Local Rules and Policies for DR: Wisconsin

Every Dystopia Rising chapter is allowed to create custom Out of Character Rules and Policies for the safety and well-being of its respective players. These rules may vary from DR chapter to DR Chapter, and should not be assumed to be regulated by the Dystopia Rising Network as a whole.

Any questions are best directed by contacting customerservice@dystopiarisingwi.com. General information about our site can be found here.

Overview

Dystopia Rising: Wisconsin is an entertainment company providing immersive, horror-themed events featuring zombies and other existential threats. All players are expected to take responsibility for their own safety at all times, and are required to sign an informed consent form before being allowed to play.

required age

We require players to be over the age of 18 years. 15 to 17 year old players may be permitted with permission in advance, provided the following conditions are met:

  • All minors must be accompanied by an attending parent or legal guardian, or have appropriate emancipation paperwork. The parent/legal guardian will sign any appropriate liability forms, be present during the event with the minor, and be responsible for them during the event.

  • All requests for a minor in attendance must be approved via email at least 72 hours before every event the minor attends. Our insurance policy permits only a limited number of minors to attend.

  • Minors will be treated equally to other players in regards to plot, story concepts, and player responsibilities. Dystopia Rising: Wisconsin will not be responsible for deciding whether our game is appropriate for your minor. Please see our Ingredient List to determine if our game may be correct for your minor. We highly recommend that parents attend an Event first to get a thorough perspective of whether our game might be appropriate.

personal property

Dystopia Rising: Wisconsin is not responsible for the safety of your property. Please keep your wallet, keys, and/or any important personal items secure.

Important Times

Players may begin to arrive on site starting at 6pm on Friday. Guides may begin arriving at 5pm in order to help with game space setup before player arrival.

Opening Announcements starts at 9pm on Friday night, near Fogle Hall (In Game known as, Town Hall). Game On will start at 10pm, with Game Off usually being called at Noon on Sunday.

Quiet Hours begin at 10pm both nights. Our site has neighbors, and sound carries particularly well across the lake. In winter, sound will carry even further. The rangers’ family also lives on site, and would appreciate not being kept up all night due to our characters screaming for help. Exceptions may apply in certain areas of the site, or on certain mods, but will always be stated as such by the Guide running the mod. You must speak in a soft voice after 10pm.

Both the Postal Desk and NPC Ops will close at 2am, and reopen at 8am. There may be limited, smaller scale mods that occur after this time, but players on NPC shift will be released at 2am.

parking

All vehicles are required to be parked in the main parking lot, located near the road. Vehicles may be brought past the gate for brief loading and unloading purposes, outside of Game Time. Please un/load your vehicle quickly and move it to the main parking lot as soon as you can! There is limited parking space near the cabins, and others will be waiting to do the same. All vehicles must be at the parking lot before Opening Announcements (at 9pm on Friday), and will not be allowed into the Game Space until after Closing Announcements (Noon on Sunday) have concluded.

Attendees who are attending after Game On will be required to haul their belongings from the parking lot. We encourage our players to leave the 4 Squirrel cabins (closest to the parking lot) available for any late-comers, but we cannot guarantee available space.

Vehicles that have been modified to fit the post-apocalypse genre aesthetic, such as some RVs, may be allowed to be parked in the game space with approval via email at least 72 hours in advance of the Event. Vehicle owners will need to have their own appropriate insurance, and understand that they are taking the sole risk of their property being damaged during the course of the Event. Any such approved vehicles must remain stationary and may not be moved during the Event.

At no time, should you ever park on the grass. Even for only a brief moment.

Sleeping space - tents and cabins

Tent camping is allowed only within designated areas. Please be considerate of other tent campers with regards to guy lines, tent space, etc. Guy lines or tent stakes should be clearly marked to prevent tripping in the dark of night. Tents will be considered Out of Character Areas, but please be mindful of any OOC conversation that may impact nearby players who are still In Character.

There are also multiple, heated cabins with electricity as well. Some of the larger cabins may be In Character spaces, and will be marked as such by their In Game name on the map. All other cabins will be, by default, Out of Character space. If the inhabitants of a given cabin wish to Opt In and have their cabin be In Character space, they may choose to do so by unanimous consent.

Never use tape on the doors of any building. Please use magnets, or some other method, when necessary.

All available cabins will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. There will be no charge with either in-game money, nor real-world money, for their use. We ask that you try to leave the 4 Squirrel cabins closest to the parking lot for any latecomers who may be arriving after Game On.

A map with designated locations will be available at the Post Desk in Fogle Hall (In Game known as, Town Hall). This is the large hall that you will see first when you enter the site.

Smoking and other nicotine use

Smoking is only permitted in designated areas. All smokers are asked to be please be considerate of non-smokers and to stay downwind of doorways, windows, and other players. Smokers are responsible for policing their own trash; do not leave garbage on the ground.

Electronic smoking (“Vaping”) is allowed outside of the areas designated for smoking, but must still occur outside and away from downwind doors, windows, and non-smokers.

Please be extremely considerate of non-users, as many people can have allergic or other reactions to both smoke and/or vapor.

alcohol and other drugs

Alcohol is strictly prohibited at Dystopia Rising events, as is any controlled substance that you do not have a prescription for. Given that many of our players travel from out of state, it is also extremely important to note that THC-containing substances are illegal in the state of Wisconsin, regardless of any out-of-state prescription.

Please use any prescription-controlled substances responsibly, and let a responsible party know if your prescription is mind-altering enough that it may impact the game experience of yourself and/or others.

sexual and related adult activities

Don’t. Even, and especially, in your tent. Your neighbors and fellow players can still hear, and probably would rather not. There may also be minors present at game. None of that is ok.

If you feel this is a necessary part of your weekend, please consider renting a room at a nearby hotel and driving to the site for the parts of game you wish to play.

campfires

ALL campfires must be supervised at ALL TIMES. Campfires must occur in designated fire rings already established on site. A clearly visible method of extinguishing the fire must also be readily apparent. Guides may, at their discretion, choose to supervise a fire for you for the purposes of combat, but this should also not be abused. Ultimately, your fire, your responsibility.

Firewood must be purchased on site. Do NOT, under any circumstances, transport firewood to the Event with you. In many cases, transporting firewood is against the law due to the spread of invasive species that hitchhike with you.

Selling Goods and Services

Real world money may not be exchanged for in-game items of mechanical game benefit. Paying a friend for a cool boffer that they made for you, or chipping in for a communal meal plan with others? Totally cool. Paying someone real money for a stack of in-game item cards that will benefit you directly? Not cool. Dystopia Rising: Wisconsin encourages its players to make any real world money transactions with each other outside of In Game space and time when at all possible. While before Game On or after Game Off is preferred, we also recognize that some players may be traveling a long distance and would not be able to make an exchange within that time frame. In those cases, this is ok, but please keep your transactions to an out of character space where it will not affect others’ immersion and enjoyment of the event.