Today is the day for our first in-person NATIONAL EVENT of 3.0 - THE NECROPHAGE!
Let’s cover the last minute Logistics Reminders for travelers and Vados alike. We are going to cover LIT inventory, our Vaccination policy, a run down of the weekend itinerary, how and when people can come on site, and some other important reminders for game including a special guide on how to get better PHOTOS of your character during this event!
I wrote a bunch for this game on preparing for the event, so check out my previous blog post on National Event Expectations for a full list of some things to keep in mind, as well as my post on the Culture Differences in DR:TX.
Let’s get started!
Schedule of Events
The link above covers the standard start times and such of our game, but here’s the basics:
friday
3:00pm Site Opens and Players may enter site from the Parking Lot. Note: You cannot drive your car onto site. There are a limited number of carts on site that you may use to transport your items, or just carry them to your bunk.
4:00pm Logistics Check-In Opens for Pre-registered players at the Post Office/Kiva
5:00pm Logistics Check-in Opens for Everyone at the Post Office/Kiva
6:00pm New Player Guides are on hand to help New Players in Kiva
9:00pm Opening Announcements on the porch of Kiva
9:20pm New Player Orientation and Module begins immediately following Opening Announcements
10:00pm Bell Rings for Game On! Past this point, all spaces in camp are full-immersion and in-character except for bathrooms/showers, the Parking Lot, The Grave Bureau Annex | Logistics, and the side check-in window in the Post-Office.
10:00pm Post Office opens for in-character transactions
Sunday
12:00pm Bell Rings for Game Off, Post Office Closes
12:15pm Closing Announcements for everyone at the Bell at the Crossroads. Guides meet after Closing Announcements for Cleanup Assignments.
12:30pm - 1:30pm Personal Site Cleanup Everyone cleans up their sleeping areas and moves all their stuff to their transportation in the parking lot. This is done by area and group. Once everyone in the area is done, a Guide who stays in your sleeping area will inspect the area and sign off on your Character Sheet that you have completed your personal cleanup. Then the group will proceed to the Porch of Kiva for Camp Cleanup assignments.
1:30pm - 2:30pm Camp Cleanup With your sleeping area group, you will help to clean up a general space of the camp. Once you have finished, you will have your sheet signed off by your Guide and you will turn your sheet in to the Gamerunners. After this point you are free to go!
Parking Lot
We will have some volunteers helping out in the parking lot starting at 3:00 PM, but please remember to be courteous when parking your vehicles.
Please follow the directions of the staff to ensure that everyone has a place to park their vehicles. Carpool if you can, or plan to share a ride with a friend!
Do not double park, or block in other cars. We might have players attempting to leave site early or they may have to leave for emergencies.
We cannot block the main road into camp. You can park on the side of the road, but you must leave space for an emergency vehicle to get onto site.
Please practice safe driving in the parking lot and watch for pedestrians!
smoking policy & Burn ban
Camp Kachina is a non-smoking campus. Players cannot smoke cigarettes, pipes, cigars, or charcoal hookahs while on the camp grounds, which includes the parking lot. Players are able to smoke if the means is electronic, such as a vape or an electronic hookah.
If you want to smoke otherwise, you must completely leave the property and go ALL the way to the main road entrance off Morgan’s Point Road. We recommend taking friends, cause it’s a long hike.
In addition, Bell County (where we are located), is under a BURN BAN until the end of October. That means no open burning is allowed on our site, so you’ll need to plan for some other method of cooking than a campfire.
kitchen policy
Remember, the industrial kitchen located in the Dining Hall requires a Food Handler’s License to use the equipment. You can email food handling licenses to info@dystopiarisingtx.com.
Storing your food in this fridges and using the microwave is fine without a license. There are limited fridges to store cold items in, so bringing your own ice chests and coolers are a good idea if you have a lot of stuff to store.
Please do not take up too much in the space in the fridge. Save room for others!
You will need to plan on bringing your own plates, silverware, etc. for meals on site. There are limited access to pots & pans for the folks with food handler’s licenses, but plan according for meal plans with paper plates, cups, and napkins.
Clean up your own trash and dirty dishes immediately. Don’t leave stuff in the sink hoping someone else will clean it up for you. We don’t need the wildlife investigating your leftovers. Plan to clean up after meals and don’t leave it sitting around. Our Safety Guides will be checking on our kitchen use throughout the event as well.
MEdical information
If there is a medical emergency during game, we use the words "SAFETY HOLD" to pause all action in our immediate vicinity. We use an OOC symbol of our hands on our heads to indicate we are out of character and anything we say out of character is effecting the 'real world' and should be taken seriously. So if my friend falls and hurts themselves, I will yell "SAFETY HOLD!" and place my hand on my head. Then I will send myself or a runner to get the nearest Guide and say 'This is a real-life emergency. Someone is hurt.'. If there is no Guide nearby, send someone to Ops. Where possible, never leave the person alone. If the injury is serious or life threatening, find the nearest phone and call for emergency services.
Limited Medical and First Aid supplies are available in the Med Room, located in the back room of Kiva. This is also a rest, recovery, and decompression room as needed. A copy of our Emergency Handbook is available in this room as well, and in Ops.
covid-19 Vaccination policy
All players attending DR:TX events, including PYROCLASM, must show either proof of Covid-19 Vaccination or a negative Covid test result from within 72 hours prior to the event start. You can email those to info@dystopiarisingtx.com. You will also need to sign agreement to this policy and agreement to our liability waiver before entering play. You only need to do this once!
Read our full Covid-19 Policy here
If you are feeling sick, please stay home!
LIT Inventory
If you have items in LIT Inventory, PLEASE EXPLICITLY ASK FOR A LIT ITEM LOG during Check-In. These LIT Inventory sheets will be printed for folks that request it with items in their online inventory during check-in, and you will be able to mark transactions off your totals on the sheet. At the end of the game, you can simply turn in this sheet to record your item uses. If you can use these sheets for your item card needs, this is the BEST way to do so.Players will have some limited ability to remove items from your LIT Inventory that you will need during this event.
We will have Joscelyn & Lauren, and others in the kitchen WINDow in the DEPOT from the hours of 10am - 6 pm on Saturday to help with LIT transactions.
This LIT inventory window is at a DIFFERENT place than the usual Post Office, in the small kitchen window within the Depot by the back door. Please be kind and patient, as this is one of the most time-consuming tasks the Post Office has to do for a player, and we have several visiting directors helping with this task. Rumor has it, being mean to a Postal Worker is the leading cause of Grandfather Nichols visiting your cabin in the middle of the night…
Sleeping Arrangements
This webpage explains more about the areas of our campsite and what sort of bunks are available. The Camp Kachina site easily sleeps at least 150 folks, plus tents brought by players. All bunks are first-come, first-served, with the exception of the Medical Sleep Cabin where priority should be given to folks who need electricity for CPAP and other machines, or who must be undisturbed during sleep. The medical cabin, labeled The Dogrun/Wigwam on our camp maps, is also a non-combat zone after dark due to the large amount of rocky terrain around this building.
Because we can’t guarantee medical cabin bunks will be available, players who need to sleep out-of-character can get a note on their character sheet at check-in. We recommend placing a sign above your bunk with a green or orange glowstick at night to indicate that you would prefer not to be targeted during nighttime combat and other modules. If you require additional accommodations, there are several hotels and airbnb locations nearby in Belton.
Some cabins have limited access to electricity. Plan to have a battery pack for your phone, or bring a surge protector for multiple devices. Have a plan if power is not available nearby your sleeping areas or crafting zones.
The Kachina bunks have a camp pad or mattress on them, but it’s useful to have a set of sheets or a sleeping bag to use as well. I heartily recommend additional blankets or padding past the mattress, if you can afford the space in your vehicle or packing.
We have limited buildings with AC available, but there is always floor space in the Depot to sleep indoors if it gets too hot or cold. Depending on the weather, Texas can be especially hot, or surprisingly cold.
There are no RVs allowed on the site, and the parking lot does not have a lot of room for larger vehicles. Please plan accordingly.
We will have an NPC shift starting at 3:00 PM on Friday to help with managing the Parking Lot as players arrive. Please follow the directions of the staff to ensure that everyone has a place to park their vehicles. Carpool if you can, or plan to share a ride with a friend!
Tenting Incentives
The Survivor’s Guide to Wasteland Modeling
By Poeregard
It’s a National Event! You’ve spent a metric Oxload of time working on your kit, you’ve been working on your character posing, possibly traveling for MILES out of state and you’re ready to kick-ass at a huge game! Now what?
You want to get that sweet-sweet kit caught on camera, preferably while interacting with some other cool kits and rad players in the Wasteland, of course!
So many of us love photography time, and with the help of Max Pohlmeier, Lainey Weiss and Crystal Louise Remy this upcoming trade, you’ll have the chance to do just that.
However! There are some ways you can make that moment even better for you AND the photographer.
Slowing down!
Getting the right photo takes time, getting the angle, getting you and others in the scene interacting. If you see a photographer lining up a shot near you, take a few moments to slow down your movements, hold that pose a little longer, make that expression a little longer. This will help get that perfect shot of you and those around you.
“Cheating the Camera”
An example of some of our AMAZING players “Cheating the Camera”
Cheating the camera is a modeling term, where your body is kept mostly forward while your head is turned towards your subject. This helps get more of you, your kit and include others in the scene!
On the note of posing, if you want to seem like you’re looking into the distance, look at about 15 degrees to the right or left of the photographer. This will make it seem like your character is looking somewhere off in the distance, either at a friend, a looming threat, or contemplating if they should grab their next drink at the Swaying Anker or the Sin-Sa-Bar.
Food and Drink
Eating and drinking during game is GOOD, and self-care is GOOD. You’re a survivor and surviving in the wasteland is what we do- but! If you see the photographer around, they may avoid grabbing a shot of you while you’re slamming back that cup of hot brown or chompin’ on those Beaver Nuggets. If you see any of our photographers coming through, place any food to the side, and continue the scene until the photographer has moved on. It will only be a few moments though, so don’t worry about your Saturday Morning Cartoon cereal getting soggy!
Also! If you see the cameras coming through moving cans, modern food containers, and other non-genre’d bits out of the frame does WONDERS for a shot and immersion. Please do so if you have the chance!
Facial Expressions!
There is a LOT of drama out in the wastes, and it’s AMAZING when it happens. Pushing that moment can be amazing for the camera, so ham it up! Whether it’s in the heat of an argument, crying over the loss of a loved one, or weeping in joy over that DELICIOUS bowl of elote a couple of folks in the Depot just sold you, pushing that expression looks AMAZING on camera! Your characters are POWERFUL and their expressions can be too. This isn’t just for your face either- if you play a masked character, or anyone with a covered face, bring that expression into your body! Drop your shoulders, gesticulate with your hands, get big, get small - let that moment show with your WHOLE self. It’s amazing for both the scene, and the photo, so don’t be shy!
OPTING OUT OF A PHOTO
We know that not EVERYONE wants their photo taken, and that is 100% okay! If you see a photographer lining up a shot of you, show them a thumbs-down. This will tell them that you don’t want a photo, and they will do their best to make sure you aren’t the focus of a shot! It is completely okay to be uncomfortable with having your photo taken, and we will do our very best to respect that.
Thank you so much to everyone coming out this weekend, we’re excited to have you and have the opportunity to mark your kit in wasteland history.
See you on site Vados for the PYROCLASM!!!