TL:DR

• -Fun game. Planning on going back
• -Player base is still great
• -Working well under new ownership
• -Site could be better but in Northern California, options are very limited

[Note: As this is a review about my experiences at a game, it will focus a lot on my headspace and feelings as well as what actually happened. Writing this, I have found it to be a bit of a guide to how to get involved in a game so sorry for combining that with a review. If you want just a synopis of my thoughts, scroll down to the section under the bunny. The reading time for the whole thing, including this, is roughly 13 minutes.]

Before I begin there needs to be a little history. If you want to read my review of Dystopia Rising NorCal’s first season opener, read it here although it’s not germane to this review. Season 1 ended and plans were being made for Season 2. It was an incredible game with a well running team, some of whom are professionals in the practical effects and prop making industry. The site was an abandoned military housing complex with two dozen two story barracks which was an amazing setting in which to play.

However a series of events at the end of 2019 had the site unavailable, the owner had to sell the franchise to someone else – with the core 3 people at the top also retiring from it – and a massive rules change was made at corporate headquarters that was used to run over a year’s worth on online games due to the pandemic. Comparing the old chapter to the new I do not believe would be fair. My opinion about the old chapter is seeded in a year’s worth of memories that definitely highlight the positives without remembering any of the negatives and a huge amount of nostalgia is there.

As always, this is my opinion from my observations and experiences and I will be drawing on 30 years of experience in the US larping community, having run a very successful game in Northern California from 1994-2001. If others remember events at DRNorCal differently, feel free to comment but these are my recollections. So enough preamble, let’s begin:

The event took place at Kowana Valley – 160 miles/4.75 hours from my apartment near Berkeley, CA. The DRNorCal community spent over a year looking for a new site for a post-apocalyptic game but with the US’s litigious tendencies and the home office of DR setting the prices on tickets without taking into the costs for renting property in California, pickings are slim. This place had very little in the way of natural shading from the sun, no buildings available to the general player base (with the logistics department working out of two large carports) and site lines that sometimes had encounters happening within view of the town camp proper. However, it had been a long time since a game was run, the players were resourceful and we soldiered on. The drive, though long, was a beautiful one and I even got lost on the trip home as I was following the scenery more than the roads.

I set up my canvas tent, got myself checked in and then headed over to the settings department where I handled makeup and costuming for the NPC’s from 9pm-1am. We had very few NPC’s but they did a terrific job of heading out into the game and starting the ball rolling on the stories for that weekend. I had worn 4 layers that night but I had not brought a winter coat. So even with thermals and a hoodie, by the time my shift was over, I had to make a conscious effort not to have my teeth chatter. I was looking forward to my cot, sleeping bag and blankets. Though I had forgotten something about group camping and I spent the night awake until around 4am due to the snorers nearby until I finally passed out. I have trouble sleeping for any period of time normally but this had me up every hour, realigning my covers to fix the cold spots and try to get my phone with its white noise generator near my head. My morning came around 10am during this fitful night and I ate ‘in genre’ which meant a cold can of Beanie Weenies (not a sponsor) and some crackers. Got dressed in my kit I made during the downtime and headed out into the game world.

Most of my time was spent saying hello to old friends and listening to what was going on around town. I’m not a very ‘in your face’ type of player and prefer to just listen. There were the zombie (zed) raids hitting the town from time to time but I wasn’t really finding a story. Granted, I probably could have asked but between the drive, lack of sleep and doing my best not to freeze that night (I should note that the weather service had said a low of 47 F so it was only around that), I wasn’t in the best of moods. I decided to head off on my own, do a little exploring and gathering of in-game resources to try and get myself realigned in a better frame of mind.

I got back just in time for the town meeting. Normally I avoid these but this time I felt I needed a refresher on what this town (which had been played via online Discord (not a sponsor) games) was facing and all about. Found out there was a mining operation not far from town and that this was most likely the source of not only the uptick of zed but also some minor tremors as well. They did a sort of roll call of “Who can do this?” and people raised their hands. I put up mine for the two things I could do then talked to some people and said, “Hey, I can help you with X, just let me know when.” I got the head bob and then was left to my own devices for another hour.

I could not salvage anything more due to my character being out of mind energy so I headed back to my (now too warm) tent, plopped on my cot and began playing a game on my phone. I had begun to regret coming to the game. My head was going through all the costs – gas, food, kit, ticket, etc. – that got me here and how I’d be more comfortable in my climate controlled apartment and probably have more excitement playing on an MMO. Then I remembered one of my rules of larping: You get out of a game what you put into it. I had always played with increasing the experience for others above my own and had found that that really increased mine as well. So, forcing a mind shift that I knew would only last for perhaps 30 minutes before my old friend apathy came back, I headed out.

Every game has a few of those players/characters who everyone likes and tends to be in the middle of the mess. The character I targeted is called Del. I told him my skill set and I wanted to help the town. He told me he had been looking for a proficient salvager to teach the trade to a new arrival at the town. He introduced me to the character Ahti and we spent the next half hour talking about the differences of salvaging on land versus that at sea (our area is known as the Broken Coast – basically the west coast of the US that succumbed to its tectonic ways and fractured into a massive archipelago). With the new skill, Ahti headed on out, hopefully to make a fortune. I found Del again and told him everything was done. He nodded and told me that people were looking to copy some prints and as I was a master educator, I could help with that. So I got paid to make some blueprints then worked to gather enough supplies for someone to make a special med kit and suddenly I was back into the swing of things. Meeting people, using my skills where I could and helping others use theirs to get to their goals.

Now that I had my groove back, I began to talk to people with more confidence. That night, I was asked to help with a couple of NPC’s. There are plans for a railroad to be built near the town and two different factions wanted to do it. There’s a lot of stuff about the two but either one sounded to me (at the town meeting) like a good deal. So I was going to let those in charge decide. However, none of those in charge were around that night. Apparently my work that day had given people the idea that my character was higher in the pecking order than I expected. And, being the helper that I am, I went to help. Unfortunately, I negotiate like a brick negotiates with a pane of glass. So I left there thinking either I gave the leaders some time to come back into game, learn what was said and get things ironed out or I just started a railroad war. Either way, I was nice to be ‘in charge’ even for a short bit.

The rest of the night consisted of a revel, tremors and a massive push of zed wearing our arch nemeses’ armor and using their tactics. I’m simplifying as I looked back on this review and realized I am already over 1,500 words into it. Suffice it to say, I was having fun. Though I do have to mention one more thing. A son of an owner of the above train company came into town to talk. I cannot really put into words the emotions that happened during this though it struck me as a little savage. The way they talked to him slowly became more of an interrogation to the point of torture. It was one of the more heavier things I’ve seen players do at a game.

The part that really got me is that when he was leaving, a small group of zed ‘kidnapped’ him. While most of the older characters there simply shrugged a ‘good riddance’ to him, the new players leapt after the guy, realizing that we’d be blamed for his death. Despite the odds, they managed to bring the son back alive. Kudos to the new players. Not sure how much goodwill that will bring as baddies are notorious for twisting a good deed into a bad thing but still – well done.

I decided to sleep in my car that night, having moved all my bedding to it earlier in the day. However, my final trip was cut short when I was jumped out of nowhere by an NPC that took me down in under two seconds. One bad thing about my new kit is that my peripheral hearing is dampened. I was eventually rescued but every time I wanted to go to bed, I’d get part of the way there, see that little stinker hiding in the shadows, and I’d run back to the safety of the group. Though I finally made it to my car safely and slept a wee bit better than the night before.

The next day there were only 3 hours before game was to be called but I was asked to help research the tremors that had opened small fissures in the ground and were producing flammable gases that could blind and make people lose their mental strength (needed to perform most tasks that weren’t simple). After working with a group for almost an hour and coming up with the questions we could ask, we found out that there was most likely a snake-like creature burrowing under the ground and that perhaps the mining activities have pissed it off.

Side note: When given new information about a plot hook, don’t immediately say, “Oh, just like X.” Maybe the writer intentionally or subconsciously was influenced by Tremors but it’s never nice to make that comparison in front of the creator. Show some tact.

The rest of the day was spent saying my goodbyes, breaking down my tent and doing a quick cleanup of the site. Then it was a 5 hour drive home to say hello to a very ignored and irate rabbit.

So there’s my journey. What are my thoughts on the game? It seems to have a good structure. There was more fighting than I prefer but that’s what most people are there to enjoy. The story lines I encountered seem solid with just enough mystery to keep things interesting and it’s always nice to see a game where they put a reason behind the plethora of attacks on the town. As always, the player base is the most important part of a game and this one is very helpful and inclusive. Unlike a lot of other larps, they understand knowledge is power but only if that knowledge is shared and put to use. I have yet to encounter a player who wasn’t helpful and welcoming (in their character’s way).

Would I recommend the game to a new player? Yes, though I will point out that this was the first event under a new story group and owners. Also need to take into account the travel time and costs related to that. It usually takes a couple of events to get all the bugs worked out. It’s also why I rarely do a review of a first game but as it was run by people who have a lot of experience within the game world, I figured it was fair to do it. I know I plan on returning to the game next month.