Blueprints, Temporary Augments, and Crafting

Good afternoon! It’s time for another Wednesday Rules Ramble from your pal Jonathan.

This week, we are going to be discussing Blueprints & Augments!! This weekend we will be playtesting some new Temporary Augments and Blueprints that are early versions of some new blueprints you might eventually see in the game. You might also have heard that our 3.0 Blueprints are in the process of being updated!

You can find the specific details on temporary augments HERE…

Go ahead and check out what we’ve posted there, but I’ll take a moment here to explain the process we will use this weekend.

Kyle and team are hard at work at updating the Blueprints, but they aren’t quite ready yet for live play. In the meantime, we are going to use these Temporary Augments as a neat playtest until these are officially released. Don’t worry, you’ll hear a lot more once we get ready for the big Blueprint update to roll out.

Let’s look at an example of one of the Temporary Augments you’ll see this weekend:

Slappi Lead Knuckleplate (Brawling Augment)

  • Nothing says ‘get out of my face’ more than a fistful of lead in the gut. Allows the wielder of this weapon to call “KNOCKBACK, 3 STEPS” once per every other flurry, or 10 seconds (whichever comes first) for 1 Mind per knockback.

Augments can be added to an appropriate item to increase it’s abilities. This one can be attached to any Brawling weapon card to allow you a super cool Knockback effect that you can use over and over during a fight. You can only have one augment per item, and this includes existing augments in game like the Shredzilla Grind Gears.

When you are at Check-In, you will have an opportunity to select ONE of the new Temporary Augments or Blueprints of your choice for free. You will get this on a strip of paper as a temporary “item card”, and it can be used in game much like any other item card. It can be traded, sold, taken, etc.

Once you’re in game, you’ll be able to craft additional Temporary Augments and Blueprints at a crafting station in the Terminal Station Depot (the Dining Hall at Kachina). There will be a yellow sheet of paper near one of the workbenches with all the details once you get to game, but I’ve also posted the rules in the link above.

We’ve also introduced a very efficient Culinary blueprint that restores Mind, and the first of new Procedure prints that are specifically for those with Faith-based Anomaly skills, called Benedictions. This is the first example of some new blueprints that open up new ways to use Skills, and you’ll see some more neat options in the future!

All of these new items expire at the end of the event, so we encourage you to try them out and let us know what you think. Your feedback is important!

Crafting in September

Since Blueprints will be updating soon, we will have a slightly different procedure for Crafting and Item Cards for our September event.

If you had virtual Blueprints and crafted items, instead of writing out cards we’d have to rewrite in the next month or so, we have given you your LIT inventory sheet along with your character sheet in your pre-registration packet. If you are buying a ticket at the door, we’ll print out the LIT inventory for you then.

For all intents and purposes, these items in your LIT inventory act as cards, and can be marked off at the Post Office for crafting. When you create a new item, it will likewise go into your virtual inventory and you get it marked off on a LIT transfer sheet. If you trade or give an item on your sheet to another player, write it on that sheet as well, and turn it in with you character sheet at the end of game.

Once those new blueprints come out, we’ll proceed with cashing out the rest of your virtual inventory items and converting item cards that have changed. Until then, we’re using RADICAL TRUST to just get on with playing in the meantime.

If you have any questions about this crafting policy, or basically anything Logistics related, you can find our wonderful Aesa at the Post Office throughout the weekend.

Only a few more short days until we are home again in Bravado. I can’t wait to see you there!

Fractures and you!

Database updates will now allow for the tracking of fractures on your character sheet.

If you are confused about how fractures work, here is the basic rundown. You can also read more about these rules in Chapter 8 of the Rulebook (pg. 180).

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Here’s what you might already know, or just need a refresher on, regarding Fractures:

  • A fracture is a mechanical and roleplay effect of emotional and psychological damage your character takes. Players get to decide how to roleplay their own fractures, but can use roleplay suggestions from Guides and Groundskeepers (death scene runners) as desired.

  • You gain a fracture by dying, or hitting 0 Resolve. Note: Once you hit 0 resolve, you cannot use items or skills that cost resolve for the rest of the game (pg. 95).

  • Resolve is available at the start the game on your character sheet, and it does not refresh until the next game. Tier 3 anomaly skills and other skills use Resolve, as do addictive substances with side effects. Rarely, you can also lose Resolve if your character doesn’t meet the roleplay and costuming standards for their lineage across multiple events. Characters with Master Social Influence can give you +1 Resolve from their own Resolve pool.

  • Hitting 0 Resolve gives you +1 fracture and +1 Resolve.

  • When you receive a fracture it goes on your character sheet. Resolved fractures should be signed off by the character using social influence. Unresolved fractures stay on your character sheet.

  • A fracture cannot be suppressed or resolved for 2 hours after fracturing.

  • You cannot use most skills that require Resolve while fractured.

  • Unresolved fractures sap your mind pool by 5 mind for the first fracture and 10 mind for each additional fracture.

  • Fractures are resolved by interacting with a character with Social Influence or Master Necrokinetics. They don’t go away otherwise!

  • It is the discretion of the character being treated whether the effect of Social Influence is able to resolve their fracture. For story reasons, if you want to require multiple sessions, or say your fracture cannot be resolved, that is your prerogative.

  • Even when a fracture is resolved mechanically, there can still be roleplay ramifications for being fractured. It is up to the player to decide how their character processes this experience.

If you have questions, please feel free to ask your Gamerunners for clarification or read Chapter 8 in the book!

Faction Buy Lists

HOW-DY Vados!

Jonathan here with a time-honored tradition of Bravado - “Sunday Spoilers”. (Ok ok, I know it isn’t Sunday when you’ll see this, but I’m writing this on Sunday at least) Today, we are going to preview a new feature of our Society Memberships in Bravado: the Faction Buy Lists! You’ll be able to access these starting this next weekend!!!

Check it out HERE, but we’ll also have a copy posted in the Public Works and on our nifty Post Office Bulletin Board near Kiva if you want to check it out in game.

If you have a contract with one of the eight factions of our game, you can gain access to a special set of buy lists that reward you for your connection to the NPC group.

Each month, you can buy ONE item from each level of the Faction Buy Lists you hold a contract with. If you have Master Society Membership, you can buy an item from the Basic, Proficient, and Master lists. This also means that even if you have a contract with every faction (you know who you are..), you need to make a choice of which faction reward you will select that month.

We’ll be paying attention to which factions you support as we move through our season, and this could have an impact on certain NPCs, how prevalent Work Orders and ZOMs are for that faction, and how they rate for the skill Financial Influence. If you have a favorite faction, let us know by spending your hard earned Brass. :D

Bonus fun -

You can pay for the Faction Buy Lists with either our local currency Brass (฿) OR the universal currency Trade Notes, so even our travelers can take part of the fun.

Basic Society Membership: 

  • Buy one item or service from any one faction’s Basic list for 1฿ 

Proficient Society Membership: 

  • Buy one item or service from any one faction’s Proficient list for 5฿ 

Master Society Membership: 

  • Buy one item or service from any one faction’s Master list for 10฿

On Wednesday, we’ll discuss a bit more about how we are handling Blueprints, Augments, and crafting for our game this weekend. See you then!

Quick Rules Update!

Quick update on the rules for our September event!

We’ve updated the Bravado website with a slight variation on the new MURDER skill call. This update brings our version more in line with the eventual National update to the threat guides.

TL;DR: A call for this ability will now sound like “10 Body, MURDER”. When you hear this call, it means “NO BLEEDOUT”.

We’ve basically decoupled the Murder affix from the amount of damage so that it’s a modifier to the call, not damage. If you use Avoid, you not only stop the damage, you stop the Murder affix. If the attack goes through, you can still use abilities that prevent a Killing Blow from killing you (Striker’s Coat, Master Biogenetics, Proficient Faithful Spirit). If the damage done is still enough to put you into Bleedout, you still take the damage just not the Murder.

This also means you might hear bigger damage calls too, probably from things that have “Murder” in their name. ;)

Check it out, it’s posted here.

Jonathan’s Wednesday Rules Ramble, 9/8

Hey there cool cats and kittens! It’s Johnny Atom here… uh… I mean, Jonathan, your friendly OST. Welcome back to another edition of our Wednesday Rules Ramble! Each week, we’ll focus on a new mechanic we are introducing for our third season in Texas.

  • Quick Reminder:  If you're using proof of vaccination to comply with our COVID-19 policy linked below, this is your reminder that you can email it in advance instead of having to bring it to site (and risk losing your card!) We will not be able to admit any player who cannot comply with our policy and show a negative COVID screening test within 48 hours previous, OR proof of completed vaccination. 

Our topic this week is Contracts and Society Memberships, and Work Orders.

If you’ve been particularly diligent, you might have noticed a few new things posted on this topic on our website this week. There’s been a few changes, so I’d encourage you if you are interested in the factions of our game to take a new look. 

I’ll wait!

Just kidding. I’m going to attempt a bit of TL;DR here to explain the basics.

(But seriously, check it out!)

In the DR: Texas game, the skill Society Membership (p. 106, DR Corebook) represents contracts you have signed with one of the NPC factions in our game.  When we refer to Society Memberships, you can assume the idea of Contracts is one and the same.   The Laws of the San Saba Territories can explain a bit more about why Contracts are important to the story of our game.

REMEMBER: Contracts = Society Membership.

Much like other skills and items, Society Membership in Bravado consists of three different levels - Basic, Proficient, and Master.  There is no XP cost for adding an NPC Society Membership to your sheet, and you can have it added by a Guide or a ST.

How do I get Society Membership, you say?

If you had a signed contract with a faction during Season Two, or really any major connection with a faction, it will be assumed you have the Basic Society Membership.  Talk to us during Check-In and we can add it to your sheet.  If you chose to get a Faction Interview with your Cali*Co Caravan Points during our online play, not only will you have the Basic Society Membership in your chosen faction added to your sheet, you’ll get the ability to earn Proficient Society Membership during our live games. 

What if I didn’t attend online events or this is my first game?

No problem! This actually brings us to our second concept - Work Orders.

There are two types of Work Orders that you will encounter in game. A Starter Work Order allows you to gain Society Membership with a faction and earn a signing bonus unique to the faction you choose.  A Faction Work Order requires you to have at least Basic Society Membership and often require the use of Skills or Profession Focus Achievements that are favored by that faction, but can offer greater rewards.

At our September game, EVERY player will have an option to pick up a Starter Work Order during Check-In and New Player Orientation, or you can pick up one in game from the Post Office at Kiva.  

What’s a Work Order look like?

Starter Work Orders are the primary means to join a faction for the first time.  Each one will have tasks that reinforce core behaviors of the Dystopia Rising game; combat, economy, CvC, exploration, and roleplay. You can complete only ONE of these per game, so it will take multiple games to join additional factions, but you get a neat “signing bonus” when you turn it into the Post Office.

  • Check out the actual Starter Work Order you’ll see in game here...

You’ll find out more about our Faction Work Orders in game. Lastly, you might have caught that I mentioned a Faction Interview above. 

How do I get a Faction Interview?

Faction Interviews are personal plot requests that you submit before a game so that we can schedule some face time with an NPC of that faction.  During this interview, you’ll have to explain why you think you would be a good fit for the faction and learn some more about their goals and objectives in game.  It’ll be a neat role playing opportunity to interact with our face NPCs, like Felicity Redfield, Takheeta Firstborn, or Sinker Swim.  

We will schedule these in advance for you and try to let you know when and where you need to show up to participate.  We need some time to plan for interviews, so you need to submit these ASAP if you want to be included in our plots for this game.  So far we have several requests already scheduled thanks to some of our earlier requests!

  • Submit a Personal Plot Request here...

One last thing to cover today, and I’ll let you get back to your mad dash to complete those last-minute crafting projects, that neat hype post or Spotify playlist (Aesa, you know you already made one), or just be one of those that can’t stop vibrating with excitement for the game (it’s all of us, promise). 

“I need to check your contract…”

Contracts are not only a cool way to access the skill Society Membership, it’s a new phrase you’ll hear in the game too!

When a Guide or NPC uses the phrase “I need to check your contract” within the game, this normally refers to the act of checking your character sheet to see if you have the appropriate Society Membership. This is partially an out of character behavior, but allows a narrative explanation for anything that refers to the character sheet in game. 

So, you might “check your contract” after a tough fight to write down those Mind expenditures, or you might need to check it after you finish that tasty crafted meal at the Dive.  Whatever the reason, try to refer to your character sheet as your “contract” whenever possible!

So that’s all for today, folks.  Next week, we’ll cover some final announcements before the game, and we’ll talk about Blueprints and Augments!