Dystopia Rising: Oklahoma Online Game Mechanics
Dystopia Rising’s Larp mechanics can be paired with these Dystopia Rising: Oklahoma Online Game (DROOG) mechanics. The use of this dice based system allows you to use existing DRE LARP character sheets at our online events without having to convert anything. It is a direct reference system with all of the mechanics listed on this page.
Dice?
The basic mechanic behind this system is the opposed roll. Each task has a Dice Tier to represent the existing skills on a character’s sheet. These are contested against that of an antagonist or the environment itself. The goal in this system is to roll lowest, so smaller dice are better.
Success is achieved by rolling equal to or lower than the opposing Die.
My Skills
The Skill Die allow you to have contested interactions during modules. If a particular level of skill would grant you an ability, you still possess the ability tied to that skill level in addition to being able to use it for the corresponding Die Tier.
Skill Levels and Dice Tiers
Skill levels present on a Dystopia Rising LARP character sheet correspond to the following dice. Your character retains all extra effects that a skill may grant, and you may spend Mind as you normally would during an in-person event.
Skill Level Dice Tier
No Skill D20
Basic D12
Proficient D10
Master D8
Achievement D6
??????? D4
Helping/Hindering
A player may choose to spend their entire action on a particular turn either helping or hindering. When someone is helped, their Die is improved by 1 Tier. When someone is hindering, their Die is reduced by 1 Tier. Multiple people may Help or Hinder a particular target. There is no limit.
Dynamic Skill Expenditures
Sometimes a situation doesn’t have one set way to resolve it, or you would like to try and use a skill in a way that aligns with its themes, but not the specific larp mechanics. Perhaps you have a skill you would like to use for information gathering, preparation, or other out of combat activities.
On these occasions, you may describe what you would like to accomplish with a particular skill and your Storyteller will tell you the difficulty rating. (D20 to D4)
If you are still interested in trying, you may then expend a Resolve and roll against that provided difficulty.
This allows characters to contribute in a variety of ways with existing skills that would normally be outside of what is possible during a larp. For example, if you are preparing defenses for a town your character could use their extensive knowledge of agriculture to flood a field to make it easier to defend.
Environmental Challenges
Not all of the problems in Dystopia Rising involve combat. In those situations, players will be contesting the environment. This may be a specific piece of equipment, like a locked door, or an environmental feature like a broken bridge, or fighting on top of a moving train. These are all represented by a Die rating from D20 to D4. If an environmental challenge is trivial, no Die rating is necessary. Even a D20 can cause problems.
Environmental Challenges are either Continuous or Isolated. Continuous Challenges (like fighting on top of a moving train) require a roll at the top of every initiative pass. Isolated Challenges (like choosing to pick a lock, or kick down a door) are rolled during that specific character's action in the initiative order. Continuous challenges do not require an Action from the player and do not interrupt any of their actions (unless it kills them, I guess.)
Resolving Environmental Challenges
There are a wide variety of potential outcomes from failing or succeeding at an Environmental Challenge. For example, a character failing to pick a lock may simply try again. A character failing to stand on top of a train could potentially fall and grab hold of a ledge, or fall off of the train altogether. When declaring Environmental Challenges it is important for the Storyteller to provide context and explain what the risks are.
Body and Mind
Your Body and Mind totals are not modified, they are the same as what is already present on your existing Dystopia Rising LARP character sheet.
These rules are designed to be used during online events that take place over the course of a weekend. This is taken into consideration when making decisions about how Mind and Body work. Additionally, it is assumed that characters will be engaging in 2 mods/adventures per weekend event.
Mind, Body, and Resolve are completely refreshed at the start of a new adventure. Players may expend equipment or consumables to restore Body or Mind, but they do not have to. Any items used are expended as they would have normally been during an event and that will need to be recorded with the Storyteller running your module.
Combat
Initiative
Initiative is situation specific. For example, in the event of an ambush, players will roll Awareness. In the event of attacking from concealment, Stealth would be appropriate. Open “field” style fight would be whatever weapon skill you are using for that encounter, etc.
A player may expend a temporary Resolve to go first, independent of initiative roll.
In the event of a tie, players may choose order amongst themselves. Survivors go first in the event of a tie with an antagonist.
Combat - Contested Rolls
Roll your skill, and then the Storyteller rolls a dice that represents the challenge. The lower number is successful. Ties go to the players. In the event of contested player rolls, ties go to the higher level of skill. When attacking, characters get one degree of success for every point they beat the opposed roll by.
Melee Damage is multiplied by 2 per degree of success, Ranged Damage is multiplied by 5 per degree of success (most undead take reduced damage from firearms).
Flurries of 3
If you wish, you may choose to perform a Flurry of 3 in melee combat without having to expend Mind. This allows you to improve your modifier to 6 for the round. However, doing so limits your ability to defend yourself, so you will be defending yourself at a d20.
If your weapon/equipment has a special damage rating that can be activated, your modifier is changed to whatever the damage score would be when activated.
For skills that deal damage, you may spend whatever is required to activate it and get that damage modifier for the duration of the current fight. You do not have to spend mind to use a combat associated Die, you can still roll the better Die without activating improved damage.
This bonus lasts as long as the current fight. If you’ve got time to loot bodies, the “current fight” has ended.
Killing Blow
Killing Blow / Coup De Grace is automatic against most basic monster/antagonist types whenever they reach 0 Body. Some creatures or strains may be especially tough to kill and will need special skills.
Defending
When attacked, pick a suitable skill for attempting to avoid getting hit. Roll, and compare results.
Defending - Resolve
At any point during a combat, a player may choose to spend Resolve to enhance their defensive abilities. This grants them an additional roll at a Die rating that is improved by 1 Tier. So, if someone was rolling a D12, they are now re-rolling, but with a D10 this time. This may be done retroactively to attempt to avoid a particularly nasty combat outcome. This may be done multiple times for the same roll.
Leaving Fights
All Strains have the ability to Run Away. Most undead do not have the ability to run. Any player may choose to spend a Resolve to carefully exit a fight that they can run from. If they do not have Resolve, they can still leave, but will take a single attack from their last attacker. If they have not been targeted yet in the combat, they may elect to leave without spending a Resolve.
Equipment
Equipment in DRE LARP comes in three levels, Basic, Proficient, and Master.
Most equipment in Dystopia Rising does two things. It has a quality level and an activated ability. The activated abilities for equipment remain the same (though the duration for those effects may be increased during online sessions using these rules) and the quality levels can be temporarily expended to allow the player to reroll any of their Die that involves the use of that piece of equipment.
Each level may be expended individually. So, someone with a Proficient Shooter would be able to expend the crafting quality levels up to twice during a module allowing a re-roll each time. After all levels are expended, the item temporarily breaks until next module or it is repaired.
Equipment picked up during an adventure will count as carded equipment of suitable crafting level (Basic, Proficient, Master) until end of adventure.
Running Monsters
Abilities
While players get to use the bonuses from their activated abilities for the entire combat, monsters and other antagonists are limited to per attack activations. So, if a creature only has one use of 15 Body Damage skill, they can only use it for one attack. This should be declared by the Storyteller when describing what sort of attack the creature is attempting to perform.
FAQ/Clarifications
Can I defend myself with Basic Brawling and no Knucks?
If you ever find yourself unarmed and fighting someone, you can attempt to defend yourself. However, any prepared combatant (zed or armed combatant) will benefit from a bonus to their contested Die Tier.
If you have Knucks or Proficient Brawling, you may defend yourself without penalty.
How do I get a D4?
The most effective way to get to roll a D4 during a specific challenge is to get the help of one of your fellow adventurers. There are currently no skill/gear/etc combinations that will allow a single person to roll a D4 without Help.
I’ve got equipment that let’s me activate something and use it multiple times, but your rules already do that. Do I get any additional benefit?
Items that provide multiple uses from one Mind expenditure/activation last the entire module instead of simply the duration of a single fight.
I’ve got super overpowered gear that will imbalance a mod if I can use it perpetually. What do I do?
For super awesome gear that does super awesome things, you can use that ability once ever D* turns. The D* is equal to whatever your lowest Die is for the equipment’s associated skill.
Skill Clarifications
Avoid
Having avoid on your character sheet allows you to use your best martial or movement skill to defend against ranged attacks. If you activate the larp rules for avoid by spending Mind, you avoid ALL attacks that targeted you that round.
Florentine
When attacking with two weapons, with the florentine skill, you are allowed to roll two Die and keep the better result. You may expend craft levels off of each weapon for re-rolls.
Example Information
Example Environmental Challenges
Train Fight!
Difficulty D12 Continuous
Success: Continue without penalty
Failure 1-4 Degrees: Lose footing, and lose action for this round
Failure 6-8 Degrees: Almost fall, lose action, requires help of another character to pull you off of side of train.
Failure 9+ Degrees: You’ve fallen off the train. Ouch. You may expend a Resolve to re-enter combat in 3 rounds, or opt not to and continue in a separate scene where you have fallen off the train.
Garbage Lock
Difficulty D12
Success: Lock has been picked and is now open.
Failure: Lock has not been picked.