It’s Jonathan here with our first weekly blog post for the upcoming event, HELLS OF THE SAN SABA! This is leadup for our April DR:TX event written by our Overarc STs, Ash Sexton, Ren Lewis and Andrew Harper. 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 talk a bit about the scarcity of resources, our new illustrated item card WATER RATIONS, and the mechanical effects of Dehydration.

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.
There was a large March Blueprint Update that occurred this week, and 35 different prints saw some changes and 6 prints were removed from play. You can find more details at the Blueprint Changelog on the National website, but I’ll have a post on this soon.

TICKETS FOR HELLS OF THE SAN SABA 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 photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team.

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

the Premise for HELLS OF SAN SABA

Let’s talk about our upcoming event, as we deal with some of the things that make surviving the apocalypse in the San Saba a living hell…

As Waking falls closer to the ground each day, the effects of its near-unchecked noxious byproducts begin to show more drastic changes than anticipated. Water is contaminated, sinkholes are forming everywhere, and once reliable water sources have since dried up. Drought has plagued Bravado and is bound to spread to the surrounding areas. If left unchecked the parched wasteland will grow and expand to join the Dune Sea, encompassing Bravado and threatening to spread on towards the greater San Saba.
Making matters worse, reports are building of raiders disrupting those attempting to bring much needed relief and supplies. Most alarming are sightings of the crystal encrusted Resonant Raiders. While reports of attacks vary on what raider tribe was involved, all have noted the anomaly of seeing Resonant Raiders mixed in with the tribe that formed the bulk of the raiding party.
With this looming threat in the sky, the earth turning to hell below them, and raiders making things worse, a sense of Despair seems to settle upon the people. What can be done in the face of these ecological disasters? All the while the Grave Council announces that regardless, Collection Day is upon us.
Time is ticking, and with each second Waking is closer to all those who look up to the sky. Can this community, town, and republic handle the heat and outlast this trial by fire?

Raiders AND Collection Day? Sounds like the Burning Season is here early!

resource scarcity

One of the primary themes and Content Warnings of our next event is RESOURCE SCARCITY. The zombie apocalypse is filled with stories that involve this theme, from the struggle to find usable ammo, finding food and water, or even just a safe place to sleep.

Classic zombie stories like Dawn of the Dead, games like The Last of Us and Resident Evil, and even movies like The Book of Eli or The Road deal with the strife and despair that comes from struggling to acquire basic necessities. This concept is deeply tied to the post-apocalyptic world of Dystopia Rising, and we will be focusing in on what this means for you characters during our next event.

This scarcity of resources is aggravated by a few different things during HELLS OF THE SAN SABA:

The Threat of Raiders

Resource scarcity and rampaging raiders are exactly the kind of threat an organized society in the Wasteland is supposed to band together to deal with. This will be the major threat you can expect to face during the weekend, but in the stress of the moment is that societal protection applied justly and evenly? Do individuals take advantage of the chaos to advance their own interests at others expense? Do they protect only their crew, or does that protection extend to others? Raiders also need resources like water and are more than capable of violently taking them from their victims. How will the defenseless survive in a violent and cruel world?

The Threat of the Environment

Radiation falling from Waking Prime is causing major ecological effects and turning the world it passes over into hell. Once focused on the areas far away from Bravado and the Dune Sea, humanity must deal with this major change in environment. Can they nurse the environment to support them again or continue to fall back on temporary patch jobs? When pollution threats your reliable water sources, how can you survive on what’s left?

The Threat of other Survivors

Will this town and republic band together to help each other survive this drought, or horde it for themselves? Will people capitalizing on this opportunity for scarcity result in larger damage, or will we band together to survive? Patch jobs or long-term solutions are at hand here, which will we choose and why? When water is at a premium, who will provide for those that have no Brass or ability to gather their own supplies? Can you look that farmer in the eye while they use more water than ever to farm their herb, while you are dying of thirst? When you are about to die of thirst is there anything you wouldn’t do to quench that need?

The threat of cvc

Obviously, these other stresses will be the main themes of the event, but one persistent theme of Resource Scarcity that can also impact play is via CVC. When there’s only so many resources to go around, some players will look to acquire those resources from others. Do you give that precious water to the NPC farmer that comes into town, or do they meet an unfortunate end out on the lake road? Larceny suddenly seems interesting when the most valuable item on you is your WATER. To prepare for this eventuality, it’s important to understand the rules for character vs character behaviors and the ways you need to STEER your roleplay to keep this fun for everyone involved!

I've written a lot about Steering & CVC over the years, and we have some excellent resources on our website if you want to know more:

Great stories involve all sorts of CONFLICT and we are excited to see how your characters adapt to a world where even your next drink of water isn’t certain…

Water Rations & Dehydration

While Bravado has never been entirely certain of the state of drinking water from Lake Bravado, recent events have aggravated this crisis further. Between the pollution coming from Waking as it draws nearer and the massive lead-lined oil tanker we just sunk with the defeat of Joanna Waves, the resources are drying up faster than anyone expected.

Coupled with this new pollution, the Dune Sea seems to be expanding earlier than expected and the oppressive heat of the early Burning Season is starting to take a toll. Summer in the San Saba is deadly and brutal as it, much less without enough water. With the heat rising, acid rain falling from the sky, and clean water in question, fights have already begun to break out over finding sources of fresh water amid the worst Drought seen in a lifetime in the San Saba.

What does that mean for you?

During this next game, water will be in short supply, and a scarce resource.

In fact, we will have a new Illustrated Item Card to represent the portion of water you’ve managed to secure in the form of a WATER RATION, pictured below. This item card will be more akin to our Amaranthite Ore or a piece of scrap than a true Local Plot Item, but it will be very important to this event’s story.

Water Rations

This is a new Illustrated Item Card in play for our April event. If you’ve paid attention to our friends in DR New Mexico, you might recognize some of these concepts here.

Each player will receive up to THREE (3) Water Ration cards at the start of the event during Check-In. You can choose to receive LESS than your allotted supply if you like a challenge or want to try true SURVIVAL MODE.
Each 12s during our April event, you must consume at least one WATER RATION for your character, or else you do not refresh your Mind Points as normal.
Since there are only three 12s during each event, if you take the three Water Rations provided at check-in, you can effectively OPT OUT of this plot line and simply enjoy the mind refresh at the 12s as normal.

Why do you need a Water Ration?

The main mechanic for Water Rations will be the need to drink water every 12s, but it also comes with a few more risks:

Failing to drink water regularly and missing your Water Ration or other carded Brew at the 12s will apply the PARCHED Roleplay Burden to your character. You can choose to come in with this Roleplay Burden at game on if you want a harder challenge.
Carded Brews like Generic Brew, Hooch or even Uncle Todd’s can stave off basic effects of the Parched condition but cannot stop the later stages of the Dehydrated Roleplay Burden.
Dehydration can quickly turn deadly if not addressed before the next 12s.

What else do you use Water Rations for?

Water is the source of life, but it’s often used in other places in the wasteland. The resource scarcity during this event will be particularly felt by our Cooks and Farmers. Each trip to the Post Office will stress your water supply further.

All Culinary recipes require 1 Water Ration in addition to the normal resources to craft.
You must spend 1 Water Ration per use of Agricultural (up to 60 minutes/30 mind).
Some ZOMs or mods will require you to spend Water Rations to complete tasks. These tasks will often require Amaranthite as well.

How do you get more Water Rations?

There is some agency for characters to find more Water Rations during this event, but it will be in short supply overall.

LCs with Proficient Foraging may spend 10 mind and 30 minutes of active roleplay to find 1 Water Ration. You may only create 1 Water Ration per trip to the Post Office.
LCs with Basic Hunting may spend 5 mind and 15 minutes of active roleplay to find 1 Water Ration. You may only create 1 Water Ration per trip to the Post Office.
If the Post Office ever runs out of their limited supply of Water Ration cards each 12s, you can no longer gather Water Rations until the supply is replenished.
There will be additional potential to obtain Water Rations through Mods, ZOMs, or NPCs throughout the event.

parched & Dehydrated (Roleplay Burden)

Lastly, let’s talk about what happens if you don’t drink enough water during the drought.

A player becomes PARCHED during a 12s if they fail to consume a Water Ration. You can choose to start with this condition.
PARCHED: LCs must consume either a Water Ration or a carded Brew at the next 12s. While Parched, LCs do not regain Mind Points at the next 12s. Consuming a Water Ration or a carded brew removes Parched but does not return any Mind not refreshed from the 12s previously missed.
DEHYDRATED: If a LC with the Parched keyword has not consumed a Water Ration or carded brew to remove it, at the next 12s they also gain the Dehydrated keyword. While Dehydrated LCs must spend body equal to the normal mind points to use skills. Consuming a single Water Ration while Dehydrated removes Dehydrated but not Parched. Consuming a carded brew does not remove Dehydrated.
A LC who is DEHYDRATED at the next 12s dies, loses an Infection, and this Infection loss cannot be prevented. Dying of thirst is a real danger in April!

So, let’s break down the process of what will happen if you don’t use Water Rations:

If a character fails to use a Water Ration at the 12s at Midnight on Friday, they gain the Parched keyword. If they miss the next Water Ration on Saturday at Noon, they become Dehydrated. And if you fail to drink a Water Ration at Midnight on Saturday, they DIE. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

This is one part of the risk this weekend, and one that that will make finding new sources of water a priority for the weekend. When you are this thirsty, it might even be tempting to take the water you need from other survivors.

Wrap Up

That’s it for today, Vados!

Next week, we will discuss a bit more about the Raider Threat and the strange Resonant Raiders. These unique DR:TX threats were first introduced during our Barogue online event and have been seen in the live game for the past few events. I’ll dive into some lore and common knowledge your characters might have before you enter play.
After that, we will cover the lore and details of Collection Day, an annual Grave Council tradition of settling debts incurred by dying in the San Saba and earning a Grave Tax. Reckoner General Rampart and other faces of the Grave Council are sure to be in play during this event, so we will cover a bit more about them.
Lastly, we will cover some Rules You Should Know, and a few details of some common Raider abilities. The threats this weekend will be primarily ones you’ve seen before, but we will cover some common abilities like Raider Rage, Raider Rush, and the powers of the dreaded Resonant Raiders.

Make sure you get your tickets for HELLS OF THE SAN SABA so you can brave the heat of the Burning Season, the debts of Collection Day, and the threats of Raiders coming to take your water!

TICKETS FOR HELLS OF THE SAN SABA are on sale now! don’t miss OUT!!!

See you soon Vados!