Leverage and You!

At our live event in March, we unveiled a new mechanic for Murder Inc. characters: Leverage. This social currency represents influence within the Organization. In this post, we'll clarify the nature of Leverage and explain how it functions.

First, it's important to note that Leverage is different from Favor. Its primary purpose is to persuade the Organization to gather intel on specific targets, with a secondary use in Master Criminal Influence Action Request Modules, which we'll discuss later.

Leverage operates through a bidding system that requires at least two characters(to encourage collaboration IG and OOG) pooling their resources to Bid an amount of Leverage on a Target, representing expending sway to push for investigation of the Target by the Org. The story team then evaluates whether the bid amount has reached the Target Number for intel on the Target. If not, we'll present you with options such as receiving information with complications, overbidding the original target number for better results, or withdrawing your request without wasting your Leverage. Target values will range from 1-5 for trivial targets up to 40-50 for highly secretive and formidable threats.

Primarily, Leverage is employed to gather intelligence and secondarily to equip characters during Master Criminal Influence Action Request Modules. For instance, spending 5 Leverage could provide one useful item for a mission while 40 might significantly enhance your team's gear.

Murder Inc. characters accrue Leverage each month they attend an event – one point per rank of Criminal Influence (1-4, with the Inner Circle Professional Focus Achievement counting as 4), plus one additional point for local Murder Inc Family Society Membership. Note that these optional local Family memberships are distinct from the three mandatory MI branches like Silenced Knell and Adherents of Betrayal that characters must choose from to join MI. Leverage carries over between months.

At live events, you track your own Leverage amount using poker chips distributed by Ops. These chips represent various levels of influence within Murder Inc., with different colors indicating different tiers of Leverage.  This poker chip phys rep is an abstraction whose meaning is only known to Murder Inc. characters – think of showing a chip as noting how much sway you have in the Organization. 1-5 Leverage will get you a blue chip, 6-10 a green chip, 11-15 a white chip, and 16-20 a red chip, after which Leverage caps at 20 and we encourage you to spend it! There's only so much influence a single person can have, but together the Organization can move mountains.

Occasionally, characters may earn extra Leverage through successful engagement in gameplay mechanics or plot events. We've designed this system to enable players to direct MI plots by selecting targets and storylines, encouraging a more player-driven experience this season.

So, pool your Leverage, collaborate with your Organization allies, and see you in the field!

The writeup for Leverage may be found on our Local Custom Mechanics page here: https://www.dystopiarisingco.com/local-custom-mechanics

Secure your tickets for the May event here: https://www.dystopiarisingco.com/blog/2023/5/1/ghosts-of-the-past-tickets-now-on-sale

Law in Lorado Comes...like it or not

The rickety lift rattled as it made its slow ascent, ornate grating shuddering every time a support strut or a door off onto one of Silverline Citadel’s many storeys passed from above to below. Friendly Dan winced as it did. He was here for the same reason many others would be: the moneyed interests of the Big Rock Financiers’ Council had called a meeting, one where all the big financial players of the Western Wastes would be represented. The topic, Dan didn’t know - this time, he wasn’t here as the face of Rawhide, but as bodyguard and attache for the bigger fish who was. Dan’s boss, Vespine Hennessey, rode next to him, her stance as relaxed as Dan’s was tense.

The lift rattled again and Dan instinctively reached for his tobacco pouch, but Vespine shut him down with a look like daggers. Not here, it conveyed, this is an upper crust company.

The lift finally chunked to a stop. Friendly Dan made the deliberate choice not to throw up. And the grate was opened from the other side by a bellhop, who gestured down the tastefully dim marble hall. Through the door at the end, the two were greeted by a penthouse meeting room of staggering opulence. Tapestries of the old Pureblood family crests hung from every pillar - including some, Dan couldn’t help but notice, that were an interesting choice to leave up after the ends their owners had met. Chandeliers lit the room from the high, curved ceiling. Through the west-side windows, the sun cast a light like a flame through bourbon across the whole room as it set over the Big Rock Mountains.

At the center of the room sat a long black marble table, and gathered around that table was… everyone. That was the only word Dan could think, everyone. Anyone who moved and shook the money in Lorado, plus a few. A dozen heads of Pure Blood families. A Digitarian with two heavily kitted guards, probably one of the reclusive Northheed bigwigs. Shred of the Topaz Tribe was here, flanked by her diligent note-taker, Scrawl. Cinderella and Chivalry Shane stood regally to either side of their father, Oberon. Henry Aspen sat representing Bear Claw Hunting & Trapping. At the far end of the table, half a dozen Diesel Jock chieftains fidgeted awkwardly, slowly soaking motor oil residue into the expensive fabrics of their chairs; Dan recognized Chief Mustang and Chuck Bentley, and noted an imposing figure in white armor seated to Chuck’s left. Lysinger of the Mortar Brigade was here with his usual thugs - interesting choice, Dan thought, that’s a pretty small fish for this pond - as was a delegation from Ironwood, and, Dan noticed with a twinge of satisfaction, Mistress Shrike of the Warehouse was not. Only one empty chair remained, at the head of the table, and it was to this that Vespine sauntered over and sat. Dan took up a standing position to her right as she addressed the room.

“Evenin’!” She began, the chatter of the room hushing in response. “Glad to see you’re all here. We can get started.

I’ll cut right to the chase. As y’all know, problems with the law - namely, absence of it - have been a pebble in all our shoes for a while now. Robbers on the roads. Gangs in the towns. Trading sabotage with our rivals, even with each other sometimes. These small town sheriffs ain’t shit enough to do shit ‘bout any of it. ‘Open season’ is the term I’ve heard used by my boys who keep an ear to the ground. You all know it. Everyone in this room can think of somethin’ you’ve lost or some pain in the ass you’ve had because of it.

So I’m here to propose a solution. A regional solution we can all invest in, that’ll give back to all of us.” Vespine smiled widely and took two maps from her bag, which she unrolled and passed down either side of the table.

“Y’all may recall that as prisoners accumulated from the wars of the past few years, we wound up stickin’ many of ‘em in the old prison off to the West of the Mortar Brigade, North of Ironwood. The group runnin’ the place, if you’re not familiar, has been callin’ themselves the Wardens. They’re a mixed bunch. Ex-Drylands Militia, old law dogs from towns that ain’t there no more, folk that lost everything to the Mastersons or the Von Lobos. But one thing they all got in common is… let’s call it a passion for justice. 

Put simple, I want us to fund ‘em. All of us. Build up Locktown into somethin’ like it used to be in the way-back-when. Get money and people into the Wardens to make ‘em into law dogs. Big law dogs with big teeth, who can go everywhere. Let’s get us some law and order in Lorado, y’all.”

Vespine remained standing, leaned over the table, as her words sunk in. Whispered conversations rippled around the room, and finally the delegate from Northheed stood to answer first. 

“Interested,” they stated with a weighty bluntness. “Let’s hear specifics.”

So Vespine laid out her plan. Each of the institutions would have different ways of contributing: some, like Black Diamond and the BRFC, would put up cash for payroll, while the Rolling Coalition would facilitate transport and Bear Claw would provide medical services and tracking expertise. Rawhide and Northheed would supply the various outposts the Wardens would need to set up across the region. The contingents from Ironwood and Die Fabriek had been asked here to give their blessings for the Wardens to pass through their territory coming and going from Locktown, and of course since the officialization of Locktown as a permanent installation would mean they had to accept certain risks.

It took deliberation. Numbers were bandied about, offers asked and counteroffers made. Friendly Dan didn’t speak a word throughout, except to whisper the occasional logistical detail into Vespine’s ear. But at last, the deal was done. Once the agreement was reached, only one question remained.

“Local Warden heads,” Vespine drawled, “for Perseverance and Barker Meadow.”

That made sense, Dan figured. Perseverance, the formerly nameless slum sprung up around the now defunct Forward Operating Base for the final siege of the Masterson War, was a hive of shady activity, one of the two main organized criminal hubs in the region. The other was Barker Meadow. Both would be hot zones.

Oberon Shane stood first. “The Financiers’ Council can offer Sachs Goldman for Perseverance.” A hushed chatter of agreement rippled through the assembly. Goldman’s work was known in the room.

“Ephraim Butcher,” Friendly Dan blurted out. 

The room turned to look - including Vespine, who had told him to let her do the talking and now was smiling at him sweetly, possibly the most terrifying thing Friendly Dan had ever seen. No, second most, after the Anglerfish. Dan cleared his throat and pushed on anyway. 

“I’ll nominate Ephraim Butcher for Barker Meadow. The, uh, Barker Meadow area. He’s done real good work for Rawhide as a bounty hunter for a long time. Some of the best.” He pulled off his hat, slicked his hair, put it back on. “Look… if we’re talkin’ ‘bout criminal networks in Barker Meadow… we know who’s at the top of that anthill. I don’t need to say it. We all know it. And if we’re gonna dance with that devil… it’s gotta be Butcher. I wouldn’t trust it to anyone else.”

The stillness in the room as his words settled made Dan squirm. He wanted a cigarette so bad. He could see the calculation on their faces as they weighed whether to trust his suggestion sight unseen. Whether they went for it was gonna make a big difference in what the ride down the elevator with Vespine would be like.

And then one of the chairs creaked as Liberty Moretti from the Ironwood contingent stood. She looked nervous at first, but cleared her throat and spoke clearly. “I can vouch. We saw a lot of Ephraim Butcher after the Masterson War. He brought us the Carsons.”

“Which Carsons?” The Northheed rep retorted.

“All of them.” 

This caused a murmur. When the Mastersons had been wiped out, their allies the Carsons, along with the surviving mercenaries still infected with Crystal Heart, had scattered to the winds. There had privately been tremendous worry among many in this room that outbreaks of Biz’s influence in other morgues would follow as the infected eventually suffered death from mishap or mistake, but nothing ever came of it. Evidently that was because, as Liberty went on to explain, Butcher and his posse had hunted them down, one by one, and over the course of seven months had brought every single one back to Ironwood - alive - for their crystal infestations to be returned the the morgue from which they had originated. Not a single one unaccounted for. Even Friendly Dan hadn’t known that.

Dan turned his attention back to the room. Some of the shrewd expressions had turned pensive. He watched as each group deliberated quietly amongst themselves. 

His kingdom, he thought to himself, for a cigarette.

In a lonely wooden watchtower somewhere in the Wastes, a black-clad figure kicked up his boots, lit a pipe, and took a shot of something strong, wiping a stray drip from the exposed bone of his chin with the back of a skeletal hand. At the sight of a single lonely light bobbing through the darkness, he reached and pulled a long-scoped lever action rifle into his lap. Then he waited. The light got closer. It was a figure, on horseback, looked like. Finally it cleared the treeline and hoisted its lantern up in one hand and a very expensive looking bottle of liquor in the other.

“Ephraim!” Friendly Dan’s voice floated up. “Got time to talk to a friend about a job?”

Resources Of The Everliving Wood

The Everliving Wood is dangerous but full of exotic resources with potent uses. The following are some of the Local Resources you may encounter and acquire during Tales of The Wood.

• Blood Sap

  Blood Sap is found in the Overgrowth, a congealed, red mass that starts to form in soil and spreads all over, including down past the regular depth of a Morgue to link with the top layer of the local Mortis Amaranthine nodule. Its primary purpose as a resource was originally as a powerful necrofuel. It has since been discovered to also be a reagent in brews, such as the Gravevine Sap Brew.

  Blood Sap in the Wood has “clogged” the reconstruction process of the Mortis, making it so that divers are needed to bring people back to the “surface” when they die.

• Cracked Psionic Crystal

  Descrip

  This resource began to appear at the Cracked Bone Cavern Morgue in the Everliving Wood when it was greatly damaged by Blood Sap. These broken and porous crystals have the unique ability to soak Infection into themselves, storing it inside the crystal mass until it can pass into the Gravemind.

  When clustered up against fungal veins leading into the Morgue, they draw in sentient creatures with psionic resonance to consume their flesh by contact, feeding it to the struggling Mortis to keep it alive.

  Cracked Crystals are used in infection-related gizmos and poisons. As well, rumors have it that Murder Inc has a special interest in this strange variety of psionic crystal...tion text goes here

• Overgrowth Gravevine

  Gravevine is a plant spread through the Overgrowth but especially prominent in the Everliving Wood. A strong and spiky vine, it has divinatory and delirious properties depending on its state and preparation. The discovery and production of Gravevine Sap Brew to 'read' the local Mortis by the Pinback Lascarians of the Everliving Wood is the most prominent development recently involving Gravevine. Overgrowth Gravevine, for those that will withstand the dangers to gather it, can be used in various ways however.

  Rumors are it has been used by enterprising Diesel Jocks with scrap as chains on their rides to better navigate the Overgrowth and other tough terrain in Lorado, word of the "All Terrain Violence Chains" is spreading as a new low-technological marvel of Loradan innovation.

We look forward to seeing you at our event this weekend (Tickets) and encourage you to continue the conversation on our Discord and Facebook pages! Facebook, Discord

DR: CO presents Tales of the Wood - Schedule & Changes!

We have made some slight adjustments to the schedule our upcoming event, Tales of the Wood. The 5pm mod 'Ghost Train' will instead be running as a drop in mod around 9pm, and we will be opening more availability on the other two 5pm mods 'Dictates, Orders, and Processes' and 'We're Off to See the Wizard.' We appreciate your patience as we lock in our schedule for the weekend. We've got a lot of content planned beyond the posted mods, but why not take a look and see if any catch your eye?

We can't wait to see you all in the Everliving Wood!

---

Server open for soft RP 6:00pm Friday, Feb 10

Opening announcements: 8:00pm Friday, Feb 10

Mods not on the database to be announced in play.

Post office hours:

Friday: 9pm-midnight

Saturday: 8am-midnight

Sunday: 8am-noon

Closing announcements to be held at noon on Sunday, Feb 12

Server open for soft RP until 4:00pm on Sunday, Feb 12.

Who Is Who In The Wood:

In the leadup to our online game in February, Tales of the Wood, we're releasing some information about the setting you'll be playing in, the mysterious Overgrowth forests of the Everliving Wood.

The Everliving Wood is full of mysteries and danger, and the people who live in and frequent the Wood are no different. The following are some of the groups you will encounter in the Wood:

Pinback Lascarians

These followers of the Light of Hedon practice ecstatic, mind-opening Grave rituals from the Cracked Bone Cavern, home of the Morgue of the Wood. These self-proclaimed seers, once minions of the Taleholders, style themselves as scrying oracles of entrails and bone. Their leader is the blind Useless Eyes Pinback, who prefers to act on the visions of her third eye. Considered mad by many in the Wood, Useless Eyes was convinced by denizens of Lorado to turn on the Taleholders for their crimes and wage war against them, bringing her people along on the mission. The Pinbacks have now called across the Wastes for aid.

The Taleholders

The Taleholders are a secretive, owl-masked group of Film Union TVs and Father Night Seasons who control the narrative of the Everliving Wood, fueled by its resources and united by the Season as a measurement of time and narrative. Aloof and mysterious, they are known for their sinister and violent tactics, and they wish to keep their sacred, powerful Wood isolated while still using Plot and Protagonists to their advantage. Manipulative and scheming, and will always have a plan, a backup plan, and a plan behind that.

Bear Claw Hunting & Trapping

A Lorado-wide network of outdoorsmen who deal in meat, pelts, bones, tanning, and leatherwork, and rugged clothing tailored from hides and furs. Facilitating big game hunts is another source of income, as is guiding and escorting travelers through the mountains, and brutal frontier medicine for hire. Rumors that not all travelers who hire escorts from Bear Claw are seen again, and that not all the leather the trappers work with are animal, are sometimes whispered in dimly lit bars or around campfires on the trail. A few members of Bear Claw are authorized to operate in the Everliving Wood, a perilous but lucrative place of work for them.

We will release more information as the event approaches, continue the conversation on our Facebook and Discord pages!

The Event happens February 10th - 12th and tickets are on sale now!
https://www.dystopiarisingco.com/blog/2023/1/19/tickets-now-on-sale-for-our-february-virtual-event-tales-of-the-wood

Requesting Custom Content

There are many opportunities to request and steer content at Dystopia Rising events. The most common are Master Skill Requests and PFA requests but there are other options for those looking to help direct and drive enjoyment for themselves and others at game!

Master Skill Module Request:

These are based on certain skills your character might posses at Master Rank. It allows you to request a module based on the skill that others with any rank in that skill can join! It’s a great way to help create and direct your desired engagement in skill based content!

Personal Module Requests:

Requesting a personal module often has a cost in CAPs but can be a great way to further your characters story or ask to have a scene or NPC interaction created that you have been wanting to experience. We’ll take your request and pair it with one of our excellent Writers. They will take your request and turn it into a fully fleshed out module, which we will try and send out at the requested time.

September Horror and Fixation

This coming game, we will have some OPT-IN mechanics to participate in. These mechanics may deal with themes of loss of autonomy, paranoia, betrayal, loss of trust, loss of life, faith, cannibalism, despair, and loneliness in possibly intense ways and may lead you towards -- but will not require -- CvC conflict. These mechanics will include being targeted by specific threats, and in specific ways, including especially dangerous mechanics, that align with the nature of the content that has been opted into.

If you wish to opt in, you will need to record your name and receive a purple wrist band from Public Works at check-in so that you can be easily identified during play as having opted in.

This is also a mechanic you can opt out of aspects of at any time, and if you wish to opt out completely, simply go to the Public Works and tell them you're opting out for the rest of the game, returning your wristband. If you wish to work with story to conclude your participation when opting out or have any questions before or during game, there will be information at Ops and the primary contact for this plot is Emily B.

Lost in your mind

CvC and You

Hey everyone, we realized recently that we talk a lot about consent for physical RP (which is important), but not a lot about consent for conflict and CvC! Consent and clear communication are key to making sure that everyone is having fun when character conflict comes up, so let's talk about it - and always remember the acronym FRIES when it comes to consent! 

People often have different definitions of what constitutes conflict, and what requires a check in. If you aren’t sure if someone will be bothered by the way you are engaging with them, it is always best to ask. Just because it would be fine (or even fun) for you to be approached in a certain way doesn’t mean it is the same for everyone else. Once you have developed enough of a relationship with someone to understand their fun (often by having a number of these kinds of conversations with them over time) checking in beforehand isn’t always needed, but it doesn’t hurt! If you don’t know someone well enough to be certain, it is ALWAYS safer to check in before engaging.

Not everyone wants to engage in RP that involves conflict or CvC, and that’s ok! Some people want to engage with it sometimes, but not all the time. Some people want it most of the time, but are occasionally having a bad day and might not want it right then. Because of this it’s very important to check with your fellow players before these types of play occur, as well as after. It is also important to note that it is primarily the responsibility of the aggressor to make sure that their target is doing alright afterwards. If the conflict between two characters or groups is mutually hostile, then it is everyone’s responsibility to make sure that everyone else is ok.  Situations that are going to involve extended conflict should include regular check-ins.

It is also important to note that choosing not to consent to CvC or conflict RP does not mean that a player or character is free to do anything they want without consequences. If someone approaches you to have a conversation about future conflict and you don’t want it, that’s fine! However, there should also be a conversation about WHY they approached you about the conflict to begin with. Maybe they just thought it would be fun for both of you and were mistaken, in which case the two of you can simply move on without issue - but it’s also possible that they are trying to respond to something in your RP that makes them feel like conflict between the characters is the next appropriate step. 

A common example is when Character A is (often, but not always, due to a Fracture) behaving in ways that put themselves or others in danger, and Character B decides that the best way to prevent that is to knock out, mangle, or otherwise incapacitate Character A for their own safety. 

Being mangled or unconscious for long periods of time is often not fun on an OOG level, so when Player A may reasonably choose not to consent to this - however there should still be a discussion about what is fun for Player B. If Player B does not want to spend excessive time, resources, or emotional labor trying to wrangle Character A, they should bring it up in the conversation! The fun of BOTH players is important here, and it’s important that they work together to make sure that they are both having fun - asking for consent for conflict isn’t simply a one-sided conversation in which the target gets to say yes or no and that’s the end of it, especially if there are OOG reasons why the aggressor is trying to initiate in this way. 

There are many ways that the above example could be resolved - maybe Player A helps Player B come up with a way to keep their character occupied until the Fracture (if that is the cause) can be resolved. Maybe Player B agrees to pretend not to notice that Character A has snuck off so that it isn’t their responsibility anymore. Player B could agree to let Character A do as they please, but with the condition that they will not help get them out of danger that they end up in.

Another example is social or political conflict. The election for Mayor of Barker Meadow is coming up, and people will be campaigning against each other! If you intend on running a smear campaign against another candidate, you should check in with the other player about it first!

Situations like these are most often easily handled in the moment (with check-ins afterwards) between the players in question and do not require the presence of a Guide, but if you intend to engage in CvC that is intended to result in loss of infection you should always make sure to bring a Guide. Even in the Wasteland, it is HIGHLY recommended that you bring a Guide if you intend to kill a player character! Speaking of the Wasteland - just because you don’t need consent for CvC in the Wasteland, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider the fun of your fellow players before doing so. The Wasteland isn’t intended to circumvent good communication and post-conflict check-ins (again, we ALWAYS recommend that you check-in after conflict), but is instead meant to be a place where conflict and CvC can happen spontaneously for people who find that to be fun! 

On a related topic, sometimes people don’t want to check in because they don’t want to interrupt the flow of a scene. While this is understandable, it is worth remembering that check-ins with someone who is doing well and having fun should be very quick and non-intrusive and if someone is NOT having fun then it is absolutely worth breaking the scene in order to check in. Players are always more important than the scene or roleplay, and making sure that everyone is alright and having a good time should take priority over preserving maximum immersion.

Most character conflict can be fun if both parties communicate about their intentions, check-in after the fact, and respect each other's boundaries. The vast majority of hurt feelings are the result of assumptions being made by one or more people. Having a clear conversation about what you want out of interactions with another player or character can help prevent a lot of issues before they happen. In the event that you and another player are having a hard time coming to an agreement about how to engage in conflict together, it is possible that you are simply not a good fit for this sort of play together and it would be best to avoid it. 

If you have any questions or are having difficulty resolving a conflict situation, please feel free to reach out to a staff member for help. Our priority is making sure that everyone is safe and is having fun.

Article by Sarah K.