Exploration System

What is an Exploration Mod?

In Dystopia Rising Maryland it is not common for danger to come to you in your walled and guarded settlement deep in the heart of The Bailey, not to say that it can’t or won’t, but typically for one to flex their muscles, break in that new weapon, or do the dumb, one has to go out and find it. In order to help facilitate this, several zones on the game map are flagged as Exploration Zones with their own local maps to explore. Each map is built out as a Hex Map with many Hexes set up covered in Fog of War. Each Hex has a difficulty rating based upon its color with several other variables that might influence its difficulty rating. In order to go on these Exploration Mods, there will be a sign up sheet with time slots in the Post Office. We have dedicated a large play space in the campsite to facilitate these mods, and teams of players that wish to adventure, challenge themselves, dive into local plot, and get some fun loot along the way will need to report to the Briefing Space at the time of their slotted mod.

NOTE: Exploration Mods are considered Exhaustion System content. Entering an Exploration Mod is opting into the Exhaustion System.

How do I Sign Up and What are the Time Slots Available?

To sign up, simply collect your group and have everyone go to the Post Office together and put their player name, character name, and player number under one of the available slots (slots are first come first serve). As a group you will need to determine which Hex you want to explore, which type of Vehicle you are contracting under Helga’s Hoppers, and any and all effects or items you are using to augment the Exploration itself. Make sure that all of these options are filled out under the slot. The Vehicles available will be listed on the sign up sheet. Each Hex on the Exploration Map has an identifier number at the bottom that you will need to write in your slot along with which Exploration Zone you are exploring. If you are attempting to explore a Hex currently covered in Fog of War simply indicate the adjacent Hex you are exploring from and the direction of the Hex that you wish to explore (Example: Zekiah Swamp Zone - Hex South-East of 006.011). Time slots are listed below, these may be subject to change at staff discretion.

How do the Exploration Maps Work?

Exploration Maps are filled with many Hexes as shown below as an example. While each Hex itself has a theme, difficulty, and potential story point of interest, they all are an avenue for players to engage in nearly endless combat and treasure hunt to their heart's content. Teams that visit the same Hex multiple times will find that the Hexes depict a far larger area than what can be explored in a single mod, so it is entirely possible to locate different threats and treasures in the same Hex, but the theme, difficulty, and potential story point will remain the same. Each Hex is color coated with a difficulty rating, and these difficulty ratings should not be simply brushed off or ignored, the potential for infection loss is always present, your friends are not within yelling distance to save you. Below are the difficulties and some variables that might increase or decrease a Hex's difficulty.

Green (This includes any non tinted land Hex)

• Easy Difficulty (Designed for a Blue Band Group of 6)
• D Rated Treasure and below will be common on these Mods
• All Characters Take 1 Level of Exhaustion upon exiting the Mod
• Lose 1 Resolve if you use Master Stealth (this is in addition to the cost to use Master Stealth)

Yellow

• Medium Difficulty (Designed for a 100XP Group of 6)
• C Rated Treasure and below will be common on these Mods
• All Characters Take 2 Levels of Exhaustion upon exiting the Mod
• Lose 2 Resolve if you use Master Stealth (this is in addition to the cost to use Master Stealth)

Red

• Hard Difficulty (Designed for a 300XP Group of 6)
• B Rated Treasure and below will be common on these Mods
• All Characters Take 3 Levels of Exhaustion upon exiting the Mod
• Lose 3 Resolve if you use Master Stealth (this is in addition to the cost to use Master Stealth)

Purple

• Hell Difficulty (Designed for a 500XP Group of 6)
• A Rated Treasure and below will be common on these Mods
• All Characters Take 4 Levels of Exhaustion upon exiting the Mod
• Lose 4 Resolve if you use Master Stealth (this is in addition to the cost to use Master Stealth)

Black

• Insane Difficulty (Designed for a 800XP Group of 6)
• S Rated Treasure and below will be common on these Mods
• All Characters Take 5 Levels of Exhaustion upon exiting the Mod
• Lose 5 Resolve if you use Master Stealth (this is in addition to the cost to use Master Stealth)

Grey

• Trade Route (Non-Exploration)

Blue

• Water (Non-Exploration)

Cream

• Fog of War (Can Only Explore if Adjacent to a Non-Isolated Hex)

Icon

• Story Point of Interest, not all are explorable.

Variables and Related Items

• Daytime = Some treasure will spawn only during the day.
• Nighttime = Going on a Mod at night will increase the difficulty by 1 Stage (Example Yellow will become Red). Some treasure will spawn only at night.
• Fog of War = Exploring any Hex that is covered in Fog of War will increase the difficulty by 1 Stage.
• Isolated = Any Hex that doesn’t have a clear path of revealed Hexes from it to the edge of the Map will increase the difficulty by 1 Stage. (Note: You can not explore a Hex that is covered in Fog of War and is also adjacent to an Isolated Hex)
• Blood Map (Gizmo) = A Single-Use Item that was drawn in the blood of adventurous Swampwalkers. Reduces the difficulty by 1 Stage (Example Yellow will become Green) for the purposes of a single Expedition. A Hex may only have its difficulty reduced by this method once at a time.
• Free Exploration Map X (Gizmo) = Reveal X number of Hexes under Fog of War. Hexes revealed must have a clear path of explored Hexes leading to the edge of the Map.
• Specialized Exploration Map XXX.XXX (Gizmo) = Will reveal a specific Hex that is under Fog of War. The Hex will be indicated with its Hex Code.

What is Treasure and How do I Collect it?

Treasure is where the Jonesing aspect of Exploration comes into play. As you enter an Exploration Mod you will notice props with Identifier Tags scattered around. Each prop will have requirements to pick it up; some might require certain skills and time in order to Harvest the item, others might require taking some Exhaustion or spending some Mind. On the Identifier Tag will be one or more symbols indicating information that those with Financial Influence will be able to tell at a glance, information such as the Treasure’s Rarity Rating, interested purchasing parties, and potentially more useful information. All treasure discovered on an Exploration Mod will have a Hands rating in order to loot and take the item back to your ship (you must take the entire prop with you, please leave the Identifier Tag on the prop), but remember, depending on the Vehicle you have contracted through Helga’s Hoppers you will be limited in cargo capacity, so choose your loot wisely.

What Should I Expect from an Exploration Mod?

Let's take you through the stages of an Exploration Mod and break down what to expect on a run so as to prevent any potential confusion and set some expectations.

Briefing

• Players will be given 5 minutes to arrive at the Briefing Space (this will usually be the entrance to the Mod Space that will be indicated ahead of time).
• The staff member running the Exploration Mod will double check all necessary information and run down a list of Briefing Items and Reminders for the players. This will include things such as how the Exhaustion System works, the Hands System, your Time limit (typically 20 minutes), and any other Local Mechanics or ZoMs that will be present on the Exploration Mod.

Exploration Mod

• Characters will be “dropped off” at their designated location and the pilot for Helga’s Hoppers will leave the characters and return at the designated time. Typically this means the Vehicle will arrive 5 minutes before leaving permanently as the Vehicle needs to keep moving or else it risks being overrun by threats in the area. So you will have 5 minutes to return to the Vehicle and load up your loot or else you will be left behind. Players left behind will report to Ops to determine their Fate.
• The Mod Site will be decorated in a theme based upon the Hex chosen. For example watery swamp areas might have ZoMs that cause Slow while within the zone or Hexes with wreckage might have hallways and rooms to crawl/navigate through.
• Threats will spawn based upon the difficulty level of the Hex chosen and the types of threats will be based upon the theme of the Hex chosen. Working together as a team is highly advised.
• Some Hexes will have Story Points of Interest that will drastically alter the theme and threats and in some instances Contracts will be tied to these Story Points of Interest. These Exploration Mods may have varying challenges for advancement into different sections or areas as well as unusual plot specific treasure.
• A 1 Minute countdown warning will be given during the mod before Helga’s Hoppers arrives for you to be able to start loading your loot. A 1 Minute countdown warning will be given during the mod before Helga’s Hoppers leaves permanently.

De-Brief

• The staff member running the Exploration Mod will run down a short list of followup items such as Exhaustion Gains and Levels, Infection Loss and Death Scenes, and any other applicable follow bids and information.
• Any questions, comments, and feedback will be welcome at this time about the specific Exploration Mod.
• The staff member running the Exploration Mod will take the treasure props and run through selling generic treasure to specific factions through Helga’s Hoppers. Treasure that requires an item card will remain with the players and be processed either at the Briefing Space or a voucher will be given to have the cards processed at the Post Office.