Howdy Vados!
It’s Jonathan here with another signature DR:TX Rules Ramble, leading up to our March live event GIFTS OF SUFFERING! This is our next ST led over-arc game, led by Andrew Harper. 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 of the last minute rules you should be ready for this weekend!
Our photos for this post were taken from previous DR:TX events by our talented Photo Team, by Max Pohlmeier, Lauren Guzaldo, Sidney Betzina, and Jason Dumas.
ONE LAST GIFT FROM BROTHER AGONY…
While the most prominent Gift from the wandering Final Knight monk is the Crowns of Suffering, Brother Agony does have a message for those willing to take up the mantle of his crowns:
You have sealed the Obelisk against The Prince Undying, but I assure you it is but a barred door that he shall seek to test and break through again and again.
Do not let him.
If you but accept my gifts then I shall give you one more. A ritual to bolster the Obelisk and deflect the power The Prince Undying sets against it for a time.
You shall want all the faiths. Even if they do not see as true as we do, there is still power in them. So we shall take that power and bend it to a worthy goal. To defy The Prince Undying yet again. And so take our humble place in this legend of his eternal defeat.
Brother Agony
Well, if it’s for the good of the town I guess I could be convinced to claim a Crown.
Or two.
To make sure that you can each focus on the CONFLICT that the Crowns bring to town, Brother Agony has also brought a special change to the world:
BLOOD MOON
To enable the CVC centric plot of GIFTS OF SUFFERING, the usual 4-hour requirement before attempting theft is waived at game on. This supersedes the 4-hour limit for CVC play listed on p. 162-163. The time restrictions for lethal CVC must still be met.
Enjoy the suffering faster!
LAST MINUTE LOGISTICS
We’ve received a lot of great feedback from our last game, and we are hard at work responding to some of the key behaviors we can improve going forward. Based on your suggestions, we’ve made some immediately changes you’ll see as soon as our February event:
Make sure you check out our last blog post on a few settings updates that might be important for this weekend - Age of Rebellion Blog Post
We’ve dramatically revamped our war game mini plot to be more forgiving, more approachable, and less narrow that it was originally designed. This new ruleset is still designed to be optional and most of this will be available to see on Zones of Mechanics and at the War Table in the Depot.
You don’t have to memorize anything, but if you like reading over this kind of thing in advance, here you go!
War Supplies are now much easier to make and can be made without such a large expenditure of resources. In addition, anyone can recruit a Combat Unit for the war game now, without needing to go through specific folks in the Militia. Lastly, anyone can participate in the war games throughout the weekend, so check out the War Table in the Depot for more info!
We’ve planned a few NPCs to leave the story based on feedback, and you should see these stories come to a close by the end of the season. We are continuing to find ways to improve our behaviors regarding continuity and Face NPCs as well, and have already started some additional ways to collect after action reports for key characters.
We’ve received the copies of the 42 new Benediction prints from the Great Revival. You’ll be able to make copies of these Blueprints starting this weekend! You can find a list of the new prints on our Blueprint Checklist!
Daylight Savings happens this weekend. Saturday night, we will LOSE an hour as the Final Knights enact their ultimate plan for suffering. Prepare accordingly!
Rules You Should Know
Let’s cover a few of the basic mechanics that might be relevant this weekend.
AGONY
Countered by Basic Mental Endurance if delivered by an AOE or Sound of Voice call, or by Avoid if delivered by a Strike or Ranged Attack. Agony is an ability that causes intense physical and/or mental pain in the character affected, making it difficult if not impossible to act through the torment. This effect normally lasts 10 seconds if not otherwise specified, and during that time, the character cannot use Skills or items but can move at a slow pace and defend themselves. Agony Interrupts skills being used when it is called.
That sounds like pain and SUFFERING to me. Surely this won’t come up a lot during this weekend…
Some important details to remember:
Agony is a versatile skill used by several different entities in Dystopia Rising. While affected by this ability, you may not use Skills (including weapon skills!) or items, but can move slowly and act defensively. This means no brews, no gizmos, no armor, no weapons, nothing!
This attack interrupts all Skills being used, including Crafting. Remember, if you start using a new Skill while working on that expensive Artisan project, you will also be Interrupted. If you use Mental Endurance to resist the effect, you will Interrupt yourself. Best be careful about crafting while [REDACTED] are about.
Agony is often a precursor to more dangerous attacks like Break and Mangle, so remember you can’t Avoid while under the effects of Agony. 10 seconds is a LONG time in the heat of combat!
The Candlepin Survival Pack can protect you from this attack, but remember this is a Supply Bag item and cannot be stacked with a Freeiron Dry Pack. You can use either or, but not both!
The Battle Hymn is probably the best single defense against Agony, as it gives you an Upsurge protect and simply makes you immune. This is the only way to avoid interruption from Agony, as the effect simply doesn’t happen. Remember, an Upsurge only lasts one hour, so make it worth it!
BAPTIZED
A character that has been inducted into a faith, normally through the use of Basic Faithful Patterns, is considered to be Baptized into the faith. They gain the name of their faith as a Keyword, for the purposes of certain abilities that only affect members of a certain faith.
It’s a simple rule that involves Keywords, but remember if you are considered to be Baptized, then that means you can interact with Faith items, Benedictions, and even other things that specifically target folks with that Faith. It also means if someone calls out a mass heal effect like Proficient Faithful Miracles, then you will also gain the benefit of the healing.
Surely monsters (or other players) won’t be using this against you this weekend…
Faith Bane
Bane is a type of damage that can be done to anyone with the matching Keyword. If the Bane damage hits the correct Faith, then they take double the damage called. For example, if 5 Final Knight Bane is called and hits someone that has been baptized into that faith, the character takes 10 damage. If the Faith Bane hits someone without that matching faith, then they only take 5 damage. If the target of the appropriate type Bane damage would normally take reduced damage from the source of the attack, Bane damage and the reduction cancel each other out and the Target would take the standard base damage. If a Target of Bane damage would normally be immune to damage due to the nature of the source, the Target of the Bane damage takes no damage and is still immune.
While one of the primary advantages of the Crowns of Suffering is a resistance to most damage, it does have a particular weakness - FAITH BANE. If you are hit by the Faith Bane and it matches your faith, you take DOUBLE damage.
Better get someone to heal you… oh wait…
Wrap Up
That’s it for today Vados! Short and Sweet!
This weekend, you’ll get to fight amongst yourselves for the honor, nay the privilege, of claiming one of Brother Agony’s GIFTS OF SUFFERING. Will you stand triumphant against the arrogant usurpers that would claim your rightful prize? Will you claim power and your true role among the Damned? Will you thwart those who would promote the false truths of the divine? Will you uphold the laws of Hell and trust not those that claim knowledge of those laws? Will you bring suffering where you can and take power at all times?
Let’s find out together, as we claim the GIFTS OF SUFFERING…