Story

Story Recap: Valley of Fear

Good morning! It’s Jonathan here with a STORY RECAP for the first event of Season Four, THE VALLEY OF FEAR. The goal of these Story Recap posts is to help fill in the blanks for those that might have missed an important mod, been at NPC camp, sleeping, or simply were not able to attend the game. These are major points of continuity that might be important throughout the season, and I hope this will help with the FOMO feels or answer some questions you had about what happened.

Photo credits in this post are from Lainey Weiss and Max Pohlmeier.

Winter Break!

This week is a departure from our regular Rules Rambles to catch up a bit on some of the Story Recaps we’ve missed so far this season. While helping remind you of some of the important story elements these will cover, the real goal of this is to keep the Winter Break a chance at a vacation for our admin team. I spend hours researching the Rules Rambles and writing up the topics I cover, and a lot of the preview posts are planned out during our production cycle before the event. So, after four games (including a National event and a Premiere game), I’m gonna take it easy.

I’m planning on catching up on some video games, play some Commander, get out some board games I’ve been neglecting, and just in general try to keep the DR work to a minimum over the break. We will be back with our regularly scheduled content on January 18th!

So for now, let’s dive into the story!

The Leadup to Valley of Fear

We released several teasers for this event including a very fun comic strip designed by Beau Lee and Aesa Garcia:

You can also find our other game recaps from last season here:

The events of the VALLEY OF FEAR really built on some choices and events that occurred during the last season of Bravado, during our May event, THE CICATRIX. During that event, the Warden of Killhouse, Tabitha St. Mercy was betrayed at a Gauntlet in the middle of town and captured by folks that forced her to step down from her role as Warden. In addition, the town passed a law against the sale and harvesting of the terrible drug known as Crystal Candy during the annual Stakeholder’s Meeting.

From a logistics perspective, this event was also the first of our ST-led Overarcs in 3.0. Last season, Shan and I wrote most of the major plot points of each game but this season we have given that role to a few of our Storytellers instead. Back during 2.0, this was a much more common event, where a single storyteller would be in charge of the major plots for an event. Given our philosophy of continuous improvement in DR:TX, we decided to revamp this process for the new world of 3.0 and really empower our STs to tell some new and interesting stories. Most of our events this season will be ST-led overarcs, and we are very excited to share these stories with y’all.

As such, our storyteller Ted LeBeau was responsible for the overarc and the story of THE VALLEY OF FEAR. Ted has played a Face NPC in our game for a bit named Adam Moriarty and was responsible for many of our criminal arcs during last season. If you didn’t know, the name of this event “The Valley of Fear” is from a Sherlock Holmes book from a similar namesake, and we even used the quote below as a teaser:

Arthur Conan Doyle, the Valley of Fea

Let’s first start with the published premise of the event and a teaser of what was to come:

The Premise of Valley of Fear

Before the Burning Season forced the San Saba into hibernation for the summer, dramatic changes to law and order in the wastes took root thanks to the work of the citizens of the tiny town of Bravado. A new law banning the sale and trafficking of Crystal Candy, new faces and new voting members on the San Saba Board, a mysterious accident in the floating city of Waking, and now — a missing Warden.

Tabitha St. Mercy - hounded, hunted, betrayed - caught off guard by enterprising people in Bravado, has disappeared from Prudence Penitentiary. In her place, a new Warden has taken control. Adam Moriarty, former Lifer, has stepped out from the shadows and the effects have rippled across the San Saba Territories. While major changes have been occurring at the prison commonly called “Killhouse”, life in the San Saba Territories has grown more dangerous.

People have gone missing. Roving bands of Vigilantes, often called “puppies” in a deriding fashion by some, try and help the Law Dogs. Their goal is to help enforce the newest laws, especially against Crystal Candy, and if a few skulls get broken, such is the way of things in the wastes. The Justices of Sin are more prevalent than ever, under the orders of Moriarty to help quickly pass judgement so that the Law Dogs can continue their crusade. Moriarty has even helped Wyatt break the backs of the Rotgut Family, former purveyors of the largest Crystal Candy pipeline in the San Saba and now they too sit in Prudence Penitentiary.

Despite the Board’s bold action against the drug trade of the San Saba, a prophecy of trouble has come true. Crystal Candy is still in abundance, and new pipelines are sprouting like weeds. There are even rumors of new and more addictive variations making their way to the marketplace.

And then there is Bravado - breeding ground for Saints and Miscreants - stuck in the middle of these wars between law and order, in a valley of fear…

What Has Happened Before…

The villainous Tabitha St. Mercy has represented a threat to the town of Bravado for quite some time. From her seat in Prudence Penitentiary and her seat on the San Saba Board, she has orchestrated the holiday known as the Indulgence, a time when contracts across the region are reset and the population of the prison is set free to run roughshod over the citizens of the San Saba. This rite of holy wrath serves to both justify her role as the Warden of the prison and remind the citizens what might happen if she was not there to collect the rogue Lifers and return them to the relative safety of their cells. For one bloody night, she has terrorized the town but has remained mostly untouchable thanks to her wealth, privilege, and army of deadly Lifers.

Right before the Burning Season began last May, the town of Bravado experienced a Gauntlet worth remembering. During the trial of Abe Callaghan for destroying the Grave Ledger during the last Collection Day, the titular leader of Prudence Penitentiary, Tabitha St. Mercy, arrived in person to dispense Justice at the proceedings. Thanks to the efforts of Abe’s friends and a town fearing the worst of the Gauntlet, Tabitha was set on by a mob before a final judgement could be rendered. In the ensuing scuffle, several people were left dead, and Tabitha was “escorted” away by mysterious masked bodyguards that betrayed her during the fight.

Secreted away to a cell to be interrogated and questioned, the Warden was held under duress while agents took the opportunity to negotiate an arrangement with the Retrograde leader. Perhaps the theft of the ledger was orchestrated to ensure that they could catch her off guard, but Tabitha was strangely unphased by the assault and her capture. She answered their questions but proved why the Warden of Killhouse was such a dangerous foe. During the questioning, Tabitha agreed to a deal from her captors. In exchange for signing a contract that she would step down as a Warden they would release her from custody. However, the contract was somewhat shortsighted, and failed to account for Tabitha’s machinations. While she agreed to step down as Warden, she also made sure she had the right to pick her replacement.

And her chosen replacement was Adam Moriarty, the Spider of Killhouse.

The Spider

Adam Moriarty is a loyal Lifer and member of the Nemesis Cult, the maniacal Tellingvisionaries that believe they are doing “good” for the world by taking on the role of an evil villain. By taking their role, they encourage a “hero” to rise up and stop them, thus ensuring the balance of good and evil is weighed back towards the light. Dubbed “the Spider of Killhouse” by his peers, Moriarty was responsible for a number of spy networks and schemes from within his cell but seemed content with the role he played on Tabitha’s behalf. When Adam was released during the last Indulgence, he returned dutifully to his cell at the end of the holiday, content to manipulate his foes and allies alike from within the confines of the prison.

Moriarty fashions himself after his oldcestor literary namesake, looking for a worthy Adversary. When he eventually finds that Adversary, he would do everything he can to destroy them, secretly hoping this will be the one who challenges him and perhaps rises above.  Despite his faith, Adam has been considered one of the more “reasonable” Lifers. He’s shared a cell with folks like Eyeless Jack, but is fiercely loyal to Tabitha. While Adam is not necessarily physically impressive, his cunning and intellect has led many a foe into an unexpected ambush and trap while he watches impassively nearby.

He is a man of good birth and excellent education, endowed by nature with a phenomenal mathematical faculty. [...] But the man had hereditary tendencies of the most diabolical kind. A criminal strain ran in his blood, which, instead of being modified, was increased and rendered infinitely more dangerous by his extraordinary mental powers. [...] He is the Napoleon of Crime, Watson. He is the organiser of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city...

— Holmes, "The Final Problem"

No one exactly knows where Adam Moriarty comes from. He is a Pure Blood by Strain, but the family he claims is not one local, and no local families claim to know him. He claims his family came across the great sea a generation or two back, and that he had to remove them from his life. The smile he makes when he says that makes people think they did not live.

Thanks to Moriarty’s control of Killhouse, the new Warden immediately set into plans he had spent months forming to usurp control of the criminal underworld of the San Saba.

New Laws and New CRYSTAL CANDY

During the last Stakeholder’s Meeting, several laws were considered for addition to the San Saba Charter. One of the votes that passed regarded the sale of Crystal Candy:

“The growth, harvesting, trafficking, and consumption of psionic crystals and their byproducts is hereby considered dangerous to San Saba communities and is forbidden.”

Following a series of violent deaths of Boss Wyatt and several Law Dogs in Bravado, the San Saba Board passed a firm law against the harvesting and trafficking of the drug known as Crystal Candy. The drug is commonly harvested from the living brains of screaming psions before they die and crushed into a crystalline powder mixed with gasoline and other sundries.

Opponents of the measure suggested that a certain reading of the law could be used to make being a psion illegal in the San Saba. The Law Dogs have repeatedly stated that any suggestion that they would use this to hunt down psions or look for psionic gizmos or armor is assuming the Law Dogs would make a very uncharitable interpretation of the law. For now, their focus is entirely on the scourge of Crystal Candy in the Lone Star.

But despite the new laws over the Burning Season, the scourge of Crystal Candy was still as worse as ever. Stronger variants of the drug were flooding the region and are known to be incredibly addictive, in addition to offering strange new powers to those willing to indulge.

Four varieties of new Crystal Candy emerged. All of the candies were more potent versions of the common Crystal Candy, but each had a unique side effect in addition to a menacing and intentional addictive quality.

  • Longwalker - This blue-tinted candy was thought to be harvested from Quiet Folk or Lovelaces, and gave the user a rush of speed and energy that ultimately resulted in mangled limbs when it wore off.

  • Glimmer - This rarer, silver-tinted candy was made from those that had never died or passed through the Grave Mind and enabled the user to focus on a crafting project and finish it at breakneck speeds. However, once this surge of energy wore off, the user was helpless and unconscious, sometimes in a dangerous or inopportune moment.

  • Firebrand - This red-tinted candy was most likely harvested from those with Bad Brain or of the Tainted Strain but enabled the user to manifest potent and uncontrollable Pyrokinetics even if they were not a psion.

  • Helios - This green-tinted candy glowed in the moonlight and was likely harvested from an individual suffering from Radiation Sickness. Prized by the Darwins, this drug could enable a user to manifest powerful Biogenetics auras, shortly before exploding into a radioactive blast.

Each of these terrible drugs were readily available to criminal organizations throughout the San Saba, but the main question for those opposed to the trade of the candy was WHERE it was coming from. The volume of drugs available on this scale meant that the standard “candy shoppe” setup to harvest Crystal Candy from victims had been increased to industrial volumes.

Dance till you pop

As the night of the trade weekend fell on Friday, a buzz was in the air. New business and new faces in Bravado meant the town was once again populated after the Burning Season. As long-term residents and visitors alike took shelter during the brutal summer heat, September marked the end of the dangerous weather and a return to the only normalcy you could find in the wastelands. Even the zed and raiders laid fallow in the summer, so the dwindling heat brought threats back to prominence as well.

In the wave of newcomers were also villains. Drug traffickers followed potential marks into town, intent on distributing the new illicit candies, despite the threat of enforcement from the Law Dogs. In the shadows of Bravado, they found many eager to consider their wares, but just as many residents intent on rounding them up and confiscating their drugs. When they were captured, the drug dealers could not speak to where the drugs came from, just that they had been tasked to deliver them to Bravado.

Some of the dealers were partaking in the very substances they trafficked, and one individual had recently abused the drug Firebrand. Using his newfound psionic powers, he purposefully exploded into a fireball within the Swaying Anker, interrupting the festivities inside. When the Law Dogs responded, the other companions also used their ill-found abilities to defend themselves violently. The attack was brutal but left several clues that would be valuable to uncovering Moriarty’s evil plot.

With the wave of ne’er do wells sneaking into town came groups of vigilantes - citizens that had decided to take the law into their own hands to deal with the menace of crystal candy. These faux Law Dogs, called derisively “Puppies”, created more work for the constabulary as they muddled about intruding into legitimate investigations and tampered with the clues and evidence that were available. One individual even tried to execute a captured dealer, claiming the right as a Hellhound to murder, despite inventing a title for himself.

At the same time, some of the victims of recent candy farming managed to find a bit of reprieve within the town of Bravado. The small group of people had come in from the wilderness, having escaped what they called ‘Hell.’ Each of them described unimaginable horrors and were severely fractured and nearly dead, harvested of almost all their infection. One of them described someone who sounds like the Butcher of Killhouse, a white-haired Unstable in a blood-stained operating gown. Despite the attempts to distract from the operation, it was clear that the harvesting of the new crystal candy was happening somewhere near Bravado.

The Impact of Industry

In the morning, a peculiar side effect of the crystal candy manufacturing in the area became more obvious. Critters and local wildlife were acting erratically, and some of them were even displaying psionic powers similar to the side effects of the new crystal candy. Psionic zed increased in numbers, with Lost Boys and Shamblers exhibiting strange new psionic power. In the early morning, survivors reported a run in with several Leviathan whelps that chased after them with a renewed speed and vigor previously unseen, and they glimmered with silver dust across their scales and fins.

Another deadly encounter ran afoul of the terrible local menace, the Murder Goat Deer. Already a dangerous foe, these vicious creatures were pushed to a psychotic frenzy and had become capable of exploding into a blast of pyrokinetics. Hunters were able to track the mutated Murder Goat Deer back to its lair, and found a massive shipment of the drugs had been intercepted by the critters, and the crashed container had leaked the poisonous candy into the den of the beasts.

Fishermen also began reporting mutated fish and further pollution in Lake Bravado, suggesting once more that the industrial plant making the new crystal candy was outputting vast quantities of runoff and waste they were pouring directly into the waterways near the lake. That meant that this “Hell” was indeed somewhere close by. But in the meantime, the water table was being polluted by the remnants of the production and would create an ecological catastrophe if left unchecked.

The drugs were having impact on other parts of the ecology, particularly on the victims. Despite the threat of the Law Dogs interrupting their industry, the entire process was becoming cannibalistic, and the scale of murder being committed by those making the drugs could not be sustained. Those that abused the drugs became targets of further kidnappings as they became new donors for the crystals that grew in their brains. The drugs themselves used the basic formulation of Crystal Candy but were taken to an extreme level by provoking the growth of psionic crystals in their hosts, even if they were not originally aberrant.

The derived nature of the drugs were equally dangerous. When combined with Leviathan Salts, another popular but explosive drug, they could amplify the effects of the Salts to devastating levels. The attack on Friday was obviously amplified in the same way by the presence of Leviathan Salts. Even worse, some of the drugs apparently even stopped the victims from sinking into the Grave Mind after their death, echoing the terrible attack on Essex weeks before. These bodies with strange purple veins prominent on the corpse were quickly gathered by agents of Moriarty, secreted away to the factory producing their tainted Candy.

Following the trail of clues

A few scattered clues became obvious as the day went on. It was clear based on the volume of the new drugs being produced that this was not just an amateur show, and that it would need a large facility, equipment, and personnel, particularly those with the medical skill to incapacitate and harvest crystals from the victims. Furthermore, no one had seen the Surgeon General of Killhouse, Juliet Butcher, in quite some time. Given her role in helping Killhouse collect organs from unfortunate victims during the last Indulgence, it was simple enough to recognize her handiwork in the victims that survived being harvested for psionic crystals or Infection.

The dealers and field agents of the operation had seemingly came from nowhere. Moriarty’s rank-and-file soldiers were discovered to be the infamous criminals of the Rotgut Family. These Retrograde and Full Dead mercenaries had been a plague on the San Saba for some time and many of them had ended up behind bars in the prison. Moriarty had released them once more, employing their skill at violence and crime to aid his endeavors. These killers took to the role of drug traffickers with glee, aiding in the kidnapping of citizens and survivors throughout the region. The Rotguts were hard at work, and someone needed to stop them.

Moriarty himself had been seen personally by a few of the victims, passing on information and orders to other escaped Lifers of Killhouse. He had a direct hand in the candy operation and was even taking trips away from Killhouse to visit his operation in the field. There was some tie with the killer known as Grandfather Nichols, though the relationship seemed to be one of convenience. Given the time he was away from the prison and how quickly he could return, it confirmed the location near Bravado. Moriarty was clearly in control of the production of the new drugs, held their recipes, and was constructing them in a place his agents called “the Manufactorum”.

Finally, the clues had led the town to a destination.

The manufactorum

Following the clues about the Manufactorum led the town to a group of Darwin cultists known as the Bay’lor Institute. Comprised of mostly Tainted, the Bay’lors were a group of scientists that kept mostly to themselves and the studies. While the Institute had some connection with “dread surgeons” of old, those that stabilized the strains of Bad Brain in themselves chose to focus on science rather than the abductions and torture of their predecessors. These Tainted had been employed on contract by Moriarty, paid in the strange mysterious ore that had been found in Bravado recently.

However, several Bay'lor interns working on psionic research for Moriarty snuck out of the Manufactorum to observe the results of their work. Every good scientist knows proper science requires documentation, after all. Once out from the confines of their labs, they realized that their work was being used for less uplifting ends than they were led to believe. The de facto leader of the Baylor Institute, Headmaster D’Na Genome, made contact with residents of Bravado with a solution to their problems.

In exchange for helping them with an experiment for the Institute and providing them plausible deniability, the Darwins could provide inside information about the Manufactorum, including the defenses, further information about the experiments being performed inside, the specific location, and as much information as they could gather from the Rotgut guards. The Darwins were also able to confirm the presence of the Butcher, as she was in charge of the various psionic research projects they were contracted to complete. In fact, she was arriving to pick up a strange shipment that very evening.

A plan was quickly formed. Though the Manufactorum was swarming with Rotgut soldiers, it would be crucial to perform reconnaissance on the factory, and see what they could learn before they committed a force strong enough to pierce the defenses. If they could get inside by stealth, they could even identify a weaknesses they could use to shut down the facility for good.

the first assault on the manufactorum

When a team of Bravado citizens was assembled, they met with D’Na Genome and her scientists on the outskirts of the town. It would require a long and treacherous hike, but they would be able to approach the facility undetected if they were quiet enough. If they could clear the path, it would be much easier to approach the Manufactorum with vehicles and a larger force, provided they were successful. The few guards on the way were dispatched quickly and silently, and they finally emerged in a clearing near the factory.

The Manufactorum was built out of a shell of an old building, probably some storehouse used during the Hiway war, but it had been converted into a massive manufacturing plant. Heavy pipes cast waste chemicals into a nearby river, the source of the pollution effecting the ecosystem nearby. Vehicles left periodically carrying Rotgut soldiers into the wastes for distribution of their new drugs. The building also had a number of sniper towers set up with a commanding view of the approach and the defenses seemed impregnable.

Luckily, the advance team had brought the perfect weapon of subtlety - a rocket launcher. Fired by one of the boisterous Road Royals, KH4NV0Y, the blasts made short work of the sniper towers. A group of elite Rotgut soldiers engaged the team, but after a deadly skirmish they managed to take one of the Retrograde leaders alive for questioning.

The soldier confirmed what the Darwin’s intelligence had promised. Juliet Butcher would be at the plant that night to pick up a very large shipment of some new chemical the plant had made. According to the Darwins, this was some special project the Butcher had been working on as part of her agreement with Moriarty, but was using some byproduct of the crystal candy process to enable her research.

While a few stealthier folks infiltrated into the Manufactorum, the rest stayed outside to defend from any Rotguts that might have noticed (or survived) their first attack. They had the element of surprise for now, but knew they only had a short time before reinforcements arrived. Inside the factory, the scouts found the horrifying meat grinder of the candy factory and confirmed their worst fears. Not only was the scale of the operation beyond their imagination, it was clear that Moriarty was not stopping with Bravado. There was a huge shipment of the new Crystal Candy being prepared for transport, enough to flood every town from Bravado to the Clutch.

In the lowest levels of the factory, the advanced team found dozens and dozens of captured psions, all part of the assembly line of candy nucleation for the Butcher. Not only was the Butcher killing and harvesting candy from the psions, they had industrialized the process by simply grinding the brains and psion crystals in a massive machine to make a slurry they could crystallize into their foul chemicals. There were many more victims here than they suspected, and the Butcher was even using some to harvest their very Infection. It would take time to evacuate this many survivors from the factory, time they didn’t have during this first attack.

Worst of all, there was even a captured Blood Ghast with strange crystals growing from its head, a clear attempt to turn even the undead into harvest-able sources of crystal candy. With the supply of the creatures in the tunnels below Bravado and citizens captured by his Rotgut associates, there would be enough subjects to keep the Crystal Candy pipeline open forever. Moriarty’s plan had to be stopped by any means necessary, and it was clear they had to do something about it soon.

an explosive solution

Once back in Bravado, the team that had scouted the Manufactorum set about trying to form a plan to stop Moriarty. It was now clear the scope of his plot, but they needed some way to make sure he could not simply move his operation to a new location. They needed to shut down his factory in a way that he could not recover the research and equipment within. While they could simply leave it be and hope the RRC or the San Saba Board would act against Moriarty, inaction seemed like a plan that no one could stomach.

A plea for help interrupted their discussions, as D’Na fled into Bravado chased by several dangerous Rotgut mercenaries. One of the Rotgut leaders, a telepath named Shamrok, had uncovered their plan to sabatoge the factory and help the Vados stop Moriarty, and they had decided to rid themselves of the traitors violently. Swift reaction from the Vados provided a timely rescue to the Darwin scientist, and the town was able to defeat the mercenaries and chase Shamrok back into the wastes.

DN’a had managed to escape with a plan to stop the Manufactorum, but it would need to be enacted immediately. The Rotguts’ discovery of their plan meant they were preparing to move critical research out of the factory so the town could not damage their production lines. The Butcher would be arriving that night not only to move her shipment out of town, but she would be covering their tracks and taking the tools necessary to continue the process elsewhere.

The Bay’lor’s plan hinged on their intimate knowledge of the chemical processes that Juliet was using to make the new drugs. The Manufactorum was vulnerable to disruption thanks to a useful side effect of the nucleation process. The chemical slurry of blood and crystal left behind by the process was highly flammable and with the right application of Leviathan Salts, it could be turned into a powerful explosive - one capable of stopping Moriarty’s factory once and for all.

The town had two choices ahead.

The Darwins could manufacturer a dangerous reagent capable of starting a chain reaction that would disable the factory. By rigging the pressure valves on a primary condenser to overload, they could detonate the sub-tanks gathering the crystal precipitate. This solution would cause a magnificent explosion, but would likely kill many of the captured aberrants and experiments before they could be evacuated in time. It would be a terrible loss of life, and the ensuing destruction would likely have an impact on the zed that were released by the deaths at the factory. It would be a permanent and final end to the danger the factory represented, but a costly one.

Alternatively, the Darwin reagent could be used to simply contaminate the chemical slurry and render it inert. By connecting the centrifuge system to the recrystalization tank, they could manipulate the chemical mix to cause a crystalization failure. The product of Moriarty’s factory would be wasted, but it would leave the building and equipment mostly intact. This solution might provide them more time to quietly evacuate the survivors from the factory, but it would leave the Manufactorum as a potential problem for the future. Once the Rotguts had realized their shipment was contaminated, they would likely take their fury out on the citizens of Bravado instead.

The bovine monstrosity

Because the Bay’lor scientists has been forced to flee with the reagent half-finished, it required assistance from the town, particularly their culinary experts. As soon as the town had gathered the resources to finish the reagent, they gathered their firearms and blades to arm themselves for a final assault on the Manufactorum.

The remaining Darwins left behind in DN’a’s escape would be able to unlock the gates leading to the factory, so the townsfolk could quickly attack the facility before the Rotguts could react. Ideally, the Rotguts would be distracted by their own preparations to move the factory that they would be able to infiltrate in before they realized they were in their midst.

The townsfolk raced along the makeshift roads leading to the Manufactorum, reagent in hand. The potential of fire from the Rotgut guards was silenced by well-placed shots from their marksmen, and they were able to approach without much resistance. They split into several teams, one to rescue the trapped psions and to dispatch the mutated monsters, and a second to apply the reageant to the mass crystallization system. The remaining Vados would attempt to hold a line and keep the Rotguts from interfering.

A terrible roar came from the belly of the Manufactorum as a terrible mutated beast emerged. The crazed half breed abomination was a stitched monstrosity, with the head of a cow and the body of a man. Alongside the mutant came the ambushing force of the Rotguts, led by Juliet Butcher and Shamrok, intent on disrupting the attack on the factory. The battle was engaged, swords clanging against makeshift shields, the blast of rifles piercing armor and flesh, and the screams and battle cries of the attackers.

The bovine creature was nigh invulnerable. Bullet after bullet failed to pierce its hide. Clubs and choppers were turned aside as if hitting steel, and the creature ripped through their ranks with wicked claws unfazed by their attacks. Each time it killed one of the Vados, it would howl with an unearthly sound and devour the corpse in a brutal display of bloodshed. Each time, it seemed to get stronger as if it was gathering power and feeding with a primordial siphon.

Periodically, the creature would seem to be felled, but would simply be wracked with pain and anguish as its body regenerated and re-knit itself once more. It would slough off attacks and hit back with a murderous frenzy, its mutated form seeming to adapt and change in a constant necrotic mutation. Again, and again, the foul monster was driven back, while the Vados attempted to buy time for their assault.

the fall of the manufactorum

With a line of shields and swords attempting to keep the bovine monster and the Rotguts at bay, the rest of the Vados set to their work. Teams of doctors and assistants worked to unplug victims from filth ridden beds, ripping out plastic tubing and shackles that kept them as human livestock for the terrible byproduct of crystal candy. The Bay’lor Institute scientists used their access to unlock doors and helped the Vados evacuate the captured aberrants to the safety of their trucks.

When they pierced the defenses of the factory itself, they quickly set to disabling the Butcher’s strange machines. While a few of the more outspoken types had argued to simply detonate the factory and let the Grave Mind sort it out, cooler heads prevailed and they set to work contaminating the crystallization machine instead. A few of the drug-enhanced Rotguts offered resistance, turning the strange new candy into potent enhancements. With chemically induced strength and speed, they attempted to stop the process but were driven back by the defenders.

As they disabled the machine, they set to dealing with the recipes and materials that would enable Moriarty to continue his manufacture of the new crystal candy. With a few well placed firebombs, they set the offices ablaze, and took to destroying any bit of materials they could find. A few shady hands might have absconded with some of the the documents in the chaos, but the damage was done. The crystal candy pipeline would be finished thanks to their efforts.

In the basements of the Manufactorum, they also found more of the strange monstrosities like the one attacking their friends. The creatures were hybrid necro-mutants, combined of different creatures and something that once was a survivor, but all were in various states of preparation. One might have felt sorry for them as they pulled plugs and slit throats of the tormented creatures, save for a reminder of the terrible danger these things represented from the sounds of fighting outside. A series of notes nearby identified the things as THE BUTCHERED, the secret experiments of Juliet, but there was no sign of whatever else she was working on.

The butcher’s escape & Retaliation

Outside, the battle reached a climax. The strange mutant was clearly tiring. Each time they seemed to kill or disable it, it roared back to life and regenerated limbs and claws once more. But each time was a bit slower than the last. The Vados pressed the advantage, driving back Shamrok and his Rotguts, and evading the surgical strikes of the Butcher as she faded in and out of the darkness. With a final piercing blow, the bovine creature fell to the ground for a last time.

And then it exploded.

The psionic blast from the creature knocked back defender and Rotgut alike, the terrible force of its final discharge devastating the battlefield. Whatever was empowering it tore through armor and shield alike as it exploded into a cloud of gore and viscera, spraying bone and blood in every direction. The remaining Rotguts seemed to realize the tide had turned and proved themselves every bit the cowards they were as the Manufactorum defenders scattered into the night. Unfortunately, in the distraction of the explosion, both Shamrok and the Butcher had vanished, leaving their associates behind to cover their escape.

At the same time inside the factory, with a hiss of foul smoke and bubbling reactions, the chain reaction had began. The candy manufacturing and crystallization machine was contaminated by the reagent and filled the factory with poisonous gases. Evacuating the last of the survivors, a victorious shout let the defenders know it was time to withdraw. They had achieved their goal and disabled the Manufactorum, ending Moriarty’s foul plot and closing the pipelines of the candy trade.

However, despite the earlier tip, they had found no source of the shipment the Butcher was said to be moving during the night. They had found large stores of candy they were able to destroy, but whatever the Butcher had been working on in secret had already been moved. Someone had alerted her in time to let her move the project before they could arrive. She had obviously had help from someone in town, but there was no time to ponder the betrayal.

Safely in their vehicles the Vados withdrew, leaving the smoking and contaminated Manfactorum in their wake. While Crystal Candy was still a scourge of the wasteland, these new, more dangerous variants were stopped for good.

Threads of Note during the Valley of Fear

  • A large group of Recluse Nester raiders had moved into Bravado over the Burning Season. These strange raiders bred massive spiders and their nests were a dangerous threat that needed to be dealt with. Armed with a spray to dislodge the sticky fibers of their webbing, the Vados managed to destroy the nest, but it was clear that some more dangerous force was stirring the raiders towards their expansion — a spider queen!

  • Eyeless Jack, one of the Lifers of Killhouse was spotted in town with an ominous message. He claimed to be the “Herald of the Apocalypse” and warned the town that doom was headed their way on clouds of black smoke. While the crazed killer seemed to avoid his usual crimes of murder and eye mutilation, the eerie message seemed prophetic, and it reminded a few that his father, Grandfather Nichols had been away for many months working on something in secret.

  • A new mysterious ore was discovered in a tunnel beneath the morgue. This strange material seemed similar to a psionic crystal in nature, but inert. Perhaps the Eightfold Mother had seen a reason to rip a hole in the Mortis or maybe this was some new function of the Mortis Amaranthine. Regardless of the cause, the new ore seemed to spark the usual wildfire of greed and a rush to harvest the material. Teams of survivors took turns mining inside the morgue, seeking their fortunes in the strange purple ore, and graveheads took to trying to communicate with the Grave Mind for answers. There were even whispers of Grave Mind specters haunting a few unlucky townsfolk, appearing to them as if in a dream that only they could perceive.

  • The Rook was spotted in town, trying to convince the town to deal with the danger of crystal candy once and for all. The psion terrorist managed to whip several of the rogue vigilantes into a frenzy, seeking out Rotgut dealers and providing a murderous end to the crimes. One has to wonder if she had an opinion on how the town dealt with the Manufactorum…

  • Over the weekend, the curious white-robed cultists from Essex came into town bearing medical assistance and brews for the wounded and hurt. The Cult of the Tiny God was still active, even after the loss of the Fountainhead. The grave mind cultists seemed drawn to rumors of the new activity in the Grave Mind, but seemed more intent on helping than anything else.

Questions remaining…

The brave heroes of Bravado had struck a mighty blow at Moriarty, but the new Warden of Killhouse was still entrenched in his fortress of Prudence Penitentiary. Not only had the town made a decision to cripple the Crystal Candy trade in Bravado, they had chosen to rescue the survivors of the Manufactorum instead of destroying it with a mighty explosion. They had traveled through a valley of fear, and emerged triumphant over the genius machinations of the Spider of Killhouse.

But there were several questions remaining. What was the strange creature they had encountered at that Manufactorum? Who had helped Juliet Butcher escape, and how did she know about the attack? What was the strange shipment that had been moved from the Manufactorum before they arrived? Something was still moving in the shadows, and it was clear that Moriarty was just one part of the conspiracy that was unraveling in the San Saba.

wrap up

That’s it for today folks! I hope you enjoyed the narrative I crafted in this recap. I may have taken a few liberties here or there, but this covers the big points you should remember as we continue our season in February. Clever folks probably already see the connections of this game to the following National event, the NECROPHAGE. Clearly, Moriarty had a particular mad scientist helping him in his plots, and something wicked was headed towards Bravado.

Next week, we will cover the recap for PYROCLASM! See you soon! Enjoy the break, and I hope to see you in February!

The Emerald Arsenal

It’s Jonathan here again with another Rules Ramble! Each week, I’ll introduce a topic that will be important in an upcoming game, explain some new mechanic or system for DR:TX, or discuss a particular rule from the DR Corebook. In each ramble, I’ll focus on explaining that topic in more detail than the book alone can provide and help provide one place to reference all the various errata or rulings that might be relevant. Sometimes I’ll even drop a few Story Teasers or provide a summary of the last game in a Game Recap.

As we get ready for our next event, THE EMERALD GALA, I'm going to be covering a bit about the Inventor’s Ball, R&D, and the unique inventions that have been designed to combat the terrible threat of the Archons - THE EMERALD ARSENAL. This blog post will cover some specifics about the various weapons that will become a new national Blueprint!

TICKETS ARE ON SALE FOR THE EMERALD GALA UNTIL FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2ND! DON’T MISS OUT ON THE NEXT DR:TX PREMIERE EVENT!

We also had some BIG announcements last week about the re-opening of DR New Mexico, and some upcoming staff changes here in DR:TX, so check it out!

Photo credits in this post are from Lainey Weiss and Francine Ilac.

Is that THE famous Felicity Redfield I see over there?

In today’s post, we are going to cover a few big concepts during the next event and how you can change the course of the metaplot and story in the San Saba with your actions at this event.

I wrote a lot about the impending Archon Threat last week, so this week is going to talk a bit about how the San Saba has been preparing. This region has seen more activity from the abyssal entities known as Archons than many other settlements in the wastes, so that has given the scientists and factions of the Lonestar more data to prepare than most, and a reason to develop tools and weapons for the next INCURSION.

The Inventor’s Ball

One of the major in-game events of the EMERALD GALA will be the Inventor’s Ball. Part science fair, part prom, part job interview, this is the event of the season for the genius inventors of the Railroad Conglomerate. While the RRC is the preeminent faction in the San Saba thanks to their control of the Oxline railways and the capital of Waking Prime (which is totally not falling), one of their key subfactions is Research & Development, or R&D.

R&D is the home of most of the ex-Conglomerate scientists (a former political faction from Season 1) and the great Digitarian families of the Lone Star. Each of these families can trace their origins back nearly to the Fall, and they have a long tradition of academic excellence and technological expertise. They are stewards of artifacts of the oldcestors, kept running by prayers, hope, and a little mad science, and they are the heart and soul of the flying sky-city that is the capital.

There are six major branches of the Digitarian and Pure Blood elite in the city of Waking Prime:

  • Dellison: This family specializes in medical science, particularly research into imprints, grave sciences, and good old fashioned anatomy and physiology. Their founder is known for pioneering successful organ transplants for the Candlepin company, and is considered one of the best doctors in the region. The San Saba Board and the RRC have excellent medical benefits thanks to the Dellisons.

  • Hackard: One of the most important families in the RRC by wealth and privilege, the Hackards were the genius inventors behind the formulations of Oxblood, a biodiesel fuel used by most of the locomotive engines that run along the Oxlines, and assisted Dr. Sung with the creation of the Ox itself.

  • Kwolk: This family may be considered eccentric by most, but their mastery of clockwork gear systems, steam, and the various mechanical engines used throughout Waking Prime make them invaluable to the RRC. They are watchmakers and fine craftsmen of gizmos, small contraptions, and most of the radio technology used by the floating city.

  • Tinstrument: The most politically powerful family, thanks to the efforts of Mayor Tinstrument, this was the founding family of the Conglomerate. Their speciality in solar power and alternative fuels led to the creation of the Capacity Engine, the mighty oldcestor creation that keeps the city of Waking afloat.

  • Buzzbee: Easily identified by their maroon colors and Tainted scientists, the Buzzbee family is one of the oldest institutions in Waking. They created the lightning rod system that brings power to the city’s lesser systems, and the storm alert system that detects weather changes and navigation. Masters of electricity, they collect oldcestor technology in hopes of recreating the marvels of the time before the fall.

  • Skyline: One of the newer families of Waking, their genius lies in the creation of lenses and glassworks, used throughout the city to repair telescopes, windows, streetlights, glassware, and more. The delicate and intricate glass and copper constructions of the Skylines are highly desired by most of the scientists in the collective. While their devices may seem simple at first, they are masters of subtlety and have excelled in the cutthroat politics of Waking’s elite.

One such tradition they have cultivated over the years is the concept of the INVENTION EXCHANGE. Once an internal cultural practice with the Conglomerate, the “Invention Exchange” has become a part of the formal etiquette of R&D. It is a grand and endless competition of innovative one-upmanship… so much so that the average RD member will think it rude if you do not have SOMETHING to share with them, even if it’s only a rough sketch on the back of a cocktail napkin.

We’ve introduced something of these mechanics with the REDFIELD INVENTION EXCHANGE this season at the General Store, and you can use this Zone of Mechanics to acquire new blueprints in game.

Now that I’ve given you a bit of a background on the brains behind the plan, let’s talk about the Emerald Arsenal itself.

Of course, my rocket launcher has a V8 engine… doesn’t yours?

The Emerald Arsenal

Ever since the first Archon encounter during the Fountainhead Incident, the leaders of the San Saba have been brainstorming how to better prepare for the next incursion by these abyssal entities. Thanks to the early warning from the Grave Council, the San Saba Board has been quietly funding research projects over the last year to prepare. The Inventor’s Ball will see the premiere of these fantastical inventions and display the prototypes for defending against the terrible threat of the Archons.

During this next event, THE EMERALD GALA, your characters will have the chance to pick which of the weapons you’d like to employ against the Archon threat.

This choice will result in one of these creations being offered in some form as a BLUEPRINT that will be shared with the network. This item will be the next tool in the fight against the Archons, and will be revealed once our event is over. For those that invest in the success of the Emerald Arsenal, you’ll have an opportunity to get the first copies of this new Blueprint.

The RRC has presented SEVEN different entries for the Inventor’s Ball, and each has the backing of one of the powerful factions of the San Saba. The entry that wins the support of the Board will have the funding to mass produce their invention and spread that knowledge to the wastes.

However, each device requires a bit of attunement and final adjustments to demonstrate, and there won’t be enough time to get every option ready in time. You’ll need to pick one (or two) of the weapons below to use during the final fight on Saturday night. And that’s assuming some criminal element doesn’t decide to take matters in their own hands to sabotage the Arsenal (they wouldn’t do that, would they?)…


Stewart’s Abyssal Xenoclave

Patron Benefactor:  Railroad Conglomerate, Felicity Redfield
Description: “Dr. Janus Stewart’s Xenoclave is a monstrous yet marvelous feat of mechanical engineering. The general shape of the device is easy enough to understand but to examine its details with any level of certainty is a Herculean feat. The many gears and plates that make up its construction seem to warp and rearrange in response to perception, and a lack of seams, screws, bolts, or welds make it an impossibility to imagine the abyssal workings that tik away within its iron carapace. This machine is designed as an opening play, a way to drag the Archons into our world on our time, and without the properties that normally render them invulnerable. Using a combination of radiation, sonic frequencies, and something that Dr. Stewart has dubbed “Pataphysical Pressure” the Xenoclave would open a sterile and stable Rift that draws forth the Archons and binds them to physical form.”

Buzzbee Stormbound Cage

Patron Benefactor:  Law Dog Union
Description: “A complex and electrified Faraday cage made of precious metals and tightly wound netting. Installed around the doors and windows of The Depot and flooded with electric current, this device would diffuse the electricity across a wider area to interfere with their ability to discorporate. In theory this would prevent an Archon from easily entering or exiting the Emerald Gala event by an Abyssal Rift, or by traveling through electrical systems. Strains passing through should feel a slight buzz but are none the worse for wear. The Cage will not keep an Archon bound for long within, but it will trap them for a short duration.”

Dellison Biogenetic Imprint Tether 

Patron Benefactor:  Grave Council
Description: “The Biogenetic Imprint Tether an ominous medical device shaped like a spider attached to a still living brainstem bound in a serum-filled canister. There are mechanical components resembling audio signal amplifiers connected to the canister. This device radiates unsettling whispers that bury into your mind while in range of the amplifier, and prevents modification to your Imprint by creating a localized biogenetic field around anyone within range. In the event that you are on the verge of death, this device would allow you to resist the attempt of an Archon to sever your Imprint.”

Tinstrument Solar Flare Matrix

Patron Benefactor:  San Saba Republic, Mayor Tinstrument
Description: “The Solar Flare Matrix is a series of mirrors and lights focused through Amaranthine lenses into a powerful radioactive weapon. The device can concentrate ambient light into a searing blast of energy, converting the light into various wavelengths across the visible spectrum. While Archons are thought not to use traditional vision, the combination of electromagnetic energy and solar radiation should be enough to scramble their senses. Though it would take time to charge each burst, if they are truly multi-dimensional entities they should be overwhelmed and stunned by the sudden exposure to multiple forms of radiation across all visible wavelengths.”

Kwolk Acoustic Pulse Scuttler 

Patron Benefactor:  Junkerpunks
Description: “A series of clockwork acoustic devices organized into a convoluted system of tubes that remind you of a barrel organ. The amplification of sounds made through gear-driven pneumatic pressurization is made possible by a complex modulating frequency device that enables the wavelengths to be amplified or suppressed. The Kwolk device was originally made to mimic Leviathan mating calls, but these have been tuned to match and neutralize the Abyssal Pulses hidden in the Archon’s deadly auras. The combination of these competing frequencies should be able to counteract these pulses by creating contradicting and opposed subaudible wavelengths.”

Skyline Darken'd Veil

Patron Benefactor:  The Widows of the Lone Star, Lovelace Family
Description: “A series of ornate tapestries inlaid with precious stones and delicate wiring woven within the strange metallic threads. The stone-laded tapestry creates a dampening effect that interferes with the visible light spectrum and makes your head hurt if you stare at them for too long. The material used to create these is beyond mundane ability to recreate and must be some form of oldcestor form that enables the weaving at such fine detail. The Darken’d Veil also consumes a fabulous amount of energy and the most cumbersome application of this invention is simply finding enough energy to power the device. Only by connecting the Veils to something of great power, like the engine of THE OX, would be sufficient to shield the Emerald Gala and that will require all escape from Bravado Station by rail to be limited. When at full power, the Darken’d Veil should be able to obscure the use of psionics from Archons and prevent them from healing off of its use.”

Hackard Abyssal Siphoning Anchors

Patron Benefactor:  Prudence Penitentiary
Description: “The Hackard’s mastery of Oxblooded forging has enabled the creation of strange blackened chains that hang from the walls and end in an asymmetrical psionic crystal. Each of the chains are inlaid with filigree and runic markings reminiscent of the language of old Barogue. Made with the same care the master smiths used to construct the Ox, the Anchors are not just decorative but parts of them are anchored into the world beyond thanks to the Amaranthite alloys used in the construction. They are designed to drain the energy of the Archons and prevent them from benefiting from the slaughter of strains. The chains are bound into complex runes carved into the very earth, channeling the energy away from the Archons and preventing them from establishing a connection back to the Abyss they could use to escape.

I mainly picked this one for the Green. It is the EMERALD GALA after all.

Unintended Consequences

One aspect of the Emerald Arsenal we will not be entirely spoiling is the unintended consequences of using the devices in their prototype states. These devices are untested, experimental, and pushing the bounds of pseudo-science in the wastelands but they follow a natural bit of logic and evolution in their concepts. We still don’t know if they will work against the Archons, and it’s like hitting a bit of a moving target with a hammer (sometimes literally!).

But there’s a catch.

You see, a hammer can be used to build a house, repair a ride, or fix something that’s stuck. It can also be used to cave in the skull of an enemy, and it can hammer out a new deadly weapon from the forge. It all depends on WHO is using the item, HOW they are using it, and their intent. Each of these devices is a hammer of sorts, and that is going to have an impact on the future of the San Saba.

Each of the items in the Emerald Arsenal will have some ADVANTAGES, DRAWBACKS and UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.

  • Advantages are pretty straightforward. Each device will have a unique mechanical effect that directly counters some aspect of what the Archon can do in game. Each of these items is built around DEFENDING against the Archons and will provide useful tools to evade some of the toolkit in their abyssal arsenal. This can be a very valuable asset in the final fight on Saturday night, and could swing the tide in your favor.

  • The Drawbacks will be a constraint or mechanical effect that accompanies the beneficial effect of the Arsenal item. It’s something that can probably be worked out over the next few months with the proper funding and testing, but for now the Emerald Arsenal are prototypes only, with all the quirks that entails. For instance, the Dellison Biogenetic Imprint Tether is excellent at stopping the Archons from severing the imprints of their victims, but it also interferes with Biogenetics in the area. These quirks will be displayed for you to see in game, so you’ll be able to make an educated guess on which of the Emerald Arsenal you want to see made into reality.

  • The Unintended Consequences will require a bit of RESEARCH, particularly for those with the right LORES and PFAs. Each of these will outline the potential for abuse and the inevitable escalation that will occur once the Pandora’s Box of technology is advanced in the San Saba. It may not happen exactly as you predict, but humanity has a way of taking something benign and helpful and trying to make it into something that can be controlled or exploited. For instance, the Abyssal Xenoclave might be useful to purposefully pull an Archon across the veil of reality, but opening a rift into the Abyss could allow OTHER things to come through. And worse yet, imagine a world where someone has the ability to purposefully open an Abyssal rift in the home of their enemy, for instance.

As you can see, it’s not entirely a choice without consequences, but you’ll have plenty of time to make a decision before the grand finale of the EMERALD GALA. The Emerald Arsenal will provide some opportunities for debate and roleplay around their use, and we hope you will have fun with the conflict ahead.

Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast. To soften rocks, or bend the knotted oak. - William Congreve

wrap up

That’s it for today Vados! Next week is the last week before game, so we will be covering some Rules You Should Know, the ARCHON edition. I’ll cover some of the deadly attacks you should be prepared for, and a few bits of mechanics that might become relevant during the event.

Remember, advanced tickets are still on sale until FRIDAY, December 2nd, so make sure to lock in your ticket to our Premiere event. You can get more XP than normal, and a chance to participate in some fun National plotlines, while advancing the story of the San Saba.

See you soon Vados!

The Emerald Gala

It’s Jonathan here with our first weekly blog post for the upcoming event, THE EMERALD GALA. This is our December DR: TX Premiere Event written by Maenad Wilder and Shan Lind. Today we will talk a bit about some story teasers, some core mechanics and concepts for the event, and a reminder of some of the benefits of attending a Premiere Event. This month is going to also include a formal party, so we want to give you enough time to prepare for the social event of the season!

Our last event was a smaller, more intimate event and provided some amazing roleplay opportunities, but this event is going to really dig in the METAPLOT of the season, and some consequences from decisions and events last season. This post will discuss a few light STORY SPOILERS for our next event, so we hope you enjoy what we have in store!

Photo credits in this post are from Max Pohlmeier, Lainey Weiss, Crystal Louise Remy, and Noah Goodman.

PRemiere EVENt Tickets are on sale NOW!

First off, the EMERALD GALA 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, Imprint Crystals, and 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 — During a Premiere Event, we can also use unique National-level threats like Archons! I’ll cover a bit more about these apocalyptic threats in a future blog post. 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.

  • 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.

You can also check our Content List here, before you purchase a ticket.

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

A personal invitation from Felicity Redfield for the Emerald Gala

The Premise of the Emerald Gala

The Inventor’s Ball, otherwise known as the Emerald Gala, takes place on Waking Prime every year in the lofty penthouse levels of Eureka Tower. Technocrats and debutants trade gossip and trade-secrets over thin flutes of Pre-Fall champagne as they soar above the San Saba, and all its rugged candor. But Waking is Falling, inch by inch. And as the megalithic blimp-city descends below the cloud layer, its streets will fill with the same noxious fumes that give the Lonestar Sky its vibrant, blood orange hues. 

Dispossessed, the Board turns to Felicity Redfield of the RRC. The owner of the lands Bravado has agreed to host the Emerald Gala here, in Bravado proper, in exchange for a very public favor.  Saving face for the San Saba Board and Waking Prime means drawing their wealth, resources, privilege, and knowledge to Bravado Station, all in the hopes to stop the the greatest threat known to the San Saba and perhaps, the Greater Wastes - the unnatural outsiders known as ARCHONS.

A year ago to the date of the Inventor’s Ball, Archons descended upon New Bravado through the throat of the Monolith and ravaged the town before being beaten back by the combined might of the San Saba Territories and a signal that rendered the normally untouchable beasts, temporarily capable of sustaining harm. On that fateful night, Reckoner-General Rampart proclaimed that the Archons would return, a year to the day, according to the arcane mathematics of the Midnight Orrery, which reads the currents of the Mortis Amaranthine as if it were a rotating sphere of constellations. 

And so, Felicity Redfield suggests a kind of exchange, not of gossip or trade-secrets, but of munitions capable of destroying the greatest threat known to the San Saba and perhaps, the Greater Wastes — the Emerald Arsenal. The greatest minds of the San Saba have been hard at work testing and creating new gizmos and machinery to meet this threat. These untested weapons must be capable of not only stopping this threat when it emerges but protecting all of the people in Bravado from this otherworldly incursion, lest the Archons rage through the Territories, unleashed in their predatory hunger. The Inventor’s Ball will be a premiere of their genius, on the one night that an incursion of the Archons can be predicted.

For, on the night of the Gala itself, the Archons will surely return dressed in their sharpest carapaces, wholly prepared to eviscerate the well-coiffed attendees of the Wasteland’s fanciest party, and the denizens of Bravado should be equally armed as they are prepared to meet this threat from beyond death itself, while ready to dance the night away in their finest Emerald Regalia. Gather your finest clothes, your deadliest arsenals, and prepare for a party at the end of the world.

So, there’s a few things mentioned there we need to talk about.

The emerald Gala

It wouldn’t be the party of the century if you didn’t come dressed in your very best. For this event on Saturday night of the game, we want to encourage you do something special with your costume. From 7PM to 12AM, we will be hosting the Emerald Gala during the event, and it will be a party with music, food, and fun. At the end of the Gala, it will culminate in a ballroom blitz when the ARCHONS arrive. How will you dress to impress?

What is your character’s idea of “ballroom formal”? Do you have a cute outfit you’ve been dying to wear? Have you been eyeing a costume update? We want to give you a heads up as soon as we can so you have time to prepare and decide on what formal wear means to your character. We are excited to see what you can come up with, and we hope you’ll buy in to the idea of a party in the zombie apocalypse.

We will also be introducing a new Local Blueprint, the Emerald Regalia, that allows you to benefit from the protection of Armor, while not having to give up a certain sense of style. Perfect for parties and Galas alike, this armor can even afford a certain bit of CHARISMA to the wearer, ideal for making friends or playing politics. And, since it adds a bit of armor, it can be useful if something… terrible decides to attend your party.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

The archon threat

During our last Premiere event in Season 3, THE LONG NIGHT, three terrible creatures emerged from the Monolith. These apocalyptic threats nearly defeated the town of Bravado until a signal from within the obelisk rendered them capable of being injured and repelled. However, in the wake of that event, the weapon they used to hurt the creatures was destroyed by the feedback, and now the town is unable to deal with the creatures should they return.

The Archons are a truly dangerous threat, with abilities capable of sapping your Resolve in one blow, strikes that can kill you where you stand, and even devouring your very imprint should you lay bleeding. I’ll be covering more about what to expect from these terrible monsters in a future blog post but know that THEY ARE COMING (to use the last words of the late Dr. Nichols).

I hope you are prepared but know that this will be a HIGH-RISK game.

The best way to survive an Archon is to run away, if you can. They are truly threats to be survived, not defeated. Until a weapon can be developed to face them, they are nigh-impossible to injure, much less kill. A big element of the story of this event will be trying to uncover and choose which weapons to bring to the Emerald Gala in the hopes of stopping these immortal terrors.

The Night is dark and full of terrors

Speaking of night terrors, we will be releasing a new global mechanic for this event, borrowed from our friends in DR: Virginia, originally designed by Phil Grau. This mechanic also saw use in DR: Michigan, and we will be including our own DR:TX take on the concept below:

ALONE IN THE DARK

At any time after the sun has set that a player finds themselves alone and without the ability to see another person, that person is considered to be Caught Alone.

That player must, at their next convenience, drop out of character and report to Ops.

Results for being Caught Alone vary wildly and could be a slight scare or a grievous consequence.

Players under the effect of Basic Stealth may move after dark as they wish, but should beware anything that would cause them to become seen.

If you are caught alone at night, one of the many things lurking in the shadows may find you first. You might wander through a weak part of the veil between the worlds or get too close to some early abyssal incursion. Maybe you just got caught alone by one of the Longwalkers or experienced some strange time dilation as you get lost in the woods. Perhaps some local terror like a Nemesis or Murder Goat Deer found you as prey in the darkness. Maybe it was nothing at all. Whatever the result, it’s best to walk in groups or be able to evade prying eyes in the darkness with Stealth during this event.

Better yet, the candlelights and altars of the Lovelace Family is said to protect you from the darkness, provided you can convince them to part with their lanterns to protect you.

Festive lights in the Dive for the holidays

Winter lights, a DR:TX Tradition

Winter traditions have been part of the human experience since we're clawed out of the primordial muck using thumbs and thought to ourselves "I ought to buy my child nine pairs of socks”. First thing we did with those dexterous extra digits was to throw up a pine tree in the den and shove some well smoked meats under it to give to people on a specific day but not before. We’ve been doing that for about thirty thousand years, give or take. So let’s try something a little different?

We started this tradition WAY back in 2019 as a way to be more inclusive on our holidays around this time of year, and we are pleased to once again share this tradition with our new players and guests.

The setting-specific holiday we focus on in Bravado is Winter Lights, a Quiet-Folk holiday focused on the notion of Ritual and Tradition, honoring the beliefs of the varied many across the Lonestar. The Lovelace Community celebrates this season every year not on a specific day, but as a kind of blanket period during which they assume and honor the traditions of their neighbors. What that looks like in the playspace, in terms of decoration, is a ton of tea lights all over the camp. So if you want to buy into this tradition and thusly the attentions of the Quiet Folk who celebrate the soft and quiet light of community, you should put tea lights all over your personal areas. 

In addition, the Nomads who travel the Long 360 out of Essex have their own tradition of decorating “Loop” trees along the highways. What was once a seemingly out-of-place garish display of garland and lights that has slowly become an important cultural touchstone of the Winter season in the Lonestar. We can’t wait to see how our players bring the trees of Bravado to life with festive in-genre decorations (that of course, can be easily cleaned up after game off).

Similarly, The Junkerpunks celebrate Cargo-Net Day, another “new/old” tradition based on holiday themes. This holiday and its rituals have been completely designed by our amazing players, and we are excited to support it by honoring the related plot requests they’ve put in to our writers. We love the tales of Nopalito Joe and Kelpie

We encourage you to put your brilliant minds to work to come up with amazing holiday traditions to fit within our shared story. Something from your character’s past? Something entirely new? Winter Lights is all about discovering and celebrating tradition, and we are excited to see the creativity our players bring to that.

We’re attaching a link here to a useful article that we hope will give you something to think about when designing holidays for the LARPspace that are clever and respectful. 

The long Night & Longwalkers

Every year the town of New Bravado experiences a period of total night. From sometimes late December to early February - the sky above the township goes utterly and oily black. Whether it is a result of the bombs of the Hiway War or smog and radiation buildup from Waking Prime, the result is the same — a time of darkness descends on the San Saba. And in that night lurks something… strange and foreboding.

LONGWALKERS, denizens of that Long Night, stalk the blackness between settlements and play wicked tricks on those foolish enough to wander into the blind eternity beyond the circle of their firelight.  This gallery of cryptids stalk the darkness of Widow’s Peak and beyond, even venturing as far south as Bravado. Shadowy, half-real entities that are considered folklore by much of the greater San Saba, nonetheless stalk the bleak between. Zed or creature, it is hard to tell. But the Longwalkers have been the subject of local legend for generations of Lovelaces before the Long Night came to New Bravado. 

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, the sound of tinkling chimes. These mysterious entities stalk the Long Night looking for something. The No-Face Man, the Midnight Jellyfish, the Behemoth, the Gardener, the Nite Owls, 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.

Can you count all the Longwalkers in this picture of Widow’s Peak?

wrap up

That’s it for today Vados!

I hope you’re excited to play with us in December! This is a special time of year for DR:TX and we are excited to present our Premiere Event for this season with some of the biggest, baddest enemies seen in the world of Dystopia Rising.

Next week, I’ll dig a bit deeper into the Archon threat, with some more information on their particular abilities and a bit more into the lore you might want to know. See you soon!


“When the haunted Hallows moan,

And the Long Night looms so near,

Remember child, dog, and delver,

That the dead can smell your fear.


Remember always to carry a light,

To ward off the fearful zed,

To remind them that they have no business here,

And that it is you that they must dread.


So in these small and quiet days,

When the world beds itself down,

Protect those who would bear your light,

Through the tired streets of town.


Plant a torch and be the Light,

That leads your family home,

In the last and frigid nights,

Come home to Bravado.”

— A Lovelace Winter Carol, PHW 02’

Welcome to Pyroclasm!

It’s Jonathan here again with another Rules Ramble! Each week, I’ll introduce a topic that will be important in an upcoming game, explain some new mechanic or system for DR:TX, or discuss a particular rule from the DR Corebook. In each ramble, I’ll focus on explaining that topic in more detail than the book alone can provide and help provide one place to reference all the various errata or rulings that might be relevant. Sometimes I’ll even drop a few Story Teasers or provide a summary of the last game in a Game Recap.

This week, we are starting with our four-week countdown to our first combined virtual AND in-person NATIONAL EVENT of 3.0, covering some details on what you get for attending this event, new Blueprints that will be released, and our Content List for this event, as you get ready to experience …

THE NECROPHAGE

What is it?

THE NECROPHAGE is the First Virtual + Live Dystopia Rising Crossover Event — a joint production of DR: Texas and DR: Connecticut. We will be running TWO linked games, one online with our friends at DR:CT - STORMWALL, that starts the story of Grandfather Nichols and the creation of the Necrophage virus, and then we will finish that story in person, at Camp Kachina, for our first LIVE National Event of 3.0 - PYROCLASM. The events that occur in the virtual game will directly effect the resolution of our live event!

This is an exciting opportunity to invite folks to a game as BIG as Texas, and show our friends across the network some good old San Saba hospitality. We get to tell a BIGGER story, use BIGGER bad guys, and help you experience a BIGGER event!

Let’s talk a little about what to expect…

The Story:

Something wicked this way comes...

Grandfather Nichols and the evil forces of Killhouse Prison’s extended network of murderers, candymen, maniacs and machinators, have come home to roost in the Lonestar at last.  From the necrotic swamps of the Wailing Shores, the mad Nemesis doctor brings with him The Necrophage, a powerful mutagenic disease that turns anyone who breathes it into pliant supersoldiers and eventually, living bombs.  Nichols seeks to destroy the system that betrayed him twice, by immolating the San Saba Territories with the very brains of the people who committed each layer of badly broken faith. 

Nichols sieges Killhouse Prison; lair to the most foul and murderous personalities in the Lonestar Wastes, recruiting an army from within. The Necrophage spreads out before him like a black carpet, but in his way is the township of New Bravado, where the Oxline pulls into station. When Nichols steps off the train, with his newly Necrophage-infused soldiers in tow, it will be with the intention to complete the genocide of the San Saba people, a feat denied to him one year ago. With the successful test of his mutagen on Bravado, Nichols will be able to market The Necrophage to tyrants and warmongers across the Greater Wastes as a tool to create armies from enemies. 

As the Necrophage creeps across the Blastlands, rendering common strains into vicious and merciless killers, it must be to be the will of the Survivors that rise up to meet the ardent monsters who stride across the San Saba unshackled. Left unchecked, The Necrophage will first infect everyone in the San Saba and then beyond.  In an act of ironic Indulgence, the Survivors must team up with the new Warden of Killhouse Prison one last time to cleanse the waste of criminal filth once contained within, and thereafter choose the ultimate fate of the unlawful in the San Saba. 

A cell, or a coffin.

wHERE cAN I BUY TICKETS?

Pre-Registration: What do I get?

Once you’ve bought your ticket (or if you are still on the fence), let’s talk about what you get.

If you can, we hope you can get your tickets early and help our team with some advanced ideas of how many players to prepare for, what kinds of NPC shifts we can expect to have for big fights, and help craft our plans for cabins and tenting. Pre-registration helps us with all of these things and more, but it even offers some nice advantages for you as well..

Save time on site!

While you can still purchase a ticket for PYROCLASM on site, it’s a National Event so there could be a bit more traffic to get checked in when there are many more players on site. The BEST advantage to getting a ticket early is that we will have your Character Sheet pre-printed and ready to go so you can save time in line. Spend that time claiming a bunk, setting up your tent, plot out your item builds for the weekend, grabbing dinner with your friends from all over the country, or just use it to take your time getting into that neat upgrade to your costume.

Opt in to the story

In the pre-registration questionnaire, you will have your FIRST opportunity to OPT IN to the Necrophage plot kit in person. You can choose to try out a terrible fate for your character, and get opted in for a deadly and harrowing experience. I’ll cover a bit more about this below in our Content List. This is a guaranteed way to get a jump start into the action at the National Event, but it is still OPTIONAL — there will be other ways to OPT OUT of the disease plot at the event as well! Do you have what it takes to survive THE NECROPHAGE?

mechanics and items:

I know, I know. Let’s get to the good stuff, why you are really attending a National Event:

  • EXTRA XP — National Events allow you to purchase up to TEN (10) more Experience Points for each of your characters. This is a huge leap forward, allowing you to buy that next Skill a few months early, or even pay the points for a new Infection or a PFA Action Request.

  • SELF TEACH — You gain the ability to Self Teach ANY Skill (Non PFA) 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!

  • ONE MYSTERIOUS ORE — Your Primary Character will earn ONE (1) Mysterious Ore, a brand new DR:TX Local Plot Item printed on a neat illustrated item card. These new items will be crucial during our National Event, and are a new collectible item that will surely be a prize for folks that like to collect currency and other unique items in game. There will be other ways to earn these in game, but this is one guaranteed way to get your hands on this new item.

  • ONE FESTERING CRYSTAL — Your Primary Character will earn ONE (1) Festering Crystal, a National Event Resource available at National and Premiere Events in limited quantities. This item can be used to activate certain powerful Murder Incorporated blueprint items, as well as being used in several new injectable brews called Byproducts.

  • NARRATIVE CROSSOVER — If you have purchased a ticket to the Virtual DR:CT event the previous week, there will be a direct narrative crossover between the characters, places, and plots of these two events. While it won’t be necessary to attend both games to enjoy the plots of PYROCLASM, there will certainly be more context to certain events happening in game if you attend both events.

An example of what Mysterious Ore looks like!

Festering Crystals

New Blueprints!

Oh yeah. My favorite part.

We have at least FIVE new Blueprints coming your way, featuring some of the San Saba favorites you might have seen as Local Plot Cards in previous seasons. We’ve got a fan favorite item that was MUCH requested by folks all over, as well as some unique items with a bit of Texas flair. These will be new NATIONAL BLUEPRINTS available throughout the network after our event, but attending in person to our PYROCLASM event will be the FIRST opportunity to get one of these new items. We will be previewing these items over the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

If you are like me, you gotta catch ‘em all! Don’t miss out on a chance to keep your collection of blue paper up to date!

Content LIST

Based on feedback from our last game, we’d like to make sure we are providing some advanced notice about themes and elements in the upcoming National Event to allow you to to decide whether or not a DR:TX event will be something you enjoy. 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.

We’ve had up a Content List on our website for a while now, but I’d like to bring your attention to some of the common elements of a DR event, while also focusing on two major things to expect in this upcoming game, PYROCLASM.

This concept is in the DR Corebook, on page 13:

A content list is Dystopia Rising’s use of a technique known as innehållsförteckning, or “ingredients list”, which was first created by Nordic game designer Karin Edman. A content list is a series of focuses that are expected to be regularly occurring at a local branch. It is not the same as a content warning in that a content list provides a wide array of information about the nature of an event’s intended design and not just items that the writers of an event may see as “warning worthy”. Since it is impossible to know what might be triggering for all potential participants, we have decided it is better to provide a listing of content (or ingredients) that participants can use to make educated decisions regarding their participation at an event.

Past the Content List, there are two major elements of the next game that need to be specifically mentioned, and I’d like to talk about them in turn.

Content List: infectious Disease & Weaponizing Diseases

The story of the zombie apocalypse is at it’s heart a story of disease. Zombie stories involve pandemics, viruses, and the deadly consequences of what that disease turns survivors into. You could argue that “fear of disease” is the key trope to any story that involves zombies and the undead. During our PYROCLASM event, we will be using a new dangerous Disease into the world of Dystopia Rising.

Given the state of the global pandemic and the impact Covid-19 has had on us all, we understand that this topic isn't for everyone. Each of our lives have been impacted by this crisis and each person is dealing with this trauma in different ways. Our goal is not to minimize the impact of this disease nor it’s effect on our community, and given that we have staff members who have lost a family member to Covid-19, we empathize with anyone that has suffered loss during this pandemic.

Last season, DR:TX explored this concept in depth during our game BLOOD FEAST. During this event, we released a terrible disease known as Gutscourge, and introduced the villainous Grandfather Nichols for the first time in a live game. I included a similar warning about this topic back then and it’s worth repeating for this event.

During our upcoming National Event, we will be using a brand new in-character disease known as NECROPHAGE. This disease has the strong potential to be character deadly, especially in it’s later stages as it can remove Infection itself from your character. I’ll be going over these specific mechanics in a later blog post in detail called The Anatomy of a Disease Plot Kit, but since it’s a possibility I’d like to make sure everyone knows how to avoid this up front.

  • Necrophage can be character deadly and your character can permanently die from this disease.

There will also be SCs and NPCs that will be actively attempting to spread and weaponize this disease in game. These villains will be trying to purposefully infect your character with this disease as part of their dastardly plan, so there will be some potential danger of your character contracting this disease during the course of the event. There will also be some chance of contracting the disease through environmental exposure like Zone of Mechanics or particular unique props.

Contracting Necrophage may NOT be for you, so this disease is unique in the fact that you can OPT OUT at any time. You may not want to risk Infection, or maybe your story of your character isn’t finished yet.

With our Natural Immunity rules, you can simply declare yourself IMMUNE to this disease at the start of the game, and you will be mechanically safe from the effects of the disease for the entire game, even if Grandfather Nichols himself tries to infect you. This won’t necessarily protect you from a Killing Blow from a bad guy or raider, or a being devoured and Cannibalized by a pack of zombies, but I can promise that you contracting a disease won’t be the reason your character dies.

It IS still a survival horror game, after all.

Natural Immunity (OPT OUT MECHANIC):  

If you would like to OPT-OUT of this National Disease Plotkit, you may write NATURAL IMMUNITY on your character(s) sheet before Game-on and if exposed to a situation where you would contract it at any level, you may call “No effect, Natural Immunity”. This immunity cannot be applied to any character, other than your own, through any in-game mechanic.

This Natural Immunity status will be used during Research Challenges in order to develop a Treatment Plan and permanent cure for this disease.

I’ve wrote a lot of information about this disease and some of our philosophies on approaching this topic on our National Event Website several weeks ago, and you can find a link to explore more here:

Content List: Loss of Control & Compulsion

One of the curious side effects of the Necrophage disease is one that Grandfather Nichols has worked to weaponize with his allies in the Wailing Shores. During this event, victims of the Necrophage virus will be extremely vulnerable to a local DR:TX mechanic called COMPULSION.

This mechanic will be in play on limited NPC threats portrayed by STs and Gamerunners, but it offers a powerful way to cause a Loss of Control to your character. Many horror stories involve this concept, where you are powerless to stop a monster that is itself a metaphor for the relentless advance of time, death, or war.

Here’s the mechanics to expect:

Compulsion

Effect. When an NPC calls “Psionic: Compulsion, All <KEYWORD>, [Insert Command]”, the affected target must follow the next single command until the task is completed or nullified (such as being compelled to defend someone who then dies). The target must complete the command to the best of their ability. When the target enters Bleed Out, the effect immediately ends. Characters under the effects of Compulsion remember the actions they take, but are not in control of them. This ability is normally resisted by Mental Endurance, but some effects may prevent this resistance.

You can already do similar things to this Skill on zombies and raiders with Telepathy, but this Threat Skill allows them to use a similar ability on YOU. That last line is important, though, because one effect that prevents this resistance is being inflicted with an advanced stage of NECROPHAGE.

Characters with Stage 2 or beyond of Necrophage will NOT be able to spend Mind points to resist these Compulsions. This means that if your character is infected with this disease, it could put you into situations where your character is no longer in control of their actions. This is a unique form of mind control that might allow the bad guys to COMPEL you to help them. The bad guys might order you to defend them, hurt your friends, abandon your crew, or do other terrible things that your character might not normally do.

If you were playing in 2.0, you may remember similar abilities that monsters could use to turn you into a Body Puppet, and it can be a great challenge and intense scene when one of your friends suddenly turns on you and it’s not just the monster that’s after you in that combat.

However, you have TWO ways to avoid this mechanic in game.

First, you can decide that your character has a particular quirk that makes you completely immune to the Necrophage virus. If your character is Naturally Immune (see above) to the Necrophage, then you will be able to resist these effects as per a normal psionic attack. You might need to save some Mind points for a use of Mental Endurance, but you can avoid some of the terrible commands like “kill and eat your friends”, for instance. There will even be other items in game that can help you resist this ability if you don’t have the Mental Endurance Skill too.

Secondly, you can choose to use the OK Check-In System to opt out of a scene entirely by using the “thumbs down” gesture and exiting the area.

SIMPLY PUT: The COMPULSION mechanic DOES NOT override the OK Check-In system.

Our ultimate goal with THE NECROPHAGE is to tell a story about villains spreading a dangerous disease on purpose, recruiting others by force and compulsion to help their cause, and causing significant damage to the San Saba and your characters unless YOU can stop them from their evil machinations. We want you to consider a world where DEATH is finally the end, where you need to come to grips with not coming back when you die, and the consequences that erupt when the very cycle of Infection you’ve come to understand is under threat.

It’s a high risk, high reward type story, and we hope you are as excited as we are.

If you have already purchased a ticket for this event and would like a refund based on this information, please email info@dystopiarisingtx.com.

where can I find out more about the event?

We’ve had a lot of resources up already for the Necrophage events, and our friends at DR:CT have been hard at work with an ARG event through Discord, cool new videos, and a lot of interactive content already. Over the next few weeks, we will provide even more details about this event, but for now we have a few resources to use:

Upcoming Blogs:

Over the next few weeks, I will be focusing on topics related to our upcoming National Event. Here’s a sneak peek of what to expect:

  • Pyroclasm: National Event Expectations - National Events have a LOT more players involved, and that means some different logistics than a normal game, for things like the Post Office, sleeping arrangements, LIT inventory, NPC shifts, and such. I’ll try to cover some realistic expectations about what to expect at a National Event, so you can be ready to hit the ground running.

  • Pyroclasm: Anatomy of a Disease Plot Kit - The story of Pyroclasm involves a new and dangerous disease known as The Necrophage. I’ll discuss some expectations for this disease, how you can avoid it, how you can opt in, and some ideas of what to expect if medical research and science is your idea of a good time.

  • Pyroclasm: What’s Different in DR:TX? - We have a lot of travelers coming out to our first live game in a while. Let’s talk about some culture expectations of our game, some major differences between our game and what you might see at your local events, and some resources to help you understand the differences.

  • Pyroclasm: Rules You Should Know - The week before game I will release a series of specific rules that might come up during the PYROCLASM event. We will talk about some common rules that might be important, new Zones of Mechanics, new Plot Items, and new Threat Skills you should save some Mind points to Avoid!

It’s an exciting time for DR:TX, so make sure you get your tickets to THE NECROPHAGE: PYROCLASM today! See you soon travelers to the San Saba and Vados alike!

Meet Mayor Tinstrument!

We have one last character to introduce during our first event, VALLEY OF FEAR! See her in person Saturday morning!

Mayor Tinstrument, The Mayor of Waking Prime, Mayor Tinstrument, is an individual from an ancient dynasty and the engineer behind the Waking Power Initiative. She currently seeks a solution to the capacity engine and is willing to trade political favors with any settlements in the San Saba that can produce one. As a Digitarian and engineer she pushes for scientific advancement.

She finds the technology from the pre-fall era fascinating, inspiring and wishes to harness the elements around her to incorporate that technology in this age. Mayor Tinstrument is a charismatic and cutthroat individual. Keen on discovering new ways to advance Waking Prime regardless of the ethical costs. She has access to oldcestor technology that she is unable to use but, this does not stop her from trying to find a way to revive that technology to help progress Waking into a new era of scientific advancement. A few…hundred or thousand lives are worth the advancement of a civilization in her eyes.

As one who uses analog power, it is not uncommon for Mayor Tinstrument to be found mingling with those of similar status and discussing plans on how Waking will be the best, advanced civilization in all the waste. Looking to meet Mayor Tinstrument this upcoming trade? Word down the post is that she will be appearing on Saturday morning to help reassure Bravado and other settlements of the San Saba about the slight decrease in altitude.

Rest assured, Mayor Tinstrument will be present to help assist Waking Prime in its new area of advancement!