In Game technology

In Dystopia Rising, technology is a patchwork of salvaged relics, improvised machinery, and early-industrial ingenuity. The collapse of society, introduction of the Infection, and persistent radiation have set strict limits on what is possible. Survivors rely on basic mechanical solutions rather than advanced electronics. This scarcity of technology reinforces the game’s gritty, post-apocalyptic setting, where survival depends on resourcefulness and resilience.

Everyday Technology

Most technology in day-to-day settings falls within the realm of early-industrial or post-apocalypse aesthetics. These are characterized by:

  1. Salvaged and Repurposed Materials:

    • Scrap Metal: Simple machines, hand tools, and weapons are built from salvaged metals.

    • Leather, Wood, and Textiles: Clothing, armor, and accessories are handmade, reflecting a world of limited resources​.

  2. Mechanical Devices:

    • Hand-Cranked and Pedal-Powered Tools: Grain mills, water pumps, and sewing machines rely on animal or natural power.

    • Basic Engines: Diesel or steam engines power rudimentary vehicles, generators, or machinery​.

    • Primitive Radios: Primitive, crackling radios and short-range radio towers can be found as communication, though are extremely rare and need to be constantly maintained.

  3. Weapons and Tools:

    • Bladed Weapons: Machetes, axes, and spears dominate combat. Firearms exist and function but are often unreliable, prone to jamming, and difficult to repair​.

    • Improvised Devices: Traps, alarms, and makeshift explosives are cobbled together from available resources.

  4. Power Sources:

    • Hand-Cranked Generators and Diesel Engines: Limited, inefficient power sources for small-scale needs (e.g., lights, basic communications).

    • Batteries: Rare and precious, usually powering small devices with limited capacity​.

Key Limitations

  • Fragility and Decay: Most devices are unreliable, constantly breaking down due to poor materials and radiation damage.

  • No Advanced Electronics: Circuit boards, computers, and modern sensors are non-functional due to radiation and lack of manufacturing capabilities​.

  • Resource Scarcity: Replacement parts are hard to find; maintaining even basic machinery requires extensive scavenging and ingenuity.

  • No Advanced Mechanics: Things such as robots or mechanical arms do not function due to radiation and the calibration they would need in order to endure the harsh conditions of the world.

Necrology Technology: Concept and Limitations

Necrology represents the rare and dangerous frontier of bio-horror technology in Dystopia Rising. It blends pseudoscience, bioengineering, and necromantic principles to manipulate life, death, and the Infection.

Concept of Necrology

Necrology focuses on harnessing the power of the Infection and the Mortis Amaranthine. This field allows for the creation of tools and procedures that blur the lines between science and horror, including:

  1. Biotic Detectors:

    • Devices that can sense the presence of Infection or undead energies. Often unreliable or limited in range​. An example would be a fleshy piece of fungus that glows a certain color in the presence of these things.

  2. Mortis-Based Procedures:

    • Tools that facilitate Grave Dives or post-death recovery, allowing practitioners to interact with the Mortis Amaranthine​.

  3. Infection Manipulation:

    • Procedures that stabilize or alter the Infection in living bodies, at great personal risk​.

  4. Bio-Mechanical Devices:

    • Rare tools that combine organic matter with mechanical components, such as necrotic limb grafts or infection-based implants​. These are exceptionally rare and short lived. Eventually, these items slough off and decay.

Key Limitations

  • Unreliable and Dangerous: Necrology is unpredictable. Failed procedures can result in death, mutation, or psychological trauma​.

  • Location Restriction: Necrology requires active knowledge relating to the Mortis and tools and resources that can only be produced in limited supply exclusively by players.

  • Rare and Specialized: Only a few individuals possess the knowledge and skills to perform Necrology. Tools and materials are extremely scarce​.

  • Ethical Dilemmas: Necrology often raises moral questions about the manipulation of life and death, creating tension within communities​. There is no ethical Necrology.

Prohibited Technology: Beyond game Scope

To maintain the integrity of the Dystopia Rising universe, certain technological advancements are strictly off-limits. These include any devices that require a level of sophistication or infrastructure that no longer exists. The following should never be introduced into gameplay:

Advanced Electronics:

  • Computers, Smartphones, and Tablets: Modern computing devices, robots, and drones are non-functional due to radiation and lack of manufacturing.

  • Digital Networks or Wi-Fi: No internet, networks, or data storage systems exist​.

High-Tech Weaponry:

  • Science Fiction or Late Tech Firearms: Fully automatic guns, railguns, or energy-based weapons are beyond the mechanical ability of survivors​.

  • Laser and Plasma Weapons: These belong in science-fiction fantasy, not the gritty world of Dystopia Rising.

Advanced Vehicles:

  • Modern Cars, Planes, or Drones: Only rudimentary vehicles powered by diesel or steam engines are possible​.

  • High-Speed Transport: Bullet trains, helicopters, and jets are non-existent​.

Medical Technology:

  • Advanced Surgical Equipment: No MRI machines, robotic surgeons, robotic arms, or high-tech diagnostic tools.

  • Modern Pharmaceuticals: Only basic medicines like antibiotics or painkillers are available, often in degraded form​.

Technology That Feels Like Magic:

  • Post-Apocalypse, Not Fantasy: Any technology that produces unbelievable, instantaneous, or large-scale effects does not belong in Dystopia Rising. The height of technological advancements for humans was the 1990s.

  • Hand-Waived Explanations: If it feels like casting a spell, casting a high fantasy ritual, or performing magical transformations that change the nature of reality, it breaks the core genre. The larger the impact of the technology, the more it needs to be grounded in low tech post-apocalypse science fiction, not fantasy​.