Resources
Game Rules
Get the 411 on everything you could possibly want to know about Dystopia Rising Live (as well as a New Player Quick Guide for those just starting out), available in PDF format for on-the-go reading. The character database is an excellent way to map out your character builds, track your virtual inventory, check in for events, and more. And while you’re here, review our policies and guidelines specific to Dystopia Rising: The Pike.
Local Setting & Lore
Whether you’re making your way down from Old York or up from the May Cape, you’re welcome in Claimer’s Quarry, the little piece of home we’ve dug out of these mountains. If you haven’t heard of it, that isn’t surprising — no one’s lived in this town for about a generation, not while the radiation storm was ravaging the forests. The storm has passed on, for how long we aren’t quite sure, but that does mean something good for you: this land has been untouched for potentially as long as you’ve been alive. Do you know how many resources could be here, in the soil or the fields or the quarries, just waiting to be harvested? Do you know what potential this kind of land might have for someone who might want to claim it?
The little settlement you’ve stumbled upon here is made up of folks who traveled up from the Pine Barrens, about 100 miles south. The traditional Barrens towns of Woodsworth Mills and Batsto banded together and moved here with the help of their less traditional neighbors, the residents of Barrens’ Reach, as well as the people who often visited there for trade meets. That’s us. It was a difficult journey, but the call of a new start and all of that potential was stronger than the fear of the unknown, and we managed it somehow.
Hello, stranger. Did you get turned around?
Now, after decades lying dormant under the radiation storm, Claimer’s Quarry is once again filled with people and has become another trade hub along the coast from The Mass to Gatorland. If that makes us a target for other folks looking to cash in on this “gold rush,” well, they can just come and try.
With all of that being said, there’s a lot we still don’t know about this place we’ve claimed. Who lived here before the radiation storms blew in? Who left behind these buildings and this quarry? What caused those storms in the first place, and why did they last so long?
And, of course, there’s something we’re all starting to understand, slowly but surely. There’s something wrong with these woods. Lights in the mist, shapes in the trees, sounds from the dark — we’ve all started to suspect it was more than just the storms that drove people away. When someone goes into the woods alone, there’s no guarantee they’ll come back on the same path, or as the same person. There’s no guarantee they’ll come back at all.
But you’re welcome here, regardless. Just mind the laws, if we’ve made any, and mind the road when you make your way back out.
Welcome to Claimer’s Quarry.
Claimer’s Quarry
No one’s quite sure how long the town of Claimer’s Quarry has existed. When a few members of Last Eve Salvaging Co. stumbled upon it once the radiation storms had cleared, they found a fully-intact collection of buildings, a little worn by time, but still mostly usable. At first glance, the place seems to have been built to feed and house quarry workers, but there are a few quirks to the settlement that don’t quite fit that narrative. Regardless, this is the place where we hold our trade meets. The village that the Barrensfolk are building is nearby, and we often see them coming through from there, either to trade or to seek out help while help is available.
The Candlewood
Locals (what few locals there are given the general inhabitability of the area until recently) refer to the forest near Claimer’s Quarry as “The Candlewood.” The name has existed longer than the radiation storms, but that’s about as much as we know. Some legends have been passed down among families in neighboring settlements outside of the storm’s radius, and none of them are particularly encouraging. There are rumors of lights that can be seen moving among the trees, but no one answers when you call out to them. Some say that even in the daylight, the paths in the woods are dangerous. You can go in at one trailhead, turn around halfway through, and still come out at some other place on the edge of town. Sometimes, when you haven’t paid close enough attention to where you are and where you’re going, you’ll find yourself not on a path at all anymore. Voices call from the dark, never saying anything intelligible, but always in eerie whines that sound like something not-quite-Lineage.
Groups & People
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Foreman Danny Hilts [he/him]
Weaver Milligan [she/her]Woodsworth Mills, the lumber mill-boasting Capital of the Pines, and Batsto Village, the small collection of Barrens families, may seem like odd bedfellows at first, but one thing can make fast friends of anyone, and that thing is shared trauma. The Pine Barrens have always been a difficult place to live, but in the last few years, that level of difficulty has increased dramatically. As a result, there were many who were willing to take a chance elsewhere. When the leader of the remainder of Woodsworth Mills, Foreman Danny Hilts, was given the opportunity to come north to stake a claim in the freshly uncovered Candlewood, he had 200 people ready to make that journey with him. Now, he and the leader of the people of Batsto, Weaver Milligan, work together to build this new home for their people.
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Umbra [he/him]
The Last Eve Salvaging Co, equal parts scroungers and engineers and equal parts postal service, are one of the largest traders of scrap up and down The Pike. Primarily based in the settlement just northeast of Claimer’s Quarry known as The Eve, The Last Eve Salvaging Co. has long-standing roots in the area. The company was initially formed by the Lascarians living in the vast network of tunnels beneath The Eve who learned to scrounge for important resources underground. The company is led by Umbra, who serves as the group’s “Twilight Postmaster,” leading and organizing not only the company's business and projects, but the settlement of The Eve itself. He and his people helped the Barrens-folk move to Claimer’s Quarry and now play a prominent role in their trade throughout The Pike.
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Elias Thorne [he/him]
Phoenix Freight is a resilient, transport and scavenging collective led by "The Captain" Elias Thorne and Renata "Ren" Cross. Specializing in high-value cargo transport between settlements, they maintain strict neutrality, prioritizing their reputation and crew above faction politics. Based out of a formidable cargo-freight structure near a vital waterway, they operate an impressive, customized fleet, including the land rig The Marauder. Known for efficiency and tenacity, Phoenix Freight defends its hauls vigorously, living by the creed: they move hope.
Weaver Milligan
Foreman Danny Hilts
