It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our October live event DOWNFALL! This will be the first full game run under the new DR Live system and our first DR Live NATIONAL EVENT, led by Heather Halstead and Jonathan Loyd. Each week, I’ll discuss in detail an aspect of the upcoming event, compiling the rules and lore into one easy place to read! This week, we are covering some RULES YOU SHOULD KNOW and few last minute reminders before the big event this weekend.
Non Attending Tickets will be available until the end of the event this weekend!
You can purchase extra XP for your characters and help out your friends at DR:TX at the same time! After this event, you’ll have to purchase back buy through the National website, so we appreciate if you want to support our chapter by purchasing a ticket this weekend.
Glow Shroom Pins are on sale while supplies last! This amazing collectible pin was designed by the talented Poe Popek and can be yours for the low price of $10! You can place an order on the Downfall Tickets page and pick up one during check in. Don’t miss out!
The Corpse Catalog has been updated! The Zombie Threat guide for DR Live has been updated as of Tuesday night. There are several more threats included and some interesting new threat skills to be found inside. While not every one of these threats will be seen in Bastion, there are several examples of the powerful undead foes you will face as we move towards the new edition next year. Spoiler Warning - If you want to be surprised by big scary things at DOWNFALL, be cautious with reading this one.
Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, including Lily-Jay Jones.
Here’s the schedule for Thursday night workshops! (*Fire if there is no county-wide Burn Ban)
Last Minute Logistics
Let’s cover a few reminders as you make your plan to arrive at Camp Bluebonnet Shores for our DOWNFALL event. You can follow along with our
Arriving on Site
Our site will open to the public at 3:00 pm! You can wait in the parking lot if you arrive before this point, but please do not come onto site until after this time. Our truck team and settings crew will be hard at work setting up the areas during this time, so you might see a few trucks and such around the site before this point.
The Girl Scouts only allow approved vehicles to drive onto the site, so cars need to stay in the Parking Lot! Please be courteous of other vehicles and don’t park your car directly behind other vehicles if possible. If parking reaches a premium, you can park alongside the road, completely off the pavement. Emergency vehicles will need a clear path to reach the camp in the case of an emergency, and we’d hate for your car to be damaged by a fire truck.
Med Sleep Cabin will fill up quickly!
The Oak Cabin is our chosen destination for medical sleep requests. This will be a low-combat zone through the weekend, and has climate controls, a fridge, and a separate bathroom. This location will likely fill up fast, but has several bunk beds available. Make sure you leave the upper beds empty of gear and props so other folks can choose to sleep in this cabin.
For our locals, if you don’t have a medical reason to sleep here, consider moving to another cabin if you can for this event to leave room for any travelers that would like to use the facility. If this cabin fills up, you can still get your sheet signed off on by Ops and marked for med sleep, but you’ll need to post a sign and an orange glow stick on the bunk you choose.
NPC Shifts will need to be adjusted - sorry!
The conversion to the new Juno Database impacted how we could collect folks preferred NPC shifts. and a large game means some of our estimations might be off. Instead of capping a particular shift, we had several folks that were able to sign up for shifts that have far too many folks, while leaving other important shifts mostly empty. We will be readjusting the NPC shifts during check in, so we appreciate your patience and flexibility to make sure we have good coverage for monster camp for the weekend.
We will strive to honor as many requests for a specific time slot as possible, but we may have to ask you to participate in a different NPC shift than you might have expected. Sorry for the confusion on our part!
We will not be Rewriting existing 3.0 Items
There is a bit of misinformation out there on a few private discords, but we will NOT be issuing new cards for existing 3.0 items. We are not transferring items from LIT inventories, nor are we planning on any conversions of existing blueprints or other item cards.
You can feel free to leave most of your item cards at home. While HERB, SCRAP, CURRENCY, and some BLUEPRINTS can be still be used during Downfall, all equipment cards issued during the event will either be made during the game or acquired as part of your initial loadout. You won’t be able to use 3.0 cards and we won’t convert them.
Your existing 3.0 blueprints CAN be used on a 1:1 basis as if they are DRL prints if they have a direct equivalent in the new system, but we won’t be reprinting your existing collection. You’ll simply ‘count as’ an existing DRL print for these common items, but you’ll need to reference the DRL rules via the post office or your mobile devices. We clarified this on our Frequently Asked Questions page. Sorry!
Game ON - Friday!
Game starts when you wake up on Friday morning! Our first NPC shifts will start promptly at 10 AM on Friday. We will ring the camp bell at the start of the NPC times as a reminder, so you’ll know that danger time is officially begun. If you’ve chosen this first shift for your NPC times, please try to be a bit early, as we’d love to start off the show with a big shamble. Remember, the secret to zombie game is zombies!
No npC shifts on Sunday, but the Post Office will be open
Our last day in Bastion will be reserved for any of your last minute crafting projects, role play, and clean up of the site. There will be no scheduled NPC shift for this morning, but we could have a few Face NPCs in play. Most importantly, the Post Office will be open for all of your econ crimes up until shortly before game off at Noon.
Big events in Bastion
Over the weekend, we will have several tentpole activities that are planned about once every four hours. Our goal is to provide ways to get involved in the story if you want, through dangerous Liquidation Runs, mysterious Morgue Dives, and even big roleplay events with powerful new NPCs. At the end of the weekend, we will be capping off the show with a massive SIEGE, where we will strive to really stress test the new DR Live system and give you a fight to remember.
Let’s cover some of the specifics of these big events over the weekend.
Morgue Dives at Downfall
During Downfall, we will be running some MORGUE DIVE content at the event to investigate the intricacies and mysteries of Bastion’s strange morgue system as it begins its inevitable collapse. We encourage people to check out the Necrology Station through-out the event for research tasks specific to this unique problem, even if you don’t have the ability to do the Master Education level of research (which is also welcome, of course!).
This will NOT be the type of morgue diving as outlined in the Grave Diver’s plot kit.
While Bastion’s morgue IS under threat of collapse, it is not a corrupted Morgue space yet. While we are extremely excited to run this content in the future, we wanted to ease everyone into the new ways of interacting with the morgue and the Mortis that DR Live provides in the base book and A Grave Place.
A corrupted morgue, by definition, is one you may only access through extremely limited means, via death, or lancing casket. These Necrology items tend to require very rare resources that can only be made by players, and we don’t want you to spend your first DR Live game ever frantically trying to come up with enough Necrology Resources to make required equipment for a Grave Dive. Save your cool new resources for a future event!
So if you’re curious, poke around and see what you can find. This is not the main plot point for the weekend, but ignoring problems with the morgue is never without its consequences.
Glow Shrooms!
During the National event, you’ll be able to collect GLOW SHROOM SAMPLES from various activities like Liquidation Runs, from merchants and other NPCs, and even from certain monsters. At face value, these items are effectively just local plot cards.
They have no function outside what is listed on certain Zone of Mechanics, but these can be an excellent way for you to talk to your local game about introducing the Illusions of Civility plotkit to your game. Perhaps you can be the original emissary that introduces the strange blue mushrooms to your hometown, provided you can find a sample of your own. This is up to your local game runners, of course, but if you want to be involved in the greater plot of the weekend, finding glow shrooms is a great start.
Glow Shroom Sample - Local Plot Card
A curious blue mushroom. Connected with the National Plotkit “Illusions of Civility”. Handle with care!
Glow Shrooms can also be traded for currency, blueprints, equipment, and even NATIONAL CURRENCY like the brand new Wells Society Membership Card, the ARK Society Note, or the Ottoman’s ABC currency. If you manage to find some spore samples, you can even follow a custom DR:TX research tree to understand more about how the mushrooms function, what risk they might pose, or how they could impact the environment. If you’d like to know more, make sure you seek out the Wells Society representative on Friday night at the Edison Solarium!
Wells Society Membership Cards
The new Wells Society Membership Card is our collectible currency for this event. This card will not be available outside of this event, so it stands to become a valuable item to add to your stash. Every player that attends Downfall will receive one of these new currency during check-in.
What’s more, is that each “favor” can be signed as a mark of debt. If you sign the Wells Society Card with your name, you agree to a powerful blood debt that can be called against you at a later date by anyone with that card. This debt may not be one you are prepared to repay, especially if the card you sign gets traded away to an enemy. Make sure you pay attention if you receive a signed Wells Society Card!
This also means you could find a very rare Wells Society Card signed by General Mustang themselves! What important characters or NPCs can you get to owe you a debt during DOWNFALL?
The Exclusion Zone
One of the main defenses of the Fallow Hope citadel known as Bastion is the lethal zone of radiation that surrounds the city. Inside this Exclusion Zone, a lethal mixture of radioactive isotopes have rendered the area around Bastion unlivable. The radiation is still spilling out into the surrounding area and any exposure could have lethal consequences, regardless of protections.
Throughout the weekend, you might be tasked to enter this deadly area in pursuit of Glow Shrooms, enemies, or even fame and glory, in an recurring event called a LIQUIDATION RUN. This area will be clearly marked with signs, green glow sticks, and a prominent Zone of Mechanics. It will be near impossible to accidentally enter this zone, so any journey into the Exclusion Zone will happen because of your own decisions.
While you are in this Zone of Mechanics, a few things should be considered:
HOT ZONE
Any character in this marked zone takes one (1) Radiation Damage every one (1) minute. Rad damage causes an equal degree of lost Mind as it does lost Body. If Armor would prevent the loss of Body, Mind is not lost.
Radiation exposure literally burns you in the wasteland. Every minute, you’ll take Radiation Damage (p. 78, Player’s Guide) while in the zone. For most short incursions, this won’t be enough to kill you, provided you have some measure of Armor on. If you don’t have Armor, every point of damage will also drain a point of Mind at the same time. Staying 10 minutes in the Exclusion Zone will result in 10 body and 10 mind damage. Ouch!
There are even some more lethal HOT ZONES that increase the timer to 30 seconds. Be careful where you stand in the Exclusion Zone!
ACUTE RADIATION POISONING
Any character in The Exclusion Zone contracts Radiation Rot (Stage 1) after 5 minutes (p. 70, Guide’s Guide), or increases their current level of the disease by one Stage. Mutants increase this timer to 6 minutes. Retrogrades cannot contract this disease, but other Mutants may spend 1 Resolve to avoid contracting a new instance of the disease with their Lineage advantage (p. 26, Player’s Guide).
If the active radiation wasn’t enough to be dangerous, most Strains will begin to suffer complete cellular degeneration in a matter of minutes within the Exclusion Zone. As your body’s cells begin to die, your skin literally sloughs off as you are slowly LIQUIDATED. After only 5 minutes in the Exclusion Zone, you’ll contract the Rad Rot disease. If you are a Retrograde, nothing happens — they are used to surviving in radioactive zones, but other Mutants will need to spend Resolve to stop the disease from occurring. Remember, Mutants also extend the timer for environment effects like this, so finding a few Remnant or Retrograde buddies will be important to surviving a Liquidation Run.
Each time this timer ticks down, it advances your disease by one step. Stage 1 Rad Rot isn’t too deadly, but staying 10 minutes in the Exclusion Zone will start to have serious mechanical effects for the unprotected. Make sure you finish your Liquidation Run before 10 minutes expires!
ORGAN FAILURE
If you remain in the Exclusion Zone for a total of 15 minutes or longer, you have reached a lethal dose of radiation. Mutants increase this timer to 16 minutes. This timer starts when you first enter the Exclusion Zone.
Within the next hour of lethal exposure (two for Mutants), your body will cease to function at a cellular level and you will die and lose an Infection. This Infection loss cannot be prevented or avoided.
The final stage of radiation poisoning becomes DEADLY, even to Retrogrades. Note, this requires that you remain inside the Exclusion Zone for 15 minutes, taking 15 damage, three levels of Rad Rot, and generally overextending your bodies’ ability to recover. At this point, even Mutants will begin to succumb to the intense levels of radiation in the Exclusion Zone. If this timer is reached, you’ll have an hour or so to say goodbye to your friends before dying a brutal and painful death.
What’s more is that the Rad Rot you picked up while staying in the Exclusion Zone that long is a disease that isn’t cured by dying, so you’ll likely come back from the Mortis Amaranthine with some complications. This means that most folks will want to be in and out of the Exclusion Zone before they reach the 15 minute mark (or even the 5 minute mark!). If you don’t get out in time, you’ll be one of the folks that gets to experience a death scene inside Bastion’s radioactive morgue.
While the Exclusion Zone can be deadly, the rewards for risking the Zone can be great. These runs will have many opportunities to collect Glow Shrooms, which can be traded at the Post Office for currency, blueprints and gear. If your team can be coordinated, work together, and solve puzzles quickly, you can get in and out before anyone needs to call a doctor. If you are slowed down, can’t solve the problems inside the Zone, or run into pesky undead threats while inside, you may find that the zed are not the only danger in Bastion.
The Siege of Bastion
We are thrilled to invite everyone to join us in a prolonged SIEGE EVENT Saturday night from 10pm to 12am. Inspired by the epic 4 hour siege that was run in New Jersey at the end of 2.0, and the siege we ran in May of 2023 in Bravado, this is a second iteration of our local flavor of this fun and intense style of combat and role play.
We wanted to run this style of event again to really experience the way Impact Skills affect how we do combat in DR: Live. A long, grinder style fight requires survivors to fight in waves - allowing some to rest up and regain the uses of their Impact Skills to then relieve their comrades and rejoin the fray. Remember, you can’t refresh your Impact skills unless you spend 20 minutes using NO Impact skills - including default weapon skills.
From 10pm - 12am Saturday night, all content will be focused around The Siege of the Hall of Inventions. There will be an in game rationale for massive waves of zombies crashing against the doors of the Hall of invention, but for now, just know that the conceit is that being outside the barricaded Hall is a death sentence.
The siege is designed to push your characters to the limit, and dig into those amazing moments of triumph, heartache, victory, and horror that can occur when you are out of options.
This fight will be long, hard, and completely exhilarating.
But what happens during a Siege?
What if I’m not a combat character? Is it just endless fighting? No! We have designed different events that will happen periodically throughout the encounter, that require more than just Impact skills to solve. A huge assault has need for many roles, including for non-com LCs. Equipment repair, healing, kinetic events, building reinforcement, and there will even be small AWAY TEAM missions running during the conflict for things like supply runs, distractions, stealth missions, and rescue operations. There will be plenty to do while the phalanx holds the door.
What if I DIE early in the Siege?
That’s okay! We have a plan for that too. You have the option of having your scene run in a secondary blackbox morgue location close by, with the sounds of violence in the background, only to stumble back and rejoin the fight once you’ve clawed our way back from death, or, you can opt for what we call “Death Relapsing”- This is when you come back immediately into play, with no memory of your death or Mortis encounter, only to “relapse” into death at a later time (provided by a Storyteller), falling over dead again in front of your friends and proceeding to your death scene as normal once the Siege is over.
What about the Post Office?
Expect to have limited or no access to the PO from 10pm - 12pm. During the Evacuation Drill, the soldiers of Bastion will move all civilians into safe shelters as the zombie wave arrives. You should assume you will have no access to farming, crafting, or econ during this time, just in case. Plan ahead, and make sure you have all the supplies you will need to survive.
Get those brews brewed, meals cooked and herbs farmed before 10pm Saturday night!
Decompression Space and Opting Out
Events like this are extremely loud, chaotic, and intense. It is very easy to get overwhelmed and overstimulated. We will have a quiet out of game space that players can retreat to at any time if the chaos becomes overwhelming. This is strictly for out of character decompression. There is no role play in this space.
You may also Opt Out of the Siege at any time, simply by leaving and remaining out of character until the siege is over. You may leave to use the bathrooms, which are located outside the Hall of Inventions, at any time. Simply use the Out of Game symbol and exit the building to the bathhouse.
Opportunity for Extra NPC time
We will also be taking a LIMITED number of NPC volunteers for additional time during the assault. Our goal is to fill out a shift to give NPCs time to breathe while maintaining a constant pressure. We do not want to have most of the town on the NPC side of the conflict, so these extra hours will be limited, but if you’d rather weather the siege as a Zombie we have you covered!
Quick Events
During the final Siege, not every danger will be a NPC monster (though most will be, to be fair). There will also be various environmental changes that you will need to survive. These are brief environmental complications that have a physical cue that must be performed to avoid a consequence. These are not affects to use Impact Skills to avoid or balance!
Each of these effects is an AREA OF EFFECT attack called by a Guide or NPC. If you are within 10 feet of that call, you will be in the impact zone. The Guide will make the call and the short countdown, and you’ll need to react quickly. If you make a good faith attempt to respond to the call, you’ll avoid the negative effects. The goal isn’t to create a demanding physical task to do, but rather a way to provide challenges that aren’t delivered via a boffer. Make an attempt, and you’ll evade the worst of the Quick Events.
Here’s some examples of what to expect:
Shockwave! HIT THE DECK!
A Guide will call “AREA OF EFFECT: Hit the Deck, 3, 2, 1!”. If you are within the AOE range, and do not obviously react and take cover, sit down, and/or fall to the ground (if able), you suffer an unavoidable “Failed Reaction: Stun, 5 seconds!” as you are disoriented by the collision of a shock wave.
Watch Out! FALLING DEBRIS!
A Guide will call “AREA OF EFFECT: Falling Debris, 3, 2, 1!”. If you are within the AOE range, and do not obviously dive for cover, move from your current position, or take obvious attempts to dodge the debris, you suffer an unavoidable “Failed Reaction: Nail, 1 Minute!”. You may not move from your place for 1 minute following this damage, as you are pinned by falling debris.
The Undead Wail! PSIONIC RUPTURE!
A Guide will call “AREA OF EFFECT: Psionic Rupture, 3, 2, 1!”. If you are within the AOE range, and do not obviously cover your ears, muffle your sense of hearing, or make some effort to meditate or mentally protect yourself, you suffer an unavoidable “Failed Reaction: Agony, 10 seconds!” as the haunting screams of the Mortis Amaranthine overcome your senses.
These quick events will be clearly outlined on a Zone of Mechanics prominently posted during the Siege, just in case.
Rules you should know
Yesterday, the updated Zombie Threat guide was released to the public, and so in our DR Texas tradition before each event, let’s talk about some Rules You Should Know.
This section could be pretty immense, since we are playing a new edition. I’ve written a bit about “DR Live: Where to Start” in a previous blog post, but for today let’s stay focused on THREAT SKILLS you might encounter while in Bastion.
Aberrant Suffering
Call “Aberrant Suffering”. Suffering is a mechanical effect that prevents an effected Target from using Impact Skills for 10 seconds. This specific skill only effects Aberrants and requires a Brawling strike.
The first skill on the list is an example of some of the dangers of taking Aberrant skills on your character. Once you’ve taken your first psionic skill, you’ll be vulnerable to attacks like this. Note that Aberrant Suffering is a Brawling Strike, so it can be AVOIDED, but if you are out of Impact Skills you won’t be using any other skills for 10 seconds. This will generally be a set up into a much more dangerous attack similar to the Blinding skill, because you won’t be able to use handy skills like Mental Endurance, Avoid, or Balance if the blow is landed.
This is definitely a threat skill to watch out for, especially if you are Aberrant!
abduct
Allows the user to drag a non-willing target, similar to the Drag Handle skill.
Certain zombies aren’t content to devour their prey where they lay. Some of the more agile and dangerous zombies will drag your corpse away to be eaten somewhere else, far from the helpful medics and far from rescue. This threat skill allows the zombie to grab and take you away as if it was the Drag Handle skill. This will break Nail effects and let them take 10 steps away. While they are dragging you away, they can’t be targeted or impacted by other skills. This will be a deadly combination with Cannibalism, as seen below. Scary!
betrayal
An Aberrant attack that causes the Target to attack, without holding back, the next Target the user of this skill gestures to. This skill can only be used in the Wasteland and is resisted with Mind Resist. Use of this skill can lead to increased CvC tensions and role-play after the fact, but does not count as CvC directly as neither character Target has agency in the moment. This skill lasts for 10 minutes or until Target enters Bleed Out.
This powerful skill will only be seen on a few select zombies, but it’s sure to make an impact. When Betrayal is used, the targets will turn on their allies and fight until they enter Bleed Out or 10 minutes has passed. The only counter to this ability is Mental Endurance, but this threat skill lets you have a bit of CVC as a treat. Remember, most of the DR: Texas site is considered Wasteland, so this can be a dangerous attack basically anywhere on the campsite.
Cannibalism
When a target enters Bleed Out, zombies call “GNAW” and role-play consuming the target. Upon 10 “GNAW” calls, the zombie calls “Killing Blow,” refreshing all Body and Impact Skills and moving on to the next target. Multiple zombies can consume one target, but the count is not accelerated.
The staple threat of zombies in DR Live is that every single zombie, from the lowliest of shamblers to the scariest of Maulers is functionally capable of killing you quickly. If a zombie successfully completes this call ten (10) times while gnawing and ripping at your bleeding body, not only will they fully heal and reset their skills, but it will also count as a Killing Blow. The NPC will call the Killing Blow after the last call, just in case you lose track of how close you are to death.
The main way you will hear and interact with Cannibalism is simply a loud and obvious roleplay from the zombies as they tear your friend to shreds, not a slow and steady count like in 3.0.
Important Note - There is no “gnaw 1, gnaw 2, gnaw 3..” style count any longer in DR Live, simply multiple calls of “GNAW!”.
This change is an active and intentional design choice by the author to break up a bit of the ‘meta’ around cannibalism in previous editions. There is no audible timer while you are being devoured, nor do you have the ability to gauge exactly how much longer you have until your friend is dead. If you weren’t nearby when that person hit the ground, you’ll need to act fast and make the decision to charge into the fray with a use of Rescue or an emergency brew!
This new Cannibalize threat skill will probably be the number one cause of death in DR Live, so if you hear zombies gnawing on a corpse you better hurry!
Corpse Bond
Mechanics that Target both Lineage: Full Dead and Zombies. Commonly used in Area of Effect calls made by Zombies.
Corpse Bond is a keyword you might have missed on the last few pages of the Player’s Guide. For Full Dead, you’ll want to pay attention. In general, this is a way for beneficial zombie skills to only affect the other undead. For Full Dead, it’s both a blessing and a curse. While you will benefit from powerful buffs and you will be completely immune to some Corpse Bond effects, you’ll also be vulnerable to a number of attacks that use this keyword. If you hear Corpse Bond and you aren’t a Full Dead or a zombie, then these skills usually have no effect.
Certain raiders even use TAINTED BOND, which works similarly for the Tainted Strain.
Dead Switch Detonation
Upon hitting Bleed Out, call “Area of Effect 20 Radiation Damage”.
A signature ability of dangerous bloated zombies known as Mass Cadavers, the Dead Switch Detonation will likely end up with several of your friends also bleeding to death after the zombie enters Bleed Out. This can be especially dangerous combined with Rise Again, as the zombie will be able to stand up and start feeding on the helpless victim the radioactive explosion just incapacitated.
Ground and Pound
Call “Grapple” on a brawling strike. If successful, the Target is Nailed for 10 seconds, and both stay within 3 feet. The Grappler can keep using Grapple at no additional cost if they land more unarmed strikes during the duration.
The basic shambler can be a deadly foe due to a particular skill known by the most common Zombie threat. The Profession skill normally possessed by a Shock Trooper can let the zombie pin you in place with a Nail effect, and prevent you from using shields and two handed weapons. If the zombie grabs you, they can simply restart this effect by hitting you with another brawling attack. If you get pinned by a shambler, you’ll likely be hearing the Cannibalize call soon after!
Rise Again
10 seconds after being dropped to 0 health, or with both legs Mangled, a zombie regains full Body, all Impact Skills (except Rise Again), and is immune to damage for 5 seconds. A verbal growl/moan signals reanimation. If a “Double Tap” skill is used, Rise Again is negated
Robust rise Again (x)
A zombie with a Robust Rise Again requires multiple uses (X) of Double Tap to be used in order to have Rise Again negated. All uses of Double Tap must be on the same instance of using Rise Again, and if the zombie returns to its feet, the counter resets. On each use of Double Tap less than X, the zombie NPC calls “Resisted” and groans to signify that more than one Double Tap is required to keep the zombie down.
Almost all zombies have the ability to stand back up after being defeated, the undead corpse lifelessly rising again to devour the living. The Rise Again ability is a powerful ability you will see throughout any DR Live event, and this skill lets the zombie stand back up with full health, all of their skills, and a 5 second damage immunity. This gives the zombie time to stand back up and get back into the fray without being simply beaten down before they regenerate.
The only way to stop this is to use Double Tap in the 10 seconds before they reanimate. Certain powerful threats like Flesh Tanks and worse will even have Robust Rise Again, and this version of Rise Again will require multiple uses in that 10 second window to keep them down. Make sure you invest some XP in Double Tap!
Swarm Break Door
Zombies can break locked doors. After a 30-count or 5 zombies strike the door, they call “BREAK DOOR,” ignoring standard break restrictions.
The last skill we will cover today is a new one for DR Live. Most zombies are now capable of defeating their most hated foe of 3.0 — the humble locked door. While they may not be capable of turning the door handle, they are capable of bodily smashing the door to smithereens and finding the juicy targets inside. Every horde is capable of breaking past even locked doors, provided they have time to break through your defenses. This means that the smaller cabins might not be as safe as they once were to roaming shamblers, so make sure you have an escape plan!
Wrap Up
Just a few short hours until DOWNFALL!
As we approach our first ever DR Live event, I can’t wait to share some of the cool stories, terrifying monsters, and deadly scenarios we have planned. From debates over faith, to daring ventures into no man’s land, to overwhelming hordes of dead, DOWNFALL is sure to thrill. We can’t wait to have you participate in this historic event, and your attendance and feedback will be crucial as we develop this new system for next year.
Remember, this is literally everyone’s first game. We will all be learning a new system at the same time. We will make mistakes, we will get the rules wrong, and so will you. While many of the new systems are intuitive and we’ve planned a number of workshops for Thursday, it’s still a lot of information to absorb at once. We must treat every moment of this event as everyone’s first game ever, and treat our fellow players as if they were tender-horns experiencing the world for the first time. For some of our players, it literally will be!
Please show your fellow players and our staff grace and forgiveness. For this event, we will especially ask for your grace, patience, and forgiveness as we experience the ups and downs of our first event ever under DR Live rules. Please be kind to your fellow players and especially our volunteer staff, as we all have the same goal — telling an amazing story in the zombie apocalypse. We will learn and explore this new system together.
See you in Bastion!
