Rules Ramble

, ,

Age of Rebellion

, ,

Howdy Vados!

It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our March live event GIFTS OF SUFFERING! This is our next ST led over-arc game, led by Andrew Harper. 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 of the major settings changes from last event, as well as some other updates for our March game!

Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by Jason Dumas.

Boss Debs and Malorous Mab meet with the Bravado representative, Ace.

The REsults of “The Breaker of Crowns”

During our event last month, we presented several important CHOICES about the fate of the San Saba to the town of Bravado. With all the charm and stubbornness we’ve come to expect from Bravado, our folks stepped up to the challenge and made some big decisions that will have a continuing impact on our setting going forward. There’s a reason the Bravado (and Texas) Motto is “Come and Get It!”.

Let’s get the biggest choice out of the way - the town of Bravado has DECLARED a full REBELLION from the San Saba Board.

We’ll cover what this means in game in a moment, but let’s first discuss how we got to this point.

During this event, we had several prominent NPCs in play that could each be interacted with to influence the decision of the event towards, WAR, PEACE, or REBELLION. Each of these NPCs had an agenda they wanted to achieve, some secrets they had to hide, and some deals that could be struck. We talked about these specific faces in a previous blog post, but here’s a reminder:

  • The Breaker of Crowns - The leader of the Oxkiller Alliance, she has had a significant presence in town over the season so far. She’s attacked folks during the first game as they completed Liquidation Runs into Waking, crashed the Tribe of Seasons meetings, and even fought alongside Boss Debs against the Nightmares. She was the most interested in a chance of REBELLION, but wanted the town to prove their willingness to stand up and speak truth to power. This character was portrayed by Ace Sexton.

  • Ahote, the Restless - The mentor of the Breaker, this Natural One leader appeared for the first time in the live space and kept his cool throughout the Summit. One of the agents of PEACE for the Oxkiller War Party, he was the most interested in hearing what the town had to say about about a path forward, particularly for how they would hold people accountable for crimes committed during the war. The character was portrayed by David Rios.

  • Marcus Remington - The Minister-General for the Star City faction of the Mustang Loyalists, Remington was a divisive figure. The most eager for WAR or REBELLION, Remington was more focused on setting rules of engagement for future conflicts and ignoring the long history of violence the followers of Mustang have committed against the people of old Bravo. He also had a part to play in a serious betrayal, but ultimately wanted to wage war against the Chairman and the crashed city of Waking Prime. This character was portrayed by Ariel Patrick-Munoz.

  • Carina Astora - The “Saltwater Sweetheart”, Carina has been a terror of the Spoiled Coast for quite some time. First appearing during our online Junkerpunk event, THE CERTAINTY OF TIDES, Carina is the leader of the Junkerpunk organization known as the “Clearwater Accord”. A known pirate, terrorist, and general anarchist, she kept to her divisive nature through the event and towards a cause of WAR. This character was portrayed by Kiara Everlen.

  • Lucy “Boss” Debs - The leader of the San Saba Republic, and representative of the Local 727, Boss Debs has been a recurring NPC in our events. She was the titular character of the Summit, hosting her cousins in the Oxkillers in the ancient rituals of her tribes despite the threat of treason against the Board. Boss Debs was a powerful advocate of PEACE, even under the threat of death. This character was portrayed by Barbara Vold.

  • Malorous Mab - One of the only open Final Knights of Essex, Malorous Mab stands as the Spymaster for San Saba Republic, and for the Cali*Co Caravan. Regal and mysterious, the Accensorite always has another scheme in the background, and knows which strings to pull to get her way. Mab has always been an agent of chaos, but always seems to come out on top, whether it be in WAR or PEACE. This character was portrayed by Liz Harvey.

Each of these characters brought information, agendas, and secrets into play, and our characters still made some interesting choices on how to solve the crisis of the Summit.

The Breaker and Ahote consider the town’s offer at the Summit.

The Choice Points

During the game we had several planned CHOICE POINT events that occurred. Each choice had WAR, PEACE, or REBELLION choices that could be made, and up until the final night of the game, the choice for Peace was leading the way. A decisive stand against the forces of the Board at the Dive on Saturday night set the stage for several decisions in quick succession that led to Rebellion.

Choices for Peace

  • The Oxkiller War Party Arrives: One of the first few choices dealt with Friday night was “How does the town treat the Oxkiller ambassadors?”. The town treated the Oxkillers on Friday night with respect, and even went out of their way to help the Oxkiller War Party escape out the back door when Zombies attacked the Depot.

  • Zombie Ambush: Presented with an option to just let the War Party fend for themselves, the town protected their guests. Even with blood scented threats tunneling towards the Oxkillers, the town jumped in the way of the trouble and defended their promise to keep the peace during the Summit.

  • The Rescue Mission: After the disastrous rout at Barogue, the Militia found a way to retrieve their captured commanders from the Prince Undying via a Mortis procedure. Taking a force of Vados into the Nightmare, they rescued not only the captured Militia leaders, but saved an Oxkiller commander as well.

  • The Loyalist Demands: The Oxkiller War Party NPCs each had a series of demands and concerns to address during the Summit. The Mustang Loyalists demanded the right to conquer Waking and came to an uneasy truce with the town. While most of their terms were met and the faction is not at outright war with Bravado, the town still has plenty of reasons to be suspicious of Remington and his Fallow Hope forces.

Choices for War

  • The Summit Negotiations: The Summit arrived on Saturday afternoon, and the town heard the various demands of the Oxkiller representatives. They considered grievances, talked about solutions, but ultimately there was conflict on how exactly to proceed. Some advocated for war, while others advocated for peace, while others still suggested open hostility against the Chairman and the San Saba Board.

  • The Clearwater Demands: The Oxkiller War Party NPCs each had a series of demands and concerns to address during the Summit. The Clearwater pirate queen demanded an exorbitant ransom to pursue peace but was rebuffed at every turn. The town was openly hostile to Carina and refused any demands she made, causing her to leave in an explosive exit as she convinced several dusters to bomb Anyport and destroy the docks at Bravado.

Choices for Rebellion

  • Publicly Defending the Oxkillers: Not only did players publicly defend the Oxkillers, and advocate for a refusal of the Board’s terms of war, the Summit simply proved how many were willing to spit in the eye of the Board. Not only did they defend the Oxkillers against another strange zed attack, but many of the townsfolk even signed a contract with the Breaker agreeing with her terms to defy the Board and the Chairman, Arthur Lovelace.

  • The Foiled Mustang Plot: The Oxkillers were not entirely harmonious, as a secret plan to murder the Breaker was uncovered by the town. Putting one of their own in a disguise as the Breaker, they stopped the assassination and prevented the death of the Oxkiller leader at the hands of her so-called allies. This was one of the major crises that swayed the Breaker towards Rebellion, though she is not yet in a position to truly act against Remington. With her people still in Star City, the Breaker will need time to consider her next steps with the Loyalists.

  • The Oxkiller Demands: The Oxkiller War Party NPCs each had a series of demands and concerns to address during the Summit. The town was able to agree to a series of treaties and contracts with the Breaker and Ahote, promising fair treatment of those accused of war crimes and giving them time and space to negotiate with respect and honor. Both Oxkiller leaders were impressed by the commitment of the town, and have sworn themselves as new allies.

  • The Grave Council Influence: While the true implications of this secret have yet to be leveraged, the town discovered the Reckoner’s influence on the strange zombie behavior in town during the Summit. They disrupted a strange ritual to control the zombie hordes from afar, defeating General Rampart and killing the villainous Board member in an act of open defiance against the Board.

  • The Arrest of Boss Debs: The true moment of Rebellion occurred Saturday night, as the Waking Intelligence Service arrived to arrest Boss Debs for her clear acts of treason. As one, the town told Lawrence Graves and his paid thugs to fuck off, ignoring the orders from the Board to strip Debs of her power and title. With a hoot and holler, the town cheered its first step towards a new age of Rebellion.

With those Choices in mind, let’s cover what happens next…

A Map of the Contested San Saba Territories, as of March. Key: Purple for Rebellion, Pink for the Nightmare, Green for Board, Blue for Clearwaters, Yellow for Loyalists, Orange for Neutral

continuity & Settings Updates

With such a monumental decision for REBELLION comes a bit of an update for our various factions and personalities of the San Saba. Let’s cover the various events that your characters should know about as you enter into our March event, GIFTS OF SUFFERING.

The Current State of Affairs

  • Bravado is in open Rebellion against the Board, based on player decisions in February. The Board has declared Bravado an enemy of the San Saba and declared that they are all traitors under the Wartime Powers of the Charter.  Not every faction is willing to respect this claim entirely, but all are wary of the consequences of dealing with Bravado in an official capacity. The new Rebellion took most of the Board’s active military forces with them, except for the few mercenary and Grave Council units loyal to the Board.  The Board will need some time to respond to the other threats they are facing, and Bravado can exploit that time to prepare. Many of the factions have even sent rebels to join the Bravado resistance as new military units.

  • Bravado is under a blockade and siege by the remaining forces of the Reckoner Legion, led by Reckoner-Commander Grant. The Board has severed telegraph lines, stopped the trains from running into Bravado, and generally cut off the town from outside support until this force can be defeated. Travel into and out of Bravado is extremely difficult, and access to common trade routes is hampered. The ports and access to the waterways at Bravado and Drywater were attacked by the Clearwater Pirates on the way out from the Summit and heavily damaged.  Support from Drywater or the Longberths will require repairs and help from Bravado to fix the damage.

  • The Mustang Loyalists under Marcus Remington are in military control of Waking, but are not necessarily enemies (yet).  The Loyalists are currently working on pacifying the city and any remaining resistance.  The remaining RRC presence is limited to a few refugees that are either fighting back or trying to survive the occupation.  The Loyalists are expecting a counter-offensive from the remaining Board forces, and are preparing for a battle.

  • The Chairman escaped Eureka Tower in his private airship during the occupation of Waking, along with a few of the loyal Pureblood family heads and fled to Essex.  Essex is now occupied by the remaining Board forces and has become the new home of the San Saba Board. The Board controls most rail and water traffic out of Essex, but the city has reached an uneasy cease fire amid martial law.  Most of the actual resistance has either gone underground, or has fled the city with the forces of the Rebellion.

  • Carina Astora has escaped to the Spoiled Coast and is a general nuisance, but she has few interests in returning to Bravado.  The Clearwater Pirates and most of their forces have broken their alliance and taken their resources and troops with them to the south. The Board has declared the Coast a lost cause as they can no longer properly defend it against the Pirates with their remaining forces. The Junkerpunks are now on their own and Sinker Swim has returned home to the Clutch in preparation for the eventual attack.

  • The Law Dogs joined Boss Debs in her rebellion against the Board, following Boss Wyatt’s public defiance of Lawrence Graves and the Waking Intelligence Service.  Most Law Dogs have followed Wyatt, but a few rogue agents still exist in the Board’s employ. While the town is facing anarchy, the Law Dogs have a plan to sign a new Bravado Charter to establish some common sense laws and rules for the town with the help of the Justices of Sin.

  • The Grave Council is in a quiet civil war following the revelations of February about General Rampart.  The Mystagogues and even parts of the Reckoners are frustrated and ready to end Rampart’s hold on the faction, but need assistance to have him removed from power politically.  Cassiopeia, head of the Quiet Path, has presented herself as a voice of reason, and has kept open conflict between the faction from erupting.

Let’s talk about some of the ways these continuity updates will be reflected in game through Rewards & Consequences…

Marcus Remington (left) and Finnegan listen intently during the Summit.

Consequences & Rewards of Your Choices

We clearly have some exciting times ahead of us. Let’s cover some mechanical changes to be aware of as we continue our season.

The Bravado Blockade

  • Uses of Trade Connections or Sailing Buy Lists will be limited during this event until the Blockade is broken. Connection with the greater San Saba is extremely limited as long as the Reckoner army is on the door step and Carina’s sabotage of the docks remains.

  • The Blockade can be broken by defeating the Reckoner armies during the war game phase on Saturday night. The docks at Anyport and Lake Bravo can be repaired via a Zone of Mechanics during this event.

Radiation Penalties are Gone!

  • Research was completed to contain the worst of the Radiation from Waking.  While the city is still deadly, the surroundings are now causing less damage to the environment.  The hard work and countless Crafting Components worked into the soil have returned most of the town back to normal. Well, as least as normal as the wasteland can be.

  • Scrap and Herb are returned to normal expiration dates!

Waking is Occupied by the Loyalists

  • Liquidations Runs into Waking will require more subterfuge to avoid Loyalist attention, while rescuing innocent survivors caught there by the siege.

  • Radiation is still a worry on the outskirts of the Exclusion Zone, but incursions inside the city will require Stealth to avoid Fallow Hope patrols.  The focus of these runs will be more focused on evacuation, infiltration, or sabotage, rather than surviving the radiation.

Morale Boost

  • Every LC in Bravado, once per game, may spend 1 Resolve to declare “Is that all you got?!” and stand back up from Bleed Out with 10 Body, as the fighting spirit of Bravado is stronger than your fear of death.  This effect lasts until the end of the season.

Welcome to the Age of Rebellion, Vados!

Wrap Up

That’s it for today! I’ll be back on Wednesday with our customary “Rules You Should Know” post for Wednesday, covering a few last minute details about the GIFTS OF SUFFERING and what awaits you this weekend. Will you help Brother Agony prove his point, or will you defy his machinations? Will you claim one of the Crowns of Suffering for yourself, or will you help destroy them? What will be your role in this new Rebellion, and the shiny future ahead?

Let’s find out together, as we experience all the gifts the Final Knights have to offer!

See you soon, Vados!

The Crowns of Suffering

Howdy Vados!

It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our March live event GIFTS OF SUFFERING! This is our next ST led over-arc game, led by Andrew Harper. 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 new unique item that will be at the core of the event!

  • TICKETS FOR OUR MARCH EVENT ARE ON SALE NOW! WILL YOU CLAIM ONE OF BROTHER AGONY’S GIFTS?

  • The Rebellion update is coming! Make sure you check out some important updates to our Setting and the results of the town’s decisions from the BREAKER OF CROWNS later this week in a special bonus blog post.

  • We’ve added a new #war-planning channel to the Bravado After Party Discord. We’ve heard your feedback on the War Mechanics, and we have some really big changes coming soon! If you are interested in updates to the war mechanics, 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, Sidney Betzina, and Jason Dumas.

Gifts from Brother Agony

During our next event, GIFTS OF SUFFERING, the titular “Gifts” will be a prominent part of the next event. Brother Agony has brought several powerful items to provoke conflict and suffering in the town of Bravado, and it will be up to your characters what you decide to do with these new items. Will you use them for personal power, or will you instead use them to save Bravado? These Relics will be a feature of the event, so let’s cover a bit more about their purpose and how they work.

In our tradition of Radical Transparency, we are going to fully reveal the rules for one of the TEN (10) Crowns that will be available to claim during this event, the CROWN OF STAGNATION. Each Crown is themed around a particular Faith in the wastelands, and this Crown is a foul perversion of the Church of Darwin. Just be warned - the other faithful of the Darwins likely won’t be a fan of someone using this relic to make a mockery of their faith.

Wait a minute - there are only 9 faiths in the corebook, and you said 10 crowns. What’s the 10th Crown supposed to do?

Artist concept of the Crown of Suffering prop, by Poe Popek

The Mechanics of SUFFERING

These are a unique local item and will have all the rules you need included on the provided item card sheet. It’s a full page, front and back, so let’s break down the key parts:

  • Every Relic REQUIRES behaviors of CVC. Trying to claim one of these items will involve your character in conflict against other characters.

    • If you are not interested in CVC behaviors, you should not pursue one of these Relics.

  • The Crowns cannot be hidden and must be openly worn. These are powerful Final Knight relics and must be displayed proudly and prominently. This will include a cool prop that is unique to each crown, and the item will be worn on your head like a tiara or crown.

  • Every Relic has a bonus ability of Damage Reduction. This can make you much tougher in a fight, which is helpful considering some folks may want to take that Crown from you by force! Lineage Bane damage ignores this protection, so grab that Toothpiq Chopper!

  • Every Relic has a punishment if you don’t complete one of the “Geas” every 2 hours. You’ll lose a Resolve (possibly gaining a Fracture) and take 10 unavoidable Body damage. While this can be damage can be healed if you have a friend, can you trust them not take your new prize from you in a moment of vulnerability?

    • This only counts time spent awake, so you don’t have to worry about keeping track of this timer while sleeping. But, in the morning you’ll need to get up, get some coffee, and get to committing crimes!

  • Each Relic can be Empowered to gain dangerous new abilities called “Boons”. Gaining these boons will require you to perform behaviors that will likely provoke conflict with other characters. These will generally let you use a certain skill for free, count as a Baptized Final Knight for various faith abilities, and help you unlock the ultimate power of the crown.

  • The Relic can’t be given away willingly — unless you’ve taken damage for not performing a Geas. Someone might be able to attack you and take it by force or steal the item while you are sleeping. But, once you’ve worn the Crown for two hours and taken damage from the Crown, you’ll be able to gain a moment of sanity that you can use to give the cursed item away. But will you want to give up your new prize?

  • The final “ascension” of the Crown requires Deadly CVC. This will unlock an ultimate power but requires performing a KILLING BLOW on another Lineage - a clear act of murder, and something that could get you in trouble with the Law Dogs if you are caught. Additionally, the final form of the Crown will require doing this multiple times, so be aware of what you are agreeing to if you choose to empower the Crown to it’s ultimate form.

    • If you are not interested in Deadly CVC and killing another player or NPC, you should steer away from empowering the Crowns.

What’s in a Geas?

Pronounced “geSH”, this is an old word from Irish folklore, but it generally refers to an obligation or prohibition supernaturally imposed on a person. This was also a wizard spell in classic D&D and shows up in a number of other roleplaying games. For our purposes, the Crowns have a sinister influence included that encourages the wearer towards acts of conflict and violence.

During GIFTS OF SUFFERING, the Geas of the Crowns will be the motivator to complete the tasks on the back page of the unique item card. Each of these actions will generally bring you into conflict with those that follow the Faith that the Crown is mocking. These actions might be something like interrupting a crafting session, having a dramatic scene with a particular Lineage, or require you to renounce your faith entirely.

The Goal of the Gifts of Suffering being in play is NOT to win by having one. The goal is to create dramatic scenes of conflict when they change hands, or when someone trys to fulfill the Geas of a crown.

Each of these Geas actions must be witnessed by a Guide and must include a dramatic scene of conflict. We want you to buy into to the conflict and roleplay, so each Geas compulsion is meant to be a noticeable scene that involves others. We want you to not just use some technicality to empower the crown, but really dig into the amazing roleplay that can come from scenes of conflict with another character.

But, say you are successful in performing the Geas tasks for the Crowns - what next?

The Ascended Crowns

So why would you even want to acquire one of these cursed Relics? Brother Agony brought these gifts to Bravado for a purpose - to inflict Suffering. But they have a strange connection to the Monolith in the center of the Crossroads. If the Crowns can be Ascended, they might be able to either empower or even destroy the Monolith.

Brother Agony has provided a useful tool that can be used in your Rebelllion against the Board, or maybe even as a weapon against the Prince Undying, or even more mundane enemies like Raiders and Zombies. However, you’ll notice that these items aren’t bound to just this single event. If you are willing to go through the effort to Empower the Crowns, you can use their cool abilities for the REST OF THE SEASON*!

* You can use these for the rest of the season In Bravado only, at least. These are still Local Plot Items and cannot be taken outside Bravado, without specific approval.

Let’s cover some of the important things to consider on the Ascended Crowns:

  • Your targets that you kill must be Lineages. It’s not enough to kill a zombie or some critter. It needs to be a living, breathing character, either NPC or LC.

  • Your Damage Reduction improves. You can now reduce most Damage effects down to 1, subtracting 10 points from any hit. You’ll be a virtual tank!

  • You can’t be the target of healing effects. You’ll have to recover from a deadly fight the old fashioned way - with brews and meals. You won’t be able to use or be targeted by skills like Medical or Biogenetics.

  • You gain the ability to do a Mangle, even if you don’t have the Skill. This is a powerful ability, and can dramatically swing a battle in your favor.

  • You can use skills as if you don’t have a Fracture. Need to cause some more pain with Pyrokinetics? No worries!

  • You can call Faith bane against your enemies. This could be handy against some pesky Fallow Hope that took up residence in Waking last month.

  • You can ignore most Area of Effect or By My Voice effects. Well, you can at least 3 times per Twelves. Your friends will need a crown of their own, or you’ll get to enjoy their suffering nearby.

Important Note: The Ascended Crowns require you to complete a Killing Blow every 24 hours. This means you’ll need to kill more than one character over the course of the event. Be warned!

How useful could these Crowns be as we continue Bravado’s Rebellion? You just need to be willing to keep up the bloodshed necessary to satisfy the Geas of the Crowns. That’s a small price to pay for the ultimate power of the Damned!

Or you can do something silly like try to destroy them. It’s your choice. During the GIFTS OF SUFFERING, it matters not what you do with the crown - the Suffering is guaranteed either way…

Wrap Up

That’s it for today, Vados! We will have another Blog coming soon detailing the effects of the town’s Rebellion against the Board, but those Crowns are looking mighty useful in the dangerous wasteland. Will you be tempted by power? Will you cast aside your faith for something more? You can just use the Crown against the Board, and then you can give it up - your friends can trust you! Will you strike down the heretic, and try to destroy the Crowns?

Let’s find out together, as we discover the GIFTS OF SUFFERING!

Tickets are still on Sale for our March Event! Save yourself time at Check-In by having your sheet ready to go!

Gifts of Suffering

Howdy Vados!

It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our March live event GIFTS OF SUFFERING! This is our next ST led over-arc game, led by Andrew Harper. 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, Sidney Betzina, and Jason Dumas.

The Premise

Oh? You received a helpful offer from a friendly traveler…

”Already your suffering is legendary.  You choose to live in a place where a 4th of the year to stride under the open sky is to burn where you stand.  Your own so-called marvels brought on a drought that threatened to turn your vibrant home into a sandy forsaken waste.  And then, not yet finished, you landed a flying city on your own heads rather than divert it somewhere, anywhere else.

So I had to come and see it for myself.  And the stories do not do it justice.  To call the impact of that monument of poorly understood technology and hubris into Bravado a landing is an embellishment worthy of the tallest tale.  You shall be living with that damage for seasons.  Especially since you went and started a war rather than take the time to clean up your mess.  

But do not look to me for help.  For this is Hell and we are Damned.  Suffering is the only certainty.  So I, Brother Agony, have seen the heights of suffering you have already ascended and bring gifts to push you even farther.  Gifts of suffering for all, and for those strong enough to hold onto it, gifts of power.  Power to wield in your hasty rebellion against the Board.  Power to defy the Prince Undying.  One of course for those who see true.  But Brother Agony is generous in his gifts, and brought enough for those who follow their delusions of the false truths also.  If you truly wish to grasp the power I have offered, then you shall bring suffering in your wake and whatever false truth you cling to is irrelevant.

And should you seek to ignore the truth it is of no consequence.  The Relics are crafted from potent psionic crystals.  I don’t know the exact extent of how or what their presence will agitate the mortis to send forth.  But I expect it will start with hordes of the undead.  And the damned shall fight the dead as is the lot of all in Hell.

Yes you may attempt to undo my gifts.  But to see true is to take and hold power in any form it takes.  And even if you cling to false truths, figuring out how to destroy the Relics shall take time, pain, and of course suffering.  As all roads lead to suffering.  The question is not if.  It is only a question of how you will suffer.

Suffer Well, Bravado…”

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 GIFTS OF SUFFERING:

  • Lord of the Rings

  • Diablo (Video Game)

  • Talk to Me

For this event, the common theme is the danger of using “artifacts of doom”, as well as the trope of “people are the real monsters”. When Brother Agony comes to Bravado, his gifts offer power to those that are willing to take it, in the tradition of the Final Knight faith. While these items have some attractive powers, they also encourage others to do something about you keeping them for long. While zombies and raiders can be scary, the real danger in the wasteland is other survivors.

While their power is real, the true potential of each gift is only unlocked through causing strife and conflict. With the scarce resources of the Gifts of Suffering, will you be able to hold onto the power once you’ve taken it, or will someone take it from you?

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.

Overall, this next event focuses heavily on the themes of FAITH and CONFLICT. These can be some serious themes, so let’s talk about some content warnings of note for GIFTS OF SUFFERING:

CVC, Character versus Character behaviors, conflict and hostility

  • Each of the relics of suffering will require CONFLICT with other player characters. In order to unlock the awesome power of these crowns, you’ll need to purposefully choose actions that bring you into conflict with other players.

  • These items will require you to purposefully volunteer for CVC involvement, similar to the SES List. While controlling one of these items you will effectively “flag” yourself for CVC conflict.

Religious conflict, religious-related death, corruption, and abuses of power (only in-game faiths - not real faiths)

  • Each of the relics brought to the player’s control by Brother Agony will be perverted icons of their respective faiths. These items will require you to subvert the expectations for those faiths, often acting in a heretical or conflicting manner to your faith.

  • This means that you can expect to see faith vs faith interactions, particularly between those of the faiths that are being exploited by the relics.

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

  • The lure of a powerful item that can offer you an advantage in the wasteland is likely to push you into situations where you need to embrace the paranoia and prepare for folks to betray you. This could be a stressful play style for the weekend, and could push you to your limits.

  • The conflict inherent to the gifts of suffering is going to provoke intense emotional roleplay, as your actions will often bring you into conflict with another character’s core belief.

Character vs Character Conflict

This next event is going to delve into one of the four pillars of DR, character versus character conflict, or CVC. If you get involved with this over-arc plot, you’ll need to be one of the folks gunning for the relics given by Brother Agony. While there will definitely be some roleplay and research about these mysterious gifts, the biggest part of this plot is going to be the challenge of holding onto one of the relics long enough to empower it.

The more powerful the item becomes, the more likely you are to attract the attention of others that are jealous of your newfound boon of power. They might want to do something to protect the town by using the relic to empower the strange monolith in town. They may just want to make sure that YOU can’t use the item to continue making a mockery of their faith. Regardless of the motivation, these items are going to create a lot of fun and interesting situations for CVC interactions.

With that in mind, I’ve covered a bunch of helpful tips and tricks for better CVC in Dystopia Rising. Here’s some helpful links to read up on before the March event:

We will cover some specifics of how these new unique items will work in a future blog post, but we expect that these items will create some interesting opportunities to lean into this avenue of play. We hope that you will take a plunge into this challenging and rewarding style of game, and really dig into the possibilities that the Gifts of Suffering offer.

Wrap Up

Tickets are on sale as of Monday, February 12th for our next event, and we are so excited to tell a story of zombies and faith, and to continue our season. We had some BIG events happen last game, so that will likely add to the conflict and story of the weekend! 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 attempt to claim one of the Gifts of Suffering? Are you strong enough to leverage the power you can gain by unlocking the relics of Brother Agony? Will you try to destroy these gifts, or use them to protect your town? Will you take a relic from another, and spill blood in the name of your personal path to power? With the San Saba Board breathing down on the town, can you deny any weapon or tool that will help you achieve your goals?

Not interested in claiming one of the relics? That’s okay too! There’s still going to be plenty of zombies and a bunch of follow up plots from our explosive mid season opener. Last month, the town of Bravado declared itself in REBELLION against the forces of the San Saba, and that’s sure to create some drama as the season continues.

Let’s find out together, when the GIFTS OF SUFFERING arrive in Bravado!

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

,

Rules You Should Know - February

,

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 event, 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 Summit begins…

  • 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. This is a great place to start if this is your first game in awhile!

  • 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!

  • Did you attend The Great Revival National Event? Unfortunately, the 42 shiny new faith blueprints from this event have not been added to our shared drive yet by the Network Support team. This means that for now, you won’t be able to make copies of these blueprints until we receive these files from the event game runners. If you’ve received your mail package of item cards from that event early, you can craft the items and perform the benedictions as normal, just not duplication of the prints. We will update you at the game if this changes before then!

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.

CHOICE POINTS & the Summit

The outcome of THE BREAKER OF CROWNS will not be decided by a vote alone, 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, or some unknown third choice is selected... 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 the Oxkillers instead head 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.

  • There are at least EIGHT difference CHOICE POINTS to make over the weekend, and depending on your actions during the game there could be more. One decision alone won’t be enough to sway the opinions of the Summit.

  • 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 or can be made, but we won’t always detail exactly how to pursue that choice. Whether your choice will push the various personalities towards peace or war will depend on the choices you make!

  • Some CHOICE POINTS will be decided by role play behaviors alone. Not every Choice Point will be spelled out on a Zone of Mechanics or exactly detailed on a print out. Instead, how you react to certain events or roleplay from the NPCs will determine which direction you sway the choice towards war or peace.

  • Some CHOICE POINTS will be decided by mechanics, usually detailed on a Zone of Mechanics sheet of yellow paper. There will still 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.

  • Each of the NPCs has a series of agendas, secrets, and leverage they want to use to pursue their goals. If you can discover where each representative stands, you’ll be better prepared to push the Summit towards a path of your choosing. These NPCs will also have item cards, Brass, supply bags, and can be looted, killed, or protected.

  • Your decisions over the weekend 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!

When is the actual Summit of Tribes?

Great question! While our Choice Points will begin on Friday night, the main affair is scheduled during the Siesta on Saturday, at 3:00 pm, in the Depot. The delegates of both factions will be present to hear arguments for or against peace, in the tradition of the ancient Tribes, so everyone can have a say. It’s up to you what secrets or leverage you might use against one of the representatives, or what alliances and promises you might make to sway them towards your desired outcome.

The Honored Guests

There will be several new NPCs in town that represent the leaders in attendance for the Summit of Tribes. According to the tradition of the Antler Tribes, each of the Houses of the Republic is given an invitation to attend. However, you might notice that the invitation above doesn’t technically exclude enemies of the San Saba. Just remember the new Wartime Powers of the Charter keeps the Oxkillers from enjoying the protections of the law against murder, theft, and worse, and has a few other fun complications.

You’ll see a few of these characters as early as Friday night, but here’s an idea of who to expect.

The Oxkiller War Party will consist of a few new characters that you might have seen on a War Report if you’ve been paying attention to the War of Antlers mini-game on Sundays.

  • The Breaker of Crowns, Leader of the Oxkiller Alliance

  • Carina Astora, the Saltwater Sweetheart, Leader of the Clearwater Rebels

  • Marcus Remington, Minister-General of Star City, Leader of the Mustang Loyalists

  • Ahote the Restless, Oxkiller Mentor

The San Saba Republic will have two major representatives to expect during the Summit. While the third member of the Troika remains on the front lines to defend against betrayal, two of the leaders of the faction will be in attendance.

  • Boss Debs, Queen of the San Saba Republic

  • Malorous Mab, Spymaster of the San Saba Republic

THREAT SKILLS OF NOTE

There’s one last thing to be concerned about during the Summit. Zombies are a key part of Dystopia Rising, and this weekend a few of our classics gain a dangerous new ability. This new threat skill will see play during the February Event:

Blood Scent

  • The [REDACTED] will point at a Target and call “Line of Sight, Downsurge: Blood Scent!”.  This ability may not be Avoided or Resisted.  

  • This Downsurge replaces any Downsurge currently on the Target, and lasts for one hour.

  • All nearby Undead will swarm and try to kill that target, channeling the anger of the horde.  If a character goes into Bleed Out from the attacks of the swarming horde, any member of the horde can call a Killing Blow instead of the Cannibalize skill on the Blood Scented character. Ouch!

This skill means that even a normal Shambler can suddenly become DEADLY. Make sure you have some friends close by, because you won’t have the normal Cannibalize window to rescue them before they die!

Wrap UP

That’s it for this week Vados! We have a great event planned for you and we can’t wait for y’all to decide the next steps for the people of the San Saba as we begin the last half of the season. We hope that you are ready for the challenge of THE BREAKER OF CROWNS. Will you choose a path of peace, or do you want to make the Oxkillers pay by continuing the war? Can you survive the deadly politics of the Summit and risk treason to make your point? We have some some fun and exciting challenges planned for your characters in the nightmarish zombie apocalypse.

See you soon Vados!

,

The Story So Far...

,

Howdy Vados!

It’s Heather here with another story update, leading up to our February live event THE BREAKER OF CROWNS!  This is our next game, led by Jonathan Loyd and Heather Halstead.  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 story so far, leading up to the event.

  • TICKETS FOR OUR FEBRUARY EVENT ARE ON SALE NOW! GET READY for DEADLY POLITICS AND EVEN MORE ZOMBIES!

  • We are hosting a Discord Q+A this FRIDAY, Feb 2nd, at 7pm CST.

    • Join us in the Bravado After Party Discord server to talk about the latest updates on the game, network, and chapter changes. Have questions? Our goal is total transparency, so no question is too small! Feel free to submit them in advance through the provided link or ask them during the live session.

  • If you had a great experience at our last event THE RED DEATH or had some suggestions for how we can improve, we’d love to hear from you!  Did you survive the Nightmares of the Prince Undying?  Did you translate the strange monolith in the crossroads?  Did you meet a lost loved one when the dead returned?  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, Jason Dumas, Sid Betzina, and Maddeax Khole.

The Story so Far…

To shake off the frost of The Long Night, we wanted to give everyone a recap of this season’s story so we can all go into the next event with a fresh knowledge of How We Got Here. Not every plot point will be summed up in this post, but we’ll get into the broad strokes!

August: The Undying PRINCE

(This was our online game over the summer, and technically our first event of the season!)

Here was the premise we shared for this event:

Lake Bravo boils.  

A lone white Obelisk stands undisturbed in the lake, the beacon that first drew delvers to the ruins underneath Bravado.  A blackened monolith in the Dune Sea, once used as a waypoint through the desert begins to hum.  A tree, formed of flowing stone in the center of Essex, begins to corrode.  Unborn throughout the San Saba wander into the desert, mindlessly following the ‘music of the spheres’, a song unheard by any other strain.  The melody seems to call them all towards the lost city of Barogue.

Amid the new threat of these monuments is the rising tension from the North. War is coming to the San Saba, and the new leader of the Oxkiller Alliance has declared Barogue a “profane monument of hubris that must be destroyed”. The technophobic zealots have moved their forces into the desert to deny the Board and the San Saba Territories a valuable route to the Broken Coast, a rattling saber heralding further conflict.

Legends and folklore still speak of The Prince Undying, the last leader of the lost city of Barogue before its fall, and whisper of his purpose in these strange objects. The Railroad Conglomerate has demanded the phenomenon be investigated, and the potential threat neutralized, before it interferes with forging a bright new future.

Barogue is the answer. 

So the Vados found their way inside the ancient city once again. The Obelisk in question locked away. But that didn’t stop them for long, and soon not only was the Obelisk, known as The Gate of Worlds, reached, but a man, claiming to be The Prince Undying, was awoken. 

Disoriented and confused, Vados and other survivors from around the wastes worked tirelessly to translate his language into something understandable. At the same time, traveling deeper into the mysterious city, encountering not only Resonant Raiders, but strange, new nightmarish threats that, at first, only appeared at the corners of their vision. Moving shadows, quiet malevolent whispers. They soon discovered no one could leave Barogue, and suddenly their mission had a new objective: escape.

Now able to communicate, the Prince voiced his fear for his lost people, and begged the wastelanders to go deeper and retrieve the fragments of his precious crown, to help set the wastelanders, and his people, free. But deeper meant more dangerous. Deeper is where the Nightmares would be unleashed.

Beset by the horrifying figures, but undeterred, The Wastelanders aided the Prince in creating a procedure to implant the Shards of the Red Crown into their bodies to go beyond the veil and into the Realm of Nightmares, a deep, deep layer of the Mortis Amaranthine, to finally escape the sealed city. They twisted their own minds and fragmented reality to fall into the Nightmare, overcoming their darkest fears, and vaulting through The Gate of Worlds opened by the Prince and into the hot sands beneath the Lonestar Skies. The Wastelanders were free, but the Prince Undying was nowhere to be found.

While the focus was on Barogue, the small settlement at Barogue was nearly destroyed by a surprise attack by the BREAKER OF CROWNS, the new leader of the Oxkiller Alliance. After spending the last year preparing, this new enemy attacked the northern corners of the San Saba, claiming the cities of Fort Worthless and Star City as their new home territory, annexing it by force from the Board. The assault was relatively bloodless, with the Oxkillers gaining a new alliance with the forces of Star City, the Mustang Loyalists. This was a clear act of escalation and war, and it was up to the San Saba Board to act next.

September: Beneath The Corpse of Waking

Here was the premise we shared for this event:

The San Saba Board has been bloodied with the fall of Waking.  Never before has the San Saba Board’s power been challenged so successfully as the fall of Waking Prime.  Despite the threat of strange Obelisks and the impending struggle against the dangerous Oxkiller Alliance, the Board is focused instead on containing the crisis that is the barely landed wreck of Waking Prime.

The wreckage of Waking Prime lays burning with fire and radiation on the doorstep of Bravado, leaching into the water, the soil, the Gravemind and the hearts of people who rely on the land for survival. The devastation is immense, and the clean up efforts will need to be just as extensive to restore the land to its previous state.

But beneath the corpse of the once mighty flying city is a brewing problem.  The morgues are churning forth the undead in larger numbers than before, bringing back creatures that have been unseen since the Hiway War alongside the threat of radiation sickness.  Somewhere within the underbelly of the city is the answer to stop the horde of undead, but the radioactive husk of Waking is lethal to even Retrogrades.  

To fix the problem, the Railroad Conglomerate has contracted a series of Liquidation Runs into the corpse of the city for any brave enough to risk the delve.  Brave the deadly radiation, get out alive, and you will be handsomely rewarded.   However, the deadly threat of radiation kills more surely than the claws of a zombie or the cruel ax of a raider.  

A certain and insidious death awaits those runners that tarry too long on their mission, get trapped by the undead, or get lost in the maze-like pathways inside the city.  Stay too long on a liquidation run, and no amount of medical assistance or meals will save you.  If you survive the lethal radiation, you’ll still have to contend with the raiding parties of the Oxkiller Alliance trying to stop any from saving the monument of the Board’s failure.

Can you survive beneath the corpse of Waking?  Can you stem the tide of radiation and undead before it is too late?

During this event, the Railroad Conglomerate contracted a series of Liquidation Runs into the corpse of the city for any brave enough to risk the delve… and delve you did. During a run, the town had to survive deadly radiation to complete a series of tasks in under 10 minutes. Staying too long in the area was certain death, so it took a combination of coordination and speed to succeed.

The citizens of Bravado took the risks and managed to push the boundary line of the Waking Exclusion Zone back from encroaching on their town, and the surrounding area. Throughout the weekend, many Liquidation runs were undertaken, and several Vados died valiantly to mitigate the intense radioactive fallout until the radiation was at least contained, for now. Despite the efforts, the lands still remain contaminated, affecting the scrap and herb pulled from them, causing faster decay.

These runs occured amidst the first contact with the enemy forces of the Oxkiller Alliance, the opposing side of the new war threatening the San Saba, including the town fighting back against the Breaker of Crowns for the first time. This would be a conflict that would only expand to include the whole of the San Saba as the months went on. 

And in light of this attack, a vote was cast for the leader of the new San Saba Militia. Last season, the players voted for a law that would allow the leader of the new military force of the Board to be chosen by popular vote. Despite being up against a very stacked deck, the people of Bravado managed to elect one of their own to lead the combat forces. Hargrave Moss-Iverspiit was elected and a war council formed after a grueling battle of politics.  However, because the town had elected a write-in candidate, the road ahead for the Militia would be difficult and the town would be left to their own devices to fund and organize the war effort.

This event saw farmers wandering into town to drink their last before falling victim to their radiation sickness, yet another assassination of Felicity Redfield during an Investor Luncheon, and hordes of irradiated zed while a new mystery began to loom. An organization known as the Waking Intelligence Service, or more simply, “The Company”, has begun to appear, led by The Chair’s Representative Lawrence Graves. Acting as an investigative force, they claim to be here to assist the Law Dogs, but the alliance seems tenuous at best. The Law Dog Union has recently had a change of structure, no longer contracted directly with The Chair, they now hold a contract with the entire board, and have been granted more internal oversight. The Company arriving right after this proclamation can hardly be a coincidence. 

Daniel Lovelace led the final Widow’s Tea, as the Widows and the Lovelace Family pull back from their involvement with Bravado in the wake of the threats Bravado levied at the Peak back in May that almost led the Quiet Folks entire settlement destroyed by the falling city. Not ones to forget even the smallest slight against them, The Family are now much less inclined to assist and interact with the citizens of Bravado. However, nature abhors a vacuum and in the absence of Clauthia’s information gathering endeavors, the Junkerpunks stepped forward as traders and collectors of information and secrets and the first Punker Drunk was held, a significantly more spirited way for Vado’s to learn and share knowledge.

And, finally, a strange altar is reported in the woods, and those affected by it begin to suffer horrific Nightmares, even in their waking hours. Visions that hint to a Barogian origin, and with The Prince Undying still missing after the events of the month prior, it only begs more questions.

October: Cirque de Dread

Here was the premise we shared for this event:

Times of trial and tragedy have begun to fall upon Bravado, after dealing with the brunt of Waking’s crash landing. Easy livelihood and a unified community have begun to feel increasingly lost, especially with open war with the Oxkiller Alliance erupting across the San Saba…The last thing this town needs is gangs of Thrill Kill raiders in garish clothes showing up, people running away from home or just straight up vanishing, Nemesis sightings, critters rampaging like mad, and best friends killing each other over random trinkets. It's too bad that that’s exactly what’s been happening to towns all over the wasteland. Even worse, all these problems seem to have a common denominator: each town was a stopping point for a flying carnival and none of this weirdness was happening before it arrived. 

But who cares about all of these rumors? Raiders and critters and people vanishing? That happens all the time in the wasteland. You know what doesn’t? The once in a lifetime experience that is almost at our doorstep: Colonel Rictus’ Flying Carnival! The Ringmaster and their carnival are making their grand debut in Bravado! Beneath the Big Top you can find compelling wonders from across the world: Exotic animals! Horrors from around the world! Games (that are definitely not rigged) for the whole family! You won’t be able to pull yourself away from the fun! And what sort of carnival would this be if it didn’t have a grand finale? A dull one, that’s what! 

Colonel Rictus has brought with them the ultimate prize: infection. Those interested need only obtain an entry medallion to earn their place in a grand game of skill (no luck involved) and a chance to extend their lives. How do you enter, you ask? Well, you’re in luck! There are plenty of ways for you to find to get your hands on one of these oddly entrancing Entry Medallions. Play some games, dig into the mysteries swirling around the carnival, or, if you’re very daring - or very desperate - you can put your own infection on the line. Just watch out for jealous folks trying to swipe your well-earned Medallion! Whether you hold one by skill, luck, money, or trouble, when the final curtain rises those eight lucky locals get a shot at the grand prize. And even should you come out with no Medallion, never fear!

There's plenty of compelling thrills for everybody at the carnival!

Colonel Rictus has brought with them the ultimate prize: infection. Those interested need only obtain an entry medallion to earn their place in a grand game of skill to extend their lives. 

This trade meet was one that needed to be survived, more than “solved”. Those who found themselves with the coveted Medallions were compelled to play in the games, and throughout the carnival, It was revealed that Rictus had a more sinister plan. Under the cover of the many, many Nemesis that roamed the area and raiders that he seemed to control, Rictus performed experiments. It seems he had help, but from whom is unclear.

Ultimately, one Vado, Foxy, ended up with new infection, and Rictus’ experiments were the end of him, as his last appearance in the town was after being killed was emerging from the morgue as a horrific monstrosity. But his ‘business partners’, whoever they might be, were never found. 

The war raged outside of Bravado, and the San Saba Militia had their first conflicts with the opposing Oxkiller Alliance. While they enjoyed some successes in defending Prudence Penitentiary and the Sweetwater Camp, they sadly lost the settlement of New Barogue to the Oxiller Alliance during the conflict, dramatically affecting future supply lines.  Several new units were drafted from the populace, including forces from the people of Bravado, and the town established their very own War Table in the middle of the Depot to manage the conflict in the months ahead.

November: Emergence

Here was the premise we shared for this event:

Bloody fissures around the mouth. Extreme fragility. Missing organs.

These were the symptoms of four sailors returning from a leviathan hunt on Lake Bravo. So severe was the internal damage, the sailors were unable to produce coherent sound and died before any medical diagnosis could be reached. Doctors attempting an autopsy before processing developed the same symptoms and succumbed to internal bleeding within 12 hours. Despite no indications of green veins amongst the afflicted, none have returned from the Grave.

Drywater was quick to cordon off the port and quarantine all who had come in contact with the afflicted. But right as it appeared the situation was under control, the Torchlight tribe sent for urgent medical aid as a new grotesque monstrosity began attacking their deepest settlement, spreading a plague of touch. Before anything else could be done, a massive earthquake struck Bravado and a horde of shamblers bearing the same scars and fissures poured from a crack in the Earth. Victims, who have since died of the affliction, reported the Earth bulging just before the quake, as if something was pressing against it from beneath.

The situation grows worse by the hour as more vectors of infection are revealed, more people die without returning, and something stirs in the depths of Lake Bravo. The Board has called an emergency meeting to discuss the disease brewing at the heart of its territory but, while bureaucracy turns with rusted wheels, your saloons fall empty, your friends go missing, and your neighborhoods are locked down, left to fend for themselves. When a touch is deadly, how can you save Bravado?

A threat is building under the surface and if left untreated, Bravado, Drywawter, and the Torchlight Clans will be locked away with the key tossed aside.

The Board enacted an emergency quarantine of the Bravado and Drywater areas, enforced with lethal efficiency by the Reckoners with the help of the Montag Purifiers. Some could get in… but no one could get out without risking lives. Any that attempted to run the blockade were met with lethal force from the Purifiers, or the San Saba Militia forces within the town.

The Militia struggled to communicate with its leadership form behind the quarantine zone, and battles were hard fought. The southern coast was lost to the Oxkiller Alliance as Pirate Captain Carina Astora ambushed San Saba forces in a devastating loss, while the Militia held its own in the North, successfully protecting many of the major settlements and claiming the ruins of Abi’s Lament in a bid to cut off the forces in the Dune Sea.

The affliction was soon discovered to be a parasite, brooding in the body of an injured Leviathan in the boiling lake. Insanely easy to transmit- it only took one touch from an infected. And though it was easy to cure in the beginning stages, later stages were a mystery. Those who died reported being sent to digestion pits once they crawled out of the Mortis, only to be forced to escape yet another horror. As the town raced to find a cure, the Montags and representatives of both the Militia and the Reckoners who lived in Bravado were ordered to contain the threat, especially that posed by the few symbiotic infected, who were somehow compelled to infect as many around them as possible. 

The research, aided by Vados, and Dr. Heavywater, finally uncovered that the parasites were originally Leviathan parasites that had mutated, potentially due to the radiation and exposure to the strange vibrating Monolith. This, combined with the boiling lake, created a perfect storm that allowed the creatures to flourish at an alarming speed. Quickly, teams were dispatched - one to put the Leviathan out of its misery and destroy the breeding grounds, one to deface the Obelisk, and stop its effects on the lake, and another to use massive amounts of alcohol to burn out the rest of the creatures as they tried to create a new nest within the town. Once destroyed, a cure was manufactured from the samples found in the nests and dispersed in the water supply. 

But this was not without its own consequences. Reports of fires and lanterns turning Red at Widows Peak soon followed the desecration of the Obelisk and a crimson mist began to spread slowly across the San Saba, emanating from Barogue. 

December: The Red Death

Here was the premise we shared for this event:

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?

The desecrated Obelisk appears bloody red in the center of town. The first obvious sign of the unstable nature of reality as the Red Mist spreads. Nightmares, previously only seen by a few, are now in full view of all. Those who die do not sink, but are dragged away violently by horrible shadows and, it is rumored, cursed to face down the Prince himself in the Mortis and rebel or capitulate to his twisted schemes. Such death included that of Boss Debs, murdered by Nightmares early in the trade, and later dragged to hell by shadows as Vados, and even the Breaker of Crowns, tried in vain to save her.

The yearly Winter Lights celebration is somehow grotesque in the red glow and the night is treacherous as even lowly shamblers are infected with The Nightmare and become singular threats. The long dead began to appear, set on reminding the living of their past mistakes and heartaches. A ghoulish reflection of who they might have been in  life. 

But traditions hold power. Through the use of ceremony, research, and ritual, Bravado slowly uncovers information that the Prince tried to keep hidden when he dragged Bravado into a shallow level of the grave with his Nightmares. Piece by piece,  the survivors uncovered how to reach the knowledge, how to cleanse the Longwalkers, and how to summon a fragment of the legendary Sister Mammon to push back the Prince’s incursion. 

Invoking the power of Mammon and the nine obelisks across the San Saba, the survivors prepared for the largest ritual yet, to cleanse the Obelisk of the Prince’s Influence using fire and their own sins and regrets. And a strange shining trapezohedron brought back from Barogue was placed in the Obelisk, connecting it to the strange Nightmare of the Prince Undying. Candles were lit, prayers were uttered, and when the chaos and terror all settled, the Obelisk of Salvation glowed a strong blue light, burning away the red tinged shadows of the Prince Undying’s Nightmare. 

But the Prince was not wholly robbed of his prize. Once the crisis was averted and the Militia set foot on the battlefield, they successfully defended Essex from a surprise attack that was aided by treasonous Lovelace youth. It is rumored that a telegram signed by someone important in Bravado let the Oxkiller Forces on the train in Widows Peak, but the traitor is still unknown. The Militia pushed the Oxkiller Alliance and their Mustang Loyalist troops away from Waking and Essex in a series of bloody battles, while fleeing from the pirate forces along the Spoiled Coast. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the Militia found success thanks to their planning and reinforcements, surviving in fights that would have cowed lesser forces.

Despite these successes, it was when they went to retake New Barogue that the Prince enacted his revenge. Expecting Oxkiller forces, the San Saba Militia arrived instead to find their enemies slaughtered, and an army of the Prince’s Nightmares to greet them. A new enemy had joined the War of Antlers, and the loss was staggering. Several units were completely destroyed. with Shennog and Lyra Winthrop, commanders of two such units missing, and presumed dead… for good. 

Wrap up

So that leads us into our next event THE BREAKER OF CROWNS. Jonathan has already written a great blog on the premise of this event, please go give it a read! Next week, we will go over the NPCs of Note that will be out and about as well as Rules You Should Know and other information for the event.

We also hope that you will join us for our Staff Q&A on Friday, February 2nd at 7:00 pm CST. We will be discussing the recent shakeups in the network and answering any questions you might have about what happened and how it’s impacted our local game.

See you soon, Bravado!

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW for the breaker of crowns! Don’t miss out!