Personal Plot Request Expectations

Howdy, Wastelanders!

And welcome to our next segment of Pro-Tip Thursday! Our next game is quickly coming upon us in just two weeks (and some change). Even though this is our last game for the season, there is a topic I’d like to touch base on and that’s the process of our personal plot requests. 

But first, what is a personal plot request? There is a lovely form on our website (dystopiarisingar.com/plot-request-1) where you can request a plot that is specific to you and your character. Did you have a fun one-off engagement with a plot from the last game and want to deep dive into it more? You can submit that request here! Want to resolve something from your backstory? You guessed it, submit it there.

The form is very simple and prompts responses to help the Experience Design team understand what it is you’re looking for in this plot. You can even request a specific writer! So if I know I’m wanting a PPR and know that there is a specific writer that I work well with, I can request them. Please note that when you request a PPR to be run, you are agreeing to spending 50 Arkansas CAPs for this. 

Once the request has been submitted, it is sent to the Experience Design team. They’ll have a brief discussion and assign a writer to your plot. They’ll share the submission form with the writer so that they have all the information. Then, that writer will reach out to you for further information and to touch base on the plot. It’s that easy! Your partnered writer will work closely with you to ensure you’re getting the experience you are looking for. It may not be exactly what you have envisioned, but they’ll get it as close as possible. 

Some things to keep in mind when submitting your PPR is timing. This year, we had an astronomical amount of PPR and PFA requests. Because of this combined with writing story for the overarc plot, the experience design team has had to shuffle priorities. If you submit a PPR request two weeks before a live game, please be aware that it may get pushed back to the next game. For example - if I were to submit a PPR two weeks before the November game, a member on the experience design team (probably Truate or Cody) would reach out and let me know the time frame of when the story can be run. It’s not because they hate the request or the person who submitted it. It’s purely because they’re trying to prioritize stories and flow of the game for that upcoming weekend. 

Since we’re already two weeks away from the November game, any PPRs that come through now may end up being put on hold until next season. In next season, we’ll have moved from the 3.0 system to DR Live. It is possible that the PPR process will change with the new rule set. So just always keep an eye on announcements and Pro-Tip segments for the most up-to-date news in regards to PPRs. 

If you have any questions, comments, concerns about PPRs and our process for them, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Stay safe, stay hydrated, and we’ll see you in the wastes!

NPC Shift Expectations

Hello Wastelanders! Thank you, Curtis, for letting me take a brief break on pro-tip Thursday prompts. Who’s ready for Fear Fest this week? I know Nikki, myself, and our 10 thousand nemesis are! Just kidding. Or am I? Jokes aside, today’s topic is very much a serious one - NPC Shift Expectations. We have a handful of new faces and it’s always good to review things veteran players may know but not have explained.

 NPC Hours

When you purchase tickets for a Dystopia Rising event, you have an option to select how many hours of an NPC shift you’d like to work. For Arkansas, we have a higher priced ticket that allows players to not take part in an NPC shift. There's a limited number of those tickets so the moment tickets go live, they’re the first to go. That leaves you with a 4 hour NPC shift ticket, a 6 hour NPC shift ticket, or a free all-weekend NPC ticket. When you pre-register and check-in for the event, You can select what time blocks you’d like to be on the NPC shift. You can break it up into multiple sessions throughout the weekend, or pick a block of time that works best for you. In my experience, it’s best to choose your back-to-back sessions. That way there’s not an interruption between transitioning from being your character to NPC. 

Now, let’s say you didn’t pre-register or check-in for the event before showing up at the site. When you check-in at the post office, they will assign NPC shifts for you based on what ticket you purchased! Super easy.

The “Unspoken” Expectations

When you sign up for an NPC shift, there are a few rules and expectations that are attached with it.

1. When people in character say that they have a shift coming up on the “wall”, they’re referring to their NPC shift. 

2. Wear NPC black. Black shirt, black pants, comfy shoes.No graphic tee-shirts unless they are a Dystopia Rising AR Guide shirt.

3. Remove any markings/makeup that your character wears in game and come in as a blank slate.

4. Show up to your NPC shift at least 10 minutes early. 

5. If you are late to your shift, please remain on the shift to compensate for the time appropriately. For example, if I showed up 10 minutes late to my shift, I would stay 10 minutes past my scheduled shift to make up the time. 

6. If something comes up and you are unable to attend your NPC shift OR you need to adjust your time, you must inform Truate as soon as possible. If you cannot find Truate, find Curtis. If neither of these individuals are available, go to the post office first and ask if one of them OR a guide can reach out to Truate to inform.

7. Just because you selected a specific NPC shift online does NOT mean that you were given that time frame. When you check in and get your character sheet, check the top right side where it says “shifts” and review the times there.

8. If you are a non-combat player, you will be sent on mods as a non-combat!

9. We are here to tell a story and make a memorable experience, not just murder hobo your friends.

10. Bring a water bottle.

All that being said, there is another role that ALL players participate in at the end of the weekend - cleanup and game breakdown. This is an essential part of our weekend. We have to work together to get out of site in a timely manner. If you are planning on leaving game early, please communicate with Curtis & Truate the moment you know. That way, you still play a part in camp cleanup but are able to leave at the time you’re needed to. Now, if there’s an emergency that’s popped up, still communicate with Curtis, Truate, or a guide and take care of business.

Ultimately, we get it. Things happen and we lose track of time when we’re having fun. But let’s hold ourselves accountable and not give your poor Ops Guide a heart attack. It’s me, I’m that Ops Guide.

Well, Fear Fest starts tomorrow. I look forward to seeing you all there and cannot wait for some incredible story moments for the weekend. Remember your rules!

Pro-Tip Thursday Information gathering!

Hello Survivors! Welcome to Pro-Tip Thursday! 

I asked Lauren very nicely if I could write today’s Pro-Tip and she said yes. So today you are going old school and Curtis has some things he wants to make sure that everyone knows how to do! 

So let's get Started!!!!   

So the Topic today is How to get information and how to verify information.  

To begin you have to understand that we have several different plots happening at the same time. We have an Overarc plot that threads the entire season together. If you are not paying attention the Overarc this season has to do with ants. Big ants. Big ants that are getting bigger and smart. Almost like they are evolving. This is a big plot and it's affecting a lot of things around our community.

There are also smaller plots that are happening as well. For those who were at our last game, there was an embargo by the Regal Family. That affected the town big time. We have Fear Fest coming up. These are all smaller plots that can happen.

Then you add Personal Plot request and Master Skill mods request that can change the landscape as well. We have Criminal mods, Financial Mod, and just good old combat mods. So many things can happen at a trade. You as a player interact with these things. Our game is a choose your own adventure game. Where you go and get involved in what you want to do. You make choices and the page turns. Then we add your choices to everyone else's choices. So keeping up with everything can be very difficult.  It's so easy to lose the thread of the story or miss important things. Some of those things you missed may come back to haunt you. Choices other players made can come back to haunt you.  

So having information from the right source becomes really important.  

Let's start with a low level information source. The hook who comes out to start a mod. They will tell you what the job is and why it's important. The hook is normally a low level npc. Even if they are from a particular faction within the town ( Iron Tusk, Tarbucks, Three daggers ect ect) These guys are like low level employees around the world. They will not be a solid source of information for anything other than the job they are there for. They may have some solid intel you need and they will try to get you to hear it. But they won't be able to explain a high level request for information. For that you need to speak to the FACE NPC for that faction. 

A Face NPC is the person who is leading that faction right now. For this example we are going to use BIG RED who is the leader of the Tarbucks financial faction. That is the person with the real answers. You may have a special relationship with them and maybe be carrying a favor token from them. But they might not be out and about during a trade. This is where the Post office comes into play. You have a question for a leader of a faction, write them a letter. The response will most likely be the correct answers that you need. If you need to ask even more questions then head down to Ops and speak to the Ops guide who is running the game at that time. If they can't answer they will call Truate on the Radio or we will find the writer to make sure the information you need is accurate and in your hands. 

It's also helpful to know where to go to ask particular questions.  During game information we have a hierarchy of knowledge.  This is how it looks.

Guide: 

The Guide in the field is the first line of communication and therefore the most important link in the communication chain.   The Guides are working hard to help make things run smoothly.  They may know some of the answers you may be looking for or they can help you find the right path to answers.  All guides who are running mods will have a radio to call for help if needed.

Ops Desk /  Post Office: 

During an active game these two locations are information hubs.  The guides at these locations are well versed in their separate realms of control of the game.   

The Ops desk is where to take questions of Rules or Plot.    They also have a radio to reach out to owners/directors if its an issue they cannot handle

The Post Office is where to go to ask about blueprints, materials or other logistic issues. They also have a radio to reach out to owners/directors if there is an issue they cannot handle. 

Employees:

The following employees are responsible for specific information.   

Nikki Robertson is the Lead Logistic Employee.  She is the head postie! 

Ian McReynolds Is the Lead Guide Employee.   Running Ops desk during the weekend and making rules calls  

Beth Bearden is our Lead Settings Employee.  She is responsible for making the camp look good! Ask her about props or settings 

Cody Padgett is our Lead Writer.  If you have questions about the story. He is your guy! 

Lauren Meyers is our Marketing lead.  Her work is the marketing info you see during the month.  

Owners/Directors: 

At the bottom of the pyramid we find our owners and Directors.  

Truate Bearden is our Experience Design Director.  He is the final word on story and rules and anything in-game.

Curtis Haines is our Community management director and customer service director.  I am the one who deals with the interpersonal problems and problems that arrive with the physical camp. I am very helpful and want to make life better for everyone but may not know what everything is happening in the story.  I will even go to Truate for story questions because I am not always 100% sure what is happening and if I get an answer wrong I will come tell you I was wrong. 

Information on what is happening is super important. If something is happening and you are trying to figure out what to do about it. Try submitting some research to get the answers you need. Looking to find a solution to a problem and you want to test an idea? Fill out a research page and turn it into ops. Every player can ask questions this way. You may have more bonuses and help based on your skills and knowledge.  

The most important thing to remember is that you have to be proactive in finding out these answers. It requires you to get involved and track things down. The game will not hand you the solution on a platter. It may hand you a solution but not the best one for you or the rest of the town.  Plus help each other out. We are stronger if we are working together. I know that this is hard to do sometimes because there is so much going on. But if we are working together as a town we can do a great deal together. 

Remember the only question that is stupid is the one that goes unasked. That is what Rules Guides, Cord Guides and Ops guides are there for. They will either be able to answer the question or help you find the answer. 

Till Next time Survivors!!! 

See you in the waste! 

Time to welcome DR LIVE!

Good Afternoon everyone! I am sorry to pop up in the middle of the day but I have news about the Future of DR Live.

Last week, the owners met with National to get a plan together for starting DR Live. National had hit the point were it was time to make a decision on moving forward due to the expense and time put into DR Live.
There was a vote and it was passed that we are moving forward with DR Live as the preferred method of gaming in Dr. The second vote was when this is happening. It has passed that our new contracts will be signed in January and All games are expected to start Playing DR Live by the end of April.

You can listen to the entire meeting here:

https://lime-garlic-dnkz.squarespace.com/network-meeting-records/network-advisory-board-meeting-2024-q3

I know this is some pretty big news. I also know there are going to be a lot of questions about this development. Some I can answer right now and others will have to wait until we have worked everything out. A immediate question I believe people will be asking is " what does this mean for us?"

To begin, It means we will be ending all stories up by our December Online event. If you are currently working on a PFA you will have until the end of the year to get it done. We will not be accepting any more PFA request. What is in the system right now will be finished for the end of year. All plots we are working on will hopefully finish this year.

Our plan to move forward next year looks like our normal plans. We will have a writers retreat to start our writer planning. We will have a Guide retreat to make sure everyone is trained and ready to go when we start playing. We will help everyone make the change over to the new system the best we can.

What is not changing is our community. We will tell fun stories in the woods while we whack our friends with foam sticks. We will embrace the return to the horror factor of our game and the game will be returning to the risky days of yore. We will do it together. We are ready to learn and decide what is best for us in our game and we will continue to have fun.


I know its a big deal and for those of us who have gone through one version change already we have a good grasp on how to make things easier for everyone. I will be hanging out tonight online starting around 7pm if you want to jump in a discord channel and talk about things.

Remember everyone. We are because you are. we are in this together and we will move forward and have fun!

Metagaming and Me

Howdy, Wastelanders! 

And welcome to today’s Pro-Tip Thursday! Special topic today - Metagaming. Let’s dig in!

Metagaming is a common term that we’ve all heard before in ANY role playing game. But it all means the same thing. Metagaming is taking out of character knowledge and using that knowledge to make in-game decisions or actions even though your character should have no knowledge of the topic. 

An example of metagaming would be this. Let’s say Nikki and I are just hanging out OUTSIDE of the game. It’s an off week and we’re not onsite, let alone in our kits. But we’re discussing our characters, motivations, etc. Nikki discloses to me that her character, Shelagh, has a fracture that makes Shelagh go on a murder spree. Obviously, Nikki is nervous about it because it could cause some major friction with her character and has the possibility of CvC. Next game comes around and I remember that Nikki discloses to me about Shelagh’s fracture. So the first thing that I do as my character, Sierra, is to go fix her fracture without any medical checks or speaking to her about it. Sierra just goes and does it. Because I made Sierra react to the out of game information, I just metagame.

“But Lauren, how do I differentiate between out of game knowledge and in character knowledge?! Sometimes I get confused.” Super fair, random voice that I gave life to in order to transition to this next point. There are many ways to check if information you are gathering is in character or out of character. For example, if you’re not in the game space and you’re just shooting the shit with your friends, what you tell them there is treated as out of character knowledge. 

That being said, sometimes there are moments in game where that line gets blurred due to various reasons. In that case, you can use the out of character symbol (closed fist held on top of head) and go find a guide to ask for a clarification. Then, you can act accordingly with the response you’ve been given.

There are also moments out of the game that you can set up for in character knowledge. For example, we have two discord channels that are titled with “IC”. “IC” is “In Character”. Anything shared in those channels are in fact in character and common knowledge. Some folks will have soft RP chats outside of the game. Obviously, that information shared in those channels and spaces are in character knowledge and can be acted upon. If you can’t remember if specific information you’re wanting to act on is in-game or out of game knowledge, RP it where you’re finding out information again or ask a guide if it’s common knowledge. That way, you’re protecting yourself from any potential missteps or errors.

Let’s talk about the in-character (IC) and out of character (OOC) spaces at Rogers Scout Reservation. There are a handful of spaces at the site that are considered IC and OOC. Here’s that list:

OOC

• The entire site before 9:00 PM on Friday and the entire site after 12:00 PM on the following Sunday

• The medical cabin

• The lodge on the hill

• Personal tents and sleeping spaces

• Ops center (unless the Ops guide you’re with is working with you on something and specifies otherwise)

• DJ Yard (Where the cars are parked)

IC

• The entire site starting at 9:00PM Friday night until 12:00 PM Sunday afternoon

• Spaces OUTSIDE of sleeping areas

The tents can get a little convoluted sometimes. But those need to be treated as an out of character space overall. A lot of folks play different LC’s or NPCs and utilize their tent spaces to make the change of characters. That should not be held against a player. Let’s say that at  game, I decide that I want to play my alternative character. I’m going to my tent to change out of one kit and into another. If another character takes the chance to trail and follow Sierra to gather information/murder/whatever, they have up until I get into my tent to make an action. Otherwise, they must treat the next person who steps out of the tent as a new face. Unless Sierra herself steps back out. If that’s the case, then they can resume as normal.

Remember where the in-character spaces are. Whatever you say in the character spaces are considered in-character as long as no one is making the out of character symbol. So if your character decides to LOUDLY whisper a secret to another character and some passerby catches it, that’s on your character. However, if you’re having out of game conversations with other players, ensure that you’re in a space in which you’re having the discussion is out of sight and earshot of other players. Please refrain from having out of character conversations that last more than a minute in in-character spaces.

Dystopia Rising isn’t just a physical combat game. There’s a myriad of social interactions that take place. We always ask people to respect the spirit of the game. Respect your fellow players and the space in which they’re sharing information. If you’re ever unsure, ask the clarifying question.

Now, go forth and have fun at game this weekend. Make good choices and stay safe in the wastes!

Antagonist Guide - Raiders

Hey hi and hello! Welcome to our next installment of Antagonist Guide. Previously, I’ve gone over critter and undead threats that are unique to the Riverlands. For our final group of antagonists, I’m excited to share with you our flavor of raiders - Kudzu Raiders. Yep, that’s right. The screaming, cannibalistic, kudzu covered raiders. There are three different types of Kudzu Raiders that roam the forests and marshy swamps in Quiet Hollows.

Kudzu Raiders are a sub-type of raiders. Instead of presenting as regular raiders covered in scavenged metals, weapons, etc., these kudzus are stealthy hunters. The main trait that separates Kudzu Raiders from regular Raiders is the Kudzu that grows from their body. Kudzu Raiders live in groups known as a Hive.

While not a Kudzu Raider, a scary raider never the less!

KudFace Raiders

These Kudzu Raiders serve more of a purpose of a recruiter. Bait. Their main purpose is to draw unsuspecting folks from their safety and into an ambush in the woods or the swamps. They can achieve this by mimicking the words and sounds of human conversation. Once they’ve got their target in their clutches, the trap is sprung. Their goal isn’t necessarily to consume their target, but plant tainted kudzu into their victims. So if you’re in the wastes or swamps late at night and you think you heard someone call out to you, no you didn’t. Keep walking.

Swampland Stalker

The Swampland Stalker is the primary hunter for the Kudzu Raider tribe. They make the treks into the dangerous areas to hunt unsuspecting prey. Primarily they are seen in the swamplands and forest areas. However if they’re desperate enough, they’ve even been known to push out to fishing settlements. If there’s one Swampland Stalker, there’s more to come. They work together as a hunting pack, using tactics on their targets.

Hive Guardian

These raiders are the strongest in the Hive and they have one goal - protect the Hive. Their bodies are covered in battle scars and wounds from their effort. Whereas the KudFace and Swampland Stalkers are crouched closer to the ground for stealth, the Hive Guardians are tall, broad, and intimidating. Not easy to tangle with. Oftentimes, they can be seen with massive shields and in very rare cases, leading the Kudzu Raiders to defend the Hive.

And that’s it! Raiders on a normal day are not exactly the best to deal with. Combine Raiders with the natural stealth that the Riverlands offers can make the mutated Raiders even more dangerous to deal with.

Travel safely, and we’ll see you in the wastes!

Antagonist Guide - Undead

Howdy, Wastelanders!

Last edition, we talked about the different types of threats you’ll face in the Quiet Hollows area. Specifically, critters. This week, we’re going to deep dive into our unique undead threat! Due to a lot of REDACTED information, Quiet Hollows is home to 9 unique undead creatures in addition to the normal undead shamblers, tanks, etc. And if you’ve been to a few of our games, especially in the last two trades in 2023, you may have even encountered some of these assholes. For this, I’m going to be focusing on the unique undead we see primarily (if not only) in Quiet Hollows. Not really going to be touching on shamblers, tanks, etc.

Once more, you can find all these undead at dystopiarisingar.com/undead

Unhallowed

They died, strongly believing in their faith. That belief carries with them, even after death. Wearing symbols, objects, and even markings on their flesh of what they embodied while they were alive, these undead have twisted their faith to turn against you.

Be on the lookout for the faith symbols on these undead - Double Tap won’t work unless you’re one of their faith.

Blessed Dead

Much like the Unhallowed, these are undead that died strongly in their belief of their faith. The Gravemind has twisted their spirits to be a mockery of what they once were. So much so, that they can call on the aid of those of the same faith to protect them. 

Beware when the undead bearing the markings of Sainthood, lest you face Johanna’s wooden spoon…

Fallen Angel

Fallen Angels are what the Gravemind creates when a paragon of a faith sinks for the final time. Passing thru the Mortis for the final time caused them to be warped into disgusting parodies of what they once were. 

Fallen Angel draws on the power of others of aligned faith - strain or undead. Much like the Blessed Dead and Unhallowed, they can only be truly killed by one of their faith.

Skullcaps

Upon initial glance you may think you are seeing a Bonehead, but there are subtle differences between the two. Skullcaps have crystals growing out of the back of their heads, which has caused their face to be pulled back tightly and reveal much of the bone underneath.

Skullcaps are known to invade the mind of those with weaker mental fortitude and cause them to fight their allies, protect the Skullcap, or flee in terror. 

Marionette

This higher mobility zed is a danger to those highly powerful warriors that take pride in leaving a field of corpses. Its Psionic power invades the mind of those with even the most discipline and fills the cracks with their intentions. You better be on guard when you see their glowing blue light combined with their head of crystals.

Puppet Master

Not much is known about the Puppet Master. Just that if you see a cheshire grin at the back of an undead horde, that’s probably it. More to be coming soon.

Gibberling

This crazed zed is the remains of what one who lost everything to the wastes. Previously a normal member of society, their mind became so fractured before their final walk that the Gravemind had little to do to weaponize this creature. It can cause much chaos on the battlefield as it scare the hell out of even the most veteran survivors!

Grotesque

This statuesque creature is as dangerous as it is creepy. It has the ability to stay perfect still for hours and even days at a time to stalk its prey. Should it find a suitable target it, it will dash towards them dealing as much damage as possible before consuming its meal. Should you try to swarm this threat it will defend itself with a psionic pulse to weaken all others in the area.

Radiant Beacon

This heavenly glow is not your friend, it is not your savior, it is death coming for you. Commonly accompanied by heavy fogs, this creature uses psionic energy to manipulate both the living and the dead. 

Woof. That’s a lot of unique undead to parse through. Take time to go through it. All the information available here is also information your character has in game!

Stay safe in the wastes!

Antagonist Guide - Critters

Howdy, Wastelanders!

Critters, raiders, and zed, oh my! There are so many creature encounters one can experience when visiting Quiet Hollows. And not all threats are strain related! During the fall, the levels of radiation have drastically changed not only humans' genetics to adapt to the new world, but creatures as well. There are a handful of different types of critters that can be found in the Riverlands. For today’s Pro-Tip Thursday, we’re going to explore the different types of critters that call the Riverlands their home.

Fire Ants

Boo.

Fire Ants are absolutely a newer critter threat to Quiet Hollows. But they make sure you can’t ignore them. These massive creatures are aggressive in nature and quick to kill threats in their way. Currently, Quiet Hollows is dealing with an ant infestation and they are the primary threat at this moment. Watch out if they bite at you! They tend to infect people with a Fire Ant Poison upon biting. Their chitin exteriors matched with their shitty attitude makes them a threat to be reckoned with. 

Iron Boars

Iron Boars were one of the first critters that we encountered in the Riverlands. These massive boars are incredibly difficult to stop and even harder to put down. When going toe-to-toe with the Iron Boars, be ready for a fight for your life. But be careful - the sounds of gunfire just pisses off the cantankerous beasts and will send them into a frenzy. Approach with caution.

Maneater Croc/Methgator

In the swamps of Quiet Hollows resides a couple of threats. One of those being a Maneater Croc and another is its cousin, the Methgator. These savage creatures have evolved to be even more ferocious than crocs or gators. Big difference between Maneater Croc and Methgator is the size and aggression level. Not only can they blend in well with their surroundings, they can resist having their limbs broken. Avoid the jaws of either creature - it will engage in a death roll with its prey.

Mindrender Murdeer

We all know aberrant or psionic usage attracts the weird and abnormal. One of those things is a Mindrender Murdeer. Take a slightly larger than normal deer, slap some crystals on it’s antlers, give it glowing eyes and a “fuck you” attitude, and you have a Mindrender Murdeer. They are incredibly territorial and absolutely abhor non-aberrants. If you use psionic abilities, they’re more likely to ignore you whereas if you have none, they’ll attempt to live up to their name and murder you.

Night Whooper/Longstrider

At night, you may hear a series of “whoops” that echo in the forest. This is the call to our local Night Whoopers. They’re also referred to as Longstriders to some! These bipedal creatures tend to show up only at night. However for dire situations, they will show up in the daytime. And as long as you’re super chill with them, no harm will come to you. However, if you attack and kill one, you will be marked for death from the creatures. 

Red Fox attempts to console a nervous Nightwhooper in the middle of day.

Racbears

Take a raccoon and a bear and smush it together. Congrats! That’s a Racbear. They are racoons the size of bears. Despite the fact that they are cute and cuddly, they are somewhat intelligent enough to steal from unsuspecting victim’s pockets. Every now and then, one will wield weapons like a raider!

Swampstrider

There is a semi-reptilian version of the Night Whooper known as a Swamptrider. Where the Night Whooper is fuzzy and looks like Bigfoot, the Swampstrider takes on a much more reptilian look, with sparse patches of fur. Much like the Maneater Crocs, this creature resides in the swamps and uses its natural surroundings as camouflage. It’s able to launch a ball of sludge at its targets, slowly burning the skin upon contact. Hope you’ve got great dodging skills if you wander the swamp!

Whoop-Ass Cranes

Be wary of whooping in the middle of the day. It is shortly followed behind the aptly named “Whoop-Ass Cranes.” Night time whoops, more likely Night Whoopers. Whoops in the day? Whoop-Ass Cranes. They love the color red and will collect it for their nests. Depending on the time of year will dictate their level of aggression. While these birds are a pain in the ass, they are incredibly delicious. 

A flock of Whoop-Ass Cranes make their way menacingly to the soon-to-be aware residents of Quiet Hollows.

And that’s all the critters you may encounter at our game! Who knew the Riverlands was home to so many different critters. For a deeper look into the critters and what characters know about them, you can visit https://www.dystopiarisingar.com/critters

Which critter is your favorite one to interact with?

Staying Engaged in Online Spaces

Howdy, Wastelanders!

And welcome to our next Pro-Tip Thursday. Tomorrow is our virtual game. While we’re ecstatic to bring this game to you, we also recognize that the online game is vastly different from an in-person game. Today, I’m going to bring you some tips, tricks, and guidance on how to stay immersed and engaged in the online setting. 

Role Playing (RP) with Players/NPCs

One of the beautiful things about playing in a virtual setting is the diversity of players that attend. People who typically can’t make a game all the way in Arkansas are able to attend virtually and test out the Arkansas flavor of Dystopia Rising. This is a great opportunity to meet new characters and people!

If you find yourself in a Discord channel working on something and someone pops by, give them a little wave. Introduce yourself. At the bar trying to recover from rad sickness with people you don’t really know? Start up a game of Truth or Wrench! A little hint for this weekend’s game - ZOMs will exist whose success and benefits will be greater with more people engaged in it. There’s ample of opportunities that you can take advantage of to engage with different folks from different chapters. Some of these new found friends end up creating long time friendships and accidental adoptions into a DR family. 

RP with ZOMs

As I mentioned above, there will be ZOMs that exist throughout the weekend. There’s…a lot. To figure out what ZOM exists in a channel, simply click the little “pin” button and pull up “Pinned Messages”. The first thing that will pop up is the ZOM for that channel. Some of these ZOMs will change depending on how many people are interacting with them and what the rolls are. When starting to engage in a ZOM, it’s important to note when you’re starting in the Discord channel, when you’re finished in the channel, and the outcome of your roll. 

I’m going to use my character, Sierra, as an example. Let’s say that there is a ZOM that exists in a channel labeled “Artisan Area” and the ZOM that is active there states “Any player may spend 10 minutes and make a Civilized Roll.” The ZOM will list out what the results are depending on the roll. Well, I want Sierra to engage in this ZOM. So what I’ll do is go in the channel and write: “Sierra bumbles into the artisan area and begins clanking tools around, finding the perfect one to start her work.” The moment I hit enter, it’ll drop the date/time I submitted it. That way in 10 minutes, I can make the roll and RP whatever the outcome is. If you have multiple people working on the same ZOM at the same time, this could be a fun interaction with one another and draw out meaningful RP. 

RP Actions

There’s a lot of story that can be told alone in RP actions. Much like an author, you can give so many indicators to your character’s emotions, thoughts, motives, etc. through actions in RP. As another example, two characters had a conflict of interests with one another in a mod and they’re not fans of each other. While the initial conflict started in one setting, it could very well continue once they’re back from the mod with simple actions. Cydney (player of Echo) displays Echo’s mood from the encounter by placing her in the next scene with something like, “Echo angrily storms into the bar, throwing her supply bag on a table and taking her seat.” What information can you gather about Echo at this moment? Elements like that can really add depth to the scene, the character, and the interaction that follows after.

Once more, if you’re going to engage with another player in a hostile setting please remember the social contract. That can be re-read here - https://www.dystopiarisingar.com/unvarnished-truth/2024/2/15/pro-tip-thursday-renewing-the-social-contract

Taking Breaks

There’s a different type of exhaustion that hits when you’ve been sitting behind a screen for a length of time than what you may experience at game. Even though you’re not running in the heat and smacking your friends with wacky-bats, being present in an online setting can quickly take social batteries. Be sure to take breaks periodically. Go stretch, go walk, drink water (yes, hydration is still important), get a little snicky snack, just get away for a moment. It’s needed. If you find yourself getting overwhelmed, step away. That’s a great thing the online space can offer.

With all the above in mind, have so much fun this weekend!

Online Event System

Howdy Wastelanders!

Next month we’re launching our online event for July and then taking a break in August. It’s hotter than Hell. Not everyone is a Final Knight and want people to suffer the Arkansas HEAT! So, for the next trade it will be in an online setting. There’s a LOT of pieces to it so we’re going to cover what you need to know. Please be sure to read all the rules in their entirety at dystopiarisingar.com/riverlands-rolls 

Location

For the last couple of online trades (July 2023 & December 2023), you may have noticed that the Trade wasn’t hosted at Quiet Hollows but at a different location in the Riverlands. That will be very much the same. Truate teased earlier in the season that we may be returning to our old stomping grounds, Crystal Creek, for some new business. Keep an eye out on our discord server, event posts, and receipt of ticket purchase to gain access to the event discord server and rulings for econ online.

Riverlands Rolls

I highly recommend going to our website, opening up a google document, and follow the instructions to transpose your character into the Riverland Rolls system. In fact, you will be expected to send/upload your Riverland Rolls character sheet to the Guide of that mod.

Riverland Rolls is a d20 system that we’re using for encounters in the online setting. The flow of it is that the Guide for the mod will lead you on an interactive narrated story path. Players will find themselves faced with an encounter that they must overcome. Your guide will prompt  players to make decisions on how they want to engage and the players will roll for the requested skill. Depending on the results will dictate success or failure. 

When engaging in a conflict (i.e., fight, skill check, etc.), the player will roll 1d20 and add the bonus modifier for the skill to the roll. 

• 1-6 results in a failure

• 7-12 is a partial success

• 13-17 is a normal success

• 18+ is a masterful success

Throughout the weekend, players can engage in mechanics online that allows them to earn extra things that can boost or decrease their scores. Players can also spend mind to increase the results of the dice roll after seeing their rolls. They can also extend that same offer to other players as well. 

Online economy

When you attend DR: AR online, you will have four hours of production time to split between your characters or you can opt into production packets. Production packets have been announced on the website. Take a look at dystopiarisingar.com/riverlands-rolls to see what is available!

Something very important to note is that if you’re performing an action that traditionally doesn’t take time to use, it now takes five minutes. Say you’re trailblazing. Typically this is an instant timeless action. However this time, it takes 5 minutes on your production sheet. Think of it like this - you’re spending five minutes in line at the post office to get your shiny metals. 

There will be no usage of items to reduce econ time or to increase the production outcome. That includes Zeppelins, Mechanical crafting stations, Goat Cycles, Electrowelders, Distillation, etc. 

In addition to no item usage, you will not be able to trade items with one another in the online setting.

On top of all that - we are no longer allowing blueprint copying at our game. With the implementation of National’s rules on removing LIT, it costs us way too much money to print, stamp, and mail blueprints AND cards to players.

A lot of information has been tossed your way so we will open up a thread in the Discord server to answer any questions you may have about the upcoming event. 

Until then, stay safe and see you in the wastes!

Local Rulings

Howdy Wastelanders!

And welcome to the next segment of Pro-Tip Thursday. As you may have already noticed, I’m on a little vacation for the entire month of June. But I’ve left you in more than capable hands. Be nice. :) Alrighty, our topic today is an easy one - Local Rulings & Policies!

Even though we have a core rule book that outlines all the rules on a national level, they (being nationals) have given us the luxury of adjusting current rules or adding rules on a local level. What does that mean? While I’m at a game in Arkansas, if someone throws a combat based skill at my Iron character, I can respond with “Immune; Evolved, upsurge 10 armor!” However, when I go visit my friends up in Indiana, that call does not exist. Make sense? 

At DR: Arkansas, we have a litany of local rulings. Let’s go through some of them. When you go to dystopiarisingar.com, you’ll see the beautiful banner at the top of the page. One of the titles is “Local Mechanics”. When you click on it, the drop down menu shows a wide variety of topics like, financial institution buy lists, lineage advantages, local blueprints, and so much more. When you have a little bit of free time, I highly recommend clicking through and getting familiar with the various local mechanics we have available. 

I’d like to draw attention to the topic “Local Policies”. This is where our Experience Design team makes calls that are influenced by the national rules of the game and more common to encounter. For example, armor coverage. Per nationals, in order to represent master armor your armor physical rep needs to cover 80% of your body. Here in Arkansas, we have hot and humid weather that makes games a little rough. Instead of adhering to those rules, we have a different set that we follow to ensure player safety. Our local armor coverage requirements are 1.5% coverage per point of armor. 

So if you have a basic set of armor, you have 10 points of armor. Therefore, you should have 15% coverage to represent basic armor. Proficient armor is 15 points so 23%, and so on. It’s incredibly handy to have! But when you go visit other games, ensure you know what their rules are for armor coverage. Despite the fact that you have carded master armor, come from the south and have 30% coverage for Arkansas standards, does not mean you have the same at another game. 

We have that and more! I highly recommend checking out the “Local Policies” aspect on our website. There’s a lot of very clarifying points made on rules, how certain calls are made, even on our augments. 

Alrighty, I’ve given you enough homework while I’m not even present. Let us know - what’s your favorite local mechanic you use? 

Stay safe in the wastes, friends!

CvC and Me

Howdy Wastelanders!

As you know, next week is our June game. While everyone is gearing up for this next trade, I want to take just a moment and talk about CvC and how you interact with it in game. 

What is CvC?

It’s an acronym that is used a lot in our game. CvC is “Character vs. Character”. It can be initiated in a myriad of ways but ultimately it’s when Character(s) A takes an action against Character(s) B with the intent of conflict. CvC takes many forms in our game. At our game, we recognize four different types of CvC.

1. Social - partaking in actions that would actively turn characters against another character.

2. Financial - attempting to ruin the finances of another character.

3. Combative - engaging in combat that has the potential to lose infection.

4. Passive - CvC triggered after a character is no longer present. For example, your character sends another character a trapped item with the intent of maliciousness (infection loss, poisoning the other character, aiming for infection loss, etc.). 

Steps leading to CvC

There’s a lot of different personalities in our game. Sometimes, it does lead to a conflict with one another. If you think that there’s about to be a conflict with your character and another character, what steps should you take to prepare for it? 

Premeditated Conversations with the Impacted Party

If you know in advance that your character is going to have an issue with another character’s actions, an out of character conversation should be had. Having a conversation with the other person involved with the conflict is necessary. It needs to be an out of character player-to-player conversation about the situation and character’s responses to it. This is where verbal steering agreements come into play. During this steering agreement, both parties will have the opportunity to work together for a desired outcome. 

If the two players that are attempting to engage in CvC do not get along with one another outside of the game, they should not engage in CvC as their characters with one another. 

Invitation to CvC

Once the steering conversation has been had and if the players come to an agreement about next steps. When the ingredients for CvC rise, throw up our sign to initiate the CvC request. It’s just cupping your hand to make a “C” and holding it to your chest where the character you’re interacting with can provide a thumbs up to confirm their consent to the next actions that your character wishes to follow or thumbs down to decline CvC.

Declining CvC

When a player is declining CvC, they’re essentially declining to escalate the issue. Both parties are agreeing to not initiate that role play and escalate the topic to a bigger outcome. Now, if someone declines to partake in the CvC action but still initiate behaviors that are antagonistic or pushing towards the CvC action either way, that’s a moment to step out of character (closed fist placed on top of head) and have a mediation conversation. If the conversation OOC escalates, both parties should find a guide to help with the meditation. If escalation continues and no mediation is found, it then needs to be escalated to an employee.

A lot of words were just thrown around. Let’s do a hypothetical scenario using Felix (played by Truate) and Cinder (played by Cody). Felix is in the bar, talking loud shit about Cinder. Cinder is right there and has had enough. Cody throws up the “C” to Truate and Truate realizes that he doesn’t exactly want that smoke. So, he’ll respond with a thumbs down and as Felix, will verbally say, “Oh shit, you’re mad mad. Yeah, I don’t want to get my ass beat. I’ll stop.” and Felix will stop shit talking Cinder in the bar for the remainder of the scene.

However if Truate thumbs down to decline the CvC action but continues shit talking Cinder in that moment, there will be an opportunity for them to step out of character and have a steering conversation. If that doesn’t get them anywhere, they’ll find a guide that doesn’t have a conflict of interest in the scene and mediate that way. If that conversation continues to escalate even with the guide, Truate and Cody will find another employee (like Curtis) to have mediation in that form.
When do you need a guide for CvC?

There’s a lot of situations in which it’s questionable if a guide should be present for CvC action or not. Here’s when you’ll need a guide for CvC actions:

1. Any and all thefts, no matter the location in game.

2. Any attempted murders, no matter the location in game (wastelands vs town).

3. If a potential CvC outcome could result in lethal combat.

4. Any time you’re unsure if you need one. Always safe to have a guide to monitor a scene rather than not.

Please note that if you’re going to engage in CvC and you’re in need of a guide that you find a guide that has no conflicts of interest within your character or the outcome of the scene. For example, if my character Sierra was going to steal from Truate’s character, Felix, I would have to go find a guide to monitor the scene. When looking for a guide, I’d find someone who wasn’t related to me or any of my characters in or out of game, isn’t associated with my crew, or could potentially be engaging in CvC with my actions. That helps narrow down my options and I’m able to ask that way. 

Any questions, comments, concerns? Let’s chat!

Surviving DR:AR Summer

Howdy Wastelanders!

Everyone survive this weekend? We alive? Hope ya’ll have recovered/are recovering well! As you noticed, this game was a little warm and sunny. Which is fantastic! The sun is burning, the birds are singing, the bugs are biting, the chafing is kicking in…ugh. It’s not fun. Real talk - with the season steadily turning from spring to summer, we’re going to be experiencing not only some potentially high temperatures but the fight with ticks, mosquitos, scorpions, and so much more. If this is your first time, let’s talk about surviving our game out of character in the summertime. 

I know I’ve introduced a lot of folks to you in the pro-tips this season alone. But there’s yet one more group that is very important for you to familiarize yourself with. And that is our medical staff. We have three folks at our game who are trained for medical emergencies. We have Nyx Carvello (he plays Grimm and Charlie), Ciann Turner (she plays Harmony of the Red Rovers and can be found tending the bar), and Greg Eckhoff (Kokotni and can be found in Frown Town in the wastes). Combined they have a rich medical background as a military medic, ICU nurse, and a paramedic. If you don’t know who they are in game, please find a guide or employee and they will be happy to point you to them.

Let’s talk about Heat Advisory Hours. Nearly 98% of our game takes place outdoors. You are very exposed to the elements that mother nature has to offer as well as the elements that the Experience Design team has in store for your character. That’s why as the weather gets warmer, our chapter practices Heat Advisory Hours. During 1PM - 5PM on Saturday, no mods go out. Since it’s the hottest time of the day, that’s the best time to NOT be running or fighting for your character’s life. We want everyone to have some in character down time to cool off and stay out of the beating sun. 

Heat exhaustion is no joke and something we take very seriously. If you or anyone around you are experiencing any of the symptoms of heat exhaustion, please notify at the very least a guide. If you can’t find one of the medical staff members at first, notify a guide and ask them for medical help. We have roughly 20+ on our team who can assist you. Then go straight to medical cabin and cool down. I’ve attached an informational document from the CDC about the signs of heat-related illness and what to do if you’re in that situation. Please listen to your body and keep an eye on your friends. Curtis wrote some wonderful tips and tricks on how to prep for summer games in AR! Check it out here - https://www.dystopiarisingar.com/unvarnished-truth/2022/7/7/pro-tip-thursday-7-7-2022nbsp-hail-hydrate

Finally, the pests that IRL that you’ll encounter at game. As stated above, our game is very exposed to the elements of nature. Even though Larry (shout out to the best ranger ever) and his family treat the site for wasps, ticks, and so on, the probability of you still experiencing bug bites, stings, etc. are high. Make sure you are checking yourself constantly for ticks and spraying yourself regularly. In addition to preparing for bugs, we’ve got critters that are running around. Here’s some steps to take to when potentially encountering wildlife:

1. Try not to go on trails solo - take a friend or check-in with the Post Office when going out on trails for an extended period of time. Check in with them upon your return.

2. If you hear rustling in the woods and you’re unsure if it’s an animal or not, call out “Clarify - are you a mod?”

3. Wait for a response. If there’s no response, move around it or back away.

4. If you see an animal that could potentially be a threat, get away from it calmly.

5. Notify a guide immediately. 

And there you have it! Hydrate, know what the symptoms of heat exhaustion looks like, apply sunscreen and bug spray religiously, and keep an eye out for the wildlife.

Post Office Engagement (prt 2)

Howdy Wastelanders!

That’s right. There’s an immediate second pro-tip released this week! If you haven’t read the previous pro-tip released yesterday, I highly recommend reading that first before launching into this one. While the last pro-tip focused on expectations on interactions between you and the postie you’re working with, this one is focused on post office etiquette. Prior to writing this fun piece, all my knowledge of how to treat the post office have been verbally shared. And while that’s fantastic and highly appreciated, I recognize that maybe not everyone got the same experience. That’s why I reached out to our fantastic coordinator team and together, we compiled expectations for the post office. Thank you team for your assistance with this!

Post Office Etiquette Guidelines - 

• Posties are Posties, not the person that’s portraying them nor their character. If your friend is behind the post office desk, they’re there as an NPC with no relationship to your character. That means that their regularly played LC cannot give you resources, provide insights into a situation, or have access to their skills/knowledge. Wait until their character is back in play before having that conversation. I stated that in the previous post but it doesn’t hurt to be repeated again.

• You can send a letter to the post office stating that someone has access to your LIT. Just be sure to state who has access with their player number, what they have access to, and sign with your character name and number. If you’re at game, you can write this letter on a piece of paper and send it with the person who is needing access. If you are an Arkansas local player and you know you won’t be at a game but your crew needs access to items in your LIT, you can send an email to logistics@dystopiarisingar.com with the same information as listed above.

• Can’t use the post office as a safe harbor to avoid conflict. Now, if you’re in the middle of a transaction and an NPC comes storming around to find you, you can complete your transaction and then go deal with that. Otherwise, don’t be hiding in the post office.

• Keep the volume down. There’s a lot of conversations that take place and your postie worker is trying to help the person in front of them. It’s incredibly difficult to concentrate on the task at hand when there’s a million loud conversations happening around them. Try to keep it down.

• If you don’t need anything from the post office, stay out. There’s a fantastic and roomy porch outside, equipped with benches that you can use to wait for folks. If your friend wants you to stand in line with them and you don’t need anything from the post office, stay outside. 

• Postal workers reserve the right to request you leave the post office if you’re being disruptive or to quiet down.

• Try to have all your things together before getting in line. Bring your blueprint, your materials, have your character sheet out, currency in your hand, an action plan of how to use your 5 card transaction (or 1 LIT transaction) limit. 

• You have access to a player information binder and laptop. You can use the binder to get rumors, meeting locations for specific factions, CAPs buy list, local faction buy list, and more. The laptop is available for you to check your LIT. That way, if you think you have something in LIT and you aren’t fully sure, you can check before you get in line for the post office transaction. These resources are here for you to use before you hop in line.

• Off to the side of the desk setup for the post office is a letter basket. That’s not for you to rummage through. That’s for the post office workers to hire folks to send letters. Please do not go digging into it WITHOUT permission from the working Postie.

• Do not reach behind the desk. Unless you are an Arkansas trained coordinator guide, there should be absolutely no reason for you to reach past the laptops or go behind the desk of the post office. 

And that’s it!

Post Office Engagement

Happy Thursday, Wastelanders!

And once more, welcome back to our next segment of Pro-Tip Thursday. There’s a group of people that I’d like to take a moment and recognize. Our Coordination Guides - aka Posties. If you’ve been to our game this year, you’ve met and interacted with a majority of the Posties by now. However, I’d still like to introduce you to the team!

Lead Coordinator Guides

• Nikki R.

• Beth B.

Full Time Coordinator Guides

• Ashlynn M.

• Cydney C.

• Cydney O.

• Gaby W.

• Kaci L.

• Sarah M.

Part Time Coordinator Guide

• Stephanie S.

What a fantastic group! That’s why this week’s Pro-Tip is dedicated to them. This is going to be a two-parter on Post Office Interactions. Today’s topic is how your character interacts with the post office!

How many times have you gone to the post office in a weekend and you had to wait a really long time for a semi-exasperated Postie to assist you? I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all been there. It can be overwhelming for yourself, your Postie, and others around you to have to navigate a bit of a post office chaos. I’m here to give you tips and tricks on how to ensure your encounter with your Postie goes as smoothly as possible to reduce stress for you, for your Postie, and ensure you get in and out in a timely manner. 

First, let’s cover some rules and expectations for the moment you sit down and begin your exchange with your Postie. 

1. Treat the interaction with the Postie as though you are under a HIPAA contract. Focus only on your information, don’t eavesdrop  on other Postie and player’s transactions UNLESS you are asked to. Don’t blab what you overheard someone purchasing in the line next to you. On the flip side, whatever your interaction with the post office stays with the post office. For example, if you purchased basic thieves juice from the criminal buy list as your character and Dana Mangles was your Postie you worked with, Dana Mangles will NOT speak of it to other LCs, NPCs, or Posties. That information stays between them and you. 

2. On top of that, if your friend or member of your crew is on Postie shift, they are there as that NPC. Not as your crewmate. Any conversation that is to be had with them needs to relate to post office business and not crew business. For example, if Nikki is on her shift Friday night and Sierra rolls into the post office, Lauren can’t look at Nikki and say “Hey Shelagh, I need 500 basic scrap. Can you send me some from your LIT?” That bird don’t fly. Don’t do it. 

3. Know your production time. In DR: AR, a character can spend up to 2 hours of consistent production (i.e., crafting, agricultural, cooking, etc.) to get multiple items. HOWEVER, it has to be on the same skill set you’re cashing in on (no 1 hour of salvaging and then 1 hour of basic agricultural and then go to the post office to turn both in).

4. If you are a cook or artisan, this next rule is important. While yes, you can spend two hours crafting/brewing, you cannot spend that two hours crafting an item/brew that goes into another item/brew. Let’s say that Sierra sat down at the crafting bench. In the end, she wants to craft a basic goat cycle. It takes a simple mechanical engine, a simple mechanical fuel system, simple mechanical iron alloy, and 5 basic scrap. I can spend the 80 minutes crafting all the simple mechanical parts (20 minutes per part). But I have to go cash all those parts in (with the blueprints and materials) before I can craft the goat cycle itself. 

5. Have an idea of what it is you’re needing on your turn. You can do a 5 physical card transaction on your turn OR 1 LIT pull on your turn. If you need to do more, complete the current transaction, stand up, and go to the back of the line. 

6. If you are crafting or brewing an item, please be sure to approach the post office line with the blueprint and the materials sourced. If you do not have the blueprint, you will not have an item. The post office does contain the cards for the production areas in play! So if you used the production area to reduce crafting time or increase the quantity of something you’ve crafted, let them know and they can check it. 

7. If you are utilizing a vehicle or gizmo to increase productivity outcome, ensure you have the cards on you and ready to go. Otherwise, you cannot gain the perks of those cards.

8. Check your cards before you stand up. Ensure that the correct level item is on the card, it’s dated, and it’s signed. The moment you stand and walk-away from the desk, you are signifying that you are satisfied with the card and accept it as it is. It’s incredibly disappointing to spend an hour crafting an item, spending the resources for said item, only for it to be invalid because you didn’t check for a signature. I’ve done it and I cried because of it. Don’t be like me.

9. When you’re done with the interaction, either leave out of the correct door or get back in line.

And there you have it! Those are just basic things to start utilizing for a smoother post-office experience. Stay safe in the wastes!

May National Fund Raiser for Rodgers Scout Reserve!

Greetings Friends and Family!  

I am coming to you today to announce an awesome opportunity that’s being offered by Dystopia Rising National during the month of May. They’ve challenged each chapter to give back to our communities and find a way to help out a local charity. Our choice was simple - we want to give back to Rogers Scout Reservation.  

RSR has been fundraising all year to improve the camp. Some of you have already donated and we vastly appreciate you! But we wanted to be more intentional and set an achievable goal. After speaking with Larry, we’ve decided to raise money to refurbish the cabins. While refurbishing the cabins is a multi-step project, we’re helping with the first part of the project by raising money for new windows. Real windows with screens! In order to get the screened windows, we need to raise $2,600. That will be our first goal. If we exceed the $2,600 goal, the rest of the money will be pooled together and used towards flooring for the cabins, power and AC.

To help us raise this money, National will post an event that we can sell XP for. Typically when we sell extra XP for our game, the extra XP is sold for $15/XP. For this event only, the price has increased to $20/XP. Up to 10 XP maximum can be purchased. If you have an advance membership all the extra XP will go to all your characters. If you don’t have an advance membership, you will have to choose which character will gain the XP. All the money from the extra XP purchases will go to RSR.

There are some very specific rules we have to follow. We will collect the money and provide receipts that show the donations where made. You will be able to give money for this during the entire month of May. There’s going to be a link on our website to process this purchase/donation. You can only participate in one chapter’s fundraising event.

This is amazingly cool for National to do and we are looking forward to it!

Now money is a great thing. However, we recognize that our current economy is a bit rough and want to offer an additional way to earn extra XP without spending more than necessary. Larry needs some help. Ripping out 18 windows and installing new ones is a lot of work! 

So Truate and I have decided that we’re going to have a work weekend where you can earn 3 XP for coming to help work. We’ll pay for tickets for everyone who shows up and works for the camp. If enough folks show up to help with the windows, Larry has asked for additional help on projects that need to be completed. The honey-do list includes: installing windows, putting real flooring in the caboose, painting the interior of the caboose and deep cleaning the kitchen. You can purchase the 10 XP then participate in the work weekend for an additional 3 XP.   

Current plan is to schedule this during the off months of July and August. Yes, I know it will be hot but we will be safe and take safety measures in the heat. Also, we shall have a food plan. I will cook for you for $20 per person. Yes… Brisket is most likely on the menu!  

A survey will be released soon to determine what weekend is the best for those months. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to drop them in the discord server, comment on the post, or send an email to contact@dystopiarisingar.com and we will get it taken care of. Larry’s been amazing to us! Let’s show him the level of support our community can bring.

What is Bleed?

Hello Wastelanders!

Today’s topic touches on a heavy subject. In our LARP, you may have heard the term “Bleed”. And not in a “my character is bleeding out and dying” form. But “my emotions from myself are bleeding into my character” and/or vice versa. For this topic, I want to help everyone understand what bleed is, utilizing the okay check-in system, and fostering a positive play environment for everyone. Now, I know you’re probably thinking/saying “I always do the check-in system!” And that’s awesome! We still want to give you a run down of how things can escalate, how you can handle them, and tips for keeping it smooth.

Sometimes, there will be weekends where we’re not playing at our 100% or when it’s incredibly difficult to remove yourself from your character. This is a common phenomenon known as “bleed”. “Bleed is when emotions bleeds over between player or character, in either direction.” (E.Boss, Ropecon 2007). It’s something that’s heard in the world but difficult to define. We are pulled into an immersive world; it only makes sense that our emotions and decisions are influenced by the world we just spend 3 days playing in. Or leading up to game, it’s been an absolute shit show and your character isn’t at 100%. Then, they make decisions that they typically wouldn’t make. That's completely okay! Bleed isn’t inherently evil but on the flip side, it isn’t always positive. If you don’t recognize when you’re experiencing bleed, it can not only impact yourself, but the players around you. And that’s when it becomes an issue. The important thing is being able to recognize bleed, knowing how to navigate it, and taking steps to ensure you and those around you are having the experience you want at LARP.

Now that we’re all on the same page as to what bleed is, let’s talk about management tools. 

Check-In System

Dystopia Rising chapters have various check-in systems that are utilized at their games. The one we implement at Arkansas is simple. When you’re initiating a check-in with someone, look at the person you’re wanting to check-in with (try to make eye contact with them if you are able to do so) and throw a subtle thumbs up gesture. As a response, you should receive either a thumbs up, thumbs down, or a “so-so” hand wave. On the thumbs up, continue running the scene as is. For the thumbs down and “so-so” hand wave, back off and go out of character (placing a closed fist above or on top of your head). There, you and the person you are checking-in on can have a steering conversation.

Debriefing

You can do this in many forums, honestly. In our Discord server, we have a channel dedicated to debrief chat. There is also a channel called bleed discussion. You can utilize either of those spaces exactly for that! Or at Afters while eating delicious pizza offers a safe space to have those debrief conversations as well. There will have been some tense moments throughout the weekend and that’s a great time to check in with other players. “Hey, my character was an absolute ass to you. On an out of character level, I’m so sorry. Would you like to talk about what happened?” What I like to do is find my debriefing buddy. 90% of the time it’s Nikki (thank you for your services). If there was a scene that just didn’t sit right with me, I run my experience by her and we hash it out.

Writing

Also in our discord server, we have a channel dedicated to writing game hype or writing prompt responses/funsies. That is also 100% a way to decompress and navigate some of those intense emotions you may have experienced throughout the weekend. Writing about events that took place in your character’s point of view, reliving that moment can be a way to help understand why the bleed took place.

Boundary Setting

Setting boundaries is a great way to protect not only yourself, but others from bleed. If there’s particular scenes that are taking place that you KNOW you’re going to have an issue with on an out of character level, set a boundary that benefits all involved. It can be something as simple as “Hey, I’m not comfortable with your RP interrogation methods. If this is something that you’re set on doing, please let me know so I can step away from the scene for a moment.” Setting those proactive boundaries can make or break your entire experience for the weekend.

At the end of the day, we want everyone to engage in the experience they want from this game as long as they’re being safe about it. Knowing what bleed is and how to navigate it is an incredibly useful tool to have on hand at an event. To understand more about Bleed and its impacts in and out of game, please go check out this fantastic article that deeps dive further into it. https://nordiclarp.org/2015/03/02/bleed-the-spillover-between-player-and-character/

Thank you for tuning in this week and we’ll see you next time. Remember, stay safe in the Wastes!

Wasteland Threats

Howdy Wastelanders!

And welcome to our next segment of Pro-Tip Thursday! Today’s Topic - Wasteland Threats. 

Dystopia Rising is historically a post-apocalyptic survival horror game. While each chapter has their own flavor as to what type of encounters you’ll face or what those horrors look like, one thing is certain; it is inherently more dangerous at night rather than in the daytime. At DR:AR you may find yourself fighting for your fucking life the hardest on Friday and Saturday night where as in the daytime, you may be in a political game with factions or intercepting caravans for their goods. 

At night, it is designed and intended to be more dangerous. Creatures of all types would rather utilize the shadows of the night to execute and hunt. There is a reason you’re more likely to see specific types of zed at night, like a hunter or buried occult, than in the daytime. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. If you find yourself saying “oof, it’s really weird that these creatures that typically show up at night to hunt are all of sudden attacking in the afternoon”, there may be a story reason for it. And part of that is to prompt players to dig into the why. 

Whereas in the daytime, the threats may look different. Raiders and regular zed both will appear in the daytime but their behaviors may be slightly different. In Quiet Hollows, you’ll find that we have more critter encounters in day time (unless it’s Murdeer or Whoop Ass Crane mating season), more factions actively seeking assistance Saturday morning/afternoon, and more strain encounters than we do at night.

That being said, lately it appears that at a specific time frame on Friday nights, specific characters leave town and when they do, a massive threat marches in and rolls the town. It can come off as a punishment for not leaving when the specific characters did, even if that wasn’t the intent. That’s where our rules guides step in. As you may have noticed at our recent game, we have a lot of rules guides this season! The job of the rules guide is vast but one of the main things they’re responsible for is adjusting the encounter to match the challenge that the town has to face. If you find yourself in a particularly over powered encounter, once it’s done you can find the rules guide for that encounter and check in with them. They should be able to provide insight into why a particular situation happened, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the story. 

Remember at the last game Saturday night when Lunos was preparing everyone for buried occult zed to roll into town? They showed up, engaged with the town for way less time than anticipated, and fucked off. Then roughly 30 minutes later, the tank army showed up. Not gonna lie, it did feel like a punishment! It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon when Truate clarified to everyone why that happened. It wasn’t evident to us at first. But that clarification drastically changed my outlook on the situation.

This is a survival experience. Sometimes we find our characters and their friends in tough situations that warrant making complicated and controversial decisions all in the name of survival. It’s not always going to be black and white when it comes to those decisions. But sometimes you do have to ask yourself - what would my character do to survive? Not every choice is going to paint your character as a hero, no matter what actions you take. However, those can make some of the most exciting and compelling stories.

I’m excited to see how this season progresses. There’s a lot of exciting things going on with our experience design team and hopefully, you’ll get to experience them soon. As always, we want your feedback. Please don’t hesitate to use our feedback form or send an email to contact@dystopiarisingar.com.

Stay safe in the wastes!

Non-Combat Engagement

Howdy Survivors!

And welcome to my first Pro-Tip Thursday. I hope you're all recovering well from trade and getting those muscles stretched out after an action-packed weekend. Speaking of which, I had a blast, and I hope you did too! Now, let's talk business. While this is my very first Pro-Tip, I was excited to collaborate with Josh Jaques (AKA Delpho) for today’s segment. Today's topic is something we noticed needed addressing at the last game: non-combat player engagement.

In Dystopia Rising, we use three primary colors of headbands throughout the weekend. While there may be exceptions on some weekends (which will be communicated in opening announcements), you'll typically see the following colors:

- Blue bandana: Indicates a brand new player or "Bluebird."

- Green bandana OR holding a closed fist to the top of the head: Designates a Guide, wind, or out-of-character interaction.

- Orange bandana: Signifies non-combat status.

There are numerous reasons why a player may choose to wear an orange bandana, and it's important for everyone to respect that decision. However, despite being labeled as "non-combat," these players are not exempt from taking damage. Damage is administered in a safer manner without physical contact from a boffer weapon. The initiator of combat must stand approximately 10ft away from their target, point their boffer at them, and call damage in a calm cadence. Environmental effects, areas of effect calls, and “by my voice” calls still impact those wearing an orange headband.

That being said, our local ruling is that orange bands cannot participate in ANY physical aspect of the combat system. They must attempt to avoid the physical aspect of the combat system. Skills can still be used to help out friends and assist in the fight but cannot directly contribute to the combat portion. The exception to this rule is if non-combat players get trapped in a situation where they have no choice but to participate. At that point, we players and NPC’s must engage in the non-com combat system as described above.

We’re making this call because combat is inherently physical in the game and if there are active participants in the combat, there is a high chance to be physically struck despite the orange headbands. In this case, safety will triumph over fun.

Now, what about non-combatants using aberrant abilities to defend themselves or cause damage to a threat? The answer is that non-combat players can use their aberrant/psionic skills using the same point and call system,but must do so to get out of the combat and we still ask them to leave combat as quickly as possible. When I say “leave combat”, run away from the danger. For example, if you’re a non-combat player in the bar when raiders hit it, you should duck and weave to escape. That can look like getting out a door and hiding in the woods and watching from a distance or taking shelter under a table in the bar. If you’re on a mod when combat happens, while you do not have to leave the mod, you should seek to get away from the combat as quickly as possible or to avoid hits. While staff always practice safety checks and monitor combat to ensure safety, accidents can still happen. But what if you're non-combat and want to support friends in combat? I’ve tapped on our veteran non-combat player Josh to help provide some insight! 

To take a Universal approach there are 4 ways an Orange band player gets involved.

1. Gathering resources: This is our bread and butter, since we don’t really focus on combat skills as an Orange band we should be looking for ways to get resources the town needs. Our battle field is in the dirt, trees, water, and frankly anywhere else we can get our hands on those juicy nuggets of materials.

2. Refining resources: Well you just got all those rectangles, what do we do with them? We make shit! Yes, we make shit, and frankly we either give it away or sell it (do this *wink*). The world needs goods, and here is our arena, this is our war. We supply the town! An Army does not march unless their stomachs are full and their boots are well made. 

3. Town recovery: This partially goes hand in hand with Refining, but this aspect is where an Orange band can get in the middle of things. Where we can sit at the edge of a fight and use our resources to heal, or after the fight is done triage the wounded, and help recover the mind, and repair those pesky fractures. Orange can really save the day when we come running back in and spend our resources to power back the fighters so they are ready for the next wave!

4. Research: With the new rules of 1 question per trade you can pick up where others have left off, and get more info to help the town out, or the person, or crew.

There’s a lot of elements that players can encounter in our game that are NOT just combat based encounters. Our Experience Design team has been working on finding ways to allow a safe combat experience in the future for our non-combats who wish to engage more. Much like on the walk-in mod, a majority of the players who were non-combat were able to ride in on some sexy DJ rides.

We’re excited to see you at the next game! Please always feel free to provide feedback on ways we can improve your experience.

Stay safe in the wastes!

A Friday Edition of Pro-Tip "Communciation Flow Chart"

Communication Flow Chart for Dystopia Rising AR. 

Finding the correct answer to an issue can be a difficult task during a game or during the time between games. The same can be said for finding out who you need to speak to solve an issue.

Our goal this year is to be able to speak as one voice.  Too many times in the past communication has been muddied because it is coming from too many different sources which might not have the full story.

So we are going to break this us into two sections to help the flow of information.  We are going to start with the “at” game flow of  responsibility 

The “at” Game flowchart resembles an upside down pyramid 

Guide: 

The Guide in the field is the first line of communication and therefore the most important link in the communication chain.   They are the boots on the ground during the event and can answer a lot of questions.   One thing that we want to remember is that guides are players as well and may be engaged in the story.  So to signal them that you need to ask a question, tap the area on your body where the guide has their guide pin.  So they will know you need help. 

We also want to remind everyone that guides need to eat and sleep as well. So be respectful of their time.

The guide may not know the answer, when that happens they will refer you to the next level of escalation.  The ops desk or the Post Office

Ops Desk /  Post Office: 

During an active game these two locations are information hubs.  The guides at these locations are well versed in their separate realms of control of the game.   

The Ops desk is where to take questions of Rules or Plot.    They also have a radio to reach out to owners/directors if it’s an issue they cannot handle.

The Post Office is where to go to ask about blueprints, materials or other logistic issues. They also have a radio to reach out to owners/directors if there is an issue they cannot handle. 

Employees:

The following employees are responsible for specific information.   

Nikki Robertson is the Lead Logistic Employee.  She is the head postie! 

Ian McReynolds Is the Lead Guide Employee.   Running Ops desk during the weekend and making rules calls  

Beth Bearden is our Lead Settings Employee.  She is responsible for making the camp look good! Ask her about props or settings. 

Cody Padgett is our Lead Writer.  If you have questions about the story. He is your guy! 

Lauren Meyers is our Marketing lead.  Her work is the marketing info you see during the month. 

Like our guides, our employees are players as well.  So remember they need to eat and sleep as well.   

Owners/Directors: 

At the bottom of the pyramid we find our owners and Directors.  

Truate Bearden is our Experience Design Director.  He is the final word on story and rules and anything in-game.

Curtis Haines is our Community management director and customer service director.  He is the one who deals with the interpersonal problems and problems that arrive with the physical camp.
He is on call all weekend.  He is the one to wake up if there is an issue that needs to be solved. 

During the time between games we do not want guides or employees to have to field questions because they may not be in their wheelhouse. So we have two out of game communication channels. 

If you have concerns about your character sheets or a logistic question.  Please Email 

Logistics@DystopiaRisingAR.com 

If you have questions about rules, story or anything of that nature. Please Email 

Story@DystopiaRisingAR.com

If you are unsure which of the two categories are the best choice. Please Email 

Contact@DystopiaRisingAR.com

If you have concerns about a community Issue or safety issue please contact me directly at 

Curtis@DystopiaRisingAR.com 

You can also ask questions in our discord which is an easier and faster way to get information.

The discord channel is being monitored all the time by Truate and I.  Employee’s often hang out there as well, so someone will get an answer for you.


The most important thing to remind everyone that this is no one’s full time job.  Please have patience and understanding while we are working on things for you.

Hopefully this will help us all get better at making sure we are all on the same page. There has been many changes in our community and the game in general.  So if you have a concern or an  issue that you want an answer to. Please let us know.  You can still hit our feedback button on our website or even use the anonymous feedback as well.

Our motto is, “ IF we don't know, we can fix it.”   

Till Next Time survivors!! 

See you in the waste!