Our Content List
Please note.
Each event will have its own narrative transparency. Please read this transparency to determine if you want to attend that event.
Dystopia Rising is a postapocalyptic fictional world that uses our real world as the background for ancient history. LARPing in a post-apocalyptic world setting can be a rollercoaster when it comes to handling subject matter. The gloomy backdrop often opens up a can of worms with themes that are dark, gritty, and sometimes a little too real. As you navigate through remnants of a fallen civilization, the narrative can steer towards topics that hit close to home, making the escapade emotionally taxing for some. It’s like walking a tightrope—immersing in a dystopian reality while ensuring the gritty doesn’t overshadow the fun. The challenge is to balance the harsh, survivalist narrative with the adventurous spirit of LARP, ensuring everyone's on the same page with what they’re diving into, so the experience remains thrilling, not troubling.
To provide as much transparency as we can, we have provided our primary focus and content list. This list lets players know what the focus of our events are intended to be, and with that in mind, allows players to make an educated decision if this is the experience for them. We cannot outline every detail of an event, because total player agency and input from player actions make up a large portion of the experience, but we can tell you what our intent is.
Our Schedule
Dystopia Rising Connecticut events only occur a few times a year. We do social events, conventions, and online events in addition to our DR CT larp events. We highly suggest all of our members get advanced memberships so that having DR CT as your home game does not matter in regards to character growth and travel.
Our Off-Limit Content
Certain content is not allowed at DR:CT. We have decided the following narratives are not items we want for our staff to introduce, nor or players.
Sexual Assault, Animal Cruelty, Player Character Pregnancy / Childbirth / Simulated Representation of Minors, Homophobia. Trans-Phobia, or Racism.
Our Design Focus
Narrative Immersion: The main ingredient, ensuring a rich, engaging storyline that resonates with players. We have limited story writers so that the events of a weekend all pull into a set of 3-4 narratives.
Character Development: A hearty portion is essential for players to deeply connect with their roles. Our NPCs grow and change based on their interactions, and we want our player characters to do the same.
Player Agency: Allowing a generous amount for players to influence the story and make meaningful decisions. This allows players the ability to grow from their successes and failures.
Collaborative Storytelling: A collaborative spice to encourage co-creation of the narrative among players. We ask for what you want to see so that we can write it going forward. But our environment isn’t a “we make story and you enjoy it”; instead we need to make story work together.
Minimalist Rule Set: We have just enough mechanics to drive story, and no more. For us mechanics exist to drive the experience, not to be the experience.
Dark Humor: We use baudy, ridiculous, and oftentimes low-brow humor to function as a emotional reset from the horror.
Adult Stories For Adults: Our game focus is that our players need to be able to handle mature, and sometimes troubling, content as self-aware adults. We feel if we provide a clear and transparent communication in regards to the nature of our event content at every game, then players can make an educated decision regarding their involvement. We understand our content isn’t for everyone, and we suggest that potential players prioritize their mental and emotional state above attending game. We are not responsible or capable to managing your emotional or mental state so instead we provide you the tools for you to manage your own involvement.
Our Story Focus
Fear: The essence of horror, fear is the main ingredient that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats.
Suspense: A dash of suspense keeps the narrative unpredictable, maintaining a tense atmosphere.
Death: A grim reality in many horror plots, often showcased in a variety of unsettling ways.
Biological supernatural: We will not use many forms of zombies, but the ones we do, will be used with the focus of recreation of classic horror film experiences.
Isolation: The feeling of being alone or trapped away from other civilizations is a common theme that amplifies the horror.
Politics: The societies, houses, and families have internal and external conflicts.
Madness: A sprinkle of madness explores the terrifying corners of the human mind. We will be engaging in stories that involve characters being mentally pushed to extremes.
Violence: Often brutal and shocking, violence is an intense flavor in the horror genre.
Low technology: Our setting does not allow for much in the way of high tech electronic sciences. Bio inspired Necrology is a focus
Gore: Not for the faint of heart, gore is an optional but potent element.
Mystery: A pinch of mystery can intrigue audiences and deepen the narrative.