DR: TEXAS new Player corner

Welcome to our New Player corner, where we’ve gathered some useful resources for new players to Dystopia rising!

LARP, or Live Action Role Play, is like make-believe for adults! You likely played ‘pretend’ when you were a child, and donned a persona to act out in the backyard with friends - this is much the same, but with more people, a post-apocalyptic horror theme, and higher production value!

When you attend a Dystopia Rising (DR) event you are IN CHARACTER and in play for 38 hours, as a wasteland-dwelling survivor, a bad ass that has evolved to survive in the zombie apocalypse with a trusty weapon, your own cunning and skill, and a bit of luck. You eat in character, you sleep in character, and you play your character for the whole weekend in an immersive setting, with dangerous threats in play at all hours of the weekend. Can you survive the wastelands? Can you be a SURVIVOR?

You have 28 days a month to be a barista, a teacher, a salesperson, or a social worker. why not spend 3 days as a SURVIVOR in the zombie apocalypse?

Buy your Ticket today!

the basics

When you attend a Dystopia Rising event you play as your character, a wasteland-dwelling survivor in every sense of the word. During a given weekend, you and your character will meet dozens of new faces - and how you interact with those personalities will be up to you!

This is a Lightest Touch, Boffer Combat Game

In Dystopia Rising, your character will need to fight against Undead, Raiders and worse; or they’ll need to convincingly hide behind someone who is prepared to do that. All of our NPCs are portrayed by your fellow players and so our system assumes the “lightest touch” possible during combat scenarios. You don’t need to swing hard enough to actually take that zombie’s head off — you just need to contact them hard enough that they know they’ve been hit. Strike clean, not hard!

You ARE your Character

Dystopia Rising is not like a tabletop RPG. This is a full immersion game, and you will be acting as you character anytime you are not actively “out-of-character”. This means you will sleep in-character, eat in-character, and explore the site in-character. If you want to say something as your character, you simply do it. You don’t need to say stuff like “My character thinks..” or “My character says…” in this type of role play.

This is a live-action Game that uses rules & Mechanics

We use mechanics, which is just a fancy word for game rules, to simulate everything from combat to cooking to your personal charisma. Mechanics are the rules of the world that govern when your character lives or dies, how much damage they can do, what kinds of weapons they can craft, what kind of skills and psionic abilities they can use and so much more.

But don’t be intimidated! The rules of Dystopia Rising can be learned via playing the game!

DYSTOPIA RISING’S RULEBOOK IS AVAILABLE FREE ONLINE FROM DRIVETHRURPG

All the swords are foam, all the Guns are Nerf

We simulate combat with foam weaponry, either a contact-safe weapon you make yourself, one of our talented foam crafters that play the game, or an online shop that sells LARP weapons. We call these types of foam weapons “boffers”.

In addition to boffers, Dystopia Rising simulates ranged combat with Nerf Guns. We allow most single-shot, semi-automatic blasters, so most weapons you can buy at Walmart or Target will work just fine. Many folks like to paint their Nerf gun to match their character, and in the event you’d like to mod your Nerf Gun, you can find our safety requirements here.

We have a vibrant in-game economy, with crafting and item cards

All Items have Item Cards and Effects Associated With Them. Every gun, every sword, every set of armor, every healing brew or refreshing meal, every item that has a mechanical purpose in the game of Dystopia Rising, has an associated Item Card that outlines its effects in the world. If an object does not have an associated item card, it exists - but cannot be used to meaningfully and mechanically influence the world around you. An item card can either be looted, by plot or circumstance, or crafted - by a character with the appropriate skills to do that.

ask questions on our Discord Server!

We have a Discord Server where you can ask questions, meet other players, arrange a ride to the camp site, and more! Our New Player Guides, folks we assign to help introduce our new players to the game are online to help you learn how to play and get ready for your first event!

You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, or view our pictures of live events on Flickr!

It’s a harsh wasteland out there, full of hungry zombies, deadly raiders, and even the other survivors in your community. Make new friends and survive the zombie apocalypse!