What’s Different in DR:TX?

Each season, we have a lot of travelers coming out to our live events for the first time. 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.

WELCOME TO BRAVADO!

First, let’s talk about the basic story setting. We have a LOT of information about our story, the characters, and the setting on our website. I encourage to explore and see what cool stories you can find online.

Read more about the DR:TX Lore Introduction

Here’s a short blurb describing our setting’s core story:

New Bravado was once a boomtown built on the promise of wealth, status and discovery before the fall of the San Saba Board. The Blastlands that make up the San Saba; the greater region upon which New Bravado resides, are irradiated and unforgiving to the fragile Survivors who brave them.  From the empty sands of the Dune Sea, to the forgotten ruins of once grand settlements, the wasteland is a cruel and brutal mistress.

Built by its own citizens, Bravado is a frontier town whose identity and relevancy are now staked almost entirely on The Ox, one of the few remaining locomotives built from the detritus of broken construction equipment, several derelict train cars and a single jet engine.  While the Ox once rocketed across the greater wastes at ludicrous speeds to deliver raw products and finished goods to their respective markets, the quickly decaying network of rails now only stretches between a few remaining settlements.

Beneath the city, in the ruddy clay of yesteryear, lie the bones of an ancient Facility - fossilized in the stratum below the surface by eons of disuse and quietude. Rare metals, scrap and salvage are harvested from within, wiring pulled from ancient and unknowable machines, steel plating ripped from walls, and glass and metals gathered from forgotten workshops below.  Despite the arcane script of Lost Barogue inscribed on walls below, only the Delvers and diggers who work for the Railroad Conglomerate seem to care any longer for the forgotten secrets within, and the howls of mutated Semper Morts that lurk in the shadows. 

Below them all, below the quiet streets of New Bravado, beneath the Facility and below what lurks beneath that, the Mortis Amaranthine churns with all the whirling surety of a meat grinder, and it waits inevitably for its time and its turn.  As the radioactive nightmare of the Exclusion Zone nearby seems to wane, new strange blue mushrooms absorbing and consuming the dangerous radiation within, the balance of the Grave Mind seems to have shifted.

Left alone to their own devices, doomed to repeat that which has been lost to a fog of memories, and ignored by once allies, New Bravado has entered a tenuous epoch during which its future is unsure, but its potential is vast. It will be up to the citizens of this ghost town to survive new threats and challenges from within and abroad, and to make a mark on history that can never be forgotten.

RADICAL TRUST

Our philosophy in DR:TX involves RADICAL TRANSPARENCY and RADICAL TRUST. We will trust you to do the right thing, and we will trust you to know your own limits and when you need to enforce your own boundaries. We will provide you the tools to be successful, and we will always attempt to give you the information you need up front. We will assume the best from you, particularly when it comes to rules in the field, on zones of mechanics, or during our fights.

WE HAVE A SAYING IN DR:TX — IT’S EVERYONE’S FIRST GAME SOMETIME

Be kind to one another.

We are going to make mistakes, and it’s the first live game for someone out there. No matter your experience, no matter who you meet in the field, assume it’s their first game and give them the benefit of the doubt, grace when someone makes a mistake, and assume positive intent always!

Our HISTORY runs DEEP…

The DR:TX game has been running consecutively for almost THIRTEEN years! Over the space of each edition we’ve added to the vibrant fabric of our story and our world with each and every game. There’s a LOT to learn, but we’ve written some useful guides to consider with some “in game” knowledge a character familiar with this area might know. You are free to adapt this information into your role play, or try to learn it from a local in game.

But, for those folks that want the short and sweet, here it is:

  • Bravado is near a major intersection of the Oxline, and it’s the home base of the Ox, the massive locomotive that leads the fleet of the Railroad Conglomerate, a wealthy and powerful faction in the region.

  • At least two wars have been fought over Bravado, the Hiway War and the War of Antlers. The last war was ended just a few months ago by the folks near this town. Bravado was the site of the last battle of the war, and is a place of historical significance.

  • Something important and valuable is suspected to be trapped under the town, and people once flocked to Bravado in search of fortune and adventure. However, despite the allure and wealth of the tunnels below the town, it seems like the town is being slowly forgotten.

  • Bravado was responsible for ending the tyranny of the San Saba Board, a powerful conglomeration of the rich and powerful factions of the area. They fought back against the Chairman, Arthur Lovelace, and proved that a tiny town could have a big impact on the wasteland.

  • In the wake of the recent war, a person can make a name for themselves on the frontier. Every town needs able bodied help to defend against the undead and rebuild. Do work, get paid!

…but the past is fading quickly.

One of the themes this season in the Lone Star is “The Death of a Future". When the San Saba Board fell, their vision for the future fell with them.  Without a central force encouraging trade, repairing the rail lines, and helping keep lines of communication open, the San Saba has quickly collapsed into a series of city-states.  Without a greater incentive or need to care about other towns, this inward focus has ended much of the technological advancement that the Board once promised. 

Rail lines are only reliable closer to the main area around Bravado, and generally only for the wealthy or fool-hardy.  Most telegraph lines are gone, salvaged for scrap or destroyed as sabotage during the war.  The RRC has abandoned the outer rail systems towards Gatorland or Hell Dorado, and virtually no one can make a trip into the Dune Sea any longer.  The fleet of locomotives that once connected the region is dwindling, and the RRC and others are reluctant to risk the Ox on anything but the safest and most patrolled routes.

As such railroad technology is our setting is advanced, but fading quickly. There are also a few particular oldcester relics in our setting that defy understanding, in the recently crashed flying city now known as Bastion, or the far away lost city of Barogue. These locations are primarily featured “off camera” and during special events but represent a trove of post-fall technologies that are misunderstood and coveted by the powers that seek control of the San Saba. These will never be things that players can recreate or control, but they are a portion of our setting.

COMBAT IS TOUGH!

One common bit of feedback we hear from travelers is something we take pride in: our combat can be tough! Texas has a vibrant culture of “stick jocks”, as we have many of players that also participate in Amtgard, Dagohir, or other high-energy boffer LARPS in the area. This means that some of those zombies and raiders you face in the field might be more talented than you’ve come to expect in your local game. Texas is also one of the older games in the network, so some of our folks have been playing Dystopia Rising for 10 years or longer!

We also have a high combat tempo. We take pride in building our mod schedule around making sure there is always a “bump in the night”. While the daytime hours tend to be a bit lighter than normal, the nights can be deadly. Buildings aren’t always safe either. Often (and especially at night), threats can interrupt crafting, break through doors, and intrude on player spaces.

During a shift, we have regular combat threats we dub WHITE NOISE. These regular groups of threats are often in play with a turn around time of about 30 minutes. We cycle our NPCs to allow rest breaks and such, but we strive to have content for combat characters as well as roleplay characters. We might even have multiple groups of monsters in the wastes or longer lasting fights, with multiple spawns each time, or extremely dangerous local threats.

We do have one window of time that is completely safe - the SIESTA. From 2:00 pm on Saturday to 4:00 pm, we will have NO combat NPCs in play. While there can be a few individual NPCs or other Casted Characters that can still be dangerous, there will be no roaming hordes or raiders during this time. It’s a perfect time to enjoy a meal with your friends, take a quick nap, or complete that expensive Artisan project in relative peace.

“DO WORK, GET PAID”

One phenomenon of DR:TX is an embrace of the capitalistic hellscape of the wastes. The phrase “do work, get paid” is a common saying in our game, and it reflects that the folks of the area value the labor of a hard day’s work and the skills they can bring to the table. From contracts and taxes, to political intrigue, it dominates life in Bravado. It’s a Lone Star tradition!

We’ve always had a vibrant in-game economy in Texas, harking back to tradition of “pulling ourselves up by our boot straps” in 2.0. We run various money sinks, Zones of Mechanics, and plots that work to remove Brass and items from the game, so players have had to become a bit more self-sufficient. You might find prices here different than you’ve come to expect in your home game. You might get asked to tip a crafter for a Repair, asked to pay up front for healing services from a medic, or even find additional ways to spend money with the Post Office. However, most forms of payment are accepted, and while folks might prefer Brass Notes, other currencies and Trade Notes are commonly accepted by our players.

There are always a few Sainthood or others willing to help a Duster, but barter and trade is the nature of the world in the San Saba. So, maybe you didn’t make a crafter, or an Elitariat, or maybe you are just new to town. What’s the best way to get by?

Simply participate in the game! We have neat Work Orders that can help any player earn some local currency, and we have various Zones of Mechanics, merchants, and other ways to earn a living in the wastes. There’s always a way to earn a Brass for those willing to work!

CASUAL VIOLENCE & CVC

Another aspect of Bravado is a tradition of Casual Violence. In the spirit of the old westerns and outlaw stories, folks in these parts tend to walk around ARMED. The phrase “talk shit, get hit” is a common soliloquy, and non-deadly CVC is not only allowed, but encouraged! A good old fashioned tavern brawl can erupt, but just as often those folks are back at the bar afterwards buying each other a drink after the fun. After all, in Bravado, a “polite society is an armed society”.

Feel free to throw up a “C” to ask for consent, and be ready to defend yourself! You can read more about the rules for CVC in the Moment in an article on our website, and you can always use the OK Check-In system, but friendly duels and fights are part of our culture. In general, as long as you don’t break the laws, combat is simply another way of getting to know the residents of town

Our Wasteland is also HUGE, covering the entirety of the game site (with a few common-sense exceptions like bathrooms and the kitchen), so there’s plenty of opportunity to embrace CVC in the Wasteland as well.

However, in game theft does not happen in game as often, as a whole.

That’s not to say it doesn’t happen, but it’s worth making sure you have the rules and the laws of Bravado in mind. We have several in-game Law Dogs, and characters capable of enforcing the laws of the town should a thief be caught, and those consequences can often be deadly. Thieves and assassins can attract the wrong type of attention quickly. Make sure you remember the rules of CVC regarding theft — I wrote a few sections on this in my guide on CVC Theft.

ZONES OF MECHANICS & INTERACTIVE PLAY

We have a number of ways in our game of interacting with a “silent Storyteller” in the form of Zones of Mechanics, or ZOMs. These will be found throughout play, in modules, and even posted publicly in a few places on high-visibility yellow paper. This is a mechanic we use infrequently, and we’ve developed some fun ways to interact with the story without needing Guides or NPCs.

These ZOMs will offer ways to interact with the story from a mechanical perspective and might require you to complete a certain task, spend a use of an Impact Skill, spend Mind with a Development Skill, or gather certain items. The instructions for how to use these will be included on the sheet, and we’ve added a few lighted clipboards for those ZOMs out in the field at night.

We also have a number of Zones of Play that have props and tools for kinetic roleplay while using skills like Artisan, Culinary, or Agricultural. Each of these zones has some neat things to incorporate, and we hope that you enjoy the hard work our Props and Settings team has put into bringing these areas to life.

  • Artisan Crafting Zone - The Depot

  • Culinary Crafting Zone - The Depot, and The Dive

  • Agricultural Zone - The Meadows

OUR FOOD CULTURE IS GREAT!

We have some AMAZING culinary artists in Texas. Following that focus on economy and the idea of “do work, get paid”, another pillar of this type of play is frequently found in Bravado — FOOD. One of the surest ways to earn money and get rich in Dystopia Rising is to provide food, drinks, and treats in game in exchange for currency.

Turbo’s 3rd Rule of Getting Rich - Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Make Millionaires

“The single greatest way to earn money is by supplying food and drink in a moment of need.  The richest folks I know got there not by farming herb or gathering scrap, but by selling a grilled cheese sandwich to a hungry survivor.  I’ll spend way more Brass over a weekend on hooch and food that I ever will on scrap and herb.”

If you find a vendor for tasty snack in game, save a few Brass for a pick me up in the middle of the day, from ice cream, popsicles, pizza, cookies, pickles, and more. Make sure to compliment the character, pick up after yourself after you are done, and enjoy!

An actual charcuterie board from one of our games.

the GRAVE BELL & The grave tax

In Texas, we use a team of trained Specialized Storytellers to run our Gravemind Scenes. These Guides will lead you through your death scene just like an ST would in another game, help you calibrate the scene to your character and your comfort level, and provide you the tailored roleplay experience of the Mortis Amaranthine.

In game, the Grave Council is responsible for the common task of helping guide an unfortunate soul through the Mortis Amaranthine and providing the support necessary to complete the transition in one piece. When a person sinks into the Mortis, the Grave Bell at the Crossroads tolls three times. This alerts the local graverobbers, and the town, that someone is imminently passing through the Morgue.

If you yourself sink into the Mortis, please proceed out-of-character to the Grave Bell and ring it three times, then proceed to the Grave Council Annex (Ops) to await Storyteller assistance.

When the Groundskeepers help you emerge unscathed, the Grave Tax is usually assessed. This fee is assigned based on the nature of the death and can also be deferred or transferred by the Justices of Sin. Carelessness can lead to morgue collapse, corruption and worse, and the balance of the Mortis must be constantly maintained.

THE LAWS OF THE SAN SABA

Like many of the settlements in the wastes, our town has several Laws in place. These laws are enforced by both NPCs and PCs, so be warned about participating in deadly CVC. We talked a bit about the casual violence of the setting and our town, but the cardinal sins of murder, theft, and endangering the town are also things to consider.

  • The procedure of harvesting and manufacturing, distributing and possessing crystal candy and its by-products is a crime.

  • None shall interfere with the Justice of Sin’s dispensation of justice and punishment, Delivery of the Post, the Broadcast of radio, the Publication and Distribution of the press, nor the Collection of the Grave Tax.

  • Acts of non-lethal violence are the prerogative of the Wastes, and are a protected right. But to steal the Infection of the Body or the Work of the Hands of a Citizen, is forbidden.

  • Murder of a Citizen, regardless of the final status of their Infection, is forbidden.

  • The Grave Council shall not be barred from the entrance or maintenance of the Bravado Morgue.

Generally, don’t steal, don’t kill, and don’t mess with the morgue and you’ll be fine. Note that due to the illegality of trafficking in psionic crystals and byproducts, Crystal Candy is a Contraband item, which means if one of the Law Dogs finds this on your person or catches you selling it, you could be in for a bad time!

Common Logistics Questions

  • What is the address of your site?

    • 14750 Camp Kachina Rd, Belton, TX 76513

    • The camp site is a well known location, and you should be able to easily find driving directions on any service like Google Maps or Apple Maps.

  • What’s the nearest Airport?

    • Dallas (DFW/is about three and a half hours from the site, and offers two major airports at DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field. Rental cars are generally available from all of the major vendors for the trip south, and you can seek out ride share options on our Discord server under #travel-planning

    • Austin (AUS) is the closet airport to our site, with the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport available for arrivals. However, the weekend that we are hosting our event will have some major competing events in the area so we recommend booking tickets and car rentals soon.

  • What’s nearby your site?

    • There are a few restaurants in Morgan’s Point, a few minutes away from camp with a BBQ and Mexican restaurant being the easiest to find.

    • There is a Walmart about 15 minutes away from camp in nearby Belton. There are also a Starbucks, Whataburger, and several other fast food restaurants in this same general area. If you are willing to travel closer to I-35, you can find most any restaurant or genre you might be craving.

    • There are CareNow and other Urgent medical care locations nearby in Belton should an emergency occur. The closest emergency hospital to site is the Baylor Scott & White Medical Center.

    • We hold our afters at Dynasty Restaurant on Sunday afternoons, and plan a reservation for food and socials after our games.

  • What amenities does our site offer?

    • Bluebonnet Shores is a fully-functional Girl Scout camp site with clean running water, an industrial kitchen, climate controlled cabins, and lots of open air cabin space and well maintained trails. Tenting areas are also available, and we offer an additional CAPs reward for those that choose to bring their own tents.

    • The majority of beds available on the site are platform beds with a foam mattress topper, a little smaller than twin sized. We recommend players bring additional blankets, sleeping bags, or sheets to put over the mattresses, and air mattresses or other padding can improve the quality of your sleep.

    • Each of these open air cabins sleeps about 4 people, plus room for an air mattress. Most open air cabins do not have access to electricity.

    • Our site has kitchen access, microwave access, refrigerator access in most major cabins, and a very nice shower building in the center of the camp with hot water and private bathroom stalls. There are other open air shower buildings, but these are much more primitive.

    • There are many Fire pits around the site, but you must watch any fire and extinguish it after use. We may have a prohibition against campfires if the local county has declared a burn ban. Pay attention to our social media pages prior to the event, as we will announce any Burn Bans in advance.

    • There is no sex, drugs, alcohol, or smoking on our site. If you must smoke, you must leave the site completely to do so.

  • How do the Sleeping Arrangements work?

    • Most sleeping spaces are first come, first served (with the except of Med Sleep and our New Player Cabins). You can coordinate sleeping arrangements with fellow travelers, or reach out on our Discord server (#travel-planning) to plan. Take a look at our Site Information to see what’s available. We have plenty of places for folks to tent, and there are several offsite options available in Airbnbs and nearby hotels. 

  • How do I find a ride to a game?

    • Reach out on our Discord server (#travel-planning) to plan with fellow travelers or coordinate with players across Texas. Public transit isn’t readily viable in Texas outside of major metropolitan areas, so please plan accordingly. 

  • How does the Medical Cabin work?

    • Please email us should you need to request medical accommodations

    • Medical Sleep Cabin priority will be given to folks who need electricity for CPAP and other machines, or who must be undisturbed during sleep (out of game sleep). If you need Medical Sleep, you must email us in advance at info@dystopiarisingtx.com. The medical cabin, labeled OAK CABIN on our camp maps, is also a non-combat zone after dark due to the large amount of rocky terrain around this building. 

  • I have to leave the event early. What are my options for early clean up?

    • We have several options for folks who need an early clean up. Our full Opt Out package includes an opt out for clean up (as well as an NPC opt out and max XP),  but these are limited in number. We also offer a few opportunities for an early clean up shift throughout the event, and you can sign up for one of them during Check-In on Thursday and Friday. These slots are first come, first served. 

    • Sign up at site for early cleanup and let us know if you need to leave early.