It’s Jonathan here with our next weekly blog post for the upcoming event, THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS! This is leadup for our March DR:TX event written by our Overarc STs, Ed Sampson and Joel Vold. Today we will talk in detail about the terrifying attacks that will occur at noon and midnight as characters respond to the Call of the Dread Captain, the terrifying Black Spot Raids, and follow the Legend of the Black Spot to a grim conclusion. As this is a bit of a new idea, I’d like to walk through each step of these repeatable mods so you know what to expect should you choose to SERVE and even a bit of what to prepare for if you choose to RESIST.
A few reminders before we begin:
Amber wrote a neat blog post on some updates to our Plot Request system. In short, Personal Plot Requests, PFA Requests, and Faction Interviews are now being handled on a month-to-month basis. Amber will be sending out some emails this week to the folks that were not selected, so you can resubmit for our April event.
Check out our Wish List and earn some CAPS!
Please help us with our Boffer Donation Campaign in March! Next event, 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 UNTIL FRIDAY, MARCH 3RD! DON’T MISS OUT!!!
THIS POST WILL DISCUSS A FEW mechanic SPOILERS FOR OUR NEXT EVENT, SO IF YOU WANT TO DISCOVER THIS INFORMATION IN GAME WE WILL HAVE A NEW BLOG POST NEXT WEEK.
Photo credits in this post are from Max Pohlmeier.
Let’s talk a bit about what happens should you contract the CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT…
The Black Spot
Like I mentioned in previous Rules Rambles, we will be introducing a new Illustrated Item Card next game. When your character gains the [BLACK SPOT] Keyword from a Threat ability, hearing the Legend of the Black Spot, or you choose to OPT IN to the plot, you’ll receive one of these cards detailing the rules of the condition.
In addition to being a Keyword, at each of the 12s, any character with the [Black Spot] will be faced with a choice — to SERVE as a Thrall of the Dread Captain and report for duty on the Juggernaut, the flagship of the Dread Captain, or to RESIST and face down the pirate assault of the Juggernaut’s undead crew.
Here’s an example of the item card you’ll see in game:
So let’s talk about a bit of the Frequently Asked Questions about this condition:
The Call of the Dread Captain to SERVE or RESIST is not a Psionic ability, and the only way to resist this power is to spend ALL of your Mind Points and not Refresh at the 12s by using the RESIST option. No crafted equipment or San Saba Sundry (like a Grave Bell Shard) can stop this, as it’s not a Psionic Attack or Compulsion effect. It’s a curse, after all!
The Grave Bell Shard will still be useful against certain attacks from the Sirens, which we will talk about below!
The Black Spot is a psionic disease, but it’s insidious in the fact that it cannot be resisted by normal means. The ability of the Mutant Lineage to resist diseases, or items like the Helscape Deathmask do not work to protect you from this disease. However, if the Black Spot is delivered to you by a Threat Skill, that skill call or strike may be Avoided, or if delivered with a white packet, you may use Mental Endurance. If the attack hits you and resolves, it’s too late.
Remember, you can still opt out of this effect by using the OK Check-In System!
The Call of the Dread Captain will require you to temporarily act as an NPC threat, so if you are Non-Combat, don’t worry. We will have some special tasks during the assault even for folks that can’t participate in normal boffer combat, since the Juggernaut has mighty CANNONS!
Since the Threats will be NPCs, this also means this won’t count as CvC or lock your character for participating. You aren’t in full control of yourself during this event and will instead represent one of the Thralls of the Dread Captain, a new monster template introduced for this event.
The assault on Bravado during the 12s could be character deadly. Depending on how many people succumb to the Black Spot, it could be a tough fight and you might be outnumbered. If you are interested in staying alive, make sure you have a plan to survive (or hide) during the attack!
There is still a bit of risk for those characters that answer the call to SERVE, which we will cover below.
We will have our amazing photographers out for the attack on Saturday afternoon at Noon, so if you’ve been wanting a cool action shot of your LC, make sure you are dressed to impress and ready to fight!
Now that we’ve covered some of the questions we’ve received this week, let’s walk through exactly what happens at the 12s, from both perspectives.
The Call of the dread captain
To start things off, the Call of the Dread Captain is going to be announced at the 12s by ringing the Grave Bell at the Crossroads in sequence, nine total times. You’ll hear three rings, followed by a pause, and repeated twice. This is not a call for the Groundskeepers to answer the newly dead or to use Necrokinetics, but we will probably have a few on hand just in case.
A Guide will repeat the following call at our major population centers, like the General Store and the Depot, after ringing the Grave Bell:
“BY MY VOICE, ALL BLACK SPOT, CONSUME! ONE LIFE BEFORE THE MAST!”
NOTE: While we are using the Sound of my Voice call for this effect, this cannot be stopped by cheeky things like a OOPH Barrier Shield as the call will be delivered by a Guide (a specific exclusion in the text of this blueprint, by the way. It’s almost like we checked!).
Once this happens, if you have the Black Spot you need to make an immediate decision: SERVE or RESIST.
Let’s talk about each step in detail…
The Call to Serve
If you are marked by the [Black Spot] and you choose to take the easy path and SERVE, a few things immediately happen to your character:
You must go out of character to the staging area at the site of the Juggernaut, represented in game at the Tree House location near the Maw. In character, inky black chains emerge from the Grave Mind to claim your character and drag them to the Ship of the Damned.
Bring your melee weapons and shields with you. We will have some Standard boffers available to hand out to those that are unarmed, but you can simply use your favorite boffer combos instead. We want you to be comfortable with your weapons you use to kill your friends!
Bring your item card for the Black Spot. This is the primary way this condition can be cured, and after you’ve served your time as Joanna’s Thralls you’ll be able to turn this in.
We will have a place to secure your item cards and supply bags if you like, but these will remain out of character until you are no longer a Thrall of the Dread Captain.
We will have makeup, masks, and costume overlays at the staging area to mark you as a Thrall of the Dread Captain. If you have a particular personal makeup kit you use instead, please bring that with you.
Once you arrive at the staging area, you will be instructed about the details of the NPC threats you will be playing. Come prepared to have a good time and help give a challenging threat to your friends. We expect the raid event to last no longer than 30 minutes to an hour.
NOTE: While you are still technically “you”, you will be playing a threat type known as a TEMPLATE. As long as you are a Thrall of the Dread Captain, you are officially an NPC and not your PC. Your very imprint is CONSUMED by the Call of the Dread Captain and TRANSFORMED into something entirely different while you serve Joanna Waves.
Once you’ve been given your stats, you will follow Joanna Waves, the Strainscourge of the Seas and her Sirens of the Dread Captain into town to abduct, infect, and kill all that oppose the whims of the Dread Captain.
One important note:
as a Thrall of the Dread Captain, your goal is to disrupt and pressure players, but not to immediately kill everyone.
We want to make it a fun fight, not a steam roll. NONE of the Thralls will be specifically Killing Blow Active, as this will be reserved for Joanna Waves and her immediate crew. If you get knocked down and cannibalized, death is definitely still possible, but the Thralls won’t be throwing stuff like Murder.
Let’s cover a few basics of playing a Template.
Thralls of the Dread Captain
While your character is answering the Call of the Dread Captain, you will have a few common traits as one of the Thralls serving Joanna Waves with one life at the mast. In our tradition of Radical Trust in DR:TX, we are going to spoil most of the abilities of these Thralls, so you will know exactly what to expect.
Thralls will have their own pool of Body, with at least 30 Body. It doesn’t matter how much XP or health your Tenderhorn had, you’ll have enough health to be a challenging foe. Thralls will also have Threshold stats, so depending on how many are present for the raid they may be a bit tougher than you expect.
Thralls are Undead. They will have the [Undead] and [Horde] keywords and will be vulnerable to things that impact these keywords. This also means they have common undead abilities like Cannibalism and immunities to Fear.
Thralls are adept to the sailing life and have unique resistances. All Thralls will have some ability to Balance, and they have SEA LEGS. This means that any use of Mangle Limb on their legs will be ignored with a call of “No Effect!”. Sorry!
Thralls are Infectious. All Thralls can spread the Curse of the Black Spot and will do so while Cannibalizing a victim. Each character playing a Thrall will be given several Item Cards to pass out to their victims. This is a Strike, so it CAN be Avoided or blocked.
Thralls will have other combat Skills. While Thralls will not have access to powerful damaging effects like Break or Mangle, they will have additional skills they can use against you. This will remain a bit of surprise until you see them in play, but you should expect common combat skills and damage effects befitting a zombie pirate that are not long lasting but still dangerous enough.
Their weapons are Raider weapons and must be “chopped”. While it might be tempting to try to loot the Thralls of their LC-owned weapons, the weapons they have are not usable by players. In fact, none of their gear can be taken as long as they are a Thrall. Instead, if you have the Basic Salvaging skill, you can collect Salvage item cards if you don’t let them rot away first. Once they’ve returned to the Juggernaut, it’s too late!
Thralls are tough to kill. All Thralls have the Tenacious ability. This means that if not properly dealt with, a simple Killing Blow isn’t enough to stop them. After 30 seconds, they will get back up with full Body, ready to kill and serve again. The skill Basic Combat Tactics or items that inflict Murder are useful to stop Thralls from rising again.
Joanna can keep the Thralls in play. The Dread Captain will have multiple ways to heal her crew and keep the Thralls in her service. One common ability you should expect to hear is: “All Thralls, Rise Again!”. Any Thralls in bleed out and who have not been double tapped will regain all their Body immediately. Even worse, Joanna can use this ability while in bleed out herself. As long as she has Thralls nearby, she will be a major threat!
After the black spot Raid
When your Thrall is eventually defeated, or if the Raid has not found any victims for some time, you will be returned back to your human form. When you return to the Juggernaut to turn in your weapons and costumes, a few things will happen after you are ready to re-enter play.
First, you return your borrowed boffers, return your costuming, and gather your gear to return to play. We will have some makeup wipes available for those that used makeup, and sanitizing spray for masks. Please help us make sure the props are returned and cleaned!
Next, you LOSE the [Black Spot] Keyword, and you can turn in your item card to the Guides at the Juggernaut. You have been completely CURED of the affliction of the Curse of the Black Spot. This is optional if you have some reason to want to keep the Black Spot but that could have later consequences.
You can still regain the Keyword before the next 12s, so be careful!
Lastly, you return to play exactly where you left, with one major change: You will be in BLEED OUT and dying. Ouch!
This means that if you were off on the lake path when the bell rang, you’ll return approximately to where you left and fall immediately into Bleed Out. If you don’t receive healing or use an Injectable Brew before 5 minutes runs out, you will DIE. Be warned!
So now you understand a bit of what to expect as someone that chose to SERVE the Call of the Dread Captain, but let’s understand a bit about what happens to those that are left behind.
Resisting the Call
If you are marked by the [Black Spot] and you choose to RESIST the urge to serve Joanna Waves aboard her flagship, a few things immediately happen:
You lose ALL Mind Points, setting yourself to 0 Mind.
You do NOT refresh your Mind at the 12s.
You keep the [Black Spot] Keyword until the next 12s.
Now, a few details of note here.
First, while we will be ringing the Grave Bell as close to Noon and Midnight as possible, it’ll take a bit of time for the Guide to move around the camp. So, before you get the idea that “maybe I’ll quickly expend Mind points right before the bell rings”, this effect happens precisely at the 12s, BEFORE you refresh your Mind points (DR Corebook, p. 94), even if you don’t actually hear the bell ring or a Guide shout the call.
Secondly, while this drains your Mind points, it’s not a Devour effect, so items like the Drywater Bitters don’t work to reduce this effect. It effectively takes a titanic amount of effort to resist the urge to submit to the Call, and you are spending the Mind points to avoid the seductive call of the Dread Captain.
Lastly, while you lose your Mind points, you can still regain them through normal means like brews, meals, and psionic powers. Resisting the Call is no different than if you had spent all your Mind points on a tough fight. This means that Culinary experts and farmers will be in high demand during this event, and it might be worth spending CAPS on a Blue Plate Special.
After the Black Spot takes effect, there’s a few things to expect next:
Characters that answer the Call will proceed out of character to the site of the Juggernaut, at the Treehouse near the Maw. You won’t be able to stop them from leaving if they accept the call to SERVE, as inky black chains emerge from the Grave Mind to claim them and drag them to the Ship of the Damned.
This is NOT something you can follow into the Grave Mind via various Necrokinetics or equipment tricks. They aren’t staying in the Grave Mind, but simply traveling through the Near Death. Sorry!
First, we will need time to stat out the characters that report for duty, and our attack won’t happen right at noon or midnight. It’ll probably take a few minutes to get folks ready and give them the stats of their NPCs. Be patient, but we will be along shortly enough to try to kill you all, don’t worry. This would be a good opportunity to chug a brew or repair your armor in the meantime. You know danger is coming soon!
Your friends will be coming to kill you! This has the potential to be a very deadly encounter depending on how many folks answer the call, but they will still be your friends. Make sure you have a plan and be prepared for a tough fight. These Thralls of the Dread Captain will not be normal Shamblers, but are intelligent, vicious pirate threats that can follow orders, open doors, and set ambushes.
The shroud of the Dread Captain temporarily TRANSFORMS your friends into these Threats. Until the effect ends, they cannot be reasoned with or convinced not to follow the orders of the Dread Captain. They also cannot be looted for their normal equipment (so no CvC thefts!), and you cannot interact with anything about their actual character until the transformation ends.
The Dread Captain herself, Joanna Waves, will be part of the Black Spot raids along with several of the deadly Sirens of the Dread Captain. Joanna will be Killing Blow Active and can actively murder and kill your LCs. She will also have ways to keep your friends serving as her Thralls, so it’s imperative that if you want this effect to end you need to do something about the most vicious challenge of them all.
I think this is going to be tough, fun fight, and a bit of a terrifying moment for your characters. What will you do in the face of the endless swarms of the zombie pirates, led by a terrifying Pirate Legend? Run, hide, or fight?
Other Threats during the Black Spot Raid
Before we end today, I want to briefly cover two additional Threats you can expect at midnight and noon. You see, those that serve the Call of the Dread Captain aren’t the only allies Joanna Waves brings to the fight, and you’ll need to be careful a few more dangers out there, including Cannon Fire and Sirens of the Dread Captain.
The Mighty Cannons of the Juggernaut
For our Non-Combat folks that might not be able to participate in combat (or someone that may want to sit out the actual fight part), we have a special task. You see, the Juggernaut is a mighty vessel, with dozens of heavy cannons that can bombard an area and level any resistance that Joanna might face. With the salvos of cannon fire, we need folks to represent the firepower that has been brought to bear upon the town.
You will periodically hear the following call throughout the Black Spot raid:
“CANNON FIRE! BY MY VOICE, 10 DAMAGE, take DOWN!”
This will be represented with an NPC wearing a green headband that will walk towards a specific area and call these attacks from their current position. You will hear either a siren or the NPC will provide a ‘whistling’ noise to alert of the impending shot. We used these mechanics during previous events, and you should be familiar with the concept by now.
These shots will take some time to reload. You should only expect the “cannons” to wait at least 30 seconds between shots. It’ll be a steady bombardment, but if you stay moving you might be able to find cover in time.
The NPC cannot be targeted and is out of character. Please do not hit the NPC with your boffers, especially as they may be a non-combat player.
The cannons will be a sign of an impending raid. Even outside of big Black Spot Raids at noon and midnight, you’ll see various Thralls and Sirens attacking the town. Cannon fire will be a sure sign that you should expect a fight soon.
The attacks are By My Voice calls, but are not a “Guide call”. It’s not just a single projectile being launched by the Juggernaut, but an entire cannonade. This means you cannot use Avoid to stop these attacks. Unlike the Call of the Dread Captain, the Cannon Fire attack can be stopped by things that prevent AOE damage, like the Phalanx Doyen ability of the OOPH Barrier.
You can stop the Take Down effect with Balance, but not the Damage. The AOE effect does include a modifier that causes you to fall down and take a Stun effect. The skill Balance can protect against the Take Down effect, but you still take the damage from the explosion and shrapnel. It’s still best not to be at ground zero when a shot hits.
Buildings are no defense. Remember, Sound of my Voice effects penetrate walls, buildings, windows, and more. Taking shelter in the General Store won’t protect you from the cannon fire of the Juggernaut.
Ouch. But let’s talk about the second deadly threat during a Black Spot Raid.
The Sirens of the Dread Captain
Shortly after the Call of the Dread Captain is heard across Bravado, Joanna Waves will send her deadly Sirens into the fray to hunt down those that dare resist her command to serve at the mast. These are the damned souls that willingly chose to stay with Joanna long after the Call was heard and have doomed themselves to a fate worse than death.
Let’s talk about a few things to expect from these deadly psionic threats:
Sirens are Psionic Undead. They have the [Undead] and [Aberrant] keywords and will be vulnerable to attacks that target these traits. Like the Thralls, they are intelligent, capable of tactics, and can act with stealth and subtlety. They will have similar resistances as the Thralls we mentioned above as well.
Sirens are Killing Blow Active, particularly against those with the [Black Spot]. These unique Undead threats will be played by NPCs and not characters inflicted with the Black Spot. They will generally be portrayed by Guides and Storytellers, and you should expect a deadly challenge, especially if you have chosen to RESIST the call.
Sirens have ways to identify the Black Spot. Sirens will have a number of Threat Skills that will directly target those with this Keyword. One common call to expect is “By My Voice: Compulsion, All Black Spot AGONY 10 Seconds!”. If you have this keyword, you will have to loudly cry out in pain and agony, thus letting the NPC know you are a target. Many of these powers will include the Compulsion tag, so they can be resisted by Mental Endurance or the San Saba Sundry item Grave-Bell Shard.
Sirens can Attract the living with a siren call. Sirens earn their name and have the unique effect to Attract those with the Black Spot. This is a Compulsion effect and be resisted with either Mental Endurance or a Grave Bell Shard, but it’s especially deadly when paired with their next ability, Dark Water.
Sirens can summon Dark Water. One of the more insidious powers of the Siren is to drown their helpless victims with the suffocating Dark Water. The Drowning condition can be found on our Local Rules & Skills page, and we’ve used it during previous games and certain Sailing mods. If delivered with a Dark Water Strike ability, this can be Avoided. If it is a marked area, there’s no escape unless you have a way to survive Dark Water or use advanced skills like Master Enhanced Movement.
DROWNING: If you are unlucky enough to be impacted by Dark Water, you immediately lose ALL Body and enter Bleed Out, unless you have a particular Lineage ability to avoid this effect. Full Dead and Saltwise are completely IMMUNE to this effect, as they either breathe underwater, or don’t need to breathe. The items Helscape Mask and Stormies Chaplain Rigging can also provide some limited protection.
Sirens are stealthy, even in daylight. Sirens are specters and ghosts and can hide even in broad daylight with their Whisper Walk ability. This power functions like Basic Stealth but does not have a restriction of darkness to use. If you see a strange creature with their arm in the cloak position during a Black Spot Raid, you better hope you have Awareness!
These terrifying foes will be headed your way soon, but not unless you get a ticket to our upcoming event, THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS!
Wrap Up
That’s it for today Vados! Thank you for taking the time to read our explanation of the Black Spot Raids and the Call of the Dread Captain. I hope these are helpful, but feel free to pose any more questions you might have on our Facebook page or on Discord. I’ll do my best to answer anything I haven’t addressed when I get a moment!
Next week, we will cover our traditional Rules You Should Know and cover a few last-minute reminders before the event.
Make sure you get your tickets to THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS, and we will see you soon Vados!