Rules You Should Know - March
Howdy Vados!
It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to next Dystopia Rising Live event OFF THE RAILS! This game will be led by Stephanie Patrick-Munoz. 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 in detail the terrifying abilities of Raiders in DR Live!
TICKETS FOR OUR march EVENT ARE ON SALE NOW! are you prepared for an ALL-OUT raider assault?
Our Kitchen Sink Exchange will return for March! However, we will have reduced hours as we’ve been able to work through most of our regular attendees by this point. We’ll have a spot set at the Depot to exchange your 3.0 cards and prints with our helpful Logistics folks.
Friday - Game On (10:00 pm - 2:00 am)
Saturday - Siesta (2:00 pm - 4:00 pm)
The newest DR Live book “Social Creatures” is out! In addition to some updates to the Player’s Guide and Raider’s Guide, this book covers some of the new network-wide Societies and offers some narrative and lore about the place of these groups in games. This is a great book to read if you intend on attending DeathCon in June but is mostly optional otherwise. We’ve updated our affected DR:TX pages for the release of this new book.
If you had a great experience at our last event CRADLE’S LULLABY, 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.
Fill out our Feedback Form!
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, and Max Pohlmeier.
Lessons Learned - February
During the last game, we had a few rules questions that came up and some weird interactions that have come up during this downtime that I’d like to call out of note:
orange headbands & non Combat Players (p. 76)
We’ve had several reports from our our folks that can’t participate in combat about NPCs and other players striking them in a combat. Please make sure you are paying attention to avoiding combat with these folks and make sure that you are not targeting them in a fight. You can find more details about Non Combat Players on page 76 in the Player’s Guide.
A player who is non-combat must wear a bright orange headband or highly visible arm band to signify their status. At night, a non-combat character may also wear a clearly visible orange glow stick. Players who are unable to participate in combat are heavily encouraged at character creation to design characters that are not focused on combat. Players who are non-combat should not actively go into areas that are known to be combat zones.
If a non-combat character is in an area where combat has broken out, NPCs approaching the non-combat character will provide the non-combat character a clear means of egress from the scene and gesture for the non-combat character to leave. Non-combat players should gesture to their orange non-combat markers just to help players identify who should not be engaged in the combat. Non-combat characters will then remain out of the combat zone until given an all-clear by a Guide or their fellow players.
This does not prevent a non-combat character from participating in modules or scenes where combat is a part of the scenario. Instead, they should be able to participate from outside the active combat zone in ways that are not directly in threat of combat.
In the instance that a non-combat character chooses to engage in a combat scene after being made well aware that combat can occur, Guides may call damage to the character as they get too close to the combat. They can do this by pointing at the character and calling damage.
Meaty Bits
Meaty Bits are officially a GIZMO item, despite conflicting references in the Player’s Guide and blueprints. If you were issued a Meaty Bits card as a Produce, you can turn this into the Post Office to get the card rewritten with a longer expiration date.
The Morgue & the Mortis
The Morgue is separated into two sections - the “physical” space of the Morgue and where folks wait for their loved ones to return, and the “liminal” space of the Mortis Amaranthine, where experience a Grave Mind Scene. All Necrology items need to be produced within the Mortis Amaranthine, which means you need to use a method to enter this liminal space. Next game, we will have these areas clearly marked out.
Proficient Necrokinetics allows you to spend Mind to take yourself and another into the space, and Strain advantages like Civilized Unborn can even bring additional folks into the Mortis with Necrokinetics.
Items like the Necrology Station even offer a way for non-aberrant characters to spend a Resolve to enter the Mortis, similar to how you can spend Resolve to escape a Grave Mind scene.
If you don’t have a means to enter the Mortis like this, characters with an affiliation with the Grave Council may be able to request skilled assistance, for a price.
Enhanced Movement
This skill is NOT the same as the old Rescue ability of 3.0. This skill allows you to use the STEALTH symbol for 5 steps, provided you DON’T interact with your environment. This means you can’t pick up a bleeding friend and use this to get away or escape through closed doors (without the assistance of items, at least). Instead, this ability is more commonly used to get TO that bleeding friend safely, but then a skill like DRAG HANDLE can allow you to carry them to safety.
Calling a Strike
You must call a special modifier to an attack BEFORE you swing your weapon. We saw a lot of attacks during the event where a person would swing their weapon and wait until it contacted to call a special strike like Mangle or Takedown. You can find a breakdown of the specific timing of these attacks on page 74 of the Player’s Guide:
The order of operation of using a skill during an attack is:
Call the Skill
Attempt the Strike
Listen for Defense
Resolve the Mechanic.
If a Strike is successful, not successful, misses, OR does not land a legal swing, the skill is still expended.
When defending, you have roughly 3 seconds to respond with a defensive skill you’d like to use to negate the simulated attack.
This means that you need to first call the ability, make a swing, and if it’s not blocked or defended, then and only then will it affect your target. Remember, if the strike hits a sword or a shield first, it’s considered blocked. Strike clean, not hard!
Crafting Zones in Bravado
We’ve had these listed on the website for a bit, but with the changes to how crafting works in DR Live we need to formally declare our crafting zones once more.
The Meadows, Agricultural Zone - This area covers the grassy field across from Cedar Cabin and includes the gaga ball pit and bench area under the trees. This area is contained by the tree line and the paved roads.
You can use the skill Agriculture in this area to farm herbs and use items like “chippers”.
The Depot, Artisan & Culinary Crafting Zone - There is a large and obvious crafting station set up in the north-most part of the Depot, marked with checkered flags and crafting props and supplies for Artisans. There is a large and obvious crafting station set up in the south-most part of the Depot, marked with the symbols of the San Saba Republic and obvious cooking utensils and props. This Crafting Zone is in a climate-controlled building.
You can craft with the Artisan skill in this location and make generic items off of the Artisan Crafting Zone list.
You can craft with the Culinary skill in this location and make generic items off of the Culinary Crafting Zone list.
The Dive, Artisan & Culinary Crafting Zone - This open-air pavilion is in the camp area known as the Sage Huts and is usable as both a Culinary and Artisan zone. The front half of the pavilion should be used for Artisan, while the back enclosed area should be used for Culinary.
You can craft with the Artisan skill in this location and make generic items off of the Artisan Crafting Zone list.
You can craft with the Culinary skill in this location and make generic items off of the Culinary Crafting Zone list.
The Mortis, Necrology Crafting Zone - Inside the Morgue, in the area marked as the Treehouse is a space that can be accessed with certain mechanics to enter the Mortis. As of February, this location now contains a Necrology Station and can be used with the skills The Living Experiment, Mortuary Morsel, or The Organic Machine. This area is maintained by the Grave Council and can only be entered with the use of specific skills or items.
The LESSER-KNOWN Raider abilities
Last week, we covered the details of the deadly ability Raider Rage. This week, I want to cover some of the more common threat skills you’ll see on the various Raider threats of DR Live. I’ll cover the rules in the book, and then give a few notes, Rules Ramble style.
Carver
Target character in Bleed Out or Immobilized. Engage in 20 seconds of Full Engagement Role Play of mutilating or torturing the Target. Cause Paralysis and Agony. If skill use is successful, may be immediately used again for free on same Target. This skill extends Bleed Out timers to 10 Minutes the first time it is used.
This is a common skill on Raiders that allows them to torture a helpless survivor. This skill functionally locks down a victim and prevents them from escaping or being rescued as they suffer debilitating pain. This ability can have a couple of important interactions with the dying victim.
First, the skill extends the Bleed Out timer. This can be both a blessing and a curse, as the Raider might use your pained cries for help as a way to draw your friends into an ambush. Once the skill has been used once, it can be used over and over again. You can imagine that dying to a Carver attack and slowly bleeding death will cause some trauma for your character once they emerge from the Mortis Amaranthine.
Secondly, the skill inflicts AGONY, an ability causing severe physical or mental pain, hinders characters, making actions nearly impossible. It lasts 10 seconds unless stated otherwise, restricting skills and item use but allowing slow movement and defense. It also causes a PARALYZE, inflicting a Psionic Nail in place for 30 seconds. This means you can’t be rescued except by Drag Handle (since it breaks Nail), and because you can’t use items while in Agony that means you can’t even use an Injectable. Ouch!
Cannibalism - Autopsy
A unique form of Killing Blow that takes a 60 count instead of the normal 3 count. Modified Cannibalism causes the Raider 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 Raider to create new Dread Surgeon spawn. In the instance that a mechanic prevents the user of this effect from regaining body (I.E. - No Healing) the user regains no Body but all other Mechanics work as per normal.
This is one of the signature skills of the Dread Surgeon raiders, and one that we previewed during some of our 3.0 events. This functions mostly like the normal Cannibalism skill you’ll see on most zombies and some raiders. However, this simply allows the Dread Surgeon to prolong the experience and harvest pieces that will allow them to make more raiders in the future. Yikes!
Dead Switch Detonation
Upon hitting Bleed Out, call “Area of Effect 20 Radiation Damage”.
F.U.I.P. (Pronounced Fwip)
Thrown Weapon Attack - 30 Body Damage
These next two skills are common damaging attacks possessed by several types of Raiders, but especially the radioactive Haze Raiders F.U.I.P. (Fuck You In Particular) is a devastating ranged attack that inflicts Body damage. This means it bypasses Armor and hits your Body directly. Better save an Avoid for this one!
Dead Switch Detonation can make every raider into an impromptu bomb. Remember, only a few things can prevent an Area of Effect attack, like Shield Master. Since this is just damage, even skills like Balance won’t do much good. Rad Damage is particularly insidious, as it causes Body AND Mind damage. Not only will this likely knock you into bleed out, you’ll lose your precious Mind Points at the same time. Better hope someone nearby has an Angry Anchor Riot Shield handy!
Pure Hatred
Target character in Bleed Out. Call “Nail, 1 Minute Bleed Out”.
The skill Pure Hatred is common on Natural Born Raiders, but is found on the higher ranked threats and Raider Champions. This skill is a particularly devious attack as it hastens a victim’s demise. When used, it simply Nails your bleeding body in place and reduces your Bleed Out timer. This means that the only skill that can save you is something like Drag Handle, since it can cancel Nail effects, or psionic equipment like the Subcutaneous Magnifier.
Raider Resistance
“By My Voice - All Raiders Upsurge 20 Armor”
This one is easy enough. Like the Raider Rally ability we covered last week, this isn’t an ability that can be stopped by stuff like Choking Blow, but any attacks that deal Body damage will be able to quickly negate this protection. This can make Raiders even tougher to kill, so make sure to prepare for a fight if you hear this call from the attacking raiders.
Shared Bloodlust
“Sound of my Voice, Aberrant Attract All Tainted”
Attract is a keyword ability found on page 83 of the Player’s Guide that draws creatures or people with a specific keyword towards the user for five minutes. Those affected must move towards the call but can defend if attacked; the effect resumes if the attacker withdraws. While not forced to attack the source, most zed, raiders, and instinct-driven critters will. Lineages can decide their actions once attracted. This ability can be resisted by Mental Endurance, but this version of Attract is specifically targeted at the Tainted Strain. If you aren’t Tainted, this ability has no effect.
Wall Punt
Only can be used on a Target with a Shield. Call “Break Shield, Knock Back 2”
This is a common ability on variant raiders and enables a roving pack of raiders to break into buildings more easily or to move past a shield wall. While you may have the ability to avoid the Break effect, the Knock Back part will definitely clear some space for the Raiders to move into a doorway. Remember, if you have something that protects from part of a skill call, you only stop that part of the skill call but suffer the rest of the effects.
Weapon Patch
With 3 seconds of role-play a Raider can return their broken Melee or Ranged Weapon to a repaired state. This makes the weapon functional enough for a Raider for the next 10 minutes. If the equipment is still in use in 10 minutes, it will need to be replaced or patched again.
Particularly powerful raiders will be able to keep their equipment ready for a fight against their hated foes, and some raider clans have various minions tasked with keeping their gear properly rusty and bloody. With this ability, Weapon Patch allows them to quickly repair their own gear for a fight. It won’t last forever, but for some Raiders that can use crafted item cards, this can be a particularly dangerous ability. Break Weapon will only slow them down, but that powerful ability of the weapon will be ready again in no time. While this ability can technically be stopped by abilities like Blinding, remember that Raider Rage will make them immune to most effects that could stop this skill from being used.
Violence for the Love of It
Call “VIOLENCE” - For 1 Minute all damage done to Lineages or Raiders heals the user 1 Body per successful Strike.
This ability is basically a Raider specific version of the Squad Leader Profession ability, Dead Trigger. This attack rewards the raider’s bloodlust with incremental healing. Coupled with Raider Rage, this can make the Champion a mighty force on the battlefield. Not only will they be able to be temporarily immune to damage during a rage, they can quickly regain their Body back by doing what they do best — killing you and your friends.
Wrap Up
That’s it for today, Vados.
We hope that you will come join us for our next event, our first DR:TX event using the new rules for Dystopia Rising Live. We hope you are ready for the intense threat that is Raiders in the world of Dystopia Rising Live. Will you survive the deadly Raider assault? Will you help the Sweetwaters survive the wasteland as they escape worse threats? Will you survive what comes next?
We will see you this weekend for our March event, OFF THE RAILS!!!
