DR:TX Lore INtroduction

Welcome Home!

Here’s a few things your brand new character might know about the tiny town of Bravado.

You don’t have to read ALL of our lore we’ve written on the game to play, so this is a brief guide focused on what you might know as a new character in our setting. You can choose to know as much or as little of this information as you like. It can be fun to learn it all in game, but some folks want to have a bit of an idea of what to expect from the story…

So, welcome and congratulations! Your character is preparing to arrive on the Oxline (the train) in New Bravado. Here are some fundamental concepts that your character understands implicitly as a denizen of the Greater Wastes. If you know these as a new player, you’re ahead of the curve.

Who are you?

  • Your character is a Survivor. The wastelands are a harsh and deadly place, filled with zombies, dangerous raiders, disease, radiation, and many other deadly threats. You’ve probably already survived some harrowing situations just to get here.

  • Humanity Doesn’t Exist Anymore. You are a member of a Strain of Humanity, evolved and adapted to survive in the harsh and radioactive wasteland. Your ancestors were people that survived the original zombie plague that ended the world as we once knew. Something happened during that distant apocalypse that fundamentally changed the biological superstructures of our DNA - killing off humans as they were and replacing them with hardier, more specialized Strains of humanity.

  • The Apocalypse Was a Long Time Ago. The Fall of Man to the zombie virus happened generations ago, but no one is really sure when it happened or what exactly happened. All we really know is that nuclear weapons were used on most major cities to stop the zombie hordes, and they didn’t work. Instead, the disease mutated and spread even further. There isn’t a person alive in the Greater Wastes who remembers the towering skyscrapers of New York or the concept of an email, or the notion of a governmental body larger than a town council. In many ways, the world has regressed to something simpler in the wake of incredible loss.

  • Death is Not the End. Every Survivor has a bit of the zombie plague inside them called the Infection that will eventually turn them into a zombie. However, this disease means your character can heal from most wounds very quickly, and you can come back from death multiple times. Once you’ve run through all your lives, represented by the Infection stat on your character sheet, your character won't have enough of themselves left to claw their way out of the Mortis, and instead will return as a shambling and shuffling undead monster.

  • There is Safety in Numbers — Sometimes... Survivors tend to band together in small settlements across the wastelands for mutual survival, and the major settlement in our area is called Bravado. However, in a wasteland with limited and scare resources, sometimes the greater enemy is the other survivors that also call this place home.

What is this place?

  • Bravado is a tiny stop along the Oxline, a marvelous train network owned by the RRC, or Railroad Conglomerate. 

  • The area around the town of Bravado is known as the “San Saba” and sometimes just called the “Lonestar”. The area is made up of several small independent settlements that mostly stay focused on their own affairs.

  • Bravado is known for strange tunnels underneath the town that are a source of scrap and artifacts from long ago. People who risk the tunnels looking for scrap are often known as “Delvers”.

  • The primary export of the town is the metal and scrap uncovered from the tunnels below, as well as the oily fuel known as “Oxblood”.

  • New folk to Bravado are called “Dusters”, for the coating of dust on their clothes when they step off The Ox, the train that brings you to town.

  • Bravado uses it’s own form of currency to conduct trades and barter for supplies. The currency in town is called “Brass”. The 5-unit of currency is called a Lead Note, the 10-unit is called a Tin Note, and the 20-unit is called a Steel Note.

Felicity Redfield

Who is the RRC?

  • The Railroad Conglomerate (“RRC”) is the most financially powerful faction in the entirety of the San Saba. Most people in the San Saba and in Bravado are contracted employees of the RRC or benefit from trade with the faction.

  • The Oxline once stretched further into the wasteland, but the outer lines have been abandoned in favor of more easily patrolled routes near Bravado. Despite the reduced scope of the railine, it’s still a “safer” way to get to nearby settlements in the wastes.

  • The railways of the RRC are now composed of four main lines that cross through Bravado, connecting Essex, Bastion, Tremorsands Post, Drywater, and Killhouse.

The Obelisk in the lake

What’s around Bravado?

  • The nearby lake, Lake Bravo, was once a crater left by a massive bomb. Some folks think the blast may have revealed the strange white Obelisk in the middle of the lake.

  • On the outskirts of Bravado to the southeast is the crashed skyship-city known as Bastion. This fallen fortress once was once a relic from after the fall of man and is the home to the Mustang Loyalists, a powerful sect of the Fallow Hope that follow a demagogue named General Mustang. The area around the city is still heavily radioactive and dangerous to enter and Bastion is a major rival to Bravado.

  • Southwest of Bravado is the metropolis known as Essex, the City of Light and Sound.  This is was once one of the largest settlements in the entire region. It is known to have a single massive tree growing in the center, called the “Fountainheart” and at least five different Morgues. The city suffered massive damage during a recent war and it is a shell of its former glory. It will take years to recover from the merciless bombardment that leveled huge swaths of the town during the final days of the war. This city is the heart of the San Saba Republic, a popular confederation of several smaller factions and tribes, and remains a trade hub despite the damage of the war.

  • Northeast of the city lies the fortress once known as Prudence Penitentiary. It is now home to the remnants of the Bravado Militia, the brave soldiers that fought during the rebellion against tyrants known as the San Saba Board. They have struck a deal with the Grave Council, a wealthy faction of Grave Mind specialists, to protect dangerous psionic relics inside the tunnels below the fortress, and it serves as a headquarters of such for both factions.

  • To the east of Bravado is a dangerous series of ruins known as Morgan’s Folly. Critters and raiders make their home in the ruins of an oldcestor settlement that once stretched across the terrain, and the lawless area is a frequent home to bandits and other miscreants.

  • Far to the west is the Dune Sea, a massive desert that stretches for hundreds of miles across the Lone Star. The last settlement before the the desert overtakes the land is a humble mining town called Tremorsands Post. The RRC controls several large and ancient oil derricks that are painstakingly maintained to produce the Oxblood that fuels their locomotives.

  • Across the lake from Bravado is the settlement of Drywater. When the Junkerpunks were forced to flee their home far to the south during the war, the surviving ships made their way to a new home near Bravado. A staunch ally of Bravado, the port now serves the merchant fleets of the Junkerpunks, and is home to the Redfield Boatel & Spa, a luxurious destination for the rich and powerful.

Why is Bravado important?

  • Bravado is near a major intersection of the Oxline, and it is the home base of the Ox, the massive locomotive that leads the fleet of the RRC.

  • At least two wars have been fought over Bravado, the Hiway War and the War of Antlers, including one that was ended just a few months ago by the folks near this town. It was the site of the last battle of the war, and is a place of historical significance.

  • Something important and valuable is suspected to be trapped under the town, and people once flocked to Bravado in search of fortune and adventure. However, despite the allure and wealth of the tunnels below the town, it seems like the town is being slowly forgotten.

  • Bravado was responsible for ending the tyranny of the San Saba Board, a powerful conglomeration of the rich and powerful factions of the area. They fought back against the Chairman, Arthur Lovelace, and proved that a tiny town could have a big impact on the wasteland.

  • In the wake of the recent war, a person can make a name for themselves on the frontier. Every town needs able bodied help to defend against the undead and rebuild. Do work, get paid!

Is Bravado dangerous?

  • Bravado is no more dangerous than any other town in the wastes, but that’s not saying much. There is always a threat of zombies, ferocious raiders, mutated critters, and even your fellow survivors.

  • Bravado stands alone, with a powerful rival nearby in the town of Bastion. While the war is over, the looming threat of the violence that was committed in the name of rebellion has broken the area into anarchy and lawlessness. Each settlement must forge anew the social contracts that separate the wasteland from civilization.

  • Local threats in this area that might be different than other settlements are:

    • Psionic fire-wielding raiders known as Firebrands or Nezrengal

    • Hungry blood-drinking zombies known as Bloodghasts

    • Deadly mutant fauna known as Murder Goat Deer

What are the laws in this town?

  • The population of Bravado has recently enacted several Laws, and you can find them here.

  • Generally, don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t mess with the Postal Workers, and always pay your Grave Tax. Oh, and don’t use Crystal Candy.

  • The Grave Tax is a fine paid if someone tampers with the Morgue.  Carelessness can lead to morgue collapse, corruption and worse, and the balance of the Mortis must be constantly maintained.

What about violence from other survivors?

  • Bravado is a rough and tumble frontier town.  Casual violence is a part of daily life, but remember not to kill anyone. As long as they don’t die, you can generally just buy them a hooch at the bar and walk it off if you are on the losing end. Talk shit, get hit!

  • If you are interested in CvC (Character vs Character conflict), talk to a Guide! Guides wear green headbands and/or a pin that says ‘Guide’. They are players who help to run the game.

how do i make a living in bravado?

  • When everyone in the area is focused on simple survival, it pays to have a trade. There are many ways to earn a living in town, from offering crafting services in the Depot, helping to farm up useful materials in the Meadows, or offering guard services in the outskirts of the town.

  • The various factions of Bravado sponsor a fund to help out new Dusters that arrive in town. You can get a Work Order from the Post Office. This is an easy way to get started with paying work. If you complete one of these during your first event, you can easily earn 10 Brass and even a few scrap and herb.

Who are the factions of bravado?

  • There are six major organizations that you might encounter or work with while in Bravado. While there are other minor factions in Bravado, particularly involved in criminal or illicit activities, they generally lack the influence and scope of the major factions.

  • The Railroad Conglomerate, or RRC, is a financially powerful group that is focused on maintaining the rail network that connects the nearby towns.

  • The Grave Council is a banker’s guild that enforces a tax on when people die and are mystical experts on the Grave Mind. They maintain a massive bank in Essex, to the southeast, and have ties to the fortress of Killhouse to the north.

  • The Junkerpunks are a group of merchants, pirates, and explorers that once dominated the waterways and off-road paths of the San Saba and now make their home in Drywater.

  • The San Saba Republic is a riotous collection of smaller factions and tribes that represent most of the common people of the wasteland. They organize themselves into several nomadic groups, each an important part of the whole. Their primary focus is on rebuilding their home in Essex, to the southeast, and they are led by a triumvirate of elected leaders.

  • The Law Dog Union are rangers and marshals that help enforce the laws of various settlements in the wasteland through Town Charters and track down the “Breachers” — criminals who have violated the local laws. Together with the Justices of Sin, they help maintain the social contracts that keep towns from descending into lawlessness and anarchy.

  • The Militia operates out of a massive fortress-prison in the northeast that once held the most dangerous criminals in the wasteland. They are now an important ally against larger threats in the area that would threaten smaller settlements and help empower the Law Dogs and Justices of Sin to enforce the various Town Charters.

What is the grave mind?

  • Sometimes called the Mortis Amaranthine, this is a massive fungal growth under the ground that tends to grow near settlements of survivors. The presence of a morgue is often a sign that a town has existed long enough to offer some meager protection from the cruel wasteland.

  • When you die, the tendrils of the Grave Mind, a mysterious and terrible sentience behind the zombie plague, claim your body from below to rebuild your body under the ground.

  • The process is maddening and hard to handle, and not everyone comes back in one piece. Some are a bit fractured and traumatized by the experience. Others don’t return at all, no matter how much of the Infection is left in them.

  • When you have regenerated, your body emerges from a Morgue, an exit from the fungal growth under the ground. Often, a groundskeeper or a Graverobber is there to help a person crawl out of the fungal orifice.

  • Most folks can survive dying a few times, but eventually your body cannot be regenerated. When you die for the final time, you will come back as a zombie, ready to kill and eat your friends. The type of zombie you become often depends on how you met your final death.

  • Some suggest a powerful undead entity known as the Prince Undying is sealed beneath Bravado, and they are held in a crystalline prison that was moved far underground. They speak of a strange language that is sometimes found on old artifacts found by Delvers.

Other background stuff that might be important

  • You’ve heard of the Hiway War, a massive conflict five years ago that nearly killed everyone in the San Saba wastes.  It was stopped by the sacrifice of a few brave souls in the former town of Old Bravo. Now, the ruins of that settlement lies under the crater and lake that formed after its destruction.

  • You’ve also heard of the recent War of Antlers, a conflict that resulted in the destruction of the previous government that ruled over the area. While it once started between the factions of the San Saba Republic and a rival tribe called the Oxkillers, it quickly consumed the entire region. The town of Bravado finally rebelled against the fascist tyranny of the San Saba Board, culminating in a bloody and deadly battle in the town of Essex.

  • A massive flying vessel now called Bastion recently crashed near Bravado. It is still heavily radioactive and is leeching radiation into the land, water, and plants of the area. A powerful military force known as the Mustang Loyalists have claimed the city as a new fortress and are working on conquering the deadly radiation with a strange new species of mushroom.

  • In the absence of a centralized government, each town has been left to fend for themselves. The powerful factions of the Lone Star may be pale imitations of what they once were before the war, but they still represent important allies in the Wasteland, including the Railroad Conglomerate, the Grave Council, the Junkerpunks, the San Saba Republic, the Law Dog Union, and the Militia.

We’ll have much more for you in play, so if you don’t remember everything that’s ok!  There’s lots more to experience at the game, so we are excited to see you at your first event!

I have additional questions!

Additional Information

We’ve provided a lot of additional background information on the setting, all of the various factions, and even summaries of our virtual events in the links below. But you do not have to come into play knowing it all! However, if you want to get a feel for the setting before entering play this is a good place to start. All of this information is stuff your character is able to come into game knowing, if you choose.

Again, if you don’t think you would have kept up with all of this, that’s fine! You are welcome to come in fresh and learn things once you start playing, and there's a lot to learn about in game by talking to other players! We have lots of characters that would be happy to tell you their side of the story of all these crazy events. These kinds of roleplay interactions can make for a memorable experience!

We’ve taken a lot of pride in documenting all the stories we’ve told so far, so we hope you’ll enjoy reading about the setting we care about very much!