve. In addition to not being able to use any and ALL equipment, ZOMs, and injectable brews that requires Resolve (p. 95), this attack will inflict a FRACTURE upon the hit (since you hit zero Resolve). That means it will also turn off several useful Master Anomaly skills and impact your total maximum Mind pool as well.
Like I said, save Mind for an AVOID!
Abyssal Rift: The Archon will declare a countdown of 3 seconds, then call “Abyssal Rift”. The Outsider can go OOG and take a willing or incapacitated individual in physical contact with them into the Mortis Amaranthine. This leads to a Grave Mind Scene in which the target does not lose Infection. The Outsider observes the scene until the Gravemind notices and ejects the individual violently. Make a player note that the next Grave Mind scene will be intense and malevolent. This rift allows the Archon to escape (or ENTER) virtually any area by transporting themselves through the Abyss.
These are incredibly dangerous attacks, and you’ll likely get a chance to experience them firsthand if you encounter the Archons this weekend. Certain items in the Emerald Arsenal can offer defenses to these attacks, so choose wisely!
global effects
The last mode of attack are unique to the Archon. When an Archon enters play, it will be with the NPC or ST representing the creature itself, but they will also be accompanied by a Guide wearing a green headband. These Guides will periodically call out these global effects.
There is no limit to how many times an Archon can use these attacks, but they all have a brief cooldown after use. We won’t be calling multiple Sever Imprints in a row, but you could see several of these abilities over the course of an encounter with the creatures.
Sever Imprint: The Archon will call “By My Voice, Lineages in Bleed Out, Sever Imprint, Murder”. This is an incredibly deadly attack. Characters in Bleed Out when this skill is called immediately DIE. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 Brass. And a BMV is a 50-foot radius of effect, so this will cover most of the battlefield and even passes through walls, doors, and obstacles.
As this is a Sound of My Voice effect (p. 106), very few abilities can stop this attack. You can’t Interfere it, because you won’t meet the requirements to be a target. You can’t use a Sosweet Kopis to avoid the effect, cause that only stops Area of Effects (p. 102). You can’t use the effects of a Phalanx Doyen and the OOPH Barrier Shield for two reasons — first, you can’t use a Shield or an effect while in Bleed Out (p. 103), and the Shield specifically excludes effects “called by a Guide”.
The Murder effect CAN be stopped, and this is the ONLY way to survive this attack other than not being Bleed Out in the first place. Anything that prevents a Killing Blow also stops a Murder effect. There are THREE major effects (outside of plot items like the Emerald Arsenal) that stop this: the Striker’s Coat armor, the use of Proficient Faithful Spirit (p. 136), or being inside the Master Biogenetics (p. 137) area of effect.
Aberrant Consumption: The guide will periodically call “By My Voice, Aberrant Consumption, Devour 5 Mind”. Anyone in the area loses 5 mind points, and the creature gains a benefit. The haunting aura of the Archon saps your will and constantly draws from Lineages and enemies nearby. These frequent attacks will drain your Mind and make it harder to Avoid and fight back against the monsters. Remember, very few abilities make you immune to By My Voice calls, so this is something to watch out for.
Frequency Inversion: The last global effect is the skill that you WANT to hear the Guide call out. Upon Archon being made VULNERABLE by some plot mechanic, the Guide will call “By My Voice, Frequency Inversion, Archon Vulnerable for 30 Seconds.” This means you will have a limited amount of time to hurt the Archon, so make those precious seconds count!
That’s a lot to remember, so we will also cover some of these Skills during our opening announcements and you’ll get some chances to experience them in person soon enough. Like the Abyssal Attacks, several of the Emerald Arsenal effects can offer protection against these Global Effects — if they are ready in time!
Nope, nope, nope, nope…
OTHER THREAT SKILLS OF NOTE
Oh, did you think that the Archons were the only dangerous thing in the darkness? The Long Night draws forth all manners of the creepy and unexplained, and they often have some peculiar abilities and dangerous skills to use against their prey. I hope you aren’t caught ALONE IN THE DARK.
Anomaly Response Healing: Any use of Psionic Abilities within earshot of the [REDACTED] declares “Anomaly Response: Healing”. Heal all Body.
Discorporate - [REDACTED] can declare “BLINK” and leave a scene as they fade out of reality. The [REDACTED] can leave an area at any time, even if someone uses a “No Escape” effect.
Invulnerable - In short, [REDACTED] can never truly be “killed” in any way that we can recognize. They have no Body, no Armor, or any other way to be physically harmed. They are threats to survive, not kill or defeat...
Ranged and Melee Immunity - Call “No Effect” or “Reduced” to any damage calls or similar effects.
Unnatural Creature - Call “No Effect” to any use of Mangle or Knockout. These creatures can never be killed, outside of plot effects
Alluring Visage (Psionic Mutation): The [REDACTED] can attract any Lineages near it, who must immediately proceed within melee range of the threat. Once they have reached that point, they may leave. Call “PSIONIC: By My Voice, Alluring Visage, Attract all Lineages”. Countered by Mental Endurance for a 5-minute period.
Stunning Strike: The tendrils of the [REDACTED] are coated in a neurotoxin. Call “10 damage, STUN!”. The [REDACTED]can use OVERPOWER once per strike attempt if this strike is Avoided. The Stun effect may be ignored with Balance, but you still take the damage unless Avoided.
It’s time for Winter Lights!
wrap up
That’s it for today folks! We have a cool event planned, and Maenad and the team have been hard at work this month getting some surprises and dangers ready for the Premiere event. We can’t wait to show you what we have in store, and we are excited to see each of you in just a few days. See you soon Vados!