Living in Bravado
The town of Bravado is the home of our characters and the central location for our story, located just down the Oxline from the larger settlement of Essex. We’ve marked some of the major sights and places of interest around the settlement on the map below.
Map of the main residential areas of Bravado. The non-Wasteland areas are marked with a dotted line.
Culture & Traditions of bravado
Bravado has several cherished traditions, from the festival of Winter Lights, the annual Stakeholder’s Meeting, the nightmarish dark of the Long Night, and the dangerous Indulgence, when the Lifers are released from Killhouse Prison. As far as timekeeping goes, years in Bravado are marked as ‘Post Hiway War’, or PHW, in memory of the world-shaking events that reshaped the Lone Star,. The number of years since the end of the war is normally marked after the PHW abbreviation. Ex: PHW ‘03.
It is currently PHW ‘07 during our Season 5 events, running from September 2023 - May 2024.
Read more about our local Bravado Traditions and more here.
Dusters | New Players
So-called for the thin film of dust clinging to their clothing and shoes, “Dusters” arrive in town on the back of The Ox, before making their way to the General Store to being looking for a bunk, hard work, and a friendly face - not necessarily in that order.
Dusters are a codephrase commonly used to refer to players who have played three events or less. Dusters may also be referred to as ‘tenderhorns’ (a carry-over from our previous setting) or other similar phrases used in other settlements eg: Bluebirds, New Fish, etc.
In character, a player may choose to wear a blue bandanna on their person to indicate they are new to the game. This helps serve as an out of character signal to other players to help introduce them to others and rope them into narratives in a fun way - basically, get them involved and help them find their feet in the town. Dusters can also get help in character by shouting “I’m too young to die” when they go into bleed out.
We recommend Dusters check out our New Player sections of the website!
the General Store | CEDAR CABIN
Post Office, research center
The “Company Store” of the Railroad Conglomerate - the General Store & Post Office is often the first stop for newcomers to town. Here is where you can purchase a set of basic supplies, and catch up on the local gossip. This is also the mail-room of the local Post Workers, who are charged with delivering mail across the wastes through rain, fog, sleet, and zed. Helpful Public Workers disperse supplies from the front porch service window. The Law Dog Union has set up a convenient Research Station here for local scholars to share their knowledge. A bulletin board holds contract ads, wanted posters, and important announcements. There are warm, dry bunks, though a building of this size often attracts undead and raider threats and there are more peaceful bunks elsewhere.
A local dive bar, the Swaying Anker, is commonly located outside of the General Store.
The General Store | Post Office is located in the large, two-story building called Cedar Cabin on our campsite. This is also the location where in-character Research is conducted. This space includes the service-window on the porch where you go to access the Post Office and receive in-character logistical items from Guides for using skills, such as crafting, cooking, and foraging. This small office will also serve as our Game Check-In location, freeing up Logistics to focus on running story.
This is one of our three climate-controlled player sleeping areas. All beds in this area will be first-come, first served. This building is not located in the Wasteland and any CVC will need to follow the non-Wasteland rules. The back room holds basic medical supplies such as band-aids and hygiene items.
The Depot, Terminal station | Dining hall
non-cvc artisan, culinary, fishing, and agricultural zones
This large building is usually bustling with travelers disembarking from The Ox before dispersing across the settlement. It’s a busy, hectic place, but the Railroad Conglomerate has turned it into a profitable venture. There is both an Artisan station and Culinary Station inside the Depot, an Agricultural area outside, along with stalls for any who might want to set up shop. Off-duty Law Dogs kick their boots up on the bar, and keep a keen eye on would-be criminals and swindlers.
The Depot | Terminal Station is located in the Dining Hall on our campsite. There is a Artisan and Culinary craft station located inside the building and a small Agricultural zone outside. Behind the building is a small area set aside for Fishing area, overlooking the cliffs by the lake. This building will be a low combat zone during the day and will be a safer place to perform crafting skills, though safety is never truly guaranteed. It will resume the regular amount of combat at sundown.
This building is not located in Wasteland and only consensual CVC is allowed in this building. Characters who wish to set up a booth or service in this space are welcome to do so, though we ask that you do your best to make it look ‘genre’.
The kitchen located in this Dining Hall requires a food handler’s license to use the equipment. Storing your food in this fridge and using the microwave is fine without a license. Email food handling licenses to info@dystopiarisingtx.com.
The Ox | Parking Lot
out of character parking
An iron horse larger than ten caravans mounted on steel rails, The Ox is the gestalt amalgamation of a dozen derelict trains, construction vehicles and the engine of a single downed jet plane, The Ox rockets across the blastlands at breakneck, ludicrous speed between the cities of Essex, the Clutch, and the untamed badlands around the new town, now christened Bravado. It is often seen at the Depot, disembarking new Dusters arriving to seek their fortunes in the Railroad Conglomerate’s Work Camp, and traveling abroad across the San Saba.
The Ox is the narrative method by which most new and returning characters arrive in our town. In the play space, players enter play at the gate leading into the campsite from the parking lot. If you need to check-in, please proceed to the side window of the Post Office in the General Store near the parking lot.
GRAVE BUREAU ANNEX | laurel lodge
LOGISTICS & NPC CAmp
Once the hallowed ground of a living Gravemind, the rocky earth here no longer sobs it’s eerie lullaby. Hoping to harness what strange energy that was left below, the Grave Council built their Bureau right on top of the dead biomass. In and out the collectors go, managing the same in and out of the new Bravado Gravemind and lining their pockets with the profits of death.
Grave Bureau Annex | Logistics is an out-of-character space, located in the building labeled Laurel Lodge on our campsite, where our Extras and Guides operate to provide experiences to the rest of the game. This is also where you come for out-of-character player needs, and where you will report for your selected NPC casting shift.
The Hallows | Tree House
Morgue & Mortis amaranthine entrance
The domain of the eerie Grave Council, the Hallows is maintained for the use of the Railroad Conglomerate, for the efficient cycling of their workers through the process of living, working, and dying. For some, this is a place of quiet contemplation - for others, a place of unsettling experiences. Inside this old barn, the cries of the recently deceased mingle with the disembodied voices of the great Gravemind, the Mortis Amaranthine. This is a liminal space where the memories of the past mingle with the shades of the dead, and those who the Infection has knit back together pull themselves from the ground with help from the cadre of local Sanctioned Graverobbers and Groundskeepers contracted for this purpose and who record their fates in the Grave Ledger. Above the whispers and shudders, a slow sepulchral tone sounds - the bell at the crossroads announcing - another survivor has fallen.
The Hallows is our in-character Morgue, located in the tall wooden structure called the Tree House on our campsite. When your character dies, or otherwise participates in a death scene, this is the in-character space where mourners gather. As such, it is not permitted for players to camp here. There is now an obstacle/ropes course located in this part of the camp and the Gamerunners ask that you employ safety when using it.
Death Scenes themselves are often carried at pavilion nearby, or other spaces set aside for the purpose after the death has been recorded at Logistics. Sometimes we also use this space for other intensive sensory experiences, like blackbox scenes and special mods. Groundskeepers are Guides specially trained in the administration of Death Scenes.
The Hallows is not located in the Wasteland, and CVC here is frowned upon. The Grave Council has made it clear that disrupting the peace of the dead or those who are mourning will be met with swift social (and sometimes lethal) consequences.
The WastelandS | CVC zone
Safety is never guaranteed in Bravado, but even less so the further you get from the central hub of the General Store and its outlying neighborhoods. The Wastelands are the least protected areas of the settlement, prone to roaming beasts, banditry, and general lawlessness. Nevertheless, there are good reasons to enter these blastlands - chief among them being the improved odds of finding rare resources, a large helping of quiet solitude for shifty business, and the quiet pride in potentially being the most dangerous creature other people encounter out there.
The Wasteland is a CvC flagged zone that stretches over half of the Bravado site. This includes the Meadows, Delvedown Camp, Widow’s Walk, the Maw, the Breach, and the Dive. Refer to the section called “Conflict between Leading Characters” and “CvC in the Wastelands” in the rule book for details. A character cannot be forced to enter the Wastelands unwillingly, in or out of character. All CvC rules regarding staying in play apply.
Delvedown Camp | wildflower tents
cvc Artisan Crafting Zone
One of the original delve-sites, Delvedown Camp is a primitive shanty-town on the outskirts of Bravado. Nevertheless, this is where the majority of the settlement’s industry and crafting occurs, as various artisans and tinkers use the crafting workshops and tools provided by the Railroad Conglomerate to keep the camp running - on top of fighting off any external threats that roll in from the Wastelands. A number of delve-shafts in the area provide access into the mysterious excavation areas below.
Delvedown Camp is also home to Sin Sa-Bar.
Delvedown Camp is located in the section of the camp with raised platform tents, called Wildflower Tents on our campsite. This is a popular place for tent camping, as there is plenty of space to set up your tents.This is also a player living area with showers, bathrooms, and space to set up dystopian-looking tents. All platform tents/bunks are first-come, first-served. This area is located in the Wasteland and all CVC will need to follow the rules of The Wasteland.
Anyport | the pool & sports courts
cvc fishing zone, Sailing mods
A bit closer than the murky Punkerport, Anyport is a Junkerpunk flop-area adjacent to Delvedown Camp and the nearby fish hatchery and pool is able to be used for fishing by anyone willing to cast their hook or harpoon over the fence.
To save your ankles the long and treacherous walk down to the lake, this poolside area may be used for fishing skills, though you cannot enter the pool-enclosure proper.
Punkerport | The Lake
cvc fishing zone
A run-down marina where the waterways leading from the new resort town of Drywater empty into the irradiated lake that laps at the shores of New Bravado. Here the Junkerpunks drop anchor at a rusted but rugged man-made island in the center of the lake, and row their dinghies to the dilapidated docks to offload agricultural and trading supplies for the Delve-camps, and take on shipments of foraged metals and fantastic technology to be shipped out to The Clutch and beyond. Primarily occupied by Saltwise, Red Stars, and hardy dockworkers, the Punkerport is a raucous setting where violence, acts of bravado, and intoxication go hand in hand - not necessarily in that order.
The Punkerport is located down at the docks along the lakeshore. It is labeled The Point at our campsite. The Punkerport can be accessed for Fishing if desired, however this space will mostly be used to spawn mods. We recommend not swimming in this area, as the Lake is known for alligator gar and there are no assigned life guards.
The Dive | sage huts
cvc culinary crafting zone
A delve-camp is only as healthy as it’s hearty meals. Here, within close proximity to the crafting and farming zones of Bravado, hard-working cooks and brewers churn out meals that, while not particularly appealing to the eye, are at least appetizing to a hungry Delver, Railroad worker, or Law Dog.
The Dive is our primary cooking and brewing area. It is located in the center of camp in the open-air pavilion labeled Sage Huts on our campsite. There are also ten open-air cabins with 4 bunks apiece in this part of the town for player living. An outdoor shower area and washroom/bathroom are nearby. All bunks/cabins are first-come, first-served. The Dive is located in the Wastelands and all CVC will need to follow the rules of the Wasteland.
The Meadow | grassy field near cedar cabin
cvc Agricultural zone & Farming Area
Here and there, amongst the pocked, broken, and scorched earth of Bravado, there are areas of potent abundance. Fascinating to the Hermits, inexplicable to the Digitarians, this stretch of fertile field is the best soil in the area for planting high-yield crops. Perhaps it’s the radiation, causing mutations for good instead of harmful cancer? Or something else seeping up from the ruins below? Whatever the reason, if you’re looking to stick your green thumbs into the soil, this is where you want to do it.
The Meadow is located in the large field next to the crossroads, between Cedar Cabin and the Sage Huts on our campsite. This is where roleplay materials are placed to allow players to roleplay their agricultural skills. The Meadow is located in the Wastelands and all CVC will need to follow the rules of the Wasteland. For those who wish to farm more safely, there is a smaller, secondary farming area located in front of the Depot.
The EXCLUSION ZONE | honeysuckle huts
cvc | the outskirts
In days past the Exclusion Zone was an unfruitful space full of run-down and dilapidated structures. After the fall of the massive airship-city Waking Prime, the area is now an irradiated space where nothing survives for long. The Railroad Conglomerate occasionally sponsors expeditions into the radioactive wasteland called “Liquidation Runs” to retrieve items from within the corpse of Waking.
The Exclusion Zone is the space labeled on our site as Honeysuckle Huts. There are eight open-air cabins used for NPC space and out of town modules. An outdoor shower area and washroom/bathroom are nearby. The Exclusion Zone is located in the Wasteland and all CVC will need to follow the rules of the Wasteland.
Widow’s Walk | prickly pear TENTS & Corky’s Corner
cvc | Away mod space
Here the encroaching forest truly begins to make its in-roads on the burgeoning settlement. An excellent place for hunting and gathering, the Widows Walk slopes away to Bravo Crater Lake and beyond, into the pastoral stretch of agriculture that comprise the Lovelace Family’s pastures and fields. Despite being distantly located and in a discreet and unseen area, no criminal activity at all can be found in this area. None.
Widow’s Walk is a mostly-unoccupied stretch of forest and trails between Delvedown Camp and The Lake. It is labeled Corky’s Corner on our campsite. It is a favorite site for shady deals and criminal activity thanks in part to its location in the Wasteland and being far enough away from town that no one can hear your screams.
The Dog run | oak cabin
Non-combat Med sleep
Right down the road from the Crossroads likes The Dog Run, a bunker-house for the delve-camps, this building seems to be a favorite haunt for Law Dogs. With Boss Wyatt putting pressure on the town to remove lawlessness, the scoundrels of Bravado do not dare to threaten the operations of the Law Dogs when the Boss’s eye is open. Even the zed give the location a wide berth, as if they remember the countless deaths at the hands of Bravado’s protectors.
The Dog Run is located in the building labeled Oak Cabin on our campsite. This is one of our three climate controlled sleeping areas and has a shower room and bathroom. All bunks are first-come, first-served. From sundown to sun-up this cabin will be our non-combat and medical sleep space. During the daytime hours, this cabin can be attacked by mobs, but is not located in Wasteland; any CVC must follow non-Wasteland rules.
If you engage in combat at this location, please be careful of the rough terrain leading to the building.
The Dusthouse | redbud cabin
New Player Cabin
Another bunker-house set back from the center of town, this is a good place to knock the dust off your boots and do a bit of a wash-up at the adjacent shower house at the end of a long day’s delving. The Dusthouse is one of the first places a new Duster rests their head in Bravado, and it’s proximity to the Terminal Station and the Morgue makes it a popular location for merchants, survivors, and even threats drawn by the activity.
The Dusthouse is located in the building labeled Redbud Cabin on our campsite. Although it is attached to the end of the building that also houses The Depot | Terminal Station, this is an in-character space and is open for players to play and sleep in. This is one of our three climate controlled sleeping areas. It is normally set aside for New Player sleeping for up to their third game, and is first-come, first-served for non-New Player sleep after 8pm on Friday. All other bunks are first-come, first-served. There is a large shower and bathroom complex nearby. This location is not located in the Wasteland and any CVC must follow non- Wasteland rules.