Dead World: Rise of Nations
NASA announces to the world that its telescope and radar installations have detected a small group of asteroids on collision course for Earth. The announcement is soon reaffirmed by the Kremlin in Moscow, and the European Space Agency’s Operations Center in Germany. The report is kept strictly between world leaders and their immediate advisors
March 17th. 2019: The asteroids, each of them perfect spheres of graphite in appearance, reach Earth’s orbit. Whilst some are no larger than a house, others are as big as cities. Populations around the globe panic, as the rocks become visible to the naked eye. A united effort between governments to alter the course of the asteroids via nuclear missiles fails to eliminate the threat, although many of the larger rocks are deflected by this last ditch defence.
Some of the asteroids land across the globe, smashing into Russia, China, Europe, Africa and the Americas. Others, missing land masses, hit the oceans.
The resulting destruction is immense. Island and coastal nations are torn apart by wide reaching tsunamis, whilst further inland, earthquakes resulting from the asteroid impacts level entire cities. Millions die within the first hour, and millions more follow them in the days after. Health services are devastated, law and order breaks down in much of the world’s nations, leading to days of violence and madness, as each tries to save his or her own against their neighbour.
Governments collapse, and shattered militaries impose martial law, or their local form of it. Hundreds of thousands of people die in the resulting massacres.
July 1st, 2019: Nearly four whole months since the asteroid impacts, and Earth is getting back onto its feet. Some nations have ceased to exist, buried beneath the burning inferno that was once their territorial bounds. Others, like the United States and China, have risen from the chaos.
The world has lost a third of its population. Electricity is a distant dream in many areas, whilst in others, so is basic sanitation. Starvation is running amok amongst those less fortunate, and international aid efforts are now non-existent. The countries still standing in the wake of the disaster, have focused their resources inwardly to stitch together their battered infrastructures.
October 20th, 2019: All over the world, at exactly the same time and with no delay between time zones, people start dropping with seizures. The victims fall into comas soon after. Embattled health services, even in the less affected nations, are brought to the ground as wards overspill with patients.
Early indications point to a third of the world’s surviving population to have been affected, by what many call “The Happening”.
The Happening brings the world to a standstill, as people from Presidents, to street sweepers, succumb to the bizarre illness. It is quickly discovered that almost 100% of the victims have blood type A+, although this helps little in developing an early explanation.
October 21st, 2019: The seizure victims arise from where they have fallen, and attack doctors, nurses, passer-by’s, friends and family. Hospitals are transformed instantly into nightmarish blood baths, and the streets of towns and villages run red with the blood of the innocent. Cities become warzones.
Security forces from across the globe hop to contain the threat, only to find themselves hopelessly unprepared against an enemy so numerous. Still, the assault rifle, bombing runs, tank divisions and artillery bombardments eventually prove effective- until the seizure victims start to rise again.
The victims, after rising a second time, were found to be clinically dead – save for a strange fungal growth located across the spinal cord. Early tests showed to the fungus to be non-terrestrial, and alluded to the possibility that it was sentient, and controlling the host’s body for a higher purpose.
In any case, the “revived” carriers possessed massive strength and a terrifying constitution. Conventional weapons were ineffective, as the only sure way of killing a revived carrier was by destroying the spinal cord. The battle turned against Man, before he had time to properly adjust to the radically changing situation.
January, 2025: The War lasted six years, and ended with one winner: the infected.
Billions stampede across the wasteland that is now Earth, searching for fresh prey – and the chance to spread their fungal infection further. There are no more armies, no more nations and there is no more resistance.
China, the United States, Russia and Western Europe are gone. The finest militaries in the world, unable to combat a threat that knew no pain, knew no fear and felt no mercy. The landmasses of Earth are dotted with the innumerable sights of battles fought with tanks, artillery and infantry, against an enemy that brought to the table just two weapons: airborne spores and a five second incubation period.
What remains of humanity retreats to the highest mountain, to the lowest cave and to the remotest island, to etch out a bleak existence on the edge of oblivion.
March, 2060: Eventually, host bodies of the fungus break down. They crumble into dust, and are consumed by the ground they bled to claim. Billions falls to millions, and humanity – numbering in only the tens of thousands, appears from its hiding places. Much of the world is now free of the fungus, and its carriers – but other parts, not so much.
Together, the remainders of mankind venture from their strongholds and set their sights upon reclaiming that what was lost. In the midst of a Dead World, they hope to build over the bones of their not-so-distant ancestors, and to spawn a new age; the age of the Rise of Nations.
- This RP is entirely freeform, and moderated only along the most basic lines. (i.e, no God Modding and no wee taking)
- Pick an area on the map to form your new country. Give it a name, describe its culture and its technology.
- Consider everywhere between your borders, and the borders of other players, as "fungus infested".
- As leader of your nation, you must see to the needs of your people. Whether this means launching campaigns to reclaim lost territories from the fungal carriers, developing food sources, fighting other players over regional interests or activating whatever nuclear arsenals in the world remain, you must act the way you think is right, given the situation by which you are faced.
- Old World technology still exists, along with the expertise to operate it. However, a lack of global industries and refined resources mean that spare parts and fuel are hard to come by.
A Brief Introduction:
The alien fungus that has brought planet Earth to its knees is highly infectious. Initially, it was a rather simple fungal organism with a primitive cell structure. During the Happening, those with blood type A+ were the only eligible victims of the spores that were coating the Earth.
Forty years later however, and things have changed drastically. Humans are no longer the only victims, and it seems that all members of the Animal Kingdom are now at risk. Blood type no longer matters, and no one seems immune to the spores.
Transmission of the fungus between carriers has changed too. Whilst spores, emitted at all times by the flesh of a reanimated infected, are the deadliest means, many of the reanimated infected have grown small tendrils around their limbs. These tendrils are capable of injecting the fungus directly into their prey’s bloodstream, and are capable of punching through soft materials.
As time progresses, a reanimated body slowly succumbs to the fungus, as it attempts to replace rotting flesh with its own version of the missing tissues. Eventually, the host will be reduced to one big crumbling pile of spires. Prior to this however, the reanimated hosts are extremely dangerous with inhuman strength. It takes many bullets to take them down, or just one – placed directly to the spine.
Fallers, and Crazies: Fallers, or Crazies depending on the locality, are the early victims of the fungus. They are human, and can be killed just the same – with a few exceptions. The fungus grows along the spinal cord, hijacking the host’s control over the body, and using it to maim, kill or infect those who are not already contaminated.
Victims are conscious of what is happening. They can think, talk, look and hear, but their limbs are not theirs to control. It is possible therefore, for them to warn their peers of their fate, before the fungus has a chance to manifest its murderous intent.
It can take just five seconds for a healthy living human, whether through spore inhalation or tendril injection, to become a Faller or a Crazy. The first sign of someone being infected, is the momentary seizure they will suffer prior to getting up and attacking the closest non-infected life form.
Carriers: Carriers are what jump back up once a Faller or Crazy has been put down. They are clinically dead – the human part of them is no more. The fungus is quick to act upon the moment of the host’s death, first by splintering off into the brain, and then by growing along the host’s bones. Within hours, the host will arise once more. The only way to kill them is to destroy the spinal cord, or more specifically, the area between the shoulder blades – where the nucleus of the fungal infection dwells. If this area is destroyed, the host will fall lifelessly to the floor. Once the nucleus is damaged or destroyed, it will not regrow.
The fungus cannot hear, smell nor see. It senses vibrations, instead, and is capable of releasing varying spores to other hosts, enabling them to communicate along basic lines. Apart from this however, they should not be considered “intelligent”. Indeed, they never learn from their mistakes… but then, they’ve never had to.
Gas Masks!? Yup. The safest way to traverse a fungus infested area is to wear a gas mask, to filter out the spores. Although, this does not offer 100% protection, and people can still be knocked down if their equipment is ill-maintained or poorly used.
The United States and Canada are not as we know them today. Their people have been destroyed; their cities levelled. Whatever remained of those two great nations is now consigned to memory. Therefore, the cultures emerging in this barren landscape are likely to be of varying forms.
However, some survivors may have been in their twenties when all of this went down originally, and may carry memories of what things were like beforehand. Therefore, they may very much like to recreate what happier times remember.
Technology varies, with modern equipment still available to the survivors. Indeed, it probably saved most of them in their darkest hour. However, with a total collapse of global trade, resources are perilously hard to come by – especially fuel and raw materials. Replacement parts for more technologically advanced equipment may well be impossible to maintain. The horse might be looking for a comeback.
The Roleplay is set in the backdrop of a destroyed North America. There hasn't been a government in Washington or Quebec for fifty years, and whatever remains of its once impressive military is isolated to small outposts and consigned to a daily battle for survival. Bands of survivors from across the lifeless plains have merged together since the continent's fall, and have successfully established communities.
As the RP progresses, and as the various nation states develop, bonus "colonial theatres" will be opened. Here, nations will be able to attempt lucrative colonisation operations over abandoned resources, such as oil wells, nuclear silos, rich agriculture areas and other such things.
There is no formal sheet for this roleplay, as I'd like to keep it as freeform as possible. Include as much, and as little, information as you want. Some players like filling in the gaps through the roleplay, after all. However, here are a few areas you should cover:
- Nation's Name
- Leader's/Government's Name
- Choose an area on the map for your nation and draw the borders for me to see, or describe them. I will colour the area in, and label it for you on the main map.
- Description of Technology
- Description of Society
- Population – I’m limiting the total population of the American theatre to 100,000. So, all entries’ populations combined must either equal, or fall below that number. Mankind has been decimated after all, would be a bit silly if it came out of hiding with millions tucked away.
- Description of any significant industries your nation operates. I.e blacksmithing, gun making, agriculture. This'll help any potential future trade deals take place with other players.
Please post your applications in the OOC. Once I've accepted them, you can move them over to the characters section.
Nation Sheet
Great Lakes Confederation
The government is called, unimaginatively, The Confederacy. One member from each canton represents their district, and a single member is elected Primus inter Pares, or First among Equals, after someone pulled the term from an old book. The First, as they are often called, is 'in charge' insomuch as the others respect and admire whoever it is, but a two-thirds majority is required for a decision to be passed. It works surprisingly well, though that may be because there are only 15 cantons so far.
Being a farming confederation at the end of the day, the technological focus is on tools and equipment that can make their jobs easier. Old world farming equipment is carefully hoarded and loaned out to the larger communities while carefully monitored animal power has it's place in the off season and in smaller, out of the way communities.
Wool and leather are common clothing materials, with cotton and other similar materials being traded for(if applicable).
A large stock of old-world weapons, mainly rifles and shotguns are distributed throughout the towns and villages for the local militia, though low stocks of ammunition leave their use to designated sharpshooters. There is also squads of crossbows or archers, depending on the community in question, and like the rifles, built with human opponents rather than undead ones in mind. In addition to these ranged weapons, each community has a stock of close combat weapons, used as a last resort or against more human opponents.
Like Switzerland in the medieval period, the Great Lakes Confederation is more of an alliance of towns than a single unified state. There is a single capital, and some laws that govern every canton, but beyond ensuring that citizens have equal rights, regulating the livestock farms and game resources, and maintaining the militia the cantons are free to do as they please.
One may become a citizen of the Great Lakes Confederation either by simply being born in a territory claimed by the Confederation, by claiming descent from other citizens within a maximum of two generations, or by being sponsored by an existing citizen and spending two years in probation. By being a citizen, the individual must make themselves available for militia training unless physically unable to, report any violation of the livestock laws or sightings of the undead, and have one part in ten of anything they produce taken as a tax. In exchange they receive the protection of the Confederation, whether it is from the undead, looters, other communities or even abuse from within the Confederation itself.
The primary resources and industries of The Confederation is farming, livestock and salvaging dead cities. The last is quite lucrative, as there are four large cities within their territory, London, Toronto, Montreal and Hamilton, with Detroit, Ottawa and Quebec City all within travel distance. Also of importance is the St. Lawrence River itself, giving the Confederation access to the Atlantic, should there be any opportunities of trade with other states along the seaboard.
