Raiders & You

Raiders have been sighted near Mercy Pointe, and locals are nervous. Lately it’s felt like they’re meaner than ever. And if you’ve taken a peek at the Dystopia Rising Live Banners of Blood: Raider Mechanics book, you’d know they are! So, what do you need to know before facing down these dangerous adversaries? We’ve got you covered with a quick rundown on what to expect when running into a Raider, so that any surprises are just fun, in-game actions.

I’m new, what the heck is a Raider?

If you haven’t played Dystopia Rising before, or are new to the game, we can catch you up. Raiders are an evolution of humanity that’s adapted in the post-apocalyptic world, just like Strains. Unlike Strains though, they have “...adapted to the harsh realities of the post-apocalyptic world through mutation and a lifestyle of aggression and predation.” (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 7). Raiders prize strength in leadership, seeking dominance over others to secure power.

On a meta level, Raiders are a higher level threat that cannot just be barreled through. Rank 1 Raiders are scaled above Rank 2 Zed on the DR threat chart. They are harder to kill due to Raider Rage, have more crowd control effects, and should be treated as a dangerous threat. DR Live Raiders are stronger than 3.0 iterations, which is why we want to outline changes for new and old players alike!

What to Expect When You’re Expecting Raiders

DR Live Raiders have some common skills and features that you can expect to encounter while either NPCing or fighting a Raider. For a full list of skills Raiders may have, you can read pages 13-16 of Banners of Blood. 

Universal Skills & Features

  • Raider Default Skills: Brawling, Melee Small, Melee Standard, Melee Two- Handed, Basic Shield, Florentine (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 15)

  • Raider Rage: Raider Rage is a non-Impact Skill that must be activated by calling “Raider Rage” when used. Upon activation, the Raider immediately heals all wounds, removes all Down Surges, restores all mangled limbs, and refreshes every skill except Raider Rage. For 30 seconds, the Raider becomes immune to all damage except that inflicted by the Imprint Shaker and is also protected from all negative mechanical effects such as blinding, stuns, mangles, nails, and knockout.

    However, this immunity does not extend to skills that slow, knock back, or move (without stopping) the Raider. The ability can be used at any time—even while in Bleed Out or Stunned—and does not require waiting for these conditions to trigger. It is commonly employed when a Raider is outnumbered or taking significant damage. If a mechanic still prevents the user from regaining Body (for example, through a “No Healing” effect that is not a Down Surge), the Raider’s Body is set to 5 instead of being fully restored. (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 15)

  • Killing Blow Active: Raiders are a lethal threat, and are killing blow active 98% of the time. The only times Raiders are not killing blow active is if they have specific guidelines for taking captives for converting to Raider status or when a group of Raiders find a section of new players that have no means of escape. (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 5)

Common Skills

While not all Raiders use the following skills, you will probably hear some of these calls sooner or later.

  • Abduct: Allows the user to drag a non-willing target, similar to the Drag Handle skill. (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 13)

  • Agile Movement: With this skill, you may call “Agile Movement” and put up your Out of Character gesture. Once called you have 10 seconds to take up to 10 large steps completely out of character. This movement allows you to move across Zones of Mechanics that are unsafe, past active guards, but it does not allow you to engage in the environment (like to open doors or grab items) nor does anyone have to get out of your way. This skill may be chained back to back to continue moving. (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 13)

  • Break - Door (Modified): With this skill, an Raider can do a series of 5 loud melee strikes on a door. Loud should be focused on grunts and yells instead of actually hitting a door hard, and have a second between each strike. After 5 loud melee strikes on the door the Raider can call “Break Door” even on doors with Locks. (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 13)

  • Carver: Target character in Bleed Out or Immobilized. Engage in 20 seconds of Full Engagement Role Play of mutilating or torturing the Target. Cause Paralysis and Agony. If skill use is successful, may be immediately used again for free on same Target. This skill extends Bleed Out timers to 10 Minutes the first time it is used. (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 14)

  • Damage Spike Melee / Brawling 10: With a single melee or brawling strike the Raider may call 10 damage. (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 14)

  • Damage Spike Melee / Brawling 20: With a single melee or brawling strike the Raider may call 20 damage. (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 14)

  • Inflict Disease - (type)- Trigger: Causes “Inflict Disease - (Disease type) Stage 1” on the Target when (Trigger) occurs. (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 14)

  • Mangle: Causes a targeted limb to become unusable until healed or 30 minutes have passed. (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 14)

  • Raider Ranged Threat Skills: Bow, Bolt-Action, Throwing (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 15)

  • Stealth: Allows for sneaky movement with a specific gesture, becoming unseen as long as efforts to stay hidden are made. (Griffin & Pucci, 2025, p. 16)

Holy shit, so how do we fight them?

I don’t know if you’ve gotten this yet, but Raiders are SCARY. The first thing you can do to prepare for a Raider fight is take them seriously as a threat. These aren’t your momma’s Raiders anymore, and you can’t just run at them head first. With that in mind, we have a few suggestions on how to take on your new favorite enemy.

Don’t Go Alone

Make sure you have friends to help you against a Raider threat. Don’t get caught in the dark alone. Team up and work together. Consider practicing formations and learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses during your downtime. 

Make A Plan

No plan survives first contact with the enemy, but having something is better than nothing! Consider the best places to stand and fight, what those around you can do, when to use Impact Skills and/or Mind, and even escape routes. Having a sense of order in the chaos that is a Raider fight can be the line between life and death.

Sometimes You Run

When worse comes to worse, when you're caught unawares and alone, sometimes the best plan is to run and live another day. Whether this is using the Never Here skill, slipping into the Mortis with your dead friend via Necrogenesis, or just booking it-- retreat is always an option.

Conclusion

Feeling nervous yet? Maybe even a little excited? Good, because we’re bringing you Raiders at our June event “Know Thy Enemy.” Grab your weapons, your friends, and maybe some local factions to help. It’s gonna be a bloody Saturday night.