It’s Jonathan here with a quick DR:TX rules update for my Rules Ramble this week!
We are introducing some changes to how we handle PFA Requests at DR:TX, and we want to share them with you here. We will have two different ways of learning a Profession Focus Achievement (PFA) going forward — ST-Driven PFA Requests and Player-Driven PFA Requests. This means that you no longer have to wait for a ST to write a story for your next PFA, but can have another PLAYER teach you the PFA instead!
TL;DR: You can learn a PFA from a player teacher, with at least ONE HOUR of roleplay. yOU STILL GOTTA ENTER A Pfa REQUEST ON THE WEBSITE.
Let’s look at what that means for you.
Wait, what is a PFA?
PFAs, or Profession Focus Achievements are found on p. 143 in the DR Corebook. These are thematic “titles” that you add your character sheet once you have unlocked at least a Proficient-tier Skill. For instance, once you have Proficient Medical, you can qualify to buy the Graverobber PFA. While these titles do nothing by themselves, they unlock new abilities of Master-tier crafted items and procedures. PFAs are occasionally used in Research, Zones of Mechanics, and Faction Items in the DR:TX game.
If you have the right PFA, you can use certain equipment and procedures in some new and powerful ways, though these generally cost around 20 mind or 1 Resolve to use (or both!). That means you’ll be limited to how many times in a game or 12s you can use them, especially if you don’t have a lot of Mind. Not every piece of equipment has a PFA ability, and not every PFA ability is directly related to the Skill that is needed for that equipment. For instance, you might have a Firearm like the Slappi Revolver that has a PFA ability that uses Combat Tactics instead of the Projectile Skill.
when can I buy a PFA?
You can purchase your first PFA after you have spent 100 XP total on a character, but there is a 6-month “cool down” until you can buy your next PFA after that. This means you can effectively only get two PFAs a year, unless you have a National or Premiere event that allows more. Each PFA costs 10 XP to learn, but there is no limit to how many PFAs you can have as long as you have the qualifying Skills (I mean, I guess the limit is 40, since that’s the total number of PFAs…).
This means that most folks can earn their first PFA on your 13th home event played, even if you don’t buy extra XP. Bravado folks can expect to hit this point sometime during their second season, but if you purchase extra XP each game you can unlock this after only NINE home games.
PFAs are definitely something you have some time to decide on when you first start, so there’s no real rush for new players to worry about this right away. I’ve found it real helpful to read over various blueprints and talk with your friends in game about what PFA might be right for you. As additional blueprints come out, you might even see some different PFAs become more useful.
Why are we making this change?
First, this echoes a change we made to Personal Plot Requests a few months ago. We’ve had a lot of requests for PFAs recently, so we want to still make sure that our STs can help write a story that inspires them and sparks their creativity. This change allows us to make sure that everyone has a chance to get a ST-Driven PFA Request that wants one, while allowing those that want the benefits faster to have a different option.
Secondly, PFAs do nothing by themselves from a mechanical perspective and there’s no real reason to gatekeep them. You must build equipment in game for them to have any function, and that requires scrap, herb, blueprints, or Brass. That 10 XP you spent on a PFA could have been spent on Body, Mind, or another Skill. It’s a choice that’s just as balanced as any other when building a character.
Lastly, we’ve also had a lot of folks request PFA mods requesting specific characters with that PFA to be involved, so we’d like to lean into that a bit more. Since adding PFAs to your sheet functions much like Skills in practice, we’d like to use a resource that we already enjoy — the player interaction of in-character teaching.
what does the book actually require?
This new process for DR:TX will still comply with the DR Corebook, starting on p. 144. The book requires a few specific things:
The player must enter a Plot Request with their local branch (that’s us!)
They must have at least 100 XP spent on their character.
They must have the related Skill at Proficient-tier or higher.
They must have 10 XP to spend to learn the PFA.
They must not have purchased a PFA within the last 6 months.
The PFA scene takes place over a “number” of months (that number can be, and usually is 1).
That’s it.
PFA Requests are no longer like the Advanced Profession Trials of 2.0, and the impact they have on the game is much smaller. This doesn’t have to be a grueling process you can fail, or something that takes several months. There are no fancy Item Cards, and it’s not something that requires a Director to be in charge of controlling access to it. It’s about the story, not proving something.
This plot request is not intended to determine if a character is”worthy” of a Profession Focus Achievement; instead, it’s a way to provide story to make the adding of a Profession Focus Achievement more enjoyable. (p. 144, DR Corebook)
So let’s look at the two ways to learn a PFA during a DR:TX game.
Player-Driven PFA Requests
This new option will allow a character to LEARN the new PFA from an existing character with that PFA, much like learning a Skill. This does NOT replace the other method to request a PFA, but simply adds another option.
Let’s go through what this requires:
Find another player in game with that PFA, and let them know you want them as a teacher. Work together to decide on a story for the teaching process.
The player that wants to learn a PFA selects the “PFA from a fellow Player” on our Personal Plot Request page. The goal is to still involve staff in the request, both so we can make sure we follow the rulebook, but really so we can make sure it is scheduled in a timely manner (and that your player teacher will be at the next game, for instance).
You can also send an email to info@dystopiarisingtx.com!
The minimum time to “learn” this PFA is ONE HOUR in game. This process should be unique to both the PFA and the players involved in the teaching and learning process. This can be as exactly as involved or as minimalistic as you want.
This time can be broken up and does not need to happen at once, and you can use other Skills while learning (See the “Teaching a Character” rules on p. 98). It can take longer if you want, so we encourage you to lean into it. If you decide it should take three games to learn Graverobber, we won’t stop you!
After you are done, include the teacher’s Player Number in the column on the right hand side of your character sheet that you use for new Skills.
Once you’ve completed the story of your training, or that one hour, you’ll have access to the PFA for use immediately in game.
After the game, submit a comment about your experience in Event Feedback, and we will nominate your teacher for CAPS or a Community Achievement if they did a particularly great job.
The goal of the Player-Driven PFA Request is to make the experience feel special to the teacher AND student. You will have no ST resources or NPC help, so we want to make sure this a fun scene for everyone involved.
You do not need staff permission to plan your own scenes among friends or to say that something fun and exciting (or traumatic and dramatic!) happened off screen to your character.
ST-Driven PFA requests
So maybe a player teaching a PFA doesn’t appeal to you, or maybe you’ve picked that one PFA that NO ONE has in Bravado. Maybe you just don’t want the one player with that PFA to be the teacher, and there’s no other choices. Maybe you had your heart set on a personal mod. That’s perfectly fine.
An ST-Driven PFA Request will continue to function EXACTLY how it did previously. This is a great way to acquire an NPC teacher for a rare PFA, or capture the feeling of those old "Advanced Profession Trials” of 2.0. Remember, the goal of these requests is not to prove if you are “worthy”, but just to tell a good story.
Enter a Personal Plot Request, and choose the option for “PFA from an ST”.
This request will be normally fulfilled within the next 1-3 games, depending on our ST resources and availability.
This request itself will take place over ONE game as a mod run by an ST or Guide, and at the end of the mod you will earn access to the PFA.
The exact description and content of this mod will be determined by the ST that chooses to write the mod. It could be as simple as a Zone of Mechanics, or it could involve a face NPC with an elaborate scene, but we will strive to work with you to craft a cool, memorable story.
If your request is not picked after 3 games, you can resubmit your request. Your Gamerunners and STs can even work with you to help tailor the next request to make it more achievable.
Generally, when we are planning out our next game, the Storytelling Senate chooses from the list of plot requests those stories that speak to them and spark their creativity. We work our way down the list, so it may be a few games before we get to you. We’re looking for compelling stories that fit well into our setting and sometimes a story is just hard to translate to compelling mods and NPC interactions.
We reserve the right not to schedule personal plot for events where the requestee’s attendance is in question, so please pre-register, and contact us if you have a pending request and won’t be attending!
One final note — If a participant is given a corrective action beyond a verbal warning, they will lose access to all of their Profession Focus Achievements during the duration of that corrective action! (p. 144).
Wrap up
That’s it for today! We have two more Rules Rambles before our next game, so next week I’m going to talk a bit more about Personal Plot Requests. Since we’ve updated the process for PFAs, the advice I can offer will be useful on those requests as well!
Make sure you get your advanced tickets to our next event, COLLECTION DAY!!!! It’s going to be an event to remember!