Rules You Should Know - October
Howdy Vados!
It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to next Dystopia Rising Live event LUPUM VENARI! This game will be led by Casie Spivey. Each week, I’ll discuss in detail an aspect of the upcoming event, compiling the rules and lore into one easy place to read! This week, we are covering some last-minute Logistics Updates and some Rules You Should Know for this event.
TICKETS FOR OUR october EVENT ARE ON SALE at the door!
If you had a great experience during our DR:TX events over the summer or last season, or had some suggestions for how we can improve, we’d love to hear from you! We appreciate your high-fives and suggestions and always want to seek ways to improve our events. We give ourselves a few days after game to decompress, but we read every bit of feedback you submit!
Fill out our Feedback Form!
The national event DOWNFALL has been announced for November 13-16! This will be hosted by our friends at DR Washington and will be the next opportunity to earn some unique rewards and faction items from the Ossuary Society and the Arbiters of Bond. If you are fortunate enough to be able to travel, this could be a cool way to visit another chapter!
Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, including Lily-Jay Jones, Miranda Farmer, Noah Goodman, and Max Pohlmeier. Social Media images are designed by Noah Goodman.
october logistics update
We have a few changes to our site this month from our camp rangers for Bluebonnet Shores!
You may see a big pile of lumber and building materials in the Meadows nearing the Farming Zone. We hope this will be moved by time our event starts, but in case it doesn’t, let’s assume this is simply Junkerpunk Supplies for rebuilding their fleet. Please don’t mess with these materials, and make sure you stay safe nearby!
We will have new SOLAR LIGHTS by the signs along the main roads. This may help navigate a bit easier in the darkness and find those major paths while exploring at night. Please be careful not to damage these new fixtures!
Bluebonnet will have a new electronic gate starting this weekend! This gate will be shut during the course of the event, so if you need to leave during the event, we will have a custom GATE CODE just for our group. It’ll be easy to remember for the folks that remember old B-R-A-V-O. We will share this code with our players via email and during Opening Announcements.
Bell County is under a Burn Ban, starting Tuesday. This means we will have limited options for camp fires or open flames on site, lest we incur the wrath of the Fire Marshal. We will update you if this gets lifted or modifed as the camp rangers notify us. Plan accordingly for cooking if an outside fire was a part of your solution.
blueprint updates
We have a channel in our DR TX Discord, for #blueprint-updates. I’ve been cataloging changes to important blueprints here, as I receive the updates from our Network Support team. You’ll be able to see the changed blueprints in real time on the Juno Database, but I’ll keep a running tally of changes in those channels. You can’t post there, but feel free to ask any question in our other rules discussion channels.
We mentioned this during the lead up for our last event, but it’s worth repeating. Basically, every two-handed weapon changed over the summer, and there were a number of minor print updates with big impacts. The summer National Event DeathCon also released a number of new blueprints you can see over on our Blueprint Checklist.
Two Handed Nuclear Sledge
Mountain Pike
BBQ Rib Spearer
Gamma’s Jonesin’ Shovel
The Gallagher
Rope-Weighted Pole
Bigol Sledge
Harvester Scythe
Heavycraf Ax-I-Dent Booster
That Cursed Pitchfork
Heavycraf Counterbalance Blade
Nasty Spiked Handguard
Memento Mori Medallion
If you have one of these item cards in play, please bring the card to the Post Office so we can issue you a corrected card.
Frequently Asked Questions & Clarifications
We have a vibrant community on our Discord server, and you can feel free to ask some questions about common rule interactions. We will do our best to answer, or if we don’t have an answer I’ll ask in our Owner’s Forum for a more direct response. Here’s a few important questions and reminders that came up during our conversations online this month:
Basic Biokinesis does NOT detect the use of Master Biokinesis. This skill detects ‘lingering psionic effects’, but also specifies this with an example of short-term Upsurges. There are no ways of detecting a Mental Block on a target at the moment, other than completing clearing all Mental Blocks from there at once with the Memory Reset ability of Master Biokinesis.
The Terror ability of some weapons and Threat skills CANNOT be resisted with Mental Endurance. As such, let’s consider a few prominent skills that are useful in CVC as well as ones you might see on a few unique local threats.
If you use the Momentum Profession skill with a Florentine firearm, you can take 10 additional shots before a pause to Reload, not 12. You can find the rules for Florentine weapons on p. 74 of the Player’s Guide. The 12-shot use of Momentum is possible when using a single gun!
The threat ability Betrayal has very few ways to stop it if you fail to use Mental Endurance. However, one weird interaction introduced into the discussion was the Scales of Ezra. This gizmo prevents you from attacking fellow members of your faith and offers protection from Terror.
If you have questions, please let us know! Next, let’s consider a few prominent skills that are useful in CVC as well as ones you might see on a few unique local threats.
rules you should know - octoBER
During our October opening event, LUPUM VENARI, one of the primary dangers will be STRAIN and UNDEAD THREATS. During the weekend, you’ll be asked to defend your home against some foes that can act intelligently, use tactics, lie, and even commit CVC style actions like theft. This means that most of the skills you’ll see out there are ones that other players could use against you, or on your behalf. Oh, and more zombies. Let’s first something you might find during a mod or while exploring the site this weekend.
Lore cards
We’ve had Lore Cards (sometimes referred to as Plot Cards) in play before, but we are introducing a more standardized template of what to expect. Remember, you get several choices of Lores by taking the BASIC EDUCATION skill. Not only does this represent your character being literate, but it also provides a few in game uses related to plot!
Basic Education - Target Self / Other (p. 45, Player’s Guide)
With this skill, an individual has been educated in reading, writing, mathematics, and received minor training in more specialized fields of study. This skill is not required for understanding basic knowledge such as simple addition, subtraction, or reading. However, players may choose to forego these base skills if appropriate for their character’s background.
Unlocking Plot Information: By spending 1 Mind point and accessing available Lore cards/envelopes, the player can unlock extra information from plot cards in play.
Lore Cards will require you spend generally 1 Mind point, and qualify to “unlock” the Lore Card. These Lore Cards will generally be printed on YELLOW paper and have two sides. There are a few ways to be able to read the back side of the Plot Card, depending on your Skills, Lores, Strain, Faith, or even important parts of your Backstory, but the most common way will be a LORE.
Lore cards will generally need at least one Lore to access. Some rarer Lore Cards might need multiple Lores to unlock!
Each level of Education gives you three choices from the list of 15 different Lores in the Player’s Guide, so no one character will be able to have EVERY lore. You’ll need to rely on your friends or find another player with the appropriate Lores.
One particular Profession, Jones, allows you to access Lores you don’t normally have using the skill I Forgot More Than You Know, or specialized equipment like the Engineer’s Field Journal or the Research Center.
Once it’s been unlocked, the player that spend the Mind can choose to share that information with their allies, but the back side of the card is considered “out of character” unless you have the appropriate qualifier.
Some more common or easily accessed Lores will only require the Basic Education Skill, or another Basic skill that any starting player could potentially access. Remember, new players can instantly learn a new Skill and use it during their first event!
Some less common Plot Cards will require a certain condition or character trait, like being an Inducted member of a certain Faith, being part of a particular Strain, or even referencing a part of your Backstory. These Backstory prompts will be things that might be part of your character’s history, like “Born in Essex”, or “Veteran of the Hiway War”. If these things are true about your character, you can spend the Mind and access the plot information. More reason to submit your Backstory!
A character with Basic Education can also do Limited Research. After putting together actual notes, research, and a hypothesis, you can spend 5 Mind and go to Ops to ask some related questions to one of your Lores. This isn’t as specific as Master Education’s Research ability, but it might point you in the right direction of more information!
Threat Skills You Should Know
Let’s cover some of the skills that your enemies might use during this event:
TERROR
The Targets of Terror must try to flee from the source of Terror, even if it’s unsafe to do so in character for a minimum of 30 seconds (or as specified). If escape is impossible, they’ll cower but can still defend themselves from incoming attacks. Fleeing is always prioritized. Immunity to Fear doesn’t imply immunity to Terror unless stated.
This skill is commonly found on Undead, but it’s a dangerous ability found on some items like the Violent Display Mask and the Nasty Spiked Handguard, and of course skills of the Mindkiller Profession. One of the insidious challenges of this ability is that there are few natural protections against the Terror effect - the usual defense of Mental Endurance doesn’t work here. There are several items that can protect you from this ability, but most have a few limitations in the form of limited targets or limited duration. One particular item that can be used to temporarily protect from Terror is the Sulemain’s Water Pipe, but it’s still just an Upsurge and you need to use BEFORE you encounter the danger. Some, like the Nosit Giben Brand Visor only work against Targeted effects, not AOE or Sound of My Voice calls. Remember to be careful of your surroundings as you run away in TERROR, as this is the true danger of simply fleeing away from a monster.
FEAR
Fear is a mechanical effect that prevents a Target from attacking the source of the Fear for a minimum of 30 seconds (or as specified). Fear is broken if the Target is attacked by the source of the Fear or forced to attack by another effect that comes after the use of Fear. Fear does not make you leave the battlefield, but it does prevent you from crossing the line from verbal and secondary support to engaging combatant. While under the effects of Fear, you can still attack others on the battlefield who were not the source of the Fear. Fear can be countered by Mental Endurance.
The lesser cousin of Terror, this is still an incredibly useful skill for controlling the battlefield. This becomes particularly powerful if you are in small numbers facing an enemy using the Fear ability. This can effectively lock out another combatant from being able to deal with a threat while the monster focuses on the non-Feared survivor. A tactical use of Fear can swing an even combat into your favor, and that might be just the difference between life and death. The main difference between Terror and Fear is that Fear CAN be resisted with Mental Endurance, and is largely focused on just the target. There are some effects like the Heavycraf Cutlass that can cause “AOE Fear”, but most will be single target like the Toothpiq Chopper.
Pyrokinetics
With this skill, an individual may make a Psionic Attack to deal 10 Body damage. The effect is instantaneous and can be used as a Killing Blow. To activate this effect, the user must call “Psionic: 10 Body.” Additionally, this skill may be used on a Blueprint, Brew, or Meal to destroy the item. To use this effect, the user calls “Psionic: Break (Blueprint, Brew, or Meal).”
Damage Effect: Deals 10 Body damage with the call “Psionic: 10 Body,” and can be used as a Killing Blow.
Item Destruction: Can destroy a Blueprint, Brew, or Meal with the call “Psionic: Break (Blueprint, Brew, or Meal).”
Mental Endurance Counter: If the Target item is being held by a person, that person may counter with Mental Endurance if they have the skill. If the Target is not currently being held or the holder does not have Mental Endurance, no defense skills can be used to counter the Psionic Attack.
Nothing beats the pure, simple joy of setting your enemies on fire with the powers of your mind. This is a potent attack skill, capable of piercing armor by dealing Body damage, and standing in as a way to destroy valuable items like Brews and Blueprints. There are a few items that can modify this skill, from changing the damage to Radiation with the Focus Overload Crystal, to the Incineration Engine armor modifying your use with the Overwhelm call. This skill is normally stopped with the Mental Endurance skill, but the Break effect can only be stopped if you are actively holding the item that is targeted.
Psychic Propulsion
With this skill, an individual may make a Psionic Attack on a Target, causing them to be thrown through the air and land Stunned five steps opposite the direction of the user, or until they hit a larger solid object (e.g., wall, tree, train). Other people cannot prevent the Target from being pushed back by Psychic Propulsion. To activate this skill, the user calls “Psionic: Knockback five steps, stun.”
Target Knockback: The Target is thrown five steps back and Stunned unless they hit a larger solid object.
Self-Propulsion: The user may apply this skill to themselves to propel five steps without touching the ground. This can be used to avoid ground-based plot mechanics (e.g., lava) or move when they cannot use their limbs. Self-use still results in a 5-second Stun at the end.
Solid Object Rule: The Target stops if they collide with a larger solid object, but other individuals cannot stop the propulsion.
While this skill doesn’t directly inflict damage, it’s primary danger is controlling the space in a fight. The added “STUN” on the end of the call is dangerous as well, as while stunned you are vulnerable to more deadly attacks like other psionic strikes or even skills like Mangle or Murder. Like other psionic attacks, your primary defense is the skill Mental Endurance. Because this inflicts knock back through an Aberrant ability, it can’t be stopped with Balance (p. 35). Items like the C’Mere Psionic Wrist Binds can increase the distance pushed, but one unique ability is using this to break a NAIL effect with the Feedback Loop Generator. As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, Nail has very few ways to be broken, but psions can more easily free someone by using the force of their will and Psychic Propulsion.
Telekinesis
With this skill, an individual may make a Psionic Attack to cause a Target to drop what they are holding in one of their hands and send it at least two steps toward the user of Telekinesis. If the item requires two hands to carry or use, both hands will release the item. The psionic impulse is strong enough to break any tethering-like equipment the Target may have attached to their gear. To activate this effect, the user calls “Psionic: Drop (left hand/right hand) toward me.”
Hand-Specific Drop: The Target must drop the item in the specified hand and it moves two steps toward the user.
Two-Handed Items: If the item requires two hands, both hands must release it.
Breaks Tethers: The force of the psionic impulse is strong enough to break tethering-like equipment preventing the item from falling.
Supply Bags: Telekinesis cannot Target a character’s Supply Bag.
Our last skill for this blog post is an effective way to disarm your opponents. Telekinesis can rip something from your target’s hands, like a helpful injectable they were about to use, or that pesky shield that is stopping your attacks. This is extra effective against two-handed weapons, as it will completely disarm your target. Some of the all star equipment to use with this Impact Skill include the Psionic Focusing Gauntlets, adding the powerful “Slowed Steps” to your attacks or the Psionic Amplifier Gauntlets, to increase the distance the item is thrown away. This skill can also be used to end Nail effects in the same manner as Psychic Propulsion when paired with the Subcutaneous Magnifer gizmo.
That’s a high level look at some of the more common threat skills you might encounter during LUPUM VENARI. We hope that you can the deadly nocturnal threats this weekend!
Wrap Up
That’s it for today, Vados.
We hope that you will come join us for our next event, LUPUM VENARI. There are more things going bump in the dark in Bravado, and dangerous threats abound in the darkness. There are masked dangers in the woods, and strange rituals afoot throughout the shadows, so you’ll need to stay on guard to avoid the dangerous undead prowling in the night. Will you be stealthy enough to evade the pursuit? Can you turn the hunter to hunted? Let’s find out together this weekend!
See you soon, Vados!
