The Resonant

It’s Jonathan here with our next weekly blog post for the upcoming event, HELLS OF THE SAN SABA! This is leadup for our April DR:TX event written by our Overarc STs, Ash Sexton, Ren Lewis and Andrew Harper. Today we will talk a bit about one of the key threats of this event, the mysterious Resonant Raiders, a unique tribe of Raiders from the Dune Sea. We first released these local DR:TX threats during our online event exploring the Lost City of Barogue, but you might have already encountered one during a late night mod this season. The recent drought has resulted in aggravated raider activity near Bravado, and you will surely encounter these new crystalline foes during our April event.

• Did you hear? We are running a Returning Player Campaign through the end of the season. If you have friends that have been away from DR for a bit, not only can you earn some CAPs for inviting them back, they can get a headstart with some free items and benefits for coming back home to Bravado.

• There was a large March Blueprint Update that occurred last week, and 35 different prints saw some changes and 6 prints were removed from play. You can find more details at the Blueprint Changelog on the National website, but I’ll have a post on how we will handle this for DR:TX soon. Stay tuned!

TICKETS FOR HELLS OF THE SAN SABA are on sale now! don’t miss OUT!!!

THIS POST WILL DISCUSS A FEW LIGHT STORY SPOILERS FOR OUR NEXT EVENT, SO WE HOPE YOU ENJOY WHAT WE HAVE IN STORE!

Our art for this post is taken from our gallery of events from our online game series, Lonestar Skies. Resonant artwork and the Barogue map is by Jonathan Loyd, and our epic picture of Barogue below is by our friend James Pardee.

Let’s talk a little bit about the threats of the next event…

The approach to Barogue

Barogue, the Lost City

In order to understand the threat of the Resonant Raiders you will face during the HELLS OF THE SAN SABA, we have to dig a bit into some juicy LORE of our setting.

During our online pandemic season, we explored several locations across the San Saba, from the humble homesteads of Widow’s Peak to the oily shores of the Clutch, into the depths of Killhouse Prison, to the floating skyship-city of Waking Prime and back through the streets and packed taverns of mighty Essex, the City of Light and Sound. But to wrap up the events of Dead Man’s Hand, the largest online National event so far, we released a mysterious treasure map supposedly leading to the long-lost city of Barogue.

Barogue was once thought to be an archeological legend and tall tale, a titanic moving city that was lost somewhere in the depths of the Dune Sea. A massive moving vehicle, the entire city was built on a series of tracks and wheels that propelled it across the landscape long ago, generations after the Fall of Man. Some told of finding massive formations resembling tread marks in the stone of the deserts to the west of Essex, “proof” they said of Barogue’s existence. Others spoke of songs of the dead city, or even crazed religious ramblings of the Final Knights. And there is a strange series of cryptograms and prophecies thought to be the words of the last leader of the fallen city, found in the strangest of places throughout the San Saba.

Weeks would pass before word emerged about a breakthrough in the search. A group of adventurers managed to unite all six pieces of the map auctioned away at the Dead Man’s Hand Tournament and formed their own expedition. They were joined by Felicity Redfield who has made her interest in the legendary city very well known. Supposedly she held a piece of the puzzle that the explorers would need to find the final resting place of the Lost City.   The wasteland waited with bated breath to see if this group would fare better than those who journeyed before them.

A few lucky individuals got to lead the charge into the unknown, and helped uncover a city thought lost to time and legend. After many days of wandering, Gillie Schwinehund, Gentlemen Commander, Vaan, Niche, Hargrave Moss-Iverspit, and Kell Hyacinth returned victorious. They brought with them tales of shifting sands, gargantuan leviathans, and murderous bands of raiders, but eventually they made it to their destination and all (but mostly Felicity) staked their claim on The Roving City.

Since Barogue’s recent discovery by this team of scouts and Felicity Redfield, it has become a phenomenal source of metal, scrap, and materials for the Railroad Conglomerate. This scrap has been turned into new rail ties to expand the Oxlines, plating to reinforce defenses in Essex and the Clutch, and even attempts to help the city of Waking Prime with new power sources and engines. Many of the new technologies used by the Emerald Arsenal first started as scavenged pieces of oldcestor tech taken from the Lost City. Barogue has become an important resource for the San Saba Board and the various factions of the region, and has served as a safe place to rest and refuel on the path to Oasis and the Broken Coast. The path of progress moves ever forward!

Further secrets of the Lost City are still being uncovered, but one particular myth of old Barogue is worth exploring further… the tale of the strange inhabitants of the Roving City.

The map fragments awarded during the Dead Man’s Hand Tournament.

The Tragedy of the Resonance Choir

During the lead up to our Barogue event, we talked about a few myths and legends that had persisted about the city. While there were several tales shared about ancient Barogue, they all had a few common themes. Some facts remained the same throughout the telling, lending credibility to the legends of the Roving City. The city was somewhere to the west, perhaps lost in the Dune Sea, they said. It was a moving city, a technological marvel made before the Fall. The city was doomed by its hubris, relying on advanced technologies to evade the undead, but eventually succumbed to treachery from Mammon, a Final Knight demogogue in some stories, a traitor within, or even a nation of psions in others. From the fall of Barogue began an exodus, their people scattered to the ends of the San Saba, abandoning the carcass of their once mighty roving city, leaving the Prince Undying, their former leader, behind in a lifeless city to ponder its failure.

We released three tales of old Barogue, but the one to focus on today is the Tragedy of the Resonance Choir. This story speaks of one potential truth of the stories of Barogue, and the lessons we should take from its fall.

While many legends of ancient Barogue have been told, few focus on a single uncontested fact: Barogue was a menace and a threat to its enemies.  At least 200 years ago but perhaps more, before the blastlands became the Dune Sea, the city of Barogue moved with impunity around the wastes. While it is known that the Roving City was mounted on giant wheels or treads that moved it around, the fleets of scavenger vehicles that roved out from the city were a true threat to settlements in the Lone Star in ways that raider or zed could never hope to achieve.  You see, the Roving City was powered by the Resonance Choir - a combination of psions working in concert, pouring their effort and will into the singular task of charging the psi-tech that empowered Barogue.  And the largest source of those psions to power the engines? Captured psions, turned into living batteries against their will.  Their fleets captured any that showed the spark of psionics, and brought them to serve Barogue.

Chief of its enemies was the great state of Mammon, led by the Witch Queen.  The Witch Queen was a powerful psion and worshipper of the Damned 33, and realized the nascent threat the Roving City represented to the wastes.  She realized that the only way to threaten the powerful moving fortress that was Barogue was to corrupt it from the inside.  It started innocently enough - she introduced an addictive new serum, capable of “super-charging” any psion into a mighty mental juggernaut… for a time.  A wealthy city like Barogue didn’t care about the duration, as it was cheap enough to rotate out psions from their stable of “batteries”.  For a time, life was good as newly powerful psions weaved the song of energy that moved the Roving City.  But, the poison pill that was the Witch Queen’s creation was insidious - each time the psion took the drug, it sapped a bit of their life away and hastened their demise as they lost the ability to channel psionic force at all.  Soon enough the plague of the drug addiction melted away the Choir bit by bit, until Barogue could no longer rely on their choir of psions to power the city.  

Faced with dwindling reserves of survivors to scream their wordless energies into the hungry void of Barogue’s engines, they did the unthinkable.  Instead of trying to find a new or different source of power, they simply began taking the undesirables and the unlucky from their own population and giving them the drug to power their unholy crystal tech.  Before too long, it was any that opposed the collection - even the scions of the elite, or any that opposed the Prince Undying, the leader of Barogue. Like short-wicked candles, their own people were cast as new victims into the meatgrinder of Barogue’s unceasing demands for power.  While the drug did not work as strong on non-psions, the feeble spark it lit was enough - provided they poured enough bodies into the Choir.  Few can say if it was this cannibalism of their own people that caused the Exodus, or it was simply their people fleeing certain death at the hands of the elite of Barogue.  But the population dwindled, scattered to the wastes, leaving only one man - the Prince Undying, to solve the eternal riddle of Barogue.  How can a city form a choir without the harmonies and melodies of the psions within?  The Prince sat with the decaying corpse of Barogue for generations, seeking an answer that could not be found.  

As the wastelands turned to dust, and the hills and valleys of the scorched land to dunes, the city of Barogue sat as a reminder of the terrible cost of the psionic technology they sought to master. Psi-tech always has a cost and even if you think the price is easy at first, it is never sustainable.  When you view people as property or things to be consumed like living batteries, you can never outrun that corruption.   Eventually, even the Prince Undying abandoned the dead city, proving the truth that the Witch Queen of Mammon knew all along - when you rely on the power of others to survive, you don’t recognize your own powerlessness until it is too late.  Seize power from those not worthy of it, but most of all realize that the true strength is in a community that does not feed on itself or a community that relies on cheap tricks to stay off the decay.  Barogue was dying long before it fell, and once the wound grew septic it was their end.  Barogue was doomed to fail for its sins, and many are glad that it suffered the ignoble fate of a quiet and soundless death, alone and unmoving in the sands.

How does this tie to the Resonant, then?

In the first nights of exploration into the depths of Barogue, the first scouts encountered terrifying enemies, dessicated corpses with psion crystals for eyes, capable of feeding on the emotions and fear of the living. These strange creatures appeared dead at first, but were only dormant, left behind in the lifeless city in a strange torpor, waiting for prey to return.

The Resonant

As the lost city of Barogue began to collapse in on itself during THE LOST CITY, a new type of enemy appeared from the wreckage, and from the morgue - The Resonant.  First discovered in strange tubes and storage cylinders, these corpses first appeared dead but seemed to awake as survivors lingered in the catacombs and naves of the ancient city. There were countless banks of these preserved bodies in the bowels of old Barogue, suggesting that the Tragedy of the Resonance Choir was not so much myth as fact.

These crystalline raiders were a powerful threat, easily recognized by their eyes and foreheads encrusted entirely with a bismuth-like crystal.  They were eerily silent, lurking in the darkness of the ancient city but drawn to the survivors like moths to a flame. Despite their silence, they were aware of the intrusion into Barogue and reacted violently. They could paralyze their prey with fear and use wicked claws to take down a survivor for later feeding, seeming to devour energy itself from the corpses of their victims.

The Resonant Raiders we know today are thought to be an unexpected consequence of Baroque’s desperate and cruel use of aberrants as living psionic batteries in a final attempt to keep the city moving.  With the discovery of the final resting place of Barogue, the presence of aberrants among the explorers perhaps reawakened the Resonant raiders who have now begun to disperse across the Lone Star in search of energy to feed their eternal hunger after escaping being buried under the dune sea. Others have suggested that they were simply trapped in the defunct morgues of Barogue, released once the Mortis Amaranthine had enough Imprint nearby to begin again on the cycle of Infection. After the Lost City was later excavated by the Railroad Conglomerate, they reported that the bodies of the Raiders killed and buried in the evacuation of the city were gone and the majority of the Resonant were nowhere to be found.

Very little is accurately known of this strange raider clan, but since their escape from Barogue they have been spotted in small groups through out the San Saba. They seem to be more clever than the common Raider, and there are rumors that they have been getting stronger in the years since. Some even suggest that their numbers are growing somehow, perhaps by spreading some strain of Bad Brain to their victims, or even spreading the strange crystalline growths that fester on their bodies to other Raiders. Some early encounters suggested some organization to the raiders as they attacked defenses and probed ways to get through barricades and walls, as if they were seeking something or someone or searching for something ancient and forgotten.

Infested with crystalline growths, the most dangerous of Resonants have psionic crystals emerging and encrusting most of their torso and arms in addition to the growths from eyes and forehead.  While all of the Resonant seem to be blind, with crystals growing from their eyes, they are more than capable of sensing their surroundings and even seeing through the stealthy camouflage of their foes. Their profiles are alien and difficult to make out as humanoid, with the most recognizable parts being crystalline claws and a vaguely humanoid head emerging from a mass of crystals.

The Resonant were first thought to feel your emotions and primitively track their prey this way, but later encounters suggest that they might simply sense psionic potential of aberrants. Some speak of them hovering near trembling foes in ecstatic glee before killing them. Other early encounters spoke of survivors trying to blank their thoughts and think of nothing when the Resonant are near as a tool to evade their preternatural senses, but just as many tales speak of this protection faltering at the last moment when they smell their fear. Regardless of the accuracy of such tactics, the Resonant all seem mildly telepathic and can react to strong emotions and fear in their prey. Whether or not they draw sustenance from this, they still exhibit cannabilistic tendencies like more common Raider clans.

Some of the more powerful Resonant seen recently seem to be voids of psionic energy, both drawing energy from anything nearby and exhibiting complete resistance to psionic attacks. These powerful Resonant are psychic vampires that find sustenance in the last laugh of a foe, or the psionic potential of those aberrants they track down to “harvest” in a bloody display of feeding on the despair and anguish of their victims. Fortunately, the presence of these types of advanced Resonant Raiders seems like to be limited to only a handful of reported sightings.

Successfully “psychically feeding” on downed foes seems to energize the Resonant like it would an undead cannibalizing a corpse, but the bodies they leave behind are desiccated and shriveled remains that seem to resemble the first sightings in the Lost City. There are multiple confirmed reports of them leeching energy from psionic use nearby, healing their wounds and reacting with an anomaly response. Regardless of how many they kill, feeding on aberrant energies seems to do nothing to truly sate the hunger of Resonant Raiders.

They always hunger for more.

What will happen or what will emerge when that hunger advances to be all consuming, leaving room for nothing else? Let’s find out together!

Artwork by Anastasia Mars

Wrap Up

That’s it for today Vados! I hope you enjoyed this bit of lore, and we hope you will join us for our next event, THE HELLS OF THE SAN SABA. It seems like the drought won’t be the only thing that’s a danger during the next event!

I’ll leave you with a bit of poetry by Shan, first released for our Barogue event. See you soon, Vados!

Old Barogue thy Humble Art 

Driving through those Shining Seas 

A Kingdom come from Lands Apart 

To bring us what we sorely Need.

To Parth she brings the fuel and food,

To Chime she brings the bright young men, 

From there she ferries them to Sand, 

And ferries them back home again. 

Ol Barogue thy Brave Art 

To connect the Islands of the Sea, 

To range afield and journey far,

To bring us sorely what we Need. 

The White Death looms before us

And the White Death looms behind. 

The White Death is a chorus, 

That sings inside my mind. 

The White Death could be joyous,

The White Death could be kind, 

But the White Death is afore us. 

And it takes us all in time. 

How do you find that Old Barogue? 

How do you go to the City that Roves? 

Well young traveler just follow the Road,

Made by the passing of that Old Barogue! 

If you are lost and the city is missing, 

Look for the light of that Old Vossa Psi.

Cast a keen look upon each horizon 

And follow wherever she colors the sky. 

I cast these poems into the pit, 

As a kind of time capsule. 

I hope that when they are exhumed one day,

By smarter people than I ever was,

That they will remember Barogue, 

And what we were capable of, once. 

And could be again.

Welcome to Hells of the San Saba

It’s Jonathan here with our first weekly blog post for the upcoming event, HELLS OF THE SAN SABA! This is leadup for our April DR:TX event written by our Overarc STs, Ash Sexton, Ren Lewis and Andrew Harper. Today we will talk a bit about some story teasers, some core mechanics and concepts for the event, and a reminder of some of the benefits of pre-registration for one of our events. We will also talk a bit about the scarcity of resources, our new illustrated item card WATER RATIONS, and the mechanical effects of Dehydration.

• Our Feedback Form is up for our last event! Did something really amazing, exciting, or tragic happen at game? Was there a person who helped make your time better and welcomed you to the community? Perhaps nominate them for a Community Achievement! Tell us what you loved about game so we can make more of the content that you love and enjoy.  Conversely, if there is something you did not enjoy, or something which needs to be addressed, we would really like to hear about that too. 

• There was a large March Blueprint Update that occurred this week, and 35 different prints saw some changes and 6 prints were removed from play. You can find more details at the Blueprint Changelog on the National website, but I’ll have a post on this soon.

TICKETS FOR HELLS OF THE SAN SABA are on sale now! don’t miss OUT!!!

THIS POST WILL DISCUSS A FEW LIGHT STORY SPOILERS FOR OUR NEXT EVENT, SO WE HOPE YOU ENJOY WHAT WE HAVE IN STORE!

Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team.

Let’s talk a little bit about the story of the next event…

the Premise for HELLS OF SAN SABA

Let’s talk about our upcoming event, as we deal with some of the things that make surviving the apocalypse in the San Saba a living hell…

As Waking falls closer to the ground each day, the effects of its near-unchecked noxious byproducts begin to show more drastic changes than anticipated.  Water is contaminated, sinkholes are forming everywhere, and once reliable water sources have since dried up. Drought has plagued Bravado and is bound to spread to the surrounding areas. If left unchecked the parched wasteland will grow and expand to join the Dune Sea, encompassing Bravado and threatening to spread on towards the greater San Saba.

Making matters worse, reports are building of raiders disrupting those attempting to bring much needed relief and supplies. Most alarming are sightings of the crystal encrusted Resonant Raiders.  While reports of attacks vary on what raider tribe was involved, all have noted the anomaly of seeing Resonant Raiders mixed in with the tribe that formed the bulk of the raiding party.  

With this looming threat in the sky, the earth turning to hell below them, and raiders making things worse, a sense of Despair seems to settle upon the people. What can be done in the face of these ecological disasters?  All the while the Grave Council announces that regardless, Collection Day is upon us. 

Time is ticking, and with each second Waking is closer to all those who look up to the sky. Can this community, town, and republic handle the heat and outlast this trial by fire?

Raiders AND Collection Day? Sounds like the Burning Season is here early!

resource scarcity

One of the primary themes and Content Warnings of our next event is RESOURCE SCARCITY. The zombie apocalypse is filled with stories that involve this theme, from the struggle to find usable ammo, finding food and water, or even just a safe place to sleep.

Classic zombie stories like Dawn of the Dead, games like The Last of Us and Resident Evil, and even movies like The Book of Eli or The Road deal with the strife and despair that comes from struggling to acquire basic necessities. This concept is deeply tied to the post-apocalyptic world of Dystopia Rising, and we will be focusing in on what this means for you characters during our next event.

This scarcity of resources is aggravated by a few different things during HELLS OF THE SAN SABA:

The Threat of Raiders

Resource scarcity and rampaging raiders are exactly the kind of threat an organized society in the Wasteland is supposed to band together to deal with.  This will be the major threat you can expect to face during the weekend, but in the stress of the moment is that societal protection applied justly and evenly?  Do individuals take advantage of the chaos to advance their own interests at others expense? Do they protect only their crew, or does that protection extend to others? Raiders also need resources like water and are more than capable of violently taking them from their victims. How will the defenseless survive in a violent and cruel world?

The Threat of the Environment

Radiation falling from Waking Prime is causing major ecological effects and turning the world it passes over into hell. Once focused on the areas far away from Bravado and the Dune Sea, humanity must deal with this major change in environment. Can they nurse the environment to support them again or continue to fall back on temporary patch jobs? When pollution threats your reliable water sources, how can you survive on what’s left?

The Threat of other Survivors

Will this town and republic band together to help each other survive this drought, or horde it for themselves? Will people capitalizing on this opportunity for scarcity result in larger damage, or will we band together to survive? Patch jobs or long-term solutions are at hand here, which will we choose and why? When water is at a premium, who will provide for those that have no Brass or ability to gather their own supplies? Can you look that farmer in the eye while they use more water than ever to farm their herb, while you are dying of thirst? When you are about to die of thirst is there anything you wouldn’t do to quench that need?

The threat of cvc

Obviously, these other stresses will be the main themes of the event, but one persistent theme of Resource Scarcity that can also impact play is via CVC. When there’s only so many resources to go around, some players will look to acquire those resources from others. Do you give that precious water to the NPC farmer that comes into town, or do they meet an unfortunate end out on the lake road? Larceny suddenly seems interesting when the most valuable item on you is your WATER. To prepare for this eventuality, it’s important to understand the rules for character vs character behaviors and the ways you need to STEER your roleplay to keep this fun for everyone involved!

I've written a lot about Steering & CVC over the years, and we have some excellent resources on our website if you want to know more:

• Introduction to CVC

• Steering & the 10 Foot Rule

Great stories involve all sorts of CONFLICT and we are excited to see how your characters adapt to a world where even your next drink of water isn’t certain…

Water Rations & Dehydration

While Bravado has never been entirely certain of the state of drinking water from Lake Bravado, recent events have aggravated this crisis further. Between the pollution coming from Waking as it draws nearer and the massive lead-lined oil tanker we just sunk with the defeat of Joanna Waves, the resources are drying up faster than anyone expected.

Coupled with this new pollution, the Dune Sea seems to be expanding earlier than expected and the oppressive heat of the early Burning Season is starting to take a toll. Summer in the San Saba is deadly and brutal as it, much less without enough water. With the heat rising, acid rain falling from the sky, and clean water in question, fights have already begun to break out over finding sources of fresh water amid the worst Drought seen in a lifetime in the San Saba.

What does that mean for you?

During this next game, water will be in short supply, and a scarce resource.

In fact, we will have a new Illustrated Item Card to represent the portion of water you’ve managed to secure in the form of a WATER RATION, pictured below. This item card will be more akin to our Amaranthite Ore or a piece of scrap than a true Local Plot Item, but it will be very important to this event’s story.

Water Rations, art by Shan Lind.

Water Rations

This is a new Illustrated Item Card in play for our April event. If you’ve paid attention to our friends in DR New Mexico, you might recognize some of these concepts here.

• Each player will receive up to THREE (3) Water Ration cards at the start of the event during Check-In. You can choose to receive LESS than your allotted supply if you like a challenge or want to try true SURVIVAL MODE.

• Each 12s during our April event, you must consume at least one WATER RATION for your character, or else you do not refresh your Mind Points as normal.

• Since there are only three 12s during each event, if you take the three Water Rations provided at check-in, you can effectively OPT OUT of this plot line and simply enjoy the mind refresh at the 12s as normal.

Why do you need a Water Ration?

The main mechanic for Water Rations will be the need to drink water every 12s, but it also comes with a few more risks:

• Failing to drink water regularly and missing your Water Ration or other carded Brew at the 12s will apply the PARCHED Roleplay Burden to your character. You can choose to come in with this Roleplay Burden at game on if you want a harder challenge.

• Carded Brews like Generic Brew, Hooch or even Uncle Todd’s can stave off basic effects of the Parched condition but cannot stop the later stages of the Dehydrated Roleplay Burden.

• Dehydration can quickly turn deadly if not addressed before the next 12s.

What else do you use Water Rations for?

Water is the source of life, but it’s often used in other places in the wasteland. The resource scarcity during this event will be particularly felt by our Cooks and Farmers. Each trip to the Post Office will stress your water supply further.

• All Culinary recipes require 1 Water Ration in addition to the normal resources to craft.

• You must spend 1 Water Ration per use of Agricultural (up to 60 minutes/30 mind).

• Some ZOMs or mods will require you to spend Water Rations to complete tasks. These tasks will often require Amaranthite as well.

How do you get more Water Rations?

There is some agency for characters to find more Water Rations during this event, but it will be in short supply overall.

• LCs with Proficient Foraging may spend 10 mind and 30 minutes of active roleplay to find 1 Water Ration.  You may only create 1 Water Ration per trip to the Post Office.

• LCs with Basic Hunting may spend 5 mind and 15 minutes of active roleplay to find 1 Water Ration.  You may only create 1 Water Ration per trip to the Post Office.

• If the Post Office ever runs out of their limited supply of Water Ration cards each 12s, you can no longer gather Water Rations until the supply is replenished.

• There will be additional potential to obtain Water Rations through Mods, ZOMs, or NPCs throughout the event.

parched & Dehydrated (Roleplay Burden)

Lastly, let’s talk about what happens if you don’t drink enough water during the drought.

• A player becomes PARCHED during a 12s if they fail to consume a Water Ration. You can choose to start with this condition.

• PARCHED:  LCs must consume either a Water Ration or a carded Brew at the next 12s.  While Parched, LCs do not regain Mind Points at the next 12s.  Consuming a Water Ration or a carded brew removes Parched but does not return any Mind not refreshed from the 12s previously missed.

• DEHYDRATED: If a LC with the Parched keyword has not consumed a Water Ration or carded brew to remove it, at the next 12s they also gain the Dehydrated keyword.  While Dehydrated LCs must spend body equal to the normal mind points to use skills.  Consuming a single Water Ration while Dehydrated removes Dehydrated but not Parched.  Consuming a carded brew does not remove Dehydrated.

• A LC who is DEHYDRATED at the next 12s dies, loses an Infection, and this Infection loss cannot be prevented. Dying of thirst is a real danger in April!

So, let’s break down the process of what will happen if you don’t use Water Rations:

If a character fails to use a Water Ration at the 12s at Midnight on Friday, they gain the Parched keyword. If they miss the next Water Ration on Saturday at Noon, they become Dehydrated. And if you fail to drink a Water Ration at Midnight on Saturday, they DIE. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

This is one part of the risk this weekend, and one that that will make finding new sources of water a priority for the weekend. When you are this thirsty, it might even be tempting to take the water you need from other survivors.

Wrap Up

That’s it for today, Vados!

• Next week, we will discuss a bit more about the Raider Threat and the strange Resonant Raiders. These unique DR:TX threats were first introduced during our Barogue online event and have been seen in the live game for the past few events. I’ll dive into some lore and common knowledge your characters might have before you enter play.

• After that, we will cover the lore and details of Collection Day, an annual Grave Council tradition of settling debts incurred by dying in the San Saba and earning a Grave Tax. Reckoner General Rampart and other faces of the Grave Council are sure to be in play during this event, so we will cover a bit more about them.

• Lastly, we will cover some Rules You Should Know, and a few details of some common Raider abilities. The threats this weekend will be primarily ones you’ve seen before, but we will cover some common abilities like Raider Rage, Raider Rush, and the powers of the dreaded Resonant Raiders.

Make sure you get your tickets for HELLS OF THE SAN SABA so you can brave the heat of the Burning Season, the debts of Collection Day, and the threats of Raiders coming to take your water!

TICKETS FOR HELLS OF THE SAN SABA are on sale now! don’t miss OUT!!!

See you soon Vados!

Rage That Fills Her Sails: Rules You Should Know

It’s Jonathan here with our next weekly blog post for the upcoming event, THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS! This is last leadup post for our March DR:TX event written by our Overarc STs, Ed Sampson and Joel Vold. Today we will talk about some Characters of Note, a brand-new National Blueprint that will be very useful for the upcoming National Event in SoCal, and some Rules You Should Know before this weekend!

TICKETS ARE STILL ON SALE AT THE DOOR! SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND!

Character art is by the talented Avery Clarke, and our blueprint graphic was done by Aesa Garcia.

Grand Admiral Sinker Swim, Leader of the Junkerpunks

Characters of Note

Let’s talk about some characters that will be important to recognize this weekend:

Grand Admiral Sinker Swim

You might have seen a recent Signal for Aid from the Junkerpunks, but let’s talk a bit about another character that will be important this weekend - SINKER SWIM.

Thrust into a position of power, Sinker Swim is not only the ultimate leader of the expansive merchant fleet that makes up the Junkerpunk’s handshake-agreement network but now, a permanent voting member of the San Saba Board. The Saltwise pirate has been the heart and soul behind the recent successes of the wayward faction, and the foundation of the nearby settlement of Drywater.

Bouncing back from the precipice of destitution after a riotous party in the Clutch, the Junkerpunks have recently focused on becoming a bonafide rival to the San Saba Board. Thanks to their own gumption, and some unexpected support from the RRC and the Tribes Disparate, Sinker Swim has recently managed to push through the Drywater Settlement Package, which funded the founding of a new inland settlement to the west of New Bravado. 

Generally understood to be a sort of roughshod, grating personality; Sinker has regardless been responsible for the safe arrival of hundreds of New Bravado citizens via the port at Lake Bravo. All of the exports that leave the New Bravado territory that don’t take the Oxline out, end up in the cargo holds of Sinker Swim’s merchant fleet. 

Joanna Waves, the Strainscourge of the Seas

“Strainscourge of the Seas, Head of the Amaranthine Armada.  Terror of the Waves. The Doom upon the Horizon.  The Dark of the Deep.  The Scourge of All That Sail.”

Joanna Waves is a force of nature and psionics, bringing death and destruction to whoever is in her path.  She is thought to have been formerly a Saltwise Pirate Captain, a ferocious duelist, and a powerful Psion.  She has many weapons in her employ, such as the Tentacles of the Anchor, an ancient Barogian relic, the choking Dark Water, her deadly Sirens of the Dread Captain, the countless Thralls that serve her with one life at the mast, and of course the insidious disease of the Black Spot.

But all of these are tied to her and her will.  Through strange relics and determination, Joanna has made herself the focal point of the Amaranthine Armada, even beyond death itself.

An old song shared by sea dogs called “Joanna, Now We Mourn” may speak some truth to her origins, but wherever she truly came from has been lost to rumors and superstition. Common themes include her being an orphan of some kind that had to fight to survive. They speak of a great injustice done to her or perhaps her family, and the rage she felt against all that she considered foes. All the legends speak of the same thing, though — her rage was capable of propelling her beyond death, in her pursuit of vengeance.

Joanna leads the Amaranthine Armada at the helm of the Juggernaut, a massive oldcestor ship with heavy steel plating, serious firepower, and a relic-borne anchor capable of reaching into the very Mortis Amaranthine to call new sailors to her banner. She has no equal and as she comes to Bravado, she demands fealty and service on the Juggernaut to all those marked by the Black Spot.

There once was an orphan, who didn’t know her name.

And there once was a town that would never be the same.

The orphan lived there, always scraping by for life,

Her food and roof and self-kept safe by her knife.

The town didn’t care for the orphan, they didn’t want to know.

And this orphan couldn’t leave, for where could she go?

The orphan met a family, who took her in from the cold.

The family loved the orphan and welcomed her to the fold.

The orphan loved the family and had a place to belong.

And if nothing had happened, this would be a very different song.

But the town fell to ruin, crime and despair.

And they began to hate the family, and everything seemed unfair.

The town butchered the family, to take their food and cash.

But the orphan was stronger now, and with her mind did lash.

The town is left abandoned now, its people long since gone.

And the orphan sails the seas now, singing her lonely song.

The orphan swore that day, in blood and bone and tears.

That if she couldn’t live in peace, she would live in everyone’s fears.

All the fear and pain she’d felt, she would bring upon the Wastes.

And she’d never be scared again or trust herself to fate.

For the orphan had power now, and a terrifying name.

And now it was the Wasteland, that would never be the same.

An artist’s depiction of Joanna Waves.

New Blueprint!

During our EMERALD GALA event in December, we were given an option to make a new National Blueprint to represent the efforts of the town in creating the Emerald Arsenal. During that event, our players choose three of the possible seven choices, and here are the results of those choices — the SKYLINE DARKENED VEIL. This is a concept design by the peerless Maenad Wilder, our overarc ST for that event, and was one of the three player-chosen projects for the Arsenal.

Named after the Skyline family of Waking Prime, this device was thought to have been used to hide the floating sky-city over the years through clever use of mirrors and reflective compounds. This blueprint presents a new tool to use against the imminent Archon Incursions, and provides a way to stop the Archons from healing as easily if they can be lured into the room augment.

This blueprint will be seeded to the folks that signed up via a Zone of Mechanics during our December game and paid money for an investment into the Emerald Arsenal. Those players will be the first few to receive a copy of this print, and it will enter the public database after this event. For those travelers to our December game that invested, we will add this blueprint to their LIT inventory once it becomes available on the Characters Database.

Check it out:

rules you should know

Lastly, let’s talk about a few major rules you should know about going into this weekend:

DROWNING (DARK WATER)

Effect. The Drowning effect immediately drops you to 0 Body, regardless of what you had left, and you immediately enter Bleed Out. This condition is normally inflicted by Aquatic enemies, included in DARK WATER zone of mechanic effects, or the threat skill Dark Water Strike. The Saltwise strain and Full Dead strain are immune to this effect. If delivered with a Dark Water Strike, this can only be prevented by the Avoid skill.

How do you avoid Dark Water & Drowning?

Some Strains have evolved to either be able to breathe underwater with gills, or simply no longer need oxygen for their dead lungs. The Full Dead and Saltwise Strains are completely immune to DARK WATER and DROWNING and can call “No Effect!” if targeted by an ability.

Certain equipment, such as the Stormies Chaplain Rigging can provide some protection on specific Zones of Mechanics that involve DARK WATER, but only protect versus environmental effects and ways to remove folks from the offending area, not threat skills. These protections will be outlined on that specific Zone of Mechanics.

Some threats might call “Inflict Drowning, Full Dead & Saltwise Immune!” on a strike. If this call is delivered with an Attack or an Area of Effect ability, you must Avoid or prevent the effect to avoid entering Bleed Out. If not prevented, you immediately start Drowning. If you aren’t a particular protected Strain, this can be a one-hit kill!

In the environment, you will also encounter areas of DARK WATER will be clearly marked with blue glow sticks and yellow Zone of Mechanic sheets. Entering into these areas can be VERY deadly, so be warned! Skills like Enhanced Movement can be useful for quickly moving across patches of Dark Water, and some Sailing items can help you avoid being knocked off of a boat. But be careful of enemies purposefully using the inky black water as a weapon, especially if the Siren Song draws you into to the choking darkness of Dark Water.

NOTE: if you are in a Zone of Mechanics of DARK WATER, and received healing for some reason, DROWNING immediately affects you again and you immediately re-enter Bleed Out.

An injectable brew won’t save you from Dark Water if you are alone. You need to be pulled to safety first, THEN you can be healed. Make sure to take a friend with Enhanced Movement with you into that Sailing Mod!

BLOCKADE (PLOT EFFECT)

• Characters may not use the Trade Connections, Sailing, or Criminal Influence purchase lists until the Amaranthine Armada’s blockade of Lake Bravado is resolved.

This weekend, the blockade of the Amaranthine Armada in Lake Bravado has completely shut off trade to the town. While the port is obviously closed, even the Ox cannot stop for long before needing to get out of the range of the cannons, so shipments of goods and materials have been shut down entirely. As such, you may not use the Buy List Skills you may have until the Armada is dealt with. Once this plot has been resolved, you will be able to make purchases as normal, but at the start of the game you will need to find other ways to get Grog, Crystal Candy, Rover Tea, and more.

Threat Abilities of note

Let’s talk about a few Threat Skills you will see on certain enemies during this next event. I’ve included the text of the ability that will be on our Threat Guides this weekend, and I’ll talk a bit about how it will be used to try to kill and murder your characters this weekend by certain zombie pirates.

Common Attacks:

• Dark Water Strike: This is a powerful strike that fills the victim’s lungs with inky black Dark Water and drowns the target.  Drowning reduces the target to Bleed Out immediately, as detailed above.  Call “Inflict Drowning, Full Dead & Saltwise Immune!” on strike. Countered by Avoid, being a certain Strain, or certain equipment.

• Dread Strike: Thralls and Sirens can purposefully recruit victims to the crew of the Juggernaut by spreading the disease of the Black Spot. The creature will call “Inflict Black Spot, no Mutant Resist!” Because the Black Spot is a unique disease, the normal resistances to diseases cannot be used by the Mutant Lineage. The NPC will give the LC an illustrated item card for Black Spot, printed with the rules for this mechanic.  This ability is commonly used on a helpless target in Bleed Out but can be Avoided if delivered with a Strike.

Other Unique Abilities:

• Dark Water Pulse: This is a powerful AOE ability possessed by some of Joanna’s crew that inflicts Drowning in a wide area.  The creature will call “Dark Water Pulse!  Area of Effect, Inflict Drowning, Full Dead & Saltwise Immune!”.  Countered by some equipment that lets you avoid AOEs, and generally being out of range.

• Whisper Walk: Some creatures like Sirens of the Dread Captain can use the Basic Stealth ability even under the effects of bright light or daylight. This psionic effect is countered as normal with Awareness, for 5 minutes, and certain equipment and augments.

• Agonizing Scream: This ability is used by Joanna’s crew to identify Black Spot victims.  The threat will call “By My Voice: Compulsion, All Black Spot AGONY 10 Seconds!”.  Because this is a psionic ability, it can be countered by Basic Mental Endurance and certain equipment, like the Grave-Bell Shard. It uses a Keyword to deliver the ability, so if you are not marked by the Black Spot, this ability has no effect on you.

• Siren’s Call: This dangerous ability is used by the Sirens of the Dread Captain to draw Black Spot victims closer using the Attract ability, particularly to draw victims into Dark Water areas.  Call “By My Voice: Compulsion, Attract All Black Spot!”. This is a psionic effect and can be countered by Basic Mental Endurance for a five-minute period, or items like the Grave-Bell Shard. If you are not marked, this ability has no effect.

  • Attract is a threat ability that lures those creatures or people with a certain Keyword towards the user. Those affected by it must move when possible, in the direction of the call, although if attacked they can stop to defend themselves - if an assailant withdraws, the effect reasserts itself. While they are not required to attack the source of the effect, most zed and raiders will, and critters will if their natural instinct is to do so. Player characters affected can make their own decisions as to what to do once they have arrived at the call, but MUST move towards the call regardless of the danger.

Unique Abilities of the Dread Captain:

• Crew of the Damned: Joanna Waves will demand service of her Thralls, pushing them beyond their limits to enact her vengeance on a town. She will call “Crew of the Damned: By My Voice, All Thralls, Rise Again”.  This will restore every Thrall of the Dread Captain who is nearby and in bleed out but have not been double tapped, instantly healing them to full Body. Even death won’t stop service to the Dread Captain.

• Murderous Strike: Certain deadly enemies may make a melee strike and call “10 Body, Murder!”. If this damage would reduce you to 0 Body, you instantly DIE, as if you took a Killing Blow. This dangerous skill is countered by Avoid and some equipment and skills that prevents Killing Blows, like the Striker’s Coat.

• Down With the Ship: Upon death or entering Bleed Out, Joanna can declare “Down With The Ship”, then she “sinks” back to the Juggernaut as a Fair Escape.  This is NOT a Never Here effect OR entering the Grave Mind, so it cannot be stopped or followed by mechanics that call “No Escape” or follow someone into the Grave Mind. You’ll need to deal with the Amaranthine Armada AND Joanna Waves to succeed this weekend!

There will be a few more surprises for sure, but most of the enemies this weekend will have some variations of the Dark Water Strike and the Dread Strike. Remember, when you hear the INFLICT call, something bad just happened to you!

Wrap Up

That’s it for today Vados! We will see you soon at Camp Kachina for our next event, THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS! We are excited to tell you a story of zombie pirates and nautical terrors, and we hope you will survive the dreaded Amaranthine Armada. Stay sharp, keep your friends close, and above else make a decision — when the time comes to answer the Call of the Dread Captain, will ye RESIST or SERVE?

See you soon, Vados!

The Legend of the Black Spot

It’s Jonathan here with our next weekly blog post for the upcoming event, THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS! This is leadup for our March DR:TX event written by our Overarc STs, Ed Sampson and Joel Vold. Today we will talk a bit about some of the LORE behind the mysterious malady you’ll face at our event. This is a bit of a ghost story with a surprise at the end, told from the perspective of an old sea dog telling a story at the Swaying Anker. Let’s explore THE LEGEND OF THE BLACK SPOT together…

A few reminders before we begin:

• Amber wrote a neat blog post on some updates to our Plot Request system. We’ve came up with a new process to streamline requests for custom mods, PFAs, and Backgrounds. In short, Personal Plot Requests, PFA Requests, and Faction Interviews are now being handled on a month-to-month basis. Check out what Amber’s put together!

• We are continuing our recent Boffer Donation Campaign in March. Next event, you can earn some CAPS by donating your gently used boffers! You can earn 25 caps for something we have to rebuilt, 50 caps for something that is useable right away, and 100 caps for something that is way too nice. See Shan at our next event to earn your caps and help the game replace some of our damaged boffers.

TICKETS FOR THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS ARE ON SALE until Friday, March 3rd! DON’T MISS OUT!!!

THIS POST WILL DISCUSS A FEW LIGHT STORY SPOILERS FOR OUR NEXT EVENT, SO WE HOPE YOU ENJOY WHAT WE HAVE IN STORE!

Let’s talk a little bit about one particular story you might have heard before the next event…

“It was around about the size of a crown piece. One side was blank, for it had been the last leaf; the other contained a verse or two of Revelation—these words among the rest, which struck sharply home upon my mind: "Without are dogs and murderers." The printed side had been blackened with wood ash, which already began to come off and soil my fingers; on the blank side had been written with the same material the one word "Depposed".” — Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson

Photo credits in this post are from Max Pohlmeier, Lainey Weiss, Sydney Betzina, and Noah Goodman.

The Legend of the Black Spot

By Ed Sampson and Jonathan Loyd

It’s been a cold and stormy night so far, and nothing brings a smile to your face like catching a break from the chill inside the Swaying Anker. One of several drinking establishments in Bravado, it’s a place where you can find a quiet drink and sit back to soothe the ache in your bones from the winter weather. Plus, a muddled cider or a strong hooch would be the perfect thing to take your mind off the rumors of new threats on the waters, and the dire warnings from your friends in the Junkerpunks. Trouble is coming, they say, but for now you are only worried about nursing your drink in a comfy corner and getting a chance to warm up.

The light folk music playing from a dilapidated old music box near the bar doesn’t distract enough from your worries, and you can’t help but overhear an old sea dog at the table nearby spin a tale, a ghost story of sorts, for some frightened young sailors huddled nearby. After the old sailor bought a round for the whole bar, you figured you might enjoy a story while you regain the feeling in your fingers, and you take a seat nearby.

The old crusty sea dog leans back, his face turning a sly smile and he begins to weave his story…

“Have ye heard of the origin of the black spot, lads? THa legend of the dread captain, and tha curse she places on tha unwary?”

“The first tales of the Black Spot be from before the fall of man, carried with tha stories of the oldcestors and their journeys o’er wide-open seas before they became choked with fiery oil slicks, hurricanes, zed, and dark water. One captain, Billy Bones or Silver Steven, or something like that, I heard it be, spoke of the oldcestor tradition of the BLACK SPOT. I first heard the tale as a bit o’ history of our kind, but it be something else entirely now, a curse upon the living.”

“Pirates of old be presented with a “black spot” as a verdict of guilt and judgement, ye see. It be simple enough, a mark of ink on a piece of torn sail or parchment, maybe one side blackened while the other bore a warning. When placed in the hands of the accused, be he a murderer, a mutineer, or a traitorous snitch, or simply a greedy smuggler taking a bit more than her fair share of hooch, it be a mark of terror. It meant that the captain, they did KNOW your crimes. They be “putting you on the spot” as it were.”

“Sometimes the spot be marked on a piece of them religious scrawlinga, like them canticles the creatures of the Dune Sea peddle. I even heard of one foul traitor given an Ace of Spades, condemning him to death, ‘cause it has but a single black pip on the face, the truth of his crimes recorded on the back o’ the playing card. It’s be tradition, ye see. Carried o’er the waves and sea by our kind for generations. The Black Spot is a mark of death, a last judgement given to the damned, savvy?”

“This much be still true today, as the Black Spot be seen once more in the wastes...”

The old sea dog notices the young sailors squirming, and one in particular failing to meet his piercing gaze. You smirk, seeing the sailor bring the old legend to life, while you nurse your hooch in your corner.

“Have you seen the Black Spot, then?”

“Pull yer seat up, laddie, and let me get a look at ya.  Aye, I can see it clear as day.  You can hide that mark upon your hand as much as ya like, ye can wrap it or wear gloves.  But I can see it.  Ye been marked by the Black Spot.  Don’t matter how it happened, but it’s happened.  Sure as you’re born, that bell’ll soon ring for ya.”

“It starts small, so do I hear. Maybe it looked a wart, or some bit o’ grease. Like a rope rash gone rotten, it spreads into tha mark of the damned. No matter how hard ye scrub or what medicines you try, it be there for all to see. Cut it off with a sharp knife and it regrows again, foul and tainted. Yer sin carried like an albatross around ye neck, in that black spot. Bad luck, it be.”

“Best drink up while ye can, laddie. The end be in sight, no matter how much ye try to run.”

You can’t help but glance over to the young sailor, and you see a concerning growth on the back of his left hand, barely concealed by a filthy bandage. The misshapen mark is a deep black, round in shape, and red around the edges like an infected wound. You catch yourself leaning in a bit more, as the old sea dog continues, enraptured in the tale.

“Where does the black spot come from?” 

“No one knows, not for true.” 

“This ain’t some mark like those in history, this be something different. Maybe it be your guilt made manifest, a mark of some crime ye did on yer last voyage. Some say its’ one of them newfangled diseases, like some say it be Nichols’ last laugh. Others still say it come up out of the ground, where them delvers dig under our very feet right now, some curse of the oldcestors.  I even heard tale of a one poor soul who said someone told him a ghost story, and it appeared right quick after.”

“They’re all wrong, every last one of them.  This spot here?”

“It comes from her.”

“Ahh, like I said, I sense the mark upon you, landlubber.  You feel the eyes upon you yet?  The feeling of something waiting for ye in the dark?  Well, I’m here to tell you…yer not wrong.”

“If you’ve got the Spot upon you?  That means she’s coming for you.  Don’t matter where you hide, or how far you run.  As soon as you hear the bell from her flagship, you’ll have a choice to make. And a price to pay. You see, the Dread Captain demands ye serve, another soul to haul up the foul anchor of her mighty vessel.”

You struggle to suppress a shudder. That title, or perhaps a name, is spoken with a dread finality. If you were superstitious, you might think the lights had flickered a bit when the sea dog said it. The Anker's a nice enough place, but that’s just how electricity works in the wastes and that’s nothing out of the ordinary. Bulbs don’t flicker on cue, you assure yourself.

“Who is the dread captain? Ye must be joking, lad.”

“Joanna Waves, the Strainscourge of the Seas, dread captain of tha Amaranthine Armada.” 

“That be her name, but pray ye never have to speak it. Legend says she hears her name each time it’s spoken, like a gull on the wind, carried to her ears ‘cross the waves.”

“Aye, I can tell you about Joanna.  Careful though, ye may hear too much.  More than one sailor has heard these tales, and more than one of them have ended up serving a life before the mast.  Spend enough time with your soul in Dark Water, ye may soon come to find it forgets the smell of land.  But, on your own head be it.”

“Terror of the Waves, she be.  The Doom upon the Horizon.  The Dark of the Deep. The Scourge of All That Sail. Most sailors have seen her, but they won’t talk about her.  Anyone what sails the seas and plies their trade on tha water has seen her and her Juggernaut, and each and everyone of them has put their rudder to her and fled.  And those that don’t flee, perish.  Or worse.”

“I heard plenty of stories about the Dread Captain.  Some say she was betrayed, her family taken.  Others say she once swore a holy vow to never be powerless again.  A strange creature with a strange book told me once that she was foretold in some sort of Canticle of the Waves, whatever the hell that is.  Ain’t no one been close enough to ask her, and she ain’t one for pontificating.”

“Joanna herself?  Death on two legs, and nasty about it.  She be master of the blade, one of the best duelists I’ve e’er heard of.  And if that’s not enough be, she’s a psion of the worst sort, and I don’t know if any still living has seen her true limits.  She’s a terror, through and through.  And if you see that Juggernaut on the horizon, it’s already too late.”

Something about the ghost story sparks a memory. It sounds familiar to you, in a way you can’t quite put a finger on. You move about uncomfortably, the chill of the night causing an painful cramp in your hands and feet.

“All sailors know of her, you see.”

 “I heard she ran Admiral Hart out from Axport years ago, amid shell and storm and shot.  Speak her name around Grand Admiral Sinkerswim, and you’ll hear naught but curses. Even Carina Astora, the Saltwise Sweetheart steers clear of the Juggernaut. And if truth be told, she’s the reason ol’ Captain Nemo and Ironsides doesn’t sail north beyond Requiem.  Even if they don’t talk about her, they know. Cause the most dangerous part about her?  The Legend. Even now, she be listening in, hanging on our every word, cause ye asked.”

“Whoever and whatever she be, she’s here for one thing and one thing only.  When she drops that tentacled borne Anchor of hers and the Juggernaut deploys it’s mighty twelve pounders, she come here for power.  She come here to take what you have.  And she come here to take whoever she can.  Every soul she can cleave to her side is another one of the damned to serve her crusade.”

“And they will have no choice but to answer her call.”

You’ve heard that name before. The Juggernaut. You heard of a recent Junkerpunk clash near the Clutch, dozens of ships sunk, a massive armada working its way up the riverways of the San Saba, cannons blazing. You even remember hearing a few of the San Saba Republic Longberths mentioning something about arming vessels in Drywater. But that was like recent news, not some ghost story. It can’t be the same thing. It’s just a story.

“Aye, I called it the juggernaut. it be the flagship of the dread captain, the spear of the amaranthine armada.”

“Joanna and her Amaranthine Armada arrives on the storm, and the Dark Water she sails on follows her everywhere.  That water drown ye right quick, choking the breath from yer lungs, should ye be cast o’erboard. Some folks say she what sank Wahoo, others that she sails the Spoiled Coast daring any to come after her.  Each one of them could be true, who’s to say?  I heard from a guy who knows a guy that she once lived a normal life, free as you like.  How did she come to head the Juggernaut?  Escapes me.”

“The Juggernaut?  It’s a monster, plain and simple.  A demon from the Old World, held together by her hate and her power.  It’s got thick armor, heavy guns, and enough munitions to level any town in range of her guns.  It’s a titanic beast, made with the stuff of legends, alloys of steel like none can create anymore. And that’s not even talking about the Dread Anchor, that terrible tentacled thing she sinks into the Mortis Amaranthine.  Once the Juggernaut arrives, it’s only a matter of time.”

“And the Juggernaut ain’t the only danger. Her crew of the damned are a sight to see.  Folks from all over the Wastes, bound to her by the Black Spot and her will, carried far from family and kin.  Her loyal Sirens stalk the shadows of their passing, finding all those what refuse the call or try to escape.  The longer you stay aboard, the less you want to leave.  Once the Black Spot be upon you, you’ll hear the call.  It’ll be up to you if you serve or refuse, but no way is without sacrifice.”

The chill in the room is noticeable now. Those damn Lucky 7s should have the scratch to pay for firewood and lamp oil, you think. Why is it so damn cold this time of year? You scratch absently at your hand, as if feeling a presence looming upon you. Just silly old ghost stories, told by a crusty old sailor to scare the tenderhorns. That’s all.

“what are the Sirens, ye say? ARe ye mad?”

“So you’ve got the Spot upon you?  That means she’s coming for you.  Don’t matter where you hide, or how far you run.  As soon as you hear that bell, you’ll have a choice to make.  You can Resist, you might think.  Steel yer nerves, and tie yerself to the mizzenmast to prevent ye from walking o’erboard to her call. No matter, if ye resist, the story don’t end there.”

“The Dread Captain has her Sirens of the Deep, terrifying specters to chase down those what Refuse the Call.  No harbor or port can keep you safe, cause the Sirens of the Dread Captain will chase you to the end of the Wastes. They can sense the Black Spot, ye see. The Sirens will hunt those that put up too much of a fight, and the screams that ring out will pierce yer very soul, and yer guilt will be agonizing. It weighs ye down, ye see, like an anchor bound to yer soul.”

“Joanna, she be one of the craftiest and canniest terrors that ever haunted the waves.  And one of the ways she reaches out and strikes those what deny her are these Sirens.  Deadly daggers in the dark, these psionic specters walk between shadows to find you.  You bear the Mark and refuse the call, then you best keep both eyes open, lest the dark itself reach out for you.”

“They slip through the shadows of ye mind, ye see, like a whisp of smoke. Out o’ the corner of yer eye, like a figment they be lurking. Invisible, hidden, even in broad daylight. It no matter how you prepare, they be on you like a blink o’ lightnin’, flashing blades cutting you down so they can drag ye back to the ships of tha damned.

“Ye might be worried about the Thralls of the Dread Captain, but the true danger be her Sirens. Legend says that those that enjoyed their unholy service on her vessel, that answered tha call of the Dread Captain willingly, they be doomed to become a Siren when they die a final death. Those traitors of thar own kind bear the curse e’en past death itself.”

“Nothing escapes that damned Anchor, especially not souls marked with the betrayer’s mark.”

You heard tales of terrible machinery and strange devices used against the Archon incursion a few months back. Before then, maybe you would have chuckled at the idea of an Anchor that can reach into the Grave Mind, but you’ve seen some things lately. Shit, just the stuff out beneath the waves of the Spoiled Coast are enough to break the mind, but this is just some old ghost story. Your hand still itches, but you lean in closer.

Aye, I spoke of her Anchor. It reaches into the depths, and binds those that crew her fleet.

“You ever seen things you know ain’t real?  Green skies at night, angles that don’t look quite right.  Things that make your head hurt, your eyes bleed, your ears ring?”

“Well, the Dread Anchor ain’t one of those.  It’s real all right.  And it ain’t right at all.  I seen it, years ago, off the Spoiled Coast of the Rat Trap.  We were running bullets past House Triton during one of them wars, and the Juggernaut arrived.  They didn’t see my sloop, or we wouldn’t be having this talk.  But we saw it.”

“There was a lot of yelling, from the Strainscourge herself.  There was a smell in the air, spoiled meat and oily water.  And my hairs stood up, each and every one of ‘em.  And when that fleshy, tentacled, mass hit the water, it plunged deep.  Deep through the drink, right into the Mortis itself.  I swear you me, I felt the shake beneath my feet.”

“It be a terrible thing, I tell ye. The Tentacles of the Anchor, a terrible artifact of old Barogue, according to one story I heard. It’s a mighty thing, an anchor big enough to turn heel o’ the Juggernaut, but heavy enough to reach into the dark depths. The arms o’ the anchor twist upwards, like the arms of some sea creature, carved with barnacles and suckers like some damnable octopus. Each arm be carved with runes, old tongue of Barogue perhaps, speaking of some pact made with a lost sister and a voice below.”

“I don’t know how it works, or why.  But I do be knowin’ that as long as the Juggernaut is Anchored in yer waters, them who sink don’t come back normal like.  They go straight to her, to serve as the Damned.  That’s why she’s so dangerous, ye see. Any that die are marked by the Black Spot.”

“Even in death, you SERVE.”

You could swear you hear a bell ringing mournfully in the distance. Just the Grave Bell, ringing in some lost soul that ran afoul of hunters or gorehounds. The Groundskeepers will be along shortly, you think. Hopefully, it wasn’t anyone you know. I mean, it’s not like you did anything wrong on your way here. You’re sure those other folks made it back safely when you left them on the road out to Anyport. You have nothing to be ashamed of. No need to feel guilty. Damn, your hand itches.

What happens if ye answer the call o’ the dread captain?

“Now there’s a question, laddie. Mayhaps the right question.”

“Ye can resist the siren call of the Dread Captain fer a time. But, sometimes those damned souls that do bear the Black Spot choose the easy path. What’s a bit o’ work, after all? You can Serve.  One life before the mast, fulfilling Joanna Waves’s dreams of conquest. Not a high price to rid ye of the mark of the Black Spot.”

“Legend says those that die and are torn from the ground by her infernal Anchor, those that choose to serve become her Thralls, the souless dead, trapped ‘tween the world o’ the living and the damned. Remind me a bit o’ raiders, they do. Not quite zed, but not quite people either. Covered in seaweed, the mantle of the Armada, the gift of the waves themselves.”

“They be ferocious and deadly, and they’ll scuttle up the side of yer ship quick like. If they gaze into yer soul, you’ll be frozen in place, too scared to swing yer fancy pigsticker. But they bear the mark of the damned, and if they drag ye back to the mast, ye too shall serve the Dread Captain, and bear her mark of the Black Spot.”

“When that bell tolls, all yer former friends will be clamoring for your blood, new Thralls of the Dread Captain. It’ll be dangerous, but yer lucky the bell only tolls at the waning and waxing of the hidden tides beneath the dark depths of the ocean. Once at noon, and once at midnight, you be hearing the siren call of the bells o’ the Juggernaut calling ye to serve her mistress, Joanna Waves. That haunted crew will wash over yer ship like a tidal wave, claiming any that dare resist the call.”

“Choice’ll be up to you.  Stick around and survive, hide, or run. It be an overwhelming tide of the damned, and it be e’ery mate for ye self. When Joanna Waves comes calling, ye best be prepared.”

“What would I do, were I called?”

“Me? I heard the call long ago.”

“I been serving her for years now.  It’s not so bad, once you get used to it.  We’re all damned already, my friend, if ye believe them Final Knights. Do work, get paid, they say.”

“All those ghost stories?  They’re all true, when they’re told.  Real as you and I, maybe even realer.  If they’re told often enough, and believed often enough, who’s to say they aren’t real?  If you’ve heard everything I said now and believed her, then doesn’t that make her a little bit more real?  And if THAT’S the case…”

“Or I’m wrong.  It’s just a legend, after all.”

“Who’s to say?  I’m just an old sailor telling some spooky stories.  Now if you’ll excuse me, my ship’s headed out from Bravado soon to meet up with me friends.  And me friends do so like to make an entrance.”

“See you soon, Vados…”

Just ghost stories, you tell yourself. That old sea dog is just trying to rattle those youngsters. You’ve played a prank or two on your friends before. No harm, no foul. On the wind as you leave the bar, a jaunty tune that darkens your mood rings out from the sailors still inside. You swear you’ve heard it before, as you step out into the darkness, following the siren call of that bell you heard earlier. It reminds you of something, a tale you once heard in a bar, on a dark and stormy night a few days ago.

Your hand doesn’t itch as much anymore, now that the Black Spot is there. It feels like a weight on your arm, but you’ll be free of that burden as soon as you answer the call of Joanna Waves, the Strainscourge of the Seas and her infernal Anchor. You walk towards the water, the inky depths of dark water stretching as far as the eye can see, the words of that old song, “Joanna, Now We Mourn” in your ears…

Joanna, Now We Mourn

By Ed Sampson

There once was an orphan, who didn’t know her name

And there once was a town that would never be the same.

The orphan lived there, always scraping by for life,

Her food and roof and self kept safe by her knife.

The town didn’t care for the orphan, they didn’t want to know

And this orphan couldn’t leave, for where could she go?

The orphan met a family, who took her in from the cold.

The family loved the orphan, and welcomed her to the fold.

The orphan loved the family, and had a place to belong.

And if nothing had happened, this would be a very different song.

But the town fell to ruin, crime and despair.

And they began to hate the family, and everything seemed unfair.

The town butchered the family, to take their food and cash.

But the orphan was stronger now, and with her mind did lash.

The town is left abandoned now, its people long since gone.

And the orphan sails the seas now, singing her lonely song.

The orphan swore that day, in blood and bone and tears

That if she couldn’t live in peace, she would live in everyone’s fears.

All the fear and pain she’d felt, she would bring upon the Wastes.

And she’d never be scared again, or trust herself to fate.

For the orphan had power now, and a terrifying name.

And now it was the Wasteland, that would never be the same.

The Curse of the Black Spot

That’s it for today, Vados.

But I have one more request, gentle readers.

You see, this wasn’t any old ghost story we shared today.

It’s a bit more, and it’s called the Legend of the Black Spot.

The stories say that anyone that hears the tale of Joanna Waves, hears the tale of the Black Spot is soon cursed to answer the call of the Dread Captain.

Simply hearing the legend is enough, they say.

Like a memetic song, an ear worm that sticks with you long after story time is over.

You see, the Legend of the Black Spot is insidious.

It curse reaches into you, and reminds you of stories of old, tales to scare your friends in the dark.

It’s a bit of a memory, tied with a bit of superstition, and we all know that sometimes the thing that goes bump in the night in Dystopia Rising is very, very, real.

And sometimes, maybe the legends are true…

INFLICT BLACK SPOT!

You’ve now heard the tale and experienced this story today, through this humble blog post and ghost story, you’ve been cursed, by that very Legend of the Black Spot. And maybe there’s a chance that maybe that story you read on the internet sticks with through our next event, THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS.

At the next event, your characters may choose to take the BLACK SPOT, as you’ve now heard the Legend of the Black Spot and the story of Joanna Waves, the Strainscourge of the Seas. If you choose to OPT IN to this story mechanic, find Ed or Jonathan after opening announcements at the game, and we will provide you with a Black Spot card of your very own.

Now the choice is yours: do you RESIST, or do you SERVE?

In the words of an old crusty sea dog, “See you soon, Vados!”

Welcome to "The Rage That Fills Her Sails"

It’s Jonathan here with our first weekly blog post for the upcoming event, THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS! I could probably say the phrase “zombie pirates” and that would be enough hype for most of you, but here’s a blog post anyways!

This is leadup for our March DR:TX event written by our Overarc STs, Ed Sampson and Joel Vold. Today we will talk a bit about some story teasers, some core mechanics and concepts for the event, and a reminder of some of the benefits of pre-registration for one of our events. We will also reveal the details of one of the key mechanics of the weekend, THE CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT.

• Our Feedback Form is up for our last event! Did something really amazing, exciting, or tragic happen at game? Was there a person who helped make your time better and welcomed you to the community? Perhaps nominate them for a Community Achievement! Tell us what you loved about game so we can make more of the content that you love and enjoy.  Conversely, if there is something you did not enjoy, or something which needs to be addressed, we would really like to hear about that too. 

• We have also featured our recent Boffer Donation Campaign on Facebook. This will be continuing into our next event so you can earn some CAPS by donating your gently used boffers! You can earn 25 caps for something we have to rebuilt, 50 caps for something that is useable right away, and 100 caps for something that is way too nice. See Shan at our next event to earn your caps and help the game replace some of our damaged boffers.

TICKETS FOR THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS are on sale now! don’t miss OUT!!!

THIS POST WILL DISCUSS A FEW LIGHT STORY SPOILERS FOR OUR NEXT EVENT, SO WE HOPE YOU ENJOY WHAT WE HAVE IN STORE!

Our artwork for this post was designed and generated by Shan Lind. The Canticle of Waves was written by Shan Lind.

Let’s talk a little bit about the story of the next event…

Awash in wind and sun was that place as sharp as whalesalt where the jagged atolls and rocks upon which dashed the warm and dark waves of the sickly Cimeran Sea... — The Canticle of the Waves

The Premise

In the weeks after the Long Night, the threat of piracy has increased throughout the San Saba. Merchant vessels of the Junkerpunks and the RRC alike are going missing along the shores of the Spoiled Coast and beyond, all the way into the interior rivers, waterways, and lakes of the San Saba. The impact on trade has been immediate but attempts to track down the source of the increased piracy has revealed only ghost stories and legends of crusty old sailors. But it is clear that the threat has escalated.

Now, patches of the inky black Dark Water have returned, and it’s brought with it a daemon of the old world.  Fierce and terrible ships now prowl the waters of the San Saba, and terrifying new Zed wade to shore, intent on more than just carnage.  The fisherman’s tale of the “Black Spot” has proven true, with people finding strange growths on their hands and dying shortly after.  And worse, the Mortis itself seems to be affected, barely returning anyone at all.

Out on the horizon, a massive Juggernaut awaits.  The largest ship ever seen on the waters, a marvel of oldcestor technology, it sits at the helm of a powerful Amaranthine Armada, choking off settlements and sacking all ships in their wake.  Cannon fire rakes the shores seemingly at random, and raiding parties sail up and down the riverways and coast, taking whatever, and whoever, they can.

Hope seems lost, but this is the San Saba.  Already, Junkerpunk captains, San Saba Republic privateers, and ships from all over the region are mobilizing to combat these new threats, and they’ve chosen Bravado as the staging point.  The choices made on the shores of our tiny town will determine who is left in the wake of the Amaranthine Armada, and who succumbs to the will of the Strainscourge of the Seas…

Amaymon would eat all the shambling and shuffling undead that would otherwise emerge from her waters, and she would in return grow even fatter on the blood of the common strain, which she was allowed one per sunrise of her own choosing forever. - The Canticle of the Waves

Nautical Nightmares

It is the nature of seafarers to be superstitious. Living and working on a ship in the middle of the real sea, much less the apocalyptic seas of Dystopia Rising, is a very dangerous job. Over time bluejackets and sailors have invented stories and rules to help them believe they could avoid terrible fates. The origins of many superstitions are lost in time, but some arose due to the natural tendency to look to the supernatural for causes of strange phenomena and to exaggerate mysterious occurrences, including in the post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Some sailors fear the dark water. The postapocalyptic biodiesel used as a fuel for ships and caravans alike is ultimately formed of carbon, compressed of dead things and decayed rot.  While most of the sea in the Spoiled Coast is covered in some kind of film of oil, it can pool in massive fields as far as the eye can see. Sometimes, this phenomenon called DARK WATER can serve as an impromptu morgue, half-remembering what life might be, releasing partially formed things that aren’t quite zed and not quite anything else. The oil slicks themselves can sometimes mimic life and drown unfortunate ships in an inky, oily blob of death.  A superstition common in the Clutch tells that “black tides in the morning are a sailor’s grim warning”.

Some sailors fear bad weather. The ravaged coastline of the Spoiled Coast and the Clutch suffers the extremes of poor weather, from radiation infused storms, oily acidic rain, or terrible hurricanes blown inland from the far sea.  Rain is a constant state at sea, and the sailors on the waterways of the San Saba are used to poor weather.  Even the most novice sailor has sailed through the worst weather imaginable, and their skills are unmatched due to a lifetime of survival in poor conditions.  This constant danger has hardened the seafaring people of the San Saba and is at the heart of their stubbornness and love of the freedom of the sea and sky.

Some sailors fear the depths below. Beneath the oilslick waves of the Spoiled Coast, light disperses entirely only a few feet beneath the surface. Any sailor that has fallen overboard has nightmares of the cold and unquenchable darkness under the surface. The horrible dark, blind eternity is so complete as to be opaque, and without visual depth. Beneath that, however, is the unspoiled salt water of the Deep.  Here, there is no sunlight - for the film of oil, some twenty feet thick, blocks it entirely. Instead, there is the low and nonspecific glow of bioluminescence, cast off by strange megafauna whose ecosystem dissolved thousands of years ago, replaced with crude oil and shadow.

Some sailors fear the dead. Every seaman has also heard stories of ghosts and paranormal activities haunting ships, especially after an unfortunate event has occurred on board. Many believe that spirits of those who have lost their lives on ships remain there for a long time. Many even make stories of their unusual experiences with ghosts and why they fear going to a particular area on the ship. In case a series of accidents or mishaps have taken place on board, it is said that the ship is cursed, and the blame is put on the spirits that are haunting the ship.

Some sailors fear zombies and raiders. What happens when a person dies at sea in a world with the Mortis Amaranthine? With no one to dream of the Gravemind, when a person dies at sea their body truly rots.  Once the body is returned close enough to shore for the Mortis to sense its presence, the Gravemind reacts with violent force to reclaim the biomass that was stolen from them.  Thus, sailors across the sea prefer to dump the dead overboard rather than risk a deadly return to the bottom of the ocean at port.  Some legends tell that those left to rot on a ship listless at sea will return as the Drowned Ones, deadly Raiders that pilot ships covered in the flesh of their victims or worse.  Regardless of the reason, keeping the dead on a vessel at sea is the worst of bad luck that a sailor can imagine.

ghost stories and legends

Imagine then, the ghost stories of a massive ship filled with the restless dead, the JUGGERNAUT, piloted by an evil spirit of the sea, JOANNA WAVES, the Strainscourge of the Sea. Some even say the anchor of the Juggernaut plunges into the depths of the Grave Mind itself. Known by Saltwise and Junkerpunks through the San Saba, Joanna Waves is a name given to the dark mistress of the evil spirits of the deep, often seen in various shapes, resting and waiting in the rigging before wild storms or shipwrecks and other disasters, always there to welcome new sailors to their watery graves. Some say she is flesh and blood, and simply harnesses the silly stories of old seadogs in her favor, but others still speak of unholy powers and darkness within her. Few have survived an encounter with the Strainscourge and all anyone really knows about her is second-hand tales of dread shared over a hooch in a damp bar near the waterfront.

Joanna Waves is superstition come to life, but sometimes if you believe in something hard enough in the San Saba, it becomes very, very, very real…

During our March event, THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS, we will be exploring some old ghost stories, legends, and a very real threat that has sailed into our town of Bravado. This is a pirate themed event, with spooky zombies, dangerous new enemies, plenty of sailing and submarine mods, and a strange malady that haunts those touched by the myth and legends of superstition.

Ed and Joel have cooked up some fun stories for this event, and we will be sharing more over the coming weeks. For now, let’s look at one of the key story mechanics of the weekend, THE CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT.

The Mortis Amaranthine opened up around them like a billowing sheet, an unfurling sail in a sweet, blind wind, and the Black Pharaoh plunged into its blood waters like a knife. Under a sky filled with unfamiliar stars that glowed like flesh with firelight through it, the Black Pharaoh began its sluicing, plunging journey towards the nearest port of call… — The Canticle of the Waves

The CURSE OF THE Black Spot

One of the brand-new mechanics for this weekend will be THE CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT. This is an affliction a few folks learned about on the Sunday of our last event, but it is quickly spreading. This is a new PSIONIC DISEASE, capable of spreading in strange and unusual ways to the population of Bravado.

This Keyword effect will be printed on one of our new Illustrated Item Cards, similar to other events this season and will be given to you in the form of a card with the following text and images:

The Black Spot

The Text on the Back of the Card.

Here’s the text of the Local Plot Card for those that may have trouble reading the image above:

You gain the [BLACK SPOT] Keyword while you possess this Local Plot Card.  At the start of each 12s, you must either choose to SERVE or RESIST the dread call of the Black Spot. 

SERVE - Go out of character to the Juggernaut site to become a THRALL of Joanna Waves.  After your service as an NPC, you may return this card to a Guide and lose the Keyword.

RESIST - You lose ALL Mind Points, and the 12s does not refresh your Mind.  You must keep this card until the next 12s, where you may choose to Resist or Serve again.

If you contract this disease, you’ll place the mark of the BLACK SPOT somewhere on you. We can provide makeup at Ops if you don’t have your own, or our NPCs will also have ways to represent the mark during certain mods. You can choose to keep the mark of death visible, or you can hide it from your friends, but regardless of where the curse manifests on your body it reacts to the passage of time…

At each 12s of our March event, at midnight and noon, those afflicted with the Black Spot will have a choice to make. Do they serve the wishes of the dread pirate captain Joanna Waves and join her forces to kill their friends? Or do they resist the siren call of the Juggernaut, and drain their resources to fight back against the tide of undead sailors?

If you choose to SERVE, you will report to the in-game site where the Juggernaut lies anchored, and you will be given a quick costume change and a Guide to provide you with the rules of the upcoming encounter. From there, you will temporarily become a new horde of undead THRALLS, sent to bring their victims back to serve at the feet of Joanna Waves. Once your NPC threat has been slain and dealt with, you will be free to return back to the Guide and turn in your Black Spot card, free from the terrible curse of Joanna Waves.

For a moment, at least.

If you choose to RESIST instead, you lose all of your current Mind points and no longer refresh at the 12s. This means you’ll need to rely on a meal or brew to recover your lost Mind points, spend CAPS on a Blue Plate Special, or have someone restore your Mind with entertainment or psionics. More importantly, you’ll be out of Mind for the upcoming wave of your friends as undead THRALLS of Joanna Waves.

As insult to injury, if you choose to resist, you’ll KEEP the curse of the Black Spot and you’ll have to make the same decision again at the next 12s.

Psionic Diseases

The Black Spot is perhaps the rarest form of disease in the wastes, a PSIONIC DISEASE. This kind of disease is mentioned on page 192 in the DR Core Book. While more mundane diseases like Bad Brain or the Necrophage can ravage the unwary via infection, these types of diseases can spread in unique ways that evade common resistances.

The Black Spot is a unique threat, as it is not spread via bacteria or virus, but instead by the act of psionic superstition. Common resistances, like the Mutant Strain advantage or equipment like the Helscape Deathmask won’t stop you from gaining the mark of the Black Spot. Once you’ve heard of the LEGEND OF THE BLACK SPOT, it’s already too late.

There’s two primary ways to “catch” this strange curse:

• Inflict Disease (Threat Skill): If one of the minions of the Strainscourge of the Seas inflicts their insidious curse on you, you’ll gain the keyword [Black Spot], and be bound in service once more. Certain minions will be able to INFLICT DISEASE as part of their attacks, and it will be as part of a Cannibalize call. If you are knocked into Bleed Out by Joanna Wave’s army of undead, you could be vulnerable to the Curse of the Black Spot.

• Superstition & Stories: Ghost stories have an insidious power in the San Saba, especially while the Juggernaut is nearby. If you partake in the telling of the Legend of the Black Spot, or if you simply HEAR the tale of woe told by a spooky old seadog, you could be inflicted with the Curse of the Black Spot. Certain enemies and even LCs may be able to spread this disease keyword through the power of memetic influence, affecting everyone in earshot with a By My Voice call. Be warned — those campfire tales have suddenly grown dangerous!

Lastly, this affliction will be OPT IN as well. If you think your character has heard the Legend of the Black Spot told on a dark and stormy night, then you can simply come to Ops and receive the Curse of the Black Spot card. You can simply choose to be marked by the disease, even from the start of the game.

Clearly, this is a problem for Bravado, but I think it’s one that will be fun and rewarding.

I hope that you choose to engage with the CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT. There will be ways to research the cause of this strange disease, ways to seek out a cure, and ways to fight back against the dread pirate Joanna Waves. The Black Spot is simply a herald of her arrival, but it’s not the only threat you’ll face in March.

Remember, you will always be able to opt out of mechanics like this by using the OK Check-In System in game. Just thumbs down the encounter and turn in your BLACK SPOT card to a Guide.

This is the blind and screaming moment we have dreamt our most beteous nights to, siblings mine. Venerated are we, and is our pursuit, by the demons and men who have died and lived before and behind us. It is in these deep tissues that we will meet the old death of man, and the god that death begot. - The Canticle of the Waves

wrap up

That’s it today Vados! We are excited to tell a story of zombie pirates and curses, and I hope you are excited to attend our next event THE RAGE THAT FILLS HER SAILS! Make sure to get your tickets in advance, so you can save time at the door getting your character sheet. Save that time to tell spooky ghost stories, and maybe even the LEGEND OF THE BLACK SPOT…

Next week, we will delve a bit more into this specific ghost story of the BLACK SPOT that some of you might have heard, and a bit more into the Characters of Note for this weekend.

I’ll leave you with some poetry from the Canticle of the Waves, a Final Knight text written by our own Shan Lind, that has some illuminating tales within…

"By the Bone and by the Brack, 

Bear the Crown both Fore and Back, 

Neath the Waters of the Grave, 

In the Swelling Deadman’s Waves, 

Seek the Whale who Was a Man, 

Pursue Demon Leviathan.

Amass the Alexandrian, 

Relics Left of Fallen Lands. 

Kill the Whale and Keep the Gold, 

Buried ‘neath this old Atoll. 

Keep it Secret all your Life,

And with your Ivory Treasure die. 

And as a Lich go into Death, 

Pursue Demon with Corpses’s Breath. 

Hunt him through the Grave until, 

At last Leviathan is killed. "

— The Canticle of the Waves