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. It’s been a bit since we launched ticket sales for this event, so I want to make sure we are covering the basics as we hit the last few weeks before the game. 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 themes of our upcoming event!

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:

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.

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

Our images for this post were developed by our talented Marketing Director, Kiara Everlen.

Event Announcement: DR Live Transition

Last week, the Network Advisory Board met to discuss and vote on the upcoming transition to Dystopia Rising: Live. After thorough discussions and collaboration across all branches, a unanimous decision was made regarding the following key dates:

January 15, 2025: All branches will sign new contracts.
February 1, 2025: Branches can begin transitioning from DR 3.0 to DR Live.
April 30, 2025: DR 3.0 will officially end for all branches.

This timeline accommodates seasonal calendars and allows sufficient time for teams to be trained on the new focus and mechanics of DR Live. We believe this phased approach will ensure a smooth transition for everyone involved.

Mark your calendars for February 7-9, 2025, as "Cradle's Lullaby" will officially kick off Dystopia Rising: Live for the Texas chapter!

I’ve included this on our Downfall page and in my story blog, but here it is once more for posterity:

THE PREMISE

“Every settlement in the wastes has a similar story – a spark of hope amidst the irradiated wasteland, trying to survive in a hostile environment that is the product of too many nukes, too many raiders and undead, and too much conflict. Now, a new hope for survival has arrived – a way to cure the threat of radiation.

The Wells Society, a group of Sainthood that survived the fall of the Trade Union, have emerged with a solution — a breed of mushroom that feeds on radiation itself. With the help of the Grave Mind scholars known as the Servants of the Undying, they have developed the “Liberum Radicalis”, or Glow Shroom, and promise that they can “cure” irradiated areas across the wastes. In a few short months, the Society claims they can return an area back to a state where crops can grow and new settlements can form, free from the plague of the green glow.

Their first test of the strange blue mushrooms on a large scale has happened at a Fallow Hope fortress called the Bastion of New Dawn. Built atop the wreck of a massive crashed airship, Bastion has been surrounded by lethal radiation and massive ZOMBIE HORDES that continue to emerge from the destroyed generator at its core and has served as an impenetrable fortress during the recent wars in the area. The soldiers of the Mustang Loyalists, loyal to the one and only GENERAL MUSTANG, have opened the fortress to new settlers and travelers, with a promise that the radioactive threat is no more.

With the help of the Wells Society, the first proof of concept for their new mushroom is ready for others to visit, collect spores to take home with them, and see for themselves what the Sainthood have brought forward for the greater good. Invitations have gone out to every major settlement across the wastes, to visit Bastion and see the revelations of the great work that has been completed, and how it can benefit their own communities.

But their opponents with the Temple of Evolution suggest that the radiation is itself a reason for the survival of so many settlements. Without the mutation of the Infection, none of the Strains would exist. What will happen to the Infection that runs in your veins when not constantly bombarded with radiation from the wastelands? What will happen to the Mortis Amaranthine when the source of its creation is gone and it is allowed to expand unchecked? Even if the Glow Shrooms are safe, who will control these new fertile lands and decide who will benefit from the homes that are created in the absence of radiation?

Come and witness the birth of a new era of the wasteland, survive the zombie hordes, and gather the promise of salvation to bring home to your settlements, courtesy of the Wells Society and the Bastion of New Dawn.”

Radiation, Mushrooms, and Zombies? Sounds like a great Dystopia Rising event!

The Themes of Downfall

Every game in DR:TX has a few themes we want to reinforce in the story. Here’s a few to watch out for during the National Event.

Greater Good vs Individuality

While solving a problem of radiation can present a benefit for the greater good across the wastes, as the Mortis is strengthened so does the sense of self fade into nothingness. The Wasteland is a balance of radiation and death, and picking one or the other could be catastrophic.

Radiation vs the Grave Mind

Radiation is a useful tool against raiders and zed alike, offering powerful weapons and a natural enemy to the Grave Mind. As radiation wanes in danger and the Grave Mind gets stronger, so too does the threat of undead. If the glow shrooms are truly an answer to radiation, could this even remove the protective elements of the Infection such as quick healing and beneficial mutations?

Faith vs Order

The opposing faiths of the Darwin and Fallow Hope are placed in conflict during this story. Mustang has a solution to help their people with new farmland, new safety, and the ability to help their faction grow. The radiation leaks from Bastion have been a bane on the nearby settlements, and even the Darwins have precepts against unchecked evolution. But, the glow shrooms represent the anathema of the Darwin faith, and a way to remove their faith’s holy focus from being a force of survival.

CONTENT WARNINGS - DOWNFALL

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!

Overall, this next event focuses heavily on the themes of DR Live, particularly with the setting of the updated system. Our story for the weekend is heavily based off of the National Plotkit, “Illusions of Civility”, but it still has it’s own unique Texas flavor.

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 October event.

MISTAKES, RULES ERRORS, and CORRECTIONS IN FIELD

This is literally everyone’s first game. We will all be learning a new system at the same time. We will make mistakes, we will get the rules wrong, and so will you. While many of the new systems are intuitive and we’ve planned a number of workshops for Thursday, it’s still a lot of information to absorb at once. 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!
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 first event ever under DR Live 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 explore this new 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 might have to calibrate a combat encounter on the fly, so be prepared for sudden ends to fights, and generally expect us to continue to improve as the weekend goes on. We will try to avoid any major scene or continuity breaks, and try to keep everything in game as much as possible.

Resource scarcity, and the struggle to provide for yourself in the apocalypse

The DR Live economy is brand new. With the major change of Impact Skills, the Mind economy you are used to in the 3.0 system doesn’t really exist in this brave new world. It’s one thing to look at a proposed break down of blueprints and mind points and try to anticipate how it will function in a live space, and it’s an entirely different thing to actually do it live. Part of this event will include learning a new cadence to the flow of economy and crafting, and it WILL be different than the previous edition.
Items are less necessary in DR Live, and you may have less gear than you are used to in 3.0. Many of the tricks you needed items for in 3.0 are now included into the various Impact and Development skills. Other items only really function for Professions. Healing is significantly improved, and your combat skills don’t need a steady supply of Mind brews to stay ready. While cool items can be nice, they certainly aren’t a requirement for surviving in this new apocalypse. Many of the blueprints have very niche applications that won’t necessarily come up during this event, and you don’t have to worry about trying to build out a perfect set of gear — there’s still plenty of time until the DR Live transition.
Everyone will be on mostly the same footing. Your 3.0 items won’t function for this event, so we will give you a head start with some FREE items! One of your characters will receive a load out of useful items and brews, and our goal is to give everyone a fairly even start. There will be several ways to access new blueprints in game if you choose to pursue crafting. While we can’t account entirely for folks bringing in outside scrap, herb, and currency to the game, there will be plenty of opportunities to salvage, forage, and loot items during the event.
Item transfers won’t happen during this event. You won’t be able to transfer your existing 3.0 items, so you can leave these item cards at home. You’ll be able to do that soon enough when we transition to DR Live in 2025. Starter weapons are still a thing in DR Live, and you’ll still be able to use your props and craft new items during the game. But, any items you make, loot, or steal will be yours to keep for the new edition after you leave.

Religious conflict, corruption, and abuses of power (only in-game faiths - not real faiths)

The city of Bastion is a Fallow Hope stronghold. The Fallow Hope have graciously invited visitors into their home as part of the Wells Society Experiment, but it’s still a town led by the faithful. You might find yourself in opposition to some of their policies and rules, and that’s fine. The overall goal of this event is to create great opportunities for religious conflict with the authorities and residents of the town, but our primary focus is on role play and drama, not outright war games. The Fallow Hope will leave you be if you follow the rules and play nice. Despite these rules, many of the citizens of the town have purposefully chosen to stay here because of the security the Fallow Hope provide.
The leadership of Bastion is overtly a religious theocracy, but all are welcome. The Fallow Hope will be on their best behavior with visitors in their home, but they aren’t interested in forcing their agenda on visitors as long as they also behave. While the Fallow Hope religion is the primary faith of the town and granted certain lenience not extended to others, there are many residents in the town that practice other competing faiths. While they frown on open terrorism or attacks on their residents, there’s no specific rules against preaching your faith in town — you just might not find that many interested converts.
The Fallow Hope of the Lone Star have a storied past. The former General Mustang and the Mustang Loyalists have not always been allies of nearby towns like Bravado, and they have a long and dark history in the region. Corruption has long been a nuisance for the Loyalists, and they are hard at work trying to clean up their ranks. Not every Fallow Hope in town believes with the same fervor in the Wells Society Experiment, and there is potential for conflict and strife in their ranks.

Wrap Up

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?

Over the next few weeks, we will cover a bit of the lore of the event, including the rules of Bastion, some of the major faces to meet, and some of the in-game events you can complete during the game.

See you soon Vados!