Rules Ramble

Rules You Should Know - November

Howdy Vados!

It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our penultimate 3.0 event THE FUTILITY OF EVIL! This is one of the last events of the 3.0 rules system before we launch DR Live, led by Jared Schlabra. Each week, I’ll discuss in detail an aspect of the upcoming event, compiling the rules and lore into one easy place to read! This week, we are covering the last minute Rules You Should Know before you arrive on site on Friday!

Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, including Lily-Jay Jones, Miranda Farmer, Noah Goodman, Seth Kahler, and Max Pohlmeier.

The Penultimate 3.0 Game

November is a stressful time for most of us. With an election looming, holidays close by, Black Friday craziness, it’s going to be a relief to get back to the stability of the zombie apocalypse. This game will be a great opportunity to prepare for the upcoming edition change, as well as an opportunity to earn some XP, farm some herbs, or craft those last minute items before DR Live. For this event, we have a few key transition pieces we are planning for the game that you should watch out for during this event.

We will be transitioning a few DR Live Rules into our 3.0 games, starting with THE FUTILITY OF EVIL.

  • During these next two events, you can expect to see a few familiar rules from the DR Live books. You’ll see a few threat skills you might recognize, maybe some item mechanics, or abilities from certain blueprints. Our goal during this time of transition is to familiarize you with a few key rules from the upcoming edition, and what better time to start than right now?

  • You will see some DR Live Threat Skills in play. As such, you might start to find familiar loot from monsters similar to DR Live, hear calls like ABERRANT SUFFERING, or even see strange Benedictions in play. More of our zombies may suddenly start to RISE AGAIN, and you might encounter some strange FAITH abilities that feel familiar. We want to incorporate some of the most common new items from DR Live, and pave the way for the new year.

  • We started this last season, actually. We introduced LINGERING DAMAGE last season with some local blueprints, so remember you still have a few months to use those fancy Local Plot Cards and custom items before the changeover to DR Live.

As we get ready for DR Live, our goal is to help ease the transition to the new rules by keeping them the same over the next two games. We’d rather keep these major bits similar, rather than force you to unlearn and relearn items for February.

Lastly, remember that because this is the last few events of 3.0, it’s a perfect time to take some risks, and try something new.

  • At the start of the new edition, everyone will be allowed to completely remake their characters. This also means you’ll start with at least three Infection, no matter what you ended with in 3.0. This means that as long as you don’t use your last Infection, you’ll get a new lease on life in the next edition as you suddenly regain some Infection for the new world. It’s not so bad to die over the next few games!

  • Try something new, take some risks, and step outside of your comfort zones. For the next few games, very little changes to your character will continue past the December event, so take advantage to try some new things or explore some fun new experiences like a grave mind scene, or CVC.

  • Some PFAs or items may not exist in the new edition, so enjoy them while they last! These are the last few games to do some cool Techno Savant stories, to use some Local Items, and to build certain blueprint items. Not everything will make the change to DR Live, so take advantage of this last hurrah to have some cool moments and stories with your friends.

Intelligent threats & choice Points

As the Cannibal Crown approaches Bravado, we will be facing a somewhat unique enemy threat that we haven’t dealt with in a while. The Cannibals are survivors, just like your characters. While some of their rules will resemble some common Raider enemies, they will be thinking, breathing, intelligent threats that aren’t necessarily willing to be martyrs and zealots throwing themselves into the fray.

Simply put, the Cannibals will act much like your characters will. They might fall back from a fight where they are outnumbered, or they might use treachery or subterfuge to get close to their prey. They can hold conversations, espouse their own twisted philosophies, and even maybe try to recruit a few of you into the cannibal horde. While the survival tactics of the horde are ultimately doomed to failure, the dumb cannibals died off long ago. The ones that are left are smart, cruel, and clever. They know what they want, and they’ve had a lot of practice eating people.

The cannibals can use equipment and brews, just like your characters will. Some of the cannibals will use crafted items against you, leverage unique Benedictions to empower their horde, or psionic tricks to mark their chosen champions. They are organized, deadly, and ready to take on the challenge that is Bravado — or so they think.

Despite this intelligent threat, the big unknown is YOU. The leader of the Cannibal Crown is coming with a proposition — help him escape his choices, and he’ll give you intel to take about the cannibal horde in a way that they can’t threaten other settlements again. But you’ll have some BIG CHOICES to make as we face THE FUTILITY OF EVIL.

choice points & Consequences

  • There will be several key modules during the event that will require you to make a choice. What decision you reach in these moments will depend on the folks that choose to attend the mod, and these decisions may have lasting consequences for the cannibal hordes attacking
    Bravado. Will you be able to end their threat for good, or will you chose to save your own skin instead?

  • These choices will be telegraphed in advance, usually with an OOC sign that reads “CHOICE POINT” and will generally consist of an EASY choice, and a HARD choice. While violence is Bravado’s usual answer to their problems, it’s not always the best solution. Facing the cannibals with violence probably won’t end their threat, but if you can undermine the things keeping the horde united, you may be able to answer the larger looming threat. Much like completing a challenge or achievement in the game, the harder decision will require some coordination from your group and incur a much higher risk if you fail.

  • The big choice is simple — If the horde is defeated at Bravado, they will simply emerge from the Morgue ready to hunt and eat other easier targets in towns close by. Will you be willing to risk others safety for your own ease? Or will you try to stop the Cannibal Crown for good? Will you face the Malefactors and break the will of the cannibal horde?

We will be tracking these choice points over the weekend, and you’ll be able to check in with the cannibal leader as the weekend progresses. Depending on the decisions you make, the outcome of this event will be entirely in your hands.

Rules You Should Know

With the intelligent threat of the cannibals looming, let’s talk about some different rules we will be telegraphing. If you’ve read the DR Live books, you’ll recognize most of these. We’ve selected a handful of rules that will be common in DR Live to preview during this event, and we will introduce a few more during our December event.

Let’s take a look at what you will face this weekend:

Aberrant Suffering

Call “Aberrant Suffering”. Suffering is a mechanical effect that prevents an affected Target from using Any Skills, Upsurge, or Resolve for 10 seconds. This specific skill only effects Aberrants and requires a Brawling strike. This can be Avoided like any other strike.

This is a skill that will be unlocked for players by the new Mind Killer Profession in DR Live, and it’s common skill on Aberrant Undead threats. This is a powerful control ability that will shut down an psion’s ability to use Skills, take advantage of any Upsurge abilities, or even power skills and items with Resolve. If this lands, you’ll be in a pretty dangerous situation for the next 10 seconds.

This attack can be Avoided, but it’s often used after another form of attack that leaves you helpless like a Stun, Blinding, or Take Down. If you are hit by this attack and you do not have the Aberrant keyword, it has no effect. This functions kind of like a Blinding attack that only affects psions.

betrayal

An Aberrant attack that causes the Target to attack, without holding back, the next Target the user of this skill gestures to. This skill can only be used in the Wasteland and is resisted with Mental Endurance. Use of this skill can lead to increased CvC tensions and role-play after the fact, but does not count as CvC directly as neither character Target has agency in the moment. This skill lasts for 10 minutes or until Target enters Bleed Out.

This powerful skill will only be seen on a few select zombies and maybe a few other spicy threats, but it’s sure to make an impact. When Betrayal is used, the targets will turn on their allies and fight until they enter Bleed Out or 10 minutes has passed. The only counter to this ability is Mental Endurance, but this threat skill lets you have a bit of CVC as a treat. Remember, most of the DR: Texas site is considered Wasteland, so this can be a dangerous attack basically anywhere on the campsite.

This skill functionally replaces the old ‘Compulsion’ unique DR:TX ability we’ve used throughout 3.0, and will be the face of this type of effect as we move to DR Live.

Cannibalism

A unique form of Killing Blow that takes a 10 count instead of the normal 3 count. Cannibalism causes most Zombies to regain all of their Body and Skills. Visually, cannibalism is the act of being eaten alive. Cannibalism is role-played via making active movement and sounds of consuming while crouched down next to the Target in Bleed out. If a Target was not in bleed out but instead immobilized, Cannibalism cause Agony and 5 Body Damage per second per threat using Cannibalism

The staple threat of zombies in DR Live is that every single zombie, from the lowliest of shamblers to the scariest of Maulers is functionally capable of killing you quickly. If a zombie successfully completes this call of “GNAW!!!” ten (10) times while roleplaying ripping and tearing at your bleeding body, not only will they fully heal and reset their skills, but it will also count as a Killing Blow. The NPC will call the Killing Blow after the last call, just in case you lose track of how close you are to death.

For the remainder of games in 3.0, we will be adopting this form on Cannibalism for our events. It was an awesome way to add a bit of tension to fights, remove a bit of the meta thinking around leaving people for too long during a zombie fight, and it’s a change we want some time to get used to.

remember - There is no “gnaw 1, gnaw 2, gnaw 3..” style count any longer, simply multiple calls of “GNAW!”, with a silent count for the victim being eaten.

This change is an active and intentional design choice by the author to break up a bit of the ‘meta’ around cannibalism in previous editions. There is no audible timer while you are being devoured, nor do you have the ability to gauge exactly how much longer you have until your friend is dead. If you weren’t nearby when that person hit the ground, you’ll need to act fast and make the decision to charge into the fray with a use of Rescue or an emergency brew!

This new Cannibalize threat skill will probably be the number one cause of death by zombies, so if you hear zombies gnawing on a corpse you better hurry!

Cannibalism - Modified (cannibal Autopsy)

A unique form of Killing Blow that takes a 60 count instead of the normal 3 count. Modified Cannibalism causes the [REDACTED] to regain all of their Body and Skills. Visually, cannibalism is the act of being the subject of a living autopsy where key parts are harvested and spliced with the [REDACTED] to create new [REDACTED].

Some threats this weekend will be capable of consuming you much like a zombie, but they like to take their time and SAVOR the taste while they eat you alive. The cannibal horde enjoys the grotesque act of consuming their prey, and they sometimes like to take a few souvenirs and left overs for later. This will use the same rules as above, inflicting AGONY and damage over time if you aren’t in Bleed Out, but being a slower form of the zombie cannibalism.

Victims that die in this way are sure to have a bit more trauma in the Grave Mind, as this will be a terrible way to suffer before your death at the hands of our terrifying cannibals.

Rise Again

10 seconds after being dropped to 0 health, or with both legs Mangled, a zombie regains full Body, all Impact Skills (except Rise Again), and is immune to damage for 5 seconds. A verbal growl/moan signals reanimation. If a “Double Tap” skill is used, Rise Again is negated.

Robust rise Again (x)

A zombie with a Robust Rise Again requires multiple uses (X) of Double Tap to be used in order to have Rise Again negated. All uses of Double Tap must be on the same instance of using Rise Again, and if the zombie returns to its feet, the counter resets. On each use of Double Tap less than X, the zombie NPC calls “Resisted” and groans to signify that more than one Double Tap is required to keep the zombie down.

Almost all zombies in DR Live have the ability to stand back up after being defeated, the undead corpse lifelessly rising again to devour the living. The Rise Again ability is a powerful ability you will see throughout any DR Live event, and this skill lets the zombie stand back up with full health, all of their skills, and a 5 second damage immunity. This gives the zombie time to stand back up and get back into the fray without being simply beaten down before they regenerate.

The only way to stop this is to use Double Tap in the 10 seconds before they reanimate. Certain powerful threats like Flesh Tanks and worse will even have Robust Rise Again, and this version of Rise Again will require multiple uses in that 10 second window to keep them down. Make sure you invest some XP in Double Tap!

For these next few games, you’ll see this ability more and more on Undead as they adapt to an ever changing wasteland. While Double Tap is a bit easier to use in the 3.0 rules, costing Mind Points instead of Impact Skill uses, it will still be a valuable skill to keep ready against the undead.

Wrap Up

That’s it for today. I hope you are ready to face the cannibals this weekend!

We have some fun surprises in store for you as you are ready to try and survive the cannibal hordes of THE FUTILITY OF EVIL. Will you help the Cannibal Crown escape from the choices he’s made for power? Will you help the Malefactors recognize the folly of their philosophy, or will you answer their threat with violence? Will you survive being eaten alive by vicious cannibals?

Let’s find out together!

Tickets are on sale at the door this weekend!

See you soon Vados!

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Themes & Stories of Season 6

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Howdy Vados!

It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our penultimate 3.0 event THE FUTILITY OF EVIL! This is one of the last events of the 3.0 rules system before we launch DR Live, led by Jared Schlabra. Each week, I’ll discuss in detail an aspect of the upcoming event, compiling the rules and lore into one easy place to read! This week, we are covering some of the settings updates and THEMES of Season 6 in a bit more detail.

  • TICKETS FOR OUR November EVENT ARE ON SALE NOW! Will you make the right choice?

  • If you had a great experience at our last event DOWNFALL or had some suggestions for how we can improve, we’d love to hear from you! We appreciate your high-fives and suggestions, and always want to seek ways to improve our events.

  • Downfall pictures are live! Check to see if you had the camera’s favor during Downfall!

    • We’ve posted Seth’s pictures, but have several more sets of photos coming soon!

  • As we approach the launch of DR Live, our last opportunity to offer BUYBACK XP is December 15th. This is your chance to top off your XP pool before the new edition, so make sure you don’t miss out!

Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, including our guest photographer Seth Kahler.

Picking up the pieces

Last season during our May event, the San Saba Board was stopped at the Battle of Essex. In a brutal battle, the forces of the Bravado Militia crushed the last remnants of resistance and ushered the San Saba into a new era. While the Burning Season delayed some of the collapse, the final defeat of Arthur Lovelace in September ended any chance of a territory-wide government setting roots in the area any time soon. With the wasteland growing into a harsher place, and as settlements become more isolated, our story has shifted to our hometown of Bravado. While areas outside of our town still have a bit of a story of their own, we’ve focused our narrative on the immediate area around Bravado.

Let’s cover the major updates after the end of the season and as we move into our stories of Season 6:

  • Essex was seriously damaged during the final days of the war. As the Chairman fled the armies of the Bravado Militia, he turned his gunship on the city itself, bombing innocent civilians in a display of carnage not seen in the town since the Fountainhead Incident. Buildings were destroyed, the Grave Bureau was nearly collapsed, but the Fountainhead stood strong despite the fires that swept through the forest-city. Boss Debs of the San Saba Republic has vowed to rebuild, but it will be months and years before the damage is truly recovered.

  • The Battle of Bravado was won by the forces of Bravado and their militia, turning the tide again and again against the last attacks of the San Saba Board. The town held the armies at bay at the Devil’s Gorge Bridge, protected their solar panel system against sabotage, defended their morgue from collapse, and fought back against the combined forces of the Red Ledger and the Chairman’s personal Praetorian Guard.

  • Arthur Lovelace was killed, and an elaborate murder ritual was enacted in Bravado to make sure he stayed dead. When the Chairman’s remaining forces met the Militia at Bravado, they were held at bay while the town dealt with the villain personally. His imprint was scattered, his reason for living was destroyed, and the last walk of Arthur Lovelace was witnessed. The villain is no more, his loyal assistant, Lawrence Graves suffered his final death, and there is none to take up the banner of the Board after his death.

  • The Breaker of Crowns stayed behind during the final ritual, her revenge satisfied. In a shocking turn, the Breaker of Crowns did not emerge from the Morgue after the final death of Arthur Lovelace. Some said that she had come to terms with the monstrous acts she committed in the name of the War of Antlers, but others suggest that she didn’t have a reason to leave after the death of her hated enemy. The San Saba Republic is still reeling from the loss, and have promised a memorial will be made in her honor in Essex.

  • The Red Ledger was paid a hefty ransom to betray the Chairman, and they turned on the remaining forces of the Board during the final conflict. Over 1000 Brass was collected to pay a bounty to Red Ledger in September. The conflict decimated the mercenary company, and their remaining soldiers have scattered to the winds. Without the coffers of the Board, some have joined with the Militia while others have returned to the mercenary life in towns across the Lone Star.

  • A new Bravado Charter has been signed. The Justices have approached each settlement around Bravado, offering their services, not as overlords, but as arbiters, a neutral party to help diffuse tensions before they flare into outright conflict again. Both Bastion with its strict military code, and Drywater with its descent into anarchy have declined this offer, but Bravado has opted to take a chance with this new approach and formulated a Town Charter.

  • The Wells Society Initiative has begun in the San Saba. The Wells Society has proven that their new glow shrooms can be a valuable resource during their presentations at Bastion. While there was some complications with the morgue, the agents of the Wells Society under Dr. Ezekiel Abbott have begun to offer their unique resource to more settlements near Bravado.

  • The Bastion Morgue was stabilized, and the population was kept safe by the efforts of the visitors and the Loyalists during a mighty siege of the Hall of Inventions. The zombie horde was dispatched and the morgue’s corruption was cleansed through the efforts of several dedicated necrologists and grave heads that rebuilt the morgue virtually from scratch. While the danger of these strange new dead has passed for the moment, it’s unlikely that the new zombie threat will remain pacified forever.

Let’s talk a bit more about the themes of our new story.

Themes of Season 6

Each season, we’ve focused on a central theme, such as “Renaissance” or “Rebellion”. The primary theme of our new Season 6 story is “Reconstruction”. In the aftermath of the War of Antlers, there’s been a few changes, and I’d like to remind y’all of these updates as we prepare to move into our full story for the season. I’ve posted some of this back in August, but I figured it would be worth a bit of a refresher on where we stand. This season is about new beginnings, particularly as we launch the 4th edition of our game, Dystopia Rising Live.

Our story of season 6 is one of conflict and drama, and at the heart of that drama is the struggle to survive in a cruel and hostile world after the collapse of the San Saba Board. Here’s a few of the questions and concepts we hope to explore over the coming seasons. I’ve broken these down into a few common narrative conflicts.

The Death of a Future (Man vs. Fate)

When the Board fell, their vision for the future fell with them.  Without a central force encouraging trade, repairing the rails, and helping keep lines of communication open, the San Saba has quickly collapsed into a series of city-states.  Without a greater incentive or need to care about other towns, this inward focus has ended much of the technological advancement that the Board once promised.  This loss will help drive the change to the genre and technological setting materials of DR Live.

New threats have emerged, particularly Natural Born Raiders and strange new undead variants.  Most connection is lost with the north, the southern coast, and even the settlements near Bravado are hard pressed by raiders.  Rail lines are only reliable closer to the main area around Bravado, and generally only for the wealthy or fool-hardy.  Most telegraph lines are gone, salvaged for scrap or destroyed as sabotage during the war.  The RRC has abandoned the outer rail systems towards Gatorland or Hell Dorado, and virtually no one can make a trip into the Dune Sea any longer.  The fleet of locomotives that connected the region is dwindling, and the RRC and others are reluctant to risk the Ox on anything but the safest and most patrolled routes.

Essex is rebuilding, recovering from the devastating Battle of Essex at the end of the war.  While they are still a ready ally, they have their work cut out for them in the months and years to come.  Essex serves as a constant reminder of the damage caused by the war, and the rebuilding that is required afterwards.

The Threat of Bravado, aka What Happens Next? (Man vs. Self)

Bravado is an existential threat.  The world watched as Bravado led a rebellion that toppled the “lawful” government of the area through violence, and brought anarchy and chaos in the wake of the collapse.  Many respect what they did, but there is an undercurrent of fear on the minds of every other settlement in the San Saba.  Bravado now has the largest standing military force in the region.  What happens if Bravado decides that they are the new enemy of freedom in the wake of the collapse?

While hope after the war is still possible, there is a lot of uncertainty for the San Saba.  In the aftermath of violence, with no central leadership the various settlements of the area have been left to themselves.  There is a lot of need to rebuild and restructure, and there are many conflicting ideas of the best path forward.  Each town has their own opinions on what the right answer is but everyone is hyper-aware of what Bravado did.  If they choose for themselves, will the town of Bravado respect their autonomy or choice?

Cities and towns must decide how they define order from the anarchy of the wasteland. They must establish new laws, and find new ways to hold people accountable.  While the Justices of Sin and the Law Dogs can help enforce town charters, there is very little oversight or ability to institute rules without the consent of the governed in the towns.  And after the example of the Board, trust is at a premium.  The players must decide on a Bravado Charter that they can enforce, and they must decide if some larger form of organization for their town is necessary or needed. 

Bravado and the Oxkillers recruited countless soldiers, armed them, trained them, and whetted their appetites on war and violence.  Without a cause to fight for, what happens to those soldiers and weapons of war?  How does a soldier return to a life in their hometown?  Is there still a need for an active military presence, and who should lead them?  Who is responsible for providing funds for upkeep and salaries? What should be done about the militiamen that turn to banditry or set themselves up as petty warlords and tyrants?  It’s difficult to turn swords to plowshares in the apocalypse.

Should a town or its people atone for their sins?  Was it a sin at all if they won? Both sides “othered” their opponents, and war crimes were committed in the name of freedom, justice, law and order.  Enemy soldiers were killed, enemy settlements bombed, and infrastructure damaged.  Should there be accountability for the damage they caused, or should Bravado shoulder any responsibility for their role in the fall of the San Saba Board?  With no easy villain to blame for the damage or to assume responsibility, it’s easy to turn eyes towards Bravado.

A Tale of Two Cities, aka Rivalry with Bastion (Man vs. Man)

During our National Event in October, we had the chance to meet the residents of nearby BASTION, the fortress-city built atop the wreckage of Waking. With the infamous GENERAL MUSTANG at their lead, the town has presented itself as a serious contender and rival to Bravado, with differing philosophies of governance, capable soldiers and weapons to defend themselves, and a place the Mustang Loyalists can call home.

How do you deal with an enemy you can’t simply throw armies at?  The Loyalists have skilled soldiers on their side, a nearly unassailable fortress atop the wreck of the airship, and a surprisingly effective barrier against ground assault in the Exclusion Zone.  They cannot be easily intimidated by the forces of the Bravado Militia.  Bastion represents a source for political drama and ways to create a foil for the town of Bravado.

The Fallow Hope represents a rival settlement to our town, and a drain on potential resources for the area.  This is the first time we’ve really explored the idea of a nearby rival to our town, and it will provide ample opportunities for conflict.  Why would merchants or travelers go to Bravado when they can get better prices or safety in Bastion?  As Loyalists deploy the glow-shrooms to deal with radiation in the area, this provides a new resource in fresh, untainted land and water compared to our town.  The threat they represent is very real, but in a much more subtle way than simply guns or soldiers.

A map of the San Saba after the War of Antlers, PHW ‘08, by Jonathan Loyd

Story premise for Season 6

I shared this in August, but here it is once more:

Another deadly war has shook the foundations of Bravado, and the San Saba has settled into an uneasy and chaotic peace after the collapse of the San Saba Board.  Travel and communication across the area has grown more difficult, and towns turn their focus inward, towards their own fraught survival.  

It happened more quickly than many expected.  The outer rail lines that once reached as far as the Broken Coast and across the Dune Sea have been abandoned in favor of closer, safer routes between the immediate towns near Bravado and Essex.  Telegraph lines stripped for salvage and murdered postal runners mean that all but the most persistent communication between settlements has stopped, and the points of light at the edge of the map have dimmed.  Soldiers and mercenaries recruited for the war, now without a common cause, consider new allegiances, brutal banditry, or violent reckonings on rival settlements ill prepared for trained and well armed survivors at their gates.

In this new world, the implacable equilibrium of the wasteland churns onwards, reclaiming abandoned settlements in overgrowth, and damning once vibrant towns to destruction, returning the land once more to a lawless waste ruled only by what a survivor can claim for themselves.  Strange and dangerous raiders have overtaken the north, their war path marked by blood and the sounds of drum beats.  The dead have risen in even greater numbers, the Grave Mind turning the countless deaths of the War of Antlers into new and more deadly variants, bent on feasting on living flesh.

The factions of the San Saba have been broken and worn by the war, but each has consolidated what remains of their fortunes closer to the new heart of the San Saba, Bravado.  While it should be a new shining beacon on a hill, a pervasive sense of insignificance has rendered the town forgettable and alone, a ghost town tucked into a forgotten corner of the region.  A fog of memories, casting a shroud of forgetfulness and absence has settled over Bravado, perhaps a last dying gasp of an ancient terror trapped within or perhaps just the unfortunate reality of a world that has moved on after the fall of the Board.  As the town wanes in importance, new rivals flourish nearby, threatening to complete the fall into obscurity for our humble home.

Forgotten and left to decide their own future, our survivors face the harsh and horrific realities of survival in the wasteland.  Now, once easily secured resources like power, clean water, food, fuel, and scrap are in question, and the lean and hungry eyes of your fellow survivors seem not quite as friendly as before.  The future promised by the San Saba Board may be dead, but perhaps a new future can be forged from the ashes for the survivors that call Bravado home…

FACTION UPDATES & CHANGES

The War of Antlers had some big impacts on our story, and virtually every faction was impacted by the conflict in a pretty significant way. Our stories of season 6 will determine the fate of some of the factions, and even introduce some new characters to the story. In the same way this will be a bit of a season of transitions as we get ready for the launch of DR Live, this year’s story will continue with the aftermath of the war that nearly ended the town of Bravado.

We will be updating our Faction pages over the next few months, so here’s the major changes to expect:

  • The Factions of the San Saba have lost much of their influence in the region, and many of these groups have new NPC leadership, new headquarters, and new objectives. Money is tighter, and many have had to spend vast resources relocating or rebuilding after the events of the War of Antlers. This is one story reason the Faction Buy Lists will be sunsetted, but overall the ability of a faction to influence a wide area of the San Saba has been severely reduced following the war as part of our new license structure.

  • Two factions will be exiting our story, the Widows of the Lone Star and Prudence Penitentiary. These Society Memberships will be removed from character sheets going forward.

  • One new faction will be introduced, The Bravado Militia, representing the remaining soldiers and troops recruited during the War of Antlers. Players that served as commanders during the war can add this Society Membership to their sheets for free.

Here’s a bit of a story update on the various Factions, and we will expand on this on the website and during our Season 6 stories.

  • The Widows of the Lone Star have been driven out of Widow’s Peak and have now joined the Criminal Factions of Bravado. They are no longer a full faction, as their story really concluded in September with the final confrontation against Arthur Lovelace. While some stories will continue in the background, particularly for characters in Murder Inc, we won’t have regular events like Widow’s Tea and you won’t see characters like Clauthia Lovelace during our games.

  • Prudence Penitentiary has ceased to exist following the war. With the disappearance of Tabitha St. Mercy, taken into custody by the General during the last days of the war, the location once known as Killhouse has been well and truly finished. With no remaining function for the prison after the collapse of the San Saba Board, the fortress-prison has taken on new importance to the Militia and the Grave Council as a strategic fortification and not as a place of incarceration.

The remaining six factions of the San Saba have each experienced their own trials and tribulations following the War of Antlers.

  • The San Saba Republic has splintered further following the aftermath of civil war. The SSR is eager to return to a more peaceful life following war, the destruction at Essex, and the betrayals during the rebellion. With the Breaker of Crowns’ rage finally satiated with the collapse of the Board, many families that were broken and torn apart on the opposing sides of the rebellion are seeking reconciliation. With Boss Deb’s focus on rebuilding Essex, only a few of the Tribes remain in Essex, and many of their soldiers recruited during the war and their Houses have returned to their homes once more. With the Breaker dead, many of the factions have went their separate ways, still picking up the pieces of a vicious civil war.

  • The RRC is in crisis, as most of their fortunes were tied to the success of Felicity Redfield and the Board. Forced to abandon the outer Oxlines, they have taken a more conservative approach to survival after the collapse of the Board. A new CEO will need to be named in time, but the Ox is safe in Bravado for now. However, the families of Waking Prime have splintered with the rise of Bastion - some have joined the Mustang Loyalists in their new fortress-city, while others have remained in Essex and Bravado.

  • The Law Dog Union has established their relevance through the creation of several town charters across the area around Bravado. These new social contracts empower Marshals and Sheriffs to find new paths of redemption for criminals with the help of the Justices of Sin, and they have their work cut out for them. While Boss Wyatt has established an office for the Union in Essex, their agents roam the wasteland offering their services as investigators and beacons of stability in a lawless wilderness.

  • Following the death of General Rampart, Cassiopeia Stargazer has emerged as the leader of the Grave Council. With the help of the new Reckoner-General Solomon, the faction has diverted their expertise in necrology and the Grave Mind towards establishing a new Vault of Reckoning inside the strong walls of the fortress-prison formerly known as Killhouse. The new town charters have also redefined the grave tax for a new post-Board era, but the faction has a lot of work to do to rebuild their reputation.

  • The Junkerpunks are licking their wounds after the war, after being forced to retreat inland towards their new home of Drywater. After years of trying to appease the kinder elements of the Muddy Water Accord, the faction is ready for a clean break from law and order. Drywater has refused to sign a charter with the Law Dogs or the Grave Council, choosing to forge a new path ahead on their own. Will complete anarchy be a viable method of survival in the new lawless wasteland?

  • The Militia stands as the strongest military organization in the region, and has claimed the fortress-prison of Killhouse as their headquarters. Under the leadership of General Hargrave, the Militia now has to grapple with the unfortunate realities of a post-war landscape, including dealing with their veterans and the threat trained soldiers represent. How do they lay down their arms and return to a normal life without the purpose of serving in the rebellion? Who pays the bills now that the rebellion has been won? While many of their soldiers returned home, some remained behind to stand guard against the Mustang Loyalists, and others worry that the Militia will just find a new excuse to plunge Bravado into a new war against Bastion.

There’s still a few unknowns for how Factions and Society Memberships will function in a new DR Live world, but for now there are still plenty of stories to tell as we begin Season 6.

The Fog of Memories

One new story beat we’d like to introduce for Season 6 is the concept of the “Fog of Memories”. For our season of survival, we have added a new story effect to explain why the outside world no longer cares as much about Bravado as it did in seasons past.  This has no actual mechanical effect beyond what the players decide, but it is simply a cool narrative way to address continuity going forward.

Some suggest that the effects of capturing the Prince Undying within the Bravado Mortis appears to have created a strange phenomenon that is now impacting the residents of Bravado.  Others simply point out that without an organizing government like the San Saba Board, most folks tend to mind their own business. With travel being tougher across the San Saba, it’s easy for people not to want to risk a dangerous journey after all.

Regardless of the cause, it started small and sometime shortly after the Burning Season began. People began to forget Bravado unless they were actively living there or had some sympathetic tie to the town.  As it continues to worsen, people literally forget about the town unless they have a reason to remember it.  People with a strong connection or tie to the town like your characters are more resistant to the effect, but the effect increases the further you travel from Bravado. Every month, some new traveler arrives in town, surprised to find the town and even more surprised to find folks living there.

Much like something that is out of sight, or out of mind, it’s a subtle effect for most, and leads to small mistakes and forgetfulness that interrupts regular trade and commerce.  Repairmen forget to make the trip to check the rail lines leading into Bravado, and merchants accidentally miss the stop as they daydream about something else.  Important faction leaders focus on other settlements nearby, and don’t make it a priority to visit Bravado. For those that don’t live actively in the town, it’s as easy to forget as some small random town in another state could be in real life.  If someone brings it up, folks might have a spark of memory, but it quickly fades into obscurity when it fades from their attention.

  • There are no real mechanics for the Fog of Memories. This is simply a story element for how the town is being forgotten by the outside world. Think of elements like relationship decay, or nostalgia as a means to a story.  The themes here are not catastrophic, but just the distance that grows between ideas as time passes.

  • This is an optional story that your character can choose to have impact them, or simply choose to ignore it. If you don’t want it to affect your character, it doesn’t.  You get to decide if and how the Fog of Memories has affected your character. It’s entirely up to you, but this could be a great reason to update a back story, or wrap up some unfinished stories as you prepare for the new stories of DR Live. Maybe the amnesia you suffer can provoke some new character connections or let you start fresh as if you just arrived in town.

  • In general, this is not a problem that can be fixed. It’s simply a new part of life in Bravado, and it can have as much or as little impact as you want it to have on your character. It’s not something that research or a zone of mechanics will change.

  • You might encounter strange fog in Bravado from time to time, as we plan to use fog machines more in S6 as setting ephemera. The fog could have strange effects via certain zone of mechanics, but most of this effect is simply a background story.

I hope you are ready for some spooky stories in Season 6!

Wrap Up

That’s it for today. I hope you are ready to face the cannibals in November! We have some tough choices and deadly enemies to face as we finish out our last two games under the 3.0 ruleset.

We have some fun surprises in store for you as you are ready to try and survive the cannibal hordes of THE FUTILITY OF EVIL. Will you help the Cannibal Crown escape from the choices he’s made for power? Will you help the Malefactors recognize the folly of their philosophy, or will you answer their threat with violence? Will you survive being eaten alive by vicious cannibals?

Next week we will recap some of the Rules You Should Know, including a few familiar DR Live mechanics that will premiere a bit early during this event.

Tickets are on sale for our NOVEMBER event now! Don’t miss out!

See you soon Vados!

The Futility of Evil

Howdy Vados!

It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our penultimate 3.0 event THE FUTILITY OF EVIL! This is one of the last events of the 3.0 rules system before we launch DR Live, led by Jared Schlabra. Each week, I’ll discuss in detail an aspect of the upcoming event, compiling the rules and lore into one easy place to read! This week, we are covering the premise of our event, some content warnings, and some teasers about our upcoming event!

Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, including Lily-Jay Jones and Max Pohlmeier.

PREMISE

You hear a threatening radio broadcast on a nearby frequency:

“Bravado, your strength and ruthlessness are admired, but are you not tired of this facade? For I Am The Cannibal Crown! I am The Voice Howling in the Trees telling you everyone lives and dies alone. I have seen what you and yours do, and you make me so very happy. Is it not the only law of this land of ours that ‘The Strong should Devour the weak’? Is that not the weak’s sole purpose?

My Malefactors See you, Know you, and Love you.  Oblivion has seen your flying beacon of progress brought low.  Vengeance has seen your Monument to the repeated injustices of the so-called Board.   Avarice has seen your resources thrown into the fires of war so quickly.  As the Cannibal Crown approaches, your defenses pale against our numbers.  I am The Blood Upon the Ashes of those who committed the sin of existence upon my path. I am The Dream of Deafening Silence. I am The Dancer Upon the Grave of The End. I am Th-….”

A crackle of static, and the voice shifts in tenor.

“Ar-are they gone? Great. I’m in way over my head and I need your help!”

“Listen, we all make mistakes.  My ‘followers’ wanted to ‘devour the strength of Bravado’, and I couldn't exactly tell a RAVENING HORDE OF CANNIBALS ‘no’ could I?!  I know, I know.  A ‘responsible person’ would have stopped when their merry band of bandits became a merry band of Cannibals, or when some seriously unstable individuals started calling themselves Malefactors, or when they started building A FREAKING FLESH PILLAR! Instead of doing what I did, which was double, triple and quadruple down.”  

“But how many times has your town been attacked by some unstoppable threat and survived? Undying Psi-Kings? The Board? Tax collectors???  These jerks are pretty much doomed.”

“So. Here's my offer:  I’ll help you stop this rampaging horde of cannibals before they can hurt other, less dangerous people.  The Malefactors, the FLESH PILLAR – all of it. And in return y’all can help me escape this ever spiraling series of events that I have long since lost control over.”

“It won't be easy. You're going to have to make some hard choices, sacrifice a lot of blood,sweat and treasure and maybe even your very morals. All to benefit people you may never meet and may never know the good you’ve done for them.  

I mean, unless you’d just rather take the quick and easy routes and just kill lots of folks. I’m sure that will have no repercussions whatsoever.”

“So Bravado, what do ya say?”

The radio cuts short, leaving the peculiar request ringing in your ears…

INSPIRATION & TROPES

This season in Bravado we have focused on bringing some new elements of Survival Horror to the forefront of the story. In our tradition of Radical Trust, we want to share some of the inspirational bits of media and movie magic that we feel help capture the themes and feelings of our upcoming event. If you are looking for a movie to inspire your role play for this event, here’s a list of our favorites to get ready for THE FUTILITY OF EVIL:

  • Tucker and Dale vs Evil

  • Wrong Turn

  • The Hills Have Eyes

One big theme of the weekend in November is “choices” and “consequences”. When the Cannibal Crown arrives in Bravado, their leader has an interesting offer for the residents. He is offering a solution to the rampaging horde of cannibals threatening the area, if you help him escape from the choices he’s made. But can the Cannibal Crown be trusted to do as he says? Will you take the easy path or the road less traveled?

But, at the heart of this weekend is a bit of humor. The leader of the Cannibal Crown is a bit out of his depth, much like the heroes in Tucker and Dale vs Evil. Comedy and horror are interlinked in many ways, so a bit of the lighthearted feel will help underscore the monstrous undertones of this story. The leader is a bit erratic and his behavior questionable, but one reason we chose this over arc was for the subversion of the usual monster-of-the-week stories. We hope that you will agree.

Finally, the viciousness of the cannibal horde is echoed in movies like Wrong Turn and the Hills Have Eyes, with terrifying flesh-eating cannibals as the primary threat of the weekend. These will be intelligent threats, survivors that took the quick and dirty answer to survival in the wastes. Eating and devouring those weaker than you means they never have to look hard for their next meal, but cannibalism is ultimately a self-defeating philosophy as the cannibals eventually turn on each other.

CONTENT WARNINGS

The themes of Dystopia Rising often touch close to our real world in ways we cannot always avoid. The DR:TX team believes that we can still tell these stories about challenging topics, but we also believe we need to be transparent about our intentions and set proper expectations for our content. In our tradition of radical trust, we want to also trust in each player that attends our game to know their own limits and be able to choose to avoid topics and situations that make them uncomfortable.

It’s important to watch for descriptions, situations, or events that you might want to avoid. You may find new limits that are unknown to you because the matter never came up. We encourage you to take the necessary steps for your own emotional safety. We want you to be comfortable with the types of horror in our events so you can enjoy the thrill of the zombie apocalypse and the nightmare creatures we introduce into the game space.

It’s one reason we take our OK Check-In system so seriously! We understand that these may not be stories you want to participate in, and that’s okay! Remember, you can always use the OK Check-In System to choose to leave a scene, even CVC!

You can always find a list of our Content Warnings on our website, but let’s talk about some of the specific things you might want to be prepared for during this May event.

Overall, this next event focuses heavily on the themes of BODY HORROR, SUDDEN VIOLENCE, and CHOICE POINTS. These can be some serious themes and decisions, so let’s talk about some content warnings of note for THE FUTILITY OF EVIL:

Body Horror, grotesque or disturbing mutations, visceral costumes and props

  • Certain creatures this weekend will have disgusting and visceral costumes and props that might require you to interact with unnerving, or terrible looking things. These props will change the features and silhouettes of certain threats and should be repulsive and terrifying. You might have to stick your hands into things best not described, or interact with some… interesting… kinetic props.

  • If a module requires you to interact with chemicals or substances that might stain your clothing or costumes, we will announce these aspects as a “SPLATTER MOD”. We will try to give you a fair warning before engaging with these challenges, but we cannot guarantee clothing or items may not be affected by the disgusting goo in our mods.

SUDDEN VIOLENCE, JUMP SCARES, DEADLY SURPRISES

  • The cannibal horde is comprised of skilled killers. They will use ambushes, traps, and more to capture their prey for the feast. The dumb cannibals were eaten long ago, and the Cannibal Crown has collected a menagerie of cruel, twisted, and twisted followers. The ones that face Bravado are the survivors, the ones willing to do anything to survive.

  • These will be intelligent enemies, capable of opening doors, picking locks, and finding other ways to surprise our residents of Bravado. They might plan nighttime attacks, even on sleeping characters, and sudden bursts of violence should be expected as the attack continues.

  • While you’ll be able to mitigate some features of the cannibal horde through the choice point mods, these enemies might have dangerous equipment and blueprints they will use against you, as fellow survivors. This also means they will usually have scrap or other items if you can manage to take a few down in combat.

choice points & Consequences

  • There will be several key modules during the event that will require you to make a choice. What decision you reach in these moments will depend on the folks that choose to attend the mod, and these decisions may have lasting consequences for the cannibal hordes attacking
    Bravado. Will you be able to end their threat for good, or will you chose to save your own skin instead?

  • These choices will be telegraphed in advance, usually with an OOC sign that reads “CHOICE POINT” and will generally consist of an EASY choice, and a HARD choice. While violence is Bravado’s usual answer to their problems, it’s not always the best solution. Facing the cannibals with violence probably won’t end their threat, but if you can undermine the things keeping the horde united, you may be able to answer the larger looming threat. Much like completing a challenge or achievement in the game, the harder decision will require some coordination from your group and incur a much higher risk if you fail.

  • The big choice is simple — If the horde is defeated at Bravado, they will simply emerge from the Morgue ready to hunt and eat other easier targets in towns close by. Will you be willing to risk others safety for your own ease? Or will you try to stop the Cannibal Crown for good?

The real content warning

Real talk.

When we ran the first ever DR Live game last month, we started a timer. While the new edition is still a few months away and we will officially start with our February 2025 event, that means our next two games are going to dive back into the 3.0 rules for one last time. But, that means that some folks may be more interested in the new system than the one we are using for these next games. There’s going to be a pressure and momentum building to move to the new edition, and we need to complete these next two events under the current 3.0 system.

It’s gonna be weird.

We just helped you learn the ropes with a new system, and now we are asking you to forget all that and go back to 3.0 rules. I know, it’s a lot to take in.

You might miss Impact Skills, or feel the age of the 3.0 system as we wrap up these next two games. Healing might not be as easy as it is in DR Live. You won’t have certain new blueprints. You will still get to use the 12s for a few more events, and refresh your Mind points in different ways.

This is a time of transitions.

And that’s okay.

We want to ask for your patience.

While we have two games left in the 3.0 system, that means you’ll still have time to earn XP that will carry over to the new edition. You’ll still have time to farm some herb, make some blueprint copies, build some gizmos and armor, and get ready for the transition. Remember, when we get ready for the edition change, many of your non-expired items will get converted to new DR Live items. If you have something that’s about to expire, it might be worth it to build a new one in advance of the February event.

These next events also have some unprecedented freedom to try new things as you’ll get to completely rewrite your character for the new edition. Let’s talk about some key things to remember as we finish out this year’s games:

People will make mistakes, and confuse the editions

  • Remember our DR:TX tradition of “it’s everyone’s first game”. We will all be unlearning a new system at the same time. We will make mistakes, we will get the rules wrong, and so will you. We must treat every moment of this event as everyone’s first game ever, and treat our fellow players as if they were tender-horns experiencing the world for the first time. For some of our players, it literally will be and DR Live will be here soon enough.

  • Please show your fellow players and our staff grace and forgiveness. For this event, we will especially ask for your grace, patience, and forgiveness as we experience the ups and downs of our last events under DR 3.0 rules. Please be kind to your fellow players and especially our volunteer staff, as we all have the same goal — telling an amazing story in the zombie apocalypse. We will learn and say goodbye to this system together.

  • Correct and Move On. If we make a mistake in the field, as either a guide or player, we will practice a strategy of fixing it for future encounters. We won’t try to reset or roll back any major rules calls, but trust our Guides to make the call in the moment. If we find an error later, we will correct and move on with the right ruling for any future instances. We will try to avoid any major scene or continuity breaks, and try to keep everything in game as much as possible.

We will be transitioning a few DR Live Rules into our 3.0 games

  • During these next two events, you can expect to see a few familiar rules from the DR Live books. You’ll see a few threat skills you might recognize, maybe some item mechanics, or abilities from certain blueprints. Our goal during this time of transition is to familiarize you with a few key rules from the upcoming edition, and what better time to start than right now?

  • You will see some DR Live Threat Skills in play. As such, you might start to find familiar loot from monsters similar to DR Live, hear calls like ABERRANT SUFFERING, or even see strange Benedictions in play. More of our zombies may suddenly start to RISE AGAIN, and you might encounter some strange FAITH abilities that feel familiar. We want to incorporate some of the most common new items from DR Live, and pave the way for the new year.

  • We started this last season, actually. We introduced LINGERING DAMAGE last season with some local blueprints, so remember you still have a few months to use those fancy Local Plot Cards and custom items before the changeover to DR Live.

Take some risks, try something new

  • At the start of the new edition, everyone will be allowed to completely remake their characters. This also means you’ll start with at least three Infection, no matter what you ended with in 3.0. This means that as long as you don’t use your last Infection, you’ll get a new lease on life in the next edition as you suddenly regain some Infection for the new world. It’s not so bad to die over the next few games!

  • Try something new, take some risks, and step outside of your comfort zones. For the next few games, very little changes to your character will continue past the December event, so take advantage to try some new things or explore some fun new experiences like a grave mind scene, or CVC.

  • Some PFAs or items may not exist in the new edition, so enjoy them while they last! These are the last few games to do some cool Techno Savant stories, to use some Local Items, and to build certain blueprint items. Not everything will make the change to DR Live, so take advantage of this last hurrah to have some cool moments and stories with your friends.

Goodbye, O Faithful RPG!

Wrap Up

That’s it for today, Vados.

We hope that you will come join us for our next event, one of our last two events using the 3.0 rules for Dystopia Rising. We have some fun surprises in store for you during this game, and we hope that you are ready to try and survive the cannibal hordes of THE FUTILITY OF EVIL. Will you help the Cannibal Crown escape from the choices he’s made for power? Will you help the Malefactors recognize the folly of their philosophy, or will you answer their threat with violence? Will you survive being eaten alive by vicious cannibals?

Next week we will recap some of the important events from our last game and catch up to speed on all the story continuity you’ll need as the Cannibal Crown nears Bravado! See you soon, Vados!

Tickets are on sale for our NOVEMBER event now! Don’t miss out!

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Downfall Update

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It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our October live event DOWNFALL! This will be the first full game run under the new DR Live system and our first DR Live NATIONAL EVENT, led by Heather Halstead and Jonathan Loyd. Each week, I’ll discuss in detail an aspect of the upcoming event, compiling the rules and lore into one easy place to read! This week, we are covering some updates to our event that have developed since we began ticket sales in July.

Don't miss out on our limited run Glow Shroom pins, designed by the talented Poe Popek!

As a reminder, we’ve covered a LOT on Downfall so far:

  • Downfall Introduction - You can read about our content warnings and expectations for the National Event.

  • Character Creation Guide - We’ve provided a step-by-step guide for creating your first character on the DR Live Database, Juno.

  • DR Live: Where to Start - This is a handy guide on how to tackle reading the rules for the new system. TL;DR, there’s a LOT of books already for this edition, but the best place to begin is the Player’s Guide.

  • Frequently Asked Questions - We’ve made a few updates over the past few weeks and we’ve tried to anticipate most of your questions. We’ve updated this as of October 1st!

  • What’s Different in Texas? - If you are traveling to a Texas event for the first time, I’ve readied a guide for what to expect from our local game culture. Check it out!

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW FOR DOWNFALL! GET YOUR FIRST LOOK AT THE NEW DR LIVE SYSTEM IN PERSON!

Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, including Lily-Jay Jones and our marketing guru Kiara Everlen.

Changes for the National Event

It’s hard to believe that Downfall is happening next week. We are only a few short days from our first DR Live National Event and I’m so excited. We launched our ticket sales way back in July and there’s been a lot changes since then!

We’ve had multiple books revealed by that Network Support team, we’ve had a Blueprint Unboxing, multiple Discord hangouts, and we’ve kept a chat running in our DR:TX Discord over the past few months. That’s a lot of places to make some clarifications and to decide on some changes as we literally get new information from our national team. Players have asked some awesome questions, and we want to make sure y’all are caught up with some updates for Downfall.

Let’s cover some of the big changes we’ve made to the Downfall event since we began:

You can play your Alts!

After hearing the feedback from our players, we’ve clarified that you can absolutely bring your alts to play at Downfall. There was some confusing language in our FAQ, but it’s been corrected.

You can absolutely bring your favorite LC! While you can play alts at Downfall, we recommend focusing on just one character. You’ll be learning the new rules in person, and we believe it’ll be easier to adapt to the changes with just one character at first. But, if you want to have fun as your alternate character, go for it!

However, you will only receive one set of Gear Loadouts (the starting items, plus your two choices of role items) in total, regardless of how many alts you check in. You can split these items between characters if you choose.

Bring Your Blueprints!

During our Blueprint Unboxing, we showed off all of the prints we will be using during the DOWNFALL event. I’ve collated the lists at our Downfall Blueprint Checklist, but we probably won’t have access to Blueprints on our Juno server until after our event. With that in mind, we’ve revisited our Blueprint item suggestions from the FAQ that once recommended leaving the blueprints at home.

With the lack of easy Blueprint access in the DR Live database, we have made the decision to honor blueprints that have a 1:1 equivalent in DR Live. You can bring your current 3.0 blueprints and they will ‘count as’ the equivalent blueprint in DRL for purposes of copying or crafting.

Keep in mind there are many brand-new blueprints for DRL that will need to be acquired through other means, such as a Zone of Mechanics or interactions with a NPC. We won’t be doing any conversion of existing blueprints for this event.  You’ll need to either reference the DRL material needs for the print from a digital source at game, or check at the Post Office.

Here’s what is in your survivor Packs:

We were waiting on the final blueprint release to confirm, but here’s what to expect from your starting gear packages. As we’ve mentioned before, we won’t be doing conversions of existing 3.0 items into DR Live versions for this event. As such, we want to make sure that we help folks test out a new system at mostly the same level of resources, so we’ve elected to provide some starting gear.

This equipment is complete FREE as part of your ticket. No mind, no scrap needed. You can read the complete list on our Frequently Asked Questions page. Here’s what you get:

  • Starting gear loadout

    • 1 weapon

    • 1 suit of armor

    • 1 gizmo

    • 1 Lineage specific healing Injection

    • TWO Choices of additional Loadout Options:

      • Artisan, Cook, Criminal, Melee, Gunslinger, Shield, Criminal, Priest

  • Survival Pack

    • If you bought your ticket prior to August 30th, you also receive:

      • DR:TX Currency Collection:

        • 1 Brass, 1 Lead, 1 Tin, 1 Amaranthite, and 1 Shard of the Red Crown

      • 1 Lineage Specific Recovery Brew

      • 1 Lineage Specific Healing Injection

      • 1 random Scrap or Herb

You should get a survey in your email asking about your preferred items for the loadout. Check your junk box just in case! If you have no preferences, you can choose “RANDOM”, and we will provide you with one of the brand new items available for DR Live in that slot.

Honeysuckle Huts will be used as “NPC Land”

Our Storytellers have had some awesome ideas for mods and such, and we want to continue to have a space that allows us some ‘away’ mods during the game. While we have previously suggested that camping will be allowed in the Honeysuckle Huts area (previously known as Zuni), we will be keeping this area as a limited access space for Downfall. We have plenty of other climate controlled cabins and open air cabins across the Bluebonnet Shores site, so we will have plenty of camping places for every attendee.

Starting XP is now available on the Juno Database

When we held our Character Creation Discord event last week, we shared that the additional 50 XP for character creation would not be functional on the Juno Database. As previously mentioned by Michael Pucci, all existing 3.0 characters will receive 50 additional ‘creation XP’ at the launch of DR live in 2025. This will help smooth out the start for most folks and remove some disparities for new players that start shortly before the transition. However, the Juno database didn’t really have a way to make this happen. At first.

Thanks to the hard work of Gloria, our network support genius, the Juno database has now been updated to reflect this starting XP! If you already have created your experimental slot character, you should be able to see the additional XP now. Plus, if you haven’t checked in yet, the time frame to convert your character to the new database is now around 12 hours. Amazing!

We’ve updated our Caps list for DR Live!

We’ve posted the Wishlist for our Downfall event via Facebook and Discord, but you can still earn some local Texas CAPs for the big event. We’ve updated our list of rewards to also include some DR Live specific items, so check it out on our Community Action Points Page.

Check out the downfall Wishlist!

Community Action Points is a system of thank-you and rewards that exists to give to players that work to make the community of Dystopia Rising a better place. These points can be turned in for things that will enhance their in-game experience. This program aims to offer a way to show our DR:TX team appreciates people who want to make things better for those around them and want to reward them with the thing that we all came here for: fun!

Character Creation is due on October 5th

We’ve opened up the Juno database for you to start building your characters for the event last week. You still have until this weekend to finish up your builds to make sure we have a printed character sheet ready for you on site. You have until October 5th at midnight to finish up this task.

Any character sheets completed after this point will instead be printed on site during registration.

Non attending Tickets will Be available end of downfall

If you can’t make the trip down to Texas, you can still access the extra XP for your characters for DR Live later this year. We are leaving up the ticket page for non-attending tickets all the way until the end of our event. You’ll be able to purchase your ticket at the door as well in person, as usual.

Based on our current license agreement, we won’t be able to sell Back Buy XP for Downfall once the event is finished, so if you’d like to support our local game and get some tasty XP we’ve love to have you support our chapter. Our ticket sales help us pay our teams, invest in cool props for DR Live, and manage growing site fees. After this event, your money will instead be spent through the National website to purchase Back Buy XP.

Here's a sneak peek of some of the in-character events to watch out for during the Downfall event!

Wrap Up

That’s it for today Vados! Short and sweet!

Next week I’ll cover the few unique rules we will have for this event, including the dangerous Exclusion Zone, how you can unlock some new blueprints with the RRC Invention Exchange, and other Zones of Mechanics to watch out for during the Downfall event.

Will you side with the Wells Society or the Temple Evolution? Will you have an opinion to share with the infamous General Mustang? Will you survive the strange new undead and deadly raiders in the world of DR Live? Let’s find out together next week!

Downfall tickets are on sale now, so don’t miss your chance to make history!

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Life in Bastion

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Howdy Vados!

It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our October live event DOWNFALL! This will be the first full game run under the new DR Live system and our first DR Live NATIONAL EVENT, led by Heather Halstead and Jonathan Loyd. Each week, I’ll discuss in detail an aspect of the upcoming event, compiling the rules and lore into one easy place to read! This week, we are covering some more of the lore of Bastion and the Fallow Hope that call it home!

  • wE WILL BE HOSTING OUR Last dYSTOPIA rISING lIVE HANGOUT before downfall ON FRIDAY, 9/27! CHECK OUT OUR DISCORD FOR MORE INFO!

I’ve already made quite a few blog posts on the topic of Downfall, so let’s compile some handy links all in one place:

  • Downfall Introduction - You can read about our content warnings and expectations for the National Event.

  • DR Live: Where to Start - This is a handy guide on how to tackle reading the rules for the new system. TL;DR, there’s a LOT of books already for this edition, but the best place to begin is the Player’s Guide.

  • The Story of Downfall - This is a detailed look at the STORY of the event, including an introduction to the various factions and personalities you’ll meet while in Bastion.

  • Frequently Asked Questions - We’ve made a few updates over the past few weeks and we’ve tried to anticipate most of your questions.

  • What’s Different in Texas? - If you are traveling to a Texas event for the first time, I’ve readied a guide for what to expect from our local game culture. Check it out!

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW FOR DOWNFALL! GET YOUR FIRST LOOK AT THE NEW DR LIVE SYSTEM IN PERSON!

Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, including Max Pohlmeier, Lauren Guzaldo, Sidney Betzina, Maddeax Cole, and Jason Dumas.

We’ve covered a lot about Bastion on our Downfall site, but let’s cover a bit more about the day-to-day life inside the Fallow Hope community.

The Mustang Loyalists

From the high walls of STAR CITY to the north, the Mustang Loyalists have been a power in the San Saba for decades.  Following the leadership of the one and only GENERAL MUSTANG, the Loyalists have spread the faith of the Fallow Hope across the region.  Uncovering weapons and munitions from oldcestor facilities around the Lone Star has given them firepower that is virtually unmatched in the region, but they’ve largely kept to themselves.  Multiple wars throughout the region have tested their resolve and left the forces of Star City mostly in disarray, but the Loyalists have kept true to their faith and unwavering dedication to their demagogue leader.

After the crash of Waking, the honorable General Mustang, last of their name, heir to Star City and Fort Worthless, conqueror of the Wastes, Champion of the Lord Commander, and First General and Prophet of the Sky Temple, has offered their loyal soldiers of the MUSTANG LOYALIST ARMY to assist in the divinely appointed annexation of the settlement that formerly housed the powerful elite of the region.

Mustang has always had their eyes set on Bravado since before the Hiway War, and reclaiming the fortress-city in the name of faith has only reinvigorated their cause.  The tenets of the Fallow Hope warn against the dangers of hellfire, the deadly radiation that led to the fall of mankind when the zombie virus first emerged.  For Mustang, conquering the city of Waking meant conquering the ancient foe of their faith, and they are finally able to ready plans put into motion before the fall of the Trade Union so many years ago.

Under the day-to-day command of General Mustang and Minister-General Marcus Remington, the Loyalists have become a powerful faction within the region and have now consolidated their might within their new home of Bastion.  They have been hard at work reinforcing the city, restoring what areas they can for homes and housing, and solidifying the defenses.

The Infamous General Mustang

General Mustang has been a leader of legend in the Lone Star.  Responsible for the success of Star City as a settlement in the northern region, leader of the faithful from the Sky Temple, and general tactical genius, they have been involved in the affairs of Bravado for over a decade.  General Mustang had a big part to play in the years before the Hiway War, their forces of Law Men standing as an extension of Star City’s power.  However, much of this fame and infamy is bound more to a name than a single person.

The old saying of Star City that ‘there must always be a General Mustang’ holds true even to this day.  More a title than an actual true name, the figure of Mustang was the savior that united the people together in safety behind the thick walls of Star City.  Thought to be a vessel for the Lord Commander, the General is a symbol of faith for the Loyalists, a reminder of their holy cause, and a reason to keep fighting.  Because of Mustang, their families are safe, they have food, water, and shelter, and they have a sense of safety that is hard to find in the apocalypse.

The current General Mustang has served in the role since shortly after the Hiway War. She was a commander in Star City, and a rising star and pupil of the former leader when she served over the congregation.  When the former General Mustang was defeated at the Washbourne Plantation, their forces disintegrated by the detonated nuclear device that ended the Loyalist attack, she was quick to step into their place as the supreme leader of the Fallow Hope, taking on the new mantle of the Lord Commander’s Avatar.   

While she fought alongside the former General against Hiway Robb and even the people of Bravo, her focus was generally on the smooth operation of the faction and home base while they were away at the front lines.  She is a clerk and organizer at heart, skilled at administration and the actual day-to-day talents of a settlement leader.  In the wasteland, every settlement tends to coalesce around individuals like Mustang for simple survival and she was no different.  She has a way of making sure every person in her command works together towards a common goal, and she inspires those around her to loyal service and faith.

The new Mustang’s faith is a beacon of piety and simple confidence.  She believes in the mission of the faith, the structure that order brings out of chaos, and the need to serve others in a dangerous wasteland.   She radiates a calm confidence, and works to keep her soldiers disciplined and loyal.  While she doesn’t think of herself as a priest, her firm insistence on sharing the mantle of leadership with her command earns her more respect by the day.  She is fiercely loyal to her cause, and sees the Wells Society Initiative as a means to carry the example of their leadership to more settlements in the Wastes.

Mustang knows that the former holder of the title had a bit of a reputation to overcome.  Despite their actions, none can doubt the success that it created for Star City and their people.  As one of the only settlements in the area to successfully erect and maintain thick walls to protect themselves, it is one of the few cities in the Lone Star that stands firm no matter what threat emerges from the wasteland.  With Star City firmly in hand, the new Mustang has turned her eyes to the south, to Bravado and the San Saba region.  The Vados stood up against the Chairman and the San Saba Board in a way that she was never capable of, and she knows and respects the power of a town to stand united in the face of adversity.  With that goal in mind, she has moved the center of her command to the Bastion of New Dawn, to oversee the tenuous relationships with the power that was capable of toppling a giant like Arthur Lovelace.

As the vessel of faith and war for the Fallow Hope of the Mustang Loyalists, she is held on a pedestal of awe and respect by the common soldiers and corpsmen of the faction.  Mustang is a powerfully charismatic leader and incredibly confident in her faith, her people, and the role she plays for the settlement of Star City and Bastion.  While the recent war has decimated many of the more powerful enemies of her faction, under her leadership the faction has claimed a new fortress in the fallen sky-city of Bastion and grown even stronger.

travel to Bastion

Bastion is now one of the safest towns in the Lone Star, thanks to a commanding military presence and the natural defenses of the wreck. The city deals with a sizable zed presence that emerges from inside the city, but the Exclusion Zone keeps the most dangerous threats at bay on the ground.  The Loyalists are still focused on reclaiming the city block by block and dealing with the dangerous underbelly of the crashed vessel.  Every citizen in Bastion is expected to do their part, conscripted into service of the Mustang Loyalists.  Every day, residents and Loyalists alike patrol their home, man the walls and main approaches to the city, and work to continue the restoration of the crashed wreck.

Most trade arrives in Bastion via airship, evading the worst of the Exclusion Zone but only if expected by the Loyalists.  Deadly scrap cannons will make short work of most unannounced airships, but should any be durable enough to survive a volley from the walls of Bastion, the Spindrift Navy is quick to board and disable the vessel before they can reach the city.  The airspace is heavily patrolled, and the height of the wreck means it's nigh impossible to approach undetected.  Most of the necessary ammunition, supplies, and gear is shipped to Bastion via skyship, and many Cloudskippers have made pacts with the Loyalists for safe passage in exchange for ferrying shipments into the city from abroad.

Travel by rail to Bastion is possible, but much more dangerous.  Some supply shipments are made via railcar, as the RRC had built a functional extension of the Oxline that ran towards Bravado before the War of Antlers overtook the region.  A single shoddy rail line runs up a makeshift ramp into the wreck on the east side of the city, but the actual Ox would never survive the ascent due to its massive size.  Instead, smaller locomotives or hand carts must make the journey through the Exclusion Zone, and few survivors outside of Retrogrades survive the journey without planning and protection.  Most rail shipments are unmanned for the ascent, instead ferrying the personnel by airship into Bastion.

Part of the wrecked ship that makes up the raised hull of Bastion is underwater in Lake Bravo, but most of the submerged sections lie fully in the radioactive Exclusion Zone to the south of the city.  The waters are intensely dangerous, swarming with irradiated critters that make any real landing challenging.   There are no real docks or other permanent structures to aid river traffic, but smugglers and dissidents will occasionally build a makeshift pier for an attempt to enter the city by stealth.  Due to the challenge of surviving the radiation while arriving by water, the Loyalists have simply sealed off the avenues and roads that led to the edge of the Magnolia District, and watch for any new faces that haven’t been checked in for processing.

While the city operates in a constant state of alert and military readiness, there are still moments of peace for the residents of Bastion.  General Mustang has done what they can to help provide entertainment and improve the morale of their citizens, even opening up a few non-Fallow Hope bars in the Magnolia District to provide some managed privacy.  The Loyalists are used to dealing with citizens that don’t share their faith, as Star City is equally as diverse as Bastion hopes to become.  Some neighborhoods of survivors have banded together in the less hospitable sectors of the Magnolia District, building a new life for themselves a bit further away from the Fallow Hope barracks.  Though it might be a bit more dangerous, some are willing to risk the distance for a sense of independence.

Life in Bastion

As more citizens flock to the supposed safety offered by the Loyalists, new arrivals are assessed and cataloged for useful skills and equipment before being assigned a bunk and work shift.  Fallow Hope Quartermasters and logistics experts take careful notes of new arrivals, particularly if they have useful skills and knowledge to aid the town.  Skilled crafters and engineers are highly valued among new arrivals, as Mustang knows and appreciates the value of skilled labor for the reconstruction.  Some have been authorized to open their open shops and services, provided their mandatory work shifts in service to Bastion are completed.  Any arrivals that wish to make a home in Bastion must swear fealty to General Mustang, but very few seek to challenge the new status quo of the community.  One set of laws is as good as another for most residents, and as long as they do their part, the Fallow Hope are content to let them be.

Food and clean water is strictly rationed in the city, as most of the farmland nearby is either irradiated, too small, or too distant to serve the needs of the growing community.  Mustang hopes that as enough of the glow shrooms mature, the impacted lands around the city can once more be made arable enough to support the city on its own.  It will likely be several months before the first farms can open, but the Wells Society seems confident enough in their timetables.  The Loyalists’ strict logistics has kept the citizenry functionally fed and alive, though many of the Elitariats that once enjoyed finer dining and cuisine while under Board rule still bemoan the spartan accomodations.  Rations and carefully portioned protein and bread allotments aren’t the best of fare, but it beats having to scavenge or hunt for a meal in the wasteland.

Every morning is met with a trumpet fanfare, the drills and preparation of the Loyalists never stopping.  After physical training in the morning, various work shifts begin around the city, hauling rubble, tearing down dangerous structures, and continuing the repairs to the city.  Spare rubble and scrap is hauled to the edges of the Magnolia District to reinforce the new walls that were erected by the Loyalists, or to serve as grapeshot for the scrap cannons.  Heavily armed patrols are ready to respond to zombie or raider incursion, though the Loyalists close and weld shut any new entrances into the hull of the city as soon as they are found.

Threats can bubble up from within the radioactive depths of the city, from raiders to zombies, and even dissidents and agitators of former residents that are unhappy with the occupation.  While the rule of law in Bastion is mostly fair, if a bit draconian, some of the unofficial residents of Bastion still lurk in the radioactive halls below the surface.  The Cult of Savannah’s Light has found new friends in the Temple of Evolution, arming their revolutionaries that are attempting to restore access to the massive steam reactor that once lurked at the heart of the vessel.  

Many of the labyrinthine tunnels that make up the hull of Bastion are collapsed and difficult to traverse, and few remaining residents truly know their way around the interior of the ship.  While the lower decks once housed the common workers and RRC employees that maintained the gilded state of life on the surface, most of those residents were evacuated before the city crashed.  New entrances into the lower hull are discovered every day, often by zed that crawl from a new crevice and emerge into the city.  Sealed bulkheads and submerged sections flooded from the nearby lake make opening random doors below a dangerous endeavor, and the Fallow Hope have bigger issues to deal with than trying to return function to the decks below.

The new Morgue of Bastion is functional, but Mustang hopes that some of the visitors for the upcoming Wells Society launch can be leveraged to find a permanent solution to the ailing Grave Mind.  Though the Grave Council successfully integrated the morgue of Bastion after the crash, lack of true maintenance during the following schism has only delayed the inevitable corruption that is spreading steadily from within the city.  Though many residents may not realize it yet, several of the emergency bunkers stationed in the various streets of the Magnolia District are actually part of General Mustang’s preparation for a morgue failure.  Mustang knows action must be taken soon to stabilize the morgue, before the threat grows critical.

Overall, the Loyalists are preparing and bracing themselves for the next catastrophe to face their new home.  Many of the Loyalists are wary about inviting former enemies into their city, but most of the residents believe more in Mustang’s planning and leadership.  If Mustang is convinced that the city can weather the influx of new arrivals, they will do their damndest to be on their best behavior and weather the incitement that is certainly to arrive with their “guests”.  The standing orders of the Fallow Hope are to keep the faith and avoid conflict, and no resident is interested in facing court martial by throwing the first punch.

The Laws of Bastion

While under Loyalist occupation, the city has established several rules and structures to help bring order to the settlement.  However, despite the reputation that some bands of Fallow Hope have earned, the Loyalists have established common-sense edicts for enforcement.  None of their laws are particularly draconian, but the residents in the town are generally willing to accept a bit of loss of freedoms in exchange for security.  The Mustang Loyalists have generally upheld their end of the bargain, and as long as major crises don’t strike the settlement few will see the need to be a dissident.

The Fallow Hope have adopted a chain of command that ensures the orderly rule of the city, and use a code of rules that have served Star City in the past.  While there are many addendums and additional texts on the administration and enforcement of the laws, the general rules of the settlement are as follows:

The Military Code of the Lord Commander’s Justice

  • Fealty to the Lord Commander and General Mustang are required for permanent residence in Bastion. All residents and visitors alike must abide by the laws of Bastion or face court martial.

  • Do not kill the living.  All in Bastion must work together for our common survival.  Save your blade for the undead.  Murder of a Lineage will be punished by court martial.

  • Do not disobey a lawful order of a superior officer.  Order is a balm against chaos, and dereliction of duty will be punished by court martial.  

  • Challenge of the Military Code or assault of any Fallow Hope officer is forbidden.  Respect the chain of command of Bastion, or face court martial. 

  • Do not steal or destroy the possessions of others.  If there is a need for additional rations or equipment, please inform the Quartermaster.  Theft will be punished by court martial.

  • All residents or visitors to Bastion will meet the Challenge of Arms, and will serve in the defense of the city.  Mandatory service in the defense of the city will be met during residence.  Report useful skills or equipment to your local Section Commander.  Desertion of duty will be punished by court martial.

  • Heresy against the Tenets of the Fallow Hope by the faithful is forbidden.  While all faiths are accorded appropriate respect inside Bastion, the faith of the Fallow Hope is held to a higher standard.  Deviation will be met with court martial.

  • Aiding and abetting the proliferation of hellfire and radiation is anathema.  Willfully risking the safety of Bastion by spreading the taint of radiation will result in court martial.

  • There are no third chances.  Survival of a Court Martial or Captain’s Mast will offer a second chance to a resident or visitor of Bastion, but further dereliction of duty will result in permanent expulsion from the Bastion of New Dawn or final death.

Most of the laws of Bastion are similar to other towns, but the primary means of enforcement of the Military Cody is known as the COURT MARTIAL. Given that the Fallow Hope pride themselves on readiness and combat worthiness in a fallen world, their law generally punishes violations with a unique trial-by-combat.

Court Martial, aka The Captain’s Mast

Mechanics: None, but Basic Faithful Patterns is frequently incorporated.

Details: The chain of command is not only a suggestion, but part of the very faith of the Cult of the Fallow Hope and the citizens of Bastion. Violations must be punished. All participants and targets must be Fallow Hope or reside in the settlement of Bastion.

Basic Instructions: The performer of this benediction must give a speech or sermon for the first five minutes of the duration about the crimes of the soldier and the lessons that should be learned for the community to survive.  The accused is tied to a ceremonial structure by at least one hand in the Exclusion Zone and a prayer issued for their souls, and an entrance to Bation’s lower hull is opened nearby.  The accused is traditionally given a small knife or one-handed weapon to defend themselves, or hasten their own demise.  If the accused survives alone the wave of Zombies that likely emerges before the radiation overwhelms them, the Lord Commander has seen fit to absolve them of their sins by their service to Bastion.  

Wrap Up

That’s it for this week Vados!

The DR:TX team has a lot of cool things planned for Downfall, and we can’t wait to meet our friends from around the wasteland. As we get closer to the first ever DR Live event and the eventual rollout of the new system next year, we have plenty to talk about to get ready for the event. Will you help the Wells Society with their strange mushroom experiment? Will you dive into the Grave Mind to help Bastion with a growing corruption? Will you brave the radioactive Exclusion Zone in search of useful items and treasures? Will you survive the DOWNFALL?

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW FOR DOWNFALL! REMEMBER YOU CAN BUY A NON-ATTENDING TICKET AND STILL GET YOUR EXTRA XP LOCKED IN BEFORE THE NEW EDITION LAUNCHES.

Next week, we will cover a bit of the Zone of Mechanics you might encounter in game as you explore the radioactive wasteland around Bastion in search of the marvelous GLOW SHROOMS.

See you soon Vados!