2024 Helldive - Weird Weekend WhatsIts

There will be a variety of custom mechanics that you may encounter this weekend. Many of them will not be used past this weekend, but if you’re coming to visit and looking to go Helldiving, you’ll want to know about these!

General Custom Mechanics

Here are some calls or keywords that you may hear over the weekend.

Abduct - “Abduct, [Target Name]. Never Here Plus One.”

User stands over a Subdued or willing Target with both boffers on or over them. After 10 seconds, unless interrupted, User goes Out of Character, per Master Stealth, with Target. Where the Target respawns will be dictated by mod or environment with final say by the Guide overseeing the scenario.

• Countered by ‘No Escape.’

• Redirection through the Benediction of the Chiroptera applies.

Absorb - “Absorb, Enter.”

Delivered by Melee Strike. This will be obvious in the moment and clarified if needbe.

• Countered by Avoid

Command - “Psionic: Command, [Three Word Instruction]”

Delivered by white psionic packet. If not defended against, Target must attempt to follow the instructions to the best of their ability. Effect lasts until the Target is put into Bleed Out.

• Countered by Mental Endurance

Flora - A Keyword that applies to some custom threats encountered over the weekend. There are currently no calls or effects that specifically interact with the Keyword Flora, but this may change over the course of the weekend based on player actions.

Blight - A Keyword that Player Characters may gain, and lose, over the course of the Event. Blight has no effect on its own, but characters with it may be vulnerable to other calls that target the “Blighted.”

Underwater Mechanics

This hopefully shouldn’t be a surprise, but a major part of the focus of our event involves diving underwater. This will not be the entire event’s focus, and is entirely opt-in via away modules.

Remaining Underwater without an Air Source

If swimming underwater without a source of air, you can hold your breath for a set amount of time before you begin to take damage. For ease of use, we will call this amount of time your “dive cycle.”

Under 50 XP Spent - A dive cycle is 4 minutes per current Resolve total.

Between 51 and 150 XP Spent - A dive cycle is 2 minutes per current Resolve total.

Over 151 XP Spent - A dive cycle is 1 minute per current Resolve total.

Mechanics:

• If you reach the end of your dive cycle, you may choose to spend 1 Resolve to start a new dive cycle

• Returning to a source of air for 1 minute will reset your dive cycle timer.

• If you cannot, or choose not to, spend Resolve, you will begin to take 10 Body every 30 seconds until you reach an air source.

• Resolve spending mechanics, per the 3.0 Rulebook, still apply. If you reach 0 Resolve during the Event, you may not spend Resolve (including Resolve-costing Items) for the rest of the Event, even if you no longer have 0 Resolve.

• All Full Dead and Saltwise can remain underwater indefinitely without taking damage. Some specific conditions may interfere with this, and will be clarified when they arise.

Sources of Air and Other Defenses

Diving Bell

This submersible has some very limited propulsion in localized areas but is primarily reliant on a ship for navigation. It is not a submarine, and cannot navigate the entirety of the Dead Zone on its own. Its supplies of air and power are limited, which may limit how long it is useful for on a single trip before needing to be replenished.

“Ace Sears Brand” Air Cylinder

This single-use Gizmo provides up to 60 minutes of breathable air for 1 person, but does not provide protection from other environmental hazards. Once ‘opened’, it cannot be resealed in order to save the remaining supply. It cannot be shared with others.

Helscape Deathmask

This Gizmo can provide some limited protection from environmental hazards, but does not count as a source of air.

Deadzone Dives

We are including a Content List as well as a rough start time window for each Dive we plan to run over the weekend. All Dives other than the last will have a limit on how many characters may undertake the voyage. The last Dive will have no limit on participants. All Dives are currently planned to occur in the forest across the road.

Content Warnings and Estimated Start Times for All Dives

All Dives have a chance of featuring thalassophobia, environmental hazards, and the threat of simulated drowning and/or suffocation. All Dives will also take place in the Wasteland (Character v Character Conflict possibility).

Saturday Midnight - 2 am

This Dive may feature themes of underwater exploration, the Mortis Amaranthine, Coordination, Kidnapping, and Zombies.

Saturday 9am - Noon

This Dive may feature themes of Stealth, Larceny, obscured or low vision, and the threat of simulated implosion.

Saturday Noon - 3pm

This Dive may feature themes involving Medical and Wasteland Science, as well as possible hallucinations, themes of unethical behavior, lack of empathy, and limited but avoidable splatter effects.

Saturday 7pm - 10pm

This Dive may feature close quarters areas, claustrophobia, Lineage threat, and themes of revenge.

Saturday 11pm - Sunday 1am

This Dive may feature submechanophobia, temporary isolation or helplessness, temporary loss of agency, and large-scale coordination

Custom Disease

In order to strike a balance between the idea of numerically-limited teamwork while on dangerous away missions, while still enabling each person who wishes to go on one of the smaller preliminary Dives being able to do so, we will be implementing a custom “Disease” to help facilitate that. This mechanic represents being thoroughly exposed to the dangerous chemicals permeating the Dead Zone, and in that regard is not truly a “Disease” in the usual Dystopia Rising sense of the word.

Peacemaker

Transmission Vector: Significant, and sometimes repeated, exposure to the Peacemaker chemicals.

Description: More a debilitating condition than an actual disease, this condition occurs when a character is exposed to significant levels of the toxic chemicals known as “Peacemaker” such as full-body immersion in the waters surrounding the Dead Zone. As internal levels of the chemical increase, their side effects quickly worsen. There is no cure, although the Infection inherent in each Lineage will purge the substance over time once exposure has ceased assuming that exposure stops early enough.

Stages:

• Stage 1: Feelings of contentment, serenity, and lethargy. Occasionally distracted with moments of calm. Ingested Brews and Meals take twice as long to consume.

• Stage 2: As Stage 1, but increased. Lack of fear or aggression. All Injectibles require 2 minutes to take effect.

• Stage 3: As Stage 2, but increased. Inability to attack or inflict harmful effects on any Target that has not done the same first. Must spend 1 Resolve to initiate aggressive actions against a single Target. This is not required once the Target attacks you.

• Stage 4: As Stage 3, but increased. Inability to run or feel pain. May not move faster than a slow walk or use Enhanced Movement. Bleed Out Timer reduced to 2 minutes.

• Stage 5: Painful and agonizing immediate death. Please report to Ops.

Duration Between Stages: This Disease cannot progress on its own. Each significant exposure (ie, a Dive) increase the Stage by 1. Mutants do not have an innate resistance to it, and cannot defend against it. Stage only progresses after exposure has completed (ie, after that Dive has concluded).

Resolution:

• Identifiable with the Basic Medical Skill.

• Not currently treatable. Disease is automatically cured at End of Event.

• Return from Mortis cures Disease: No.

Helldiving in Wisconsin - Local Mechanics, Intro Mod, and Literal Diving

Hi, everyone! You’re probably wondering just what the heck we’ll be doing next weekend, as we take you deeper for our June Helldive event. Especially if you’re traveling, you may be unfamiliar with how Dystopia Rising: Wisconsin does certain things that can vary from other chapters. We have a very specific paper form for conducting Plot Research, for instance. We also use a custom variation of Radiation Sickness for when your characters have been exposed to excessive radiation or certain irradiated threats. On the other hand, that variation of Radiation Sickness and other specific mechanics only exist here while attending Wisconsin events. When you travel elsewhere, it no longer ‘exists’ or affects your character unless your local chapter has said otherwise. We also have quite a few Items that only exist locally, whether crafted or purchased from our local Financial Institutions.

Local Mechanics

We will not be opting into any other branch’s Local Items or Custom Mechanics for our Premier. This includes other Plotkits that we’ve opted into in the past, such as NY’s Red Line and the Network wide Plotkit that introduced Black Fungal Disease to the Wastes. We instead would like to use our Premier to highlight all of the crazy things that make our Wisconsin branch very Wisconsin. Die Wisconsinbly!

This also means that we’ll have our own Local things going on! We’re very fond of Critters and their ecosystem, as many of you might have noticed, and “Bug Island” is aptly named. We will also be introducing a custom “Disease” for just this event. (Don’t panic! Keep reading!)

Local Mechanics, Items, or Rulings are just that: Local to that chapter. While multiple chapters may choose to work together to create a shared story, and often do, most of the time we’re all pretty focused on crafting our local stories for our players. All of those local bits and bobs help to flavor a given branch’s story in ways that are very particular to that game and help promote that game’s story, setting, and culture. Indiana has several Local Items for faith RP, Texas has a lot of different mechanical interactions with their Factions, New York created a fun puzzle game out of a new drug, and Wisconsin has a group of Final Knight librarians that make cheese in their dungeon. Taking all of these different factors into account can be tricky for crafting and balancing a given event, especially if you’re only partially familiar with them as a gamerunner.

Game On

Because our Premier will be set on the uninhabited Bug Island, all characters at Game On will be undergoing a travel mod together, unless you have a mechanical method of bypassing it such as the Nomad Advantage or spending Mind per Proficient or Master Trailblazing. Those physically incapable of participating will not be required to do so. As mentioned in a previous Facebook post, the Great Lakes Trading Company will otherwise be hot-dropping PCs onto the shores of Bug Island, and they will have to travel through the forest to “Site FOB” where several prefab buildings have been literally dropped from airships. Players who are not on this Introduction Mod will be asked to wait in a specific location, out of play, as some last minute setting up will be occurring during the travel mod. They will be allowed to enter play once the Intro mod has concluded and PCs have reached “Site FOB.” Characters entering play after the Intro Mod, whether arriving late or having NPC shift or otherwise, will have had an uneventful journey to the island and its rustic camp.

Players wishing to install WI Room Augments that had been installed in Steel Horse Crossing proper will need to have them transported in during this mod. We will have several carrying containers (IE, storage totes) to act as physical representations, and they will require a two-person carry. The card for the Room Augment should be placed inside of this container, but no other props are required to be physically carried. Props may be staged at their intended install locations before game to make things simpler, and you may choose to install your Room Augments at locations that are not “the usual”. PCs helping to transport an Augment only need to have one hand on the container to help carry it; one-handed weapons, shields, projectile weapons, etc. may still be used as normal.

Upon arrival, an Artisan only needs to spend 15 minutes “installing” the Room Augment. No Mind or other resources will be required. Additional Artisans helping may shorten the installation time by 1 minute each, to a minimum of 5 minutes per Room Augment. Only Basic Artisan is needed to perform this task. You do not need to install the Room Augment in the same Out of Game location as it existed in Steel Horse Crossing, and we encourage putting them in other areas to help give that feeling of being “elsewhere”.

The Dive(s)

While the PCs will be setting up a base camp in the wild wastes known as Bug Island and exploring their surroundings, many may wish to make excursions down under the water to a ruined research facility that has caught many folks’ attention. There will be more than one of these Dives, mostly along the themes of exploring and gathering information before eventually leading up to that last Helldive.

Each of these preliminary dives, other than the last one, will have a maximum number of participants and have set launch times. As is our tradition, we would like as many folks who wish to participate in that last climactic Dive to be able to do so. In order to promote as many people as possible getting a turn at the smaller Dives leading up to it, we are introducing a “Disease” that begins to impose negative mechanical effects for every dive your PC makes. It cannot be spread to others, cannot be inoculated against, and is entirely an environmental side effect of diving into the poisoned waters that make up the surrounding Dead Zone. Time and rest (the end of the Event) will cure it. That first Dive is free!

To help with transparency and Player planning, we will have an Out of Character Sign-Up Sheet with both Dive Times and blank slots for everyone to coordinate. It is our goal to release a list of those Dives and their respective Content Warnings this week before Game, so you can think about which ones you’d like to attend. This sheet will also list the mechanics for what happens when your character is immersed in the “Peacemaker” chemicals that permeate the surrounding waters, so that you can make those delightfully difficult choices as to whether to go on that next dive yourself or to share what you’ve learned with the next team. A Helscape Deathmask may help you against the worst of the immediate exposure effects of the Peacemaker poisons, but full body immersion in the waters of the Dead Zone will begin to take its toll if you continue diving multiple times. Taking too many people at once may also have disastrous consequences, as diving bells and air tanks can only supply so many people. We will have the Sign Up Sheet at Town Hall, near the Job Board.

For more information about our Local Items and Mechanics, please see the following links on our webpage:

Local Mechanics, including our Radiation Sickness variant: https://dystopiarisingwi.com/local-items-mechanics

Local Financial Institutions, including the Items available if you Affiliate with them: https://dystopiarisingwi.com/financial-institutions

June 2024 Premier and its Focus

We're 24 hours out from our May Event, so let’s talk a bit about our Premier in June!

For a bit now, the folks in Steel Horse Crossing have been learning more about a nearby region in the Great Lake known as "The Dead Zone," a place of poison and death that used to have a thriving ecosystem primarily inhabited by a group of Saltwise known as the Kohl-Andra. As the name “Dead Zone” might imply, the property value has declined substantially since the Kohl-Andra lived there.

Meanwhile, one of the themes that we've done pretty much every summer since our chapter first opened has been that of the Helldive: An excursion into dangerous and unknown territory, to deal with a problem that threatens on a level that a single crew of individuals cannot easily solve on their own. While the original Helldive scenarios were focused on the local underground mines and their fires, we have in recent years branched out into other settings and major problems. You've probably figured out where this is going by now. :)

The focus of our Premier Event will be centered around the Dead Zone and learning how to resolve its cause. As the Dead Zone is a region out in the Great Lake, and not just down the street from the RoadHouse Bar, Player Characters will be traveling to, and setting up at, somewhere outside of the typical Steel Horse Crossing Monthly Trade Meet. Despite the temporary change in Setting, we will still be at Camp Sinawa. We realize it may feel weird, but we ask to please try to ignore the cognitive dissonance rather than draw attention to it. If it helps to reinforce the sense of being Elsewhere, we encourage you to choose sleeping bunks that you wouldn’t normally, tent camp, or make changes to your usual decorations and props around town.

We also feel it would be needless and a jerk move to deny everyone the Room Augments and Custom Crafting Zones that our players have already created at the WI game, so we are allowing them to be packed up and brought along for the ride. You will not be required to rebuild them from scratch, but instead some effort will need to be expended (such as Time and RP) in order for things to be transported in and installed. For example, an Agricultural Zone may need to have brush cleared, ground tilled, or fertilized. An Artisan Zone may need to have tools and materials laid out . We will have more details on this aspect as we get closer to June, but we wanted to be transparent with the broad view now.

In keeping with the theme of going where noone wanted to go before, we’re also likely to have some new threats you havn’t seen before, perhaps some old threats you wished you’d never see again, and likely some custom mechanics as we host our first Helldive that involves, well, literally diving. Any given Dystopia Rising game has a reasonable chance of covering a very broad range of horror topics, but we wanted to give some particular mentions of Content Warnings that are likely to come up, whether through direct experience or reference:

• Thalassophobia, Submechanophobia, and Environmental Hazards such as drowning

• Critters, including Spiders, Parasites, and other Creepy Crawlies

• Historical References to the Ironworks, which may include topics such as fascism, torture, mass murder, and unethical medical experimentation and treatment of prisoners

• Low Light Environments as well as Combats, potentially with atypical threats

• Difficult-Choice and Morally Grey Situations

• Splatter or Splash Effects

• All of the usual things you’d expect, such as Blood, Gore, Body Horror, and Death.

As always, we will endeavor to steer modules or stories away from those who have communicated particular phobias or triggers to us, but as these will be major themes of the event we felt it crucial to be transparent about them. Players should always do what is best for them when engaging with sensitive topics, even as our Characters may be having the worst time of their short lives.

We certainly hope you’ll join us in June for this Event if this sounds like a fun time to you, but we also want to be transparent about the type of Event we will be hosting. The key to any game that revolves around cooperative storytelling is when players and gamerunners work jointly towards the story that they are creating together.

Recent Town History - A Brief Summary

The years following the Uprising have seen many changes for Steel Horse Crossing. Most of the area’s infrastructure was suddenly up for grabs: a naval base, the harbor, a rail hub, mines. All were quickly commandeered by various interests who moved in as the Ironworks crumbled. Their business boomed, making the settlement quite attractive as a remote trade and research hub on the Great lake, away from the oversight of large cities and ethics boards. Underneath it all was a settlement just trying to keep itself together.

The Steelblood mercenaries who had negotiated their way into town in exchange for defense took advantage of their numbers and the sudden power vacuum to take control of Steel Horse Crossing. At the same time, the fascist New United Kinship Movement was worming their way into all levels of the Steelblood hierarchy and furthering their own goals. Unsurprisingly, many of the locals were… displeased, leading to a protracted and ugly conflict that literally split the town in half with the Steelbloods controlling the ‘other side of the river’.

That was the situation Steel Horse Crossing lived in for years without real resolution. Skirmishes. Posturing. Sabotage. Murder. Secret Alliances. Unsecret Alliances. Martial law. Bombings. Assassination. All with stretches of uneasy peace between. It all kind of blurred together into a shit soup that just became part of life, easy enough to ignore as folks still had to keep going on with their day. 

The extra problems kept piling up though, and eventually they outweighed the benefits. Steelblood infighting. Rodger’s experiments. Fermi’s experiments. Fungus. Radiation. An abundance of dangerous wildlife. Rumors of Archons. Giant squid monsters in the mines. Aliens. Near Mortis collapse. Saltwise Raids. NUKM. More radiation. Actual Archons. 

Despite that much of it has calmed down many folks have already decided to seek their fortunes elsewhere including many Steelbloods.Some have returned home to the larger cities. Some have joined newer settlements forming further afield hoping their situations to be less volatile and less of a target. And some have simply ceased to exist, rendering some parts of SHC a ghost town with many buildings and homes now standing empty.

ARCHONS/OUTSIDERS/GOO-THULHUS

These nightmares were discovered in the area the year before last. The good news is they didn’t seem to be feeling aggressive toward us or intent on destroying us. The bad news is they don’t seem to regard us remotely as a threat and have been studying us like we were particularly interesting ants. They appear to have left since those encounters but there is no real way to be sure. There are more ways to defend ourselves these days and much more information available, thankfully. It doesn’t make them any less concerning.

DOCTOR RODGERS

His experiments with Strains and the Mortis were dangerous and utterly immoral. There isn’t time enough to list off all the shit he did. Anyway his location was given up by one of his own assistants in the end and the town descended on that bunker like a swarm of angry velocigeckos. Word has it that the things that go bump in the night circled up and had a little murderdive party as well but either way, he’s super dead. These fancy new Byproduct syringes were found in the bunker so that was pretty dope. Just don’t think too hard about how the science behind them went.

BLACK FUNGAL DISEASE

BFD ran rampant through town for a while, owing to the terrible shape the Mortis Amaranthine was in after a combination of Rodger’s experiments, Archons, and a few other factors. Thankfully the town got that under control, more or less.

FERMI CHADWICK

The brilliant mind behind Project Arrowhead, determined to bring cheap and plentiful energy to the wastes. Great idea. Terrible execution. The last efforts involved building a nuclear device inside of an Abyssal Stitch procedure to rip open a portal to the home of Archons, believing that it could be harvested as a power source. Fermi was dead by the time the town showed up to stop the process, leaving them to try solving the problem from his notes alone. In the end it was too late to simply shut it off and they were forced to redirect the device’s power into the Mortis itself. Actually removing the device and cleaning up took several months while it continued actively irradiating the entire region.

THE ARCHIVISTS

No one ever tries to ply them for the knowledge stored in their extensive libraries any more but these pains in our collective asses have become strangely popular in recent days, now that this order of Final Knight monks are known to be the source of the best cheese in the Midwastes. They flat refuse to share the secrets of its production but have been open to having it sold in town.

BERTHA HARDWOOD AND HER TEAHOUSE

The be-tentacled Host of Sensation Bertha Hardwood runs the brothel across the river. Her entertainment palace hasn’t seen any loss of profit, customers, or rumors, regardless of what hits the town. As a busy business woman she may not be seen often these days, but her associates may be and she would never say no to a letter.

NEW UNITED KINSHIP MOVEMENT

Despite the Rover supremacy organization enjoying a degree of acceptance or tolerance in the past due to finessing their way into all corners of the Steelbloods, they have largely been driven into obscurity. No doubt there are some remaining in town, but they know better than to claim to be a member or openly wear the NUKM knotwork.

STEELBLOODS 

The loss of a single strong leader can be devastating. Dr Rodgers, Zane, Magnolia, Junior Black, amongst many others are all either dead or missing and unsurprisingly it has utterly destroyed Steelblood cohesion. Whole factions like Apex have simply left town. Even many of those that represented the organization just last year in negotiations aren’t around anymore. Other factions have fractured, splintering into smaller families and crews. The ones that remain are ones who genuinely wanted a place to settle down and have been working with the non-Steelbloods on the other side of town to keep things stable. While some cling to the Steelblood name for identity and mutual support, as a monolith force in SHC they are largely defunct. A few Steelbloods came over during the last winter trade, trying to help us with information about the frozen zed swarm.

HUNTERS LODGE - A group of sport hunters and nature lovers have been scoping out new hunting grounds and have been marveling at the largely untouched possibilities around Steel Horse Crossing. They joined up with other local hunters and conservationist groups to better manage activities in the area and protect the ecosystem.

ASTOR & FRICK

One of the firms who invested heavily in the railroads as trade and business restructured. The perceived decline of stability and profit to be found in Steel Horse Crossing has made them nervous. The assassination of one of the Fricks at the Winter “Fuck It, We Ball”, the Labor Union ‘fiasco’, sabotage, and other events this last year have made them exceptionally skittish and ready to withdraw entirely. Rumor has it the Bank is maneuvering to snatch up their remaining assets in the area.

LABOR UNION

Just dealt with a massive worker strike over mine safety. It got kinda heated in the middle. The owner of the Tallywish mines got himself dead after he sent union busters at the strikers. Some say he was mailed explosives. Some say his kid ganked him. Negotiations quieted down real quick after that.

THE LITTLETONS

They’re “Fine.”

THE MORTIS AMARANTHINE

It’s “Fine.”

TOWN GOVERNMENT

Another election. Our new councilors and bribery targets are Canary, Liberty, Miette, Sev, and Wayra. The judges are Jimothy and Michelle; and our sheriffs Alex and Gene. 

Hey, did you hear? - October Rumors

The gossip heard around town:

Hopefully Gala crawled out of the Morgue safely after last month. Some are saying the Apple Tribe is still hopeful about the harvest ritual. Maybe Seasons folks can talk some sense into her now about that poison orchard of hers.

The Gorger Parliament had a successful Blutnacht, I heard. Nobody died except a couple of ‘Mericans (and some interloping Yard Dogs stirring up trouble), and the Gorgers didn’t even have to lift a finger for that to happen! Just called in the Sheriff, so it must’ve been legal.

What’s it called when you go thugging? Lookin’ for donations? Asking for some Steel Bloods…

A graverobber once told me that the gravemind has as many faces as there are people in town, and how you think of it changes how it behaves. Load of bullshit if I ever heard any!

Commander Magnolia made a rare appearance in town last month, and based on how he got chased out, gonna bet he don’t come back too quick either.

Them Saltwise finally pulled anchor and left harbor. Wonder how much they took with ‘em that they didn’t pay for…hope they’re gone for good.

The last thing this town needs is another mad scientist, but I will take the Darwin variety over another Dr. Rodgers ANY DAY.

Disease-Related Plot

Given Everything(™) these days, we felt that this was an important time to discuss with you Diseases, and Disease-related Plot, within the Dystopia Rising Universe and how it relates to our local plot specifically right now. The intent of this blog post is to provide both some transparency as well as needed clarifications going forward. Much like in-game Injectibles, Brews, and Faiths, creating Plot that involves a horrible Disease in a post-apocalyptic world with zombies is a complex process that should involve creating a strong Fourth Wall barrier of separation and disbelief between In-Game and the Real World. Just as we avoid In-Game Drugs based on Real Life Drugs, we also try to avoid In-Game Diseases based on Real Life Diseases; hence we have things such as Bad Brain, or Psionic Disresonance, or the like. And like any other new In-Game Thing, a good custom In-Game Disease writeup should be there to support the current story and Plot. Generally speaking, custom or new Diseases are another tool used to encourage players game-wide to work together on a larger or community scale against an existential threat. Some other types of large-scale tools in the horror genre may involve external threats (such as "War Plots" or the recently encountered Archons), while others may utilize more existential or other types of threats.

Like any other Plot, Dystopia Rising gamerunners recognize that people may have individual past traumas that may not be easily accounted for when organizing a game for a large number of people with different interests and life experiences. Our game and its culture has had for a long time a mechanic for assisting players in avoiding Plot they are not comfortable Roleplaying, often referred to as Opting Out (or sometimes colloquially, "Noping Out"). DR: Wisconsin fully supports your right to Opt Out of plot that you have no wish to partake in, and game-wide Disease-related Plot is no exception. Whether it's giant Spiders, creepy Clowns, or Diseases that cause people to bleed black ichor and explode into clouds of fungal spores, feel free to let your local gamerunners, or the Guide running the Scene, know that you'll be Opting Out. We will not only understand, but we will thank you for taking care of yourself, as a player, first and foremost.

There have also been a lot of misunderstandings, both among players AND some gamerunners across the Network, about Black Fungal Disease: how it works, and what to do about it. We'd also like to provide some clarifications there. Black Fungal Disease, as well as other things you sometimes see at Premiere Events such as Archons or even the Ottoman Collective, exist within various Plotkits available from National for Premiere Event use; a Plotkit is a tool that we often use, often containing mechanics or other self-contained story, in order to facilitate shared or similar stories between different games. The various elements encountered at our recent Premiere game were not National “Plot”, but they did include elements of several Plotkits available to and tied into the greater DR Larp Network. The Plot, however, was very much local. Each chapter can choose to Opt-In to the Plotkits they wish to use; “National Plot” or Plotkits are never forced upon a given chapter. Traveling to a chapter that does not use a given Plotkit also means that that thing essentially does not exist while there. So if your character contracted Black Fungal Disease while visiting a chapter that was using that Plotkit and running a related Plot, but then travels to a chapter that is not, the Disease is assumed to "not exist" while visiting that game. While this may seem a little weird from a player perspective in terms of continuity, it is critical for ensuring one chapter does not dictate plot or its direction at another chapter without that chapter's consent and collaboration. 

Due to the complexity of some of those Plotkits, there was an initial misunderstanding, even among various Dystopia Rising chapters, that Researching the various Stage Cures involved a complex process utilizing ABCs (a National Society Currency). This is not the case. Researching what is needed to cure the various Stages of Black Fungal Disease only requires the Research outlined in the Dystopia Rising Rulebook on Page 193. To quote the most relevant section, "Characters may first inform Logistics and then Active Role-Play examining a patient with a Disease by using Lore: Medical. This may include checking the patient's heart rate; interviewing them; checking their sign for any signs of rash, blisters, or other anomalies; and checking for other symptoms. After 20 minutes examining the patient, the doctor may spend 5 Mind points to learn more about the Disease. For each 5 Mind point spend the doctor may learn vectors of transmission, stages, and treatment conditions."

It is important to note that this method of Research primarily applies to learning what it takes to Cure that Stage. Other information about Black Fungal or its relation to current plot may involve other methods of Research, such as calling in favors and collaborating with the Ottoman Collective, and it is these other avenues of Research that have likely helped cause confusion and recent misinterpretations.

Curing any Disease may be, and often is, significantly different depending on the Stage of the character who is Diseased. The Basic Medical Skill allows you to determine if a given character has any Diseases, but as written the skill does not necessarily state that the player being examined must state which Disease it is or at what Stage. Many players will give this information freely anyways, but the skill does not require it. Much of the original design philosophy behind how to utilize Diseases in-game involve makeup or Role-play requirements for each stage of a given affliction, and thus create a more Visually Interactive scenario where a doctor could, through visual cues and actual diagnostic puzzles, examine a patient’s symptoms and prescribe the appropriate treatment based on that person’s current condition. 

In summary:

- A Player may choose to Opt Out of any Plot they are uncomfortable with, and Disease-Related Plot is not an exception.

- Diseases are related to local plot, and thus do not exist at other games unless that chapter choose to partake.

- Researching how to Cure a Disease, even Black Fungal, follows the mechanics in the 3.0 Rulebook. Other information, such as how a given Disease ties in to local stories, may involve other forms of Research.

Diseases are an important part of our horror genre and a useful tool in telling story for our game, but also one that requires delicacy, care, and understanding in how they are portrayed. Players are always encouraged to Opt-Out when encountering Plot that will affect them negatively (as Players, not Characters). For those who wish to participate in that Plot, however, we hope that these clarifications will give a better and clearer path forward for your characters, as well as providing avenues of engagement with current story.

Psionics, Mental Endurance, and You

A recent clarification occurred regarding which level of Mental Endurance to use for which Psionic skill calls.

That clarification states that all Psionic Calls are counterable by Basic Mental Endurance, with the sole exception of Master Pyrokinetics. Master Pyro is, of course, only counterable by Master Mental Endurance being already in effect.

There had been some initial confusion, initially caused because of the Master Pyrokinetics exception, and so we would like to let players know that BMV and AoE Psionic Calls are, in fact, still countered by Basic Mental Endurance. This also includes the Agony effect, even if they are not strictly Psionic in nature, which is also countered by Basic Mental Endurance; Agony is defined in more detail on the Lexicon page at http://www.dystopiarisinglarp.com/lexicon.

The catch? Not all By my Voice or Area of Effect calls may be psionic in nature. An environmental call such as “Sound of my Voice, Earthquake: Knockdown” wouldn’t make sense if you could counter it with Mental Endurance, and Avoid does not work against AoE or Sound of my Voice calls; but in this case, Balance would! Area of Effect or Sound of my Voice calls that are psionic-based, and thus defendable with Basic Mental Endurance, should have the word “Psionic” in the call. For instance, Basic Telepathy (even though it is a single Target attack) has a full skill call of “Psionic Suggestion: [Three words]”.

This makes the full skill call even more important than it had been. Some of the skill calls are, for better or worse, rather lengthy and memories can fail in the moment while you’re watching your friends die. It’s happened to all of us. But not only is the length of the call part of an inherent balance in Big Impactful Master Skills taking a dramatic amount of time, the words in that call really are super important. Particularly with Psionics, you usually shouldn’t be whispering the words or stringing them so fast together it sounds like you’re singing along to songs you don’t actually know the lyrics to; you’re visibly bending the world around you in ways that it doesn’t bend in real life. Say those words with conviction, loud and proud!

Going forward, we’ll be striving to better and more accurately be using the full skill calls as intended. And likewise, your characters will be better able to respond to dangerous situations accordingly.

COVID-19, the Delta variant, and August

We were recently asked if we were still having game next weekend, what with everything going on (The Delta variant, the recent pandemic case surge, etc). The short answer is yes, albeit certainly with extra precautions than we had planned a few weeks ago, let alone when we started thinking about this over a year ago. But it was also felt that a longer answer, with supporting logic and information, was probably warranted.

First, we're an entertainment company. The only medical advice we can ever really give is to consult with your medical provider. Data and guidance throughout this entire pandemic has changed frequently as more has been learned and new data studied; sometimes it seems almost daily. We respect, encourage, and support you, the players, in deciding what level of risk you are willing to accept for yourselves. No business, let alone a LARP, will ever be able to remove 100% of the risk at this point from attending. However, there are things that we can all do from both a Gamerunner standpoint and a player viewpoint to help minimize those risks for everyone as much as we can. But the unfortunate truth is that, like any and every thing else in the world, we'll never be able to remove all of that risk and we want players to make the informed choice that is correct for themselves.

One of the major concerns with the Delta variant is its transmissibility. Current data (that I've seen so far) implies that this variant likes to initially hang out in the nose, throat, and upper airways before proceeding into the lung space like most of the previous variants. Because it wants to start replicating as soon as it can, which means those initial contact areas, this makes it more likely to be transmissible and passed along early on before the immune system's antibodies have really had a significant opportunity to attack it. It is hypothesized that this may be what is causing some of the "breakthrough" infections with vaccinated individuals: Infection and symptoms (and therefore transmission) occurring before the immune system has really had a chance to get at it properly.

Conversely, most of the COVID-19 related deaths have occurred due to the virus building up and replicating in the lungs, which are (obviously) really important to the human body, and the immune system being unable to successfully fight it off once it's lodged there. This is also part of why the vaccines have been so successful at preventing hospitalization, deaths, and the likelihood of asymptomatic cases that we saw with previous variants in unvaccinated individuals. [https://www.statnews.com/2021/07/30/what-delta-has-changed-in-the-covid-pandemic-and-what-it-hasnt/]

It is super important to note that while this week's news headlines have focused on "breakthrough" cases with vaccinated individuals and leaked CDC information, they are still relatively uncommon and not necessarily a significant amount of the current case surge. To use WI for an example, many of the state's counties barely have a 50% vaccinated rate. Toss an even more highly transmissible virus at the general population, and yeah you'll most definitely see a huge surge in cases while everyone's taking their masks off and pretending that everything is “normal” again. The approved vaccines have never been 100% effective at preventing COVID-19, and early studies with previous variants suggested that vaccinated individuals were pretty unlikely to spread the virus (because transmission relied on the virus replicating itself inside of the lung's airways, where the immune system was more likely to prevent combat it directly and prevent it from digging in).

"The CDC reported 6,587 Covid-19 breakthrough cases as of July 26, including 6,239 hospitalizations and 1,263 deaths." [https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/31/health/fully-vaccinated-people-breakthrough-hospitalization-death/index.html] Those 6,587 breakthrough cases are total, not daily. The week before that, on July 19th, there were 5,601 total breakthrough cases; an approximate increase of 900 reported breakthrough cases over that week. For comparison, the CDC also reported almost 47,000 new COVID-19 cases just on July 26th alone, with the US having approximately 2.5 million active, ongoing cases at that time. Approximately 3/4 of those breakthrough cases were in senior citizens over the age of 65. The chances of a fully vaccinated individual contracting the Delta variant and transmitting it to others, while more possible than it was a few months ago with previous variants, is overall still currently pretty low. Not impossible, but low. Obviously, the primary danger, and vast majority of new infection cases, is coming from unvaccinated individuals. Wisconsin overall still only has about a 51% vaccinated population; some states in the USA only have a ~35% vaccinated population. That leaves a lot of people to get infected, and very quickly, with this variant, so it is definitely not surprising that the state is going to have a surge of active COVID-19 cases.

So, the relevant risks aren't zero by any means. They are, however, still relatively low, but again this is something that individuals need to make decisions on for themselves. So what can we do, as both players and Gamerunners, to help keep those risks acceptably low for each other?

Masks? Masks are still super important, and always have been. Vaccines? Also still super important. Both of these are required per policy at DR: Wisconsin Events, and are likely to remain required for a very long time, but they still only do so much. We're also taking steps on the Gamerunner side to help with infection control, such as more cabin space while retaining the option for tent camping (already done; Yay, new site!), instituting a 1-shift wait time for sanitation controls on NPC costuming to dry, providing longer rest periods for more healthy sleep, and even doing laundry for NPC costuming on-site! But I also want to talk about things that I still don't hear enough talk about: Hygiene and the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO, for short).

WASH YOUR HANDS. Often. Hand sanitizer doesn't do nearly enough most of the time. Use warm water, use soap, scrub while you sing campfire songs, and then use the paper towel to open the door while you exit. Don't wipe your nose on your hands. Cover your mouth with a handkerchief (or at least your elbow) when you sneeze. Before or after (probably after) NPC shift is also a great time to grab a shower; the two buildings are right next to each other, so it's super convenient to just bring your towel and a bar of soap with you.

FOMO has probably gotten as many of us sick as anything else in the history of conventions and gaming. With the lessening of mask restrictions in the US, colds and other respiratory illnesses have started to spread again, not to mention seasonal allergies and the currently-present polluted air from ongoing forest fires. Please don't come to game if you're not feeling well. There’s always Non-Attending tickets for Home players if you don’t want to miss out on the XP. If you start not feeling well at game, please go home; just let us know, hand in your sheet, and head on out. Nobody wants to ditch out on their shift or other responsibilities. Nobody wants to feel like they're ruining game for their friends by telling their carpool buddies they need to leave in a hurry, but trust us: everyone at game would much prefer you head home and get some real rest without getting the rest of us sick, too.

Remember to take into consideration the little things: Communal eating, washing dishes, giving hugs or otherwise physically touching those you care about, and proper social distancing. ASK for consent before hugging or doing close-proximity Roleplay. If we can suspend our disbelief that the liquid in a can with its label covered isn't really Kickstart, I'm pretty sure we can suspend our disbelief enough that zombies don't need to actually be right in someone's face to gnaw on them. All of these things, added up, can help reduce the relevant risks for the whole game.

This isn’t just about the COVID-19 virus. For too long, many “nerd” events (Not just LARPs, and certainly not just DR) and their attendees have turned a blind eye to ways we could have done better. We accepted that “event crud” was just part of going to the event. Sometimes we used “immersion” as an excuse; sometimes we didn’t even bother making an excuse. This is our chance to do better. Let’s do better. Cover your vegetables in melted cheese if you must to make them more palatable, but at least wash your hands before and brush your teeth after. After the last two years, we can no longer give the old ways a pass. This personal responsibility belongs to each and every one of us, and we all need to own that.

If the August game was not 100% vaccinated (which we can now definitively say it will be), or we weren't wearing masks indoors for extra safety, we would likely say the risk would be too high for playing in-person again. But with those two factors in place as a foundation (and only a foundation), and everyone doing their part to be conscientious about the fact that we are still living in a pandemic and not just "going back to normal," we feel that we can currently move forward with in-person gaming for August. We will, of course, be monitoring new data and adapting as proven science continues to learn new things about a virus that also continues to mutate and evolve, and will update and change our policies and procedures to provide the best game experience that we can.

We hope to see you next weekend. But more importantly, we’d rather see you when we can.

Hey, did you hear? - June Rumors

“I heard that Cotts paid a small sum to Sterling Controls to GTFO of Steel Horse proper last trade. Has anyone tried that with the Steel Bloods yet? Wonder how much it would cost to just buy off the whole lot them?”

“GLTC had Captain Hammer shipped down to Mill City to serve punishment for piracy. How does that work anyway? Iron Works is gone and so is the Furnace, or at least that’s what them Bounty Hunters is saying....when they’re not busy giving the stink eye to that Buggy Baywalker from Seymore.”

“Nice Nuke Fam folks showed up last trade with a deed to some property. Anyone find out what business they is in? They don’t look like farmers or fisher folk ta me.”

“Haven sure shook up one of those Steel Blood fellows last trade after Effie poked an anthill and got dead. Steel Blood fella looked a bit...stunned, with the Corvid hand coming down on him. Not sure the message got through to ‘em clear, but only time will tell. At least they ain’t stealing railroad ties no more.”

“Rovers are still buzzing about possible Portaguer/Norske pairings and the Matchmakers are already nodding their heads at the possibility of meetings and trial marriages this summer. But does anyone know if Nokken has given his blessing to any of this yet?”

“Doctors Without Boundaries has started up a chapter in the Steel Horse area. Bertha’s Brothel has started making housecalls on both sides of the divide. Profiteering isn’t a crime, and everyone’s wallets and stomachs are full. Looks like war is good business for a lot of folks.”

“It’s starting, jus’ like I said it would! All that talk about avoiding the Burning season around here, and then today I went out to the pasture and, no surprise, my entire garden is sunk in two feet in the ground and STEAMING!”

“My son done got educated, can you BELIEVE it? An’ he didn’t even have to go to Madtown to do it. Somebody who carries a library in their head isn’t one to mess with. Heard he’s making his way to Steel Horse on Saturday afternoon if you wanna catch him for a chat or a lecture, whatever them smart folks call it..”

“If you are looking for something special, finding your way to Steel Horse for the afternoon of this trade is a good idea. Both Desi and Bootes are trying to sell off a whole lot of wares before the railroad brings more competition.” 

“Third time this week I heard of someone stumbling back from the Gravemind, saying someone cut their arms off and murdered ‘em dead. A horror story, and it ain’t even Nemesis season yet! The description of the suspect is hazy, but them FBI that hang out around the trade offices near the docks might know, if anyone has the stomach to investigate. Town has a few Sheriffs who might be asking around, too.”

“Astor and Frick could be shaking hands with the GLTC if they could divide up some of them trade routes right. Looks like they might be talking to money brains around dinner hour on Saturday, with some runs needing bodies and drivers shortly after.”

“It’s finally happening! They got the old depot nearly cleared out and operational and train’s getting put on the track down in Mill City, though not before this trade. Perhaps the engine will pull into Steel Horse just in time for a Sunday ribbon cutting?”

Hey, did you hear? - May Rumors

“Portageur clan...what are they famous for, other than being river rats? No matter - Haven Corvid is organizing the Moot, so whatever the clan is lacking, Corvid hospitality should make up for it. Now about that Norske hospitality though…”

“Doc Hamilton aka Judge Hamilton and a few of the Merchant Marines hauled back a wanted pirate from the camp after last trade. Captain Hammer has more than a few angry sailors demanding their shipments back, and there’s folks saying that not all them helpers was happy about just doing a good deed. They’ll prolly be looking for their share of the goods, too.”

“Desi Rex is trying to drum up business for his “Barter Haven” with an accuracy competition Saturday morning. If you can shoot, throw, or otherwise hit things from a distance, there could be money in it for you. If that’s not your thing, he’s also looking for an artist to design a sign for his store.”

“Soren’s brother wandered out of the morgue in Steel Horse last trade, and was quickly scooped up by the Steel Bloods. Better make sure you have a few someones waiting for you if you decide to meet the Gravemind these days.”

“Justin Cretor and the Labor Union are coming through with the meat they promised last season. Just in time to feed an Army of Rovers….or Steel Bloods.”

“Spring is a great time for Rites of Passage. Maypoles are a favorite of the Tribes and the DJs have their pilgrimage to the Sacred Scrapyards. Meanwhile, the Norske will send a child out with a knife to kill zed almost as soon as they can walk.”

“Every family has the ONE family member…”

“The ice is thawed on the lake, but now sailors are reporting ghostly looking lights underwater. Could be nothing, could be Saltwise. Maybe someone should have a look-see? Hope you can hold your breath a bit!”

“The north branch of the railroad is coming together nicely. Regular patrols have been successful at keeping raiders and thieves at bay as workers lay the tracks, but that train hasn’t quite left the station yet either, so to speak.”

“That Roadblock down at camp last trade led to some real close calls. Ain’t no one seen hide nor hair of that Tainted Rabbit Clan punk since he damn near bled to death on that scrap grave. If he were a Steel Horse resident, this might very well be considered an Act of War. Does anybody formally declare war these days anyway?”

“Them bounty hunters that was sniffing around the work camp last month may have followed the trail of their prey up north. Either that, or they’re betting that a former Iron Works town might harbor more than a few with skeletons in the closet. Wonder what bounty hunting pays these days? Or if the Red Ledger is extending its reach this far.”