What to bring
So you’re out in the wasteland, scrounging for your most basic supplies, bartering what scrap you find for produce and herbs that you can try and make into something resembling a meal... but you don't want to starve yourself for real at game! What are you to do? Here are some helpful tips about providing for yourself at the event.
Hydration - Invest in a decent water bottle or canteen, something you can scuff up with some sandpaper or steel wool to look a bit more genre appropriate, and make sure you keep it filled and regularly partake of it! Winter, summer, spring, or fall, hydration is a big part of what keeps you healthy through a Dystopia Rising event. Coffee, tea, and sugary drinks drain your body of precious water, and you need to be sure you are regularly replenishing.
Trail Mixes and Energy Bars - The easiest way to stay on your feet and healthy is to keep a stash of energy bars and a trail mix of your choice. Nuts, dried fruits, and simple sugars help keep your body going, and having some trail mix in a food bag or some protein bars makes it super easy for you to eat on the go, so you don't miss out on adventures in the wasteland! (Our site has a no peanut policy. So please avoid bringing items that contain them)
Eat a Solid Breakfast - Breakfast, they say, is the most important meal of the day. With a camp burner, campfire, or a sterno can you can easily prepare oatmeal or similar warm breakfasts. Oatmeal is particularly good because it's dry-stored and quick to make. For those who prefer other breakfast options, consider breakfast bars and rice cakes with preserves or spreads to help get those important starches and sugars into your body to give it long term energy through the day.
Fruits and Vegetables - Simple fruits like apples and oranges are fantastic camping foods. Naturally packaged and requiring no refrigeration, these fruits provide lots of excellent options for quick wasteland snacks.
Keep it Simple - It's the wasteland. In the end, it's up to you to make sure that what you have prepared for yourself is easily stored, easily prepared, and easy to clean up. You don't want to lose hours of play time to complicated food prep and clean up.
Keep it In Game - Wasteland cuisine is a marvelous opportunity for characters to share an experience, bond over a meal, and perhaps make new friendships. Keep your cooking and eating process in game and use it as an opportunity to interact with your fellow players. If you're a giving sort (or perhaps playing a cook or farmer...) you also can consider bringing extra food to prepare in game to share or sell!
Clothing - Remember to bring plenty of clothing. Things like socks, underwear, shirts, pants, and so on. Weather can go from a sunny day to thunderstorm so having changes of clothing for all seasons is a great idea to keep from being miserable and will help you stay healthy. You’ll also need to make sure you bring everything that you’ll need for your character’s kit, as well as a set of "blacks” (all black clothing), that you’ll need for your NPC shift.
Supply Bag - Your character will need a bag that’s clearly labeled as a supply bag. This bag will hold your in-character items such as cards, plastic injects, and plastic containers for brews. If there are some things here that you don’t have, don’t worry! Just bring an old backpack, purse, or something similar, and we’ll help you out.
Weapon (Melee Boffers, throwers, or Nerf Gun) - Bring something that you can safely hit other people with! Nerf guns are the easiest to obtain, but there are many community members who would be happy to help with gearing you up for the wastes if a boffer is more your speed. Just make sure to let staff know ahead of time if this is a need!
Hygiene - Remember to bring things such as soap, towels, toothbrush/tooth paste, and hand sanitizer. This is to help from getting sick as well keeping clean and comfortable. Things like taking showers and washing your hands after using the bathroom prevents you and others from getting sick. Also remember to cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough and wash your hands afterwards.
Sleeping Gear - Everyone has to sleep sometime. With that being said its always good to bring a sleeping bag rated for the season/weather or bed linen to sleep with. It provides warmth as well as comfort. Sleep also keeps you healthy as well as helps give you energy for a full weekend.
Red Flashlight - It gets dark at night and at some parts of the site it makes it hard to see. For safety reasons we ask that you bring a red lens flashlight so you are still able to see without blinding anyone. This is so you will be able to see at night and prevent yourself from getting hurt.
Interested in a fuller packing list? Check out one of ours!
What to Expect
Note: the following assumes you are playing the full event, which we highly encourage for all new players. However, if you are only coming for Saturday, some of this will not apply. Please email us if your first game is a one-day ticket so that we can help you get acclimated and smoothly get into game.
So you’ve made a character. You’ve packed everything you think you’re going to need. You’re nervous, excited, and really wishing you had that helpful staff member and/or community member that you met with you so that you could ask them last-minute questions. Fear not, new townsperson! Here’s a breakdown of what will happen on game day:
Arrival - When you first arrive on site on Friday afternoon/early evening, you’ll drive through the parking lot and down to the main lodge/cabin area, where you’ll offload all of your personal items by throwing them onto one of the bunks in either cabin—your choice! Chances are that other players and staff members will be there to give you directions and help you get your things put away. Then, you’ll drive back up to the parking lot to, well, park, before walking back down the path to the main lodge and cabins. We try to get all cars out of the main space as quickly as possible so that others can do what you just did—put your personal stuff away.
Check In - Next, you’ll head to Public Works, which is located in the main lodge. You’ll meet our Logistics Director or one of our other staff members, who will make sure you’ve filled out your paperwork (i.e. signed our Code of Conduct and Media Release) and get your soul (character sheet), which you’ll use throughout the weekend. If your character is a criminal or has access to other before-game information, you’ll get that, too, as well as a quick low-down of resources that are in Public Works. This is a great place to find information and ask questions throughout the weekend.
Personal Space Setup, Safety Check, and Getting In-Character - Now is the time to go back into the cabin and put your stuff into some kind of order. It’s also the time to check your weapon (boffer or nerf gun) with our Operations Director or other staff member to make sure it’s safe and approved for play. If you want, you can start getting into costume. If you have dinner and you want to eat before game, this is a great time to do that, too—though we recommend not doing that in costume if you’re eating something messy (or maybe do? Genre?). Regardless, just don’t miss New Player Orientation!
New Player Orientation - It’s 8pm, and it’s time for New Player Orientation! Our Assistant Story Design Director or one of our other staff members will lead a “group tour” of sorts to help you get acclimated to the site and go over basic rules of play. This should take about 20 minutes to a half hour, with time allotted for questions afterward. Once you feel good about things, you can go back and finish up anything you need to do from the previous step.
Opening Announcements and Game on! - It’s around 9pm. Time for opening announcements, led by our Community Management Director! Each staff member will introduce themselves and give information that’s relevant to the weekend—both reminders about expectations for play that apply to all games (e.g. important code of conduct pieces, reminding people of the OK Check In System) and weekend-specific information (e.g. “The lights are going to go off at one point on Saturday, and here’s what that means in-character”, “There’s a real-life car being used in a module this weekend”, “We’re trying a different system for in-game mail”). We’ll announce the time for “Game On” (when we’re all officially in-character, usually around 10pm), and tell all new players where and when to meet for the new player module—an entry specifically designed to get new players used to the game.
Playing in Character - From Game On at 10pm Friday to Game Off at 12pm on Sunday, you are, for the most part, in-character! Have a great time! Go on adventures! Fight! Die! Make friends in character! Make enemies, too! Above all, tell a good story with the people around you. A few things to keep in mind:
If you, the player, ever have a question or need to communicate something “out of character” at any time (e.g. rules, clarification on what you see, important out of game information that you need people to know), simply put one hand on your head to symbolize that you are “out of character,” and someone will do the same in order to help. You can also go to Public Works, which is a designated out-of-game space.
If you need to leave a module due to real-life fear (e.g. you thought you were good with your arachnophobia, but this module is all spiders and you are NOT A FAN), put one hand on your forehead (like the sun is in your eyes) and lower your gaze. This will mean that your character was simply never in the scene, and someone will help you get water, rest, or anything else that you need before you return to play!
Use the OK Check In System to discreetly communicate your needs to your scene partners
Finally, if you have a medical emergency or sustain an injury, shout “HOLD” or try to signal to another person that they should call a HOLD. At this point, everyone will stop playing in order to make sure that the emergency is addressed before we continue playing.
Always listen to your Guides and Staff Members, who are there to help ensure that everyone is playing safely and fairly.
NPC Shift - There are no real-life Zed or Raiders, and playing with actual wildlife would probably be a bad idea. Since that’s the case, we need to play all of the NPCs that come to help and/or terrorize the town. You’ll have signed up for an NPC shift before arrival, so you’ll know when it’s your turn to play these threats/allies. Make sure to be up at Ops (a building near the parking lot), in your “blacks” (all black clothing), and with your water bottle or snacks when your shift starts! Be prepared to play at least two combat modules, and please don’t be late! Your Operations Director or Guide will direct you on what to do next. If you’re not sure about anything, ask!
Siesta and Rest - We have a two-hour block in the middle of the day that’s deliberately designed to be a bit slower. No modules will be run during this time. It’s a time for players to take a nap, eat, or do some quieter/softer/non-combat focused roleplay. We encourage everyone to take care of themselves throughout the weekend, but we hope that you use this time in particular to check in with yourself, listen to your body, and get some rest!
Game Off and Closing Announcements - It’s 12pm on Sunday, and it’s time for us to transition back to “real life.” We celebrate a great game, laugh about silly things that happened over the weekend, and listen to our staff members when they give us directions regarding cleanup, feedback, other games, and logistical information.
Cleanup and Departure- Take care of your personal space by packing things up and bringing them up to your car. You can also drive down to make the trip shorter, but please note that we can’t all be in the space at once. Help one another to get things out of the cabins/bunks and into the appropriate vehicles. After that, find the Guide in charge of your Site cleanup role (you’ll have chosen this before game, so you’ll know your task) and help to clean up the site. Pick up nerf darts, trash, and make sure that the site is left just as clean—if not cleaner—than we found it. Once your Guide signs off on your sheet, you are free to depart! Join us for Afters (a late lunch at a local establishment) or start the drive home, recounting the weekend with your friends and already thinking about your plans for next game.