Sexual Misconduct Policy & Procedure

You may have heard some of us Directors gush about how wonderful it was to have RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) make a presentation at the Director’s Retreat in June. If not, prepare to receive a small gush and also an explanation.

The presentation from RAINN included facts and statistics about sexual harassment and assault, but more importantly it gave us expert advice on how to make our communities unwelcoming for perpetrators.

To that end the Directors for Dystopia Rising Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma put our heads together and developed a Sexual Misconduct Policy that we could all agree on. Since our communities mingle and overlap in wonderful ways, we decided our policy should reflect that.

This behavior wasn’t acceptable before we wrote this policy, however RAINN taught us that making these  policies visible does a few very important things.

1. Showing specifically which behaviors won’t be tolerated will discourage predators  from joining or remaining in the community. Predators thrive where they can push boundaries without consequence.

2. Outlining which behaviors are inappropriate and the procedure when misconduct is reported helps members of the community enforce standards, empowering them to help keep their community safe.

So yeah, here’s us saying that this kind of behavior is not only unacceptable in our spaces - but showing you exactly how we’ll handle it and supporting our community in creating safer spaces for gaming.

Please read our full Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedure

May Update

Annexing the Slums

Thursday morning we opened a discussion on the DR: Slums Facebook group about annexing the Slums back into NPC Land for May.

The current game population can support the shift without depriving players of sleep space. We can more efficiently use Hope's Edge, and we can provide an opportunity to bring the characters that already live there into a bigger group with economic and political connections. 

We can also use the cabins and infrastructure in the slums to create more dynamic and interesting scenes in NPC Land because we have more than just an open field to work with. This will be important for May's story.

We're going to test-drive this in May and then revisit it in the summer to see if this will be a permanent move for next season or just a one-off. 

Instancing NPC Land

We are going to instance modules that are staged in NPC Land (away-modules) more explicitly. Typically away modules get some number of PCs, but some time later every character and their cousin show up, which fundamentally makes it impossible to present a real threat and leaves a lot of players with a kind 'meh' experience. In some ways we tried to do this using Hot Zones but it didn't really land.. probably because we were not explicit in our game design intentions. 

There will be two pathways to NPC Land. 1) Radio Tower Road and 2) Horse Corral (via Parking Lot). Aggieland rules apply here. Which means that while we may use the Horse path to get into Zuni to create the illusion of distance, we're not going to fight or do much of anything in the parking lot. We're just going to move with efficiency to the horse corral where we can make skill calls, fight, and the rest of it

We will have a physical barrier (saw horse or the like) in place at both gates with a ZOM or other Sheet to say that NPC Land is closed and you will need an NPC escort to go (but not to leave). The NPC Hook or a Marshal may 'close the gate' behind them. If they do, then while retreating is an option, back-up is not. If you leave the mod space, you are locked out.

It is also our ambition to include a quick reference ingredients list for some Away-Modules. These will reference the calibration patches the network uses. Emotional RP. No Quarter. Physical RP. 

(Quick Note: Obviously physical rp is pretty broad and going on a module doesn't mean anybody can touch you any way they want to. That'd be pretty gross. It is a courtesy heads up that NPC's will try to hold your hand, cry on your shoulder, etc. If you don't want that, use the Check-in system to preemptively communicate this.. or consider that this module may not be for you.) 

NPC Break (12-2pm)

Having a mid-day break from NPCs worked out very well at Uprise. We were really pleased with how well it was received by players, the roleplay opportunities it created during the day, and the increased activity we could implement at night as a result. 

We're going to test-run this for our local game. From 12pm - 2pm there will be no NPCs. If you want to grab a nap, run off-site for supplies, or have an uninterrupted meeting then this is the time to do it. 

Work Day

We're working out a Work Day with Camp Kachina following our closer. Unfortunately between our schedule and theirs, the only real opportunity is the weekend after our event (May 18-19). We'll see what else we can do to support Kachina during their season, but also to hang out and play outside of the game together. We'll be posting details for the Work Day ASAP, but expect smores and card games on Friday, scrubbing down stuff on Saturday, and some AP by Sunday.

Lunch With Parker

General PSA that every event Ryan eats lunch in the Saloon as Judge Parker around 12 noon. If you want to ask research questions directly, other game questions, or if you need this particular NPC then we encourage you to use this time to your benefit. 

Chop 

We took a lot of pains to make sure that Uprise would have all the clothes, item cards, and props it would need. We also took a lot of effort to separate everything again at the end of the event with minimal losses. We were really successful at this. 

Except for the Chop cards which were packed into OK supplies (apparently). 

SO!.. We will have a little less chop this weekend. Also we're just going to put Basic Scrap into the field instead of the chop cards. Jury is still out on whether that will be on the NPCs directly or if you hit up a Marshal to the side for your chop. 

We goofed and we're sorry for the inconvenience. 

April Update

Schedule

Added player events to the schedule as a reference point for Ops Marshals (ie Rover Moot, UIH, etc). This can help inform Marshals decisions to avoid some location or focus on others knowing what is happening. Right now I just pull these from the cool photos people post in the FB group and I'll probably continue to do that. It did mean reprinting the schedule like five times, but I feel its worth it. (I'm not going to reprint it again though so if you didn't put it up now.. sorry dude). 
 

Site Construction

Road as of today (Thursday) 1:30pm.

Construction on the road continues. It now more closely resembles a road and not the worst Mario Kart map ever made. This may see more work before we arrive on site, but this is the current state. I'm told the material is soft and slow driving is vital. 

The water faucets around camp along pathways / roads are not in service. If you typically refill water there you're going to have to make the extra trip to a lodge. 

Additional work was done to the site's plumbing. This was done much earlier in the week so we shouldn't see any problems by this point. If you do see leaks anywhere just get word to me (either directly or through Logistics). 

Boot Hill

Boot Hill is scheduled for Saturday 12:00am. If you want some larp angst and drama then please go. 
 

Letters from the Road

If you filled out the opt-in form for maximum background dramas, then please meet me Friday at 10:00pm at Corky's Pavillion (the bathroom near Boot Hill). If you're on NPC shift I'll be happy to do a little spotlighting for when you get off at 1:00 am so you can also make choices and engage in appropriate hand wringing.
 

Parking

Dudes. Dudes. We need to talk. We need to talk about the parking. Its not the best. 

Many of you are stellar parkers. But some of you are parking off the left shoulder of the main road into camp and this is a problem. Some cars can park there and not actually be on the road (typically the first three), but after that its a bit of a mess and we have cars that aren't at all parked off the road. This presents a problem for emergency vehicles. Its also a bit frustrating for folks driving through. Probably I'm just going to cone off the side of the road so we stop parking there.

I know you want to park close to everything and save some step. I also want to do this. But let's be honest here. Most of us use our car twice in the weekend and we're going to walk 150,000k steps over the course of the weekend. Walking ten more steps isn't really going to make or break the weekend. (Unless you're a smoker and then I don't know what to tell you but it'd piss me off too if I had to walk twenty more steps for a butt. Sorry dude.) 

Resolving Radiation

Thank you everyone for your creativity and energy in tackling Bravo's radiation problem, which has been a part of our setting for a whole year now. 

A lot of energy, time, and materials were poured into resolving this situation.  

Background Radiation

Downtown Bravo's background radiation will be reduced significantly. Characters will no longer start play with Onset or Active Radiation Poisoning. Characters who ended the event with Radiation Poisoning will still have that marked on their sheet and will still need to find resolution.

Floral Uptake

Crop Tending will no longer require a Green House, Hydroponics Bay, Other. You can Crop Tend wherever your heart pleases.

While this mechanic has definitely reduced the game's Herb generation, we hope that it at least provided an opportunity or reason for Farmers to roleplay with each other, to better incorporate props and equipment into their roleplay (which was dependent on a Forged item), etc. Poking the ground with a stick for twenty minutes is boring and looks dull. Roleplaying with a friend, watering the plants, mulching the soil, etc. is engaging and great stage work.

Glow Girls

Will continue to be an antagonist, but will be used strictly during high radiation events / modules.

Radiation Storms

Will only make an appearance when the site is heavy with fog, which isn't all that frequent. Running from environmental effects is kind of fun, but considering Texas weather we think this will only be a factor once a year. (Unless Global Climate Change is real.. good things its just a Chinese conspiracy. JK. Its fucking real. Please read more about it.) 

Hot Zones

Are gone. 

Second Order Effects

As promised...

No clean-up effort is perfect. There's always second order effects. Aerosolizing Texas Tea and Oppenheimer's Resurrection (composed of Lead) will definitely have an impact on the local environment. Anticipate infrequent (less than once per event) environmental effects that make lodges inhospitable for brief time periods. 

March Update

Radiation Storms are Here!

We've had half a season of Hot Zones and Radiation messing with our Crop Tending. As a group of Scientists begin to better understand the problem (and to fix it) a series of Radiation Storms have been hitting the area. 

If you hear the air raid siren we encourage you to get inside a building - not a tent, not a four-person air cabin with near-zero protection from the wind, but an actual building with four walls and a roof that is relatively well insulated from the radioactive particulate outside. 

Radiation storms will be phys-repped with artificial fog and smoke, which will stay outside. If smoke presents a problem for you, please seek shelter inside. 

Radiation Storms will use Zone Effect: Outside mechanics. If you hear the call, and are outside, you will be targeted. (We are not using By My Voice because we don't want to target players inside who happen to hear the call). 

If you're outside and don't hear the call, good for you, you're far enough away. If you are outside and do hear it, then please note the mechanics.

Zone Effects will generally do two things:
1. Increase your Radiation Poisoning. (Retrogrades can ignore this).
2. Deal Radiation Damage. (Retrogrades halve this damage)

Its worth noting that Zone Effects ignore Armor. RIP Your Swamp Runner meta.

This Month's Story

This month's story will focus on the effort to fix the radiation problem. Fixing the environment is not necessarily easy and part of the theme for this weekend will be about making sub-optimal choices. Sometimes there isn't a perfect solution, just a solution. Expect some fallout (pun intended), even if characters are successful in mitigating the problem. Also expect some chance of failure. Personally I'm rooting for you all but one of the things we hear regularly is that players want to know that their choices matter, and that they could fail, so that victory tastes even sweeter.

Radiation Poisoning and You!

Most characters will start this event with Radiation Poisoning (Active) simply from being in Bravo over a prolonged period of time. (Travelers and New Players won't deal with this). 

Active Radiation Poisoning means your character will not refresh MP on the twelves unless they are healed for 10 HP when already at full HP. The cure is Med Genius & Cure Toxins at 30 MP and 30 Min. 

If your character progresses to Severe and it is untreated for three months, they will die, which will be great fun. 

If your character has Severe and progresses (by going into a Radiation Storm for instance) then come to Logistics. There we are going to give a little slip of paper that will say...

Hello fellow survivor! You have been bathed in radiation. Over the course of the Twelves your character is going to die. Their body will slowly start to lose function as their digestive tract grinds to a halt, red blood cells die, hair and skin slough off, and eventually they pass on. The time and place is up to you. This degeneration process can last as long or as little as you like and there is no set start time for it. We encourage you to have fun and tell a story about what your character might do knowing that they have limited time before their body begins to lose the ability to function and eventually dies.

Will you say things you have not said before? Will you make a sacrificial play knowing that you will die anyway? Will you enjoy the functionality you have, before it goes away and you feel trapped by your own body?

There is no right answer, but these are questions worth asking.

Have fun.

-Ryan

If you want to experience a character death like the one above.. then do it! Probably nobody even knows how much radiation poisoning you have anyway, so it doesn't matter. Tell a great story about an end. Or at least a change, because its not really an ending, its a change. Then come see us in Logistics for high-fives and a death scene. 

Block Report

We're going to steal Block Reports from DR:NY. This is a behind-the-desk process for Ops Marshals to better communicate between them. We're hoping this will help make the game and setting feel more responsive to player actions in the same event. 

Post Office Hours

Last month we scheduled the Post Office to open at 10am instead of 9am. We did this to close a gap in the schedule. However, we didn't tell players and subsequently it was both a source of confusion and frustration. That's on us. 

We adjusted the schedule to close the previous scheduling gap AND to open the PO at 9am again. We're sorry for the confusion. 

Boot Hill

In anticipation of April, the forms for Boot Hill are up already. If you want to use that form, or just read more about what Boot Hill is, you can find the direct link under Contact Us or by clicking here. If you want to close out your (dead) character's story or engage in some background roleplay with a dead NPC, then we encourage you to fill it out.