Item Cards

YOU can find the complete rules for item cards in the DR Corebook starting on page 168-169

A big part of keeping the Dystopia Rising game fairly rules-light is the use of ITEM CARDS to represent mechanical effects past what your character sheet and Skills can cover.

Item Cards you find in game will be approximately the size of a standard business card. If you lose the Item Card (or accidentally wash it after a game), you lose the item too — so keep them safe! Many players will have elaborate card boxes or binders to organize their cards, but some will just shove them into a pocket of their costume, attach them to a phys rep, or put them into their Supply Bag.

sample item cards

Item Cards will be pretty obvious, but so you know what to look for we’ve included some examples below. Many of the cards will even have a few of the relevant rules printed on them for easy reference later. These were designed for the entire DR National Network by our very own Aesa Garcia.

There are several types of Item Cards you will see in game:

  • Scrap - These represent bits of metal and useful materials for weapons and engineered items. These items normally don’t expire and are used in most Artisan Blueprints. You can acquire these items via the skills Salvaging, Foraging, Trailblazing, and Trade Connections.

  • Herb & Produce- These are plants, vegetables, and seasonal herbs used in a variety of Culinary Blueprints and even some Artisan Blueprints. You can acquire these items via the skills Foraging, Hunting, and Agricultural.

  • Armor - These are items that provide additional Body to protect you from threats. Once they run out of Body points, they must be repaired by a character with the Artisan skill. These are made with the Artisan skill.

  • Brews - These are single-use items that provide a variety of effects from healing, Mind restoration, or temporary buffs. These are made with the Culinary skill.

  • Injectables - These are Brews that can be used by a character already in Bleed Out. They are expensive, and cost Resolve to use, but are one of the only ways to save yourself if you are dying alone. These are made with the Culinary skill.

  • Meals - These are short-term items made in small batches. These allow for efficient healing and Mind restoration, but expire at the end of the event. There are procedures that can add to their effects or even extend them past the end of the game. These are made with the Culinary skill.

  • Room Augments - These are expensive and powerful augments to buildings in the game. Generally they improve a 10’x10’ area, and you must provide the appropriate props to decorate the space. These are made with the Artisan skill.

  • Gizmos - This is the most versatile card type, as it covers everything from small handheld engineered items, single use items like smoke bombs or disguise kits, and more. These are made with the Artisan skill.

  • Augments - These are new types of items that upgrade and enhance existing items. They can add new abilities to an item or Skill use, but each item can only have ONE augment added to it. These are made with the Artisan skill, but anyone can attach an Augment once it is crafted. (These are currently written on GIZMO item cards but are NOT Gizmos.)

  • Non-Mechanical Items - These are items that have no in-game effect, but are often used as components of larger and more expensive items. These can also represent a way for you to provide a card for a neat prop or real-life item you’d like to sell to other players. These are made with both the Artisan and Culinary skills.

  • Shield - These are protective items used to block attacks in combat. Crafted shields also provide additional abilities for those that have higher tiers of the Shield skill. These are made with the Artisan skill.

  • Trap - These items can make opening a box or crate that doesn’t belong to you the last thing you do. Traps can be placed on containers, stretched across areas as a trip line, or even concealed under a pressure plate. Traps must be represented by a physical prop of some kind, but should never be actually dangerous gadgets in real life — use the card instead! These are made with the Artisan skill.

  • Weapon - These are one of the first items most characters acquire in game, as it is a boffer LARP after all. Crafted weapons also provide additional abilities for those that have higher tiers of the various weapon skills. These are made with the Artisan skill.

  • Vehicle - These are very expensive items that will require most characters spending several games gathering resources to make them. They never enter play directly but have several powerful effects that represent their influence on the game space. These are made with the Artisan skill.

There are two other types of items you’ll encounter in game, each represented by their own unique physical representations:

  • Blueprints - These are recipes and schematics for how to build another item in the game. You must have an appropriate Blueprint to build 95% of the items in the game.

    • Culinary Blueprints allow you to craft items with the Culinary skill, including brews, injectables, and meals.

    • Artisan Blueprints allow you to craft items with the Artisan skill, including weapons, armor, shields, gizmos, room augments, vehicles, traps, and more.

    • Procedure and Benediction Blueprints allow you use Skills in new ways, often requiring additional resources to activate the new uses. These can enhance existing items, allow you to restore lost Infection, or even give new uses of Faith skills.

    • Augment Blueprints allow you to craft items that enhance other crafted items like weapons, armor, or gizmos. Each item can only have one Augment.

    • Seasonal Blueprints are periodically released and have an expiration date of generally one year. These prints are used as ways to test powerful or thematic items that may or may not become full blueprints after the year of testing is concluded.

  • Currency - These are printed on thick plastic cards and represent the in-game money used by characters and organizations in the world. Each chapter has it’s own local currency, and many players collect the various different types of currency in the game.

    • Brass (฿) - The currency of the San Saba Territories is the Brass Note. This comes in three varieties, the single currency Brass Note, the five currency Lead Note, or the ten currency Tin Note. These can be generated by the Financial Influence skill, the Elitariat Strain advantage, or by simply trading goods and services with other players.

    • Trade Notes - The humble Trade Note is a universal currency used by the merchant guilds of the wastes. It comes in 1-, 5-, and 33- notes, and can usually be traded with travelers at any branch in the network. These can be acquired using the Master Financial Influence Skill or by trading with merchants that come into town.