[OOC] A Scorched Earth; A Post-Apocalyptic Tale

Scorched Earth
A Post Apocalyptic Tale


Premise
Scorched Earth- which is the new Earth. The Earth That Was is gone- now we have 4-hour days, with 4 hour nights. 8-hour cycles. Aliens have destroyed everything we knew, and we started over. Aliens had shown up, started destroying everything we had in orbit, and we fired back- with nuclear burns. We wiped out our communications and a great deal of technology in the process, and the aliens gave us the Three Sisters, three massive earthquakes that did unspeakable damage to three different parts of the world, but left America relatively untouched. The Three Sisters was accompanied by the Earth speeding up in its rotation, presumably by some kind of alien technology.

Now they're abducting people, very rarely does anyone fight back, and very often do they clear out colonies near their landing sites in the Northern US. Scattered pieces of an alien ship dot America- an undiscovered but still intact husk of one sits somewhere in the North-West. Multiple alien colonies dot the Northern US. 

Somewhere the North/Central US, a faction in one of the more flourishing population centers- the subways and former sewers of a city that no longer has a name- calls for survivors, explorers, adventurers, hunters, and scavengers to gather. They're putting together a team- to find an alien wreck, claim it, and pave the way for humanity to take the alien technology, and fight back against their attackers. 

But for the most part, you're just here to get paid, and loot the hell out of everything. You get paid, your family gets paid. Food, water, medicine, and a place in the most prosperous place in America- why the hell not? Plus alien technology and the chance to fight back a little.

TIMELINE
Early 2020 - Artificial constructs, changing speed and direction, were sighted in Deep Space
Early 2025 - The said artificial constructs arrive in Sol
Late 2025 - The alien fleet, as it was now confirmed, wiped out every single man-made item in orbit around Earth, and many of the satellites deeper into the Solar System
Early 2026 - Humanity fights back; a coordinated strike with almost all the nuclear powers of the world, including nearly three thousand nuclear ICBMs, is launched against the alien threat. The attack failed; only one ship out of dozens was outright destroyed, and one more was damaged and abandoned. Pieces from the destroyed ship rains down on North America, the combined EMP effect wipes out most long-range communications in the Americas and in Europe, radioactive acid rains start, and lightning-heavy dust storms begin.
Late 2026 - The abandoned ship completes a full orbit and drops into the North-Western area of America
Early 2027 - Alien ships complete construction of a series of large space stations in Low Earth Orbit
Late 2027 - Alien space stations activate some sort of superweapon; three massive ground-breaking Earthquakes lay waste to their effected areas, and Earth begins speeding up its rotation, moving 24-hour days to becoming 8-hour days.
Late 2033 - Firewind storms and acid showers start to abate; survivors begin re-exploring the wastelands surrounding their underground shelters and reconnecting with each other.
Early 2035 - Aliens begin landing at several sites throughout the Northern United States
Late 2037 - Survivors begin noticing the alien landing sites, and that they are protected by an small hurricane-like firewind/acidrain storm around the alien colonies.
Early 2038 - Survivors finish setting up trade routes, scavenging claims, and communications with each other
Late 2038 - Survivors have begun falling into factions and the like
Early 2039 - Survivors begin to realize that the aliens have been exterminating human colonies close to their own colonies, and have been abducting humans from those places and across the continent in notably alien dropships.
Early 2040 - A faction claims to have the funding to put together, arm, and supply a group of adventurers, survivors, scavengers, and hunters to probe the alien defenses.

~~~TECHNOLOGY~~~
- SMART Tech -
Some larger weapons- anything from 20mm grenade launchers to 25mm autocannons- have SMART rounds, which can adjust their trajectory mid-flight, and use a variety of weapon modifications, such as airburst, mid-flight spreading (like firing a shotgun, except the round goes most of the way to the target before exploding into a bunch of pellets), and a variety of other creative types.

Weapons can link up to SMART helmets for SMART HUDs, or to a rare command and control pack that keeps track of all weapons and HUDs, and creates a virtual map with weapon trajectories, sight lines, etc.

Wrist-coms are the new phones, being a screen usually on one's off hand, just above one's wrist, and in varying sizes. Again, part of the SMART group of technology, and can link up to weapons, helmets, and C&C units.

SMART Helmets are multi-purpose headgear that act as infrared goggles, nightvision goggles, standard unfiltered, sunglasses, SMART HUDs, gas masks, GPS, and more. They were designed to provide a soldier, or whoever its wearer is, everything needed. They appear more akin to a motorcross helmet than anything. There are still very few colonies that produce them, usually reserves of supplies and some limited manufacturing ability.

- Standard Weaponry -
Most people have weapons that date from 2000 to 2024; due to the abundance of underground supply depots in military bases, and how much these bases store combined with how many bases there are, semi-automatic rifles and the like are often used. Few people use bows and arrows, though they aren't entirely uncommon. Automatic weapons have all but gone extinct- most people break them up to use them in semi-automatic weapons, because ammunition is somewhat common, but still isn't in high enough supply to continue production. Only a few underground colonies continue to produce ammunition.

Vehicles
Most vehicles in the Scorched Earth are wrecked- working cars are even rarer. Some factions manage to get ahold of military vehicles from military facilities, and get them working again. Most factions won't allow regular civilians or survivors to have their own military-grade vehicle, so simpler dune buggies, offroad trucks, and cargo trucks are uncommon, but can be occasionally found outside a colony, or driving between.

Only the last known military base in the Central US, based in the Rocky Mountains, still has surviving and working aircraft. Very rarely, a fighter will be seen engaging an alien dropship; as of late, dropships have been found, burned and destroyed, in some of the more deserted areas of the US. Fighters almost always circle around to ensure a dropship's destruction if it managed to shoot it down- if not, there's a fighter wreckage instead.

Only twice has a human transport aircraft been sighted, once retrieving technology from a dropship, once to trade with a nearby silo city. They're one of the best armed colonies in the US.

~~~WILDLIFE~~~
Things did, in fact, survive the apocalypse. 

Pigs, for one, are the most common creature, being raised both underground and in the wild. 

Birds that now resemble large bats, only coming out in the nighttime, with scaly skin and about the size of a full-grown average dog, for your nighttime predators. 

Rats, mice, and other rodents survived rather well, though they also have tough skin, hairless. 

Moles have grown in size, but remain rather harmless. 

Snakes are even rarer, though they are surprisingly intelligent now, and are notably larger- all of them are highly poisonous, and resemble rattlesnakes of various kinds. Usually about ten to sixteen feet long, full-grown, these rattlesnakes are massive and very deadly- but then again, they're much easier to spot. Impossible to take out using a sword or other melee weapon- spears are chancey, and bows and guns are recommended. The reason for this being that snakes can strike up to half or more of their length, so a ten-foot rattler will be able to strike up to five or six feet.

Scorched Earth is still alive- around sources of water, there are often great groves of new and growing trees, sprouting up with a stubbornness that's somewhat unnatural, so soon during these radioactive rains. Hardy bushes keep trying to poke up in the dry wasteland, and mushrooms that can grow up to one's waist suck up all the radiation around them, often creating areas that are bursting with fast-growing grasses, flowers, and bushes. Large mushrooms = safe zone.

[b][u]The Bread and Butter- Rules & Stuff[/b][/u]
1. No metagaming and the like
2. No powergaming and the like
3. No godmoding or the like
4. Aliens have not been seen in person, not yet.
5. I am your God of this thread. Deal w/ it
6. I can't post topics due to my school blocking RPG on my school-issued computer, so @Always posted the IC post for me to get this started.
7. @Always is a co-GM. She is also a Goddess.
8. No arguments or the like. I understand if one gets heated, but do stop when warned, and try not to provoke one another.
9. If you have a problem, do tell. Preferably in PM.
10. Don't go overboard. Your character, if they have any more than worn and used gear, likely incomplete and not in the best shape, will be the more daring scavengers. 
11. Don't kill people without permission, unless they did something stupid and you can totally legit say that you can if you want. Also, make sure to call @Always beautiful and inspiring if you read this- that way I know that you've read the rules and such. Even you, Always.

Character Sheet
[Appearance]
Name: 
Age:
Gender:
Sexuality: {Optional}

Personality: {At least a paragraph, or six traits, including two not-so-great things about your character, such as reckless or temperamental}
Biography/History: {Give at least a paragraph}

Skills: {Be reasonable. I'm not gonna put a limit, but THINK.}
Likes: {At least three}
Dislikes: {At least three}
Disabilities: {Optional}

Combat gear: {Swords, axes, bows, guns, knives, handguns, grenade launchers, etc.}
Active gear: {Wristcoms, phones, C&C packs- which are suuuper rare, and maybe ONE person in this roleplay will have one, if you give me a good reason. Jammers, flashlights, etc.}
Passive gear: {Armor, backpacks, clothing, etc.} {note that some kind of gask mask and waterproof item is a MUST-HAVE. Being stuck outside in radioactive acid rain is BAD}
Survival gear: (Food, water, medicine, etc.} {Include water filters- there are some kinds that can actively filter out the radioactive muck from natural spring-water, which might be life-saving}

Notable things that don't fit anywhere else: 
Other:
[OOC] A Scorched Earth; A Post-Apocalyptic Tale

TheRebelKnight Corporal of Resistors

WilsonTurner AKA / OfWindAndRain

WilsonTurner AKA / OfWindAndRain

WilsonTurner AKA / OfWindAndRain

Always Squish Chicken
