Starting Guide for DR Live

Leading Character, Casting Time& Clean up

Your leading character (sometimes referred to as a “PC”) is the character you will be playing for the majority of the game.

At one point during the weekend, you will be required to be an extra or a cast member during the event. Casting info here.

Finally, after closing announcements, everybody will be responsible for their personal clean up as well as assisting with whole group cleanup!

Make sure to pack the essentials!

Gathering & Crafting

In DR:L, there will be designated crafting areas in the play area of Dystopia Rising Massachusetts. They will be located in or around the main tavern for accessibility and ease where anybody with the skills (Artisan, Culinary, Agriculture, etc.) can create items and go to the Public Works to claim the work you put in!

Most play areas are all welcome for roleplay, however we also have a Wasteland zone. The Wasteland is strictly free-for-all and you do not need player consent for any interaction that may occur. We have an Ok-Check in system in place for any character vs character or “CvC” to ensure players are okay with the engagement. Bathrooms & Kitchen are strictly out of character!

Otherwise, hang out at our Dry Event with a bunch of other larper shapes and kick back at our in-game bar or try the tasty treats and foods other players offer in game.

Combat & Weapons

Dystopia Rising utilizes a lightest touch system. With stylized, safety first, foam weapons; and soft cloth packets to represent projectiles. All melee weapons deal a flat 2 damage, projectile and range 5, against your armor or your body (health). You will hear some players call out specialized skill names which will allow them to do certain things, if you are ever confused about skill usage, don’t be afraid to make a fist over your head (our universal out of game hand gesture) and ask the relevant player “clarify, what skill did you use?” We all were there, and asking questions made us stronger together.

As you start your experience, you want to make sure you can get the most out of your experience. Here at DRMA, we hope to make sure you are geared up for the best experience you can have!

For starting gear:

Starter Weapons are weapons that players are allowed to have without the need for crafting. Players are allowed:
One set of brawlers
Your choice of one standard melee weapon (of your size choice)
One off-hand “Florentine Style” weapon
And a choice of one Bolt Action Weapon, one Bow, or three thrown weapons.

* Starter Weapons cannot be loaned to others, do not have item cards, and while they can be used with related Skills they cannot gain the benefit of any crafted equipment augments (Gizmos, etc).

Length requirements for each weapon type can be found under each relevant Default Skill, starting on page 31 of the Player’s Guide: https://www.dystopiarisinglive.com/books

Mind Points & Skills

Crafting, Fighting and even some crazy Psionics/Faith abilities all cost something in this game as we refer to mind points. There are a few ways to regain your mind points including crafted meals, brews, and assisting others.

Some skills cost Mind Points and you might not be able to do much at first, but as your character grows and develops, you’ll see every skill usage is just as important as the last. Be tactful and understand this world is to survive! Rely on your friends and comrades to survive the weekend and have fun with it!

BODY ARMOR AND DYING

When you choose a Strain in the next section, it will tell you how many hit points (referred to as Body) your character starts with. If you receive damage that reduces your Body to 0, your character is now dying. When you're dying, you can't move or heal yourself, but you can and should yell and scream, you're dying after all. There are specific items and skills that allow people to heal your hit points. Armor is very similar to hit points, but it requires someone with the appropriate skill to fix it back to full.

An individual in Bleed Out cannot use any Skills or Strain Advantages (unless it states otherwise). You also cannot use any items other than Injectables unless the item states otherwise; but may cry out, scream, or drag themselves slowly and painfully across the ground as they call for help.

Death

If after 5 minutes of yelling and screaming for help, nobody comes to save you, your character has died. Dying is a big part of Dystopia Rising as this is a Play to Lift and Lose system of storytelling. After you die, You have 10 minutes before your body “sinks” and you move out of game. Here is where other skills and items can interact with dead characters. After your body sinks, you'll head over to our Ops building where the Storytelling team will provide for you an amazing roleplay experience that will explain exactly what happened to your body and help drive the future actions and attitudes of your character.