Howdy Vados!
It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our April live event WHISPERS FROM THE DEEP! This is our next ST led over-arc game, led by Noah Goodman. 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 lore you should know about the upcoming event and glimpse at the new dawn for some of the established traditions of Collection Day and the Grave Tax.
TICKETS FOR OUR APRIL EVENT ARE ON SALE NOW! CAN YOU survive what emerges from waking?
One of the next Dystopia Rising Live books has been official released - A GRAVE PLACE is now available on the DR Live Website, free to read and enjoy! This book is a primer on the Grave Mind, but it does include some important story spoilers within. If you are still interested, take a look at the secrets of the Mortis Amaranthine!
CLEAN UP IS CHANGING! We will be experimenting with a new process for Clean Up at the end of the event during our April and May games. Immediately after closing announcements, we will start with our Camp Cleanup first, and then complete our Personal Cleanup last! We will have some more details on this soon, but we appreciate your flexibility as we try some new ways to speed up how fast we can get off site after game and still keep our friends in the Girl Scouts happy!
Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, by Max Pohlmeier, Lauren Guzaldo, and Jason Dumas.
Whispers from the Deep [Lore]
Last week, we talked a bit about the teaser for the game and introduced a few points of interest that you’ll encounter during the April event. But if you haven’t been around DR:TX for a while, some of these names and places might be new to you. Let’s talk about a quick primer of the important stuff your character may know about some of these topics.
Let’s cover the “who’s who” of our next event:
The Buzzbee Family
One of the powerful Families of Waking Prime, the Buzzbees are easily identified by their maroon colors and Tainted scientists. The Buzzbee family was one of the oldest institutions in Waking before it crashed near Bravado, and were said to have been the founders of the flying city. They created the lightning rod system that brought power to the city’s lesser systems, and the storm alert system that detected weather changes and navigation. Considered masters of electricity, they collect oldcestor technology in hopes of recreating the marvels of the time before the fall. Some have suggested that the Heavycraf company stole the blueprints for the electro-welder from the Buzzbees, but this is probably just a jealous rumor started by one of the lesser family heads.
Regardless of the family’s success, the Buzzbees are known to be a bit eccentric and a more than a bit secretive. Many of their family worship at the shrine of Savannah’s light as members of the Church of Darwin, and the Buzzbees were thought to be responsible for the maintenance of the Capacity Engine, the strange oldcestor device that powered the flying city before its fall. The Buzzbee family has long since diversified their scientific interests beyond the electrical, and have become somewhat divided on the research in which they dedicate their wealth and expertise, particularly when it comes to the Grave Mind.
Kincaid Buzzbee
Kincaid Buzzbee— the Buzzbee that inherited the profitable backing of his name— chose to focus his life’s work on the Morgue of Waking. He is both the sole student and teacher who maintained a morgue in the sky and has been critical to helping the Grave Council understand how the morgue can be safely assimilated into the Gravemind network in the San Saba. Buzzbee has also been the primary Graverobber for the Waking Prime Family Members, and they have sustained his pockets heavily for decades. Most of the family has stayed very focused on managing the Electric Shield, a device powered by ancient Aggie technology, but Kincaid’s first priority has been the Mortis.
While many of the Waking Families fled Waking when the city was taken by the Mustang Loyalists, the Buzzbees have been one of the few families that has remained invested in the town of Bravado. Both Kincaid and his cousin Professor BB Buzzbee have been frequent visitors and sponsors of Liquidation Runs into the city over the past few months, and their knowledge has been crucial in surviving within the husk of the fallen skyship.
The Buzzbee Electric Shield ™
While the specifics are considered trade secrets by the powerful RRC family, one of the primary defenses of the mighty city of Waking Prime before its fall was known as the ELECTRIC SHIELD. Part generator and part super weapon, the Shield was the last line of defense of the city if a foe was able to overwhelm their arsenal of zeppelins and mounted cannons. When fully powered, the device was said to be capable of energizing the entire surface of the city, creating a powerful deterrent to raiders and those that would have tried to conquer Waking. During the Waste's Faire, the Electric Shield was used to cripple a fleet of raider skyships of the Stormchasers, thanks to the timely intervention of survivors from Bravado.
After the crash and the final shutdown of the Capacity Engine, most of the power of the crashed city has come from the capacitors of the Electric Shield. With most of the city’s interior filled with deadly radiation, the meager energy needs of the surface city have been only a minor drain on the potential of the Shield. While the reservoirs are no longer as easily recharged from lightning storms while in the air, the Chairman set a number of oxblood generators and repurposed batteries towards keeping the defenses of the city intact. Some suggest the Electric Shield may even still be a functional defense of Waking, even in its crashed state.
Mother Mayhem, chief auditor
Mother Mayhem is one of the chief agents of the AUDITORS in the Bravado and Essex areas. One of the only groups within the Grave Council capable of rivaling the Reckoners for sheer power, the Auditors are the day to day accountants, tax collectors, bankers, and financiers of the powerful faction. Mother Mayhem is an older Lascarian who has a habit of killing with kindness until she needs to force something with an iron fist. It is rumored that even blackmail and intimidation are key tactics if needed, but Mother Mayhem purposefully lets the rumors build up their mystique.
Mother Mayhem is the chief arbiter of the Grave Tax, and is responsible for the collection of Brass from across the San Saba to fund the support of the Morgue system. They are a known aberrant and have a deep fondness for other psions, believing their protection will lead to healthier relationships with the Mortis. She strives to protect the Grave Council at all costs, even against themselves, and her assistance was crucial to the arrest of the late Reckoner-General.
Cassiopeia Stargazer
One of the newer prominent figures within the Grave Council, Cassiopeia has recently been promoted as a leader of the Mystagogues, the sect of priests and Grave Mind cultists that make up the spiritual branch of the Grave Council. Cassiopeia is one of the ancient Imix Tribe, the Unborn refugees that first founded the Grave Council after the Hiway War. While most of her focus was on Essex and the heart of the Grave Council’s headquarters, she has recently found allies within Bravado.
Cassiopeia is a member of the Quiet Path, a group of grave cultists that believe the Mortis Amaranthine at its core is neither good nor evil. It is a catalyst for change that should be deeply respected and honored above all else. They believe that when we die, we are stripped down to the barest form of ourselves, and we must reassemble ourselves from the things that are most important to us. This may be seen as unsavory or unsettling to many, but to the Quiet Path, it is an awe inspiring journey that enables us to be the purest form of ourselves. The ever continuing cycle of change and growth is essential for survival in this imperfect and fleeting existence. Many members of the Quiet Path are necrokinetically inclined, and lean deeply into studying the interactions between the Mortis Amaranthine and the rest of the world.
Collection Day
A Grave Council “holiday” of sorts, Collection Day is when the Grave Taxes come due, once a year, normally in the oldcestor month of April. The forces of accountants and taxmen take to the towns and cities of the Lonestar to upkeep the ledgers of life and death, collect interest on the debts they are owed, and keep tabs on those who would irritate the balance of power in the Wastes. During this time, the fees for morgue services can skyrocket in price, and people across the land strive to avoid an untimely death that could increase their debt, or else the Reckoners could attempt to “close your account” for good.
During the Collection Day “festivities”, the fee for deaths normally doubles in price. As the bulk of the Grave Council is concerned with upkeep on the ledgers and collection of debts, distractions to manage the morgues have an additional opportunity cost assessed.
If the debt is deferred, the Grave Council normally applies interest to the debt until it is paid. This is at a negligible rate but accounts for the cost of maintaining the morgues of the Lone Star. At Collection Day, a debtor must pay at least a portion of their interest to the Grave Council or risk being held in breach of contract.
The Grave Tax
The Grave Tax is one of the enforced laws of San Saba Territories and a tradition of the Grave Council that helps cover the maintenance of the Morgues of the Lone Star. This is a fee, normally paid in Brass notes, that a Groundskeeper is paid to retrieve someone from the Mortis Amaranthine and is tracked and collected by the agents of the Grave Council. As part of an agreement with the Railroad Conglomerate, the San Saba Board has delegated authority over every Morgue within the San Saba territories and the Lone Star to the Grave Council and enshrined the Grave Tax into law of the Board. Even the Junkerpunks acknowledge the need to preserve the cycle of death through the Mortis Amaranthine.
Let’s first consider why we started this tradition in the first place…
Why do we have a Collection day?
Collection Day was a local tradition we introduced to DR:TX back at the start of 3.0. Shan & Aesa introduced the various factions of the San Saba, one of them being the GRAVE COUNCIL. This faction was envisioned to handle two major things in the Dystopia Rising game — how we handle Death scenes from an “in-character” perspective, and how we could create a threat of punishment for breaking the contracts and laws of the region.
One phrase that kept coming up in our design docs and brainstorm sessions was the familiar quote about death and taxes. We loved the idea of creepy taxmen coming to collect what is owed around the same time the rest of us are forced to pay our tax debts to the government. From there, Collection Day was kind of… inevitable. I even wrote a cool story as a teaser before we started play, that you can read about here:
We missed our first attempt at running Collection Day due to the pandemic closing down live events around Season 1 and 2, but we revisited this “holiday” two years ago during Season 3 amid some turbulent times for the Grave Council faction. During that event, COLLECTION DAY, the leader of the Grave Council, Takheeta Firstborn, gave her life to cure a sickness that plagued the morgues of the San Saba. Thanks in part to the Grave Tax, a very real problem of disease was at last resolved. Last year, during our Season Four event, HELLS OF THE SAN SABA, Reckoner-General Rampart fired all of the Groundskeepers during a Gauntlet, and declared the town under a “quarantine”. While the faction was kept busy trying to stabilize the morgues of Waking, they left the town to their own devices without any real support from the faction.
We have three major themes of this holiday, from a Storyteller perspective:
Death has Consequences - In a world where survivors can return from death again and again, crimes like murder can run rampant unless some threat of punishment is enforced. The Grave Tax is meant as a method to prevent the needless deaths of shareholders, merchants, and Vados, and is assessed as a financial burden upon death. Unnecessary death is frowned upon and punished more heavily.
Death Comes for All, Pauper or Prince - The Grave Council does not care for the status placed upon a person in the times within the Mortis Amaranthine. They pursue their due from every being that walks the San Saba wastes, no matter their station. The Groundskeepers treat the death of a Pureblood from an ivory tower the same as they treat the death of a wandering Rover.
Story, not Punishment - The purpose of the Grave Tax is not to punish players for dying or to create an undue financial burden. The Grave Tax provides a concrete way to involve yourself in the greater story of the Lone Star, interact with several powerful factions, and seek out assistance and roleplay with other characters in the game. It is tied with the enforcement of law in the game and can be opted out if the player wishes to avoid a negative play experience.
You can read more about the Grave Tax and Collection Day in our story sections.
The Grave Tax during a Rebellion
Very few individuals that care about the Morgues and the Grave Mind can deny that the maintenance of the Mortis Amaranthine is a demanding task. Each time a person dies, a bit of their body that remains becomes a newly formed zombie, adding to the undead terrors that harass the living. Simply helping someone survive the harrowing journey after death can risk the mind and Infection of the morgue specialists themselves, and it can be a thankless job with little pay and extreme risk.
Furthermore, activities like Grave Dives, Pallor Mortis rituals, Infection transfers, Necrokinetic abuse and more can quickly lead to the ecosystem of the morgue suffering a dangerous MORGUE COLLAPSE. When this happens, the threat of the Undead increases and every death becomes more uncertain, as simply escaping the Mortis becomes a challenge. Whatever the reason, there are consequences when there is no Morgue in an area to attract the newly deceased.
Fixing such a calamity needs valuable and expensive resources like Psionic Crystals, scrap, and more to repair, and keeping that balance maintained can be a full time job for most Grave Robbers and Necrologists. While the stated purpose of the Grave Tax was to provide resources for such a crisis, as well as trained professionals to aid the town should a calamity like this occur, the Grave Council is inevitably tied to the power of the San Saba Board. After a year of little or no support from the Council per General Rampart’s orders, discontent over the concept of Collection Day has grown.
So, with the recent Bravado Rebellion, a very real question looms:
“why should we pay the Grave Tax at all?”
One of the questions that must be resolved during the April event is what becomes of the Grave Council in a world where the San Saba Board’s power is quickly crumbling? Will your survivors find a need for the Grave Tax, or will they be able to forge some new agreement with the Grave Council for their support? What purpose does the Grave Council serve if they cannot collect the Grave Tax?
Will the players fight for the soul of the Grave Council, and can they establish some new system to help maintain the morgues of the area? Can Mother Mayhem and Cassiopeia be trusted, or will they just repeat the mistakes of past Grave Council leaders? Since Rampart quarantined the town, what services has the Grave Council even done for the town over the past year? Should Bravado even continue paying taxes to the Grave Council, given their continued support of the San Saba Board? If the Grave Council isn’t maintaining the Morgues, who is supposed to do this in their place?
As the town continues to fight a Rebellion, and as the survivors of Bravado consider the very laws and order they will continue to maintain, the threat of the Morgue collapsing remains a very real possibility. During WHISPERS FROM THE DEEP, you will get a chance to decide the fate of Collection Day, the Grave Tax, and the very Grave Council itself.
wrap Up
That’s it for today Vados!
We hope that you will join us for our April event, led by the talented Noah Goodman, and explore the future of our factions as we reach the conclusion of our Season 5 story. Will you help the town reach a new dawn, fighting against evolution itself and the horrors that spring from within Waking? Will you pay the Grave Tax, or resolve to handle future grave crises on your own?
Tickets FOR “WHISPERS FROM THE DEEP” are still on sale, so don’t miss out! aPRIL 12-14!
See you soon!
