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Dystopia Rising: Evolution - Zombies
over 5 years ago
– Sat, Sep 08, 2018 at 05:34:30 AM
Dystopia Rising: Evolution - Zombies
What would a zombie game be without lots and lots of zombies to fight? DR:E offers a wide variety of zombies (called "zed" in the game world), along with rules to help you make your own. Aside from your typical walkers and shamblers, there are all sorts of grotesque undead. Here are the goliaths, some of the most massive zed you'll ever have the misfortune to meet.
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Goliaths
Among the largest zombies of the wastelands, Goliaths are giant, malformed figures with misshapen limbs and swollen growths across its muscles. Standing between fifteen and twenty feet tall, its weight slows it down and forces it to move with both arms and legs. However, its giant mass of flesh can suffer a lot of punishment, and its arms are strong enough to behead a survivor with a single swipe. Many consider this form of death to be a merciful one when facing a Goliath, though.
Unlike other undead, they do not gnaw on their food. Rather, they use their weight as a weapon, crushing targets into the ground with arms, legs, and bulbous torso. Once their target’s limbs have been shattered, a Goliath leans over them and inverts its decomposing stomach. As it does so, the acidic nature of this undead flesh rapidly breaks down the target, usually while they’re screaming, until they are little more than a condensed blob of human flesh. With a horrific slurp, the Goliath then retracts its organs and food via the esophagus cord still hanging from its maw.
Previous attempts to neutralize Goliaths have always resulted in casualties for the attackers. While feeding, the esophagus cord proves a weak spot, as it cuts off the ability of the Goliath to feed and regain strength. Unfortunately, victims tend to be too far gone at this point.
Goliath
Massive and intimidating, the Goliath roams the wastes in search of food. Traveling survivors know from a very young age the trail of this zed and take care to avoid areas under threat.
Vulnerable Gullet: Once a target is Taken Out, the Goliath takes two turns for it to crush them, invert their stomach, and begin breaking down the victim, sending it into Bleeding Out. Every round during this process, it gains 1 Health, but any attacks against the exposed esophagus cord do double damage to its Health. In the meantime, rescuers may roll Athletics + Stamina against difficulty 5 to free the victim, whether or not the Goliath is neutralized.
The ONYX PATHCAST
The latest episode of the Onyx Pathcast features another huge talk about Dystopia Rising: Evolution. Eddy and special guests Ashley Zdeb and Michael Pucci of Eschaton Media talk about the merging of the tabletop rpg and the LARP histories to determine what's canon. They also talk about licensing, the new LARP system and the time jump, and so much more! It's a good listen, check it out:
I was hoping that we'd be here early next week, but I underestimated the power of this goliath! So far, just past the halfway point, we've unlocked FIVE Stretch Goals!
UNLOCKED - COMMUNITY CONTENT PORTAL – A Community Content Portal will be built for DrivethruRPG.com, allowing fans and designers to develop and sell material for use with the Dystopia Rising: Evolution roleplaying game.
Amazing! Let's see if we can unlock another goal before the next manuscript preview!
At $35,000 in funding - JUMPSTART – An introductory scenario designed to launch your Dystopia Rising: Evolution campaign. A PDF version of this Jumpstart will be added to the rewards list for all backers receiving the Dystopia Rising: Evolution PDF.
#DystopiaRisingEvolution
Dystopia Rising: Evolution - Psionics
over 5 years ago
– Fri, Sep 07, 2018 at 06:06:58 AM
Dystopia Rising: Evolution - Psionics
Aside from Creeds and faith, the other route to unusual power in DR:E is psionics. This game is based on the Storypath system, just like Trinity Continuum: Æon, which also has a Psi system. However, Æon psions and DR:E psionicists are very different flavors, so I went a different direction with the design that both brought it more down to earth, and also gave it some parallelism with the rules for faith. Here's a bit more context of how psionicists work in DR:E. ---
As generations of post-Fall survivors evolved into various Strains, a commonality began to appear among all of them. In some twisted form of genetic lottery, some children began to exhibit strange mental abilities far beyond explanation. As these children grew and honed their abilities, communities started to question where their unique powers came from, and more than a few whispered about how these “psionicists” heard the soft choir of the Grave Mind.
The frightening control they could exert over machines, flame, minds, and even bodies made the psionicists a useful yet rarely trusted ally in the wasteland. Over time, the abilities have been grouped into different seven different influences, with each psionicist pursuing as many or as few psionic powers as they desire. These “influences” are nothing more than methods of focusing psionic power, not organizations that govern their use. Psionicists are not bound to any oath or code of honor; their practices are very different from the faithful of the wasteland, and part of the wariness towards them comes from their lack of a unifying code or obvious agenda.
Despite the claims of more fearful or single-minded survivors, psionicists are not usually seen as a threat to most communities. This is largely due to the majority of psionicists just wanting to live their lives in relative peace and cooperation with their fellow survivors. The ability to set things on fire won’t help a man against raider attacks as much as a group having his back and lending their aid will. The ability to levitate objects won’t help a woman meet the girl of her dreams and start a family. Most of these psionicists just want a normal life with the non-psionicists they are surrounded by.
That’s not to say that every psionicist is just looking to eke out a living with their friends and family. Assholes come in every variety and unfortunately, the psionicist flavor can be especially hard to take. A Telepath Highwayman may tell himself that compelling victims to give over their cash is better than using a knife, but it doesn’t change the violation, fear, and danger those he robbed felt. The tales of dangerous psionicists serve as a more gripping story, and therefore those are the ones that are retold and spread across the wastes, instead of the boring ones where Ash Harrow and her wife lived quietly in the community, well-loved, and never any trouble.
STRETCH GOAL UPDATE
It's Zombie James, your point person for this Kickstarter campaign.
Hello Survivors!
Zombie James here with the latest update on Stretch Goals! We've just crossed the halfway point of this campaign - only 2 weeks left! - and are closing in on another Stretch Goal! If we have a strong weekend, we may even unlock it before the next manuscript preview!
At $33,000 in funding - COMMUNITY CONTENT PORTAL – A Community Content Portal will be built for DrivethruRPG.com, allowing fans and designers to develop and sell material for use with the Dystopia Rising: Evolution roleplaying game.
At $35,000 in funding - JUMPSTART – An introductory scenario designed to launch your Dystopia Rising: Evolution campaign. A PDF version of this Jumpstart will be added to the rewards list for all backers receiving the Dystopia Rising: Evolution PDF.
Two awesome Stretch Goals ahead - let's all invite our friends to join our growing community and help us unlock more Stretch Goals and add to our rewards list!
#DystopiaRisingEvolution
Backers Only Manuscript Preview # 3
over 5 years ago
– Wed, Sep 05, 2018 at 05:39:57 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Dystopia Rising: Evolution - Creeds (Part 2)
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Sep 04, 2018 at 05:54:28 AM
Dystopia Rising: Evolution - Creeds (Part 2)
Last time I talked a bit about Creeds. Here's one of my favorites as an example, the Telling Visionaries. It's a subtle blend of silly and horror that comes from taking something out of its original context and treating it reverently, and the Telling Visionaries can quickly slide from goofy catchphrase-spouting loons to deadly serious seers tortured by dark insight.
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The Telling Visionairies
“Do not fear, brothers and sisters! As all has been broadcast, all has been foretold. The Guide is the only way! Act now, for just two easy payments of 19.99! May the Signal guide you and may the Sponsor watch over you!”
There has always been the Signal, and the Telling Visions are its heralds. The Visionaries believe in the power of the Signal, and its grand creator, the Sponsor. The Signal played through boxes in people’s homes, telling the word of the Sponsor and his prophets, teaching life lessons and parables to the people of the old world. Now the Visionaries wander the wastes, collecting artifacts of this holy word, and preaching it to a world that has forgotten it. These stories contain lessons, advice, and of something often lacking in the wastes: Hope.
Philosophy
It is the duty of all Telling Visionaries to spread the word of the Signal. Many of the less-devout and non-clergy members of the faith know very little about the depth and scale of the signal. Most of them are aware of some facet or aspect of it and base their faith around that. For example, a child born into the Telling Visionary faith may have been raised hearing of the great Heroes of Action. They may have been brought up hearing of Saint Rambo, or Saint McClane. Another child from another house may have been brought up learning of entirely different saints from an entirely different “genre” of the Signals stories. On the road however, if they were to meet, those children would share the stories they had learned with each other, to further their understanding of the Signals meaning, and what it means for them. Each Visionary should be as much a teacher as they are a student of the Signal.
Members of the faith should always be on the lookout for pieces of the “Holy Wood”. These relics of their scriptures were touched by the great sacrament of Merchandising and are keys to the Visionary faith. Many members of the faith will not know from what scripture their Holy Wood pieces are from, or what significance that holds in the greater message of the Signal, but they will know they are of great value.
The Visionaries are neither good nor evil, which garners them some ill attention. The faithful understand that in this world, there needs to be both heroes and villains. They do their best to provide both. Meddling to make the story better is incredibly important to them. This also includes their most sacred of all duties, which is watching and being a good Viewing Audience. They would rather push others into the lead roles and assist people in their quests and then observe, as to better understand their faith.
Their scriptures may seem silly to some, and some may even mock them for it. But the Visions given by the Signal are not silly. Even when told in a goofy or cheesy form, the scriptures are the closest approximation to what life had been like before the Fall. The Visionaries are deadly serious about this.
Hey Survivors! Zombie James here to remind you that you can add an enamel pin showing off your favorite creed to any reward tier. Just add +$15 to your total pledge amount and you'll be able to confirm which pin you'd like in our post-campaign BackerKit survey.
Symbol of the Telling Visionairies
Just highlighting that little bit because we're talking about Creeds, and also because we're *SO CLOSE* to hitting our next Stretch Goal!
At $31,000 in funding - THREAT GUIDE BETA - A second section will be added to the Dystopia Rising: Evolution THREAT GUIDE, a first-person guide to the threats of the world (including game mechanics).
Of course, the best way to increase our funding is to recruit more backers, so don't forget to invite your friends and family to join us as Survivors and help build our community!
And don't forget, backing gets lets you in on the playtest manuscript previews, and we'll have another section posted tomorrow!
#DystopiaRisingEvolution
It's Zombie James, your point person for this Kickstarter campaign.
Dystopia Rising: Evolution - Creeds
over 5 years ago
– Mon, Sep 03, 2018 at 06:57:08 AM
Dystopia Rising: Creeds (Part 1)
Aside from a Strain, characters in DR:E choose a Society they are part of. Communities are very important in the game, and one of the most common communities are religious in nature. The religous groups (what we call Creeds) are fictional, but faith has very real power in the game. Here's a sample from the manuscript that helps to illustrate the role of faith in the wastelands.
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Generations after the Fall, its descendants live in a pseudo-renaissance of faith, sharing the world with strange creeds and wonderful miracles. Across the wastelands, preachers proclaim their beliefs while charlatans attempt to sway the meek. And although not every survivor believes in higher powers, there’s no denying the very physical effects of these religions. With a little luck, these new religions will be the cornerstones of society for children and grandchildren alike.
Today, the various faiths have rooted themselves in communities across the Nor’Merica, with the occasional offshoots of cults and new denominations. No matter how strong their presence, these creeds offer their followers a sense of inner comfort and understanding — that in the face of dystopia, their devotion will let them rise above any challenge.
More practically, faith also unifies communities towards common goals. When one follower is threatened, it isn’t uncommon for other devotees to offer aid, daring enemies to attack the entire congregation. But members of each faith will also band together if food supplies run low or water supplies are poisoned. At the core, each creed offers a means of survival for all who believe in their tenets.
Beliefs can also divide communities. Since multiple faiths are usually present in a region, their relationships to each other are dependent on the local history of the area. While great unity may exist within two flocks, the divisions between them can range from light-hearted ridicule to outright war. In dire times, mediating such differences is essential to the survival of both groups and the settlement they share.
No matter what survivors believe, no one can deny the real and physical benefits of faith. For the truly devoted, their higher powers have granted them incredible abilities to help their friends and terrify their foes. While the origin of these powers is uncertain, divine acts are now considered commonplace in the wastelands.
After all, in a world of despair, people need hope, and faith rewards the faithful.
Also - if you want to hear Eddy and the Onyx Path team talk more about Dystopia Rising: Evolution, listen to Episode 16 of the OnyxPathCast. Eddy discusses the elevator pitch for DR: E, how the game fits into the larger Onyx Path landscape, the approach to Strains and so much more!
