It’s Jonathan here with our first weekly blog post for the upcoming event, THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS! I could probably say the phrase “zombie pirates” and that would be enough hype for most of you, but here’s a blog post anyways!

This is leadup for our March DR:TX event written by our Overarc STs, Ed Sampson and Joel Vold. Today we will talk a bit about some story teasers, some core mechanics and concepts for the event, and a reminder of some of the benefits of pre-registration for one of our events. We will also reveal the details of one of the key mechanics of the weekend, THE CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT.

Our Feedback Form is up for our last event! Did something really amazing, exciting, or tragic happen at game? Was there a person who helped make your time better and welcomed you to the community? Perhaps nominate them for a Community Achievement! Tell us what you loved about game so we can make more of the content that you love and enjoy. Conversely, if there is something you did not enjoy, or something which needs to be addressed, we would really like to hear about that too.
We have also featured our recent Boffer Donation Campaign on Facebook. This will be continuing into our next event so you can earn some CAPS by donating your gently used boffers! You can earn 25 caps for something we have to rebuilt, 50 caps for something that is useable right away, and 100 caps for something that is way too nice. See Shan at our next event to earn your caps and help the game replace some of our damaged boffers.

TICKETS FOR THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS are on sale now! don’t miss OUT!!!

THIS POST WILL DISCUSS A FEW LIGHT STORY SPOILERS FOR OUR NEXT EVENT, SO WE HOPE YOU ENJOY WHAT WE HAVE IN STORE!

Our artwork for this post was designed and generated by Shan Lind. The Canticle of Waves was written by Shan Lind.

Let’s talk a little bit about the story of the next event…

*Awash in wind and sun was that place as sharp as whalesalt where the jagged atolls and rocks upon which dashed the warm and dark waves of the sickly Cimeran Sea...* — The Canticle of the Waves

The Premise

In the weeks after the Long Night, the threat of piracy has increased throughout the San Saba. Merchant vessels of the Junkerpunks and the RRC alike are going missing along the shores of the Spoiled Coast and beyond, all the way into the interior rivers, waterways, and lakes of the San Saba. The impact on trade has been immediate but attempts to track down the source of the increased piracy has revealed only ghost stories and legends of crusty old sailors. But it is clear that the threat has escalated.

Now, patches of the inky black Dark Water have returned, and it’s brought with it a daemon of the old world. Fierce and terrible ships now prowl the waters of the San Saba, and terrifying new Zed wade to shore, intent on more than just carnage. The fisherman’s tale of the “Black Spot” has proven true, with people finding strange growths on their hands and dying shortly after. And worse, the Mortis itself seems to be affected, barely returning anyone at all.

Out on the horizon, a massive Juggernaut awaits. The largest ship ever seen on the waters, a marvel of oldcestor technology, it sits at the helm of a powerful Amaranthine Armada, choking off settlements and sacking all ships in their wake. Cannon fire rakes the shores seemingly at random, and raiding parties sail up and down the riverways and coast, taking whatever, and whoever, they can.

Hope seems lost, but this is the San Saba. Already, Junkerpunk captains, San Saba Republic privateers, and ships from all over the region are mobilizing to combat these new threats, and they’ve chosen Bravado as the staging point. The choices made on the shores of our tiny town will determine who is left in the wake of the Amaranthine Armada, and who succumbs to the will of the Strainscourge of the Seas…

Amaymon would eat all the shambling and shuffling undead that would otherwise emerge from her waters, and she would in return grow even fatter on the blood of the common strain, which she was allowed one per sunrise of her own choosing forever. - The Canticle of the Waves

Nautical Nightmares

It is the nature of seafarers to be superstitious. Living and working on a ship in the middle of the real sea, much less the apocalyptic seas of Dystopia Rising, is a very dangerous job. Over time bluejackets and sailors have invented stories and rules to help them believe they could avoid terrible fates. The origins of many superstitions are lost in time, but some arose due to the natural tendency to look to the supernatural for causes of strange phenomena and to exaggerate mysterious occurrences, including in the post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Some sailors fear the dark water. The postapocalyptic biodiesel used as a fuel for ships and caravans alike is ultimately formed of carbon, compressed of dead things and decayed rot. While most of the sea in the Spoiled Coast is covered in some kind of film of oil, it can pool in massive fields as far as the eye can see. Sometimes, this phenomenon called DARK WATER can serve as an impromptu morgue, half-remembering what life might be, releasing partially formed things that aren’t quite zed and not quite anything else. The oil slicks themselves can sometimes mimic life and drown unfortunate ships in an inky, oily blob of death. A superstition common in the Clutch tells that “black tides in the morning are a sailor’s grim warning”.

Some sailors fear bad weather. The ravaged coastline of the Spoiled Coast and the Clutch suffers the extremes of poor weather, from radiation infused storms, oily acidic rain, or terrible hurricanes blown inland from the far sea. Rain is a constant state at sea, and the sailors on the waterways of the San Saba are used to poor weather. Even the most novice sailor has sailed through the worst weather imaginable, and their skills are unmatched due to a lifetime of survival in poor conditions. This constant danger has hardened the seafaring people of the San Saba and is at the heart of their stubbornness and love of the freedom of the sea and sky.

Some sailors fear the depths below. Beneath the oilslick waves of the Spoiled Coast, light disperses entirely only a few feet beneath the surface. Any sailor that has fallen overboard has nightmares of the cold and unquenchable darkness under the surface. The horrible dark, blind eternity is so complete as to be opaque, and without visual depth. Beneath that, however, is the unspoiled salt water of the Deep. Here, there is no sunlight - for the film of oil, some twenty feet thick, blocks it entirely. Instead, there is the low and nonspecific glow of bioluminescence, cast off by strange megafauna whose ecosystem dissolved thousands of years ago, replaced with crude oil and shadow.

Some sailors fear the dead. Every seaman has also heard stories of ghosts and paranormal activities haunting ships, especially after an unfortunate event has occurred on board. Many believe that spirits of those who have lost their lives on ships remain there for a long time. Many even make stories of their unusual experiences with ghosts and why they fear going to a particular area on the ship. In case a series of accidents or mishaps have taken place on board, it is said that the ship is cursed, and the blame is put on the spirits that are haunting the ship.

Some sailors fear zombies and raiders. What happens when a person dies at sea in a world with the Mortis Amaranthine? With no one to dream of the Gravemind, when a person dies at sea their body truly rots. Once the body is returned close enough to shore for the Mortis to sense its presence, the Gravemind reacts with violent force to reclaim the biomass that was stolen from them. Thus, sailors across the sea prefer to dump the dead overboard rather than risk a deadly return to the bottom of the ocean at port. Some legends tell that those left to rot on a ship listless at sea will return as the Drowned Ones, deadly Raiders that pilot ships covered in the flesh of their victims or worse. Regardless of the reason, keeping the dead on a vessel at sea is the worst of bad luck that a sailor can imagine.

ghost stories and legends

Imagine then, the ghost stories of a massive ship filled with the restless dead, the JUGGERNAUT, piloted by an evil spirit of the sea, JOANNA WAVES, the Strainscourge of the Sea. Some even say the anchor of the Juggernaut plunges into the depths of the Grave Mind itself. Known by Saltwise and Junkerpunks through the San Saba, Joanna Waves is a name given to the dark mistress of the evil spirits of the deep, often seen in various shapes, resting and waiting in the rigging before wild storms or shipwrecks and other disasters, always there to welcome new sailors to their watery graves. Some say she is flesh and blood, and simply harnesses the silly stories of old seadogs in her favor, but others still speak of unholy powers and darkness within her. Few have survived an encounter with the Strainscourge and all anyone really knows about her is second-hand tales of dread shared over a hooch in a damp bar near the waterfront.

Joanna Waves is superstition come to life, but sometimes if you believe in something hard enough in the San Saba, it becomes very, very, very real…

During our March event, THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS, we will be exploring some old ghost stories, legends, and a very real threat that has sailed into our town of Bravado. This is a pirate themed event, with spooky zombies, dangerous new enemies, plenty of sailing and submarine mods, and a strange malady that haunts those touched by the myth and legends of superstition.

Ed and Joel have cooked up some fun stories for this event, and we will be sharing more over the coming weeks. For now, let’s look at one of the key story mechanics of the weekend, THE CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT.

The Mortis Amaranthine opened up around them like a billowing sheet, an unfurling sail in a sweet, blind wind, and the Black Pharaoh plunged into its blood waters like a knife. Under a sky filled with unfamiliar stars that glowed like flesh with firelight through it, the Black Pharaoh began its sluicing, plunging journey towards the nearest port of call… — The Canticle of the Waves

The CURSE OF THE Black Spot

One of the brand-new mechanics for this weekend will be THE CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT. This is an affliction a few folks learned about on the Sunday of our last event, but it is quickly spreading. This is a new PSIONIC DISEASE, capable of spreading in strange and unusual ways to the population of Bravado.

This Keyword effect will be printed on one of our new Illustrated Item Cards, similar to other events this season and will be given to you in the form of a card with the following text and images:

Here’s the text of the Local Plot Card for those that may have trouble reading the image above:

You gain the [BLACK SPOT] Keyword while you possess this Local Plot Card. At the start of each 12s, you must either choose to SERVE or RESIST the dread call of the Black Spot.
SERVE - Go out of character to the Juggernaut site to become a THRALL of Joanna Waves. After your service as an NPC, you may return this card to a Guide and lose the Keyword.
RESIST - You lose ALL Mind Points, and the 12s does not refresh your Mind. You must keep this card until the next 12s, where you may choose to Resist or Serve again.

If you contract this disease, you’ll place the mark of the BLACK SPOT somewhere on you. We can provide makeup at Ops if you don’t have your own, or our NPCs will also have ways to represent the mark during certain mods. You can choose to keep the mark of death visible, or you can hide it from your friends, but regardless of where the curse manifests on your body it reacts to the passage of time…

At each 12s of our March event, at midnight and noon, those afflicted with the Black Spot will have a choice to make. Do they serve the wishes of the dread pirate captain Joanna Waves and join her forces to kill their friends? Or do they resist the siren call of the Juggernaut, and drain their resources to fight back against the tide of undead sailors?

If you choose to SERVE, you will report to the in-game site where the Juggernaut lies anchored, and you will be given a quick costume change and a Guide to provide you with the rules of the upcoming encounter. From there, you will temporarily become a new horde of undead THRALLS, sent to bring their victims back to serve at the feet of Joanna Waves. Once your NPC threat has been slain and dealt with, you will be free to return back to the Guide and turn in your Black Spot card, free from the terrible curse of Joanna Waves.

For a moment, at least.

If you choose to RESIST instead, you lose all of your current Mind points and no longer refresh at the 12s. This means you’ll need to rely on a meal or brew to recover your lost Mind points, spend CAPS on a Blue Plate Special, or have someone restore your Mind with entertainment or psionics. More importantly, you’ll be out of Mind for the upcoming wave of your friends as undead THRALLS of Joanna Waves.

As insult to injury, if you choose to resist, you’ll KEEP the curse of the Black Spot and you’ll have to make the same decision again at the next 12s.

Psionic Diseases

The Black Spot is perhaps the rarest form of disease in the wastes, a PSIONIC DISEASE. This kind of disease is mentioned on page 192 in the DR Core Book. While more mundane diseases like Bad Brain or the Necrophage can ravage the unwary via infection, these types of diseases can spread in unique ways that evade common resistances.

The Black Spot is a unique threat, as it is not spread via bacteria or virus, but instead by the act of psionic superstition. Common resistances, like the Mutant Strain advantage or equipment like the Helscape Deathmask won’t stop you from gaining the mark of the Black Spot. Once you’ve heard of the LEGEND OF THE BLACK SPOT, it’s already too late.

There’s two primary ways to “catch” this strange curse:

Inflict Disease (Threat Skill): If one of the minions of the Strainscourge of the Seas inflicts their insidious curse on you, you’ll gain the keyword [Black Spot], and be bound in service once more. Certain minions will be able to INFLICT DISEASE as part of their attacks, and it will be as part of a Cannibalize call. If you are knocked into Bleed Out by Joanna Wave’s army of undead, you could be vulnerable to the Curse of the Black Spot.
Superstition & Stories: Ghost stories have an insidious power in the San Saba, especially while the Juggernaut is nearby. If you partake in the telling of the Legend of the Black Spot, or if you simply HEAR the tale of woe told by a spooky old seadog, you could be inflicted with the Curse of the Black Spot. Certain enemies and even LCs may be able to spread this disease keyword through the power of memetic influence, affecting everyone in earshot with a By My Voice call. Be warned — those campfire tales have suddenly grown dangerous!

Lastly, this affliction will be OPT IN as well. If you think your character has heard the Legend of the Black Spot told on a dark and stormy night, then you can simply come to Ops and receive the Curse of the Black Spot card. You can simply choose to be marked by the disease, even from the start of the game.

Clearly, this is a problem for Bravado, but I think it’s one that will be fun and rewarding.

I hope that you choose to engage with the CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT. There will be ways to research the cause of this strange disease, ways to seek out a cure, and ways to fight back against the dread pirate Joanna Waves. The Black Spot is simply a herald of her arrival, but it’s not the only threat you’ll face in March.

Remember, you will always be able to opt out of mechanics like this by using the OK Check-In System in game. Just thumbs down the encounter and turn in your BLACK SPOT card to a Guide.

This is the blind and screaming moment we have dreamt our most beteous nights to, siblings mine. Venerated are we, and is our pursuit, by the demons and men who have died and lived before and behind us. It is in these deep tissues that we will meet the old death of man, and the god that death begot. - The Canticle of the Waves

wrap up

That’s it today Vados! We are excited to tell a story of zombie pirates and curses, and I hope you are excited to attend our next event THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS! Make sure to get your tickets in advance, so you can save time at the door getting your character sheet. Save that time to tell spooky ghost stories, and maybe even the LEGEND OF THE BLACK SPOT…

buy your ticket today!!!

Next week, we will delve a bit more into this specific ghost story of the BLACK SPOT that some of you might have heard, and a bit more into the Characters of Note for this weekend.

I’ll leave you with some poetry from the Canticle of the Waves, a Final Knight text written by our own Shan Lind, that has some illuminating tales within…

"By the Bone and by the Brack,
Bear the Crown both Fore and Back,
Neath the Waters of the Grave,
In the Swelling Deadman’s Waves,
Seek the Whale who Was a Man,
Pursue Demon Leviathan.
Amass the Alexandrian,
Relics Left of Fallen Lands.
Kill the Whale and Keep the Gold,
Buried ‘neath this old Atoll.
Keep it Secret all your Life,
And with your Ivory Treasure die.
And as a Lich go into Death,
Pursue Demon with Corpses’s Breath.
Hunt him through the Grave until,
At last Leviathan is killed. "
— The Canticle of the Waves