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!