Disguise 101

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. Today’s blog post will touch on a bit of things concerning ONE particular skill: PROFICIENT STEALTH, aka DISGUISE. This can be a confusing Skill, but I’m here to suggest some best practices and explain some rules mechanics you should know.

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This blog post also touches a bit onto concepts of STEERING, which you can find a much longer write up about in our blog post on the topic. Disguise straddles the line between ethical and unethical steering, so it’s worth a consideration to be familiar with this concept first.

Disguise in Dystopia Rising is a bit of a tricky subject, because the book doesn’t really cover much of the common uses of the Skill, because a LOT of it is on Blueprints, or implied elsewhere instead. This is a complicated skill and a long blog post, so sorry in advance!

Let’s look at what this Skill does, the implied rules of the Skill, what items modify the use of this skill, and some of Jonathan’s best practices for better disguises.

The “Disguise” Skill?

First, let’s discuss the elephant in the room. There is actually no Skill named Disguise in 3.0. There are only 8 instances of the word “disguise” in the DR Corebook (and one refers to Artisanal Cuisiners disguising contents in food, so it doesn’t really count). Any time you hear a player refer to this ability in this manner, it’s a holdover from the world of 2.0, where Disguise was a separate Skill.

Instead, this is a secondary use of the Skill PROFICIENT STEALTH.

For ease of reference in this blog post, any time I refer to a “Disguise” skill, I really mean Proficient Stealth. Let’s take a look at the rules that are actually in the book, but there’s really only three major sections of note (emphasis mine):

Proficient Stealth, p. 129

An individual with this skill [Proficient Stealth] may also do a full costume change, including heavy makeup or face covering, and may spend 5 Mind points to be in disguise for a total of 30 minutes. The user must make every attempt to keep players from recognizing them out of character. While in disguise, the user must craft an alternate persona with a different Strain, personality, and mind-set that does not mimic another LC, SC, or Extra. At the end of the 30 minutes, the person may expend another 5 Mind points to continue acting as the same persona for another 30 minutes. While in disguise, other Extras, SCs, and LCs cannot recognize the character for who they are. The Awareness skill does not counter the disguise.

Character Costumes, p. 28

Your character costume identifies you as the persona you are portraying. Due to to the fact that the same person (you) may be portraying multiple personas over time, it is important to create a visual identity that allows players to identify a character a glance. This kit (or costume) can evolve over time, but you should not change the way your character dresses or acts drastically without using the Proficient Stealth skill (which allows participants to disguise themselves) due to the fact that this muddles the meta-concept of who are you playing instead of properly representing your character.

Supply Bags, p. 107

You can only have one Supply Bag on you at at time, and you cannot use other bags or items to disguise your Supply Bag… Those who disguise themselves are encouraged to use a secondary Supply Bag with their new costuming.

That’s not really a lot. Its only one paragraph in a big book, and is only referenced a few other places. I think this is one of the main reasons why folks get confused on the Skill, as most of the common uses of this Skill involve crafted equipment from Blueprints, and NOT THE SKILL ITSELF.

So let’s break all that down into some key rules from the book:

• This is a Proficient Skill, so you must have at least 50 Spent Experience, and already have the Skill Basic Stealth to buy this Skill.

  • We will talk about the big way around this rule that even Dusters can use in our section on Equipment!

• It costs 5 Mind points per 30 minutes you are in costume.

  • IMPORTANT NOTE: You don’t pay the next 5 Mind points until AFTER the 30 minutes is ending, so you CAN drink a brew, eat a meal, etc. before that happens in order to have enough Mind points for the next “touch-up” of the disguise.

• This skill requires a full costume change, including makeup OR a facial covering.

• You must make an attempt to conceal your identity out of character. A disguise can’t just be a pair of silly glasses and fake mustache. This also means your disguise needs to be capable of fooling the player as well as the character.

• You cannot disguise as the SAME Strain. You must portray a different Strain, and include a bit of acting with a new personality or mind-set.

• You cannot mimic another character or NPC. Sorry, no pretending to be Felicity Redfield — she’s too iconic!

• Other characters or NPCs cannot recognize you while in Disguise.

  • Similar to the use of Basic Stealth, this requires a bit of ethical steering on the part of the other players. They may recognize the you-shaped person behind the Disguise, but they cannot use that info. Just because you know who they are out-of-character doesn’t mean you can act on that info in-character.

  • If someone seems unsure, just tell them you aren’t that character, or you can simply place a hand on your head and remind them “Clarify: Disguised”.

• The Awareness Skill does NOT counter this secondary use of the Stealth Skill.

• You cannot drastically change your character’s costume WITHOUT the Disguise Skill.

  • IMPORTANT: This means that unless you use this particular Skill, no amount of scarves, fake mustaches, elaborate costumes, disguising your voice, etc. can provide you a way to hide your true identity as a character.

  • In other words, you gotta use a Skill or item for a disguise, not just a clever mask or outfit.

• You cannot disguise a Supply Bag, so you should have a different, secondary Supply Bag for your disguise costume.

As written, this skill can be challenging to use effectively, so let’s first consider some other implied rules of the Disguise skill.

inferred rules of disguise

As we dig a bit deeper into some things that are inferred in this skill, some of these things are not readily obvious. These are important clarifications, but some of these are not specifically stated anywhere so you gotta apply a bit of logic. Some of this is also going to be using rules from Blueprints, but I’ll discuss those specific interactions in more detail below.

• There is no time to use this skill, other than the time to put on another costume. This is the rare skill that has no activation time, other than real life speed at changing clothes.

• This is an instant effect of a Skill, and not an active Skill like Artisan or Medical. Once the Skill has been used, it is in effect on you for the duration and you can do other actions, including Active Roleplay (p. 102) skills.

• This is not an active Skill use, so it cannot be Interrupted (p. 104). Thus, it is not immediately removed or stopped by being Subdued or Unconscious.

• You cannot use this Skill while Subdued (p. 107), as it does not specifically state that you can. That means you will no longer be able to reactivate the skill at the end of 30 minutes while Subdued, so all your captor has to do is wait until it expires to discover the person behind the mask. Roh roh, Scooby!

• The book does not state when a disguise ends, other than the duration in the skill. That means there is no mechanical way to remove a Disguise.

  • “But, Jonathan, Combat Goggles state…” The goggles specifically state that it counters New Papers Camouflage (the Shadow PFA Skill use) only, and NOT the Proficient Stealth Skill.

• For our purposes in DR:TX, unless the Disguise is removed by the user on purpose, the Disguise skill ends upon character death and sinking into the Mortis Amaranthine (as there is no body left to disguise). This was clarified, per the Community Forums.

  • This means Widow’s Tea can help protect your identity if captured, as you can use it while Subdued!

• If you die while wearing a Disguise, you will NOT be Disguised in the Mortis Amaranthine scene (unless you are using other equipment I’ll talk about below). Folks with Necrokinetics or the like will be able to see the “real” you in the Grave Mind.

• Because the Disguise is simply a LIE, if someone uses the “Interrogate” function of Basic Malicious, Proficient Mental Endurance, Telepathy, Combat Goggles, or other methods to get you to tell the truth, your Disguise won’t help you — you will have answer as your true identity.

  • You must have another item or Skill to let you evade these types of questions, such as the PFA use of Moulen Rouge Camouflage, an “Oh Shit!” Shoe Tack, or Basic Mental Endurance.

  • This also means something like a Daline Death Measure Osteotome can ask questions of your corpse after your die and get answers from the REAL you, unless you’ve used the Camouflage item before your death.

Blueprints & Disguise

So the Skill itself has some limitations, so let’s look at the ways to modify this skill using EQUIPMENT. There’s only really three pieces of equipment that modify the Disguise skill, so let’s look at them each in detail (other than the few related items I’ve mentioned above, like Shoe Tacks and Widow's Tea).

I’ve included a link to the database in each title so you can see the rules for yourself.

Moulen Rouge Camouflage (GIZMO)

This item is the most commonly used item with the Disguise skill. Even after the release of the Many Faced Mask at Dead Water, this item still has some important uses that are not replicated.

• This is a single-use item. Once you use it, it’s gone.

• Basic Mechanics: Doesn’t impact Disguise at all. Sorry. Craft it to a higher level.

• Proficient Mechanics: This changes the duration to 1 hour, and it only costs 1 mind. You can still reactivate the Skill later, but it will be at the 5 Mind cost as usual (and only last 30 minutes per use after that). You would have to use ANOTHER one of these gizmos to get the longer duration and cheaper mind cost. This is great for newer players that don’t have a lot of Mind yet and still want to put on a Disguise.

• Master Mechanics: This is important for our Dusters, or folks that don’t have this Skill at all. Since the Skill is normally only usable on yourself, this allows you to apply a Disguise for 1 hour to another character. Just because you don’t have Proficient Stealth doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the sneaky plays around being in Disguise. This is a great way for even new Dusters to participate in Murder Incorporated…

• Achievement Mechanics: This is probably one of the most unique uses of the Skill, using the Shadow PFA. This changes the duration to 24 hours, allows you to answer Interrogate questions as your alternate identity, and even persists past death. Be wary, though, as this effect has a specific counter in the Combat Goggles item that can reveal your identity.

This blueprint had a notable change in November last year, gaining better uses of the Disguise skill and being reduced in cost to make (it no longer costs Plastics, just Scrap and Herb). If you haven’t gotten your blueprint updated, it’s worth checking to make sure it has the right date on the bottom right corner of the print. It should say “Revised 11/23/21”.

Combat Goggles (GIZMO)

This item is primarily notable as it is the only counter to the Disguise skill, but ONLY the use of the skill with the Achievement Mechanics of the Moulen Rouge Camouflage.

• B/P/M Mechanics: The basic item doesn’t require a Skill to use, but only the PFA ability interacts with Disguise. Everything else is used to protect you from the Blinding skill.

• Achievement Mechanics: This allows a Veteran PFA to not only detect if someone is lying, but it also specifically counters the “New Papers Camouflage” PFA ability of the Moulen Rouge Camouflage.

• This item does NOT actually counter the Disguise of a Many Faced Mask or the actual use of the Disguise skill by itself. However, it can be used to detect lies at the end of the 10 minutes, so it functions very similarly to uncover a disguised person as Malicious or Mental Endurance. If you want to stay in Disguise, remember the motto of the Criminal Influence Underworld: “Eyes Open, MOUTH SHUT”.

The Many Faced Mask (MURDER INC GIZMO)

This is now the premiere Disguise item in the game, but it’s not without it’s own quirks. If you aren’t part of Murder Incorporated, it could be character deadly to be caught using their equipment without their blessing.

• This item takes Proficient Stealth to use. It only requires Basic Criminal Influence and Murder Inc. Society Membership to CRAFT, not use.

• This item is ALWAYS recognizable as a Murder Inc. item. The goal is to hide your specific identity as an assassin, NOT the identity of your employers. Murder Inc. kinda wants their victims to know it was them…

• Unlike most Murder Inc. equipment, this does NOT have the “Wasteland-Only” keyword, so it can be used anywhere in our DR:TX game.

• This mask requires a specific phys rep. While it is generally in the shape of the three sub-faction identities (bauta, plague mask, featureless), it can be other shapes depending on which Family you are part of. You find some specifics on our website.

• Basic Mechanics: This is a rare Basic item that modifies a Proficient skill use. This makes the Disguise last until the END OF THE EVENT, or until you remove the mask or reveal your identity. That’s pretty huge. You don’t have to worry about spending lots of Mind to stay in Disguise, but if you are tied up or Subdued, someone can just remove the mask off of you.

• Proficient Mechanics: This is a solid upgrade to the Basic effect, because now if anyone removes or breaks your mask except you, the Disguise continues until the next 12s. This is one good way to keep a Disguise on for a long time, even if you are Subdued since you won’t have to reactivate it for a while. Just make sure you have some time until the next 12s, cause if they take your Mask off at 11:55am, this effect only lasts 5 minutes!

• Master Mechanics: The mask’s disguise ability at Basic or Proficient now persists beyond death. This is similar to the PFA use of Moulen Rouge Camouflage, and can protect you from snooping folks using Necrokinetics. However, it can cause some… interesting modifications to the Grave Mind scene, as the rumors behind your Disguise can influence the Mortis Amaranthine itself.

• It’s worth noting that this item does NOT allow you to LIE about your identity when questioned. You’ll have to rely on other items or Skills to stay quiet.

These three items are the main things you should be aware of when using Disguise, but there could be Augments or other Local Plot Items that interact with this skill in the future. This is a complete list for now, but it could change!

Jonathan’s Best Practices for DisguisE

As part of our Radical Trust and steering, we want to make it even easier for folks to buy into the disguise and that means maintaining the illusion of disbelief as long as possible. Sure, they might recognize you as a player, but let’s give them something worthwhile to roleplay with and a potential for a fun reveal later! No matter if you want to control the information about your true identity or carefully reveal it at a dramatic opportunity, a better disguise can aid either type of roleplay.

If you see someone that you recognize and suspect they are in a disguise, play along. Buy into their roleplay, and give them the benefit of the doubt. This is the best type of ethical steering in my mind, as it gives you a fun scene but also says “yes, and..” to the other player. I promise that if you make a habit of trusting your fellow player to play along, you’ll be surprised with how often they do.

Using a Disguise can be a really fun experience. It’s a thrill unlike any other, and it’s often a very useful tool in CvC to try to avoid consequences for illegal activities like theft or murder. If the Law Dog doesn’t know who to arrest, you can’t be dragged to the Gauntlet after all. With our new CvC factions of Murder Inc. and the Red Ledger and all the plots they have in store for next season, there’s a lot of new opportunities to engage in a bit of the more dangerous side of the game, provided you can conceal your real identity.

We’ve also recently introduced a new Zone of Mechanics during Criminal mods called the “PANOPTICON”. This is a yellow sheet of paper that will be flagged by the Guide at the start of a mod where you should probably have a Disguise. You will sign the sheet, record your player number and whatever “name” you are claiming at that time, and state whether or not you are currently in Disguise. If you see this sheet and don’t have the ability to put on a Disguise with a Skill or item, this means you are “opting in” to consequences if something goes wrong because someone is always watching. You can also choose to “opt out” of the mod or go in knowing that your identity may be learned by some bad folks (or Law Dogs).

With that in mind, there’s a couple of practical and physical considerations for using the Disguise skill. This is a list of my best practices recommendations, but I’m sure others have some great suggestions as well. If you need help in figuring out a Disguise, talk to your friends or look for other players engaged in the Criminal play in the game for other ideas.

Change your identifiable features & Clothing

It may seem a little obvious, but it’s worth mentioning. Don’t wear a visible costume piece that might immediately give you away. Ideally, this is an entirely different costume than your normal outfit, and not just a blanket or set of scarves over your face. A good disguise makes you indistinguishable from your true character at a glance.

Don’t wear that fancy flag or patch, and try to conceal things about you that are uniquely noticeable. If you are very tall, try to walk with a hunch or slump. If you are tiny, consider pillows or padding to simulate a different shape or size. I’ve seen some folks even use things like prosthetics or stilts to change their profile. You can also use baggier clothing, or change your normal fit. Use flowing, form-concealing clothing to hide your profile. If they can’t see or recognize your normal body shape, it can be hard to identify you.

Remember to make sure that even parts of the REAL YOU that are identifiable like tattoos, hair, beards, body jewelry, or even exposed skin are hidden in your disguise. If someone notices something like this out of character, it can make it hard for them not to associate that disguise with you. Something like a wig can go a long way to concealing your identity, particularly if you have colorful or notable hair colors, for instance.

Wear a Mask

Like I mentioned before the best disguises prevent someone from recognizing you out of character. The best way I’ve found to do this is through the use of a MASK. While items like the Many Faced Mask are also mechanically useful in game, a mask could be purposefully recognizable or iconic, or just something very common like a Raider or Retrograde mask. Keep in mind that a full face mask can be challenging to fight safely in, as it can affect your peripheral vision. Make sure you find something that is comfortable to wear and easy to breathe in, particularly if you plan on staying in disguise for a longer time.

Additionally, there’s something primal about not being able to see a person’s eyes or face. It’s a big way to inspire horror and fear, and there’s a reason why some of the best villains like Raiders or Nemesis conceal their faces with a mask — it hides who they are! It’s the main reason that Murder Inc. uses iconic masks — they want you to feel that dread as you recognize them as an agent of the shadowy assassin’s guild.

Keep your mouth shut

The best way to have a great Disguise is to simply NEVER TALK. Be silent and mysterious. No matter how good your costume is, your voice can give you away. You might be one of those people that can make a neat accent, but that’s definitely not one of my talents. If they can’t recognize your voice, they can’t identify you later. Use hand symbols or gestures, or if you are talented enough you can use actual sign language. Write down your threats in a book for them to read. If you must talk, use a whisper. But, when in doubt, just don’t say anything at all and do your best to roleplay the brooding, silent spy.

have a different set of Gear for your disguise

The Disguise skill doesn’t change the look of that unique boffer weapon that you had specially made by a talented crafter. If they can recognize your gear, someone might be able to determine your real identity. This means that while you are taking care to conceal obvious parts of your costume, don’t make the mistake of using the same weapons, shields, and armor. Get a different boffer, different phys reps, and even different injectibles or brews.

Remember that you can’t Disguise a Supply Bag, so have a secondary Supply Bag to use in your disguise. It can also help to keep a completely separate set of gear for use in your disguises. If you can, try to even have a different type of weapon that you normally rely on. If always have a Shield when not using a disguise, sometimes something as simple as using Florentine instead can change your profile in a big way.

develop a new persona

Develop an identity with a background, a hometown, a name and a family, and thoughts and feelings about the world. Make sure you put some thought into how you might answer normal questions about Faith, local politics, or the events of the weekend. Be careful about pretending to be part of a crew or faction that you don’t know much about, as it can be a quick way to out yourself as an impostor. If you can hold a conversation with another character while still in the role of your disguise, it can go a long way to selling the deception.

Remember things like Society Memberships for Factions can be a great way to separate the identity too — if you are a diehard RRC member, maybe working on a Supply Order for the Junkerpunks could be a good way to stand out as someone different.

accessorize your outfit

The more complete your outfit is while in disguise, the more easily people can steer into accepting this new face as a different person than your normal character. The best disguises are almost as elaborate as a costume for your secondary character or alt. Accessories can be a great way to accomplish this, so think about something like a Faith patch or symbol of a San Saba Faction to sell the story. Things like hats, jewelry, or other gear like medical kits or crafting tools can be a good way to create a new identity. Stuff like trophies, small trinkets, or keepsakes can help create that complete persona. Accessories help build layers for your disguise.

If you can, you can even try to have a few items with item cards ready for your identity. That medical kit sells your identity as a small town doctor better if it’s actually a Candlepin Medical Kit. Think about popular Gizmos or equipment that people like to use, and try to use actual in-game items as accessories.

details matter

Think of the little things that might give you away in your disguise. Be careful about pulling out your character sheet in view of others, or using your character name at the Post Office. Try using a foreign currency if you purchase things while in disguise to add to the mystery. Have some unique trappings of your outfit that makes it a complete costume, and not just a black sheet you’ve draped over your shoulders. Practice not answering or flinching when someone calls you by your real character name. Try to think through every little detail that might give away your identity while in disguise, and be prepared for surprises.

Some advanced ways to make details matter are to develop and use a Skill that you don’t normally use in character. If your sneaky identity learned to use Culinary in secret, it can go a long way to selling the disguise if it’s not a Skill that people might recognize you having. If you have XP to spare, it can be useful to keep a few tricks hidden up your sleeve.

The anti-disguise

While something like a mask can be an obvious tool for a disguise, don’t overlook keeping it simple. After all, Clark Kent simply put on a pair of glasses to hide his identity as Superman. Something simple like a pair of glasses, a beard, or a wig can make a big impact. Makeup can go a long way to change your look, particularly if you lean into something like pretending to be a Retrograde or Full Dead. If you’ve always wanted to try a different Strain, a Disguise can be a good way to try out something like LED glow to pretend to be a Iron or Unstable.

Try picking a Strain that is drastically different than your normal Strain to create a clear separation between your Disguise and your character. Treat your disguise as if it was a different character, and try to just be “normal”. Sometimes, wearing a scary black outfit and a spooky mask does more to attract attention than simply being just another “Duster” in the background of the Depot.

THE NPC Disguise

This piece of advice is not for the timid. We have a peculiar habit in DR that can sometimes get the better of us. We get used to seeing that person in black sweat pants wearing a bad cowboy hat and a plaid button up shirt walking into town selling brews, asking for help, or simply getting in trouble. When they show up, we generally try to play along. You know it’s an NPC, and it’s hard not to treat them like one. A clever player can try to lean into this effect by keeping your disguise a little TOO obvious. A pair of black sweatpants and a simple boffer that could be mistaken for an NPC weapon can build the illusion.

However, this can backfire. If someone is really fooled by your disguise, they might assume you are an NPC and try to attack or rob you if you aren’t careful. The “murder-hobo” LC can be a big danger if you are pretending to be a random townsfolk or merchant. If you wear a scary Raider or Nemesis mask, they might just kill you to get your “loot”. You might get a little more push back than normal if they think you are just the random pickpocket NPC walking into town to make trouble, or that bandit trying to lure people off into the Wastelands. Be warned!

Limit your Exposure

Even the best disguises can be broken if folks have enough time to notice the inconsistencies. Keep your interactions with other characters short and sweet. Don’t give them enough time to really dig into who you are or what you are doing. When you can, avoid people and keep focused on your mission or task. Keeping moving, and don’t stay in one place for long. If you are out to attack someone or plant that black clothespin, keep your eyes on the prize and limit the time folks have to notice that you are wearing a disguise.

Remember, the only real way to identify someone in a disguise is to capture and question them, or to spend 10 minutes with a Veteran and a pair of Combat Goggles. If they don’t get 10 minutes, they can’t break your disguise!

stay in character longer

This is kind of the opposite advice of the point above, but it’s worth mentioning. One particularly powerful way to sell your disguise is to let people assume that you are playing an alternate character. We have lots of people that play multiple characters during an event, and you can lean into this assumption by pretending to be an alt instead. Remember, anyone with an Advanced Membership can play up to three different characters during an event, so what if this disguise was just one of those characters? Wink, wink

This means you need to stick around for about 4 hours, since you can’t switch between your characters that fast under normal circumstances. Try to attend social events in your disguise, or make trips to the Post Office. Complete a project at the workbench or kitchen, or help tend to the wounded at the Infirmary. Interact with people, and stay in your chosen role as long as you can. This gives you a strong “alibi”, as your character was clearly not there when that heist went down, officer. Just remember that you cannot mechanically LIE in character without specific equipment that allows you do so. You can roleplay a lie all you want, but if they start using Skills on you the disguise won’t help. Be prepared to evade that Interrogation, or find somewhere else to be when the Veteran shows up.

Plan an escape route

So the hardest part of wearing a disguise is when you eventually get caught. It’s honestly not a matter of IF you get caught in a Disguise, but rather WHEN you get caught. Make sure you have a way out. Be aware of exits out of buildings, and make sure you are close to an exit if stuff seems like its turning against you. Take advantage of distractions like zombie or raider attacks or player events to fade into a crowd and away from pursuers. Most importantly, make a plan. The more ready you are for someone catching you, the better you will react when the time comes.

Items like the Widow’s Tea, or skills like Master Stealth can be quick ways to get away, but if it’s at night even Basic Stealth can be handy for a quick getaway. Sometimes, simply outrunning your opponents can be a great way to survive, so practice that cardio! Or simply kill them. It’s hard to be identified if no witnesses survive!

P.S. Sorry, not sorry if I just made you want to reinstall Team Fortress 2.

Wrap up

That’s it for today, and it was a doozy! Sorry for the length of this post, but it was a LOT to cover. There’s still a second part to this discussion, particularly related to Steering and Criminal Play, but that’s a blog post for later.

We have a fun event in store for you during THE CICATRIX, including our recently announced POOL TIME at Kachina. Tickets are on sale through Friday, but you’ll still be able to buy tickets at the door at the game!

Next week, I’ll be covering some of the last minute rules to consider for the event, including information about the Stakeholder’s Meeting and how you might find a… messy… way OUT of the Mortis Amaranthine if you die…

See you next time Vados!

Action Requests & Plot Requests

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 few last things concerning Roleplay. This week is a discussing the differences between a PLOT REQUEST and an ACTION REQUEST.

We also previously covered Chasing Plot in a blog post, specifically dealing with some best practices for how to be involved in plot. This was published in a series of guest blog posts by Heather Halstead, which you can find here:

• Chasing Plot, Part 1

• Chasing Plot, Part 2

So let’s get into the differences between the two types of PLOT REQUESTS that you will see in Dystopia Rising, and some best practices for each.

Action Requests

Before we go into best practices for PERSONAL PLOT REQUESTS, let’s briefly cover the difference between the other more common type of plot request: ACTION REQUESTS. You can find the specific rules of Action Requests on pg. 13 of the DR Corebook:

A number of skills require communication between the event team and a participant before an event occurs. These skills may influence the direction of story, create specific scenes that Guides will then organize, or require a certain degree of planning. When a participant needs to communicate to the team before an event, they put in an Action Request. An Action Request goes through an outlined medium (often a web page form or email) and is then handled by the employees who oversee a specific branch. This process ensures that there a standing log of all requests that are made so that if there is an employee change for the branch, there are multiple individuals who have access to your request.

Action Requests are simply a plot request centering around the use of a Skill or an Item.

• You can submit new Action Requests via our website.

This is going to be the primary way that most players interact with plot requests, particularly once you’ve unlocked Master-tier Skills that open up regular modules each month, like Criminal Influence, Hunting, Sailing, and Financial Influence.

Here are the Skills and items that let you submit an Action Request:

• Master Criminal Influence (p. 122)

• Master Financial Influence (p. 123)

• Master Hunting (p. 130)

• Master Sailing (p. 131)

• Proficient Necrokinetics (p. 135)

• Pallor Mortis (Blueprint)

• Other Item Mechanics (items like the Imprint Harvested Avontuur Map)

• Retirement Arc Requests (p. 22)

  • SPECIAL NOTE: We’ve actually moved this option to our Personal Plot Request site in DR:TX, as it feels more appropriate there, but this is actually listed as an Action Request in the book, for the record.

Remember these must be submitted ASAP before a game! If you get these in too late, you may miss out on your chance!

Action Requests are likely to be bundled with other players who have requested the same type of request.

This means that if we have 5 players enter a request for a Master Financial mod, we will simply involve each of those players in the SAME MOD. This way, we can maximize our resources as the ST staff, and we can ensure that a module gets run during that next event. It’s far more rewarding to write one mod instead of trying to build out 5 individual mods.

Action Requests will be prioritized versus other types of plot requests, as many of these have very specific ways they are fulfilled. In fact, in DR:TX, we ALWAYS plan to have the four main types of Action Requests (Criminal, Financial, Hunting, Sailing) scheduled in advance. Even if you are a traveler, you can easily find a way to be hooked into these types of mods.

If you just want to be hooked into whatever mods are running for those skills each month, you can indicate that non-specifically on your ticket registration.

So let’s talk about the other type of Request.

Personal Plot Requests

FUN FACT: Personal Plot Requests are not in the DR Corebook. In fact, there’s only 6 mentions of “plot request” at all in the book, and most of these really refer to Action Requests instead (p. 22, 123, 135, 143, 144, and 164 for those that are interested..). Instead, these types of requests were first introduced in the National CAPs system introduced at the start of 3.0 to reward out-of-game behaviors that help our your local game.

I’ve included a list of the relevant points from the National site below.

We’ve set the standard amount of CAPS required to request a Personal Plot Request to 200 CAPs. These CAPs can either come from one player, or several players can pool their CAPs for a Group Plot Request.

The DR:TX team has also added a few additional types of Personal Plot Requests, particularly in the form of Faction Interviews to earn Proficient Society Membership and the ability to have another player teach you a Profession Focus Achievement. You can find all of these options on our website:

• Faction Interview

• PFA Request (Player- or ST-Driven)

• Retirement Arc Request (p. 22)

• Personal Plot Request (Individual) - 200 CAPS

• Personal Plot Request (Group) - 200 CAPS

Because of the high-volume of requests, those who are spending CAPs will be prioritized over those who do not. Don’t worry, plot requests for PFAs or Faction Interviews do not require CAPs.

As you can see, there’s quite a few ways to request a Plot, and we’ve done our best to make this process easy and stream-lined on our website. So let’s talk about how the process works from there.

The Plot Request Process

Once you’ve submitted a request on our website, our wonderful Admin team will get an email about the request that we post to our writers and STs. If you chose to put your non-generic request into your check-in form, this is also where we collect those requests as well.

Each month, we plan on running four different Action Request mods, and we will assign these out to members of our ST staff during the first few weeks of our production cycle. We generally like to have a good idea of when or if these events will be run pretty quickly, so we can give our STs time to plan something special. The earlier you can complete the check-in process, the more likely it is that we will run that mod!

An example of a plot request we get from the website form.

For plot requests outside of Criminal, Financial, Hunting, and Sailing, we then look for submissions that have spent CAPs. We also compare how recently it’s been since you requested a plot request, as we will prioritize those that haven’t had a recent plot request over those that submit more regular requests. We want to get to as many players as possible within a given game or season!

We request that you allow for a cool-down between personal plot requests (of any type, including ST-Driven PFAs) of 4 months.

Generally our Storytelling Senate chooses from the list of plot requests those stories that speak to them and spark their creativity. We work our way down the list, so it may be a few games before we get to you. If no one picks up your plot request after a few months, go ahead and re-submit it. We’re looking for compelling stories that fit well into our setting and sometimes a story is just hard to translate to compelling mods and NPC interactions.

You do not need staff permission to plan your own scenes among friends or to say that something fun and exciting (or traumatic and dramatic!) happened off screen to your character. If you feel like you might be stepping on something that needs plot approval, just drop us a line.

There’s nothing worse then preparing a big mod and then the player not being there for it! We reserve the right not to schedule personal plot for events where the requestee’s attendance is in question, so please pre-register, and contact us if you have a pending request and won’t be attending!

writing better plot requests

I’ve actually already covered some of the best advice I can offer for plot requests in my last blog post on Writing a Better Backstory. I’ll adapt a few of the best pieces from there today, but most of the big principles are the same.

The number one rule of a getting your Personal Plot Request or unique Action Request noticed is simple:

Make it Interesting

We empower our STs with a lot of agency in DR:TX. The job needs to be as fun for them to tell stories as it is for you to experience them. There’s an element of service to the community, to be sure, but we also want to avoid burnout in our staff as well. If an ST is interested in your story, they will WANT to spend time writing a compelling story for you. Think about the pitch for your plot request, and let us know why it is important to you. I spent hours crafting a story for our last game about how a player could boil a tree all because I found it hilarious to write.

Think about your request as if it was a PLOT HOOK. This means you need to include a few things into the request:

• Who’s involved? A good hook tells us immediately who the protagonists are. Even if this is for just for you, let us know who might also be interested in the story. The more people we can include into the pitch, the easier it can be to write a compelling story. Think of the people near you that might also care about your story. A story that only involves one person is still possible, but we are also looking to tell stories for an entire game worth of players. The more people your request involves, the more likely we are to pick this plot request to run. A story about Romeo isn’t the same without Juliet, after all.

• What’s the conflict? We need to know what problem or story you want to tell. Keep it simple, but focus on the big beats you want to see in your request. If you want a duel with your rival at midnight in the crossroads, TELL US! If we have a clear way to build tension or include a specific type of conflict, it can be a great inspiration for how to work your plot request into our story.

• What do you hope to achieve? What’s the payoff? What do you want to accomplish or what result are you looking for from your request? Tell us in broad strokes what you want the story to be about, and it will be easier to craft a satisfying conclusion to your story request. You don’t necessarily have to make it a defined answer, as a good hook can be a question — How will you overcome this challenge? Will Johnny catch the murderer? Will he lose the girl?

The next suggestions are variations from my Background blog post, so we will cover them quickly here:

Keep it Simple

Use bullet points, or just a few short paragraphs. The longer and more flowery the prose is in your request, the less likely we will be able to include everything into the request. Part of attracting the attention of a writer is to not fill in all the blanks for them. Paint us a picture, sure, but leave some of the painting to us!

keep it relevant

If you can find a way to make your plot request tie in with the event’s premise, I promise we can find many more ways to make sure it happens. We usually post our premise for the next event during the first week of ticket sales, so you should be able to use that blog post as a springboard for your request. A good plot request that ties into the overarc basically writes itself, and gives us a reason to help you find a spotlight!

Ground your Request in the Setting

We’ve written a lot about the setting, so requests that let us bring in characters, places, and things from the history of our game can be evocative ways to catch the ST’s attention. You can also apply ideas from your Background — don’t be afraid to reference characters or ideas from that to include into your request. That extra info can be valuable for us to create an interesting story. Names, identities, and figures of importance can be great ways to tie your plot request into the overall narrative of DR:TX.

Leave some Unanswered Questions

Part of attracting the attention of a writer is to not fill in all the blanks for them. Paint us a picture, sure, but leave some of the painting to us! Try not to answer every single plot thread in your request, but leave some unanswered questions that we can help answer. If you’ve outlined every chapter in your story and told us each twist and turn, it will be a little boring for the ST to craft into a story they want to run.

Keep Connections in Mind

I mentioned this above in my example of a plot hook, it’s important to consider the other people we can involve in your story. Often, an ST only has so many NPCs on a given shift, and has several other stories they have to include into the metaplot of the weekend. Between sending out raiders and zombies, backing up whatever big bad or research story we have, we need to be efficient with our resources. If I know that your story can involve and entertain an entire group of people, that’s just good math. Our job as an ST is to include as many people as possible, so let us know who else we can involve into the mod.

Be Flexible

Lastly, be prepared to make some changes. The best plot requests are FLEXIBLE. Let the ST have a bit of creative leeway with your idea, and we can tell a better story together. It takes a bit of trust, but when you let us create a story with a few of our own surprises, it’ll be a better experience for everyone. Being flexible is especially important if you are involving major NPCs or Factions into your story, as we might have to change or massage those ideas into something that works within the big picture of the game. We want to help you find a way to tell your story, so being willing to adapt and change is a great way to get an ST involved in writing your plot request.

wrap up

We’ve covered a lot today about Plot Requests, and I’m hard at work on a Story Recap for our last event, COLLECTION DAY. You might have seen some teasers posted on Facebook about the Morgues of the San Saba experiencing a bit of… difficulty. Tickets for our next event, THE CICATRIX are up now, and you can pre-reg for the event, sign up for your Action Requests, and get that Plot Request in for our finale! See you soon, Vados!

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!