Hey there Vados! It’s Jonathan here with another Rules Ramble! This week we are going to cover updates for our game this weekend - COLLECTION DAY. We are going to talk about some rules you should be aware of before game, and things you might see during our upcoming event. As always, the purpose of these Rules Rambles is to cover a topic in the DR rulebook or something that might show up in game in more detail than the book or ZOMs alone can provide.

While advanced ticket sales for the event are closed, you can still get tickets at the door!

Let’s get into a few topics that might be important for this upcoming game, the strange phenomenon of the NEAR DEATH, the mysterious CANTANKEROUS MATRIX, and a few THREAT SKILLS that you might want to brush up on before the event.

The NEAR DEATH

If you’ve been following along with Facebook or Discord, you probably saw some interesting hype posts, particularly from the GRAVE COUNCIL. I’ve included them here, just in case you missed them.

So what is the NEAR DEATH?

We’ve talked a bit about the cosmology of DEATH in my series on What Happens When You Die? but I’ll cover a few basics of what most folks understand about what happens next::

The Mortis Amaranthine - This is not so much a place, as a concept. While it is true a rotting fungal mass exists under the ground, it is not as simple as that. When you die, your consciousness is temporarily stored within a psionic network of everyone and everything with the Infection running through it, including this fungal network. Collectively, this refers to the state of being that is responsible for the process of death and reconstruction that happens afterwards. Regardless of the source of your regeneration, the out-of-body experience of being rebuilt is maddening and is capable of fracturing mind and body.
The Grave Mind - This is a bit of a urban legend, but many folks associate this term with a hungry intelligence within the Mortis Amaranthine. In fact, this could really just be considered the egoless space within the Mortis. There is no true sentience behind the Mortis and any voices heard within are simply fragments of their attempts to comprehend the experience. However, each settlement in the Wastes has different quirks and flavors of the death experience that seem to be unique to them so it’s easy to see how this legend has grown.
Beyond Death - There are deeper ways to interact with the Mortis Amaranthine other than a Morgue, taking you into places and scenarios beyond the limits of what is normal.
- Sunless Garden - These are areas of the Mortis where the skeletal remains of the consumed world of “the Fall” exists in a microcosm of reality. It is a physical space that functions almost like a stationary point in reality between the living world, the egoless space of the Grave Mind, and what lies beyond the Mortis. You will see these types of locations primarily at National events.
- Abyssal Rifts - Several blueprints mention the concept of Abyssal Rifts and how to control them, including bodily entering into the Mortis. These were introduced during the online Green House event and these are effectively breaches into reality from beyond the Mortis Amaranthine. Threats like the “Archons” that nearly killed everyone in Essex during our online events are just one example of the threats that can emerge from beyond if these Rifts are not sealed quickly.
- The Monolith - Other times, unique experiences can emerge from the Mortis like a foreign object stuck in a wound. The Mortis, or at least the rotting fungal mass below the ground, often exhibits medical-like scenarios akin to being infected or experiencing impacted foreign bodies or cysts. These can sometimes become an issue for a settlement, cause new diseases, or even exhibit strange new behaviors of the Mortis Amaranthine. One example was perhaps the Fountainhead during our online season in Essex.

The final location we will explore during this game is the NEAR DEATH.

This is something new.

Takheeta Firstborn has tapped into something powerful to create a new liminal space, as a way to ensure the morgues still work while she completes her GREAT WORK. This is an area not quite within the Mortis Amaranthine, but also not so deep as to pass Beyond Death. So, it’s kind of in between space, skimming the surface of the fungal growths underneath the ground but not quite Limbo either.

Imagine you peeled back a scab on a scar to see the fresh unhealed wound beneath. That tender area is the domain of the NEAR DEATH. While within this area, you will still be able to retrieve your friends after they die, enact a Gravemind Scene or use Necrokinetics, commit a heinous MURDER DIVE, or virtually anything else you might need the Gravemind for.

BUT, it will not be in the usual space. We will have a separate location for this NEAR DEATH Morgue during the event, and a different way of interacting with this new place underground. We hope that if you get the opportunity, you’ll get to see what we have planned for you…

the cantankerous matrix

Takheeta’s telegram mentions a proper noun that you might not have heard before: THE CANTANKEROUS MATRIX.

Ok, confession time. This one has been pretty subtle. There’s definitely a few characters in game that know WAY more about this topic because they asked the right questions early, but it’s been kind of an easter egg this whole season. If you haven’t been tapped into the San Saba Conspiracy, you’ve probably missed it. It’s ok if you haven’t paid attention or noticed it, but I’ll share a few teasers for those that missed out. I’m sure this will be important later.

*Commander Rampart, Takheeta, Queen Jasper (doodles by Shan Lind)*

*That looks a bit familiar… almost like a crystalline matrix…*

Sorry, not sorry. :)

I’m sure we will find out a bit more about the CANTANKEROUS MATRIX during COLLECTION DAY. It probably has nothing to do with those stories of the Scion Vossa, either. I’m also sure it has nothing to do with the Mortis Amaranthine. Nope. Definitely not.

Threat Skills of Note

I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that I’m describing these completely unrelated Threat abilities before the game. You probably won’t encounter monsters with these abilities. Probably.

ADRENALINE

While the majority of the walking dead move relatively slowly, some amongst them can initiate a sudden burst of vigor and energy that can enliven a horde. With a call of “Adrenaline - All Undead, Run!” they can allow all undead in hearing range to move at an occasional running pace. This means even those slow shamblers can suddenly be right on top of you!

ANOMALY HEAL

Some zombies - and even some other threats in the wasteland - can become revitalized by the use of aberrant abilities in their area. If any anomaly ability is used within earshot, this ability may be activated with a call of “Anomaly Response, Healing”. This restores all lost Body to the source of the call. If you hear this call, you better get your friends to stop using Skills like BIOGENETICS, cause they will just keep that threat alive even longer.

Aberrant keyword

Some threats can specifically target those characters that have any Psionic or Faith Skills at all. When you select any Skill from the teal Anomaly Skill category, you become an ABERRANT. This keyword means any attack or effect that targets Aberrants directly targets you. If you aren’t an Aberrant, then the attack either has no effect or deals normal damage (in the case of Bane calls).

The most common source of this attack is through “Aberrant Bane” calls, which means you take DOUBLE damage from that attack. But some powerful undead can kill every Aberrant near them, and this might sound like “BY THE SOUND OF MY VOICE: ALL ABERRANTS 20 BODY!”. (Clearly this is just an example.. definitely NOT a very specific call that very specific types of undead will use this weekend…)

rad damage

This is a damage modifier normally associated with an area or mechanical item. Radiation damage in plot mechanic zones can be high (due to volume of radiation), but most items carried by individuals will cause much lower damage. Regardless of the source, Radiation damage causes an equal degree of lost Mind as it does lost Body. So, if a monster swings for “5 Rad!”, you would lose 5 Body AND 5 Mind!

*Just a completely* *unrelated* *picture (art crudely drawn by Jonathan Loyd)*

sound of my voice

This is an effect that targets EVERYONE within a 50-foot radius who can hear the call. Sound of my Voice ignores walls, doors, and all other barriers, and may represent gas, shrapnel, psionics, or other effects that ignore barriers. Sound of my Voice cannot be Avoided. The only effect that can prevent a Sound of my Voice call is the Phalanx Doyen PFA use of the OOPH Barrier. This is the largest range of most Threat abilities in the game. And remember, that’s 50-feet in every direction from the Threat, so that’s a HUGE area to impact.

SPIKE

The animating force of certain undead is linked closely with those created at the same time. When such an undead is dropped into bleed out, they can call “Spike! All Linked Undead Heal All!” - causing all undead that are linked with them to heal to full Body. Some undead can only use this ability once, while others have unlimited uses - forcing survivors to kill them one at a time.

Wrap Up

We learned a bit about the CANTANKEROUS MATRIX and the NEAR DEATH today. We also covered some of the THREAT SKILLS to be aware of. That’s a lot of weird UNDEAD abilities up there. Probably nothing to worry about. Y’all haven’t done anything recently to impact the Morgue like imprison an undead Queen for hours in a Rusted Cage, right? Right?

Ticket sales have closed for COLLECTION DAY, but you can still purchase them on site if you missed out on pre-reg. We hope to see you this weekend, and I hope you’ve paid your GRAVE TAX!