Econ and Event Structure 12/2024

This month’s event will have a transitional structure in order to help move from our previous event mechanics toward the new DR: LIVE Virtual Event structure. Mods and Soft RP will run Friday Evening through Saturday night, and rewards resolution and casual OOC engagement will run Sunday.

Engagement and Reward Points

Most of the event engagement and loot rewards will happen through three methods: Mods, Soft RP engagement, and OOC content. Reward Points you earn through engaging with the event can be traded in one-for-one for items listed on page 21 of the Dystopia Rising Live Virtual Play Guide, up to the listed maximum per category.

Mods

A standard event ticket allows attendance at three mods. On each of these mods, the ST will be able to award up to 25 Reward Points to each player, based on ST discretion. Make sure to check the tags of different mods if you have particular preferences on reward methods.

Soft RP

You can collect up to 40 Reward Points from ZoMs, NPCs, etc. through Soft RP. Keep a simple record of your engagement and earned points to submit with your crafting spreadsheet. Once you have reached 40 points, you are welcome to continue to participate in the Soft RP content, but you cannot collect any more points.

OOC Content

This kind of engagement offers a chance to socialize with other players and event staff directly, rather than through their characters. At minimum, there will be a Spreadsheet Crafting workshop during the event and a casual debrief session on Sunday, but possible other activities include lore updates and collaborative art activities. There are not currently any Reward Points slated for this category.

Spreadsheet Crafting

A standard event ticket allows access to Spreadsheet Crafting. This includes:

• 6 hours worth of crafting time

• Full Resolve and one 12’s worth of Mind

• Trailblazing, Vouchers, Caravan Maps, Trade Papers, Dock Worker Contracts and CAPs expenditures will work as normal, and use may be added to your spreadsheet with 0 time expenditure.

• Crafting Stations Available:

  • Shortest Path Distillation Kit

  • Paradigm Print Workshop

  • Forged Mechanical Crafting Area

  • Helscape Mine

  • Forged Research Center/Heavycraf Research Tools

Exclusions:

• No physical currency can be created or spent. Currency can be spent from LIT.

• Nothing other than currency can be spent from LIT, event rewards, or physical cards.

• May Not Be Used:

  • Glitter Gulch Prep Station

  • Ship Yard

  • Grinding Mill

  • Other items that reduce time or increase output, such as the Goat Rough-Cycle

LIT Clearance

All rewards will be mailed this event and your LIT will be cleared out as much as possible. The possibility of holding items online for online play will resume after conversion to LIVE and the new database.

Notes From the Developer

Hey folks! If you're wondering what DR: Live is going to look and feel like, the developer of the system has posted a great explanation of the overall intended direction for the game.
This is also a great thing to read if you're putting together feedback, so you can focus on working toward common goals with other players and the developers. Enjoy!

Group Mentality and Collective Play

The new structure emphasizes the importance of group dynamics. It’s designed to reward cooperation and collaboration over solo play, fostering a more interconnected community experience.

Players who attempt to act alone may find it more challenging to achieve significant progress, especially when dealing with resource management, survival challenges, and complex scenarios that require multiple skills or characters working together.

This approach encourages players to form alliances, share knowledge, and work in teams to overcome challenges, thereby reinforcing the sense of community and shared narrative.

Impact of focus on Group Mentality and Collective Play

Social Impact: Strengthened Community Bonds
By emphasizing group dynamics, the game encourages players to build and strengthen social connections. Players must collaborate to achieve shared goals, leading to stronger friendships, deeper in-game relationships, and a more cohesive player community.

The reliance on teamwork fosters a supportive culture where experienced players are motivated to mentor and assist newcomers. This dynamic can help new players integrate more smoothly, reducing barriers to entry and creating a welcoming environment.

Increased Role-Playing Depth
The necessity for cooperation adds layers to the role-playing experience. Characters have more reasons to interact, negotiate, and form alliances, leading to richer, more complex narratives.
Group-oriented mechanics also create opportunities for social tension, conflict resolution, and diplomacy. These elements can drive character development and provide varied experiences that go beyond combat.

Diverse Player Roles
Group play allows for a wider range of character archetypes to thrive, as different roles and skills are required for the success of the group. Non-combat players, support roles, and specialists can have meaningful impacts on group outcomes.

Players who may not typically engage in combat can still feel integral to the game, as there are many ways to contribute, such as providing strategic support, crafting resources, or influencing social dynamics.

Reduced "Lone Wolf" Play
Players who prefer solo play may find the game more challenging, as the mechanics incentivize cooperation. While this shift may discourage some individualistic players, it strengthens the overall community by encouraging interdependence.

Lone wolf play does not function well in this larp in combat, nor does it function will in economy.

Attendance and Network Health Impact

Overall, the emphasis on Group Mentality and Collective Play strengthens social cohesion, deepens the role-playing experience, and can lead to higher player engagement and retention. From a branch/network perspective, this approach supports diverse play styles and enhances event design opportunities.

Recurring Play Focus
Stronger social bonds and a more interconnected community can lead to higher player retention. Players are more likely to return to events if they feel a sense of belonging and are invested in the group narratives. While this is a game, it is a social game which has a focus on building larger and healthier communities.

Enhanced New Player Experience
New players are more likely to stay engaged when they can immediately join a group and contribute to a shared goal. The group mentality fosters inclusivity, which can improve the onboarding experience and help new players feel valued.

Role of Non-Combat and Role-Playing Opportunities

For players less interested in combat, there are numerous avenues for contribution and engagement. The game's design encourages players to focus on skills that support their character’s growth through economic activities, healing, crafting, and social influence.

The shift also reinforces the value of role-playing and non-combat skills by making group participation vital to success. Many mechanics encourage teams to work together to achieve objectives, blending role-play and mechanics seamlessly.

Non-combat-oriented characters can shine in scenarios that require knowledge, resource management, crafting expertise, and social interactions. These characters can still be influential by driving the game’s economy, providing strategic insights, and supporting others in their endeavors.

Individual economy or "development" play has been the primarily supported aspect of the Dystopia Rising 3.0 experience. In this design system the individual lost the need for interacting with groups for success and became "self sustaining islands". A single individual would be able to provide all resources for entire clusters of play. This design system is not only detrimental due to locking all other forms of play to be forced to engage with econ aspects, but in addition, it is detrimental to the individual player and the branch as a whole. It is detrimental to the individual player by rewarding the least experience driven aspect of play and focus on grind style production instead of narrative driven systems that encourage interaction with other players. LARP IS A SOCIAL AND EXPERIENTIAL EVENT. If a system does not encourage social or experience driven aspects of play, and active detracts from it, it is bad design. The 3.0 development system has created dopamine and player enjoyment cycles based on the production of mechanics, instead of mechanics that engage and enrich the narrative.

The self production cycle focus of DR 3.0, and its detachment from social engagement and shared play, is part of the reason for the steady decline of attendance in play.

Return to A Unified Narrative, Lore, and Ruleset

The shift towards a unified narrative, lore, and ruleset in Dystopia Rising Live represents a critical move to standardize the game world across all branches and player experiences. This alignment is essential for maintaining consistency, enhancing player immersion, and ensuring fair play, and it brings several benefits to both players and the branches.
A unified narrative ensures that all branches of Dystopia Rising Live are telling the same overarching story, allowing players to move between different game locations while retaining a coherent understanding of the world. This consistency strengthens the sense of a shared universe, where characters can travel and interact with familiar lore, factions, and world events without encountering jarring differences.
By maintaining a consistent set of rules and shared lore, the game world feels more alive and believable. Players are better able to suspend their disbelief when the environment and storyline have a sense of continuity, which is vital for a genre like post-apocalyptic survival horror.
A unified narrative allows for large-scale plot developments and global events that can affect the entire game network via network wide plot kits and lore publications, giving players the feeling of being part of a larger story. This kind of shared experience can deepen emotional investment in the game and foster a sense of community among players across different branches.
A standardized ruleset ensures that gameplay mechanics are fair and equitable for all players. It prevents power imbalances or exploits that could arise from differing interpretations of rules or custom mechanics used by individual branches.

SUMMARY

DR Live is focused on introducing an experience driven game, the likes of which enhance the successes from 2.0 (where the network as a whole averaged 145 unique players per branch), utilizes some of the advancements of 3.0 (biology instead of culture, fracture system, etc), and creating a purposeful design that focuses on group interaction, memorable experiences within a unified lore and standardized world, and grows the network via positive and purposeful change instead of repeating the same things that the network has done for the past 6 years which has resulted in the slow death of branches and the new "accepted norm" of games with less than 60 people.

Written by Michael Pucci

Post-LIT Virtual Econ

Hey folks! For our upcoming event on May 24th-26th, we are adjusting our pricing structure in order to once again offer Econ options at our online events! A huge thank you to DR:CO for inspiring this Econ system.

How much will Tickets cost?

Standard Ticket - $55

• Access to Soft RP Rooms

• Standard XP

• 3 Mods (No Mod Rewards)

• Econ Options (see below)

Reduced Ticket - $27

• Access to Soft RP Rooms

• Standard XP

• 2 Mods (No Mod Rewards)

• No Econ

Soft RP Only Ticket - $10

• Access to Soft RP Rooms

• No XP

• No Mods

• No Econ

How will I get my Items?

There are two different options for crafting/loot this event. Regardless of the option you choose, all of your inventory gains will be in physical form, and no items will be added to LIT. Your new cards will be mailed to you at the shipping address you provide when you purchase your ticket.

What are my Econ options?

Spreadsheet Crafting

The first option is a spreadsheet similar to what DR:OK, DR:CO, and many other chapters have used for other virtual events.

Pre-Reg Only Care Package

The second option, only available for folks who register by the Tuesday before the event, will allow you to choose one of a pre-designed set of Care Packages. During your ticket purchase, you will be provided a link to a Google Form where you can make your specific selections.

limitations

For both options, the following limitations apply:

• All econ described is a total per Player.

  • You may split Spreadsheet time or Care Package items as you please between any characters that are both checked in to the event and meet any skill requirements listed.

• No Currency can be created or destroyed.

  • No currency will be able to be added to LIT or removed from LIT. No physical currency can be mailed to players or expended. If currency is created and expended within a spreadsheet, that is allowed, but any currency created in excess of the amount spent will be lost.

• No LIT negatives will be allowed.

  • Physical cards other than currency may be spent during the event via video chat with a Public Works Guide. You may participate in Econ without clearing existing LIT negatives, but those negatives may not be changed, and no additional LIT items can be made negative during this event.

• DR:OK will not offer Item Trading or LIT Cashouts.

  • If you wish to trade items with another player, you may arrange an exchange of physical cards with them directly. If you are a DR:OK local player and you would like to cash out your LIT, you please email dystopiarising.oklahoma@gmail.com with your request. By reaching out to a Coord Guide, you may expend physical or LIT items for immediate use.

Option 1: Spreadsheet Crafting

You may log up to 4 Hours worth of crafting, gathering, etc., with no Mind cap.
Note: Maximum of 24 Blueprints per player.

Trailblazing, Vouchers, Caravan Maps, Trade Papers, Dock Worker Contracts and CAPs expenditures will work as normal, and use may be added to your spreadsheet with 0 time expenditure.

Financial and Purchase List skills may only be used in conjunction, as no currency can be spent or gained outside of the spreadsheet.

Crafting Stations Available:

• Shortest Path Distillation Kit

• Paradigm Print Workshop

• Forged Mechanical Crafting Area

• Helscape Mine

• Forged Research Center/Heavycraf Research Tools

May Not Be Used:

• Glitter Gulch Prep Station

• Ship Yard

• Grinding Mill

• Other items that reduce time or increase output, such as the Goat Rough-Cycle

Option 2: Care Package

In order to choose this option, you must complete the Google Form provided during your ticket purchase by 6AM Central Time, the Wednesday before the event. If you miss this deadline, Spreadsheet Crafting will be available as an alternative.

Care Packages are more limited in scope than Spreadsheet Crafting, but the total time requirement to make the contents from scratch is higher than the 4 hour Spreadsheet Crafting limit.

No item substitutions are available.

care package options

Fighter

Requires any Combat Skill

• B Armor OR B Exotic Weapon OR Choice of 2 other B Weapons/Shields

Surgeon

Requires B Medical

• M Candlepin Medical Kit

• 4 servings M Hooch of choice

Pathologist

Requires B Medical

• B Deathmask

• B Mechanical Engine (Can be used to craft Ottoman’s Medical Bags)

Devotee

Requires Local Society Membership

• B Faceplate

• M Death Brew of choice

• B Uncle Todd's

Shopper

Requires B Criminal Influence, B Sailing, or B Trade Connections

• 1 purchase from any P Skill Purchase List

• 1 purchase each from any two B Skill Purchase Lists

• 1 purchase from any Local Purchase List

Farmer

Requires B Agriculture

• 5 stacks of 6 herb/produce of choice

Scrounger

Requires B Foraging, B Salvaging, or B Trailblazing

• 4 cards with different random 2x Scrap

• 5th card with 3 Scrap of choice

Chef

Requires B Culinary

• 10 B Spicy Hooch

• 6 Servings B Canned and Fried Hearty Healing Meal (Choose one of Body, Disease, or Therapy Fry)

Librarian

Requires B Education

• Choice of 8 Prints

August Event Reduced Crafting Mechanics

Hey folks!

Our upcoming event will have reduced crafting, due to out-of-character Coord Staff availability, so we've put together a story around it that fits with our current story. The changes are as follows:

1. You will not be able to use mind-refreshing items or effects on your spreadsheet.

2. You will have access to two 12's worth of Mind total; you may choose to apply both 12's to a single character or a single 12's to each of two characters.

3. Please list the character(s) you wish to craft with in the Misc. Information section of your ticket purchase.

4. All items traded to other players must be already be in your LIT prior to game on.

Feel free to email dystopiarising.oklahoma@gmail.com with any questions about the adjusted crafting system.

The Very Very Important Coord Announcement

Hey folks! Here are the details on the Coord Overhaul for this event.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. QUESTIONS AND ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS SUBMITTED BY NOON SATURDAY ARE TOTALLY WELCOME.

The goal here is to make sure everyone's inventory and sheet changes can be complete by the Friday night following the event. Entries that do not follow the guidelines below will be delayed or rejected.

Refreshes

Instead of mind refreshes, our virtual events use separate mind pools for different situations.

MODS

Each mod you attend, the character you are playing will start with the full amount of Mind and Resolve on their character sheet.

ECON SPREADSHEET

Each of your characters will have a separate spreadsheet for econ/production/crafting/etc, and will start with 12 hours of time and the full amount of Mind and Resolve on their character sheet.

SOFT RP

Each of your characters will start with the full amount of Mind and Resolve on their character sheet for actions taken in Soft RP such as Social Influence or meditation. Any refreshes issued through skills during Soft RP only affect the Soft RP stat pool.

SPREADSHEET DETAILS

The only things placed on econ spreadsheets are ZoMs and Harvesting/Gathering/Crafting transactions.

Examples include:

• Farming

• Scavenging

• Artisan

• Culinary

• Copying a Blueprint

• Trade Ties

• Using a Buy List

• Using a Goat Cycle

• ZoMs

Due to the difficulty of implemenation in online play, Ponzi Brand Metal Detectors may not be used.

Each player should total their own Items Gained and Items Expended separately at the bottom of their sheet. If there are no totals, the sheet will not be entered. Feel free to ask for help if you are unsure how to complete this section.

TRADING INVENTORY

Inventory trades between LCs should *only* be entered in the Trade Log discord channel, to avoid double-entry.

If you are wanting to trade physical cards that have an expiration date, make sure they are submitted through the Public Works before entering the trade in the Trade Log.

Example:

If Player A is crafting an brew for Player B using Player B's physical herb inventory, the steps should be entered as follows.

1. Public Works: Player B submits their physical cards through video chat

2. Trade Log: Player B gives Player A the materials

3. Spreadsheet: Player A crafts the item

4. Trade Log: Player A gives Player B the completed item

CHARACTER SHEET CHANGES

The following should *only* be entered in the Sheet Log discord channel, to avoid double-entry.

• Fractures gained and lost

• Societies joined

• Skills learned

• Permanent stat changes

• CAPs earned

Mind or Resolve spent in Soft RP or Mods does not need to be logged anywhere.

Examples include:

• Using Mental Endurance in a Mod

• Meditating in Soft RP

• Spending a Resolve during a Gravemind Scene

DATA ENTRY PROCESS

Sheets will be spot checked. If errors are found, your sheet will be moved to the back of the line for processing. Please check the Skills and Blueprints of any items you are using, and please feel free to ask for help during the event!

Spreadsheet Entry:

1. All items spent will be removed as non-unique items (aka no specific expiration date).

2. All items gained will be entered with the appropriate expiration date.

3. All items in LIT expiring in the current month, or with no expiration date, will be used to cancel out any negative line items created.

4. OPTIONAL: If you wish to address additional negative line items, you may spend CAPs for a LIT Balancing meeting to specify which specific items you want to use to address which negative line items. Keep an eye out for opportunities to earn CAPs this event.

For sheets submitted before Sunday 6:00am Central Time, we will offer free LIT Balancing meetings until Sunday at Noon, on a First Come, First Serve basis.

[Revised] Log Templates

The templates for entering transactions into the appropriate channels on Discord are listed below. A few notes on using them:

Transactions should be entered one at a time.

• Trades should be entered in the #trade-log.

• All other things that affect your inventory should be entered in the Spreadsheet.

• All character sheet changes that last for longer than a single mod (fractures, infection lost, skills learned, etc.) should be entered in the #sheet-log.

Check the mechanics of any accessories.

• Angry Anchor Mess Kit can only be used with Meals.

• Some Blueprints cost extra mind or skills to copy.

• Not all room augments are available at every event.

Templates

Trading

[Character A] @character-A trade gives [Character B] @character-B:
- ## Scrap
- ## Herb [include exp. date or (generic) if item is in LIT with no date]
- ## Currency
- ## Items [include exp. date or (generic) if item is in LIT with no date]

Using a Non-Resource Skill

[Character A] @character-A uses [Skill] on [Character B] @character-B
Skill Used: [Level] [Social Influence, Etc]
Resources Spent:
- ## Mind
- ## Etc
Effect:
- Etc

Learning Skills

[Character A] @character-A learns [Skill] from [Character B] @character-B
Skill Used: [Level] [Education, Etc]

Other Sheet Changes

[Character A] @character-A gains [Sheet Change]

Deprecated:

Crafting Consumables

[Character] @character
Skills, Lores and Procedures Used: [Level] Culinary, Lores: XXX, Procedures: XXX and XXX
Resources Used:
- ## Scrap
- ## Herb
- ## Items
- ## Mind
- ## Resolve
Items Used with Skill: (ex: Prep Station)
Consumable Created: [Level] [Brew, Meal, Injectable, etc.]
Print Lender: (if owned) self/ (if borrowed) [Print Lender] @print lender
Recipient (if making for someone else): [Recipient] @recipient

Crafting Gear

[Character] @character
Skills and Lores Used: [Level] Artisan, Lores: XXX
Resources Used:
- ## Scrap
- ## Herb
- ## Items
- ## Mind
- ## Resolve
Items Used with Skill: (ex: Electro Welder)
Gear Created: [Level] [Weapon, Armor, Gizmo, etc.]
Print Lender: (if owned) self / (if borrowed) [Print Lender] @print lender
Recipient (if making for someone else): [Recipient] @recipient

Copying Prints

[Character]@character is copying the following prints from [Print Lender]@print lender
[Print name]
[Print name]
[Print name]
Spending:
- ## Basic Herb
- ## Mind
Using: [Level] Education, Lores: XXX, XXX

Production/Gathering

[Character] @character
Skill Used: [Level] [Foraging, Salvaging, etc.]
Resources Spent:
- ## Mind
- ## Resolve
- ## Items Consumed (ex: Caravan Maps)
Items Used: (ex: Zeppelin)
Resources Gained:
+ ## Scrap
+ ## Herb
+ ## Produce

Purchasing from Buy Lists

[Character] @character
Skill Used: [Level] [Criminal Influence, Sailing, Trade Connections]
Resources Spent:
- ## Currency
- Items Consumed (like Dock Worker’s Contract)
Items Used with Skill: (ex: Merchant’s Monocle)
Resources Gained:
+ ## [Crystal Candy, Grog, Rover Tea, etc.]

ZoMs

[Character]@character
ZoM: [ZoM Name]
Mechanics Used:
What is Spent:
- ## Mind/Body/Resolve
- ## Scrap
- ## Herb
- ## Favor
- ## Currency
- ## Items
What is Earned:
+ ## Mind/Body/Resolve
+ ## Scrap
+ ## Herb
+ ## Favor
+ ## Currency
+ ## Items

Consuming Items

[Character] @character
Resources Used:
- ## Scrap
- ## Herb
- ## Items
- ## Mind
- ## Resolve

Premier Event Sheet and Inventory Handling

Changes to Item Log, changes to Double or Nothing, and changes to Mod Rewards!

Item Log

The Item Log is where all standard sheet and inventory changes are entered at DR:OK events, as players complete the requirements. This event, the item log will open early and folks will have access to one full Mind refresh during Soft Roleplay. However, the Item Log will also be closed late at night.

Open hours will be as follows (Central Time):

Thursday 7pm-3am
Friday 6am-3am
Saturday 6am-10pm
Sunday 6am-10pm

In addition, required templates for submitting different types of transactions will be provided in an upcoming post, and pinned in the item log Discord chat.

Double or Nothing

This gambling mod gives players one extra 12's of Mind to use for crafting, in exchange for completing all of their sheet and inventory changes on a spreadsheet early in the event.

This event, there will be no cap on the number of players that can attend this mod, but DoN attendees will only be able to trade with other DoN attendees, and will not be able to reserve items for later use during Soft Roleplay. In addition, line items with ambiguous errors (such as player trades that do not match) will be struck rather than corrected. Finally, there will be a few short sessions available to address any questions about the updated spreadsheet format.

Mod Rewards

Inventory and sheet changes that occur during the roleplay of a mod are an exception to both of the above standards. These changes are entered by a Coord Guide at the end of each mod.

This event, Coord Guides will be present in mod rooms to process rewards for 15 minutes, within 15 minutes of the end time of the mod. Mods that run long may resume after rewards have been processed.

TLDR;

- One Soft RP Mind Refresh
- Limited Item Log Hours
- Item Log templates required
- No Player Cap on DoN
- No Item Reserving on DoN
- DoN sheet errors struck, not corrected
- DoN can spend items on mods
- Mod Rewards processed at standardized end time

Note: We are happy to discuss reasonable accomodation for any part of our Coord process. An email to dystopiarising.oklahoma@gmail.com is the most effective way to reach out about it.

Local Societies

Starting this event, some mods and NPCs will offer the opportunity for players to join local Societies through roleplay interactions. The design of these societies focuses on providing a convenient way for members to steer toward desired in-character interactions outside of mods. The initial Societies available are a subset of the Sovereignties (which can be viewed here) and the three local Underworld Societies.

How to Join

Each Society has a general requirement for membership. This could be a particular Faith or Skill, some kind of roleplay accomplishment, or something else. Membership can be offered to your character by any current member (both leading and casted characters). Your character must maintain the membership requirement in order to stay a member, but if they do lose membership, they may rejoin at a later time.

Each general membership requirement is accessible to first-game characters. If you are wanting your character to join a particular Sovereignty, but unsure how to give your character the opportunity, feel free to reach out to a staff member, or ask other players in an OOC chat.

How to Specialize

In addition to the base membership, some Societies have faction specialization options visible to members, with additional requirements. Only one specialization can be held at a time, but a character can switch to a new specialization at any time during an event by completing the requirement again.

Benefits of Membership

Basic Society Membership adds the Society to your character sheet, and allows for all standard Society mechanics, such as the Thempire Networking Cipher and Red Star Strain Trait effects. In addition, once per event, a character may use a local-only effect of their current specialization. These effects may change from event to event, and may range from skill calls to loot to hallucinations to items available for purchase, depending on the roleplay style of the Society and current story.

Dangers of Membership

Some harmful effects may target members of a specific Society, based on current story. In addition, members of DROK Societies may look at the rosters of the Societies they belong to at any time, so anonymity is not guaranteed. A character may leave a Society at any time, but may not rejoin the Society until the following event.

Society Status for Settlements

If you are interested in having your Settlement become a local Society, that is an option! Work with the writing team to create a short description of your settlement's specialty. When the Specialty stat has been fully upgraded, you will be able to work with the team to develop Society specializations based on that specialty. Specialization effects will be determined by staff.

CAUTION! Society status will open the settlement up to potentially harmful plot. Make sure your settlement residents are in agreement before pursuing this.

DR:OK Local Society List

RECC

Membership Requirement: Acquire a Fortnight (a 10 in our local currency)

Tags: [Social] [High Society] [Financial]

Specializations:

SaveDay Premiere Club

Additional Tag: [New to DR:OK]

SaveDay has always been careful to put their best foot forward with newcomers to town, and what better way to show them the highlights than an Exclusive, Limited-Time Premiere Club Membership?

Specialization Requirement: Character has never joined another DR:OK society

11th Street Fleet

Membership Requirement: Own or borrow the keys to a land vehicle

Tags: [Nomad] [Trade] [Navigation]

Specializations:

Crankcase

Additional Tag: [Drugs]

Known for their high-quality drugs sold in every corner of the Sequoia Wastes, the Crankcase are very protective of their exact production methods. 

Specialization Requirement: Be a part of 5 separate transactions involving Injectables or Crystal Candy

Antiquarian Society

Membership Requirement: Teach someone a Wasteland skill

Tags: [Exploration] [History] [Treasure]

Specializations:

Delvers

Additional Tag: [Arcadian]

The world is a dungeon to these Arcadian Lascarians, and everyone is a player. Will you brave the dangers of the tunnels for a lifetime of adventure?

Specialization Requirement: Opt in to a negative effect OR Go on a Delver Quest.

Disquisition Review Board

Membership Requirement: Teach someone a Civilized skill

Tags: [Science] [Ethics] [Puzzle] [Research] [Medical Experimentation]

Specializations:

Council of Em

Additional Tag: [Faithless]

With a focus on Science sans Faith, the Council has a department for nearly every scientific field imaginable. What will your specialty be?

Specialization Requirement: Publicly distribute 3 different pieces of research

O'she-a Union

Membership Requirement: Craft an item

Tags: [Organization] [Infrastructure] [Crafting] [Resource Management]

Specializations:

Big Mac Commune

Additional Tag: [Gift Economy]

Based in an old world prison, this Red Star commune has overcome their xenophobia to a point, welcoming those who have proven their dedication to the community.

Specialization Requirement: Give away 3 different crafted items

Underworld

Membership Requirement: Criminal Influence Skill

Tags: [Criminal] [Theft] [Stealth] [Subtlety] [Risk]

Specializations:

Memoria Pit

Additional Tag: [Assassination]

A kindly hospital, mostly populated by the Semper Morts and Full Dead displaced by the Shiverwinds, as well as the new blood brought in. They specialize in preventative medicines, while operating on the surface as a legitimate hospital, they produce, arm, and regulate the most effective assassins in the Sequoia Wastes.

Specialization Requirement: Take an Infection from a Strain without being Implicated OR Give 5 Strain-Specific Poison brews to a Member

The Foundry

Additional Tag: [Heist]

An organization of the bedraggled and downtrodden, turned by work into a network of thieves that lay like a web across the Sequoia Wastes. Professional Resource Redistributors, they control the flow of resources, keeping eyes on high value targets, and working to keep from being rats scrabbling for scraps ever again.

Specialization Requirement: Steal 5 Separate items and give them to a Member

Red String Brigade

Additional Tag: [Sabotage]

Starting in the waters and boroughs of Greenwater, the Red String Brigade is, outwardly, a gang of smugglers and thugs. The deeper truth is that this is a profitable cover for their practice as a spy network, controlling the flow of information through the Sequoia Wastes, letting no Whisper go unheard, and putting a price tag on secrets.

Specialization Requirement: Gain entry to a secure facility or steal classified information, and report it to a Member.

Bloodied Wolves

Membership Requirement: Learn a set of crucial phrases in Lingua Lupi from a member

Tags: [Field Combat] [Combat Strategy] [Self-Sufficiency] [Civic Planning] [Criminal Justice]

Specializations:

Vehitis

Additional Tag: [Cavalry]

Formidable, fast, hard hitting, field units that can be quickly deployed basically anywhere.

Specialization Requirement: Have 15 Meat or a Goat Cycle in your inventory.

Recitis

Additional Tag: [Politics]

A leader who raises up whatever community they find themself in.

Specialization Requirement: Invest 10 Favor into a settlement or faction you are not a member of.

Nutricatis

Additional Tag: [Food Production]

One of the many who work to feed such a large community.

Specialization Requirement: Learn a new skill related to food production or processing.

[Edit: 8/5/2022]

House of Rye Halfway House for Aberrants and Lost Souls

Membership Requirement: Agree to the House Rules, as explained by a member.

Tags: [Mutual Support] [Social] [Medical] [Faith] [Community]

Specializations:

Aberrant Aid

Additional Tag: [Aberrant]

A mentor or support for aberrants in distress.

Specialization Requirement: Learn how an aberrant skill works.

Outreach Team

Additional Tag: [New Player]

A member who brings the lost and lonely in to the fold.

Specialization Requirement: Support a blue-band on a mod.

Economic Agent

Additional Tag: [Production]

An economic wheel that keeps the House rolling.

Specialization Requirement: Give one needed item to another House Member.

Settlement Mod Update!

We are now accepting plot requests for Settlement Mods!

These mods will offer you a chance to help develop the Sequoia Wastes setting as your character. Each mod will present a challenge for the settlement, either a threat to overcome or a goal to achieve, and your characters’ choices as community leaders will directly impact the outcome and consequences.

How will my character be involved?

Each Leading Character on the mod will lead the settlement in preparing a particular Settlement Stat for the challenge. They may be a volunteer or a contractor working for the settlement, but players should ensure that they have the well-being of the settlement in mind and steer their character accordingly. Each player will roll for the settlement when their character’s stat is called for, based on the creative ways characters find to solve the problems presented. During the last phase or during after-mod rewards, Favor gained from the mod will be directly invested into the Settlement Stat of your character’s choice.

Settlement Stats:

Size
Commerce
Infrastructure
Security
Sanitation
Specialty

How will the mod work?

Each mod will be broken down into 3 phases: Preparation, Impact, and Aftermath.

Phase 1: Preparation (~3 Weeks in-character, 45 minutes)

The settlement knows the challenge is coming, but not the exact details. Roll to collaborate with other stats and spend favor to collaborate with other factions to prepare to the best of your ability.

Phase 2: Impact (~2 Days in-character, 30 minutes)

Time for the challenge! Each character will make a plan to adapt to a particular challenge that has arisen with the arrival of the event, and roll their stat independently to see how their plan and adaptation fare. Creative preparation will help here, and the results can affect the Aftermath rolls.

Phase 3: Aftermath (~1 Week in-character, 45 minutes)

The challenge is over, and now it’s time to assess the cost and benefits. Come up with a collaborative plan that uses all 6 stats to minimize cost and maximize benefits from the challenge, and roll together. Remember to play to each stat’s ability level when designing the plan. The number of stats that succeed at their Aftermath role will determine the overall impact of the challenge on the settlement. During this phase, Favor rewards from the mod may be invested in the Settlement to boost the final roll.

Story Example: Big Storm (Threat)

Preparation

A big storm is coming.
Sanitation and Infrastructure roll to find out the specific kinds of impending weather. 

Size and Commerce roll to build shelters and sandbags.

Specialty: Hooch and Size roll to store up enough hooch to keep spirits up while sheltering.

Impact

The storm hits.
Sanitation Challenge: A flash flood causes a sewer backup.

Takes advantage of the sandbags to help prevent damage to structures from the flood, and encourages folks to use empty hooch containers until the toilets are fixed to minimize additional backup.

Security Challenge: An earthquake toppled the city walls and zed are coming in.
Takes advantage of folks’ high spirits from the stored up hooch to create a settlement-wide game of “Who can shoot the most zed from inside the storm shelter?”

Aftermath

Time to rebuild.

A nearly abandoned but still functional hooch factory hit with sewer backup converts their Infrastructure to begin making antiseptic, vastly improving Sanitation and slightly improving Commerce. They offer free Specialty Hooch to surrounding areas to increase Commerce and population Size, while their Security enforces mask mandates.

FAQ

Can I use this mod to undermine a settlement?

No. These mods are non-CvC, and that includes targeting another character’s home settlement. If you aren’t sure whether a decision would undermine the settlement, ask the storyteller, ask your fellow players, or err on the side of caution.

Can I use my own skills to roll against the challenge?

You can use your skills and inventory to help in creative ways, but this mod is designed to give your character a chance to take on a leadership role, rather than a lone hero role. Collaboration and delegation will be far more effective against the challenges than an individual’s skills alone.

Threats Without, Threats Within Plot Update - Extraction Technique Discovered!

Through dilligent effort, and a whole lot of collaborative effort, researchers from The Council of Em, local Grifters, and generous travelers have discovered a (somewhat) reliable method to extract the biomechanical implants that have been plaguing some of our local peers and allies. This procedure can be located in the newly unlocked The Sound Studio room on our Discord server.

Ready to help your friends be a bit less raidery than they currently are? Now’s your chance!

February 2022 Event Info

**FORE!**

We have a little OOC announcement for the intention of transparency and comfort.

For this month's game we're going to be playing a fun little mystery that's been a long time coming. 

Some general content warnings for the weekend will be **ABDUCTION, SURGICAL HORROR, BODY HORROR, DISEASE, and MINOR MIND CONTROL**

If these things aren't your bag, feel free to poke your Gamerunner and let them know which ones so that we can steer or be less descriptive as necessary.

There will be points both in Mods and ZoMs that can allow a character to become subject to a **RAIDER IMPLANT EXPERIMENT**

This process is totally optional, raider tech is funky and can just fall apart or fail at any time, no problem, no worries. You are the best measure with what you're comfortable with and if you suddenly become very uncomfortable with this dedication you can bail without judgement or hard feelings.

If a mod ends in a CAPTURE, there will be a short scene afterwards, much like a Gravemind scene, called a **DARING ESCAPE**.

During a **DARING ESCAPE** LCs will have a chance to break out of their containment and make a run for it. They will begin ENTIRELY UNEQUIPPED and under the effects of NO ESCAPE. They’ll have to snag their things on the way out (and maybe learn a thing or two as they go~) in a dramatic NARRATIVE ENCOUNTER

One may decide to stay to try and find out more, but this would be CERTAINLY FATAL, but for those who need information (and information will be sparse) more than infection, it may prove a worthwhile sacrifice…

The Great Container Rescue! (June Overarc Resolution Mods)

The ballast system of Greenwater has suffered damage and a number of important containers have fallen from the city. You are notified by someone you trust that the contents of those are valuable to someone, and may contain stacks of cash, dirt for blackmail, or all sorts of things that were locked away in the Greenwater Bank. Unforunately, while you were getting ready, a public broadcast also went out letting every single person in the wasteland know the same thing. Now it's a race against the clock to catch the containers before the seal fails, and before other adventurous souls manage to claim something for themselves. Will you help yourself, help the wastes, help Greenwater, or maybe even help the future?

Target Retrieval (Mod Room 1 - Form up in Greenwater Lower City voice chat)

This team will be heading in to the water to recover one of the containers with the single large container retrieval device that your assembled Gearheads and Techno Savants were able to whip up in such a short time. You will have the 60 in game minuites (tracked by our ST team) to recover a container before the internal seals fail and it's contents are ruined by the post-apocalyptic waters of Bok Lake. You can decide to recover whatever container you would like, but you'll only be getting the one. You will be able to communicate via radio to the research team.

Operation: Don't Let Those Folks Get Eaten (Mod Room 2 - Form up in Greenwater Upper City voice chat)

This team will be heading to the coast line to help keep amateur and aspiring adventurers from swimming to their deaths. Additionally, members from this team have a chance to assemble a secondary retrieval device that would allow them to recover a second container. Once the device is completed, this team may enter the water in search of a container. You will be able to communicate to the research team via radio.

Ninja Research Mode (Mod Room 3 - Form up in The Docks voice chat.)

This team will be heading in to the city of Greenwater to try and figure out the mysteries behind what exactly was dropped in to the water. This will help the team below the water figure out what exactly is hidden within the containers. Heavy roleplay, stealth, puzzles. You will be able to communicate via radio to the retrieval team.

By Hook, and By Crook (Mod Room 4 - Form up in Siren's Song Sushi Bar Voice Chat)

A Shady individual is looking for a team that will work quietly and for a price, and someone who is comfortable undermining the future of quite a few people. They have provided your team with a specific container number and a container retrieval device of their own design. This container is in a particularly dangerous location, but it'll be worth the reward. Just so long as you are okay with other folks suffering because of your success.

April Story Resolution Details

The Ameranthine distress that had been drawing the undead toward the Deep Harbor morgue has been completely abated. For the moment, the dead are quiet. The efforts of the construction team have allowed a temporary superstructure to be put in place that has greatly reduced the possibility of a collapse. This was only possible due to the combined efforts of defenders both above and below the surface of the water. All of these acting together and working alongside a team that risked their very Infection to clear a twisted and ephemeral blockage from the Mortis itself. Residents of GreenWater will now have the time they need to successfully reinforce their Deep Harbor and will not need to worry about the possibility of loved ones become irrevocably trapped beneath the waves. While the town may still be suspicious of those that come merely to extract profit from them, they will welcome Grifters and those who are welcomed by Grifters. For now, at least.

Resolution Options for March

Resolution Story Options

NOTE: Everyone will receive rewards for these mods, you do not need to participate in them to get the awards from them. Awards for Resolution Story will be: Favor x5 Greenwater or Catoosa, and Gear x5

Underwater Construction Mod - Hands On Crafting Mod to Save the Day! (Chaela)

The lower portion of the spire is in danger of collapsing and burying the morgue completely. Uneven pressure has spread across the lake floor and it has escalated the likelihood that the building will buckle and collapse. Artisans of all types and experience are needed to attempt structures to reinforce the failing building.

Gather together found items around your home, and construct an improvised structure, building, etc. You can use whatever you have on hand. Empty cans, LEGO building blocks, knockoff LEGO’s, popsicle sticks, or even actual sticks from outside. Share a picture of your creations to the Deep Harbor Discord Room, and other players that are active (and may react to your builds, even if they are in other mods) will react to their favorites (yes, they may react to more than one at a time)

Defense of Construction Team - Underwater JD

A big ol' underwater fight where you deal with the most interesting things the deep has to offer.

Defence of Construction Team - On Ground Jowe

Not a fan of getting wet? Not a problem, we've brought the fight to you! The gravemind is trying to pull additional bio mass to the morgue to slow the process of structural failure, so undead from all across the wasteland have been seen approaching the Deep Harbor Morgue. If they get there, it'll be bad news for everyone underwater. Help them how you can, and keep your feet dry.

Gravstalt (ST Galen)

There's a chance to slow the call of the grave, but it will require several brave souls to venture to the Deep Harbor and communication through the mortis in an attempt to understand the threat and trauma that is currently causing the pull of the dead. Will you be able to help slow the tide? Or will you enrage the dead and make things that much worse for the living?

The SubFactions of Felvik's Host

The SubFactions of Felvik’s Host.

Midnight Chamber

Leadership: Van Ender

Zealotry Rating: 3

Librarians, Finders of old secrets, Logistics experts, and supply chain virtuosos. They know where the bodies are buried and help make the war engine run. If turned to our side, they could improve how supplies move across the Sequoia Wastes.

Section 128

Leadership: Dr. Tanner

Zealotry Rating: 4

Weird SCIENCE! and so many other problems come from the minds of researchers at Section 128. Lots of cast off technosavants, graverobbers and various cast offs from different aggressive factions throughout the years. These people know how to make problems that require an entire town full of Grifters to solve. Having them off the board could be useful.

Shaded Blade

Leadership: Welbun Rott

Zealotry Rating: 5

The assassins that hang out in Felvik’s Host. Not necessarily the scariest of folks, but they’re good at dealing with the threats that they are handed. They have been used to terrify the populace of the Sequoia Wastes and have been sent in to numerous small villages to spread the fear that Felvik loves so much.

Mindf*ck Depot

Leadership: Miranda Dolan (Captured)

Zealotry Rating: 3

Experts at being psionic threats, or dealing with psionic threats. Miranda’s group is known for their ability to spread chaos and ruin people’s days. Miranda is in custody, so it will be easier to influence the group with what you have learned.

Voss Villainy

Leadership: Missing

Zealotry Rating: 1

They were responsible for helping to coordinate the fall of the Fortune Vault and Casino. They are expert social infiltration and have a long history of betraying those that they work with. It wouldn’t be that difficult to convince them to turn on Felvik one more time.

Mayhem Management

Leadership: Juno Mayhem and JayJay Mayhem

Zealotry Rating: 3

Saboteurs and sappers. They are experts at sneaking through enemy lines and making sure things blow up when they need to. Their expertise could be useful in improving defenses of settlements across the wasteland, or maybe just light them all on fire because they’re horrible?

Diamond Drillers

Leadership: Unknown 

Zealotry Rating: 6

The definition of ‘just here to do a job’ most of the teams that work for the Diamond Drillers have homes somewhere in the Sequoia Wastes they return to when they aren’t fighting. They blend in to the communities and when asked, they say they work in construction. They’re also really good at tearing peoples homes down.

The Dreaded

Leadership: Aovon Tindless

Zealotry Rating: 5

The Rank and File of Felvik’s Host. The most numerous faction and likely to be the hardest to sway. Aovon and the rest of The Dreaded are fiercely loyal and constantly trying to earn additional favor by trying to one up each other on displays of brutality. Getting them to walk away is possible, but not easy.

Cutpurse

Leadership: Unknown

Zealotry Rating: 4

Career criminals that decided it would just be easier if people were dead before they started taking their belongings. They’ve had a good life under Felvik and would likely need a bit of help to separate themselves from their current lifestyles.

Sanguine Reach

Leadership: The Red Left Hand

Zealotry Rating: 8

The personal guard of the Red Left Hand. They are primarily interested in making sure that their immediate boss, The Red Left Hand, is able to do his job and kill whoever he cares to. They are less concerned about politics and more concerned with doing what is in the best interest of the Red Left Hand. They could be convinced to act in his best interest and not show up - but it would be difficult.

Settlement Building Rules!

We are bringing in mechanics that will allow you to grow a settlement and let it engage with stories in the Sequoia Wasteland.

You can take Favor (and eventually other items) from Dystopia Rising: Oklahoma events and use them to grow and customize a settlement of your own, or you can help existing settlements grow and prosper.

Each settlement starts out with no stats whatsoever. The more Favor you spend on a particular stat, the better the settlement’s die rating will be for that stat. Favor required for each die rating is as follows:

Total Favor Die Rating

• 0 N/A

• 1 D20

• 2 D12

• 4 D10

• 8 D8

• 16 D6

• 32 D4

When you start your settlement, you pick one of the following ratings to improve to at least a D20 Rating.

Size

Commerce

Infrastructure

Security

Sanitation

Specialty

Growing Your Settlement

Players can only invest in a settlement once per event, and they may only invest in one settlement per event. However, there is no limit to the number of players that may invest in a settlement.

Specialty

This is a special category and will be developed as we go along. It will be used to help make your settlement unique among the wasteland. To start, we will allow people to create suggestions on what their settlement’s Specialty could be.

The Truth Totality - March Event Mechanic!

Gather “Local Plot: Truth” cards during the event and decide how the Final Knights and various antagonist factions are structured after the Fall of Felvik’s Host.

You will have the option of using these bits of truth to convince various factions to Factions. You have the following options.

Nothing - No investment in this faction means that they will be present at the Final Fight with Felvik’s Host.

Go Neutral - Factions that have been neutralized will not show up to the Final Fight with Felvik’s Host. It will be obvious that they are not supporting Felvik or his plans, but the faction itself will continue to exist within the Sequoia Wastes, potentially as an antagonist group.

Betrayal - Factions that have been convinced to betray Felvik’s Cohort, will show up to the fight, and keep their true motives a secret until the fight begins. They will then betray any of those that are still loyal to Felvik.

Heel Face Turn - This is sometimes what it is called when villains experience a shock to the system that convinced them to give up their evil ways and join the side of truth and most things good. Any factions that are convinced to complete a Heel Face Turn, will not only show up to the Final Fight and stand alongside the Grifters, but they will swap over to being protagonist factions that will join the story of the Sequoia Wastes.

How do we change their minds?

Each Host Sub-Faction has a Zealotry rating. In order to get that faction to sit out of the fight, you need to get enough Plot Item: Truth accumulated to convince them to Go Neutral for the fight. If you would like them to Betray the Host and Felvik as well, it will require you to accumulate twice their Zealotry rating. Finally, if there are factions that you are interested in seeing complete their Heel Face Turns and become protagonist factions, you will need to accumulate four times their Zealotry rating.

Truth Required

• Zealotry Rating x1 Go Neutral

• Zealotry Rating x2 Betray

• Zealotry Rating x4 Heel Face Turn

Immersive Video Sessions for this weekend!

One of our Discord rooms this event will be dedicated to immersive roleplay, and you are encouraged to dust off your costumes and props and hang out in video chat (though voice and text are also welcome).

A guide will be on video chat as a Settings Character during most of these time slots. While there will not be a specific plot or mod running, getting lots of folks involved in roleplay toward a common goal is likely to create plot repercussions for the February event.

Friday 9pm-10pm: Memoria Pit Medical Outreach (Medical Triage and Research)

Got a burning question - literally? Come show off your skills and equipment to help heal the sick and injured, and maybe even discover something new.

Friday 10pm-11pm: Memoria Pit Medical Outreach (Criminal Influence)

RESERVED FOR PRIVATE MEETING

Saturday Noon-1pm: Verdigrift COWop (Agriculture and Hunting)

Cows need food too, even in a war. Come dressed to farm, and help take care of the herds left behind.

Saturday 3pm-4pm: QJ Rad Track (Foraging and Salvaging)

Soonertown has some great scrounging sites, especially if you have the protective equipment to stick around for a while.

Saturday 6pm-7pm: Saints Scrap Supply (Artisan)

Need scrap? Well this is our scrap, but we're happy to let you borrow our workbenches.

Saturday 9pm-10pm: Crankcase Cookery (Culinary)

We don't cook people. No, really. Come eat dinner with us and see for yourself.

Sunday Noon-1pm: Mother Road Morgue (Anomaly and Faith Research)

This shrine on the 66, adjacent to the geographically central morgue in the Sequoia Wastes, is a gathering place for many people searching for loved ones, as well as folks just trying to connect to the gravemind.

September 2019 Event Logistics

Hi everyone,

I wanted to take a few minutes to fill you in on how we can make this next event great and provide a smooth transition into 3.0.

New Terminology

Casted Character (fm. Face NPC)

Leading Character (LC, fm. Player Character or PC)

Casted Characters

This event we will all be playing a one-shot character with 150xp. You have full agency with this character in the game space. At the end of the event your character will become a Casted Character and you can use CAPs to play them again down the road!

Character sheets

We will not have a way to provide you with pre-printed character sheets. We will be able to build your character on site but it will be time consuming. What I am asking everyone to do is head over to the character builder here and create a character with 150xp while logged out. Once your build is complete, use the PRINT tab and print this page out or save it digitally. It should look something like this sample I built here on the right.

You can email it to me at dystopiarising.oklahoma@gmail.com if you don’t have a printer. It’s a weird one-time thing so I really appreciate your help on this part.

3.0 Transfer Store

We are going to transfer your stuff over to 3.0 starting at around 4pm Friday, September 6th. This is the big one! You can get all of your totals here. If you come with your points already totaled and what you would like to trade in for, it will make this part very easy and quick. For the Survivor’s Talisman, we are going to approve Basic items in a like for like fashion (i.e. a sword for a sword, or a gun for a gun, gizmo for gizmo, etc…) (side note: Component Gizmos like Crab and the like are not eligible for trade in for 3.0 Gizmos).

To help accommodate both your Casted Character and your Lead Character (LC) and their differing builds, we will allow you the opportunity to trade in your Survivor's Talisman at the end of the game for one that fits your LC.

At the end of the event, we will also offer to break down ANY crafted 3.0 items in to their base components (a sword would return you the scrap that was used to make it for example). This way you are not out of your hard earned resources that don’t work for your LC’s build.

You can find the blueprints here. Start thinking on this!

Your items are your items

This weekend your items from your LC may be used on your Casted Character. This means that as your Casted Character you can expend resources or gain resources that will carry over to your normal LC. If you farm all weekend as your Casted Character, your LC will have a lot of herb to work with in October.