This section will contain information that the party would know from common knowledge or from discovering as the game progresses. The information presented can be historical, or just general knowledge about the universe this campaign takes place in. This section can be used as a reference to fill any blanks and to assist with continuity as the game developments.
On August 12th, 2013, the planet experienced a drastic change. A massive meteor the size of Nevada abruptly appeared within Earth's orbit undetected. The only radiation that is able to be detected from the meteor is radio, where receivers interpret the "message" as saying "cryzoloth". All over the world, peoples' radios began spewing this word. It had no voice, per say; it is just what the static sounded like. For this reason, the meteor was dubbed "Cryzoloth". Once Cryzoloth made contact with the atmosphere, it exploded into hundreds of meteorites that collided with the Earth. Its destructiveness was unimaginable. Analyses would project it caused more devastation than a total nuclear war. Entire cities fell*, along with peoples' idea of humanity. Within minutes, 3 billion people died on planet Earth just from the impact. This drastic change in human environment instigated more primitive behaviors that were beneficial for our prime-ape ancestors at one time, but now would be considered atrocious. With the entropic vortex of chaos that was becoming humanity, order fell. Governments lost control of the people, and the underworld surfaced in the realm of anarchy.
Shortly after Planet-Fall (Cryzoloth's landing), a privatized and powerful research company called Coeus Institute spearheaded the research being performed on Cryzoloth all over the world. They constructed rapid-deployment quarantine labs around the meteorites, where they assaulted them with radiation and other testing-methods to discern what its properties are. Whatever they were discovering is known only by those working for Coeus, leaving the public victim to conjecture and speculation.
By September 2nd, 2013, the Street Wars began in New York City, and one can assume similar situations occurred in other parts of the world. On this same day, the horde of undead escaped the morgue with the help of Dr. Marx, who had gone senile because of his zealous infatuation with Cryzoloth. The streets were saturated with violence; fighting between rival gangs, the police, the military, and the horde riddled New York with gorey midden. Many died during the Street Wars, innocent and guilty alike, and the horde only grew bigger. It was a phenomenon the people of Earth only had nightmares of and made movies about. The dead were raised from their supposed eternal slumber and they fed on the flesh of the living. On October 31st, 2013, the NYC area went dark. Radio communication was limited to local ranges and general power was nullified, save for the use of generators. Around the third week of November, the government had no influence in NYC. Before they left the city, the military had already built barriers within a five mile radius of McCarren Park in Brooklyn. However, the total area does not equal 79 square miles, because McCarren Park is located near the bridges leading to Manhattan, which were also blockaded. This reduces the total area of the protected zone to only about 20 square miles.
On December 5th, 2013, the gangs had a cease fire and a blood truce was declared. The other enemy, the Horde, was tearing through their ranks. The five surviving gangs formed the Chromatic Union of Barrier City, which is an assembly of gang colors sworn to cease all offenses with each other and work together to combat the Horde. A gang called The Ghost-Faced Killers was the most powerful, and the other gangs deferred leadership of the union to them. The enthusiasm for this truce is strictly with the leaders of the five gangs*. Most of the lower ranking members still hold much resentment, and infighting is common.
This time also began what is known as "Othello's Reign". Othello is the leader of the Ghost-Faced Killers, a name unearthed from his old platoon during the Gulf War. There were four surviving members: Master Chief Othello (real name unknown) and three others whose names are not popular enough to know. They were 1st Recon Marines who had effortlessly outperformed all of the other gangs during the Street Wars, and as their numbers grew, occupying Barrier City (as it is now referred to) was easy.
The Chromatic Union led a mighty offensive campaign against the remaining Horde within Barrier City. Along with them was a militia that composed of the independent people of Barrier City. Together they worked to destroy all of the risen within the barriers and plug all of the metro accesses. The hell that lies below the city is incomprehensible. The metro tunnels were filled with people when the Horde stormed the city, not to mention many dying due to collateral damage from the Street Wars; all rose as one of Them.
With metro accesses blockaded and the majority of the Horde gone within Barrier City, the community itself began to congeal. Othello still held leadership over the Union and began campaigning to the independents (peeps like you and me) to have their loyalty. Those that chose to retain their independence were treated fairly enough. He respected their turf and allowed them to barter with the Union, but he would force the independents to pay a "supplies tax" in exchange for conservative protection. If they could not offer anything, they were forced to go on a salvage run outside the barrier; in the nightmare that is now Outer City*. Salvagers that have returned to Barrier City speak of horrors beyond the walls. Scarred in their minds are undead that have pulsing cyst that burst and splatter their victims with contagion or acid, or the type of zed that can run fast, faster than Kenyans. Salvage runs to Manhattan are a completely different story. No one has ever returned, though it is rumored to be a gold-mine for untouched resources.
As time went on, Othello grew more and more tyrannical. People can only speculate his reasons, but his transition from a somewhat fair leader to an obsessive despot happened quickly. It began with increasing the supplies tax for the independents which caused more people to be unable to meet their quota, resulting in more forced supply runs. He also started to ignore his part of the bargain for the supplies tax; neglecting his word to protect the independents from zeds or from crime. The streets were slowly returning to chaos, and foot soldiers of the C.U. fear no consequences from taking advantage of the independents, or each other. Othello's worst act was his new draft law, which was enacted on February 16th, 2014. This forced all independents to either join the C.U., or be evicted from Barrier City. His rationale within the letter he distributed stated that "It is imperative to the survival of our species that we eliminate competitors. Living in close proximity with others that use the same resources but that do not work together reduces our integrity to endure this world. This order states that all that do not function within the C.U. (i.e. an Independent of Barrier City), must emigrate outside the barrier. All land within Barrier City now belongs to the C.U. Independents will be allowed safe passage outside of the barrier, but those that remain will receive no protection and no supplies and their homes may be occupied at the will by the C.U. or any member within it".
General Information
*It is assumed civilizations all over the planet met total destruction. Some known major areas are Toronto, Niagara Falls, Jersey City, Los Angeles, and Mexico City.
Organizations
-Coeus Institute: Coeus was the titan of knowledge. That is exactly what this organization exemplifies. They are privately owned, but federally contracted on many occasions to conduct research. Coeus has virtually unlimited resources, and because of that they are granted special permissions to research things too radical for contemporary folk. Because of the supernatural nature of Cryzoloth, they were immediately charged with placing the shards under quarantine, and also to conduct intensive research in order to control the catastrophe.
- The Ghost-Faced Killers: Four former Marine Raiders from the Gulf War lead the G.F.K.. Their numbers increased when the weakening military presence in NYC was unable to maintain control, and soldiers would defer to the leadership of the G.F.K.. With their superior tactics and advanced training of their recruits, they cornered the other gangs into a cease fire and convinced them to focus on the Horde. Their tactics involve automatic weapons and explosives, and they have bullet-proof vest. They are led by Master Chief Othello and have a dominant alignment of LN.
- The Gold Dragons: A Chinese-American gang from Chinatown, The Gold Dragons are a ruthless sort, though they are not as reckless as the Rakes. Their leader is Jonny Chen, a young heir to the late mob boss Chow Chen. He is ambitious and calculating, but lacks the fire power of the G.F.K.. Their tactics are deception, small firearms, and martial arts and they have a dominant alignment of LE.
- The Coven: An eccentric gang of Jamaicans and Haitians, the Coven is a tight-knit group with a more generous sense of community compared to the other gangs. They are the most sympathetic to the Independents, and often barter with them and offer protection. In combat, they use certain chemicals and drugs to disorient their foes and prefer to kill with ceremonial melee weapons, though firearms are not uncommon. They are led by Chief Odell, a self-proclaimed witch-doctor and practitioner of voodoo. Their dominant alignment is CN.
- The Cassidy-Monroe Family: A group of two gangs, the Cassidys and the Monroes, merged together shortly before the Street Wars began. The Cassidys are a group of racist punk-rockers that are quite barbaric in nature and organization, but are ruthless and relentless. The Monroes are indicative of the Irish Mob and are more organized and subtle than the Cassidys, often in need of restraining the latter at times. Their tactics involve improvised weapons and firearms. They are led by Ira Cassidy and Adrian Monroe, one middle-aged and the other a young heir. The Cassidies are dominantly CE while the Monroes are mostly LE, making their average dominant alignment NE.
- The Rakes: This gang began on a small block in east Brooklyn and quickly gained popularity among the impoverished inner-city people of NYC. Though they are moderately organized, their numbers have greatly decreased due to the Street Wars. They are a mix of Afro, Latino, and Anglo people. Because of Jack and Kalyna's defense of the hospital, the Rakes have a personal vendetta against them, believing that if it were not for them they would have a stronger foothold and could have endured better during the rest of the fighting. However, they are on the eastern side of Brooklyn and are unaware of Jack and Kalyna's location. Their tactics include small firearms and small bladed weapons. They are led by a man who calls himself Infamous D and their dominant alignment is NE.
Locations
*Manhattan: The borough of Manhattan is considered to be a terror-zone. No one has returned from salvage runs in Manhattan to speak of its nature, but sometimes, on quiet evenings, people can hear terrifying howls and screeches from across the bridge. Because of it's hellish reputation, people that horribly break the rules within Barrier City will be exiled outside the North Gate, which leaves the bridge over to Manhattan as the only path for them.
*Outer City: Any place outside the barriers to the east, south, and west is considered Outer City; a wasteland with little to no survivors and with swarms of the Horde. Salvagers that go into Outer City come back with stories of even more terrifying undead. Northwest of Barrier City is Manhattan, where no salvagers have ever returned to speak of its condition. It is more commonly referred to just as Manhattan and is not associated with Outer City.
~ Jack's apartment complex
~ Ghost-Faced Killers' HQ
To be continued....
