Alt-Earth 2020AD: To Find a Haven in Hell
“Light and darkness cannot occupy the same space at the same time.
Now nature makes us decide which one will occupy Earth.”
A space storm hit the Earth on 13th of September 2012. It raged for three days and three nights. Electricity died and the whole digital world with it. Connections between the American continents and Europe were lost as well as connections with all the islands of the oceans and far away places in distant countries. Satellites fell from the skies with everything else that was in the air. All of humanity was thrown back to the age before electricity.
The Earth wailed and screamed that time. It was in pain. It trembled from core to the crust destroying many great cities. Valleys turned into hills and mountains were leveled to fields. Many islands were swallowed and new ones emerged from beneath the sea.
Since then Earth has been sick. It is alive, just barely. It stays alive with the light in the hearts of men, women and children.
The storm and the tumult killed most of us. Those that did not die in the storm, soon died to their injuries, lack of nutrition and shelter. Those of us who stayed alive experienced strong headaches and physical pain for days, some even weeks after the storm.
Soon reports of strange anomalies and supernatural accidents started to travel among the survivors. We heard of poltergeists, possessions and some throwing a burst of destructive energy of some kind in their anger killing someone by accident. We also heard of pillars of light, glowing shields that saved someone from being crushed under a building that was falling apart. We heard of miracles.
We learned that the storm had amplified our emotions and deepest desires into a usable and visible energy that could destroy and build up, damage and protect.
In the world we lived in, we faced a new danger – the power of our emotions, unthoughtful reactions and desires. Those who were keen to be negative and live a life of questionable morals began to use their newly found powers for their own benefit. They soon found out that life began to fade from the place where they lived. Earth began to wither, lose it's colors and eventually it would die.
Earth grew stronger where there was light. It could be even restored to its former glory. These places became the target of the darkmen – or parasites as some called them. The darkness within them began to consume them. They would attack, destroy, plunder, kill. We were forced to fight.
That is how this war began. Not a war of faith or flag, neither a war to conquer nor to liberate. This war is about keeping Earth alive.
– Journal entry by an unknown author, 29th of July 2015
Practical Things
- I will play environment/NPCs and trigger events guiding the players along the journey.
- The role-play will play out in scenes or scenarios instead of one constant continuous flow.
- Expecting 3 good paragraphs of writing per turn. I consider one paragraph as 3 well thought out, expanded and phat sentences.
- The play can start already with one person (the main character), more can tag along on the way.
- Characters enter the story by application.
