Special NPC Call

Photo by London Belli

As we finalize our preparations for Honor’s Fall, we have a couple of opportunities for you. Specifically, opportunities to beat up your friends with foam weapons. If you like trying to kill your friends’ characters in a consequence free environment, check out these opportunities:

Containment Duty

While the Hot Zone is in effect (check the schedule in the announcements), you can volunteer to “keep things from crawling out of that NBC disaster area.” Get a group of at least five people and report to ops for an hour of roaming threat duty.

If you volunteer for an hour of Containment Duty, you’ll receive 10 CAPs and we’ll allow you to count that hour as an hour of time spent crafting or gathering resources. So if you rather play a nasty monster rather than work a bench for an hour, swing by Ops when the Hot Zone is open.

Redacted

Requiem regulars might recall in June when we put out an all-call for non-male players who like to fight. We’re doing it again - report Saturday at 10:30 am to Ops if you want to be part of the mod again. In addition to the 10 CAPs and the hour of crafting time, we’re hoping to get you a little “souvenir.” If you’re interested in being part of the mod, email us at info@dystopiarisingny.com.

New National Print - Fast Mover Vest

As we approach Honor’s Fall, we’re excited to tease the new National blueprints that we’re releasing. We can’t thank the print team - Jeff Dahl, Jeff Thelen and our own Damien Burke - for their months of work bring you these prints.

The hardest thing about armor is actually wearing it. Our physreps can often be hot, uncomfortable, and hamper movement. Since Requiem sees a lot more hit-and-run tactics than standing battles, we wanted to come up with a new armor where the phys-rep was actually light and comfortable. Thus… the Fast Mover Vest. 

What Is It? 

The Fast Mover Vest is armor that’s always worth 10 armor points (like the Striker’s Coat, it can’t be crafted up or augmented)... that explicitly states it only requires 35% coverage. Mechanically, it improved Enhanced Movement, including giving people a brand new option: the ability to run away from a By the Sound of My Voice or Area of Effect call.

Design Insights

Enhanced Movement is one of the more common skills in the game, particularly in Requiem. When we submitted our ideas to the print team, we wanted to fill a gap that existed amongst the armor prints for people who just wanted to wear an armored vest. With some unique abilities, the Fast Mover Vest offers people a meaningful choice when it comes to “what armor do I wear?”

Why We Think It’s Cool

First, it makes grabbing your buddy and getting out of combat a lot easier. You can now get twice as far from the threat for slightly less mind. But the thing we really think is cool is the PFA ability - it might be the only way to react to an Area of Effect call. While it’s a niche ability, it could be a life-saver.

Mementos Explained

This Honor’s Fall, on Sunday morning, we will have a special reward for all the Family Heads… the High Lord Executioner will give them each a Memento… a large metal coin that we hope will be a new mainstay of the setting. Inspired by the John Wick movies, Memento will represent a different sort of economy in Requiem - one of favors and backed up by honor amongst thieves. 

What Is a Memento

A Memento is a challenge coin. It’s a large coin with art on the front and back, that you carry with you at all times. Challenge coins have a largely undocumented history, but since World War II have become common in military units and other organizations as a way of showing membership. In our setting, they’re Mementos given out by the High Lord Executioner that represent favors, specifically favors that are more important than life itself. In our setting, the sanctity of Mementos are backed up by the Shadows of the Anastasia Family: they will make sure people honor their favors. 

How Do You Get One

At Honor’s Fall, 13 Mementos will enter circulation (one to each Family Head). That means only a handful will end up in the hands of players; the NPCs who receive them will have the ability to give them to players over the course of the year. All Mementos come from the High Lord Executioner, who might give out a Memento to acknowledge tremendous and dangerous acts of service. If you have a Memento, you can always go to the High Lord Executioner to exchange it for a favor.

A person with a Memento can give it to another person; this represents owing them a favor. If someone gives you a Memento, the expectation is that they will risk their life to fulfill their promise. If the person is an NPC, you can expect they’ll honor the Memento. While player characters aren’t bound by the same rules as NPCs, we encourage them to treat their Mementos with the same gravity, and risk their lives to fulfill promises.

Using Mementos

To use a Memento, you hand it back to the person who gave it to you (or the High Lord Executioner) and ask for a favor. That person should then move heaven and earth to fulfill that favor. There are two rules:

• As the Memento is an extension of the Treaty of the Fold, you can’t ask a person to violate the Treaty of the Fold (however, see “Murder Inc” below).

• You can’t use it to change the consequences of Honor’s Fall: you can’t give someone a Memento to step down as a Family Head or High Lord Executioner, or renounce their Patron Family status. 

There is a general guideline, however: you should ask for an act of service. This is something the other person is doing for you. Asking a person to give you 1,000 wagers is a gift, not an act of service; asking a person to cut off their hand is a punishment, not an act of service. While there is no rule against it, you can expect the NPCs (and hopefully some player characters) to scorn you for using a Memento in that manner. Mementos are about honor, not being clever.

A Memento For An Infection

It’s against the Treaty of the Fold to kill someone in Requiem, but Murder Inc has a special use for Mementos: one assassination costs one Memento. Not every hit gets you a marker… this is something akin to an Honor Hunt - a special job that absolutely has to be done. Remember, holding a Memento gives the person one favor from the High Lord Executioner, so if you get caught, you can turn in the Memento to receive amnesty for the kill. And if you get away with it… you have a very valuable Memento. With a Memento being worth an infection, NPCs with a focus on the Gravemind also acknowledge their value: you can likely get support from the Molons or Zodiac with a Memento.

To be clear, another example of a Memento for an Infection is stealing a Memento: if you steal a Memento, know this is an action that may lead to Infection loss. And remember, every coin is sequentially numbered, so it’s very easy to identify misbegotten Mementos.

Mementos In Role-Play

Mementos are new to Requiem, but assume the tradition of the Memento goes back some time - instead of “making it up,” assume that the High Lord Executioner is bringing back a tradition. We’re presenting the customs here so your character can know about it, but we’ll explore the return of Mementos through role-play.

New National Print - Ritual of Consecration

As we approach Honor’s Fall, we’re excited to tease the new National blueprints that we’re releasing. We can’t thank the print team - Jeff Dahl, Jeff Thelen and our own Damien Burke - for their months of work bring you these prints.

Requiem is hard on religion… we know this. So when we put in our request for blueprints for Honor’s Fall, we wanted to make sure we got players of priests and other faithful something good. And they gave it to us - at Honor’s Fall, you’ll see the first of a new sort of print: Benedictions.

What Is It? 

The Ritual of Consecration is the first Benediction, and it’s going to be the base on which many other Benedictions can be used. It consecrates an area, and that area will allow the use of other Benedictions you’ll see later. However, the cool part of that consecrated area is that when you or anyone else of your faith use a basic faithful skill, it targets 3 people instead of just one!

Design Insights

Benedictions were play-tested along with augments late last year, and are beginning to see release. This particular one creates a particular area, and the ritual can be tailored to the user’s particular faith. One of the intents was to give you a mechanical effect for your holy spaces, so if you create a church or a shrine, you get a benefit for using your faith skills there.

Why We Think It’s Cool

If you’ve ever received a blessing of Faithful Spirit from a priest of your faith, it’s pretty cool: you ignore the next blinding or mangle before the next 12s. However, for the user, it’s a bit of an investment: they’re spending 5 mind to make sure one person has that gift of physical endurance. Now, a holy person can protect 3 people, making it something we can see used regularly before a fight.  We look forward to the cool spaces you all create and the scenes you have in them.

#ReadyToReq - Honor's Fall Edition

Photo by London Belli

At Dystopia Rising New York, we have a pre-game tradition called #readytoreq, which is a hashtag campaign where you can earn up to 40 CAPs (enough for a mind refresh meal) by posting hype about the upcoming event. With us nearing 200 players for Honor’s Fall, we wanted to do something special. For Honor’s Fall… you can earn up to 80 CAPs… enough for two mind-refreshes!

For the next two weeks, we’ll be posting #readytoreq message to social media in our Facebook group and on our Facebook page. We’ll also be watching out for your posts on social media tagged with #readytoreq. Engaging with our posts, and posting your own earn you CAPs, which we’ll automatically cash in for a mind refresh meal.  Here’s the guidelines:

• If we make a post with the hashtag #ReadyToReq campaign, and you leave a comment, we’ll give you 10 CAPs.

• If you make a post with any kind of image to our Facebook group and tag it #readytoreq, we’ll give another 10 CAPs (one-time only).

• If you make a post to your own Facebook or Instagram accounts, and tag it #readytoreq, we’ll give you 20 CAPS (one-time only).

• If you make a TikTok video and tag it #readytoreq, we’ll give 20 CAPS (one-time only).

You can earn a max of 80 CAPS through the #readytoreq campaign.

In the past, people get busy, lines at the post office get long, and people forget they can spend their CAPs on mind refresh meals. So for Honor’s Fall, instead of entering your CAPs directly in the database, we’ll give you a marker for a mind refresh meal for every 40 CAPs you earn.  No trip to the post office… just one or two meals for your character. If you prefer, you can turn in those markers for CAPs at the post office if you prefer.

Remember, we have lots of players, so if you make a post to your own social media, remember to tag us!

REDLINE!!!

In two weeks, the Dystopia Rising New York staff will host Honor’s Fall, our game of the year. We’ve been working on this event for months, pouring over every detail of the design - from the Hot Zone, to the Bacchanal, to logistical details like the meal plan and CvC changes - with a singular purpose in mind: to give you the best possible experience that you’ll enjoy at a Dystopia Rising event. 

And then we made Redline.

Remember that phrase, “do the dumb?” Then Redline is for you. Do you like watching people play Cans but think “you know, this would be better if there were a chance for them to be mechanically blinded for this decision?” We have your answer. Do you ever lament that there’s just not enough drugs in Dystopia Rising? Well, get ready for a whole new reason to lament.  Redline is here.

How It Works

At Honor’s Fall, we’re going to be introducing the print for Redline. Redline is a drug you snort… that’s all you need to know. And then something happens.  

What happens? It depends.

Because when you make Redline, you have to include a culinary crafting component. Stuff like cooking oil, or salty components… but also stuff that's adhesive, acidic or even just radioactive. There’s eight total culinary crafting components, and three levels (basic, proficient, and master), meaning that currently, your dose of Redline could have any one of 24 different effects. 

Here’s the thing: the print only tells you how to make Redline. It doesn’t tell what a particular crafting component does.

When you get your dose of Redline, it will be in a red baseball card sleeve. You’ll be able to see the front of it… where it tells you it’s Redline, what component was used in it, when it expires, etc. You can even identify that sort of thing in-character with Financial Influence. But the actual effects of the dose will be hidden… and there’s only one way to find out.

What It Does

There’s only one way to find out: do a lot of research. And by that, we mean drugs. Maybe this dose of Redline causes you Agony for five minutes as you believe you’re being screamed at by god. Maybe it makes your fists radioactive. No one knows, until you put it up your nose.  If you enjoy playing a character who makes good decisions or doesn’t like Agony or having radioactive fists, drink water. For everyone else, there’s Redline.

Bravado Trade Agreement Update

Last week, we announced that we would not have the Trade Agreement between Bravado and Requiem in effect during Honor’s Fall. Some players came to us with well-thought out opinions and requested we re-examine this, and so we’ve changed that policy. The Trade Agreement remains in effect for Honor’s Fall, however, we’ve placed some restrictions on specific items local to Bravado.  

• Players can only use items posted to the Dystopia Rising Texas webpage (it’s extremely complete, but the item must be on the page to be usable). 

• The following items will not be usable at Honor’s Fall: Leviathan Salts (both refined and unrefined) and Grave Dust.

• As we do not have a local mechanic for Poison damage, Grave Ash does not do Poison damage. The call should simply be “Horde Bane.” Remember, damage modifiers (except for Murder) do not stack, so Horde Bane would replace any existing damage modifiers.

• If you use Oxblood as a crafting component, we will put the item you create on a Local Mechanics card, and it will only be usable in Requiem and Bravado. 

A local clarification on Grave Pigments - At sometime before the next Twelves, you can call the Upsurge effect. You can’t call the Upsurge effect while in Bleed Out, it must be done before. Once you call the Upsurge effect, you can use it at any time before the next hour.

The previous announcement will be updated shortly.

Research in Requiem

Photo by Allana Marie

As promised after the July Event, Dystopia Rising New York has made some changes to its local mechanics regarding research. Specifically, we’re changing the Library ZoM from play, and clarifying how to use our Research in Requiem local mechanic.

Changes to the Library ZoM

The “Insight” feature of the Library ZoM, which requires a character with the Sage PFA, remains unchanged. We removed the other mechanic, which allowed players to ask “yes” or “no” questions, as it tended to lead to confusion. With the Research in Requiem local mechanic, players can work towards an open-ended research goal, and this mechanic will be independent of the Library ZoM

Research in Requiem

As an alternate method of research, players may use the Research in Requiem local mechanic to ask the staff an open-ended question. To do so, a group of no less than four players may devise a research goal, go to Ops, inform the staff they’re doing “Requiem Research” and ask their question. Then, they role-play doing the research. For example, if players want to learn more about the gravemind, they might create non-mechanical sampling tools, then spend time role-playing observing and taking samples at the morgue. Afterwards, players should return to Ops and explain what they did. Depending on the nature of the research Ops might have information available within the next Twelves, or may ask players to submit an action request to receive information at a later date. The quality of information depends on the number of people involved, the depth of the role-play, and the skills, lores, and items used. Some questions might require multiple months of research. 

Please note… the first step after you have four or more players assembled is to “devise a research goal.” This lets us know what you want to do. Also remember that you’re asking an “open-ended question,” which means that there will always be room for more information later. 

Examples

Professor Science and Doctor Medicine have noticed strange goings on at the morgue. Zed are coming out of the morgue carrying terrible diseases. They decide to perform some research to get a clue to where this might be coming from. They invite Assistant Noteman and Nurse Ratchetstraps to help. 

They decide their goal is, “to identify what’s causing the Zed to come out of the morgue with diseases,” so they inform Ops of their intentions. After discussing possible options they decide to create some non-mechanical Sampling Tools with Basic Artisan and pack up their Doctor Ottoman’s Disease Control Kit. They also bring along some Infectious Material and Psionic Crystals to compare to whatever they may find at the morgue. Making a trek out to the morgue they spend time observing, taking samples of the local infectious material and psionic crystals. Luckily encountering a zed they manage to dispatch it and begin a field autopsy, taking samples and observing growths and mutations on the body. Having taken notes on their findings and noted their applicable lores and PFAs they report to Ops with their information. They find out this research is fairly conclusive so they should have their information during the next twelves.

After the next Twelves, Ops gives them their research results, which include information about a contaminated site upstream of the morgue, which recently saw a spill of radioactive material. The spill occurred shortly before the zed started appearing, and the sorts of diseases they carry are very similar to radiation poisoning. The players can now investigate the site of the spill.

Additional Entertainers & Vendors For the Bacchanal

Photo by Brittany Zweir

As Honor’s Fall approaches, we’re pleased to offer opportunities for additional entertainers and vendors at our Bacchanal celebration. Anyone attending can apply for a spot, and we’ll offer the opportunity until we run out of space. Right now, we’re looking for:

• Entertainers for the show - People with 5 to 10 minute acts that we can put into the Bacchanal.

• Entertainers to work the crowd - People who can busk or otherwise entertain the crowd before and after the show.

• Food Vendors - Vendors who can provide food.

• Prop Vendors - Vendors who will sell hand props, including costume pieces and boffers.

Use this google form to apply to be a vendor. If you previously applied during our previous round of applications, please fill out this form to signal your interest. Please fill out the form no later than Friday, July 22nd.

A few notes:

• Remember, the Bacchanal is from 10 pm to midnight on Thursday, and 6 to 8 pm on Friday.

• Food vendors who apply during this round will not have access to the kitchen.

• Only vendors selling props (not including food vendors) will be allowed to take real-world money.

• No vendor who applies during this round will be reimbursed if they take a food voucher (only previously identified vendors can turn those in).

• All vendors must be set up by 9 pm on Thursday, prior to opening announcements. 

Want to talk more about the Bacchanal? Join our Discord server, and look for #honors-fall-bacchanal-planning.

Honor's Fall Rules Clarifications

Photo by London Belli

As we expect a large number of travelers for Honor’s Fall, we have some rules clarifications specific to this event. This page supplements our Local Mechanics.

Bravado Trade Agreement

For Honor’s Fall, we will have the following clarifications and restrictions on the Bravado Trade Agreement:

Players can only use items posted to the Dystopia Rising Texas webpage (it’s extremely complete, but the item must be on the page to be usable). 

• The following items will not be usable at Honor’s Fall: Leviathan Salts (both refined and unrefined) and Grave Dust.

• As we do not have a local mechanic for Poison damage, Grave Ash does not do Poison damage. The call should simply be “Horde Bane.” Remember, damage modifiers (except for Murder) do not stack, so Horde Bane would replace any existing damage modifiers.

• If you use Oxblood as a crafting component, we will put the item you create on a Local Mechanics card, and it will only be usable in Requiem and Bravado. 

A local clarification on Grave Pigments - At sometime before the next Twelves, you can call the Upsurge effect. You can’t call the Upsurge effect while in Bleed Out, it must be done before. Once you call the Upsurge effect, you can use it at any time before the next hour.

Carded Items Versus LIT

We have worked very hard at Requiem to remove as many items from LIT as possible, and we ask our travelers to respect this. The following restrictions exist on using items out of LIT.

• Any item used in CvC must be carded.

• All consumables used (including, but not limited to, meals, brews or injectables) must be carded.

• Any item used in combat (including weapons, armor, combat-specific gizmos, etc) must be carded.

• After sunset (7:50 pm) on Saturday and sunrise (6:14 am) on Sunday, you may not use any items from LIT. All items must be carded. 

We understand that many of our players may still have numerous items in LIT, and some players will not have an opportunity for a live game to take items out of LIT before Honor’s Fall. So, to accommodate for that, we’re taking the following steps…

• For players from chapters that are currently online (KY, MA, OK) or will not have a live game prior to Honor’s Fall, please contact us for possible exemptions (including being allowed to use specific non-consumable items from LIT) and support (including us carding some of your items for you).

• For players local to the Northeast, we’re working with Dystopia Rising Pennsylvania to support carding items at their August 5 - 7 event.

• We will have additional post office support from 10 am to 2 pm on Friday and Saturday to support you carding items from LIT.

Summer Armor Coverage

Due to the potential for high temperatures, any armor that requires more than 50% coverage has its coverage reduced to 50%.

Honor's Fall Logistics, Part 2

Photo by London Belli

This is Part 2 of our logistics announcements, where we talk about kitchen use and food preparation. Please see our Basic Information for details about parking, fires, and other important details; however, the information below trumps the information on that page. (Check out Part 1 for details on sleeping arrangements)

Kitchen Use

Unlike most Dystopia Rising New York games, we will be allowed to use the kitchen during Honor’s Fall. However, only the team preparing the meal plan, and the invited food vendors will be allowed to use the kitchen for anything other than dishwashing; if you’re not 100% certain you’re allowed to use it, don’t. You will be able to use the following areas in the back of the Great Hall:

• The bathroom next to the freezers (which is not part of the kitchen).

• The walk-in refrigerator and freezer (which is not part of the kitchen).

• The dishwashing area (which is the only part of the kitchen you may enter).

To use these three areas, you have to enter through the side door (i.e. you have to exit the Great Hall, go outside, and enter next to the freezers). Do not enter the kitchen from the Great Hall without permission. 

Storing Your Food

With up to 200 people on site, food storage will be a challenge. We do not have room in our walk-in refrigerators for everyone’s food. Further, you are not allowed to have unsealed food in the cabins due to wildlife concerns. Please follow these rules:

• Only put food that requires refrigeration in the refrigerator. Do not put your non-perishables in the refrigerator, that’s inconsiderate to everyone else.

• All food in your cabin or tent must be in a sealed container. If it’s not resealable, you must dispose of it before you go to sleep.

• Any unattended food that is not in a sealed container, or in the refrigerator, may be thrown away at the staff’s discretion. There’s a lot of wildlife, do not leave food lying around.

Preparing Your Food

We will have three microwaves available on site, as well as hot water and drinking water available. The water on site from faucets is potable (drink water!). We also encourage you to bring portable cooking devices, such as grills or crock pots, or to make cooking fires in the appropriate areas (most cabins have fire pits). We do ask you do not cook inside your cabin as it is against site rules. Bottom line: Do not bring food that requires extensive preparation and plan on using the kitchen, the kitchen will not be available.  

Meal Plan

If you ordered the meal plan, you may pick it up from the refrigerator behind the kitchen in the Great Hall. All meals that require heating will be microwavable. Contact us at info@dystopiarisingny.com with any questions regarding the meal plan. 

Cleaning Your Area

You must dispose of all food waste every day before you go to sleep; do not leave it in the cabin. This waste must go in the dumpster across the road from the Great Hall, next to Ops (it’s a very large dumpster, but ask a guide if you need help finding it). 

Clean. Up. Your. Trash.

If you, as a community, do not clean up your trash when you are finished with it, we are not responsible for the in-character monsters it will attract. However, rest assured that whatever in-character monsters you attract, it’s far better than waiting for the real-life critters to show up.

Honor's Fall Logistics, Part 1

Photo by London Belli

Welcome to Part 1 of our logistics announcements, where we talk about the campsite in general, and specifically where you’ll be sleeping. Please see our Basic Information for details about parking, fires, and other important details; however, the information below (particularly in regards to Med Sleep) trumps the information on that page.

General Info

Forestburg Scout Reservation is the regular site for Dystopia Rising New York, and has all the facilities one needs to survive a weekend in the wastes. We expect there to be adequate parking, but remember not to block other people in. As a reminder, do not drive off-road at all. You don’t want to end up in a ditch, or worse, the lake. 

Bunks

We have well over 200 bunks on site, but it’s probably going to be quite crowded in some of the more desirable cabins. As such, we’re encouraging you to camp, and take advantage of Secure Shelter, our ZoM for Genre Camping. However, we’ll make sure everyone who needs a bunk has one. Further, your friends can reserve a bunk for you, using a bunk slip, if you purchased an Early-Bird ticket.

Bunk Slips

If you purchased an Early-Bird Ticket, you’ll have a bunk slip for you at Ops. This will be a heavy stock piece of paper with two holes punched in it; the names of everyone who receives a bunk slip will be on the paper. When one of your friends arrives on site, they may grab your bunk slip from Ops, and attach it to a bunk for you, saving the bunk. They may save as many, or as few, bunks as they like… the idea is that one person arrives early and reserves space for their friends.

We take our bunk slips very seriously at Dystopia Rising New York, and understand that players sometimes throw their gear on a bed to “reserve” it for their friends. This is against the rules of our chapter, and we will discipline you (likely denying you, and possibly your friend build for the event) if we catch you doing so. A bunk slip is the only way to hold space for another person at our site. 

Siestas

From 4 to 6 pm on Friday, and 2 to 6 pm on Saturday, we will have siestas. With the exception of Hot Zone mods, no mods will go out during the siestas, and you’re encouraged to sleep during this time (remember, we’ll be up all night Saturday). Please do not schedule player-driven events during this time. While it’s okay to have impromptu gatherings with your friends, please do not schedule Family meetings, religious observances, or other planned events during siesta: your sleep is important too! If you post on social media about an event during a siesta, we will remove your announcement and contact you to have you reschedule (this includes food vendors). 

Med Sleep

Individuals requiring med sleep must contact us at info@dystopiarisingny.com to coordinate med sleep. If you request med sleep, you might be assigned a specific cabin or bunk based on your needs. Note: we might move med sleep based on the number of people who request it. Please note the following guidelines:

• Med sleep is specifically out-of-character. As such, if you sleep in med sleep, you must refrain from initiating CvC for four hours prior to going to bed. Failure to do so is a rules violation.

• If you want a partner or friend to sleep in the same room as you for med sleep, you have to let us know.

• You can expect to be in a room with a large number of people in med sleep. We have a limited ability to accommodate people who wish to sleep in our smaller rooms. These rooms have four bunks, and if you need your own room, please let us know and we’ll tell you if we can accommodate your request or not.

• You cannot “med sleep in your bunk.” If you need med sleep, we’ll find you a spot in our med sleep area. We are not responsible for any issues or interruptions you encounter in other sleeping areas. 

• All med sleep requests must be received by Thursday, July 21. After that, we cannot guarantee accommodations.

Late Arrivals & Early Departures

Late arrivals may enter the campsite at any time, but please coordinate with Ops before you attempt to bring a car onsite past the parking lot. Generally, late arrivals will have to carry all of your equipment to your sleeping space and cars need to be in the parking lot by 9 pm, Thursday, August 18. We do have the ability to assist arrivals during the Friday siesta between 4 and 6 pm, and there will be no mods during either Bacchanal (10 pm to midnight Thursday, and 6 to 8 pm Friday). We recommend that you arrive either during a siesta or the Bacchanal for minimal impact on other players, and so our staff is able to assist you. 

Early departures must coordinate with the staff for an early clean-up. Early clean-ups at Dystopia Rising New York occur either Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 10 am (day passes are an exception, and will occur at the end of your NPC shift). A reminder for early clean-up: your car is not allowed on site until 12 pm Sunday, August 21.

Please check back for Part 2, which addresses kitchen use and food preparation.

Camping At Honor's Fall

Photo by London Belli

We’re expecting our biggest game ever this August, and we want to make sure everyone is prepared and comfortable. To do this, we’re encouraging our players to take advantage of the warm weather and camp in tents, particularly if they can bring a genre-appropriate tent to enhance immersion.  

Rules for All Tents

We have two safety rules for all tents:

1. You must mark all your tent-lines with high-visibility tape. We don’t want anyone tripping in the dark. 

2. You can’t keep open containers of food in your tent. Wildlife will find you. 

Other than that, we encourage you to bring your tent, within common sense. We do ask all those who are going to tent to email us at info@dystopiarisingny.com, so we can track how many tenters we have.

Non-Genre Tents

If your tent is non-genre, we’re going to ask you to tent in the wooded area between the Pavilion (which houses the Post Office and new player sleeping area) and the shower house. This will keep you relatively close to the main play area without drawing attention to your tents.

Genre Tenting

If your tent is genrefied, you may tent anywhere other than the main field (with the flagpole), the campground on the hill behind ops (which will be the Hot Zone) or the wooded area next to the Great Hall (too much of a tripping hazard). We do ask that you put your tent close to the treeline, to reduce tripping hazards.  

If you have a genre tent, bring a picture of it to ops after you have it set up, and we’ll give you a special Zone of Mechanics: Secure Shelter.

SECURE SHELTER

(Zone of Mechanics)

Spend 30 minutes resting in your secure shelter to regain 5 Body. 
Don’t forget to email us at info@dystopiarisingny.com if you intend to tent, so that we can get an accurate count for beds.

Honor's Fall Guide Applications

Photo by London Belli

With over 160 players (and counting!) for Honor’s Fall, we’re interested in guest guides joining our team. We’re open to guest guides in all positions - coord, ops, rules and settings - but are only looking for individuals with some guide experience.

If selected, you will receive a $20 discount on your ticket. If you’ve already bought your ticket, you’ll receive a $20 refund prior to the event.
If interested, fill out our form. Hope to see you as part of the team!

Honor's Fall Meal Plan

With a significant number of people and limited kitchen space, we’re thrilled to have Christopher Malec providing a meal plan for Honor’s Fall. We’re offering a full plan from Thursday night to Sunday morning for $60. 

Remember, our meal plan is cooked on site, and then pre-packaged for you to heat up at your leisure. That way, you won’t miss a meal. In addition, we’ll offer a hot breakfast Friday and Saturday. 

Meals will be available for pick-up in the walk-in refrigerators in the Great Hall.

Menu

Thursday Dinner

Spaghetti and meatballs, with tomato sauce (onions, peppers, & garlic). Vegetarians will receive Impossible Meatballs. 

Friday Breakfast

Served hot: eggs, pancakes, and hash browns.  

Grab & Go (in case you miss hot breakfast): pre-bagged fruit loops, corn flakes, and oatmeal.

Friday Lunch

Egg salad sandwich, pasta salad (Italian dressing, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, & parsley), chex mix, and an apple.

Friday Dinner

Chicken teriyaki stir fry, with broccoli, onions, peppers, & snap peas. Served over rice. Vegetarians will receive tofu instead of chicken.

Saturday Breakfast

Served hot: eggs, pancakes, and hash browns.  

Grab & Go: pre-bagged fruit loops, corn flakes, and oatmeal

Saturday Lunch

Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, chips, cookies, and an orange

Saturday Dinner

Macaroni & cheese, served with stewed tomatoes (onions, garlic, carrots, celery, & spices).

Sunday Breakfast

Grab & Go: pre-bagged fruit loops, corn flakes, and oatmeal.

If you have dietary restrictions, please note them on the order form. You can also substitute one meal for another ("I hate stir fry, can I have extra egg salad sandwiches instead?") or request that Chris omit a problematic ingredient from a meal. We can accommodate gluten-sensitive people with gluten-free pasta, however we cannot guarantee the kitchen isn't already contaminated. 

Orders will be due on Friday, August 12th.

Early Bird Benefits for Honor’s Fall

Photo by London Belli

At Dystopia Rising New York, we offer Early Bird benefits for people who pre-register and buy their tickets early. Early Bird benefits don’t cost anything extra… you just have to sign-up during the Early Bird period. Early Bird Tickets for Honor’s Fall go on sale tonight, and continue through Friday, July 1st. What do you get for the Honor’s Fall Early Bird? A few things…

Reserve a Bunk

We have plenty of bunks at Dystopia Rising New York (over 200) but sometimes, you want to make sure you and your friends can all be together. If you get an Early Bird ticket, we’ll leave a bunk slip with your name on it at Ops. When the first member of your group arrives, they can grab the bunk slips and reserve bunks for everyone else. 

Due to the size of this particular event, you can’t use a bunk slip for the Med Sleep cabins. If you require med sleep, please email us at info@dystopiarisingny.com.

Get the Best NPC Shift

All of our opt-out and 2-hour shifts are reserved for the Early Bird. In addition, as our NPC shifts fill on a first-come, first-serve basis, we sometimes end up expanding shifts (in particular on Saturday night). If you get an Early Bird ticket and don’t get the NPC shift you want, we’ll let you sign up, and then waitlist you for other shifts that might open up. If one does, we’ll automatically re-check you into that shift. That way, you always get the best possible shift for you and your schedule. 

The Grab Bag

When you open your envelope for Honor’s Fall, we’re going to have some extras in there for the Early Birds. This month, we have two items for you:

• Crystal Harvesting - During Honor’s Fall, you’ll have a chance to find Festering Crystals. Anyone can find one of the crystal phys-reps during a mod… but to harvest the crystal, you’ll have to take it to the post office and turn in your Crystal Harvesting token to get it carded. So only Early Birds can get a Festering Crystal!

• New Prints - We’ll be releasing between 5 - 7 prints for Honor’s Fall… and the way we’re going to release them?  We’ll be putting them in the Early Bird packets!

The Early Bird sale starts today… anyone can get these benefits just by signing up early!

Honor's Fall - Premiere Perks

Photo By London Bellie

As our game of the year, we’re going all out for Honor’s Fall… a four-day event with live entertainment, extra build, and extra things for your characters like prints and festering crystals.  We’ve got so many perks that it’s going to take a full announcement just to cover them all!

A Four Day Event

As a premier event, we’re offering you four days of Dystopia Rising - game begins Thursday night and continues through Sunday morning. Since this is a big change from our regular games, here are some key points to keep in mind:

• Pricing is different! As a four day event, standard tickets cost $80. Check out the website for ticket prices. 

• You get an extra point of build! Travelers receive a base of 3 build, and locals get 4 - 9 build (depending on how long they’ve been playing). 

• You can’t show up before 5 pm on Thursday due to site restrictions. If you need to arrive early for whatever reason, please email info@dystopiarisingny.com (realize we might not be able to accommodate). 

• Thursday night is the first Bacchanal (see below). It’s a self-contained event… if you can’t attend all four nights, you’ll still get a full Honor’s Fall experience.

• We’ll re-run the Bacchanal from 7 to 9 pm on Friday, with a siesta from 5 to 7 pm. If you’re arriving on Friday, please plan on arriving during this window (5 to 9 pm) if you have a lot of stuff.  

The Bacchanal

The Bacchanal is an in-character festival that will take place Thursday night at game on, and again on Friday at 7 pm. We’ve booked the Mary Lous, an NYC horrorpunk band, and have recruited a number of players from across the network to entertain, cook, and sell their wares. There will be props for sale, so please bring old-world money (i.e. cash) or have your phones on your person to buy from our vendors.  

Extra Build (and Rewards!)

As a premiere event, you’ll have the opportunity to buy up to 5 extra build, for $15 per build. If you buy all five points of build, you get two extra perks:

• EDIT! THIS BENEFIT HAS SOLD OUT! The first 50 people who purchase all 5 extra build will receive one Ottoman’s ABC, a rare national currency. 

• Anyone who purchases all 5 extra build will gain a Self-Teach of any skill. With the approval of your local directors, this can include a PFA. 

We will coordinate with all the directors of the players attending, and ask them if they’ll approve the PFA self-teach for you.  We’ll then inform you if your chapter will allow a PFA self-teach.

Early Bird Benefits

In addition to these perks, we have a few Early Bird benefits, including the ability to reserve a bunk, get a new print, and perhaps find a Festering Crystal. Check out our Early Bird announcement this week for more information.

Crisis of Faith - June Mechanics

Photo by London Belli

So… some stuff went down at the last game. Particularly for the Faithful.

As you might recall, the moment Jones met his end, a mysterious creature (called by some the “False Idol”) strode through the town, forcing the Faithful to follow them into the gravemind. At that time, another phenomenon happened: all Faith powers (Faithful anomaly skills and items that require them or their PFAs to use) ceased to function. This condition still afflicts Requiem and the Fold: for the past month, no one has been able to call upon the powers of their Faith.

This month, you’ll have a chance to research and overcome this issue. In the meantime, all players should be aware of this mechanic.

Crisis of Faiths

No Faithful anomaly skills or items that require these skills or their PFAs will function, Players who attempt to use skills or items relating to Faith still expend the Mind, Resolve, time and materials to do so, but they have no effect. Players may conduct research into this mechanic.

June Pre-Reg Challenge

Photo by London Belli. Layout by Ryan Hart

Our June game has see a tremendous increase in pre-regs… we’re about to hit 75 over ten days out… and we want to make this our biggest game yet. To help make this happen, we’re offering rewards if we make all our pre-reg goals! We’ve already hit the first one… maybe we can hit 100 pre-regs and have something waiting for you in each of your packets.

50 Pre-Regs - Caption Contest 1

We’ve already hit 50, and please congratulate London Belli for winning last week’s caption contest. As a prize, they’re receive an augment print of their choosing. Miss the first one? Just wait…

75 Pre-Regs - Caption Contest 2

Missed our previous contest? You have another chance to win an augment print of your choice. You have to be pre-regged to win!

90 Pre-Regs - Public Print Book

If we hit 90 pre-regs, we’ll run a poll in our Facebook group to let the community pick 10 augment prints they want us to put in a public print book that we’ll keep at the post office. Want to guarantee access to that one augment? If we hit our 90 person goal, you can do just that.

100 Pre-Regs - A Free Print For All Our Friends

If we hit a 100 pre-regs by Thursday, June 9th, we’ll print out augment prints for everyone who pre-regged, and stuff them in your envelope.  We’ll pick about 5 prints and randomly give them away to you!

Honor's Fall Talent & Vendor Call

Photo by Allana Marie

We’re looking to give away 16 Opt-Out, Full Build tickets to our August Premiere Event, to people who can entertain, cook, or craft. Are you interested?

The first night of our Premiere Event will be the Bacchanal, a large festival that precedes Honor’s Fall. This tradition typically occurred “off-camera” in previous years, but it’s essentially a last hurrah for the people of the Fold before the violence kicks off. With a 4-day Premier Event this year, we’re finally able to depict the Bacchanal in all its glory. In addition, this party allows players who can’t make it Thursday night to still enjoy the full Honor’s Fall experience; they just don’t get to go to our post-apocalyptic bash.

During the Bacchanal, you can expect to meet NPC members of Requiem’s families who are in attendance, but there will be no significant modules, and anyone on NPC shift should expect to play a roaming threat of either zed or raiders. Instead, we’ll host a true festival, with food vendors, crafters, and, of course, entertainment.

We’re pleased to announce we’ll have an NYC band headlining the event (stay tuned for the announcement once the contract is signed). We’re also looking for players who want to help support the Revel, in one of the following ways:

• Can you really entertain? We’re looking for people who can put together a decent 5 to 10 minute set - burlesque, magic, music… you pitch it, and we’ll figure it out.

• Do you make stuff? We’ll let you set up a booth in our Great Hall, and sell your wares, for either in-game currency OR “Old World Money.” You have boffers to sell, or costume pieces? Here’s your chance.

• How about food? We’re looking for a few food vendors we can guarantee will be there.

To make sure we get the best possible turn-out, we’re offering up 16 Opt-Out, Full Build tickets to people we select to support the festival. You have to be fully set-up on site by 9 pm on Thursday, and be able to support the festival on Thursday between 10 and midnight, and again on Friday between 6 and 8 pm. 

If you’re interested in applying for the comped tickets and being part of the festival, please email us at info@dystopiarisingny.com. And even if you’re not selected, we still welcome you to vend your food and wares at the Revel. See you in August.