Collection Day & the Grave Tax

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 major world events that happens during April, Collection Day, and the role this “holiday” plays for the Grave Council. We will also cover the details on the GRAVE TAX, and what you can expect from this event if you owe a debt to the Grave Council.

• 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, but they can also get a head start with some free items and benefits for coming back home to Bravado.

• Blueprints were updated a few weeks ago, and another round of updates hit shortly after. I’ve catalogued most of these changes on my Blueprint Checklist, but I have written a blog post on the topic as well.

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 “holiday” that occurs during our next event…

In life there are only two things assured to us, Death and Taxes. The Grave Tax is inevitable, it is necessary, and paying it yearly is as regular as a bowel movement. There is nothing glamorous or terrifying about the Grave Tax, so long as yours is paid on time and in full. Otherwise, the Reckoners; blackclad taxmen who specialize in wetwork, will provide the only alternative known to Taxes; that being Death.

Collection Day

A Grave Council “holiday” of sorts, Collection Day is when the Grave Taxes come due, once a year, normally in the oldcestor month of April.  The forces of accountants and taxmen take to the towns and cities of the Lonestar to upkeep the ledgers of life and death, collect interest on the debts they are owed, and keep tabs on those who would irritate the balance of power in the Wastes. During this time, the fees for Groundskeepers can skyrocket in price, and people across the land strive to avoid an untimely death that could increase their debt, or else the Reckoners could attempt to “close your account” for good.

During the Collection Day “festivities”, the fee for deaths normally doubles in price.  As the bulk of the Grave Council is concerned with upkeep on the ledgers and collection of debts, distractions to manage the morgues have an additional opportunity cost assessed.  

If the debt is deferred, the Grave Council normally applies interest to the debt until it is paid.  This is at a negligible rate but accounts for the cost of maintaining the morgues of the Lone Star.  At Collection Day, a debtor must pay at least a portion of their interest to the Grave Council or risk being held in breach of contract.

• During Collection Day (which normally occurs in April), Tax Collectors & Reckoners will be available to provide a balance of a person’s account and to offer alternative methods of paying the interest.

• This debt can be accessed by interacting with Grave Council characters or through mechanics at the Post Office

Why do we have a Collection day?

Collection Day was a local tradition we introduced to DR:TX back at the start of 3.0. Shan & Aesa introduced the various factions of the San Saba, one of them being the GRAVE COUNCIL. This faction was envisioned to handle two major things in the Dystopia Rising game — how we handle Death scenes from an “in-character” perspective, and how we could create a threat of punishment for breaking the contracts and laws of the region.

One phrase that kept coming up in our design docs and brainstorm sessions was the familiar quote about death and taxes. We loved the idea of creepy taxmen coming to collect what is owed around the same time the rest of us are forced to pay our tax debts to the government. From there, Collection Day was kind of… inevitable.

We missed our first attempt at running Collection Day due to the pandemic closing down live events, but we revisited this “holiday” last year amid some turbulent times for the Grave Council faction. During that event, COLLECTION DAY, the leader of the Grave Council, Takheeta Firstborn, gave her life to cure a sickness that plagued the morgues of the San Saba.

We have three major themes of this holiday, from a Storyteller perspective:

• Death has Consequences - In a world where survivors can return from death again and again, crimes like murder can run rampant unless some threat of punishment is enforced.  The Grave Tax is a method to prevent the needless deaths of shareholders, merchants, and Vados, and is assessed as a financial burden upon death.  Unnecessary death is frowned upon and punished more heavily.

• Death Comes for All, Pauper or Prince - The Grave Council does not care for the status placed upon a person in the times within the Mortis Amaranthine. They pursue their due from every being that walks the San Saba wastes, no matter their station. The Groundskeepers treat the death of a Pureblood from an ivory tower the same as they treat the death of a wandering Rover.

• Story, not Punishment - The purpose of the Grave Tax is not to punish players for dying or to create an undue financial burden.  The Grave Tax provides a concrete way to involve yourself in the greater story of the Lone Star, interact with several powerful factions, and seek out assistance and roleplay with other characters in the game.  It is tied with the enforcement of law in the game and can be opted out if the player wishes to avoid a negative play experience.

Collection Day is still an “opt in” holiday, as we have many options to bypass our system of Grave Taxes if this is not a story you want to tell. I’ll cover the details of the Grave Tax in a moment, but let’s talk about how Collection Day has changed for this year…

The latin in this Grave Council faction symbol translates to “Death and Taxes”. Aesa even included our symbol for Brass Notes into the forehead of the skull.

the story of collection day DURING A DROUGHT

This year, our story takes us back to familiar territory, with a bit of a twist. You see, for years, the Grave Tax and Collection Day were just an assumed burden. Ever since the Hiway War, the morgues of the San Saba have been sick, and the very act of retrieving a person from the Grave Mind intact was fraught with risk and peril. Very few questioned the Grave Tax or the role the Grave Council played in maintaining the Morgues of the region.

Until last year.

Last year, Takheeta Firstborn, the High Mystagogue of the Grave Council and leader of the faction, gave her life in service of the Great Work — to cure the ailing morgues once and for all. Using a Barogian artifact called the CANTANKEROUS MATRIX, she was able to conduct a ritual to cleanse the morgues of the Plague of the Unfinished and finally restoring the damage done by years of war and misuse of the Grave Mind.

In her zeal, the process to heal the morgues worked a little TOO well, and for a time, every morgue in the region was sealed with a scabrous tissue that prevented those that died from returning. The Grave Council worked diligently to correct the mistake, but it took another sacrifice, of a young man named Eight to stabilize the morgues and finish the work that Takheeta Firstborn had started. Their imprint joined with Takheeta’s to form a new balance to the cycle of death and rebirth, a Gravemind Shard called the Eightfold Mother.

Since the formation of the EIGHTFOLD MOTHER and the curing of the Plague of the Unfinished, the region has experienced a stability not seen since before the Hiway War. This has dramatically eased the burden on the Groundskeepers and the Grave Council but has created unrest at the same time. With the threat of the Plague gone, the job has become somewhat mundane.

There are those that suggest that Grave Council has not earned their due this year, that perhaps the tradition of Collection Day and the Grave Tax are a misuse of funds and maybe a relic of the past. The beleaguered new leader of the Grave Council, Reckoner-General Rampart has argued that the Council still performs needed tasks, but this seems more and more like a political response as the days pass. A sickness spreading through the Groundskeepers has yet to find a cure, despite the supposed expertise of the Grave Council on matters relating to the Mortis Amarathine.

With the added stress of clean water being in short supply, increased raider activity targeting psions in the area, including those psions that make up the various Graverobbers and Groundskeepers of the faction, it seems as though a tipping point is being reached. How will the Grave Council weather this new storm during their “holiday” of Collection Day? Can the faction survive if they cannot collect the Grave Tax that funds their very operation?

So, with that context in mind, let’s look at some of the mechanics of the Grave Tax itself…

The Grave Tax

The Grave Tax is one of the enforced laws of San Saba Territories and a tradition of the Grave Council that helps cover the maintenance of the Morgues of the Lone Star.  This is a fee, normally paid in Brass notes, that a Groundskeeper is paid to retrieve someone from the Mortis Amaranthine and is tracked and collected by the agents of the Grave Council.  As part of an agreement with the newly formed Railroad Conglomerate, the Board has delegated authority over every Morgue within the San Saba Territories and the Lone Star to the Grave Council and enshrined the Grave Tax into law of the San Saba Board:

“None shall interfere with the Delivery of the Post, Nor the Collection of the Grave Tax.”

Implementing the Grave Tax

When a character dies in Bravado, this fee is assessed by the Groundskeepers (or STs) that run your death scene.  Depending on the nature of the death, the fee can be classified into one of several categories or brackets:

Class 1: Accidental or Unpreventable Death (25 Brass)

• Death by Zed, Raider, or a Creature of the Wastes

• Death from the Environment, or Natural Disasters

• This is the standard and most common fee assessed for passage through the Mortis Amaranthine or a Sunless Garden.

• If the death cannot be clearly identified as a Class 2 or 3 death, this is the minimum fee for the Grave Tax.

Class 2: Preventable Death (50 Brass)

• Death that could have been avoided in some way.  Foolhardy, silly mistakes are normally classified in this manner.  Needlessly feeding the Gravemind is a threat to the delicate balance of the Mortis Amaranthine.

• Duels, Crimes of Passion, Violations of the Laws.  If an action of the deceased could have been avoided by upholding the laws and contracts of the San Saba, this level of fine is normally assessed.

• If a Law Dog is responsible for killing a target during apprehension, this is the normal fee assessed to the Law Dog instead of the deceased.

Class 3: Intentional Death, or Murder (100+ Brass)

• Purposefully feeding the Gravemind is the most grievous crime. This can include collateral damage and actions that lead to the death of others in addition to themselves, particularly in ways that can be proven by the recently deceased or other witnesses. This is the starting amount of a fee for this type of death but can escalate accordingly to the severity.  

• If a Law Dog can investigate and identify that the deceased was murdered by another, this fee is instead assessed to the Killer of the person that died.  Depending on the egregiousness of the murder, this fee will often be increased substantially.

• A member of the Law Dogs known as a Hell Hound is almost never assessed a fee for Murder, provided the death occurs in the course of their duties.  Abuse of this privilege can cost the Hell Hound their title and protection of the Board.

• Sanctioned targets of the Red Ledger do not incur a Grave Tax on the striker. 

As you can see, the key person in charge of deciding this amount is the Groundskeeper. Let’s talk about the role they play…

The Role of the Groundskeepers and Graverobbers

The Groundskeepers of the Grave Council are responsible for the common task of helping guide an unfortunate soul through the Mortis Amaranthine and provide the support necessary to complete the transition in one piece.  The Groundskeepers interview the dead and assess the correct level of tax based on the manner of death and provide a friendly face for those that have undergone the trauma of the Mortis Amaranthine. Originally, the Council earned the right to charge a Grave Tax by promising a rebirth free of the Curse of the Unfinished, a wasting plague that infects those that return to the living without help, but this mandate has grown murky in recent months.  There are rumors that since the Curse of the Unfinished is no longer be the threat it once was that there is no need for Groundskeepers any longer.

The Sanctioned Graverobbers of the Council operate in a contrasting role to the Groundskeepers as fixers and specialists that deal with outbreaks of disease and issues with the Morgues of the Lone Star.  While they are also equally capable of the more rote tasks of the Groundskeeper if needed, their abilities are kept in reserve for the rite of Pallor Mortis and assessing outside threats to the Gravemind.

The recently deceased has several choices, after a Grave Tax is assessed by the Groundskeeper: 

• Pay the debt, in full, immediately or by the end of the weekend event.  

• If not paid to the Groundskeeper at the Morgue, the fee can be submitted to the Depot, through an Ops Guide.

• Defer the payment until Collection Day

• If the Tax is not paid by the end of the event, it is automatically deferred to Collection Day and is added to the Grave Ledger.

• Using this method will offer the players a chance to have a scene later in the season during the Collection Day event.

• Ask for Forbearance, or assistance, from the Pauper’s Fund

• If the player wants to opt out of the Grave Tax, the fee is said to have been simply paid by the Fund so that a negative play experience does not happen.

• If the player cannot afford the debt or does not want to defer until Collection Day, they can seek an alternate method of payment by taking a debt to the Widows instead.

• Forbearance is not granted for deaths that occur on No Quarter mods, during CvC, or deaths that occur in the Wasteland.

• Use a Grave Council Voucher to pay the debt

• This offers a way that another player can pay the debt or earn an advantage for their influence in the faction for themselves.

• Certain San Saba Socials can mark a period of time where the Grave Tax is not charged, provided a Stakeholder spent the money to post it at the Post Office.

The Pauper’s Fund

The Widows of the Lone Star maintain an account called the Pauper’s Fund with the Grave Council that helps alleviate the debt of the unfortunate or those that cannot afford to pay.  This fund pays the Grave Taxes of those that ask for assistance and is collected by the various charitable works of the Widows.

• The Grave Tax is meant as a way to create a cool story behind each death, not a burden or punishment.  The Pauper’s Fund can be used in the cases where a player wishes to opt out of this mechanic, within reason.  

• Class 3 deaths cannot normally be paid from the Pauper’s Fund (as the player chose to be flagged for CvC).  There are rumors of powerful favors or vouchers from the Widows or other factions that might be an exception to this rule.

• Using the Pauper’s Fund will normally require a “Widow’s Favor” completed on behalf of the Widows in exchange for their assistance, instead of a Brass payment.  Widow Clauthia normally hears requests to clear a debt to the Widows during her afternoon tea. 

• Requests to pay off the debt should be submitted as Action Requests in between events.

You can find a list of our current Groundskeepers on our Staff Listing on our website.

wrap up

That’s it for today folks! I’ll be back next week with our traditional Rules You Should Know on the Wednesday before our event, THE HELLS OF THE SAN SABA. We hope you will join us for this event, where we hope to test the limits of your character’s endurance and skill with water shortages, crazed psionic raiders, and the most threatening foe of all — taxes and bureacracy!

See you soon Vados!

March Blueprint Update

It’s Jonathan here again with another Rules Ramble! Each week, I’ll introduce a topic that will be important in an upcoming game, explain some new mechanic or system for DR:TX, or discuss a particular rule from the DR Corebook. In each ramble, I’ll focus on explaining that topic in more detail than the book alone can provide and help provide one place to reference all the various errata or rulings that might be relevant. This week, I have a special edition concerning the new March Blueprint Update, particularly discussing some of the notable changes and errata. I’ll also try to cover how we will be handling this change with DR:TX.

Blueprints are one of my favorite things about our game. I love the Blueprint collecting mini game within Dystopia Rising (as you may know), and any time there is an update there’s a lot of theory crafting and planning before that next event to prepare for the changes. The March Update is one of the more significant updates to the Blueprint system in 3.0 since the Augment releases last year.

You can check out a complete list of changes in the Blueprint Changelog. I’ve also catalogued some of the updates in my Blueprint Checklist that I maintain on our DR:TX website, and once these new prints are finally added to the database, you’ll be able to check the individual items for yourself on the Character Database.

This is a long post, and if you don’t care about Blueprints you might find some of this boring. I’m always happy to chat about this aspect of DR anytime, so I’d love to hear your feedback.

The former design of the Seasonal Blueprints. You’ll notice each was marked as a “2021 Season Print”.

A summary of the Changes

Let’s cover the basics of what changed in the March Update. A total of 36 blueprints were updated during this change.

• Seasonal Blueprints no longer exist. This was a category of temporary blueprints released before the pandemic that were supposed to expire after 6 months, but that expiration kept getting extended for the next several years. This is a big change that has been a long time coming, so it’s no surprise to see these changes.

• Six blueprints were removed from play. I’ll go into more detail on each below, but most of these were either online prints, items that used problematic mechanics, or ones that were rarely used.

  • Grave Diver’s Remedy

  • High Adventure Beyond Compare

  • High Roller’s Unfair Advantage

  • Imprint Harvested Avonturr Map

  • Smoke and Mirrors Parlor

  • Temple Room Checker

• The remaining Seasonal Blueprints are now normal blueprints instead. The prints formerly-known-as Seasonal Blueprints were mostly changed to full National Blueprints or “Open Use” Blueprints like the majority of blueprints in the game.

• Most of these Blueprints were edited and changed. While all have a new template and layout, a few got new material costs, some have edited abilities, and some have simply been cleaned up to be easier to understand. Many of these changes were simply updating formatting, fixing typos, and correcting a lot of rules disputes.

• All “Cheat” Mechanics are gone. As the person who wrote most of these prints, these were beset by a lot of problems and were way too wordy. These will need a big reworking if they are ever to be reintroduced, but these were a product of a time before Keywords. For now, enjoy your poker games and games of chance free from (mechanical) cheating!

• Most of the Murder Inc. Blueprints were updated. These prints were first released during the Dead Water event with the introduction of the shadowy assassin guild. These were updated for some mechanics changes, material costs, and now most require the Society Membership in Murder Inc. to use and craft.

A lot of these items are still very popular or iconic items that many, many players have built in game. While most of the major changes have been listed on the Blueprint Changelog, I’d instead like to talk about how we will be handling this change within DR:TX.

How will DR:TX handle this change?

We will be taking the same stance as our friends at DR:NY to handle this change over. Here’s how you can prepare for this change to item cards and blueprints:

• Destroy your “Removed From Play” Blueprints & Items. If you have an item card or blueprint that has been removed from play, go ahead and discard it. You probably didn’t have any of these items anyways. You can find a list in this blog post, or in our Blueprint Checklist.

• Any existing Item Cards that were changed stay in play until they expire, but may not be extended. If you have an item card made from a seasonal blueprint, you can continue to use it as a "Legacy” item until the card expires. You may not extend the expiration date in any way — once it’s gone, it’s gone. Most of these items had short life spans, so these items will be out of play by time we start Season 5.

• All Murder Inc. items must be replaced with a new card. If you have an item card made from a Murder Inc. blueprint, you must have the item re-carded before you can use it. You cannot use old versions of the card. Please turn in your old item card to the Post Office at a DR:TX event and we will issue a corrected version.

• The Post Office can reprint updated Blueprints. Simply turn in your old blueprints at the Post Office during a DR:TX event, and we’ll replace them with new ones. As a courtesy, please limit yourself to five such blueprints at a time if there is a line.

Pretty simple! Please be courteous of our Post Office guides, as this is a big change to implement in play and it might lead to some delays.

Jonathan’s Unofficial Commentary

DIRECTOR’S NOTE: The following part is just my interpretation of the changes to some of these prints, and should be taken as nothing more than hot takes and opinions. I’ve love to hear your opinions and hot takes too!

The original Seasonal Blueprints were first introduced at the National Event “Dr. Ottoman’s Lab”. These were the first Augment prints, and introduced a number of very powerful and very needed updates to some key aspects of play (particularly HEALING!). The original intention for many of these blueprints was to be temporary items as a way of play-testing new blueprints, but they were meant to phase out within 6 months. The pandemic changed all that, both delaying the planned expiration and introducing new online-only Seasonal prints.

These Seasonal prints also introduced two new National resource items, Mortis Fern and Imprint Crystals. The ability to get these items was limited to National events and Premiere games, so many of these items were very difficult to craft unless you traveled to big events, if you could even find a way to harvest these items. Some of the other blueprints had extremely expensive materials and it limited their use to characters with lots of scrap and currency. Overall, something had to change.

The March Update to these prints not only removes these National scrap and herb from play, deletes a few problematic or unnecessary prints from play, but it balances out several very powerful meta-defining items.

This has been a change in the works for a while, and most of these changes were to be expected. Many of these Seasonal Blueprints were simply TOO GOOD. As new Augments were released, many of these items were still superior choices to new blueprints and this change levels the playing field a bit. Some of the changes are just common sense updates to wording, changes to material costs and such, but a few were significantly reduced in power.

I’ve included some of my notes on the blueprint changes below. I’ve tried to clarify some of the changes that were not clearly reflected in the Blueprint Changelog or in the Item Database unless you are ADHD like me and compared the differences. Enjoy!

SEASONAL BLUEPRINT UPDATEs

NOTE: The notes in Italics are from the national Blueprint Changelog. The normal text portions are my comments and notes.

• Abyssal Stitch Procedure

  • No updates listed in the Changelog.

  • Outside of minor formatting issues, the big unlisted change here is that it no longer requires any Necroinfluencer to use, just Resolve. If you enjoyed using this procedure, you’ll appreciate the savings.

• Blue Hue Goo

  • No updates listed in the Changelog.

  • This print didn’t really change much. The wording on the effect is much clearer now and should prevent a lot of the confusion with this item. It’s a subtle change, but much appreciated.

• Brain Disorientah

  • Brain Disorientah is now a trap that cannot be augmented.

  • Previously, this item was a Gizmo that needed Exotic Weapons to use. Changing it to a trap just makes sense to me — it always felt like a trap item. The new version is a bit cheaper, as it no longer needs a Fuel System to build, but stays mostly the same. Because it’s a trap, it will take a bit longer to set up, but it’s a Container Trap so you can keep it as a portable bomb. The ability to shut down “Never Here” simply by opening a box means this item can dramatically affect big bad guys as well. Storytellers and CvC-inclined folks need to be aware of this change and consider it for mods and CvC fights. Be careful of anyone lugging around a big box into a fight!

• Crystodyne Regalia

  • Crystodyne Regalia now restores 10 Mind and may only be used on a Target once every 30 minutes.

  • This was a pretty big change, but closes an exploit that some folks were abusing. The 30 minute cool-down fixes that issue pretty nicely. Some of the unlisted changes - the Mind cost to make this went down to 15, from 30. This is a nice change, as it makes it easier for a new player to build. The damage you take from the feedback increased to 5 (from 2), and the PFA ability changed slightly. To self heal a mangled limb on yourself you can now either spend Resolve or 20 mind. The heal on another player stayed the same. It also no longer requires a Psionic Crystal to make a copy.

• Crystal Candy Nucleation

  • Crystal Candy Nucleation now removes the Target’s ability to use Anomaly skills until the next 12s or 4 hours, whichever is longer and may only be Targeted once per 12s.

  • In addition to the change above, the effects changed in a small, but significant way. If you don’t spend a Resolve to stay alive, the procedure now inflicts 20 Body on the target instead, but it is no longer a Killing Blow. This means you are less likely to accidentally kill a patient, especially since you can’t harvest Candy from them over and over. The added penalty of losing access to all of your Anomaly skills means you probably won’t be using this on a friend to make cheap crystal candy.

• Dead and Luvin’ It Lenses

  • No updates listed in the Changelog.

  • This was a weird pseudo-augment before, and it is now officially an Armor Augment. It no longer requires Imprint Crystals to make, and there’s a slight change to the wording of the ability to let it work on ANY target. This is an important change, as it can now target Archons (who have their own sub-type that is not Lineage, Undead, etc.).

• The Dead Man’s Hand

  • The Dead Man’s Hand the basic ability was removed from play and the PFA ability became the basic ability.

  • This was formerly a Cheat item, but the PFA was my favorite part. It is now officially an Augment and the material cost on this item significantly decreased. It only needs one Basic Culinary Crafting Component (a Simple Adhesive) to make versus three. The Mind cost to craft decreased to 5 mind, and it now requires Proficient Larceny to use. This is a great improvement overall for an iconic item, and I’m really happy about this change.

• Doc Ottoman’s Disease Control Kit

  • Dr. Ottoman Disease Kit had its proficient mechanics updated.

  • There are a few slight wording changes here, but the main change is listed above. This mechanic now deals only with understanding the Vectors of the disease. This is a significant change as it leaves the “ask a question about the disease” function to the basic research mechanic in the Disease section in the DR Corebook. The previous version was probably TOO fast at uncovering facts about a disease and this change should allow some more time for disease plots to unravel. I don’t think many people will really build this anymore unless it’s needed for a plot.

  • While the overall cost remained the same, this no longer requires a Proficient Artisan Crafting Component to make. This means that a brand-new character with Basic Artisan can fully construct these items. All of the Doctor’s items now require Lore Medical to duplicate the blueprints.

• Doc Ottoman’s Doctor’s Kit

  • No updates listed in the Changelog.

  • While the overall cost remained the same, this no longer requires a Proficient Artisan Crafting Component to make. This means that a brand-new character with Basic Artisan can fully construct these items. All of the Doctor’s items now require Lore Medical to duplicate the blueprints.

• Doc Ottoman’s Sawbones Kit

  • No updates listed in the Changelog.

  • While the overall cost remained the same, this no longer requires a Proficient Artisan Crafting Component to make. This means that a brand-new character with Basic Artisan can fully construct these items. All of the Doctor’s items now require Lore Medical to duplicate the blueprints.

• Essex Entertainer’s Kit

  • Essex Entertainer’s Kit reworded for clarity and brevity.

  • No longer requires Lore Faith to copy, and the text is much improved. It is no longer a Container though, and can’t be trapped. Solid changes here, and it’s much more clear how it interacts with the Dive Bar, instead of that effect being listed on the Room Augment.

• Focus Overload Crystal

  • Focus Overload Crystal has had the fracture removed and no longer Targets anyone other than the user and Raiders/Undead Targets.

  • Only minor changes here, but most of this is simply changed wording. The part above about fractures was on the original print, but it’s much more clear how it works. The biggest impact you’ll see is that it improves the blast radius to an Area of Effect range instead of the 3 Steps in the Master Pyro skill. Slightly more expensive to craft and still a nasty tool to use against Full Dead.

• Mechanical Crafting Area

  • Clarified that the proficient ability only works for the person activating.

  • This was updated on 3/22 based on a National clarification on Discord, but changes how the Proficient ability functions pretty severely. The Proficient ability was confusing and many players assumed it was not limited to just one target. Now, it is clear that a person can spend Resolve to speed up crafting for just themselves, and not everyone at the Crafting Area. I’ll definitely miss the previous edition, as I liked the interpretation that let you buff a crowd of crafters rather than make one person a super repair bot.

• OOPH Bullet Plates

  • OOPH Bullet Plates now only blocks base damage from firearms and exotic firearms.

  • This is a painful change for one of my favorite Augments, but it means it’s no longer immune to a skilled Marksman with better attacks and it resolves most of the rules questions about Line of Sight attacks. The Augment is slightly cheaper to make, but it’s overall power is much closer to the other Shield Augments. I don’t know if I’ll rebuild one of these for the future, but it still should be very useful versus NPCs with Firearms.

• Queen’s Cup

  • No updates listed in the Changelog.

  • This no longer requires Imprint Crystals to make! Hooray! This buff item gives an alternative to the AA Mess Kit for regaining Mind points, and now more clearly allows you to double Hallucinogen brews as well as Recovery brews. Great change here and I think you’ll see more folks using these in the future.

• Shredzilla Grind Gears

  • Shredzilla Grindgears can now be used with any melee standard and only works on the Proficient Activation.

  • Another painful change. Now the difference between this and the Superior Weapon Balancing is only the speed of the damage being dealt, and not the efficiency. You can deal 15 damage in three swings for 5 mind, versus 25 damage over 5 flurries with the other augment. While it got considerably cheaper to make, I think you’ll see folks choosing other Augments than this one in the future.

• Street Noble’s Cap

  • Street Nobles Cap is 5 Mind, 5 damage, No Avoid.

  • This is a little cheaper to make, but it’s a big step down from the previous version. Previously, this did “5 Damage, No Avoid” for 10 Mind, but had no other restrictions. The new version now has limits the effect to once per minute instead. This is now on par with other similar effects, and no longer a superior Brawling tool.

• Striker’s Coat

  • Striker’s Coat’s basic ability makes the wearer immune to the murder call.

  • This is a dramatic change, though it may seem subtle at first. The protection from ALL Killing Blows is gone, replaced by immunity to Murder. This means that a counted out Killing Blow will still kill you and brings a use back to Proficient Faithful Spirit for the former protective effect. The Striker’s Coat is still very good, but no longer the best Armor choice, in my opinion. If you expect to run into a lot of Murder effects this will be amazing, but if CvC and criminal activity isn’t your normal experience you might find other armors to be a better investment for scrap.

• The Dive Bar

  • The Dive Bar can now be placed away from the Shipyard.

  • This is a positive change for game sites that don’t have immediate access to water. Previously, you’d have to build both Room Augments and it would need to be “near water”. This is now a full Room Augment by itself, and no longer requires a second expensive item to use. I love this change, and I think you will see this Augment used in a lot more low places, where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases...

• The Royal Flush

  • No updates listed in the Changelog.

  • This item now has a big disadvantage that isn’t listed in the changelog. When you use the Killing Blow effect, you now add a “Self: No Escape for 10 minutes”. Ouch. This means you’ll need to stick around after causing that guaranteed Infection loss and you might end up with consequences of your own. It’s slightly cheaper to build though, and now requires Master Projectile to use.

• The Moulen Rude

  • The Moulen Rude the No Escape call is now only 10 minutes.

  • The materials to make this changed slightly, but the big change is the No Escape call went down from 1 Hour to only 10 minutes. It is still a very powerful poison, but a much needed change in my mind. The previous effect was probably a little too good.

Next, we will cover the changes to the Murder Inc. items first released during the Dead Waters event ran by DR: Connecticut…

Murder Inc Blueprints

Most of these blueprints gained Murder Incorporated Society Membership requirements to use, per the national changelog. The material costs changed on a few, but most had a significant change to how it functions in game. We will be replacing all of these items in game, so make sure to get these cards replaced as soon as you can at our next event.

• Al Buquerue’s Left Turn

  • Al Buquerue’s Left Turn now [only] does damage to non-living Targets.

  • This is a big change to how this item previously worked. Now, the Body damage can only be dealt to non-Living targets, so it’s far less useful in CvC or against non-zombie foes. “Non-Living” target is also a weird exclusion, as it is not as clear as using the Undead keyword instead. According to National, this new type of target will be added to the Lexicon soon. This item remains the only MI item you can use without the membership and no longer needs Criminal Influence to use, just Exotic Weapons.

• Brain Shudder Blade

  • Brain Shudder Blade, the PFA added No Avoid to the call.

  • The main change here is the requirement to have a MI Society Membership to use this item. This remains either the best Melee Small in the game or the worst, depending on how much of your site is covered by the Wasteland. The buff to the PFA ability is very nice, but it’s still very expensive to use since it requires Festering Crystals.

• Little Drop of Poison

  • Little Drop of Poison now requires Silenced Knell Society membership to make.

  • The main change here is the requirement to have a MI Society Membership to use this item. This change also means each of the three factions of Murder Inc. each have a unique item that only they can build, so it’s a nice fix for a sub-faction that was missed in the first release. This remains one of the best poisons, particularly with the PFA.

• Living Autopsy Procedure

  • Lore: Medical, Lore: Mortis Amaranthine/Infection, and Lore: Raider [uses] have been updated.

  • This procedure mainly seemed to move away from learning hard out of game facts to learning more in-game versions on the same topics, in addition to requiring MI membership to use. Lore Raider now lets you know how long someone has had Bad Brain as well as if they are infected, but still cures 1 level. Lore Medical no longer lets you know how much mind and Resolve they have left, but rather the last time they had a medical procedure in the past 6 months. Lore Mortis no longer tells you how much Infection they have left, but rather when the last time they gained or lost Infection was. Overall, I like the change to this procedure as an ST, as it helps tell a better story with a plot or villain than telling you concrete out of game information. Since it still uses a Festering Crystal, it’s still very expensive to use.

• Miss Anthrope’s Blade

  • Miss Anthrope’s Blade basic ability After using Double Tap makes your next Double Tap free. The proficient ability allows the mangled limb to only be healed by Medical.

  • The main change here is the requirement to have a MI Society Membership to use this item, but Basic and Proficient levels have significant changes. Previously, the Basic level had things around an augmented Double tap, but it’s much more clear how this ability works. All around a good change, in my mind. The proficient level changed the Mangle ability from being “unfixable” to “medical only”. This is a strange new phrase for the ability that hasn’t been in play before this, but it’s kind of nice that you can seek out a doctor to help you with the limb if you don’t want to wait an hour. These changes prevent a lot of rules clarifications, but don’t really change the utility of this weapon for me. If you have Florentine and MI membership and love the Wasteland, this is a solid choice.

• Murder Dive Procedure

  • No updates listed in the Changelog.

  • No changes at all. This already needed MI membership to use, so it didn’t need to be updated with the other MI Prints. There’s a slight cosmetic change to the print appearance, but nothing mechanical. This would be a low priority to replace a copy of the print for me, unless you are a completionist like me that needs to have a shiny new copy with the updated change date.

• That Cursed Pitchfork

  • That Cursed Pitchfork’s proficient ability now produces 5 basic or uncommon herb and they are considered wild for their expiration date.

  • This item now requires MI membership to use like the rest, but the Proficient ability produces much less total herb than before. Previously, this would create a named item “Bloodroot” that would count as 10 basic/uncommon herb. This new version produces 5 less total herb, but it makes the actual herb instead of an item you have to expend all at once. There were very few prints that needed 10 basic in one print, and since it was a giant stack, you might get 3-5 herb of use from the item while the rest went to waste. Great change on this one, as it reduces brand new custom gizmo/items created by prints and just makes the process more efficient overall.

• The Big Hate

  • The Big Hate’s basic ability now does 5 Aberrant Bane instead of 10. No Defend was added to the PFA.

  • The changelog covers all the major changes here, and this is only usable by MI membership now like the rest. It’s a minor change overall, and the PFA ability is slightly better and maybe worth risking a Festering Crystal for a single shot since it comes with evasion for common NPC defenses. Just be careful to make sure your target can’t use the Avoid skill.

• The Hunter’s Secret

  • The Hunter’s Secret no longer makes long-pig, just Meat.

  • This item also needs MI membership to use now, and had a slight change to the Basic ability. If you make a Face Trophy from a target, they no longer come back with an extra Fracture after dying. Like the Pitchfork change above, this change really just reduces making new ‘counts as’ items rather than just giving you the raw produce. Solid change, and I like reducing the item card bloat. Now, if only there was a better use for Meat…

    • One note I’ve submitted as feedback - the Long Pig item formerly made by this item is also referenced on the Room Augment “A Collection of Heads”. I’d expect an update to this print soon as well.

• The Many Faced Mask

  • No updates listed in the Changelog.

  • The only change here is the need for MI membership to use. This is a great change, as it was previously an amazing Disguise item that could be used by non-MI folks. This might prevent some weird false attacks where MI was blamed for a kill they don’t want to claim credit for. It’s still a very neat item, and well worth the investment of scrap.

Now, let’s cover the Blueprints that are no more…

REMOVED BLUEPRINTS

These blueprints were removed from play during the removal of the Seasonal Blueprint Update in March 2023. These items no longer exist and any remaining item cards or blueprints should be discarded.

Losing six blueprints from play seems like it would have a greater effect, but the reality is that most of these blueprints were not used. A few only had specific uses in online games, which led to weird rules clarifications when someone tried to use it in a live game, and others involved the dreaded Cheat mechanic. I don’t think anyone will miss these blueprints, but I’ve included a bit of my unofficial commentary below.

• Grave Diver's Remedy

  • This item was introduced during the Green House online National event, and cured a specific disease that was only used during that event called “Grave Diver’s Disease”. As far as I’m aware, no other event was using this disease, and this is an item that no longer had a use outside of filling a spot on a list of blueprints.

• High Adventure Beyond Compare

  • This item improved your combat abilities in a online mod space, but was one of two “Online Only” blueprints. It also required “Mortis Fern” to make, and since this was limited to National and Premiere games, it was very expensive if not impossible to regularly craft.

• High Roller’s Unfair Advantage

  • This was one of the few Cheat items. It was originally envisioned as a one-item Cheat item like loaded dice, but since we had to include all the mechanics for the Cheat ability on the card, it was WAY too wordy. I’m sorry for any Guide that had to write one of these. Had the rules been something simple like “Spend 5 mind, call Cheat!”, it would have been better. I think the concept was nice, but it was a product of a time before National created the Lexicon for additional rules in game. I do hope these items eventually see a return, but it’ll need a Keyword or something similar to make it work.

• Imprint Harvested Avonturr Map

  • This was probably one of the few items that I saw in game from the listed of removed blueprints. This item was one of the items that needed an Imprint Crystal, but I think the main reason it went away is that it needed a specific type of Action Request. Many games only have an online system for a few types of Action Requests, so this item needed advanced notice to use and the game would have to write a special mod just for you. Since it was an item that could expire, this could lead to some weird interactions. I’m a little sad to see this one go, but I hope we see more delve-focused items in the future that don’t need as much work from the local games.

• Smoke and Mirrors Parlor

  • This was one of the Cheat items, but the original vision was an ‘anti-Cheat’ item to balance out the others similar to an item in 2.0. Like the rest, the wording was too much, and this item created some negative experiences rather than telling a better story. Players would build this item specifically to suppress the use of Cheat items, or require any games of chance to take place within one. I’m personally glad to see this one go, and hope that the next incarnation of this item tries to focus on better ways to interact with this concept.

• Temple Room Checker

  • This was the second Online-Only blueprint, but it was a surprisingly effective item to deal with foes that could escape easily. Had this been an item usable in a live game, I think you would have seen many people build these as portable bombs to clear a room. This function is now solidly covered by the new updates to the Brain Disorientah, and the confusion of online-only items is probably the main reason this goes away.

wrap up

That’s it for today! Hope you enjoyed my rambling about Blueprints as much as I did while writing this. Jeff and the National team should have the full text of these changes up on the Item Database soon, but it may take a bit. I hope you appreciate the work I put into this review! If you have any questions on these changes, hit me up at the next event or check with me on Facebook.

See you soon Vados!

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!