REQUIRED READING: What to Know for Our Upcoming Premier Event

Barkers and Travelers alike!

Please read this blog in totality for important information about our August 2025 Premier Event at Camp Tumbleson Lake. A lot of this info is different from what we have done for events held at Camp Tumbleson Lake in 2024, and some will be specific to this weekend (e.g. we’ll be doing stuff slightly differently the rest of the season).

Where to go

Google maps will send you to 173 Co Rd 96, Ward, CO 80481.  When you get to that spot, you will want to continue down County Road 96 to the next left, which is the main parking lot.  

You may arrive on site at 5 p.m. to select a bunk, or aas early as 3 p.m. if you want to help us set up.

Check In

Right next to the parking lot is the Arts and Crafts building.  You will check in here with Seth P. to get your character sheets and make any outstanding payments, OR you will be directed to where to go in case we find a better place for Seth P. to set up.

All players will need to sign both a Dystopia Rising Colorado liability waiver (as we have re-upped our insurance) as well as a YMCA Camp liability waiver (this is new).

If you arrive after lay-on, you can check in at the Public Works (see below).

Arts and Crafts will also be the place to go for your assigned casting (NPC) shift if you have one (NPC Camp).

Cabins and Tents

Once you check in with Seth P. you will be directed on where to set up.  Most players will be sent to the Frontier camping pod, which you can drive your car to, unload, set up, and then later drive your car back to the parking lot. Once your car is reparked, we would love your help getting set up either in NPC camp or in the Frontier space, where the crafting areas and other zones are.

Please note: This area is a little more rustic and does not have any power, therefore it’s important to bring power banks or spare batteries as needed. There are plenty of glamping tents with more than enough bunk beds for our player attendance, a log cabin (called a longhouse), pit toilets, an amphitheater, and the space where we will set up a camping kitchen for food, a water cooler, agricultural area, morgue spaces, crafting areas, Public Works, and more.

If you need Medical Sleep we will have two options for you:

1. If you just need a space where your cabin won’t get attacked at night and quiet space, we will have a glamping tent set up as Medical Only at Frontier.  This space will be closer to the rest of the tents, the crafting areas, Public Works, etc.

2. If you need power or close access to the bathhouse, we will have a limited number of cabins available in Miner’s Row.  

Meals and food storage 

Food storage will be at the Dining Hall only; please, no food in the glamping tents, cabins, or vehicles, as this poses a wildlife risk.  Sealed bottles for water or beverages are fine; please remove labels/genrify your drinks.  The Dining Hall is in the main part of the camp, which is a bit of a walk from Frontier.  Please check with our kitchen leads, Lucan or Joelle, for assistance on where to keep any food that you’re bringing.  We recommend dry goods and other things that can be kept in a cooler for the weekend.  There will be a limited amount of fridge space for cold items.

Our access to the Dining Hall and the kitchen has some limitations this weekend, specifically on Friday night and all day Saturday.  As such, our kitchen staff has elected to host all meals after Thursday night, and our Saturday barbeque at Frontier, where we will be setting up a camping kitchen.  We will have our disposable cutlery but you are encouraged to bring your own mess kit.

On Thursday night, our dinner will be held in the Dining Hall.  Since opening announcements are at 9 p.m. and the opening mod will follow, you will want to be in costume.

You will be able to utilize the microwave in the dining room when it is not otherwise occupied; we are also looking to set up a microwave at Rustler’s, which is at the top of Miner’s Row (previously known as the Counselor’s Lounge, with the balcony porch).  We will update when we know for certain.

Guide Meeting

If you are a guide, we will have a pre-game meeting at 8:30 p.m. at NPC Camp (Arts and Crafts).  Please be prompt and we will do our best to be concise.

Opening Announcements

We will have opening announcements at 9 p.m. on Thursday at the Dining Hall, with lay-on to follow.  After opening announcements, all PCs will meet outside Arts and Crafts as the mustering area for the opening module at 10 p.m..  Any latecomers or people who haven’t checked in yet can get that done before 10 p.m.; afterwards, check-in will move to Public Works at Frontier.  Please be in costume for opening announcements; Frontier will be unavailable from 9 p.m. until after the opening module is complete.  This will also be a great time to return your car to the parking lot, if you haven’t moved it down before dinner.

Getting around site

While there will not be sufficient parking near Frontier for everyone, we will be allowing and utilizing people’s cars to shuttle NPCs, meal service items, equipment, and trash as needed.  Please let us know how we can help if mobility is a concern for you.

Public Works

Seth P. has secured a solar-panel set-up and a Starlink to set up Public Works at the Frontier camping pod.  Depending on the space, we will set up Public Works either in the Longhouse, the yurt, or a pop-up nearby.  We should be able to handle all Public Works requests, though there is currently an open question about blueprints.  We will either print blueprints at Public Works, or if our power solution can’t handle the printer, we will print them in batches at another location from time to time.

Closing Announcements

We will be calling lay-off at 3 p.m. on Saturday.  We will do a quick closing announcement, and then we will tear down most of our play space and NPC camp.

Folks who need to leave early can do so any time afterward cleanup; the camp will be available for folks for the rest of the evening for…

Community Gathering

Saturday after cleanup we will have our out-of-character hangout, board games, barbeque and more.  Non-attendees, friends and family members are welcome to join us and should RSVP so that we are sure we have enough food for folks.  Players are free to spend one more evening on site.

WHEN WE HAVE TO BE Off Site

We will be looking to be off site by 12 p.m. noon on Sunday, so any remaining cleaning, packing and loading will be done in the morning.  Breakfast will be available at 8 a.m.

We’ll see you all very soon!

"Resurgence" Event Overview and Expectations

We are excited to bring you, “Resurgence,” our July event this weekend! Before the event, we’d like to detail what you’re walking into for transparency and to get you excited, as well as set some expectations for the event and going forward.

Event Overview

The Barkers have been called to Resurgence, a new settlement formed in the shadow of the old Everliving Wood. Groups from the Darksky Natural Ones to some of the ever-persevering Irons of Ironwood have formed a settlement in dangerous territory based on tenuous alliances, unfriendly to outsiders – except the Barkers, who many of them owe or have entwined destinies with. They’d make a key and powerful ally in retaking Barker, but how will you convince this settlement of mostly Natural Ones dealing with their own problems to take on that amount of risk and inevitable death?

Resurgence has been dealing with the Devouring Pines who see the Overgrowth as a brutal way to enlightenment, the Overgrowth itself’s dangers (including Diseased Critters transmitting Feral Wasting Syndrome), and zombies aplenty. Worryingly, there’s even rumors of a Raider Den in the area…

Helping Resurgence with their issues and navigating their internal and external politics via. diplomacy, strength of force, and more, will be key to gaining their help with retaking Barker.

Expectations and Themes

We hope this game will mark a return to form and the intended genre of Dystopia Rising as a survival horror game. Let’s break down what each of those words mean in this context, starting first with horror.

Horror

Horror is rooted in threats both physical and psychological to the characters in the story. We look to bring a level of threat, danger and scares to the game that will excite fans of horror. 

This includes a  return to late night threats, and a potentially deadlier game for your character
As far as themes we may tackle that are difficult or disturbing, here is an ingredients list of the spicier ingredients this weekend:

• Kidnapping 

• Body Horror

• Torture 

• Medical Horror

• Depictions of loss and grief

• Plants 

• Animals in peril, including diseased animals and animal death

We hope that by returning to form and tackling difficult themes along the way, we can deliver a great horror experience. - 

Survival

Simply put, some plots do not have heroic outcomes. For example, running away is not “losing,” and not all stories are written with some “win” condition. Tragic narratives are intended to open story and character opportunities in both the setup and aftermath of the tragedy.

A “loss” is not the end of a story. This is, as much as we can make it, a living world LARP where we aim to expand on stories no matter the outcome of an encounter and we encourage you to roll with the dynamic story as well.

All that is to say, we want you to come to the game and have a fun time. We want to facilitate excellent character beats and role-play. We want you to be scared and traumatized in-character and have a ball out-of-character! We hope to see you this weekend at Camp Lazy Acre for “Resurgence.”

The Dying Light: What To Expect at Our May 2025 Day Game

We're excited to give you the rundown on our upcoming May 2025 Day Game event focused on the fate of the Aberrant commune of Will-O-The-Wisp. This commune located on the grounds of a historic Lovelace Family Estate was envisioned as a sanctuary for Aberrants and became a source of growing danger and tension in the region. This weekend our Survivors have been invited to the Lovelace Estate by members of the once-all-Pureblood Aberrants, the Lovelaces, to interact with human drama, dangerous faith, and the way good intentions pave the road to hell.

Setting The Scene

Will-O-The-Wisp was — some might argue still is — a small commune (population: 15) built on estate land donated by the Lovelace family. It is meant to be a refuge for Aberrants in a historically anti-psionic region once more inflamed with those sentiments. Recently, the gathering of Aberrants and meddling of the Holy-Field cult (more on them later) festered their Morgue into a Corrupted Morgue, which burst and left the community reeling, vulnerable, and coping with deaths including permanent ones. Meanwhile, a few members of the Lovelace family have moved back into the Estate's old manor house, navigating their relationship with the Aberrant community on their land and its people, but how far will the obligation of nobles to the people stretch?

Themes and What To Expect This Event

interpersonal drama

Will-O-The-Wisp's people are a group that's full of conflicts, family dynamics, and more challenges to the mission of building an Aberrant sanctuary in a hostile world. Characters interested in social and political gameplay should look to lean into the drama of these imperfect people and their fledgling settlement. Townsfolk like Bayley Topshelf, anxious Vegasian full of Spoilers searching to rescue their sister Abby from the Holy-Fields and Lydia Of-The-Dirt, an Unborn who tends to the Morgue and holds complex views on aberrancy, will need aid and direction to move forward in a dangerous aftermath.

The Holy-Fields

The Corrupted Morgue didn't just damage the settlement, it attracted dangerous attention. The Holy-Fields, a doomsday grave cult (see Dystopia Rising: Live's publication “Faith and Devotion,” p.150 for OOG details), embedded themselves within the commune and recruited vulnerable residents. Among their recent converts is young Abby Topshelf, who is one of the characters at the center of this drama. The Holy-Fields won't stop until Will-O-The-Wisp has either joined their cause or been sacrificed to power their Engine of the Mortis Amaranthine. Will you stand against their zealotry and twisted actions?

The Aberrancy Debate

At the heart of Will-O-The-Wisp's existence lies a fundamental question: Why remain Aberrant? The concentration of psionic abilities in an Aberrant sanctuary also makes it a target, drawing Undead, problems with the Morgue, diseases, and more. Is aberrancy a tool for survival, a burden to be managed, or something to be disdained or even hunted for possessing? In a world full of dangers, are psionics worth the cost? Expect philosophical debates along with prosaic challenges as the community wrestles to define itself and its future.

Threats from the Mortis and more

No settlement is safe, and the small encampment by the Estate definitely won't be either. Aberrants bring Undead — and nasty ones at that — while other threats like the Holy-Fields may aim to take your Infection. The concentration of Aberrants in one location has its consequences that have already been seen, and more far-reaching and long-term that need to be untangled with the help of our Survivors.

Quick list of Gameplay Focuses

• Social roleplay opportunities with the residents of Will-O-The-Wisp

• Combat encounters with Undead and possibly cultists

• Philosophical and practical debates about Aberrancy, family, and community

• Chances to help shape the future of Will-O-The-Wisp

• Visiting the Lovelace Estate and meeting the secretive Lovelaces

…and more to be uncovered this weekend!

We look forward to seeing you at our Day Game! Tickets are still available here at flexible pricing, so if you haven’t registered yet — what are ya waiting for?

2024 Season Closer: What To Expect During Our Virtual Event "Prophet Motive"

Our November virtual event is a little different from the other virtual events we’ve put on in recent years. In some ways, it’s multiple games all wrapped into one. This is our own take on a vignette style game — separate plot threads contained to their own modules, ZoMs, and, Discord spaces.

For our last game of 3.0, there were multiple local plots and personal stories in need of a satisfying wrap-up. Our aim for this event was to be responsive to local player requests, and also to give proper endings to stories tied to local mechanics, creatures, resources, and groups that will be changing as we transition to DR: Live system when we return from the holidays for our next online season. Whether you’re a local player with a plot request or a traveler looking for some interesting and engaging storylines, we are sure to have something you’ll enjoy.

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They call it the Overlook Hotel.

They say that even before the Fall it was a pilgrimage site for those who would go on to become the first Telling Visionaries, thought to be a Shining beacon of the Signal’s power and truth, and a place where the veil between the real world and the Scripts wore thin. In the centuries since the long-forgotten apocalypse, the place has stood pristine, as if frozen in time… thanks to the meticulous care of the scores of Nemeses who dwell within. For those who don the guises of evil to forge the best in others, this place is a monastery, a fortress, and a treasured home, and they protect it with all the ferocity of their archons and more.

But this Nemesis fortress is under siege. Years ago, the mainstream Church of Telling Visions broke with the Nemeses and named them heretics in a wasteland-wide political move to distance their faith from the damaging optics of what many saw as sadistic games played by rogues. Now that bad blood has come to a boil: the inquisition force of the TVs — Standards & Practices — is building up to wipe out Nemeses in Lorado once and for all, and their insidious leader Mister Rogers intends to take no prisoners.

Standing against them is the Church of Paradise Lost and their coalition of allies from every corner of the TV Faith — Nemeses, Arcadians, and others have rallied around them for a Holy War to liberate TVs of all genres from the violent censorship of S&P. With both sides gathering allies from across the Wastes for a final, spectacularly gory battle, any Wastelanders’ choice could be the one that tips the balance and decides the final fate of the Telling Visionist faith in Lorado.

Meanwhile, down in the valley

Local weapons manufacturer Northheed Armory is making moves again. After divesting from the medically-focused Machonis Company following their actions leading to a catastrophic Overgrowth Bad Brain outbreak, Northheed is instead pushing forward with unveiling the Infection-sapping Cracked Crystal weaponry that they’re rumored to have had in development since before the thaw. Little is known yet about their mysterious new project, but word among those with an in at the company is that the higher-ups are abuzz with excitement over its potential ramifications, and they are selling it hard as a weapon to usher in and secure control of a new era.

But Northheed’s doings are drawing the attention of more than just the usual wary watchdogs this time: the rumors about this weapon are at the center of vivid dreams and feelings of dread that have been haunting some among the area’s residents and travelers alike. These Prophets foresee doom and destruction should this so-called “Peacemaker” be unveiled… but they also foresee a chance to stop Northheed, if they can reach a mysterious concept they refer to only as The Dream.

within the shadows…

For those among the local Murder Incorporated syndicate, plans are falling into place to eliminate one of the greatest threats the local Organization has faced. Marshal Ephraim Butcher and his posse, The Hangmen, might have been withdrawn from the Barker Meadow area and their investigation into Murder Inc. suspended, but Butcher and his gang still know entirely too much. With intel suggesting Butcher hasn’t passed on the more sensitive details to the larger organization of the Wardens yet, and common sense suggesting that he will as soon as the new Warden taking his place arrives in Barker, the M.I. agents are preparing a sweeping operation to tie up this deadly loose end before it unravels beyond their control.

And within barker meadow itselF

Reality is broken. The dissolution of the All-Faiths Council that once ruled the meadow has broken the spirit of this former so-called faith town. What remains to fill the void? The survivors of Barker Meadow have made their choice after a disastrous faith ritual wounded the Mortis. Now, the townsfolk are dealing with insidious and strangely subtle graven issues, leading many to abandon Barker in fear or hopelessness.

All of this (and more!) awaits you at this month’s Virtual Event, Prophet Motive! Register now by clicking here.

The Root of All Evil: Here's What to Expect This Weekend

Our Premiere Event is fast approaching and we’d like to provide a rundown of what to expect. In this blog, you’ll find some of the story that’s set up for the event, the major plots and themes players will get to engage with, relevant local mechanics, and details on the Wildwood Fever that much of the weekend’s narrative revolves around.

The Story So Far

The Overgrowth has been surging and encroaching on Barker since the winter. Key to the weekend’s action is that something has agitated the Overgrowth, sending massive amounts of dangerous flora and fauna into town – as well as threatening to overtake the town itself!

Meanwhile, R.A.N.G.E.R. – an extremist environmental activist group concerned with preserving and propagating the Overgrowth and all its creatures – has caused problems for the industrial ambitions of the Financial Institutions of Lorado. As Barker has tried to navigate these conflicts, others have been less diplomatic, and now the Rolling Coalition has declared outright war on the “ecoterrorists” after a violent dispute. 

Finally, the Machonis Company, a health-tech “startup” (whatever that means) run by maverick medical pioneer Fiona Machonis, has moved into town. Though she soured local opinion in her first visit to a Barker trade, Fiona proved instrumental in defeating the fatal contagion of Tunnel Hunger last month. With opinion divided, the Machonis Company has made its intention to remain in Barker clear. 

Major Weekend Plots and Themes: 

• Major Themes

• Environmental Destruction and Exploitation

• Spread of Disease and Fear 

• Resistance and Rebellion, Control and Manipulation, Unity and Division 

Major Plots

Major plots this weekend will focus around the Overgrowth and how to deal with its dangers, with our Survivors unraveling what’s going on and making complex choices while they fight for their lives. Expect a good deal of action and pitched combat this weekend. Finally, though not in-character knowledge: there’s a disease afoot, and dealing with it will also mean the inevitable intervention of the profiteer Machonis Company. You’ll have to do research and find ways of mitigating, treating, and hopefully curing the disease at your disposal. 

Local Mechanics of Note

Although we have a variety of local custom mechanics and encourage you to read our website to learn more (please note our website is under revisions and not all the below mechanics are posted yet) we’d like to highlight a few key ones for this event.

Invasive: This means an effect is exceptionally powerful – often psionics – and comparable to Overpower. To resist an Invasive effect costs double, e.g. “Area of Effect Invasive Agony” would still be countered by Basic Mental Endurance, but it would cost 10MP at base instead of 5MP.

Inflict (variant Threat Mechanic for this event): 

• If an attack with the Inflict carrier hits your Body (i.e. bypasses or exceeds your armor), you contract Stage 1 of the declared Disease. 

• If you already have a Stage of the declared Disease, this call will NOT advance your Stage. 

Pheromone: A tag for other mechanics, Pheromone indicates that the call can be resisted by the Basic ability of the Helscape Deathmask.

Role-Play Prompts: Role-Play Prompts are meant to give actions or guidance for RPing your character during their duration. Characters should attempt to complete the Prompt or to role-play struggling against the Prompt and fighting it off in some clear depiction of internal strife. Prompts are an Opt-In mechanic and can be opted out of at any time. 

Bad Brain Prints: The Machonis Company are bringing some of their innovations to market, most notably the Cutting Edge Injection and the Razor Syringe. Cutting Edge is a potent combat enhancer for using Proficient Combat Skills – especially for similarly Bad Brained individuals who want to push to the limit. Razor prevents the progression of Bad Brain due to the passage of time and allowing tapping into “Raider Rage” but with some drawbacks. We strongly encourage you to seek out these prints in-game. 

Cracked Psionic Crystal: A local resource usually available on the Master Criminal and Northheed Favor buylists, at start of game it will not be available via Buylists due to plot happenings.

Blood Sap: A local resource available on the Master Trade and Bear Claw Favor buylists. This one might come in handy – especially given its historical links to the Overgrowth. 

Hunting Buylist: A buylist that uses Hunting produced goods and Meaty Bits as well as the skill Hunting to buy from it. Several items on the buylist will help fight Critters and Overgrowth this event.

Psionic as a Tag: Some threats or other mechanics may tag on “Psionic” to a typically non-Psionic call, meaning the effect interacts with mechanics involving Aberrancy as normal (such as being shut down by Master Mental Endurance) – and as a carrier tag – that if it directly would harm or impact your character, Basic Mental Endurance is a viable defense unless indicated otherwise by a Guide. 

Psionic: Stealth: A caveat about Psionic-tagged Basic Stealth, however! This skill in particular is augmented by the Psionic tag, bypassing requirements for cover, darkness, etc. – just don’t whisper while you walk! Interacting with the environment and Awareness still cause this skill to drop as normal. Because this is not a direct impact on your character, Basic Mental Endurance does not reveal a threat using Psionic: Stealth. 

Damage Cap: Possessed by fearsome threats, mostly local Undead, this allows any damage above a certain number to be reduced by the threat to that number. Bane is reduced to the Cap and then doubles. For example, an Undead with Damage Cap 5 would take 5 Damage from a 20 Damage strike, but 10 Damage from a 20 Undead Bane strike.

Local Diseases: Several diseases floated around as of last trade, but the most important is Purifying Bad Brain, a Bad Brain variant invented by the Machonis Company that can halt the progression of other diseases. 

Wildwood Fever

Finally, let's talk about Wildwood Fever, this weekend’s star Disease. It’s a virulent, deadly contagion from the Overgrowth that can cause delirium, rage and obsession. Any Bad Brain-specific calls that you may hear throughout the weekend will affect you as well while you are afflicted with Wildwood Fever.

For example, if a Haze Raider calls “Advance One (1) Rank of Bad Brain,” and you have Wildwood Fever you would advance in Wildwood Fever, otherwise you would interact with regular Bad Brain. Please refer to this document for a spoiler-light writeup of the Fever as well as information about specific RP prompts for each stage. Be sure to check-in with fellow players before engaging in CvC while under the effects of Wildwood Fever, as you would with Bad Brain. Remember, at the end of the day, these are your real life pals!

While you can Opt-Out of Wildwood Fever at your discretion, we encourage you to lean into getting and having Wildwood Fever. It will be a blast. A surge, if you will. Of pheromones.

Hopefully this will help prepare you for this weekend in Barker as you face down the Overgrowth, Wildwood Fever and more. Dive into conflict, make tough decisions, and try to survive. The Root of All Evil awaits – see you in the fray!

The Wardens' Brewing Conflict with Murder Incorporated: A Primer

There is an underlying plot element starting to heat up that aims to put some PCs and the Wardens in direct conflict with Murder Incorporated. Here’s how we will address the way this plot, involvement in it, and opt outs will work at Dystopia Rising: Colorado, as this conflict has the potential to generate bleed for players. The information in this post regarding Murder Inc. should be considered Out Of Game information, should not be taken as In Game knowledge, and is provided solely to give OOG context and background to those looking to get involved in this plot line.

Who are the wardens?

The Wardens are a group of law enforcement who work at the behest of the Financial Institutions to keep a certain minimum threshold of order in Lorado. The Marshal (the head Warden of an area) of Barker Meadow is bounty hunter Ephraim Butcher and his posse, the Hangmen, who have set their sights on Murder Incorporated, a mysterious group that they believe to be a threat to the safety of the Greater Wastes.

What is Murder Incorporated?

Murder Incorporated is a secret network of ritualistic assassins engaged in a sweeping conspiracy in service of what they see as the “Greater Good” of the Wasteland. Its existence is largely unknown in the wastes: if mentioned at all, it is in whispers and rumors. (If you know, you know, but for the most part, especially if you do not have Criminal Influence, you won’t know until someone tells you.) The local MI Families are established groups with their own resources that could be valuable allies, but are also under suspicion in Butcher’s hunt.

This plot line will see these two forces, and player characters on both sides, brought into direct and bloody conflict with potentially lethal consequences.

how plot engagement and optING out will work

You may — before engaging with this plot — choose to completely opt out of it, no questions asked. Please notify an Operations lead of your intent to do so. Your character's name will be kept out of any information trading, and should it come to light that you are part of MI, will be ignored by the Wardens.  You MAY NOT engage with this plot in any way if you choose to opt out — with the exception of being able to attend other MI events where this might be discussed such as general MI meetings and activities. If you decide you wish to join the plot at a later time, you must inform Sorin.

While engaging with this plot, you are considered to have consented to involvement and consequences that come from this — up to and including character death.  If you decide, after engaging in the plot, that you would like to deescalate and disengage, you must speak to Sorin in order to do so. If you are triggered by an action occurring in the moment, please take care of yourself and leave situations that may be harmful to your OOC mental health, then seek out Sorin at the earliest possible opportunity.

There are four ways that the Wardens could find out about a character’s criminal involvements:

1. The character was seen out of disguise by an enemy while participating in a Criminal or Murder Inc. module.

2. The character was brought in for questioning and forced to reveal their criminal involvements while under interrogation.

3. The character’s name was willingly given by another PC — this is a CvC action and should be negotiated between involved parties beforehand.

4. The character’s name was unwillingly given by another PC under the effects of an interrogation. Note: This is not a CvC action, as the player providing the information would not have had any control over what information they provide.

A Primer on the Barker Meadow Necropolis

As our February virtual event quickly approaches, we wanted to put together this little guide to let you know what you're heading into. Before the Wycked White settled in at the end of last season, Barker Meadow warped into a Necropolis - a place where the Grave holds powerful sway. Much (but not all!) of the weekend’s content will focus on interacting with, understanding and fixing the distorted Necropolis. Let’s talk about how we got here, where things are now and how the Necropolis might be dealt with.

How Did We Get Here?

Back before the early arrival of the Wycked White, the Barkers used Cracked Psionic Crystal Weapons of Mortis Destruction to defeat Flesher Calonyction. The ancient Graverobber had used strange Grave science to convert himself into a mass of Infection with the intent to overtake the local Gravemind. These weapon - the Cracked Crystal Projectile Shell and Cracked Crystal Coating - were understood to have terrible effects on the surrounding land. 

The Cracked Crystal Projectile Shell works by draining off Infectious mass and energy when it impacts a target, which then causes a backlash when that mass and energy interacts with the psionic crystals inside the shell. This causes necrosystemic and ecological damage where the shells land, weakening the bacterial biosphere that forms a barrier between the Mortis Amaranthine and the world “topside” while pulling the Mortis layer closer to the surface.

The Cracked Crystal Coating sinks into the soil and stimulates the growth of Cracked Crystal clusters. Since these clusters are typically an immune response meant to strengthen damaged or weakened Morgues, these clusters forming outside of conditions they are typically found in caused distorted Grave phenomena as they absorbed and concentrated Infectious material.

Where Are We Now?

This Necropolis is a region of unchecked Mortis expansion and growth, like a damaged organ replicating cancerous cells and spreading them to areas far beyond where they are meant to be. The Barker Meadow Reservoir Necropolis blurs the line that Strains understand to exist between the Mortis Amaranthine and the world they live in. Masses of Infection cause high concentrations of DMT - leading to psycho-reactant landscapes - while memories churned from deep in the Mortis spur it to fabricate corrupted structures and artifacts to recreate the past.

Although the freezing temperatures of the Wycked White have slowed the spread of decay, the winter will not hold forever. If allowed to continue in this manner after the thaw, this Necropolis will continue to build on itself. The end result will be the creation of a localized necrosphere deep in the Overgrowth. 

So, How Do We Stop This?

The Necropolis must be pushed back - both physically and psychologically in the minds of the people that live here. This will require the excavation and removal of the Cracked Crystal clusters, as well as the treatment of the land to repair the biosphere. The Mortis layer will then have to somehow be pushed back and repaired, while the tumorous Grave masses will need to be surgically, radioactively or chemically removed to prevent the Mortis from resurfacing. Finally, something must be done to lay the Necropolis to rest in the minds of Barker Meadow Reservoir - something to convince the entire town to accept the paradigm that the Necropolis is no more. What that is exactly? Well…

Continue the conversation on our main Facebook group, our private Facebook hype group, in our Discord server, and on Instagram. And we’ll see you in the “Wycked Wonderland” that is the Necropolis in Barker Meadow Reservoir.

Last-Minute Details You Should Know Going Into This Weekend's Event

With our October event, In The Flesh (tickets and details found here), barreling down on us like the apocalyptic plans of the Taleholders, all of us at Dystopia Rising: Colorado wanted to make some quick announcements. These will encompass the final fight with the Taleholders and, given we've told you there will be a Worker(s) on the field, the status of some of the tools we've seeded for fighting those horrible Grave monstrosities!

To be upfront: you should start preparing in-character for the fight as soon as game is on. After all, we've announced here that the fight will be in the 2 p.m. to 6 p. m. Casting Shift block. Start out the gate prepping and strategizing for the fight for the best chance to triumph in the final hours! We're looking to provide plenty of opportunities for varied playstyles and build levels in getting ready for and executing the fight itself, so don’t hesitate to get involved and see where you can help out and contribute.

But first, to get your attention we’re giving a peek at some of the new content for this final fight that was developed in-game last event! This Weapon of Mortis Destruction came from the minds and effort of the people of Barker Meadow, and it's a doozy! What have these careless hands wrought, and what might happen if it fell into the wrong hands?

With the Weapons of Mortis Destruction – the one pictured above and a terrifying Cracked Crystal Coating meant to be delivered on a blade – available to be produced for the fight, you'll still have to deal with the sticky situation of Workers being allied with the Taleholders. The last time the town fought one, they made it flee using the Inverted Cairn, and in a protracted fight like the one lined up for this month, we recognize that some mechanics need to change around fighting the Workers. 

An important change is being made: We're replacing Imbued Crystal Fragments often used for anti-Worker tools with Cracked Crystal in all things going forward, as we behind the scenes made a decision that you all had enough local resources to account for already. If you see Imbued Fragment in a print, nope, you see the equivalent in (more in some cases) Cracked Crystals!

We recognize that this means potentially needing a LOT of Cracked Crystals to make All The Things to save the day, so we remind you that certain factions (namely Northheed and the Taleholders, but also other shadowy forces) have loads of the infection-eating psionic crystal, and encourage you to get creative and see what we can Yes And or No But in your efforts to gather enough to triumph.

There will be opportunities to gather Cracked Crystal in-game, and we’d like to remind you that it’s available off the Northheed Minor Favor buylist, that you can spend 50 CAPs to get a Minor Favor item like a Cracked Crystal, and oh yes, certain Masters of Criminal activity can purchase it as one of their buylist options as well. Get scheming to get those awful rocks!

So here's the details, as much as we can release currently and without spoiling too much of the surprise: 

• The Inverted Cairn Schematics have been updated to be simpler, less expensive and less punishing to the user.

• The Inception of a Weapon Zone of Mechanics, that necrokinetic ritual to harm Workers, has been updated to use Cracked Crystal instead of Imbued Fragment, but is otherwise unchanged. Read those glyphs and channel Grave knowledge to combat the Workers! 

• The Bloody Poison Condenser to make Worker Bane applied poison has been updated to be less resource and time-intensive and more effective. 

• For our local Worker-focused prints, the Everliving Weapon and Spike Severer updates are upcoming. We're looking to make the Everliving Weapon less mind-intensive and the Spike Severer will receive minor updates.

• The Blinding of the 3rd Eye Mental Endurance/Mind Killer ritual will be back in a new form, updates are incoming. Last time it was brought in by S&P and used up in the fight, what will it look like this time?

The ZoMs will be updated in-place in-play at the Library, they are all living documents subject to change up through game. For the prints, we'll announce a process for getting those swapped out on any significant change. Keep in mind that we’re always open to feedback to improve your experience and the game in general, these mechanics included, don’t hesitate to reach out with feedback on these in the lead-up to the game or after you’ve experienced them.

We look forward to seeing you in-game this weekend, and wish you the best of luck in your fight against the Taleholders and their ages-long machinations!

Pre-Game Briefing: Taleholder Finale

In advance of the climactic battle with The Taleholders at our October event, In the Flesh (tickets and details available here) , we would like to provide information to set expectations and make sure everyone has an awesome time wrapping up this story. In this blog post, we're going to go over what's happening before the fight, during the fight, and how it could all end. 

Importantly and up front, the fight will happen during the 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. NPC shift block, so if you're aching to be involved on either side of the fight, we present this information so you can make an informed decision. 

There will be a significant preparatory phase leading up to the fight, and we encourage you to make the most of it! In addition to various plot items such as the Weapons of Mortis Destruction developed last game and the tools to fight Workers – which will be key in the final fight – there's also a bevy of brews, augments, armaments, and more in the core rules to equip yourself with to better your chances! Hit up those crafters and resource gatherers and get to work to prepare for the fight of a lifetime. It's important to note that we will be reworking the living documents of Worker-fighting tools and mechanics to better accommodate a longer fight, as they were originally designed for a much shorter encounter.

Preparing the Weapons of Mortis Destruction and the Oblivio Mortis – the ritual which the Taleholders' Graverobber Flesher Calonyction uses as his primary tool, plotted to be his undoing by his rival and tenuous ally of the town, Tomas Gleaming Keep – will be key, to have weapons during the fight and to combat Flesher in the Grave. 

Now onto the fight itself!

The fight will have multiple phases across multiple locations, something we have not yet experimented much with at DR:CO on our site at YMCA Camp Santa Maria. Prepare to walk, and to have to move across site to accomplish your objectives. In this fight, through the different stages and their dynamics, your preparation will matter, and tactics will be critical against deadly threats, which will be killing blow active. As the final flourish of a years-long storyline, we're not pulling any punches on this one, but we're also dedicated to making it fun and cinematic, no matter the results in-character. 

Those are the details of the fight we're presenting currently, without spoiling too much, and it's important to talk about the role of this fight in the overall narrative. We've advertised through in-character means and want to be clear out of character that this fight most likely ends in the Gravemind, the multi-stage conflict determining the shape of that scene, of stopping and undoing the Graven work of Flesher. If the survivors of Barker Meadow stumble in their efforts, will they even be able to launch the Oblivio Mortis to counter Flesher, and if they succeed triumphantly, will he meet an even worse fate than in his attempted Oblivio Mortis at the Premiere event, where survivors subverted his efforts and slayed him multiple times? 

We’ll all just have to see at our October event, where This Has All Happened Before, and it's up to our Barkers to make sure this will Never Happen Again. The cycle of the Everliving Wood and Flesher's machinations against Barker and Lorado ends in October, but what that looks like... as the TVs of the Taleholders might say, tune in, intrepid viewers, for a story ending like none other!

Info Gathering Results: The Taleholders’ Finale

At our September event, several intrepid Survivors from Barker Meadow sought information on the Taleholders’ Finale – the final, apocalyptic stage of the Great Work of their Graverobber, Flesher Calonyction. To help you prepare for the Finale and the battle to stop it, we present the Info Gathering results they received.

Pieces Of Information: 

- The Taleholders’ plan to utilize Flesher’s power over the Workers and possibly other creatures, all of which will be going for the kill. This is the Finale after all. 

- Even the preparation required for Flesher’s Integration and the Finale will cause the local Mortis to go haywire, causing unpredictable and dangerous zones and distortions of the local environment.

- The Taleholders have heard about plans to protect the Morgue in Barker Meadow through various mechanisms, and are attempting to work around and through the plans they hear about, because they will need to interact dramatically with a Morgue in Barker Meadow. Whether it is the Morgue across from the Saloon, the Synthetic “Wolf” Morgue, or an “any Morgue will do” scenario – it remains unclear. Protecting or obfuscating the Morgue(s) would help against the Finale.  

- Flesher is brimming with Infection given by Taleholders and others. Whatever form Flesher’s Integration takes, it can and will burn through multiple of his Infection in a protracted conflict. 

Exceptional Success Information: 

- Flesher is likely to attempt to modify a Worker in some way so that the psionic storm around it will not harm Taleholders – at the cost of Taleholders being near it weakening it in some way. 

- Flesher is likely to attempt to deploy at least one Worker that will be able to Spike and heal off of the bleedout of something other than Undead, perhaps a Sin-Eater or something similar.

- The Finale will take place throughout Barker Meadow, rather than at a single location, as it is an overall strike upon the town physically and existentially.

- Flesher created the Synthetic “Wolf” Morgue in town and has utilized the moving nature of the Everliving Wood’s presence in the Overgrowth before. All This Has Happened Before, and all this could be utilized as weaponry again.

- Flesher will need to be defeated fully while inside the Gravemind, he must be vanquished with the battlefield being in his ‘home territory,’ weakening him before he gets there is key.

We will have more details on this climactic conflict to come. Make sure you register for the gather where it all goes down, our October event, IN THE FLESH!

Powder Keg Pre-Game Briefing: Encountering The Workers

In the months leading up to our July event, POWDER KEG, we have been foreshadowing an encounter with The Workers, the formidable defense system of the Grave. Previously found only in the Everliving Wood, players will now have a chance to confront them during the 2pm to 6pm Casting shift (being more specific about the time might ruin some of the surprises around how it will occur). Before diving into the crucial mechanics of this battle, let's briefly review what we know about The Workers in-character.

The Workers are powerful protectors of the Mortis – ancient entities compared to the most horrific Undead that have plagued the Greater Wastes. A compilation of in-character information about The Workers has been made available here.

Now for the mechanics! Please note that these are living documents and may be subject to change. Let us know if you see anything that doesn’t seem to work as intended or that you have questions about!

First, be aware of NULL status. Workers are surrounded by a constant psionic barrier and immune to most effects. If your character would not be able to be affected by Anomaly effects (Master Mental Endurance fields or the Master Shield ability of the Forged Steelpaw Shield being the best ways to accomplish this), you must call "NULL" when interacting with a Worker at the end of your interaction (such as an attack for damage) to signal to the portrayer of the Worker(s) to take the effect. You can gain or lose NULL status through various plot interactions as well.

We've released two blueprints and two Zones of Mechanics (ZoMs) specifically designed for combating The Workers, as well as the schematics for the now-infamous Inverted Cairn project driven by characters in-game over the last months. Access to these blueprints will be available in-game, but summaries are provided here for transparency.

The Spike Severer is an augment for a Melee Small weapon intended to disable The Workers' ability to regenerate Body when Undead around it fall into bleedout. Here are its core mechanics:

• Spend 5 Mind for "End Worker Spike" on the next attempted strike against an Undead

• After a successful strike, the user suffers Blinding

The Everliving Weapon is an augment for any melee weapon type with these core mechanics:

• Spend 5 Mind and 5 Body for NULL modifier on next 3 attempted strikes with augmented weapon

• After 3 strikes or 1 minute (whichever comes first), the user's bleedout timer is reduced to 30 seconds for 5 minutes

• Weapon cannot deal damage to non-Worker targets

Additionally, two ZoMs were unlocked by character actions: the Bloody Poison Condenser and the Inception Of A Weapon. These will be accessible in the Culinary Crafting Area and the Library, respectively.

Finally, the Inverted Cairns Schematics can be found here and will reside at the Library as well but can be moved in-game for constructing the actual Cairns.

That covers the mechanics for this highly anticipated showdown with The Workers! We're excited to see how it unfolds at POWDER KEG. Get your tickets (and be sure to check-in on the database) here.