Rules Ramble

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Breaker of Crowns

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Howdy Vados!

It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our February live event THE BREAKER OF CROWNS! This is our next Premiere Event game, led by Heather Halstead and Jonathan Loyd. Each week, I’ll discuss in detail an aspect of the upcoming event, compiling the rules and lore into one easy place to read! This week, we are covering the premise of our event, some content warnings, and some teasers about our upcoming event!

Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, by Max Pohlmeier, Lauren Guzaldo, Jason Dumas, Sid Betzina, and Maddeax Khole.

The Premise

Here’s the story of our next event:

A lull in the fighting of the War of Antlers has allowed both sides to take a measure of their losses, the toll of the bloody conflict stretching across the San Saba.  With the mounting death tolls, Queen Lucy “Boss” Debs has had enough with the killing of kin and bloodshed, and has called upon the ancient traditions of her Tribe to demand an unauthorized parlay with the BREAKER OF CROWNS. Despite the threat of treason, Queen Debs has decided to call once more the ancient Summit of the Tribes, in hopes of fostering a peace with the Oxkilller Alliance.   

For the Breaker of Crowns, the war has grown larger and her allies more numerous, but so too has the number of concessions she’s made to grow her forces. Promises to the MUSTANG LOYALISTS, the ancient enemies of Bravado from Star City, her kin in the Antler Tribe and Oxkillers, and the newfound allegiances within the traitorous youth of the Lovelace Family make the prospect of a temporary ceasefire seem like a moment of respite, despite the risk of entering enemy territory.

But in the shadows, shrouded from the hope of peace, lurks a hidden threat.

After the terrifying return of the Prince Undying and a strangely quiet Long Night, the forests around Bravado stir once more with the dead.  Hordes of shamblers, boneheads, lost boys, tanks, and worse throw themselves into the fray, as if pursuing some hidden agenda, a strange malevolent intelligence behind their ceaseless attacks.  Some have even spoken of strange hordes of the dead with a driving, unknowable purpose.

Can a lasting peace be achieved even while the dead are at the gates, an eerie reminder of the Stampedes of the Hiway War? Can two disparate and war-torn factions come to peace despite the violence that has been committed in the name of winning?  Will the Board even be willing to stop the fighting as the tide has now turned in their favor? Will the dead intervene in peace talks, and renew the call to war once more?

Sounds like tension that can be cut with a knife!

The Breaker of Crowns, portrayed by Ace

Inspiration & Tropes

This season in Bravado we have focused on bringing some new elements of Survival Horror to the forefront of the story. In our tradition of Radical Trust, we want to share some of the inspirational bits of media and movie magic that we feel help capture the themes and feelings of our upcoming event. If you are looking for a movie to inspire your role play for this event, here’s a list of our favorites to get ready for THE BREAKER OF CROWNS:

  • The Outpost

  • Blood Creek

  • 10 Cloverfield Lane

  • Frankenstein’s Army

  • Dead Snow

The themes that inspired this event is the age-old adage of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Despite the real consequences of the ongoing war between the San Saba and the Oxkiller Alliance, there is a new and returned threat that could threaten to overwhelm both sides. In such stressful times, it’s easy to find an unlikely ally in a former enemy, as you both struggle to survive.

Bringing two deadly enemies into the same place at the same time is sure to spark emotions and conflict. Even though it might be in the best interest of both sides to cooperate, even in the times of crisis can find folks taking actions that are strictly selfish and personal. With such big personalities involved in the deadly politics of trying to settle a conflict between two warring factions, it will be no surprise to some if the conflict turns violent.

Let’s talk a bit more about what to expect in February…

Ready for “negotiations”…

CONTENT WARNINGS

The themes of Dystopia Rising often touch close to our real world in ways we cannot always avoid. The DR:TX team believes that we can still tell these stories about challenging topics, but we also believe we need to be transparent about our intentions and set proper expectations for our content. In our tradition of radical trust, we want to also trust in each player that attends our game to know their own limits and be able to choose to avoid topics and situations that make them uncomfortable.

It’s important to watch for descriptions, situations, or events that you might want to avoid. You may find new limits that are unknown to you because the matter never came up. We encourage you to take the necessary steps for your own emotional safety. We want you to be comfortable with the types of horror in our events so you can enjoy the thrill of the zombie apocalypse and the nightmare creatures we introduce into the game space.

It’s one reason we take our OK Check-In system so seriously! We understand that these may not be stories you want to participate in, and that’s okay! Remember, you can always use the OK Check-In System to choose to leave a scene, even CVC!

You can always find a list of our Content Warnings on our website, but let’s talk about some of the specific things you might want to be prepared for during this February event.

War and War-time stories, particularly involving conflict against enemy forces.

  • The backdrop of the February event is a tense negotiation between two warring factions, the San Saba Republic, and the Oxkiller Alliance. The War of Antlers has stretched over the past season and the fighting has really just begun. While much of this has happened “off-camera” during our Sunday war table mechanics, this represents one of the first times the war has entered play into our actual game besides skirmishes.

  • There will be discussions of crimes committed during the war, including bombardment, capture of prisoners, attacks on civilians, and the various attacks that have occurred in the world perpetuated by figures on both sides of the war. While each side has a reason to seek out a potential end to the war, they also have legitimate grievances that must be settled lest conflict erupt in the future.

  • The Oxkiller Alliance is a dangerous enemy for the San Saba, and the figures involved in the Summit will be deadly and powerful members of the enemy forces, including the Breaker of Crowns and her loyal champions. These are the same enemies that killed LCs during the September event, and have been responsible for a number of violent attacks on Bravado. During this event, you’ll have an opportunity to hear their side of the conflict and it could lend to some uncomfortable truths and realizations of the impact of your character’s actions.

Institutional corruption and abuses of power, incarceration.

  • The ever-tightening grip of the San Saba Board continues to inform the decisions to pursue war. For the Board, they see the threat of the Oxkillers as a challenge to their power, and something that must be met with the threat of violence. They cannot easily stand down from the armed conflict without being convinced of the need for peace.

  • Certain events will challenge player’s opinion of those in power, and particularly those that enforce the laws of Bravado. The Law Dog Union and the Justices of Sin continue to struggle to apply an uneven sense of justice in the zombie apocalypse, especially with the punishment of those beloved by the town and certain crews.

Intense emotional situations, where characters may be pushed to their emotional limits.

  • The conflict between the Oxkillers and the San Saba will likely include arguments, yelling, and heated roleplay as the various NPCs and LCs alike will be involved in the fray. This could include CVC conflict, and will likely involve insults, yelling, accusations, and other strong forms of verbal conflict. If you attend the Summit (which will happen during the Saturday Siesta), you should expect some intense emotional situations and arguments. You will be able to avoid this in-game event if you like, and we will have plenty of zombies and raiders to deal with later.

Let’s cover some of the specific major ingredients of the next event and what to expect in game!

DYNAMIC PLOT & LASTING CONSEQUENCES

We have a few things to prepare for as the Summit of the Tribes is set to start. This game, you’ll see a focus on the basic themes of Dystopia Rising — zombies, and the threat of other survivors. While zed are the cause of a number of deaths across the wasteland, far greater crimes are committed by those that share the wastelands with you.

One of the key themes of the February event will be the concept of DYNAMIC PLOT.

The outcome of THE BREAKER OF CROWNS will not be decided by a vote, or by choosing a new leader of the Tribes, or even killing a certain big bad. Instead, YOUR actions will matter over the course of the event. Several CHOICE POINTS will be presented to the town throughout the event, and how you react to these in-game situations will determine how the resolution of this game will end.

Your actions as a player will determine if the Oxkillers decide to pursue a peace treaty, or if the War is doomed to continue into the months ahead. Heather and I have prepared multiple endings based on how these flash points resolve, and you will get to have a direct impact on if the War of Antlers continues or heads towards peace. Pay close attention to the story of the Summit, and you will have multiple opportunities to sway the opinions of either the San Saba forces or the Oxkillers.

  • We will telegraph when one of these events occur by using a clear OOC sign that reads CHOICE POINT. It should be clear to those involved that a choice is being made. Whether your choice will push the various personalities towards peace or war will depend on the choice you make!

  • Not every CHOICE POINT will be decided by roleplay behaviors alone. There will be a few ways for you to mechanically interact with the plot if heavy roleplay isn’t your style, particularly for those with Society Memberships in the various San Saba factions.

  • Your decisions will determine the final Battles in the War of Antlers plot that occur on Sunday at the war table, so be prepared for the shifting battlegrounds based on your actions during the event itself!

You can expect zombies and the usual Dystopia Rising experience during our next event, but the ultimate ending of the weekend is up to you!

DEADLY ZOMBIES

After a long Winter break, it’s nice to return to the familiar and the expected. Our February event will focus on low-complexity overarc stories that are more about the characters involved than some special mechanic. As such, most of the enemies for this event will be the run-of-the-mill Shamblers, Tanks, Bursters, and more. After all, Dystopia Rising is set in a ZOMBIE apocalypse. What story would it be without zombies?

Our goal for February is to keep the nights dark and full of terror, and allow our various STs to feature elements of their own plots and underarcs during the day. While the Summit called by Queen Debs will be happening during the afternoon, you can expect to see a few other stories emerging, and maybe even a few sneak peeks of conflicts to come as the season continues, all set to the threat of being eaten and devoured alive by the zombies hordes that besiege our tiny town.

The threat of being devoured and ripped to pieces by Zombies will be even more prevalent during this. During certain [REDACTED] events and calls, you’ll find even the common Shambler suddenly a vicious killer. While we normally reserve “killing blow active” threats for specific situations, during the February event even the lowly Shambler can suddenly become killing blow active, capable of ending your character’s life with a Killing Blow call instead of the usual Cannibalize call. Yikes!

That means if you get caught alone by the zombie horde, you might not be able to rely on your friends arriving in time to save you from the devouring maws of the undead, or hearing that slow count of “Cannibalize 1, Cannibalize 2…”! Make sure you have an injectable handy, or get ready to run in the face of the deadly zombies during THE BREAKER OF CROWNS!

Solomon isn’t really a zombie, but you get the point.

DEADLY POLITICS

During THE BREAKER OF CROWNS, you will get to meet several different new characters over the weekend. While some of these faces may be familiar to you, like Boss Debs or the Breaker of Crowns, others will be new to this weekend. You’ll have a chance to roleplay with these characters, make promises, alliances, and uncover secrets by using your skill or simply engage them with good old fashioned murder and blades in the dark.

Each of the key NPCs from the weekend will have a character sheet, Body, Mind, and other items they can use. They can be interacted with, attacked, robbed, and will be able to react with their own mechanics. They have Infection scores just like a player, and will be able to come back from death, so make sure you are confident in your abilities to not be remembered should you try for a quick and dirty crime.

But most importantly, you can talk with them, hear their side of events, and watch for cues on how to influence their behaviors. These characters will have goals and agendas (and even a few secrets) for the Summit, but they can be convinced of your cause provided you appeal to their own motivations. As part of the dynamic plot, the NPCs will be available in play for long periods, so if you’d like to be involved simply join in the conversation! Listen to the things they like, dislike, and what their goals are for the Summit, and you will be able to make the decisions that matter during the CHOICE POINTS.

Your ability to influence these key figures will be important to helping the San Saba pursue a future of either PEACE or WAR!

WRAP UP

Tickets are on sale as of Monday, January 15th for our next event, and we are so excited to tell a story of zombies and politics, and to progress the metaplot of the season forward. We hope that you will join us at Camp Bluebonnet Shores, and make the most of the weekend to survive the zombie apocalypse.

Will you pick a side in the conflict? Are you tired of the San Saba Board and think maybe the Breaker of Crowns has started to make a lot of sense? Are you worried about the threat of the Prince Undying and need to make a deal with a sworn enemy for the greater good? Are you simply out for revenge against that Oxkiller that killed your family? Will you be devoured by a horde of zombies before your friends can save you?

Let’s find out together, when the BREAKER OF CROWNS arrives in Bravado!

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Rules You Should Know - December

It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our December live event THE RED DEATH! This is our next Premiere Event game, led by Heather Halstead and Jonathan Loyd. Each week, I’ll discuss in detail an aspect of the upcoming event, compiling the rules and lore into one easy place to read! This week, we are covering some last-minute Rules You Should Know, featuring some Threat Skills that might be useful to prepare for as the red mist of the Prince Undying settles over Bravado…

  • TICKET SALES ARE CLOSED ONLINE, BUT YOU CAN STILL GET A TICKET AT THE GATE!

  • We’ve updated our New Player Corner with a lot of great resources for new and returning players alike. Thanks to DR: Michigan and DR: New York for paving the way with excellent similar content!

  • We’ve updated the SES Buy List, and we’ve allowed it to use your San Saba Society Memberships instead of requiring involvement with the Red Ledger. Check out what your Marks can earn you if you sign up for the Survival Ethos System last month!

  • You might have missed it, but we updated our Local CAPS list last season. There are some brand new shiny rewards if you bought some items from our Wish List, or if you help our game with extra NPC shifts or spend time as a Guide. Check it out!

Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, by Max Pohlmeier, Lauren Guzaldo, Jason Dumas, and Maddeax Khole.

Threat Skills of Note for December

Let’s cover some of the common Threat skills you’ll see during THE RED DEATH. Several of these are Skills not originally included in the DR Corebook, but they are published online as part of the National Lexicon.

AGONY

Countered by Basic Mental Endurance if delivered by an AOE or Sound of Voice call, or by Avoid if delivered by a Strike or Ranged Attack. Agony is an ability that causes intense physical and/or mental pain in the character affected, making it difficult if not impossible to act through the torment. This effect normally lasts ten (10) seconds if not otherwise specified, and during that time, the character cannot use Skills or items but can move at a slow pace and defend themselves. Agony Interrupts skills being used when it is called. 

Agony is a versatile skill used by several different entities during THE RED DEATH. While affected by this ability, you may not use Skills (including weapon skills!) or items, but can move slowly and act defensively. This means no brews, no gizmos, no armor, no weapons, nothing!

  • This attack interrupts all Skills being used, including Crafting. Remember, if you start using a new Skill while working on that expensive Artisan project, you will also be Interrupted. If you use Mental Endurance to resist the effect, you will Interrupt yourself. Best be careful about crafting while [REDACTED] are about.

  • Agony is often a precursor to more dangerous attacks like Break and Mangle, so remember you can’t Avoid while under the effects of Agony. 10 seconds is a LONG time in the heat of combat!

  • The Candlepin Survival Pack can protect you from this attack, but remember this is a Supply Bag item and cannot be stacked with a Freeiron Dry Pack. You can use either or, but not both!

  • The Battle Hymn is probably the best single defense against Agony, as it gives you an Upsurge protect and simply makes you immune. This is the only way to avoid interruption from Agony, as the effect simply doesn’t happen. Remember, an Upsurge only lasts one hour, so make it worth it!

Often, the best use of Agony by our NPCs is just finding out who to target next! If someone starts screaming in pain, it’s hard to stay stealthy behind that tree!

ATTRACT

Countered by Basic Mental Endurance for a five-minute period. Attract is an 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 attracted.

Sometimes, the bumps in the night are just too damn interesting. You feel compelled to walk into the darkness to investigate, but don’t worry — you’ll be right back! (probably)

  • Attract has few counters other than Basic Mental Endurance, but once you’ve used it you are protected for 5 minutes, even against other uses of the ability.

  • Many times this skill is used by [REDACTED], it will be targeted with an AOE or By My Voice modifier, and it might be targeted against specific people. If the target doesn’t apply, then the Attract doesn’t work on you.

  • Once you get to the creature that used Attract, you aren’t required to stay or even attack or interact with the target. However, getting within arm’s reach of a [REDACTED] is probably enough to lead to a bad time, or to set up the use of another attack like Agony.

  • If you are Attracted out of line of sight of your friends, you can be CAUGHT ALONE. If this happens and is called on a Guide or you realize you are alone in the dark, then you will proceed to Ops, and find out what happens next.

Be careful when you get called by the music of the spheres into the darkness. You may not like what you find when you are CAUGHT ALONE.

TERROR

Countered by Basic Mental Endurance. Often delivered as an area or Line of Sight effect, those affected by Terror are overcome by an urge to flee from the source of it. For at least 30 seconds (default; some uses may specify a different duration in the call) they must attempt to flee from the presence of the source of Terror, regardless of (IG) safety. If they cannot for some reason escape, they will cower as best as possible. The target may still defend themselves, but fleeing will always be a priority when possible. Effects and items that give immunity to Fear do not give immunity to Terror unless noted otherwise.

This skill often gets confused with Fear, but the simple instruction for Terror is to RUN AWAY! If you don’t counter this with Mental Endurance or an item, you simply need to move away from the creature for at least 30 seconds. Pick and direction and move!

  • Terror is a separate ability than Fear. Many items that protect from Fear do not often the same protection from Terror, and often the two defenses are mutually exclusive.

  • Like Agony, the Battle Hymn is an excellent defense against this ability, and if the right Upsurge is chosen it protects from both Fear AND Terror.

  • One of the items purchased from the Master Sailing buy list can be used to defend against this ability, the Crew’s Cabin Flag.

  • The item Scales of Ezra makes the wearer immune to Fear and Terror, provided you can use a Faithful Anomaly skill and two baptized members of your faith are in sight.

  • If you are chased out of line of sight of your friends by Terror, you can be CAUGHT ALONE. If this happens and is called on a Guide or you realize you are alone in the dark, then you will proceed to Ops, and find out what happens next.

Sounds terrifying!

Fear

Fear is a mechanical effect that prevents a Target from attacking the source of the Fear. Fear is broken if the Target is attacked by a foe, affected by other non-Fear mechanics with the aim of harming the Target, or forced to attack by another effect that comes after the use of Fear. Fear does not make you leave the battlefield, but it does prevent you from crossing the line from verbal and secondary support to engaging combatant. While under the effects of Fear, you can still attack others on the battlefield who were not the source of the Fear.

Fear is an insidious ability, as it can be used by intelligent threats to lock you out of a combat and there are not many ways to prevent it from affecting you. Be careful while walking in a pair, because if the predator is particularly cunning, you might have to just watch your friend die while you are stricken in fear and unable to help them.

  • Unlike Terror, you cannot use Mental Endurance against Fear. The only thing that really breaks Fear is that creature attacking you by mistake.

  • Remember, being an ‘engaging combatant’ is a bit vague, but if you try to use a Skill on a friend or otherwise involve yourself in the battle against that creature you may not be able to intervene. This means you can’t really use skills like Interfere or and you can’t make an attack on an enemy to prevent a Killing Blow. It doesn’t stop secondary support like healing through Biogenetics, but it does stop most active skills that could stop the enemy.

  • Like Agony, the Battle Hymn is an excellent defense against this ability, and if the right Upsurge is chosen it protects from both Fear AND Terror.

  • Sometimes, a big fucking gun can give you the courage to fight back against paralyzing fear, particularly if you have a Rebel’s Ridiculous Receiver. A solid shield like the Freeiron Guard can be handy in a pinch, and can be used on others. You can also rely on chemical stimulation with a Glitter Gulch Dartgun, if you have the right PFA. For everyone else, you can always use a Trophy Room too to resist fear, if you can get a bedtime story from an Avontuur.

  • A new blueprint from up north that’s handy against Nemesis works in a pinch versus fear, the Cullingwood Blade, if you are Bad Ass enough..

  • There are many items purchased from every level of the Sailing buy list can be used to defend against this ability, such as Grog, Crew’s Raiding Flag, Crew’s Cabin Flag, and Keg O’ Grog. This is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to get immunity to Fear.

Can you master your fear in face of living Nightmares?

Nightmare Bane

When a character with the Nightmares keyword is hit by this attack, they take DOUBLE the damage called. If the Target of the appropriate type Bane damage would normally take reduced damage from the source of the attack, Bane damage the reduction cancel each other out and the Target would take the standard base damage. If the Target would be normally immune to damage due to the nature of the source, the Target of the Bane damage takes no damage and is still immune.

There’s several ways to use Bane damage against monsters, but sometimes they get to use it against YOU! This weekend, those few folks that have delved into the mysteries of the Nightmare of the Prince Undying will be particularly vulnerable to the threats at night.

  • Bane damage doubles the incoming damage, if you are an eligible target. For instance, if a [REDACTED] hits a player that has the Nightmares keyword with a “20 damage, Nightmare Bane!”, that player would instead take 40 damage. Ouch!

  • The Nightmares keyword had to be obtained from player action on a Zone of Mechanics or a plot effect. If you have this keyword, you know what you did.

Nightmares - Unique Threat Skills

The Long Night draws forth all manners of the creepy and unexplained, and they often have some peculiar abilities and dangerous skills to use against their prey. I hope you aren’t caught ALONE IN THE DARK.

The gallery of cryptids who, during the Long Night, once stalked the darkness of Widow’s Peak have been twisted and changed by THE RED DEATH. Some in search of prey, others absolution, most - with opaque motives. Are they strains gone mad in the blind eternity of the Long Night? Are they expressions of our terror made manifest in the chaos of sensory deprivation? Are they the Gravemind itself dreaming in the siesta between seasons? It depends on who you ask.

Some Longwalkers have strange tells that indicate they are present. Water running backwards, the scent of rotten fruit, a glowing will-o-wisp in the darkness, the sound of tinkling chimes. These mysterious entities stalk the Long Night looking for something. The Nowhere Man, the Behemoth, the Midnight Gardener, the Shadow People, the Lady of the Long Night, and The Click - these figures sometimes derive from folktale and myth - and others are the inspiration for the same.

The Longwalkers are strange and unknown entities, but one thing is certain - they CANNOT BE KILLED, only survived. You should either run if you can or hide if you can’T.

While virtually invulnerable, Longwalkers are more than capable of impacting YOU with their Skills and abilities. They can be quite deadly even during a normal Long Night, but now they have been corrupted by the Nightmare of the Prince Undying. Where as something as simple as candlelight might have kept you safe before, you’ll have to find out the hard way if the common Longwalker defenses still work against these new NIGHTMARE WALKERS.

  • Anomaly Response Healing: Any use of Psionic Abilities within earshot of the [REDACTED] declares “Anomaly Response: Healing”. Heal all Body.

  • Discorporate - [REDACTED] can declare “BLINK” and leave a scene as they fade out of reality. The [REDACTED] can leave an area at any time, even if someone uses a “No Escape” effect.

  • Invulnerable - In short, [REDACTED] can never truly be “killed” in any way that we can recognize.  They have no Body, no Armor, or any other way to be physically harmed. They are threats to survive, not kill or defeat. However, doing enough damage to one can cause it to temporarily leave an area for a short time. It won’t be forever, but it may be long enough to get your friends and escape.

    • Ranged and Melee Immunity - Call “No Effect” or “Reduced” to any damage calls or similar effects.

    • Unnatural Creature - Call “No Effect” to any use of Mangle or Knockout. These creatures can never be killed, outside of plot effects

  • Alluring Visage (Psionic Mutation): The [REDACTED] can attract any Lineages near it, who must immediately proceed within melee range of the threat. Once they have reached that point, they may leave. Call “PSIONIC: By My Voice, Alluring Visage, Attract all Lineages”. Countered by Mental Endurance for a 5-minute period.

  • Devour: This delivery modifier causes the attacker to be healed for an equal of Body as the attack deals. For instance, a creature might call “Devour 50 Body!”, which will deal 50 Body as the attack and heal them for 50 Body. This call can drain Body or Mind, or even INFECTION. Yikes!

There will be a few more things you’ll have to discover in game, but rest assured, when the RED DEATH arrives, all sorts of deadly and spooky encounters are in store!

Wrap Up

We hope that you are ready for the challenge of THE RED DEATH. How can you stop the machinations of the Prince Undying? Can you survive a world where death itself is changed and the night is blanketed in red? Will you escape the Nightmare Walkers or worse? We have some some fun and exciting challenges planned for your characters in the nightmarish zombie apocalypse. But don’t worry, it’s not just all about the RED DEATH, you’ll still need to deal with (nightmare) zombies, (nightmare) Oxkillers, (nightmare) raiders and more!

TICKETS ARE ON SALE At the DOOR! SEe YOu ON FRIDAY!

Here’s one last sneak peek at the two new National blueprints being released during our upcoming Premiere Event!

Dragged to Hell

Howdy Vados!

It’s HEATHER here with another DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our December live event THE RED DEATH!  This is our next Premiere Event game, led by Heather Halstead and Jonathan Loyd.  Each week, we’ll discuss in detail an aspect of the upcoming event, compiling the rules and lore into one easy place to read! This week, we are covering the Dragged to Hell and Caught Alone mechanics, and the function of The Red Death itself, plus a sneak peak at our vision for a unique Finale Mod — something I’m extremely excited about, that we’ve never attempted before.

One last reminder to help us decorate our spaces for the Winter Lights Festival with RED tealights. The more lights, the better! Decorate your space! You can also simply use a red paper bag to place normal tea lights into to change the color to red. Please be sure to get tea lights with RED FLAMES, not just red exteriors!

TL;DR

It’s going to feel like I’m cover A LOT of custom mechanics in this post, but I want to assure you, it’s not that complicated. Here is the TL;DR - the bare bones you need to know for game:

  • Death is Weird this event! If you die, get back up with 1 body, and report to Ops within 15 minutes.

  • Night time will be extra dangerous, and you should watch for ZOMs on crafting stations.

  • Nightmare Bane does BANE damage (DOUBLE damage!) to YOU if you have Nightmares.

  • If you’re walking alone in the dark, report to Ops for a quick dice roll and a spooky encounter.

  • The Finale Mod will involve very little combat, but extreme amounts of Tension. 

That’s it!

Everything else will be explained in the moment, or are things the ST senate is inflicting upon you, rather than rules you need to remember. But if you want more details, keep reading! Especially the bit at the bottom concerning the finale mod. 

Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, by Max Pohlmeier, Lauren Guzaldo, Jason Dumas, and Maddeax Khole.

DR:TX UPDATES

Let’s cover a few things of note that have happened over the last few weeks:

  • Read our Event Premise and Content Warnings in the first blog post for this event, THE RED DEATH. You can learn how to Opt into The Dead Return in last weeks blog! This covers a lot of the stuff you should know before you buy a ticket, as well as an explanation of the story of the weekend.

  • LIT Cashout! For the next couple of weeks, you can purchase a $0 Ticket to have your LIT inventory cashed out and ready for pickup at the December Premier Event.  This $0 ticket acts as your place in line, so just snag your ticket, and we’ll ensure your supplies are waiting for you when you check in on Friday, December 8th. This opportunity is only for players with Texas as their home chapter and will be handled first come first served.  We will have 30 of these tickets open for this next event, and additional opportunities for the cash out if you miss out, don’t worry!

DRAGGED TO HELL

During this event, we will have a very special death mechanic in play.

As the Undying Prince grows nearer, and reality warps and shifts around the town of Bravado, death is somehow closer and more perverse. Those who die, whether by murder, a slow bleed, or a slit throat are… standing back up. Going about their day, rejoining the fray. It seems like death has no hold here. 

Until it most assuredly does. Whispers of those ‘lucky’ folks who narrowly avoided death being hunted down by creatures made of nothing but shadow, and being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the blackness floating over the flames of red camp fires.

Death will always claim its due. 

What does this mean for us?

For the December event, if you are lucky enough to die by any means, you will stand back up as though nothing occurred, at one (1) Body. You may continue fighting, talking, etc, as long as you report to, in character, to the Grave Annex within 15 minutes (come to Ops).

Once in Ops, the storyteller on duty will mark the infection loss in the death log and on your sheet, remove 1 Resolve, and give you 1 level of the Nightmares keyword. Once that’s done, they’ll give you a big yellow glowstick to wear, and send you back out into the world to role play. 

But of course, there is a catch… 

For the next two hours (beginning at nightfall if the death occurred during the day), or until captured, you will be targeted by Shades. These creatures of shadow will swarm you at any given opportunity, and attempt to “Drag You to Hell”. This will only be by physical touch if that is consented to by all parties, otherwise the default is boffers. You can attempt to evade them, but they are persistent, and lethal. Once consumed by the Shades, they, and you, disappear, and you may ring the bell and proceed to Ops for your Grave Mind scene. 

Even if you evade the Shades, death is inevitable. If you have not been dragged away within two hours of the death, or two hours after nightfall, you will drop dead where you stand and must ring the bell, and report to Ops for your gravemind scene as usual. But if this happens, your Nightmare-ish Grave Mind scene may involve a potential bargain that can be struck…

…if you’re willing to accept HIS terms. 

CAUGHT ALONE

A mechanic from last year that we’re bringing back this year! This is based on the Alone in the Dark mechanic originally created by Phil Grau from DR:VA, tweaked a bit for our own Texas flavor. The nights before the Long Night are dangerous, and even more so now, with the Red Death sweeping the land.

If at any time, you find yourself Alone if the Dark, or if an ST spots you Alone in the Dark, you must consider yourself CAUGHT ALONE, and report to Ops to roll for a consequence.

Some results of being Caught Alone are positive, some are strange and disturbing, some are dangerous, but nothing will take your infection just from a die roll. Once you’ve arrived at Ops, you will roll a D20, and be given your outcome.

You don’t have to be caught by an ST to be Caught Alone, though. It can be whenever you realize you’ve wandered from others and are alone in the dark, whether you were just left alone when all your friends vanished into the night, or if you are just looking for something to spice up the evening in Bravado.

Stick together, Vados. It’s spooky out there. 

THE RED DEATH

As the miasma of red settled over the town, strange things begin to occur. Reality warps and bends. Things seem.. Wrong.

Insubstantial.

Formless and unknowable. 

When the sun goes down, and all light has left the sky, a siren will sound and all the lights in town will turn RED. In these moments, combat will be more dangerous, and even simple shamblers will be fraught with nightmarish characteristics.

Every creature type will have additional stats during the night-time hours to show the way the Red Death is warping the world as we see it. And of course.. the Nightmares themselves will haunt the night. These creatures, the beings of mist and shadow, will be especially dangerous, and will have a new ability - Nightmare Bane. This will count as Bane damage for any LC with ANY level of Nightmares.

This bane will NOT be on the modified zombie/raider/strain threats, only on the ‘big kid’ Nightmare creatures. The ones that hunted down you or your friends last game, or screeched about the opening of a door. Or the Ones that used to look like Longwalkers...

In addition to increased danger of the red hued darkness, crafting will be more difficult as well.

When the haze of the Red Death settles over the town, every place seems oddly separate from reality, and requires you to force your will upon it to make it solid and workable. During the night time hours, please look for ZOMs about these effects on all crafting stations - they will need to be “activated” for a period of time, and how difficult this activation is will depend on the LCs level of Nightmare:

  • No level of Nightmares — 1 Resolve

  • Nightmares (1) — 30 Mind

  • Nightmares (2) — 20 Mind

  • Nightmares (3) — 10 Mind

The more warped your reality is, the easier it is to bend them to your will and force that imprint to ‘exist’. ANY LC will be able to activate a crafting station for use for a period of time, even if they do not have an appropriate skill to use that station. It does NOT have to be the LC actually using the station. Make sure you get that important crafting done in the comforting light of day!

THE CLEANSING RITUAL - FINALE MOD

Every game has a cadence, and we’re all very familiar with the idea that the main plot typically resolves in some way, usually in the form of a big FIGHT Saturday evening.

For this event, I wanted to try something different. Despite how dangerous the nights will be during this event (and TRUST ME, we have FIGHTS planned.), the Finale Mod itself will be largely a non-combat mod. While there will be a small group of LCs tasked to fight, the main crux of the mod will require the majority of the town to participate in a RITUAL that will preclude you from combat. 

The design of this mod is still very dangerous for every character involved, and my goal is to invoke the same level of fear, tension, and adrenaline that a final fight provides, but in a setting that is focused less on combat, and more on non-violent actions. Some problems can’t be solved with violence, and I want us to try to highlight this, and also give our less combat oriented characters a chance to feel like they are the focus of the finale, instead of ancillary to it.

To be clear, you don’t have to be a non combat character to participate in this, but even if you are a combat character, your role in this fight will probably not be combat oriented. 

I ask everyone lean into this, and try something new, and see how it goes. Hopefully, it will be a memorable experience and a kick ass story. I’ve been dying to put this idea into motion for months, and I’m so very excited to bring it to life for you all in a few weeks!

WRAP UP

We hope that you are ready for the challenge of THE RED DEATH.  How can you stop the machinations of the Prince Undying?  Can you survive a world where death itself is changed and the night is blanketed in red?  Will you escape the Nightmare Walkers or worse?   We have some some fun and exciting challenges planned for your characters in the nightmarish zombie apocalypse.  But don’t worry, it’s not just all about the RED DEATH, you’ll still need to deal with (nightmare) zombies, (nightmare) Oxkillers, (nightmare) raiders and more!

TICKETS ARE ON SALE UNTIL FRIDAY!!!

See you next time Vados, when we talk about Rules You Should Know before the event and our other last minute announcements for the event!  But for now, let’s take a sneak peek at the second of the two new National blueprints released during our upcoming Premiere Event!

,

The Dead Return

,

Howdy Vados!

It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our December live event THE RED DEATH! This is our next Premiere Event game, led by Heather Halstead and Jonathan Loyd. Each week, I’ll discuss in detail an aspect of the upcoming event, compiling the rules and lore into one easy place to read! This week, we are covering a way to involve characters from your backstory that died into the story of the RED DEATH, when the dead return to life as nightmares and death hang over Bravado…

Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, by Max Pohlmeier, Lauren Guzaldo, and Maddeax Khole.

DR:TX Updates

Let’s cover a few things of note that have happened over the last few weeks:

  • Read our Event Premise and Content Warnings in the first blog post for this event, THE RED DEATH. This covers a lot of the stuff you should know before you buy a ticket, as well as an explanation of the story of the weekend.

  • Grab Bag sales end this week! You have until 3:00 PM on Wednesday, November 22nd to purchase one to get your cool “I’d Rather Be in Bravado” t-shirt plus some other goodies, for only $25. If you are traveling, don’t miss out on a souvenir of your trip to Texas! You only have few hours left when this post goes live to participate!

  • LIT Cashout! For the next couple of weeks, you can purchase a $0 Ticket to have your LIT inventory cashed out and ready for pickup at the December Premier Event. This $0 ticket acts as your place in line, so just snag your ticket, and we’ll ensure your supplies are waiting for you when you check in on Friday, December 8th. This opportunity is only for players with Texas as their home chapter and will be handled first come first served. We will have 30 tickets open for this next event, and additional opportunities for the cash out if you miss out, don’t worry!

  • San Saba Socials are updated! Due to a bank error in your favor, a certain San Saba Social was very, very generous when drunken farming last event. Fortunately for our Post Office workers, this error has been corrected for future events. We’ve also had a few reports of a few of these missing from the computer, so I’ve also made sure that each of the eight San Saba Socials can be posted now with updated versions of the ZOMs ready to print for the Post Office.

  • Radiation Sickness has been updated! Given a recent Errata update on the National website, we’ve updated the rules for instances of Radiation Sickness going forward to follow the National version. I’ve included a link on our Local Diseases page if you want to read up about the new dangers of the Waking Exclusion Zone.

The Dead Return

Throughout the San Saba, as the threat of the Red Death spreads across the wastes, a curious phenomena begins to occur in tandem with the strange nightmarish creatures. Similar to events of the past towns in the Lone Star, with the legends of Boot Hill and trapped memories of the past, where the Prince Undying walks leaves behinds the echoes of the long past dead, returned to walk among the living for a moment more.

During our next event, we have a special opportunity for your dead loved ones to return to the game for a short roleplay event on Saturday. If you have an NPC in your background that died long ago and you’d like to inflict some emotional damage on your character, you are in luck!

We have a few requirements to participate, but they are pretty simple:

The requirements:

  • The NPC should be dead and gone.

  • NPCs only, no former LCs.

  • You may submit multiple characters, but remember that we cannot guarantee every request will show up in play.

  • This role-play is about conflict and guilt, and may not have a happy ending. Be aware that this is potentially intense role-play you are opting into.  This is a chance to cause some emotional damage to your suffer puppets, and we hope you are excited!

  • This is open to traveling players!

In order to properly portray your dead loved ones, we’d like to get as close as we can to your imagination of this character. We’ve put together some questions for you to answer in the application above that will help us coach our NPCs on how to play that character, and I’ve included a few examples from a past character of mine, Doc Creed.

Questions for players with returning loved ones:

  • Do you have anyone in your backstory who is permed that you'd like to see again in the play space?

    • “Doc Creed’s wife Rebecca was lost to a zombie horde many years ago, but he’s always held himself to blame for her death and carries a deep regret for not being there with her in the end.”

  • Describe important details about this character as best you can (name, nicknames, age, relationship, strain, faction, etc).  Keep the details specific, but concise.  We will be limited to our NPCs on shift to represent this person.

    • “Rebecca was a Pure Blood in her early 30s, and they had a single child together named Hope. Rebecca was the mayor’s daughter of a small town called Three Rivers, and they met through their shared faith in the Nuclear Family. She was an important anchor for Creed, and helped him control his Accensorite excesses.”

  • Did they have something recognizable about them we can telegraph with our NPC (a hat, a flower, a certain dress?)  This is a great way for us to help you recognize who that NPC is supposed to be.

    • “Rebecca always wore a flower in her hair, picked from the garden outside. She knew how much Creed liked the garden, and always wore it for him.”

  • Describe their personality, and a few tips for accurately portraying this character.  How would you coach an NPC to play this character?

    • “Rebecca was kind, forgiving, and cared for their daughter while Creed was away, but she maintained and protected her home with a quiet dignity and faith. She was fond of reminding Creed to enjoy the quiet peaceful moments that made life worth living, and helped him stay grounded when his zeal would overtake his common sense.”

  • What conflicts were unresolved with this character? Is there something your LC still feels guilty about involving them?

    • “Doc Creed left his family to help a psion being persecuted by the town escape. He felt that his faith demanded he do the neighborly thing and thought nothing of leaving to help. While he was away, both Rebecca and Hope were lost when a massive stampede of zed leveled his town. He feels he failed his family by leaving them behind, and feels he should have died with them rather than be stuck in this wasteland without them.”

  • Describe your LC's relationship with that character in a short phrase.

    • “Doc Creed loved his wife and daughter dearly, but never spent enough time with them as his medical duties took him far from home to care for the other townsfolk instead of being the father he should have been.”

  • What are things you do NOT want touched on with this NPC?

    • This is a great place to include anything you don’t want to role play with our NPCs. Help us maintain your boundaries!

What will this look like in game?

The Dead Return events will happen throughout the weekend, but will be primarily focused during the day on Saturday. These echoes of dead loved ones will be an important aspect of surviving the Red Death and will be part of the overarc and are designed as short vignettes and mini-events in the game. We expect the normal scene with a dead echo to last about 30 minutes or so.

We also ask for your buy-in and grace, knowing that someone on shift will be playing this NPC, that it might not be exactly the image you have in your head. We will be coaching our NPCs based on your answers to the questions in the survey, and while we will strive to be true to your vision of this NPC, but we will be casting these roles depending on the available NPCs for that shift. The broader the strokes in your specifics on the NPC means that it will be more likely to see that character enter play as one of these dead echoes.

We encourage you to say "yes, and.." to the role play, and lean into the idea that your memory might seem.. not quite right. They may not look exactly like what you imagined, but that’s okay! Play along, and even buy into the strangeness. This is not an exact imprint of that loved one or a someone walking their last dance before returning to the Grave Mind, but rather it is an echo of a memory.. And echoes are never quite the same. These echoes may be CLOSE to what you remember, but something about the whole affair is slightly sinister, or even a bit of a nightmare…

A disclaimer:

We cannot guarantee every dead person will show up in the play space, even if you fill out the application above.

We will strive to fill as many requests as possible for this special event from your character’s backstory, but it’s likely we will miss some folks. Please be patient and kind with our STs and staff members as they attempt to bring this vision to life.

If you are interested in participating in “The Dead Return” fill out this Google form as soon as you can so we can make sure we have a plan for how best to torment you with your lost loved ones.

Wrap Up

We hope that you are ready for the challenge of THE RED DEATH. How can you stop the machinations of the Prince Undying? Can you survive a world where death itself is changed and the night is blanketed in red? Will you escape the Nightmare Walkers or worse? We have some some fun and exciting challenges planned for your characters in the nightmarish zombie apocalypse. But don’t worry, it’s not just all about the RED DEATH, you’ll still need to deal with (nightmare) zombies, (nightmare) Oxkillers, (nightmare) raiders and more!

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW, AND WE HAVE OUR SPECIAL grab bag RUNNING FOR A LIMITED TIMe, until 3pm wednesday, November 22nd

See you next time Vados, when we talk about the Red Death, a mysterious event that takes over the town at night, and more about our other signature mechanics for the event! But for now, let’s take a sneak peek at one of the two new National blueprints released during our upcoming Premiere Event!

,

The Red Death

,

Howdy Vados!

It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our December live event THE RED DEATH! This is our next Premiere Event game, led by Heather Halstead and Jonathan Loyd. Each week, I’ll discuss in detail an aspect of the upcoming event, compiling the rules and lore into one easy place to read! This week, we are covering the premise of our event, some content warnings, and some teasers about our upcoming key mechanics!

  • TICKETS FOR OUR DECEMBER EVENT ARE ON SALE NOW! GET READY for a macabre twist on the winter lights festival!

  • LIT Cashout! For the next couple of weeks, you can purchase a $0 Ticket to have your LIT inventory cashed out and ready for pickup at the December Premier Event. This $0 ticket acts as your place in line, so just snag your ticket, and we’ll ensure your supplies are waiting for you when you check in on Friday, December 8th. This opportunity is only for players with Texas as their home chapter and will be handled first come first served. We will have 30 tickets open for this next event, and additional opportunities for the cash out if you miss out, don’t worry!

  • If you had a great experience at our last event EMERGENCE or had some suggestions for how we can improve, we’d love to hear from you! Did you enjoy surviving the threat of the Behemoth Parasites? Did you contract “the wiggles”? Did you experience the body horror of the DIGESTION PITS? What did you like best? What memories did you make? How was your NPC shift? Did another player impress you?

Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, by Max Pohlmeier, Lauren Guzaldo, and Maddeax Khole.

PREMIERE EVENT TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!

First off, THE RED DEATH is a DR:TX PREMIERE EVENT.

Premiere Events are special events run by chapters to give their players the Special Event feel in their own chapter and telling their own stories. These are heightened events meant to be used with unique mechanics, one of a kind plot items, and an opportunity to push the limits of the game to give the community something really big to experience. These events are perfect opportunities to involve National level plots, mechanics, and items, and are a way to “blow the roof off the joint and make people’s heads spin.”

WHAT DO THEY OFFER?

  • MORE XP — Premiere Events off more bonus XP options! You can purchase up to FIVE (5) additional experience points for each of your characters during a Premiere Event. This is awesome for saving up for that point of Infection or a new PFA.

  • NATIONAL CONTENT— National items like Festering Crystals, ABCs, ARKs, and other National-level currency can be distributed during these events. Premiere events give out less of these items than a National game, but they will still be available through mods and events.

  • BIGGER PLOTS, BIGGER THREATS — In general you can expect a more intense threat than a normal DR:TX event during a Premiere game, including our very own breed of mysterious threat - the LONGWALKERS and NIGHTMARES.

  • SELF TEACH — You gain the ability to Self Teach ANY non-PFA Skill that you are able to learn, on each of your characters that are checked in. If you have an Advanced Membership, you can Self Teach a Skill for each of your three characters! This is a trick that normally costs 50-300 CAPS to get a teacher, so this is a great value. Have you been struggling to find a player that has that particular Skill you want? Look no further!

  • These events can also be held over 4-days, but we’ve elected to keep our Premiere Events to our normal 3-day duration, both to save our own sanity and not stretch our team thin.

These events can be held once per season, and December is our chosen month! We have a lot of travelers planning on attending this event, so we hope to have a killer experience to share with y’all.

New grab Bag!

For our featured Premiere Event, we have an extra special treat this year for the holidays — a return of a classic t-shirt you might have seen a few of the 2.0 veterans wear, updated for a new generation. In addition, you can some other cool goodies for both you AND your character!

OUR GRAB BAG THIS MONTH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING FOR $25!

  • Entered into a raffle for a Free Ticket to “The Red Death” ($85 value)

  • Custom pen, sticker, mini-hand sanitizer

  • Free “I’d Rather Be In Bravado” t-shirt

  • San Saba Sundry (of your choice!)

  • Copper Chit: 1 Free Blueprint (redeemable at the Post Office)

  • Festering Crystal

The T-shirt will be available in M, L, XL, and 2XL, and this is your chance to take part in a Texas tradition that dates back to our very first seasons of play!

Now that you understand what a Premiere Event is, let’s talk a little bit about the story of the next event…

The Premise of “The Red Death”

It began in Widow’s Peak, just as the first candles of Winter Lights lit cozy windows. Strange, alien sirens wailed across the Peak, and lantern flames turned red.  Animals began barking at shadows.  And as the lights shifted, the night became deadly.

The Longwalkers, creatures of myth and imprint made reality that haunt the San Saba during the Long Night have changed, transformed into something from our deepest nightmares.  Fleeing Lovelace survivors speak of a terrible malevolence within the once predictable threats.  No longer are they content to haunt the Long Night, but they move from the shadows into a new nightmare made reality.

Now that the ancient Obelisk in Lake Bravo is silent, a new song rises across the San Saba, an echo of the music of the spheres heard months ago.  Changes roll across the Territories, as the red masque of death spreads from the Peak.  The shadows begin to lengthen in Essex, in Waking, and the Clutch, the shadowy figures within marching towards a new destination.

These new monstrous Nightmare Walkers are called by this siren song back to Bravado, to answer the call of their new master, the Prince Undying, the mad architect of Barogue.  His influence spreads across the wastes, warping reality, afflicting zed, creature and raider alike.

And yet the darkness is not only full of terrors. Reports of the long dead rising to bid their loved ones welcome during the Winter Lights spread just as quickly as the crimson mist. But as the truth of the world bends and folds around itself, what is real and what is a symptom of a creeping madness?

If you missed out on our summer online event, we wrote a few bits of backstory about some of the villains and enemies you might face this month:

Sounds like an ancient threat is returning…

Inspiration & Tropes

This season in Bravado we have focused on bringing some new elements of Survival Horror to the forefront of the story. In our tradition of Radical Trust, we want to share some of the inspirational bits of media and movie magic that we feel help capture the themes and feelings of our upcoming event. If you are looking for a movie to inspire your role play for this event, here’s a list of our favorites to get ready for THE RED DEATH:

  • The Masque of the Red Death

  • Silent Hill

  • Drag Me To Hell

  • Stranger Things

  • Ghost

The traditions of Bravado are no longer sacred, they have become profane.  The Nightmare spreads across the region as the Prince Undying turns his sights to our town, but this influence spreads to the creatures as well, twisting zed and Longwalkers alike into Nightmarish versions of themselves. The town must find a way to shore up the boundary between the nightmare Realm and this one and push back the Prince’s influence from their land and minds.

You’ll find elements of this story in Silent Hill, where the world changes as the strange sirens begin to wail, as shadowy ghosts like in the finale of Ghost try to drag you screaming into hell, and as the entire world is turned upside down into a bizarre mirror of reality as the Red Death descends upon the town, like in Stranger Things. We will have a movie night over the next few weeks, sharing some of our inspiration for this next event, but this is a good list of movies to check out to get in the right mood.

With that in mind, let’s cover a few of the major ingredients we have in mind for this next game…

CONTENT WARNINGS

The themes of Dystopia Rising often touch close to our real world in ways we cannot always avoid. The DR:TX team believes that we can still tell these stories about challenging topics, but we also believe we need to be transparent about our intentions and set proper expectations for our content. In our tradition of radical trust, we want to also trust in each player that attends our game to know their own limits and be able to choose to avoid topics and situations that make them uncomfortable.

It’s important to watch for descriptions, situations, or events that you might want to avoid. You may find new limits that are unknown to you because the matter never came up. We encourage you to take the necessary steps for your own emotional safety. We want you to be comfortable with the types of horror in our events so you can enjoy the thrill of the zombie apocalypse and the nightmare creatures we introduce into the game space.

It’s one reason we take our OK Check-In system so seriously! We understand that these may not be stories you want to participate in, and that’s okay! Remember, you can always use the OK Check-In System to choose to leave a scene, even CVC!

You can always find a list of our Content Warnings on our website, but let’s talk about some of the specific things you might want to be prepared for during this December event.

Heavy Ritual themes (not linked to any religion)

  • One aspect of the upcoming event is the use of rituals, and ritualistic themes. Dealing with the Nightmare of the Prince Undying has perverted and twisted the Winter Lights traditions of our event into something different, and these themes will come up during our resolution of the event and as part of several in-game rituals and events, including Grave Mind scenes. These are not tied to any specific religion, in-game or out, but we understand the sanctity of the season and how these might connect in unexpected ways.

  • You can also read a bit more about our particular take on holiday traditions, Winter Lights.

Loss of grasp on reality

  • The Nightmares that have descended on Bravado exist in a place not quite the same as our world, as only certain characters with the Keyword “Nightmares” can interact with these threats. Madness, paranoia, and the loss of grasp on reality are important themes included in the Nightmare and this may not be something you can entirely avoid during the event, particularly from roaming threats. These mechanics may include Fractures or other mechanics that simulated this loss of connection to the real world, particularly as night falls.

Loss of mobility, freedom of movement

  • The creatures that hunt you in the darkness as death descends on Bravado will use various manners of abilities that make you helpless or unable to escape their assault as they try to literally “drag you to hell”. The loss of agency as movement is a big part of the horror trope, as folks are “scared stiff” or are unable to move out of fear. These mechanics and situations will be present during this event, but we will always check for consent before touching or moving a helpless target and want to help you buy into the terror of being dragged away screaming by the nightmarish terrors in the night.

If you choose to opt out of these situations with the OK Check In System, don’t worry. There’s still plenty to do during the event, and we will have the usual threats of zombies and raiders, and the continuing story of the San Saba. There’s still a WAR going on, and there will be other mods and challenges during the event outside of the Nightmares. You’ll still be able to complete Liquidation Runs, craft and gather resources, and spend time with your friends. If this is still a bit much for you, don’t worry, we have some more scary stories next year in February.

The Red Death Descends…

We have a few things to prepare for as the Red Death approaches Bravado. This game, you’ll see the return of some classic threats and mechanics, as well as some entirely new changes to reality. I’ll cover the specifics of these in a future blog post, but here’s a sneak peek:

Alone in the Dark

First used by our friends in DR: Virginia, and written by Phil Grau, the Alone in the Dark mechanics provide an interesting challenge for those that try to travel alone across town.

First used by our friends in DR: Virginia, and written by Phil Grau, the Alone in the Dark mechanics provide an interesting challenge for those that try to travel alone across town. We used these last year and Heather has some new and terrifying encounters planned out for what happens if you get caught ALONE IN THE DARK. Hope you brought a buddy to the zombie apocalypse!

The Masque of the Red Death

When darkness falls, Bravado will get LOT more dangerous. Candles will turn red, lights will be disrupted, and strange sirens will begin wailing across the town. While the Red Death lays over the town, DEATH seems both closer and further away as those who die get back up immediately, only to be dragged away by shadowy nightmares at a later time. 

  • Resource gathering will be more challenging at night, and will require the expenditure of RESOLVE, as reality itself seems to bleed away.

  • When a person dies, they Bleed Out and are returned to play immediately.  They stay at 1 Body, lose an Infection, lose a Resolve (with a potential for Fractures), and gain a level of Nightmares. This means they can now interact with the shadowy creatures that will be attempting to draw them deeper into the madness of the Nightmare.

  • Those that die to threats in the darkness will not experience the Grave Mind scene right away, but rather will be pursued by shadowy enemies that will attempt to drag them into hell, where they will face a horrible choice in the darkness.

The Nightmares of the Prince Undying

A few of y’all may have had a terrifying encounter with a giant 15’ threat that lurked in the darkness over the past few events, or other terrifying shades that stalk the night in pursuit of those that have touched the Nightmare. Back during our Barogue online event, THE UNDYING PRINCE, a few folks found a way to stay connected to the mysterious dreams of the Prince Undying. A few more even found a strange Nightmare Altar in the woods (or maybe at the crossroads last game) and made some questionable decisions that drew them further into the Nightmare. I even heard that was a strange rock that seemed to whisper when the shadows drew long…

During the December event, as the pall of the Nightmare grows closer when the Red Death descends upon Bravado, you will find all manners of creatures have become changed. Zed, Raiders, even Murder Goat Deer and Behemoth Polyps have been touched by the Nightmare and have developed strange and terrifying new abilities. Even other Strains have been touched by the Nightmare, leading to some unexpected mutations to Nemesis, Oxkillers, and more. These Nightmares will be particularly deadly to those that are marked by the Nightmare. You can expect not just the world to shift, but the things that go bump in the night to shift into this new reality as well.

Red Lights & Candles

When the Red Death descends upon Bravado, all of the lights in the town will turn RED. While we normally ask our players to bring tea lights to decorate in game spaces and cabins during Winter Lights, but this year we are asking for that same tradition, but with a twist:

  • Please bring RED tea lights (or multicolored versions that can be changed to RED) to decorate your spaces during this event. We will be offering CAPS for donations of these types of lights that you will find our Wish List this month. You can also simply use a red paper bag to place normal tea lights into to change the color to red.

  • Our in-game spaces like the Depot will have the normal lights disabled at night, and replaced with Red Dome Lights or bulbs through the spaces. We ask you to avoid using white lights in your cabins, and instead apply a red filter or gel, or cover it with red automotive lens tape. (In fairness, you should be doing this already, but here’s an extra incentive!)

Candles are an important part of the Winter Lights tradition and will have a few extra uses during this event as all the light turns to the color of blood…

Wrap Up

We hope that you are ready for the challenge of THE RED DEATH. How can you stop the machinations of the Prince Undying? Can you survive a world where death itself is changed and the night is blanketed in red? Will you escape the Nightmare Walkers or worse? We have some some fun and exciting challenges planned for your characters in the nightmarish zombie apocalypse. But don’t worry, it’s not just all about the RED DEATH, you’ll still need to deal with (nightmare) zombies, (nightmare) Oxkillers, (nightmare) raiders and more!

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW, AND WE HAVE OUR SPECIAL grab bag RUNNING FOR A LIMITED TIME.

See you next time Vados, when we talk about how the dead return, and how you can have loved ones from your backstories enter the game, as a twist on the old legends of Boot Hill!