The world government implemented a gradual population control measure. Unintentionally and unbeknownst to all, this fungal bioweapon mutated all living matter's genetic building blocks and the environment itself well before the first zombie attacks were reported. The infection that produced the hungry dead spread globally while society was distracted with personal technology and governmental disinformation. The major cities were nuked...and that only exacerbated things.
The characters you play exist 400+ years after the Fall. Every survivor of the apocalypse had to evolve with the zombie fungus infection, which caused the remnants of humanity to supernaturally heal and come back to life many times before eventually becoming undead. It also transformed your predecessors differently based on specific survival traits; or Lineages. Depending on your ancestors’ apocalyptic environment, such as exposure to nukes and radiation, group mobility, fierce faith, etc, you choose a Lineage. Like most games, this initial choice affects how you interact with the living world and how it engages you. If you want to go all in on local post-Fall flavor we’ve written specifically for this chapter, read below. But for us filthy casuals just looking to get into the game, Lineages are simply a specific character flavor, cosplay, and advantage you can utilize without needing to dive further into Dystopia Rising lore.
You can find the relevant Dystopia Rising reference material here.
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
NOTE: Events before our settlement’s founding offer no relevance to survivors in DR: L.A., just like how we don’t dwell on how we traveled before Google Maps or smart phones. It's one less existential worry now, so fuck it. But for the Jones out there, and folx who like to read world canon to get in the gaming mood, this is for you. We did our best to keep L.A.’s local flavor alive:
What we do know: when surface missiles launched to contain the zombie infection spilling out of the greater Los Angeles area, the impact on a single military weapons depot cascaded to maximum effect. One well-placed strike sent coastal living into oceanic oblivion by triggering an earthquake that cratered our seaside home. The San Andreas Fault, decades overdue to reap our destruction, turned what we know as the South Bay into fractured islands overnight. Luckily, coastal breezes and our brand new beachfront property diffused and diluted the radiation. Mostly.
Once the local Lineages and their diverged Strains evolved to their current state, the tribes of humanity did what they always do and held to their regions. The cloistered Landsmen of Isla Verde eventually tolerated each other enough to thrive as an agricultural community. The Townies of Isla Gardena struggled to secure limited natural resources now that they were cut off from their supply chains, and discovered devolved neighbors gone insane from the apocalypse, known as Raiders. The Elitariats of Lost Angels, whose predecessors had the means to comfortably lock themselves away from the chaos of the apocalypse, stayed in their ivory towers and preserved the Pre-Fall lifestyles they valued as if nothing happened. This left L.A.’s poorer surrounding communities to reclaim their homes from the undead with only bullets and bats at first. But something incredible happened; they had faith on their side. The newly-emerged Devoted Lineage wielded tangible miracles of healing and harm to push back the hungry hordes and pluck their loved ones from certain death. These inner-city soldiers of faith banded together to achieve victory only to divide again afterwards based on their beliefs. Those who escaped the terror of the Fall by migrating south until they reached the Shattered Coast evolved into the mobile Nomad Lineage.
When the Pure Bloods of the Holy Wood Hills finally shuffled out of their opulent strongholds to squint at the scorching sun, they immediately craved decadent post-apocalyptic luxuries from across the Wastes. But as they were far too ancestrally sheltered from the new environmental hazards to travel themselves, trade and transportation remained crucial. Wetside and Dock's End (Long Beach as we knew it) once again became a melting pot port town of savvy survivors.
The population of the Shattered Coast soon became cultural slaves to the Elitariat and Devoted of the Hills. They brandished absolute control of the new Telling Visionaries faith, and generations of laborers got to work satiating their greed. All Post-Fall wealth traveled north to the rich. Again. The only thing preventing the Hills from wielding total commercialist control over the unwashed masses…was having to personally interact with them. Thus upper-class coveting servants of the Pure Bloods and self-proclaimed labor leaders rose from Lost Angel’s ashes to do the Hills' dirty work. These opportunistic “Solestros” eagerly reaped the leftover luxuries of their betters, and lorded undue influence over their perceived lessers. So long as the nouveaux pauvres provided for the Hills, the old status quo was settled. And with the emergence of the working class Light of Hedon faith, those laborers remained content in their holy task of pursuing earthly pleasures to counter daily toils. The only wealth that belongs to the Have Nots now are pop culture trinkets unearthed from coastal landslide landfills, and the crops they grow and harvest for weekly revels.
Many justified rebellions have raged and subsided. There have been natural and unnatural disasters, both geological and undead. Distant settlements have risen and fallen with no word as to why. The Church’s influence spreads with the Light, and nobody would think to question the Word of the Sponsor. The beleaguered survivors of the Shattered Coast still worship its surreal sunsets as they did before, party hard at the end of the week, and await the day they don't have to struggle to survive. <Your character is of the working class, unless approved as a Pure Blood.>
Rumor has it that a new settlement is in construction on idyllic Isla Verdes and welcomes all eager to serve the Light. Vista del Soul™ will soon be a manufacturing and trading post that will serve as a hub of commerce for Dock’s End, the disparate Nomads of the Shattered Coast, and as a coastal vacation resort of the Hills. That's where you come in to discover and affect the local story.
Want to know who the power players and movers-and-shakers are along the Shattered Coast, and possibly be a part of their inner circle? Want to learn which factions secretly and not-so-secretly vie for financial and cultural dominance? Create a character in our chapter that's from our new settlement (i.e., not from any previous/existing chapters) and learn at creation!
More local narrative will be revealed as we get closer to our first event, either here on on our Discord channel. See the Discord icon above to join us there for updates.
ADVICE COLUMN
Should I give DR: L.A. a chance? I’ve been hurt before…
Hello DR: L.A.,
My favorite LARPs fall apart just as I get super invested, EVERY time. It starts off great, but the honeymoon ends too quickly. Is it me? Or is the LARP to blame?
- Lost & LARPlorn
Hello Lost,
Thank you for being vulnerable enough to ask. The good news is, it isn’t you! After a combined 50+ years of LARPing, we can confidently say a lot of game runners succumb to false hubris and silent burnout, which sabotages the entire community.
Lucky for you, with Dystopia Rising: Los Angeles we all have a fresh start in a fictional world setting and very real community! This is your chance to reclaim your love of LARP by being open to helping us grow with you, not apart. If you feel mistreated by us, let’s work together to maintain a truly respectful relationship!
If you are concerned about your own actions, it never hurts to check your reason for attending our events so you know you’re showing up with community first in mind. If you feel, "I'm paying. Cater to MY needs or I won't be satisfied." then take a step back a while. It’s okay, we’ll see you when you return with a healthier mindset!
Our goal in this relationship is to help you forget real-world woes, enhance your life, and provide a platform to pay it forward to your faithful community. — DR: L.A.