Online games: An Introduction
Quick Links
An online game begins with your character having a reason to travel somewhere outside of Mercy Pointe. It could be as simple as your character falling asleep on the wrong caravan and winding up there by mistake – or they could have heard about some problems happening and come over to lend a hand.
On game day, all registered players will be sent an email with a link to the DR:MI Online Discord Server. At first, only the OOC channels will be available. Feel free to chitchat, introduce your character to new faces, and get hype!
At 8PM, it’s Game On! Players will be granted access to the IC channels. Many of these channels will be designated as a “Soft RP” play space– where you can use descriptive text and dialogue to roleplay your character. These channels will come with labels, pictures, and descriptions to represent prominent locations in the cool setting we’ve crafted for you. Feel free to explore, hang out with friends, break shit– anything your character would normally do. Just keep a couple of guidelines in mind:
The “Soft RP” space is immersive, dynamic, and physical– or at least, as close as our imaginations can make it. Therefore, if you want to move from one location to another, make your character walk there! They cannot be in multiple places at once, and try to avoid ‘metagaming’ about what’s going on in channels your character can’t see.
You don’t need to be the next Shakespeare, but some attempt at grammar and full-sentence formatting is deeply appreciated. Here’s an example of the kind of formatting we like to see:
At the other Strain’s harsh words, Quinn glances down at their shoes, riddled with guilt. One hand starts to fidget nervously, picking at the hem of their sleeve. “Maybe you’re right,” they said. “Maybe it is my fault.”
No combat CVC is allowed at online games. Period. (Pre-negotiated tussling between friends with no real mechanical consequences doesn’t count. For things like tense arguments, remember we can still use the OK check-in system online.)
Below the Soft RP channels, a number of “Mod Space” channels will be listed. These are the channels you’ll be moving to whenever you’d like to participate in a mod. Mods typically last between 1-2 hours, accommodate 5-7 players, and operate much like a small tabletop one-shot.
What System Do Mods Use?
DR: Michigan uses the official DR Live Virtual Play system for online games.
This document is designed to maintain the core story and mechanics that define Dystopia Rising Live while adapting them for online play. Rather than directly converting live mechanics, our focus is on crafting a cohesive, new experience that stays true to the spirit of the game. - pg.5, DR Live Virtual Play Guide
We suggest all players participating in our online games read the guide below before game on!
Speaking of mods – where’s my signups?
The answer to that is: we don’t do that here! And we don’t have limits for how many mods you can attend, either, as long as you’re respecting fellow players who deserve their fair share of the action.
Long story short, our team prefers to preserve the dynamic nature of a live LARP event, allowing people to engage with the plots they’re interested in rather than stressing over first-come-first-serve and FOMO. Instead of offering signups, our mods are ‘hooked’ by NPCs or events in the Soft RP channels, same as they would be in live. So keep an eye out for characters asking for work, or screams for help coming from down that dark alley– that’ll be where the plot is.
For those who prefer to know what’s coming, so that they can step away to take care of themselves or just get away from the computer for a while– no worries. A spoiler-free version of the mod schedule will be provided that gives a general idea of what types of mods will be happening at any given time.
For the sake of game runner sanity, mods only run on Saturday. However, the Soft RP channels will be open from game on to off, and still have NPCs and other events potentially occurring throughout– consider it the story’s prologue and epilogue.
Crafting and other mechanics
**For the March 2025 Event: **Because Michigan players haven’t had a chance to turn in carded 3.0 items at an in person game for their digital inventory, all players will be able to choose one (1) of each item from the list to try out at our online game: a Weapon, an Armor, a Gizmo, and a Recovery OR Healing Brew. THESE ITEMS ARE ONLY FOR THE MARCH 2025 ONLINE EVENT. They will not be recorded in your digital inventory. Once the event is over, they will disappear. This is a great opportunity to try new item mechanics created for DR Live before you attend an in person game, so pick something fun!**
DR:MI will be running crafting per the DR Live Virtual Play Guide. You can read in depth about the DR Live Virtual Play crafting system on page 19 of the book, but here’s a shortened version:
Each character is allocated 6 hours of crafting time across the weekend. Players complete a production form before the event, listing the items to be crafted or produced with their 6 hours (per player and not per character). The database is then updated, and items may be added to the online inventory or produced as physical item cards and mailed after the event.
This craft/gather time can only be used on characters that are checked in. Item gathering/creation is also limited by Mind and Resolve of those characters. You may want to hold back some Mind or Resolve for turning in Forage cards or using certain Zones of Play during the event. Note that items, skills or mechanics that restore Mind cannot be used in anything that ends up on the craft/gather sheet.
Players in virtual games must use equipment from their digital inventory, including weapons, gear, brews, etc. Having a physical item card will not assist with a virtual event. Items created at an in-person event intended for online use must be turned in at the live event for entry into the digital database. Once an item is added to the virtual inventory, it cannot be reverted to live play. It may be used during on-line crafting to create new items that are mailed from the event host.
Virtual play events set strict limits on the volume of resources awarded via modules to each player to prevent network bloat and guide module reward planning. This is a total rewarded amount per player, not per character.
Our Public Works Form is due FRIDAY OF GAME AT 1 PM EST. It can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_ba5pb4gY4_53EQ5BtA5N4k4gya3X6v-5qZ9mtbx4jM/edit?usp=sharing
During the event, you can update your Public Works Form to track mod rewards.
If you have multiple characters checked in to the event, you may perform character switches as normal. You may not use the Soft RP channels to roleplay both character slots at once.
As always, Logistics will need to know about any changes to your sheet to be able to put them into effect. Please remember to fill out and submit our Post-Game Form to log any changes to your sheet after the game and give us feedback so we can improve our events!