LARP Rules for the Dystopia Rising Universe Intended for use at licensed Dystopia Rising events. All rights reserved. 1 Dead-icated to my parents for not seeing gaming as the devil incarnate, to my friends for the support and encouragement to actually get my pet project going, George Romero for redefining the zombie genre, and to Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson for teaching me that the art of telling a story lives forever. Lastly to Ashley, for being my push when I was unsure. Without you this game would have never been anything more than ideas in my head and talk around a hookah. Original World Creation Michael Pucci Executive Producer Ashley Zdeb Contributing Writers Joshua Demers, Megan Jaffe, R.M. Sean Benjamin Jaffe, Mike Malecki, Liam Neary, Ben Przybylinski, Matthew Volk, Matt Wallace, Peter Woodworth Contributing Artists Cryssy Cheung, Zach Herschberger, Joshua Brain Jaffe, Peter Moschel Johnson, Jennifer Lazaroff, Richard Sampson, Andrew Scott, Matthew Volk Layout and Design Matthew Volk Cover Design Joshua Brain Jaffe Copyright 2009-2016 Dystopia Rising LLC All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of Dystopia Rising LLC. All illustrations and images are property of Eschaton Media or used under the allowed rights of public domain. Dystopia Rising is a registered trademark of Michael Pucci and may not be used without written permission of Michael Pucci. 2 Table of Contents 4 - Disclaimer 123 - Psionic Skill List 5 - Introduction 127 - Advanced Professions 8 - What is Dystopia Rising? 128 - Apocatastian Templar 9 - Game Logistics 130 - Avontuur 10 - Player Protocols & Policies 132 - Bone Breaker 14 - Corrective Actions 134 - Entrepreneur 15 - Game Environment 136 - Free Radical 17 - Character Creation 138 - G-Man 21 - Strains of Humanity 140 - Gear Head 22 - Baywalker 142 - Grave Robber 24 - Full Dead 144 - Marksman 26 - Genjian 146 - Mercenary 28 - Iron Slaves 148 - Merican Ba-Das 30 - Lascarian 150 - Monk 32 - Mericans 152 - Mountebank 34 - Nation of Accensor 154 - Nephilim 36 - Natural Ones 156 - Oni 38 - Pure Bloods 158 - Overlord 40 - The Red Star 160 - Reaper 42 - Remnants 162 - Sage 44 - Retrogrades 164 - Saint 46 - Rover 166 - Shadow 48 - Semper Mort 168 - Shepherd of the Land 50 - Vegasians 170 - Survivor 52 - Yorkers 172 - Techno Savant 54 - NPC Only Strains 174 - Thought Bender 56 - Professions 176 - Veteran 57 - Open Skill List 178 - Villon 58 - Assassin - Caravan Driver 180 - Faith in the New World 60 - Charlatan - Cook 182 - Church of the Telling Visions 62 - Distiller - Doctor 184 - Sainthood of Ashes 64 - Engineer - Entertainer 186 - The Nuclear Family 66 - Farmer - Fishmonger 188 - Church of Darwin 68 - Gambler - Guard 190 - Cult of Fallow Hopes 70 - Gun Slinger - Hook Up 192 - Final Knights 72 - Hunter - Jones 194 - Virtues of the King’s Court 74 - Mad Scientist - Martial Artist 196 - Tribes of the Seasons 76 - Merchant - Officer 198 - Light of Hedon 78 - Politician - Priest 200 - Map of the Merican Wasteland 80 - Primitive - Printer 202 - Places of Note 82 - Psionist - Publican 218 - Mechanics Interaction 84 - Pugilist - Ring Leader 221 - Player VS Player Policies 86 - Sawbones - Scavenger 222 - Contact Safe Combat 88 - Scoundrel - Sniper 223 - Bleedout, Death, and Dying 90 - Soldier - Spy 225 - Derangements 92 - Teacher - Thief 228 - Character Growth 94 - Thug - Tinker 229 - Assistance & Experience Points 96 - Skill Descriptions 231 - Getting into the Action! 100 - Table: Brewing 232 - Travelling to Other Games 101 - Table: Building a Better 234 - Reference Section Tomorrow 236 - Lexicon of Terms 108 - Table: Forging the Future 238 - Sample Lores 110 - Table: Holy Rites 239 - Life in a Dead World 114 - Table: Master Crafting 241 - Franchising 122 - Table: Trap Making 3 Disclaimer/Waiver/Assumption of Risk This book provides rules for boffer-style combat simulation. Although these rules provide for the safest experience we can create, you assume the risks that are associated with any physical activity and are ultimately responsible for your own safety, including boffer weapon creation, safe and proper combat, and adjusting for terrain and weather. Dystopia Rising LLC, its employees, and related companies, assume no responsibility or liability, including but not limited to injury, damage, or loss incurred by using these rules in a roleplaying game setting. You are responsible for complying with all local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and statutes. Finally, remember that this is just a game. Stay safe and have fun. 4 Introduction If you have been to a Dystopia Rising game already, you understand that the world is a rotted and morally grey place that is trying to survive after the fall of mankind. If you have not yet been to a game as of yet, or if you are just starting to grasp the world, then this forward should help you understand the world in which you play it. Introduction Dystopia Rising takes place roughly four generations after the fall of mankind. No one is exactly sure how long it has been since the world became infected with the undead and the nuclear option was used, so the best that the survivors have been able to do is count the generations that have come before them. Written stories and tales passed by word of mouth create what is the remaining history of those first few generations, and misinformation has clouded the tragedies of the original point of impact. Prior to the fall, mankind did everything they could to record and share data across the world; unfortunately, as green movements and landfill concerns took the forefront of human focus, the shift from hard durable technology to digital media caused a massive period of human growth to be lost. Music released to digital formats was all but lost. News and content shared via the internet and TV was eradicated by electromagnetic distruptions and the collapse of vital infrastructure. Generations of neglect, misunderstanding, and misuse caused even moderately complex electronic devices to break of fall into disrepair. The beloved video game systems, digital music players, and mass media systems were lost to their delicate and short lived technologies. Our modern culture became irrelevant and laughable to the next generation of survivors. Advancements from the 1980’s onward were all but lost, and the creature comforts of the modern era were replaced with tools of survival in the wastes. The great, great grandparents of Dystopia’s survivors bore the first key pieces of deviant genetics and were able to survive the initial contact with the mutated zombie infection resist the deadly epidemic. Those ancestors taught their children, born into a deadly world, how to survive above all else. Those children were the first generation of new “strains” of humanity adapted to existance in this new world. They did their best to foster and educate the next generation, but history was rarely taught in favor of survival skills like hunting, medicine, or firearm maintenance. After them came the generation that would bear the parents of Dystopia’s modern survivors. These survivors barely represented humanity, mutated genetic strains of mankind well adapted to a horrific world. During that second generation some form of the virus (or whatever you wish to call the infection’s origins, since in truth it remains unclear) mutated once more and caused a new post- 5 mortal strain of humanity to rise: the Full Dead. Once human, perished, and yet had their flesh re-knit and reanimate; the Full Dead maintained memories of their human lives from before the Fall. With massive gaps of memory due to extended lives and Introduction limited brain availability, the Full Dead stood up from their desecrated homes in Europe, and began their new unlives. Looking to re-civilize the fallen world, the cannabalistic drives of the Full Dead caused a love/hate relationship between the new strains of humanity and the post-mortal animates. Without need for food save for the occasional bit of humanoid flesh, the Full Dead were able to reclaim much of the more abstract knowledge that had been lost and return them to the strains of humanity. This is the world in which you, that Dystopian survivor, live. Small communities come together in a world where concepts such as ‘democracy’, ‘freedom’, and ‘government’ are newly reborn. Major cities have been all but destroyed, transit has been reduced to animals and wagons on the east coast and the occasional iron horse on the west coast. Humanity has just begun to rebuild telegraph lines. The postmen have just begun to ride from territory to territory once more. Large tracts of the world are still irradiated wastes brimming with the undead. Finding a community of decent size in this world is rare; finding one that has any concept of equality or morality is even moreso. Welcome to the new wild west. Small tows gather around the most powerful or influential taking control. Back room deals take place in broad daylight because the masses are afraid of going against the tide. A place where sorrow and memories of lost friends are drowned in the bottom of bottles of cheap hooch. Thieves, cutthroats, undead hordes, infected raiders, dangerous cults, heart break, and tough decisions await you. This is Dystopia, where the only promise you have in life is that eventually it will end, and you will get back up as a zombie. You, the survivor in this nuclear wasteland has found your way to a settlement that is the game site for your local LARP. While you may not agree with everything that happens in town, you may not like most of the people there, you may hate the religions and broken moralities of denizens, chances are good that your character will continue to live in this town BECAUSE THERE IS NO OTHER GOOD OPTION.