Step 1: Access the character Database

First, make sure you have the right link! If you’ve been lurking for a while before your first game, a link was once circulated that is no longer active. Basically, if the word “staging” is in the link at all, it’s the wrong one. Check the URL on your browser to make sure, as this is the single most common error we’ve heard folks have encountered.

• Here’s the correct link: https://juno.dystopiarisingnetwork.com/

Here’s what the landing page should look like

To start the process, let’s click the blue SIGN IN button. This will bring up the Sign Up box for your email address and password. One of the cool things about the new database is that it uses all the same info as the old 3.0 Character Database (if you don’t know what that is, it’s okay!)

• If you are a new player and this is your first game, then you will have an account created for you after you register using the ticket purchase system. Usually new player accounts are created once pre-reg for the event closes, and we will check you in manually to the shifts you want, so you do not need to self-check in your first game.

• If you are a pre-existing player, and this is your first time using the new check-in system, then you may need to reset your password to log in.

• If you are still unable to log-in, email us at info@dystopiarisingtx.com

Once you’ve logged in, choose your organization (Dystopia Rising, clearly) to open up the main database home page.

Now that you are logged in, you can begin to create your new character. Look on the left-hand side of the page, and you’ll see a list of your available character slots.

If this is your first DR Live character, or you have an empty slot, the next step is easy.

• Click on the “Manage” button to open up the character editor.

If you are a returning player from 3.0 that already has a DR character, you’ll need to do an extra step before you can continue.

Look for the (Experimental) tag on your character

There are several types of character slots on the database. For most players, you’ll have Active or Staged characters. Returning players may have Experimental slots until April 2025, as mentioned above.

• An Active Character can check in to games and receive XP from ticket purchases.

• A Staged Character can be edited and changed by a player, until a member of staff changes the character to Active.

To make a new character, simply type a name for your new character in the box and click “Create”. This will add your new character to the list of character slots on the left side of the page and list the character under the “Staged” category.

To edit an existing character, click the name of the character in the Active or Experimental sections.

• An Experimental Character is a copied character slot from an existing 3.0 character. This is the character that existing players will edit for DR Live until the database has been fully transitioned.

Once you’ve selected or created the character, make sure you UNLOCK the character. You’ll find the lock button on the top right of the page, marked with a little LOCK icon.

Once you are unlocked, you’ll be able to edit the character sheet sections.

If you accidentally leave this page while editing your character, don’t worry. The database will automatically LOCK the character when you leave the page.

You first need to choose which Lineage and Strain your character will be from. If you don’t choose a Lineage first you may experience an error as you continue creating a character. Your starting Body and Mind is determined by your choice of Strain.

Read more about Choosing a Strain

You can also choose a Strain Variant in the character builder. The default choice is the Standard Strain, but you can choose Wastelander or Civilized on your character sheet if you’d like to use the advanced rules found in the book Strained Ancestry.

Read more about Choosing a Faith

If you’ve been Inducted into a Faith, you can choose from the menu or you can leave it as “Faithless” if you’d rather leave this for later or make a decision in-game.

Once you’ve finished all your edits to your character for your first DR Live event, make sure to select the LOCK button on the top right corner of the page. You can always tell if you are in edit mode by looking for the Pencil or Unlock icon near the top of the page.

Juno will automatically lock your character when you leave the page, but locking the character is helpful to prevent any accidental clicks while you are planning.

• TIP: If you accidentally overspend on your character, it will delete random skills and purchases to get your character under the XP totals after you save the character. Make sure you are following along on the XP Wheel as you plan out your character and save yourself some frustration trying to re-edit the sheet.

Character Sheets will need to be entered in the Juno Database before the Saturday before the next game. if you create a character After this point, you’ll get a HANDWRITTEN or printed sheet at game.

Make sure to lock the character when you are done!

In Depth Character Creation guide

For those that want a more in-depth guide to character creation, I’ll cover a few of our DR:TX suggestions for character creation below. Remember, you can always rewrite your character during your first few events, so if you try a certain build out and change your mind later, you can make changes after your first event.

Every Survivor is talented at something, and those talents are part of why you are still alive in a cruel and dangerous post-apocalypse. Skills are abilities you gain in play that augment the natural abilities that you, as a person, have so that you are able to enhance your character’s abilities above and beyond your real-world capabilities. Stats are the core abilities of how tough your character is, what kind of mental fortitude they possess, or even how many times they can die before coming back as a zombie. You can even unlock more powerful versions of the starting skills called Professions as you continue to play the game and progress your character.

Starting Body & Mind Suggestions

• Mind Points let you use Development Skills. You can never go wrong with spending XP on Mind points, but if you don’t take a Development Skill you shouldn’t spend XP on this Stat.

• You should try to buy Mind points in intervals of “5”. If you start with an odd number of Mind, plan to spend your starting points on raising your Mind. Most skills in the game need 1, 5, 10, or 15 Mind points to use, so if you have an odd number of Mind points you might not be able to use them effectively.

• Every character starts with at least 5 Mind. If you don’t take one of the Development Skills, you likely won’t use your Mind at all during a game. We recommend most characters take at least one Basic Development Skill for this reason.

• When purchasing Body, remember that most attacks hit in variants of 5, 10, 15, or 20 damage. Having 1 more Body than a common attack means you can survive one powerful unblocked attack from a threat. We recommend at least 11, 16, or 21 Body for these reasons.

Starting Impact Skill Suggestions

• Some good starting combat-oriented Impact Skills are Blinding, Break, Takedown, or Piercing Strike. These work against most enemies in the game, but certain types of enemies may be immune to skills like Blinding and Break.

• There are three primary defensive skills in Avoid, Balance, and Mental Endurance. These are all defenses against most enemies in the game, but Avoid is a VERY good first skill, as it lets you avoid the negative effects of most single melee or ranged attacks in game. This will help you survive until the end of the event!

• Some additional less combat-focused Impact Skills that are useful are Double Tap, First Aid, Trap Dis/Arming, and Salvaging. These are great choices if you don’t want to engage in much boffer fighting but still want to feel useful.

• First Aid is a great skill for a combat medic type role. This skill will help you save your allies in a fight, or simply patch people up after the skirmish is over. You can even use this skill without spending a use to Stabilize someone for free, so this is a handy skill to have.

• Stealth is an amazing skill for survival. Most enemies can’t detect you while you are using this skill, so this can be an excellent way for a new player to survive a tough fight at night or simply get back to your bunk safely.

Starting Aberrant Skill Suggestions

• Some good starting combat-related Impact Skills are Biogenetics, Psychic Propulsion, Telekinetics, and Pyrokinetics. The Development Skill Necrokinetics can be a quick way to get involved in learning more about the mysterious Grave Mind.

• Biogenetics is the stand out Aberrant Impact Skill for new players, allowing for quick emergency healing in the middle of a fight that is faster than skills like First Aid or Medical. Biogenetics is the only healing skill that can immediately heal a wounded ally for 2 Body. All other forms of healing need more time to heal or are very limited without specific equipment. Many players chose to be an Aberrant and take this skill simply because of how useful it is.

• The two faithful Aberrant Development Skills, Faithful Miracles and Faithful Will allow you to provide powerful buffs for people that share your same faith. These are great choices if you want to pursue a role as a priest or faith leader in game, but you can participate in a faith or use most Benedictions even if you aren’t psionic.

Starting Development Skill Suggestions

• Some good starting Civilized skills are Artisan, Agricultural, Education, Culinary, or Medical.

• Basic Medical is particularly useful for a new character, as it only requires 1 Mind to use! Since you can heal 10 Body per 1 Mind spent, this is the most efficient healing in the game. You can even help others and regain some of your spent Mind!

• Artisan is used to repair and craft equipment like weapons, armors, and gizmos, and can allow you to repair armor for only 1 Mind point. Culinary is used to craft consumable items like meals and brews, and Education is used to craft Blueprints.

• Foraging can allow you to collect Foraging cards you find across the game site and can be turned in for useful scrap and resources. However, since it costs at least 5 Mind to turn in a Foraging card for scrap, you’ll only be able to do this a few times without help.

• Agricultural is an always useful skill, as one of the few ways to make Herbs, while Travel allows you to purchase Produce. These two items are used in most Culinary recipes. Even if you can only do this a few times, these items are always in high demand.

• Criminal Influence is a CvC related skill, or Character-vs-Character. This can be a fun way to play the game but may involve into conflict with your fellow survivors. This can get you access to the Black Market, or the secretive assassin’s guild, Murder Inc. Talk to our New Player Guides if you’d like to learn more about the shady side of criminal behavior!

• We recommend that you save skills like Financial Influence and Travel for later, as these are more useful with more access to in-game Currency and XP. If you are an Elitariat, taking Financial Influence can allow you to use your Lineage Advantage. Travel is the cheapest Mind cost of the two to use at first but requires at least 5 local currency to use.