Augments & You!

It’s time for our next Summer Break Edition of the Rules Ramble with Jonathan! Each week or so, I’ll introduce a topic in the DR Rulebook in a deep dive that focuses on explaining it in more detail than the book alone can provide. Today’s blog post will touch on a bit of things concerning AUGMENTS and how you can interact with these new items in Dystopia Rising. This is a rule change that was added AFTER our last game of Season 3, so if you haven’t attended a travel game over the summer this may be new information for you. We have 79 new Augment blueprints that entered play and there’s a few things you need to know first!

Necrophage Announcements

Shameless plug time. :)

You might have noticed we just announced THE NECROPHAGE, with a fancy new website. We still have some fun stuff planned for the leadup to our September game, but ticket sales for the National event started on August 1st.

We hope you can attend, as it will be our first Texas National live game since UPRISE so many years ago in 2.0, and it’s our first linked event with another chapter with our friends at DR: Connecticut. We have some familiar faces you’ll see during the event, and you can attend the linked DR:CT virtual event to start off the story with STORMWALL before you head to the PYROCLASM to deal with the machinations of Grandfather Nichols once and for all!

Plus, each event lets you buy up to 10 additional XP, so it’s a great way to save up for that PFA or Skill you need to use your new Augments!

Augments in DYStopia Rising

At the start of July, National released 79 new blueprints for a new type of item called an AUGMENT. That’s a LOT of new prints. (There’s also two new Artisan items out there now, along with five different injectable brew prints..)

Augments aren’t an entirely new item as we’ve had a few seasonal blueprint Augments in play already, with the Shredzilla Grind Gears, OOPH Bullet Plates, Dead Man’s Hand, and the Royal Flush rounding out the list. So really, there’s kinda EIGHTY THREE (83) different Augment prints in play right now. (If you want to get technical, there’s probably a few other Seasonal Prints that should be Augments but don’t have that specific language, but this is just counting the ones that literally say Augment. We will probably see some changes to Seasonal Prints soon too, so some of these may change or go away…)

We will have several ways for these new blueprints to enter play in Bravado during our September event, so don’t worry too much if you missed out on collecting the one that most interested you during the Summer. You’ll get your chance with the REDFIELD INVENTION EXCHANGE, the Red Ledger buy list, our new Work Orders, and more…

Let’s talk about how we actually use these new prints, then we’ll cover some FAQs and common questions on Augments.

Augment basics

You can find the specific rules on Augments in a couple of places, but it’s a little bit scattered to be honest.

The best source is probably the DR Lexicon, as it had a few other updates of note in July as well. There’s even been a few blueprint updates to the Augments recently, based on feedback from players in other games that you can find on the Blueprint Change Log. There is also a FAQ Thread on the community forums, but I don’t expect y’all to have to read that. There’s even been discussions on the Dystopia Rising Discord, but I’ll try to summarize the key points about Augments here for you.

I’ve included the core Augment rules from the Lexicon here (emphasis mine):

Augment

An Augment is an item that does nothing on its own but can be attached to another item (as specified in the Augment's description) to either add a new ability or modify the item's existing effects. To attach an augment to an item, the player must spend two minutes of full engagement roleplay with both the intended item and Augment; if interrupted, the item and augment are not destroyed but the process must be started over.

After successful attachment, have Logistics mark the Augment card to indicate which item it’s attached to. The same process will remove an Augment, but destroys it in the process. Unless otherwise indicated, an item can only have one Augment attached. Upon removal - or when the Augment expires - the card is expended and should be destroyed. The effects of Augments do not stack with each other or trigger off each other's effects unless specifically stated in the Augment's description.

Let’s break down that wall of text and discuss the important bits with our own wall of text:

What can an Augment Do?

  • Augments are fun new Artisan items that allow you to customize your equipment with new and fun abilities.

  • Augments can ADD a new ability to an existing item or MODIFY an existing ability. They can affect the mind or resolve cost of a skill, change the damage type of a weapon strike, or allow you to use an entirely new ability!

How many types of Augments are there?

  • There are six different types of Augments, including Armor, Gizmo, Room Augment, Shield, Vehicle, and Weapon. Yes, that means you can have a “Room Augment Augment”.

  • There are a total of 79 new Augment blueprints. You can find a summary of the items that were added here:

How do I use an Augment?

  • Augments are attached to an existing item card, but simply attaching the Augment doesn’t require a Skill to do so. Anyone can attach an Augment!

  • Currently, Augments will be written on a GIZMO item card, but they are NOT Gizmos. There may eventually be an Augment item card type released in the future, but most importantly this means that Augments can’t be modified by things that would effect Gizmos.

  • Some Augments might have an additional Skill requirement to use them, but most simply go off whatever Skill was needed to use the base item.

    • For instance, if a Weapon Augment makes the Proficient ability of a Toothpiq Chopper cheaper to activate, you still need to need to have Proficient Melee Standard to use it.

How do I attach an Augment?

  • It takes TWO minutes of Full Engagement Roleplay to attach the item, followed by a trip to the Post Office. This doesn’t require any particular Crafting Zone to complete.

    • This means you can’t really swap out an Augment in the field. If you want different weapon Augments, you’ll need to have multiple weapons.

  • Augment item cards MUST have the item it is attached to listed on the card. You can’t swap an Augment to a different qualifying item — it’s literally attached!

  • Remember, Full Engagement Roleplay (p. 103) means you can’t use Skills and the action can be interrupted. However, Augments are unique in the fact that if you get interrupted, you don’t lose the item like in crafting, but simply have to start the two minute role play again.

What are the limitations of an Augment?

  • You can only have ONE Augment attached to an item, unless something specifically says you can. Currently, nothing allows multiple Augments.

  • You cannot STACK Augment effects, and they do not trigger off the use of another Augment.

    • One Augment ability at a time, please!

  • You can only use ONE Augment ability at a time. If you had two Augmented items that changed how your Mental Endurance skill worked, you would need to choose which of the abilities you were using at that moment.

  • Most Augments expire in three months. This means it can be expensive to keep more than a few Augments up to date on your gear.

  • Since Augments are NOT Gizmos, they cannot be BROKEN with the Break skill.

Are there any items I cannot use an Augment with?

  • Some items like the Striker’s Coat, or Skill Buy List items like the Merchant’s Shotty specifically state that they cannot be Augmented.

  • Starter Equipment may not be augmented. In the DR Corebook, page 100 states that starter equipment has no other mechanical benefits other than damage, so that means it can’t have an Augment attached.

How do I remove or replace an Augment?

  • Augments can be replaced by simply attaching a different Augment, but doing so DESTROYS the existing Augment.

  • Augments can be removed in the same way as attaching, but it DESTROYS the Augment being removed.

  • When an Augment is removed or replaced, it doesn’t damage the item that it was attached to.

Why are they being added?

  • First, Augments allow for greater customization. Even two different characters with the same item could end up with totally different specializations based on which Augment they attach to their items. This can give you a neat thing to show in your phys rep to make your fancy sword stand out and look nifty for photos!

  • Augments will stimulate the in-game economy. Since they expire in 3 months, that means you’ll need a crafter to build a new one for you, or you’ll need to find folks to help you forage or scavenge for the scrap and herbs to build your favorite Augment.

Jonathan’s Augment Recommendations

There’s a lot of new Augment prints, so I think there are a few that immediately jump out to me as really neat. I encourage you to pick out your own favorites, but here’s a few Augments to watch out for in September!

Armor augments

The new Armor Augments finally present a solid option to NOT simply wear a Striker’s Coat all the time. Since the Striker’s Coat can’t be augmented, there’s a good reason to use other types of Armor now since they can now get special abilities in addition to Armor Points.

  • Bigol Overlapping Plates - This augment allows BODY damage to hit your armor first! If you don’t have a ton of Body, this can be a great way to make you more resilient in the face of those armor piercing monsters.

  • Bloody Vestments - This powerful Faith augment allows you to spend Body instead of Resolve once per event to use Master Faithful Miracles. You can literally die to save your friends, for those of y’all that are suffer puppets.

  • Incineration Engine - This is an amazing psionic augment we previewed last year, and lets you use Pyrokinetics in a way that feels useful in a fight. Each Basic use turns into FIVE uses, and each Proficient use turns into TWO uses. But you gotta be careful not to let the armor break or else you could EXPLODE!

  • Faraday Wrapping - This lets you use the Mind Killer ability of the Paradigm Enhancer every 2 minutes. I know a certain masked Nemesis that is real excited about this Augment. 👀

Gizmo Augments

There are lots of new Trap and Larceny related Augments in this batch that make using Traps to protect your gear actually possible.

  • Angry Anchor Securebox Wiring - This is a neat add on that allows you and some friends to open a container WITHOUT setting off all the traps you’ve carefully installed.

  • EZ Access Code - This can be added to a Trap to allow it be disarmed if you know the code. Handy for setting up an ambush!

  • Freeiron Nurse’s Tools - We demoed this item last year, but it remains a valuable add on for the Sawbones Bag. When you spend Mind to heal someone, another character assisting you can duplicate that heal without spending Mind. Very efficient!

‘Room Augment’ augments

There are a number of powerful choices here. If you’ve taken the time to set up a neat Room Augment in your cabin or camp area, make sure to check out what is available.

Shield augments

It’s no real secret that Shield augments are my favorite, hands down. The new options present a REAL hard choice for Bravado on what they should use as the best shield augment.

  • OOPH Bullet Plates - This remains my favorite Shield augment, since guns can be so devastating. This item lets you call “OOPH, Blocked!” and spend 1 mind to negate a ranged attack that hits your shield. Bulletproof indeed!

  • Meatier Shield - This is a classic of 2.0, but this augment lets you “heal” your shield using Medical to repair it instead of Artisan. Handy for those doctors out there that don’t mind a shield covered in viscera and skin.

  • Shield Master’s Grip - If you don’t care about blocking bullets, this is the premiere Augment in my mind. This lets you activate your shield abilities for ONE Mind point every five minutes. That’s pretty amazing when you pair it with an unbreakable Daline Buckler that lasts for 5 minutes. Never worry about a Break again!

Vehicle augments

There are some sexy new Augments here, and for all those Junkerpunks and DJs out there you’ll quickly find your favorite.

  • O Faithful Security Compartment - Want to do your best Han Solo impression? This Vehicle Augment lets the Wasteland Hauler double your uses of Criminal Influence buy lists. This is a handy thing for all the criminal folks in our game, especially now that Crystal Candy is outlawed.

  • Amity Safety Harness - Tired of getting knocked off the boat during a Sailing Mod? You can now literally tie yourself to the boat. Why didn’t we think of this earlier, Nemo?

Weapon augments

This is the largest category of new prints. Every single weapon category gets some powerful and unique abilities and these will probably be the most used Augments. Shredzilla Grind Gears remain a solid Melee Standard Augment, but it has some competition now:

  • Crossroads Guard - This is one of the first items that lets you modify the use of INTERFERE. Normally you can’t reduce the damage you you take, but this augment lets you reduce the damage by 2 points per 1 Mind you spend. This is pretty insane.

  • Crusader’s Carvings - This one adds <FAITH BANE> to your weapon ability uses. Need to hunt down that Nemesis that killed your entire family including the Matriarch? Time for some “TV BANE”!

  • Flower Scented Paint Rounds - This Mountain Rifle augment lets a Master Hunter use NO ESCAPE on a target as a Line of Sight attack. This is the first really repeatable way to add No Escape to a weapon outside of poisons.

  • Hold the Door Extender - This Two Handed Melee Augment allows you to counter a use of Enhanced Movement. This is a great way to stop those pesky Gore Hounds from running off with your friends in the middle of a fight. HODOR!

  • Nasty Spiked Handguard - the premiere Florentine augment finally offers a way to use the FEAR skill as a player. This is a very nice way to control a fight by crowd controlling a dangerous enemy.

  • Toothpiq Pigsticker Barbs - Turn those throwing weapons into a source of NAIL. This is probably my favorite weapon augment overall. Very useful, and makes the drawbacks of carrying throwing weapons around worth it.

  • Helscape 13th Story Quarrels - This is a powerful Bow augment that turns your Helscape Arbalest into a Piercing Strike machine. You can call “5 Body!” for only 1 Mind at ranged. This is gonna be great versus those NPCs with heavy armor.

  • Slappi Knucklehead Lead Weights - My pick for Knucks, these let you call a “Knockback. 3 paces!” for only 1 Mind point. This is great for creating some distance with an opponent so you can move in for a flanking maneuver.

  • Superior Weapon Balancing - This is the all around champion for Weapon augments. It lets you use the Proficient ability of a weapon for only 1 Mind. This is crazy with some of the Small weapon abilities and it can be attached to any Small or Standard weapon.

Wrap up

That’s it for today!

In a few weeks, we start our lead up to our September game, so stay tuned for some important story updates that you’ll want to know before the game begins, including an update on that pesky problem that Waking Prime is having! The San Saba officials assure me that the majestic floating city is still flying, and that any rumors to the contrary are definitely exaggerated. We will also have some new updates to our Faction Buy Lists, Work Orders, and some of the common Zone of Mechanics you’ll see around town this season, and I can’t wait to share what we’ve come up with.

See you next time Vados!