Rules for Collection Day

Hey there Vados! It’s Jonathan here with another Rules Ramble! This week we are going to cover updates for our game this weekend - COLLECTION DAY. We are going to talk about some rules you should be aware of before game, and things you might see during our upcoming event. As always, the purpose of these Rules Rambles is to cover a topic in the DR rulebook or something that might show up in game in more detail than the book or ZOMs alone can provide.

While advanced ticket sales for the event are closed, you can still get tickets at the door!

Let’s get into a few topics that might be important for this upcoming game, the strange phenomenon of the NEAR DEATH, the mysterious CANTANKEROUS MATRIX, and a few THREAT SKILLS that you might want to brush up on before the event.

The NEAR DEATH

If you’ve been following along with Facebook or Discord, you probably saw some interesting hype posts, particularly from the GRAVE COUNCIL. I’ve included them here, just in case you missed them.

Click to embiggen!

So what is the NEAR DEATH?

We’ve talked a bit about the cosmology of DEATH in my series on What Happens When You Die? but I’ll cover a few basics of what most folks understand about what happens next::

• The Mortis Amaranthine - This is not so much a place, as a concept. While it is true a rotting fungal mass exists under the ground, it is not as simple as that. When you die, your consciousness is temporarily stored within a psionic network of everyone and everything with the Infection running through it, including this fungal network. Collectively, this refers to the state of being that is responsible for the process of death and reconstruction that happens afterwards. Regardless of the source of your regeneration, the out-of-body experience of being rebuilt is maddening and is capable of fracturing mind and body.

• The Grave Mind - This is a bit of a urban legend, but many folks associate this term with a hungry intelligence within the Mortis Amaranthine. In fact, this could really just be considered the egoless space within the Mortis. There is no true sentience behind the Mortis and any voices heard within are simply fragments of their attempts to comprehend the experience. However, each settlement in the Wastes has different quirks and flavors of the death experience that seem to be unique to them so it’s easy to see how this legend has grown.

• Beyond Death - There are deeper ways to interact with the Mortis Amaranthine other than a Morgue, taking you into places and scenarios beyond the limits of what is normal.

  • Sunless Garden - These are areas of the Mortis where the skeletal remains of the consumed world of “the Fall” exists in a microcosm of reality. It is a physical space that functions almost like a stationary point in reality between the living world, the egoless space of the Grave Mind, and what lies beyond the Mortis. You will see these types of locations primarily at National events.

  • Abyssal Rifts - Several blueprints mention the concept of Abyssal Rifts and how to control them, including bodily entering into the Mortis. These were introduced during the online Green House event and these are effectively breaches into reality from beyond the Mortis Amaranthine. Threats like the “Archons” that nearly killed everyone in Essex during our online events are just one example of the threats that can emerge from beyond if these Rifts are not sealed quickly.

  • The Monolith - Other times, unique experiences can emerge from the Mortis like a foreign object stuck in a wound. The Mortis, or at least the rotting fungal mass below the ground, often exhibits medical-like scenarios akin to being infected or experiencing impacted foreign bodies or cysts. These can sometimes become an issue for a settlement, cause new diseases, or even exhibit strange new behaviors of the Mortis Amaranthine. One example was perhaps the Fountainhead during our online season in Essex.

The final location we will explore during this game is the NEAR DEATH.

This is something new.

Takheeta Firstborn has tapped into something powerful to create a new liminal space, as a way to ensure the morgues still work while she completes her GREAT WORK. This is an area not quite within the Mortis Amaranthine, but also not so deep as to pass Beyond Death. So, it’s kind of in between space, skimming the surface of the fungal growths underneath the ground but not quite Limbo either.

Imagine you peeled back a scab on a scar to see the fresh unhealed wound beneath. That tender area is the domain of the NEAR DEATH. While within this area, you will still be able to retrieve your friends after they die, enact a Gravemind Scene or use Necrokinetics, commit a heinous MURDER DIVE, or virtually anything else you might need the Gravemind for.

BUT, it will not be in the usual space. We will have a separate location for this NEAR DEATH Morgue during the event, and a different way of interacting with this new place underground. We hope that if you get the opportunity, you’ll get to see what we have planned for you…

the cantankerous matrix

Takheeta’s telegram mentions a proper noun that you might not have heard before: THE CANTANKEROUS MATRIX.

Ok, confession time. This one has been pretty subtle. There’s definitely a few characters in game that know WAY more about this topic because they asked the right questions early, but it’s been kind of an easter egg this whole season. If you haven’t been tapped into the San Saba Conspiracy, you’ve probably missed it. It’s ok if you haven’t paid attention or noticed it, but I’ll share a few teasers for those that missed out. I’m sure this will be important later.

Commander Rampart, Takheeta, Queen Jasper (doodles by Shan Lind)

Wait, this was in the Story Recap for the first game?

That’s not fair. That was during the online season!

Wait. It’s even in Shan’s stories about Final Knights?

I remember that from the first game…

That looks a bit familiar… almost like a crystalline matrix…

Sorry, not sorry. :)

I’m sure we will find out a bit more about the CANTANKEROUS MATRIX during COLLECTION DAY. It probably has nothing to do with those stories of the Scion Vossa, either. I’m also sure it has nothing to do with the Mortis Amaranthine. Nope. Definitely not.

Threat Skills of Note

I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that I’m describing these completely unrelated Threat abilities before the game. You probably won’t encounter monsters with these abilities. Probably.

ADRENALINE

While the majority of the walking dead move relatively slowly, some amongst them can initiate a sudden burst of vigor and energy that can enliven a horde. With a call of “Adrenaline - All Undead, Run!” they can allow all undead in hearing range to move at an occasional running pace. This means even those slow shamblers can suddenly be right on top of you!

ANOMALY HEAL

Some zombies - and even some other threats in the wasteland - can become revitalized by the use of aberrant abilities in their area. If any anomaly ability is used within earshot, this ability may be activated with a call of “Anomaly Response, Healing”. This restores all lost Body to the source of the call.  If you hear this call, you better get your friends to stop using Skills like BIOGENETICS, cause they will just keep that threat alive even longer.

Aberrant keyword

Some threats can specifically target those characters that have any Psionic or Faith Skills at all. When you select any Skill from the teal Anomaly Skill category, you become an ABERRANT. This keyword means any attack or effect that targets Aberrants directly targets you. If you aren’t an Aberrant, then the attack either has no effect or deals normal damage (in the case of Bane calls).

The most common source of this attack is through “Aberrant Bane” calls, which means you take DOUBLE damage from that attack. But some powerful undead can kill every Aberrant near them, and this might sound like “BY THE SOUND OF MY VOICE: ALL ABERRANTS 20 BODY!”. (Clearly this is just an example.. definitely NOT a very specific call that very specific types of undead will use this weekend…)

rad damage

This is a damage modifier normally associated with an area or mechanical item. Radiation damage in plot mechanic zones can be high (due to volume of radiation), but most items carried by individuals will cause much lower damage. Regardless of the source, Radiation damage causes an equal degree of lost Mind as it does lost Body. So, if a monster swings for “5 Rad!”, you would lose 5 Body AND 5 Mind!

Just a completely unrelated picture (art crudely drawn by Jonathan Loyd)

sound of my voice

This is an effect that targets EVERYONE within a 50-foot radius who can hear the call. Sound of my Voice ignores walls, doors, and all other barriers, and may represent gas, shrapnel, psionics, or other effects that ignore barriers. Sound of my Voice cannot be Avoided. The only effect that can prevent a Sound of my Voice call is the Phalanx Doyen PFA use of the OOPH Barrier. This is the largest range of most Threat abilities in the game. And remember, that’s 50-feet in every direction from the Threat, so that’s a HUGE area to impact.

SPIKE

The animating force of certain undead is linked closely with those created at the same time. When such an undead is dropped into bleed out, they can call “Spike! All Linked Undead Heal All!” - causing all undead that are linked with them to heal to full Body. Some undead can only use this ability once, while others have unlimited uses - forcing survivors to kill them one at a time.

Wrap Up

We learned a bit about the CANTANKEROUS MATRIX and the NEAR DEATH today. We also covered some of the THREAT SKILLS to be aware of. That’s a lot of weird UNDEAD abilities up there. Probably nothing to worry about. Y’all haven’t done anything recently to impact the Morgue like imprison an undead Queen for hours in a Rusted Cage, right? Right?

Ticket sales have closed for COLLECTION DAY, but you can still purchase them on site if you missed out on pre-reg. We hope to see you this weekend, and I hope you’ve paid your GRAVE TAX!

Types of Characters in DR

It’s time for another Rules Ramble with Jonathan! Each week, I’ll introduce a topic in the DR rulebook in a deep dive that focuses on explaining it in more detail than the book alone can provide. There are four core pillars of the DR game in my mind: Combat, Roleplay, CvC, and Economy, and today’s blog post will touch on a bit of things concerning Roleplay; particularly the differences between different types of characters in Dystopia Rising. This is important considering we will have some Casted Characters in play during our next event with a bit more agency than usual.

You can read all about these characters and how you will be able to influence them to change the world of DR:TX in a blog post by Shan last week:

• Queensgrace; A New Leader for a New World — Dystopia Rising: Texas (idratherbeinbravo.com)

Our ticket sales close on FRIDAY! You have a few days left to purchase a ticket online and pre-register, but you’ll still be able to get a ticket at the door!

Types of Tickets

Speaking of tickets, my blog post today actually involves a bit of the ticketing process for our game. Each time you attend a game, you have a few options for choosing a ticket that are outlined on P. 92 of the DR Corebook. Each ticket type essentially allows you to modify the amount of time involved in your CASTING SHIFT.

NOTE: Only 4-hour Casting General Admission tickets are sold at the door. All other types of tickets must be purchased during pre-registration!

The Casting Shift is the time you spend in game helping us portray the antagonists like Zombies and Raiders, or even other Casted Characters like merchants, delvers, or residents of Bravado. Casted Characters are sometimes referred to as NPCs, or Non-Player Characters. This is also sometimes called your “NPC Casting Shift” or “NPC Shift”.

NPC Casting Shifts signups are filled on a first come, first served basis through our Check-In system. Once you have purchased your ticket, please Check-In under the correct Ticket Type. If you are a Guide, please purchase the 4 Hour General Admission Ticket. If you are buying a $0 Casting Only ticket, you will need to spend at least 12 Hours on your Casting Shift to earn XP for your character.

Some casting times have limited availability based on our anticipated needs to run a fun and engaging event. If you want a limited casting time, or the reduced ticket with increased casting time, we strongly recommend picking up a ticket in advance. You can see what tickets are still available on our REGISTRATION page!

As you can see, the Tickets for a game introduce a few terms regarding types of characters that can be confusing, so let’s talk about those in more detail.

Types of characters

There are three types of characters in Dystopia Rising: Leading Characters, Support Characters, and Casted Characters (also sometimes referred to as Extras). Other roleplaying games like D&D often refer to these types of characters as different terms, like PC or NPC. Depending on a person’s experience with games, you might hear these terms used interchangeably, so let’s talk about the differences within each type of character in Dystopia Rising.

For our game, we use some Hollywood terms to refer to our characters, as if we were making a movie or TV show together. Each type of character in our game has a similar example in a production like this. You might have the stars of your favorite show, the supporting actors or recurring guest stars, or even the extras in the background drinking coffee at the café or walking across the street. Collectively, they represent the CAST of that show, but each role has a different focus and impact on the storyline. We often include terms like “scene” to refer to a moment in a game as well.

Like a TV show cast, the main difference between types of characters in Dystopia Rising is their focus and agency. Let’s look at each example:

LC - Leading Characters

The Leading Character (LC) is the primary type of character in our game - played by our players! Other roleplaying games sometimes call this a “PC” or “Player Character”. When a character is in a leading role in a movie or TV show, the focus of our story is on them. We care about their backgrounds, their conversations, and the challenges they face. Since our players are the star of our show, LCs can do pretty much everything in the game, including combat, econ, roleplay, or CvC.

I [pause] am a [pause] leading character..

“These characters are used by standard participants for the majority of their engagement with a game. These are characters that players portray with full agency over the character’s decision-making process within the guidelines of community, shared story, and genre. A player’s ability to have 100% agency over their character shifts to a shared agency once a character engages other participants. This is the nature of shared storytelling, where all involved (staff and participants) share the authority over scenes engaging participants within the framework of genre, safe community and fair play guidelines.” (DR Corebook, p. 16)

An important emphasis here is that while your characters have full agency in most situations, situations involving other characters need to consider SHARED AGENCY. This is generally referring to CvC, but it is also a reminder to make sure that EVERYONE is having fun in a scene, even if it’s just roleplay and not involving combat. You also need to be mindful of our Community Guidelines, and make sure you are following the rules - that’s part of fair play!

One last consideration on agency as a LC — while you have a LOT of ability to impact the world and the characters around you, you must still consider this shared agency responsibility when it comes to the politics of our game. Characters in DR:TX can join one of our major factions, becoming a stake holder in the San Saba Territories (this might be useful next game, if you have Tribes Disparate membership). Once you reach Master Society Membership, you have a bit more influence than most on how the affairs of the faction resolve, and you’ll be involved in more choices that impact your role in the group.

However, this agency will never involve sole leadership in any faction. You can be influential, but you’ll never really be able to fill the shoes of someone like Felicity Redfield. We’ve found that small groups of players in political positions find it challenging to follow their own goals as an LC while ALSO creating engaging content for others. For this reason, we will always retain measures in game that mean staff can inject that drama and story in ways meant to engage with a much larger player base and story. For instance, no LC will be able to be the next King or Queen of the Tribes Disparate, but they CAN be leaders of a House, like the Cervaxi Tribe or the SCAdians. The primary position of leadership will be held instead by a Reoccurring Casted Character (see below).

SC - Support Characters

The Support Characters role is reserved for our Gamerunners and Directors. Shan and Aesa are the primary folks that hold this role in DR:TX, but this could also include members of the DR National Staff or other chapter owners that are visiting too! Like a director in a movie, their primary focus is on the game itself, not the actions of their individual characters. SCs can do most of the same things as an LC, but generally try to avoid things that might provoke a conflict of interest like non-negotiated CvC or being the leader of a crew.

“These characters are overseen by an employee or event owner. While SCs follow all guidelines of standard LC growth and the game rules, the focus and direction of SCs is restricted due to the fact that employees have a greater degree of knowledge and understanding of the world, operations, and story that occur. This greater knowledge and understanding means that the interests of an SC (as a character) will always take second place to the interests of other participants. Support Characters are restricted in what stories or engagements they may have, in order to prevent conflicts of interest and to not allow bleed of character actions to influence and affect a staff member’s station and position as a business owner or employee.” (DR Corebook, p. 17)

At DR:TX, we do try to make sure our Gamerunners have a chance to play from time to time. It’s important for Shan and Aesa to get some time to play their characters, as actually participating in the game is a big part of being able to enjoy themselves and prevent burnout. Luckily, we have a great team of Guides, Admins, and STs that can step in to fill their shoes to give them a much needed break!

Casted Characters (or Extras)

The DR Corebook refers to this last category as Casted Characters, or Extras depending on what part of the book you are reading. It’s a little confusing because both terms are used in the book, but only one is actually defined. But if you see one of these terms they effectively are the same thing. We will also sometimes refer to this type of character as an NPC, or non-player character. This is a bit of a holdover from roleplaying games and video games, but it’s easy to understand and most people can quickly grasp the term once it’s explained.

Any good super hero movie needs the faceless thugs and antagonists in the background of a fight, and our Casted Characters help fill in these roles. During the Casting Shift, our Extras serve a key role in Dystopia Rising by representing monsters like Raiders and Zombies, or other mundane characters as the STs and Guides require. One benefit of this allows us to field living, breathing opponents across the field from you, to really dig into that feeling of surviving the zombie apocalypse. When there are actually 20 zombies surrounding you it tends to thrust you into the moment and help with immersive roleplay.

“This is a character that is represented by a participant during a Casting Shift. A Guide informs participants what sort of persona they will be portraying based on the content the writers produce for the event and helps make sure their time as an Extra is an enjoyable one. These characters have a limited scope of interest, purpose, and history that is defined by the duration of an engagement or a series of engagements written as part of a staff-created plot and story. Extras are portrayed similarly to LCs, however, the interests and focus of the people portraying Extras are driven by story, plot, and enriching the experience of participants actively portraying LCs instead of making decisions based on the agency of the best interests of the character. Extras may reoccur; however, they only do so if dictated by story and plot requirements.” (DR Corebook, p. 14)

The key difference in this role for me is, as a Casted Character or NPC, you are meant to LOSE. Period. The other characters are the heroes of this story. You don’t “win” at an NPC shift when you kill a character, you “win” when folks are having fun. When you are on shift, your goal is to provide a memorable and fun experience for your friends, so that when it comes time for their turn as a NPC they can return the favor and provide that fun in the future.

One of our jobs as STs and staff is also to make sure we have interesting and engaging content on our shifts for the Extras, so that you can also have a bit of fun in the process. We strive in DR:TX to have varied types of mods during the Casting Shift, with options for both roleplay, econ, AND combat. We also strive to provide content for our non-combat players as well while they are on Casting shift. Some players even enjoy the NPC experience so much they sign up for Full Casting Shifts, and they don’t play an LC at all during the game!

Reoccurring Casted Characters (Face NPCS)

One last kind of “hidden” role within the Casted Character category is that of the Reoccurring Casted Character, sometimes known as a “Face” NPC. In our TV show analogy, this is a regular Guest Star or that named background character that stands out a bit more than usual. I think of folks like Nick Fury or Agent Coulson in the Marvel universe, when I talk about Face NPCs. While they still exist to keep the focus on the LCs, our Face NPCs have a bit more agency than a usual Extra. These characters also help establish continuity, as the same person plays them each time they appear and they can react in the play space based on those past experiences better than a random zombie or merchant.

Reoccurring Characters are actually alluded to in the book, in the same section on Extras:

Extras may reoccur; however, they only do so if dictated by story and plot requirements.” (DR Corebook, p. 14)

When a ST or Gamerunners has a particular story in mind, they might reach out to a volunteer for an additional role. The choice of who plays that role is mostly up to the ST, but if you are interested in being considered for one of these roles in the future you can let us know by submitting feedback or sending an email. While we often rely on our Guides and STs to fill these roles, we strive to vary our casting as the story demands. We look for folks with great acting ability, proven experience with the ruleset, and those folks that are an outstanding member of the community that we can trust to help fill this valuable role. This role will often earn additional CAPS for the volunteer time, and we generally work with that player to help them develop a unique costume and look for the role.

Some of the Reoccurring Characters in DR:TX include Faction leaders like Felicity Redfield, Tabitha St. Mercy, Commander Rampart, Mama Rabbit, Gustav Glasseyes, or Boss Wyatt. Each time they enter play, the same “actor” is behind them. Sometimes, this is a Gamerunner or an ST spending time in play outside of their normal shift, but sometimes we rely on the folks outside of the Storytelling Team as well, like in the case of our upcoming game.

In our next event, QUEENSGRACE, we will have a few new faces in our Reoccurring Casted Characters. Shan talked a bit about this concept in our last blog post! These Face NPCs will be in play for large chunks of the game and will be playing the role of the leaders of the Tribes Disparate. These 14 different characters will have a chance of interacting with you over the weekend, and your actions will determine the future leader of the Tribes Disparate. Our Reoccurring Characters have been very, very thoroughly coached on how to behave in the play space, but they will have objectives to achieve, motivations and reasons for their behaviors, and secrets you can uncover.

We are very excited to introduce some of these characters, and we can’t wait to show you more! Our hope is that this enhanced agency will allow these Casted Characters to provide meaningful roleplay opportunities, make them feel like a real character, and a give you a chance to directly impact the future of our story in Bravado.

wrap Up

No matter the role your character or NPC has, one last thing to keep in mind is that you are still in charge of your character actions in game, through a process called Steering. Next time, we will dive a bit more into the concept of Steering, how to apply it in game, and ways you can enhance your roleplay experience. See you next time Vados!

Long Term CvC

It’s time for another Rules Ramble with Jonathan! Each week, I’ll introduce a topic in the DR rulebook in a deep dive that focuses on explaining it more detail than the book alone can provide. There are four core pillars of the DR game in my mind: Combat, Roleplay, CvC, and Economy, and today’s post is our last delve for now into the logic behind some of the things involved with CvC, or Character vs. Character behaviors. Our specific topic this week is Long-term CvC.

In my previous CvC themed posts, we covered an Introduction to CvC and then we covered the pretty dense Theft Rules of Dystopia Rising. Last time, we covered the rules for Conflict in the Moment. Our friends at DR:NY also had a great series on CvC you read about HERE. I highly recommend reading this before we continue our discussion here.

We also still have tickets for our next event QUEENSGRACE open! Make sure you can attend our next event — it’s going to be monumental for our setting!

There are a few core areas in the book on CvC, and we’ve taken a look at each part during this series.

• CvC in the Moment (p. 160) - Rules for spontaneous CvC encounters, and how to use the “C” symbol for conflict. I would consider this “unplanned” CvC.

• Long Term CvC (p. 161) - Suggestions for how to approach CvC that happens over several games or longer, including how to recognize your limits. I consider this “planned” CvC.

• CvC in the Wastelands (p. 162) - Rules for the WASTELAND, an area where consent to CvC is implied simply by entering. We covered this in Part 1.

• Thick as Thieves (p. 163) - Rules for THEFT in the world of Dystopia Rising, what you can steal, how you do it, and what consequences can look like. We covered this in Part 2.

In addition to the sections in the book on CvC, we also have some other additional resources for the game.

• Wasteland Map - You can find a map of the current Wasteland Zones within the DR:TX game space at Camp Kachina.

• Survival Ethos System (SES) - This is an out of character mechanic for “opting in” to CvC in advance, no matter where you are in the game.

So let’s cover what happens when you want to PLAN conflict with another character..

LONGTERM CVC

The Long Term CvC section in the DR Corebook is only 4 paragraphs long, so I don’t have much here to work with as we explain this section. However, I have some good advice and lessons I’ve learned in my years in DR to share with you. Hopefully, what this looks like in practice that may be helpful to you in your own CvC negotiations.

The book outlines a few steps in these paragraphs on p. 161 (emphasis mine):

• Have a conversation with the other person BEFORE you escalate into conflict

• Check if they are okay with that conflict in advance!

• Define what sorts of conflict you are comfortable with, and what CvC means to you

• If they are NOT okay with conflict, deescalate the situation, find an alternative path, or plan to avoid situations or people where conflict would occur.

The big takeaway from the book for me is that Long Term CvC is PLANNED CvC, where as Conflict in the Moment tends to be UNPLANNED. Long Term conflict is something you think about in advance and communicate with the other players on BEFORE it happens, while the more short term conflicts can often be a reaction to an event of some kind in game and need that communication on the spot instead.

The need for communication here is so very important. At first glance, it might seem like a good idea to want to initiate a CvC fight in game without talking to that person first because you want the attack to be a surprise. You don’t want to give them an edge in the fight if they know it’s coming, after all! This kind of mindset is really common for new players, players from other games like Vampire or Nero, or even veteran folks that might remember an earlier time of CvC in the DR 2.0 world. However, not only is that idea against the spirit of the rules, it’s a recipe for a bad time.

This style of conflict misses a BIG component of the CvC rules above because it lacks that element of communication. The only person or group that really enjoys this kind of surprise attack is the aggressor, in my opinion. When you don’t communicate your intentions in advance and set a social contract for the conflict you want to see in the world, it’ll be much harder for the other person to respond positively to the conflict. If you really want to see that ambush style event happen, TELL the other party about that! You don’t have to plan out every swing in a fight if you want to keep it organic, but you DO have to talk about it first.

• JONATHAN’S ADVICE: WHILE IT MIGHT SEEM A LITTLE COUNTERINTUITIVE, YOU CAN STILL HAVE ROLEPLAY THAT INVOLVES SURPRISES, TRAPS, AND AMBUSHES EVEN IF THE OTHER PLAYER KNOWS ABOUT IT IN ADVANCE.

Seeing a trailer for a movie, reading a synopsis of a show, or reading a cover of a book doesn’t necessarily spoil the content for me, but I can’t guarantee that another person will feel that same way. If we don’t talk about it first, it will just lead to resentment and anger because our social boundaries were crossed — all because we didn’t communicate them first! When expectations aren’t communicated and met, resentment and anger grow.

“If you can’t talk about CvC with someone without the potential for real-world drama, then the pairing of you two for CvC probably won’t work out.” (p. 161)

Lastly, sometimes people just shouldn’t CvC with each other. There are many reasons why a person would want to avoid CvC with a particular person, both in game and out of game. CvC is both a privilege AND a responsibility in DR. It’s not just about one player’s fun, but about BOTH player’s fun! Your focus in CvC should consider the benefit of the story versus the potential for real-world conflict. If it’s not going to be fun for everyone, it’s better to walk away and find a different story than potentially create a conflict that will hurt someone in real life.

Why should you consider Long Term cvc?

So, you’ve reached a decision that you still want to pursue long-term CvC and you’ve found a willing partner in crime to help you tell a great story. Great!

Long Term CvC can provide real consequence and a great story because it’s now an opponent with access to the same skills, same equipment, and same abilities that you have across the field. They might have friends to back them up, or a powerful political position. They might have more XP on their character than you, or better equipment. And when a fight has bigger stakes, you can have bigger stories. The main advantage of long term CvC is that it provides a way to push your character towards meaningful conflict.

A meaningful conflict applies pressure to a character to act, because if they refuse to take action, that story ends.

Meaningful conflict is conflict that reveals something about your character. A rival character is in play for much longer than that quick NPC encounter in game, so the possibilities to continue that story are endless. That fight doesn’t have to end with character death. With the Infection, even dying is temporary and that rival could come back for revenge and bring friends with them! CvC can present an engaging challenge but it can be a wider variety of scenarios than you might think.

CvC can really include ANY action that undermines the safety, stability, or security of another character or group, and it can take other forms than just combat. It might be an attack on another character directly with a boffer, sure. But it could also be a series of heated arguments about faith around the Depot, a price war between your crews as you try to sell some of your hard earned scrap and herb, or it could be a bragging contest between two master thieves trying to steal something more noticeable or important to that person when they aren’t looking, all while leaving a calling card to taunt them with their skill.

The most important part of Long Term CvC for me is to really decide what those stakes are in advance, and what you want that conflict to look like. It starts with an out-of-character CvC negotiation, so let’s look at some ideas of things to consider in this conversation.

CVC NEGOTIATION IN PRACTICE

The book is very lacking on actual examples of what kind of things you should discuss in a CvC negotiation, so I’ve built a list of some of the best practices I’ve seen over the years. Here are some boundaries you should look out for in a CvC negotiation, but I’ve probably missed a few to be fair. I’ve grouped these into two main categories — things that cause a change to your character sheet, and some of the common situations to consider for CvC.

possible Changes to your Character:

• How do you feel about short term effects like entering Bleed Out, or being Mangled?

• What about roleplay affects like being affected by a Hallucinogen or Intoxicant?

• How do you feel about poisons (particularly ones that can be secretly put into your food or drinks) being used in a conflict?

• What about long term effects like being inflicted with a Disease or story effect?

• How do you feel about Infection loss as a potential consequence?

• What about more than one Infection loss, or repeated deaths?

• What about permanent character death?

• What about items or effects that interact with your Grave Mind scene like Necrokinetics or Death Brews?

• How do you feel about losing items to theft like weapons, blueprints, or Brass? Is there a limit that you’d like to set on what is fair game?

• How do you feel about Larceny attempts to pickpocket you?

• How do you feel about gaining Fractures as part of the conflict?

Situations to watch out for:

• Do you want to arrange a Guide to observe the conflict in advance?

  • THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT! It’s okay to ask for a Guide to observe a scene — it’s still CvC after all. If you cannot agree on this very basic situation, then maybe you shouldn’t consider CvC with that person. Long Term CvC ultimately requires trust between both sides!

• How much do you want to plan out the actual conflict scene in advance? Do you want to heavily script the encounter in game, or keep it in the moment?

• How do you feel about yelling, screaming, insults and other aggressive roleplay?

• How you feel about physical touch or boffer combat?

• Are surprise attacks okay? What about nighttime raids of your cabin?

• What about conflict during another scene or module? Is engaging you while you are fighting zed or raiders, or negotiating with that Face NPC going to be okay?

• Do you want to sign up for the SES System?

• Who is going to be involved in the conflict?

  • If it’s a violent conflict, it’s especially important to consider allies or a crew into the conversation too. Nothing can make a person change their mind about CvC like feeling overwhelmed or ganged up on!

• Are there any areas of the site that are off limits for conflict?

• How do you feel about indirect CvC against your character, like a whisper campaign to ruin your reputation or economic sanctions like convincing crews not work with you?

• If someone makes your favorite crafting area or cabin dangerous, how do you feel about that?

• Are there any times of day or night you don’t want to consider CvC conflict?

• Can you set up a safety system like a safe word to handle changes in the moment? What if you were ready for a conflict but something has changed? How will you communicate that change?

It’s also important to consider what happens AFTER the conflict. Say everything goes swimmingly with the scene, and it’s really rewarding for you and your CvC partner. What about onlookers that decide to jump in to help? What will your crew think about someone else starting conflict with one of their friends? How will you handle Law Dogs chasing you down for murder? One of the quickest ways a CvC encounter can spiral out of control is failing to account for ALL of the people impacted by the scene, not just the immediate actors.

Follow up AFter the CVC conflict:

• How will you handle spillover, impacting other characters in the game? Are there any limits you need to consider first?

• Does your crew know about the CvC Negotiation, or are they already involved? What about outside contacts like friends or members of your faith?

• How will you handle other characters being involved that you didn’t expect?

• How do you feel about social ramifications or consequences for the encounter?

  • Remember that theft and murder are breaches of the Law of the San Saba, even if you agree to the CvC encounter first or are in the Wasteland. These types of actions can earn the attention of the Law Dogs!

• What do you consider a Conflict of Interest?

• Is there any character or player that you don’t want to include in CvC?

I’ve attempted to cover a lot of the situations to watch out for in CvC, but I’m sure I missed something. This is not meant as a replacement for simply having a conversation with your CvC partner. You are going to make mistakes, but if you can be honest about your feelings and communicate with the other players it will go a long way to avoiding hurt feelings or bleed.

Remember: CvC is both a privilege AND a responsibility in DR. It’s not just about one player’s fun, but about EVERY player’s fun!

Next time, we’ll cover some of the things to look forward to during our next event, QUEENSGRACE. What does the SUMMIT mean for your character, and what should you expect? See you then Vados!

CvC in the Moment

It’s time for another Rules Ramble with Jonathan! Each week, I’ll introduce a topic in the DR rulebook in a deep dive that focuses on explaining it more detail than the book alone can provide. There are four core pillars of the DR game in my mind: Combat, Roleplay, CvC, and Economy, and today’s series finishes up our delve into the logic behind some of the things involved with CvC, or Character vs. Character behaviors. Our specific topic this week is CvC in the Moment.

In my previous CvC themed posts, we covered an Introduction to CvC and then we covered the pretty dense Theft Rules of Dystopia Rising. Our friends at DR:NY also had an engaging series on CvC you read about HERE. The folks at DR:NY did a really fun series on Consent and CvC that I enjoyed, and I highly recommend reading this before we continue our discussion here.

There are a few core areas in the book on CvC, and we’ve taken a look at each part during this series.

• CvC in the Moment (p. 160) - Rules for spontaneous CvC encounters, and how to use the “C” symbol for conflict. I would consider this “unplanned” CvC.

• Long Term CvC (p. 161) - Suggestions for how to approach CvC that happens over several games or longer, including how to recognize your limits. I consider this “planned” CvC. I’ll cover this in my next installment!

• CvC in the Wastelands (p. 162) - Rules for the WASTELAND, an area where consent to CvC is implied simply by entering. We covered this in Part 1.

• Thick as Thieves (p. 163) - Rules for THEFT in the world of Dystopia Rising, what you can steal, how you do it, and what consequences can look like. We covered this in Part 2.

In addition to the sections in the book on CvC, we also have some other additional resources for the game.

• Wasteland Map - You can find a map of the current Wasteland Zones within the DR:TX game space at Camp Kachina.

• Survival Ethos System (SES) - This is an out of character mechanic for “opting in” to CvC in advance, no matter where you are in the game.

So with all that out of the way, let’s discuss one of my favorite ways to engage in CvC in Dystopia Rising: CvC in the Moment.

cvc in the moment

Starting on page 160 in the DR Corebook, we can find the rules for CvC in the Moment. This is a unique section because it covers a way to effectively “check for consent” before engaging in CvC activities by showing the Conflict Gesture. The key part of this for me is that this can be done ANYWHERE, even outside of the Wasteland.

The next big thing that separates this behavior in the moment from other CvC activities is that is it often UNPLANNED. It is simply a natural escalation of roleplay during a scene, a reaction to something that just happened, or simply a way to respond in-character in a way that you would like to ask permission to explore.

CvC conflict in the moment can be several different behaviors in game. It can be the obvious example of swinging a boffer, using an item, or activating a Skill on someone. But it can also be aggressive roleplay like yelling, insults, or screaming, or it can be more subtle such as economic CvC by undercutting someone’s business or taking action against a competitor, political CvC by taking actions against the town or the laws of that area, or simply other active or passive-aggressive behaviors that are designed to provoke a response immediately.

This is a question: “Do you want to have conflict that does not involve Infection loss or item theft?”

The Conflict Gesture is made by holding your hand in shape of a “C” near your shoulder, like in the picture of me here. This allows you to ask someone else in the game an out of character question: “Do you want to engage in CvC that does not involve Infection loss or item theft?”

You can respond to this question in a few ways:

• You can say “NO”, or simply shake your head. You DO NOT have to consent to CvC in the Moment if you don’t want. If someone gives this response, you should immediately deescalate the situation and adjust the roleplay accordingly.

• If you are a member of the SES System, you call “Registered” in response to this question. In addition to basically saying “YES” to the question, you’ve also said “I’m ok with Infection Loss and theft” in addition to the normal rules. You are simply reminding that person that you are indeed enthusiastically consenting to CvC by being a member of the SES.

  • You can still decline a request for CvC while on the SES, but doing so immediately removes you from the SES list for the rest of the event. You must speak to a guide or a gamerunner to be removed from the list ASAP! This is meant as a tool to help you avoid character conflict when you aren’t ready for it out of character, not as a way to avoid in-game consequences.

• You can say “YES”, or respond in kind with a “C” gesture of your own to confirm your consent. This gives temporary consent to CvC under a specific set of conditions.

If you say “YES” however, you’ve established some limits to what happens next. You’ve agreed to physical conflict, verbal conflict, etc., but ONLY as long as it does not result in:

• Infection Loss

• Item Theft

The other implied part of this agreement that can be quickly abused is that it’s generally between TWO people. Make sure you have the consent of EVERYONE that is going to join in on the fun. Don’t blindside another player with an unfair fight when your friends join in on the pummeling — they might be ok with a one-on-one fight, but not with being ganged up on!

While these are the only two things actually listed in the rules, I think it’s reasonable to assume this also includes any long-term effect that could impact a character, such as FRACTURES or serious long-term consequences like a loss of reputation, loss of a position of authority, or anything similar. You can heal a Mangled limb, or drink a brew to restore Body, but it’s hard to get something back once it’s lost if it’s not a temporary inconvenience.

• Jonathan’s Advice: If it’s not a TEMPORARY consequence, it doesn’t belong in “Conflict in the Moment” cvc.

The most important part of this is that CvC Conflict in the Moment can ONLY occur with enthusiastic consent. If they are not 100% in for that fight, YOU DO NOT START IT. Your job as a player is then to de-escalate, choose a different topic, or simply withdraw from the scene. And that’s perfectly fine. It’s just a question, and it’s always appropriate to be firm in your boundaries and say “NO” if you aren’t completely ok with what happens next. Simply have a friendly conversation and move on!

Bravado cvc best practices

One thing to keep in mind is that CvC in the Moment rules are really a pretty short section of the book. There’s a lot of nuance that should apply to CvC situations that isn’t necessarily directly in the rules. The book suggests to “defer to common sense”, but in case you are like me and that’s not always obvious let’s talk about some best practices for better CvC in the Moment.

Here’s a few of my suggestions for better conflict in the moment:

• While CvC in the Moment does not technically require you to observe the time requirement needed for CvC that involves theft or Infection loss, I think it’s still a good idea to purposefully observe these time requirements — particularly the 4 hour window at the end of the game. Attacking someone before the end of the weekend on Sunday doesn’t really give them a real chance to respond to that event. They might have to get started packing, or even need to wait in that dreaded last-minute Post Office line, or they might simply be more tired that usual after a whole weekend of running around in the woods.

“WHEN YOU STEAL FROM ANOTHER PLAYER OR REMOVE AN INFECTION, YOU MUST HAVE BEEN IN PLAY FOR AT LEAST FOUR HOURS BEFORE THE ACT OF CVC, AND REMAIN IN PLAY FOR FOUR HOURS AFTER THE FACT (P. 163).”

• A single negative comment or a loud noise doesn’t always need a check-in with the other player but you should always be mindful of their boundaries. Not everyone can separate someone yelling at them in character from the real thing. Don’t be afraid of asking for consent for conflict before you start that argument or aggressive roleplay!

• Using the “C” symbol to start a fight is not required in the Wasteland or against a person on the SES System, but it’s never a bad idea to check for consent in the moment. You never know when a person might have changed their mind on how they feel about CvC in that particular moment until you actually ask them!

• Know your own limits — It’s ok to change your mind about conflict. If you are tired, hurt, or just distracted it can make it difficult to really engage with a conflict in a positive manner. Don’t engage in conflict in the moment if you aren’t enthusiastically ready for that fight — remember it takes two to tango and enthusiastic consent includes YOU!

• Consent must be given enthusiastically EVERY time. Just because you’ve previously had an encounter where they responded positively doesn’t mean they are ready in this moment! Don’t assume!

• You can always “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” parts of a scene and ask for a calibration in the moment. If it’s getting to be too much, or you aren’t quite sure if that’s the player crying or the character crying, you can always check to be sure! Let the player tell you with a “thumbs up” if everything is going well so you can continue, or tell you to back off with a “thumbs down” and change the intensity or the activity a bit to a more comfortable level. You can read more about this in the OK Check-In System.

• If a conflict does cross that boundary in the moment, remember you can '“thumbs down” the entire scene, EVEN if you have responded positively to a conflict in the moment request. It’s okay to withdraw your consent at any time!

The neatest part about this CvC in the Moment system is that it is effectively a NEGOTIATION for better CvC conflict. This is a key part of healthy and fun CvC in my mind, so next time we will really explore some examples of long-term CvC and good negotiation techniques.

See you next time Vados!

The Future of Drywater

Hey there Vados! It’s Jonathan here with one last update before the game this weekend - BEYOND THE HORIZON. We are going to talk about some mechanics regarding the new settlement of Drywater that you might see during our upcoming event. During this game, your characters will have the ability to influence the new Junkerpunk port of call by completing tasks for one of three factions. Which faction will you help unlock new items and blueprints to bring to our game?

While advanced ticket sales for the event are closed, you can still get tickets at the door!

The Drywater Settlement Package

The infant settlement of Drywater, just a few hours walk to the West of New Bravado’s extended territory, has begun to erect its first permanent structures and acquire its first permanent citizens. Queen Jasper, the sickly but politically powerful matriarch of the Antler clan, has come to New Bravado to oversee the perilous and brave process of sculpting a homeland from irradiated dirt. With the help of the Longberths, a faction of the Tribes Disparate who have historically butted heads with the smaller merchant faction, the scrap of land will become a dry port of call only rivaled by Waking Prime. 

During this next game, the Junkerpunk faction will achieve a major victory by constructing a new town near Bravado. This port will be a new future for the faction and realize the shared dreams of Admiral Sinker Swim and the Regent of the Tribes Disparate, Holy Mother Queen Jasper. However, any construction project of this magnitude cannot be completed by just one person. It takes a village, so the saying goes..

Luckily, three of the major factions of the San Saba have proposed a plan to help the new settlement: the Tribes Disparate, the Railroad Conglomerate, and the Grave Council. Each has their own motivations and reasons to be involved, but there’s really only enough space for one of them to really succeed. That’s where YOU come in!

drywater work orders

The one thing the factions lack in town is the labor necessary to help their cause. At the start of game, each player will have an option to take a DRYWATER WORK ORDER. This tasklist will give you a way to track your assistance to one of the the three factions. Scattered through our site will be TWENTY different tasks you can complete as part of this Work Order. These tasks will require you to complete Skill Challenges, expend item cards like scrap or herb, or use Mind and Body points towards your task.

• Every FOUR tasks you complete will earn ONE vote towards one of the three factions. Some of these tasks will be easier than others, so even brand new players can participate.

• Most Tasks can be completed ONCE per Twelves. That means you’ll be able to do some tasks more than once, but you’ll have to do multiple Tasks if you want to maximize your votes.

• Each character can cast up to FIVE total votes in your favor. There will be a few other ways to earn votes past the Work Orders, so keep your eyes open for opportunity!

• You can only submit one Drywater Work Order per character. If you want to play that alt, go right ahead — we will have additional Work Order forms at the Post Office.

Once you’ve completed as many tasks as you can, you can submit the finished Work Order to the Post Office to record your vote. You’ll choose one of the THREE unique Drywater Upgrades to put your votes toward, securing that faction’s inclusion into the new settlement.

So what do you get for all this hard work? Your investment in the new settlement of Drywater will help out Bravado in the future in a few specific ways:

Drywater Upgrades

The faction that succeeds in influencing new construction in Drywater will reap the benefits of the new trade routes, resources, and alliances with the Junkerpunks. Each faction has proposed an option for upgrading the town, and each option comes with its own unique benefits.

The Cali*Co-Operative Arsenal

Owned and Operated by the dependable Cali*Co Caravan, the *Co-Operative Arsenal will employ the local Junkerpunk population for the purpose of munitions development and production. Located on the scenic ridge that overlooks Drywater, the Arsenal will develop and produce munitions for the defense of the Greater San Saba and her citizens from the threat of zed, raider, or invading body.  Espoused by the Holy Mother Queen Jasper of the Tribes Disparate, the Arsenal is her final attempt at preserving the San Saba as the homeland of her people and their allies.

• This Drywater Upgrade will provide new regional Weapon, Armor, and Vehicle blueprints for trade with Bravado as the town develops.

The Redfield Boatel and Spa

This sumptuous lounge and resort will be just one stop down the Oxline from New Bravado and attract personages of affluence from across the Greater Wastes. Local Junkerpunks will make up the staff of the Boatel and Spa and be provided with a living wage, ongoing benefits, and housing. Located on the river, the Boatel and Spa will technically be a mobile living environment permanently docked at Drywater. The kitchens at the Redfield will produce highbrow brews and confections beyond anything the San Saba has seen so far, and are personally endorsed by Felicity Redfield, CEO of the Railroad Conglomerate.

• This Drywater Upgrade will provide new regional Brew, Meal, Gizmos, and Culinary blueprints for trade with Bravado as the town develops.

The Imix Institute

The closest GraveTech research facility is located in the Dead Marches, many miles to the distant south, beyond even the Blastlands.  To be placed in the middle of town as a multi-story cathedralex, the Imix Institute would employ and educate the local Junkerpunk population as researchers and volunteers in the ongoing effor to understand and benefit from the Mortis Amaranthine and the Grave Minds that lurk within it.  This project is endorsed by the leaders of the Grave Council, Takheeta Firstborn and Commander Rampart.  Research from this facility would likely produce compelling advances in Grave and Psi- technologies.

• This Drywater Upgrade will provide new regional Gravetech, Psionic, and Faith-related blueprints for trade with Bravado as the town develops.

Which faction are you going to put your support behind to help the new town of Drywater? How will you shape the future of the San Saba? Let’s find out this weekend, BEYOND THE HORIZON!

Girl Scout Cookies Update!

Hello friends! Quick add-on from Aesa!

We have two wonderful Girl Scout troops coming out this weekend to sell cookies on site, and, great news, you can now PRE-ORDER those cookies for pick up on either Friday or Sunday! Order using the links below. Select the Girl Delivery option and in the notes put ‘pick up at Camp Kachina’.

Troop 8226 Friday 4:30pm Pre-Order Cookie Pickup Link

Troop 21003 Sunday 11:00am Pre-Order Cookie Pickup Link

This will streamline the process and help ensure both troops have enough of each cookie on hand. Each troop will also have extras for those wanting to pay cash or waiting until they are there.

Let’s help support our site and our girls!

Reminder about Site Times

Re-posting these reminders from a few weeks back about when folks can be on site and where to stay.

COMING ON SITE

Unless you have special permission from staff or are part of our designated Setup Crew for that weekend, the time when you can come onto the site from the parking lot is 3pm on Friday. This applies to Guides as well. At 4pm players who pre-registered can pick up their character sheets and check-in at the Post Office. At 5pm players who did not pre-register can check-in. Read the full Weekend Itinerary here.

DRIVING ON SITE

Likewise, you can only drive on site if you have explicit staff permission. Everyone else needs to park in the parking lot and use a cart to bring their items on to and off of site.

MEDICAL AND NEW PLAYER SLEEPING ACCOMMODATIONS

Wigwam Cabin is our primary Med Sleep location. Wikiup is our primary New Player cabin. Last game we were overcrowded in these spaces. We do not want to have to start restricting who can sleep there further, or requiring medical notes, so please consider sleeping elsewhere if you are not a new player or require medical sleep accommodations.

Kiva is climate controlled and open to anyone. There are also many open-air cabins available in Hopi and Zuni, the platform tents in Tewa, and tent-space is available for those who want to bring their own tent. Some people choose to stay in hotels and air bnb’s off-site as well. If you just would like a Med Sleep note on your character sheet to sleep in a different location without interruption, we can accommodate that. Please email info@dystopiarisingtx.com.

Map of Camp Kachina

See you tomorrow!