♢ SETTING

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SETTING

The Disaster One hundred and fifty years ago, the world was shaken by a cataclysmic event. Devastation shook the planet nearly to its core, death filling the streets and lands torn asunder. Suddenly, everything was unsafe and all life was in danger. Records do not seem to explain what this event actually was. It would later be called the Disaster. Only a small handful of people made it underground and into the safety of cryogenic sleep before the world became unbearably toxic. Now the world is recovering and ready to move on, and the ones who waited so long, the Sleepers, are about to be awoken. The Sleepers Any character applied to the game is a Sleeper, someone who has awoken from a cryogenic sleep in an underground bunker city simply called the Cave. When they wake up, Sleepers are pulled out of a nondescript pod in the wall by a doctor, given clothes to change into should they have the strength, and escorted out of the building by a member of the guard force. No Sleeper remembers how they got there, nor do they have access to any powers they may recall possessing. Some may even be surprised to find themselves human. Although usually not talkative, the Worker escort will give the Sleeper a brief rundown: all that the Sleeper remembers, their life, loves and family, was all just part a simulated dream sequence meant to keep the brain from falling into a vegetative state over the years. They insist your character is from a City to the northeast, generally called the Diamond City by anyone who knows it. The Sleeper is then told their "real" name (completely unfamiliar), their previous occupation (all right, maybe not so far-fetched) and then a few words about their lives in general (you may not remember it, but somehow it sounds plausible). If asked how they know any of this, the answer would be simple: the Caretaker, of course. The Sleeper is then left in their temporary living quarters to think about what they've learned. Inside, someone was kind enough to leave them one piece of "proof" toward their previous life: a photo, a short video clip, a voice recording... Whatever it is, it proves your character doing something they have no recollection of doing. Sleepers have one month (or less) to acclimate to the idea of their lives being fake — or that, perhaps, this is an elaborate scheme or magical mix-up they've somehow become entangled in. Regardless of what conclusion the Sleeper comes to or decides to act on, after a period of time, all Sleepers will be strongly encouraged to make the week-long pilgrimage across the Overworld toward the Diamond City to resume their lives. Who knows? Maybe the City holds more answers; the Cave is certainly for want of them. Once a route has been established, pilgrimages will be set for every three weeks; Sleepers may stay in the Cave if they're very insistent, but the Workers and Caretaker will be just as stubborn that they should leave. Whether characters had them before or not, powers will slowly manifest once they're on the way to the City. Not all will appear so soon, and may not the entire time they're in the game (aka, no one is obligated to give characters powers), but it will be the first opportunity for them to resurface. Speed and power level are up to player discretion. One last thing of importance to note: Sleepers do not dream. As byproduct of their very long nap and brain stimulation, the only thing they can conjure in sleep is the sensation of tranquility, warmth and prismatic colors all around them. More like a not-dream than anything. The Cave The Cave is an underground city fortified against attacks from the Overworld like a bunker. It's small, only having a diameter of five miles, and not meant for permanent residency, instead being a sort of rest stop until the pilgrimage to the Diamond City can occur. Small condos are granted to Sleepers to facilitate their reintroduction to society, as well as regular rations and even a job that fits with their old work in the City that they will be expected to resume. The buildings in the Cave tend to look as if they're from 21st century Earth, but have some slight technical upgrades like futuristic sliding doors and keycards. In fact, all of the processes in the Cave are automated, unless manned by a Worker or a Sleeper. Unknown to Sleepers in the beginning, cameras are placed all across the Cave, keeping track of the Sleepers for both their own safety and to make sure they do not break any of the laws set in place by the Caretaker. While it isn't strictly a ghost town, the Cave does have something of stillness to it. Most of the Workers, NPCs that make up a relatively small group of people who were woken up about a year previous, keep to themselves to the detriment of their relations with the Sleepers. A select few seem to be more open to interaction than the rest. Access to any buildings within the Cave are limited by keycard authorization. All Sleepers find keycards on a handy little zip-pull in their rooms and are expected to keep them on their persons at all times. Of course, these keycards also serve as ID to enforce a Sleeper's City life and can be replaced if lost. Sleepers have access to most any buildings in the Cave, with the only places they cannot access being the back rooms of the guard force HQ, the rations depository, the greenhouse, and the stasis chambers. There are five "times" inside the Cave: Morning, Day, Afternoon, Evening and After Hours. If anyone without proper clearance is caught outside After Hours, they will be warned and escorted home. The Cave does not come with a skyscape to simulate the outside and keep away the feeling of being trapped underground. Instead, the ceiling is completely covered by beautiful sapphires that change hues for no apparent reason, giving the entire city an ominous glow of many random, different colors. (For specific buildings in the Cave, see also: Locations) (For a list of interactive NPCs in the Cave, see also: Workers) The Caretaker A mysterious man who runs the Cave efficiently and with somewhat of an iron fist, he is the one who authorized the doctors to awaken the Sleepers. He does not interact with the Sleepers outside of the bulletin board, but his control is felt by everyone in the Cave: it is his rules and his Workers that keep the Cave from falling into anarchy. Laws The laws are very important to those living in the Cave. They range to the obvious (no murdering or thievery) to some more... obscure bans. One that sits over the head of Sleepers like a dark cloud is that they cannot insist on their "dream identity" where they could be overheard. This and other extreme crimes can be punished with memory rehabilitation, a process meant to help speed up the return of a Sleeper's City life. (Memory rehabilitation is not always in reaction to a crime and may often be used as part of a regular therapy to get Sleepers back on their feet.) Smaller crimes may be met with smaller punishments, such as removal of rations or solitary confinement. Depending on one's occupation, a Sleeper may find themselves "immune" to a law. None are allowed to speak of their dream with impunity, but others such as the late night rule or even murder, if that's somehow related to your gig, can be overlooked. (For more in-depth information on laws and punishments, see also: Infractions) The Overworld The Overworld is the land surrounding the Cave and the Diamond City. Because of the Disaster, the once fertile land is now a wasteland filled with large outcroppings of non-reflective glass jutting out of the dusty ground. Large and vicious monsters roam the land, hunting down anything foolish to travel in their territory. There are small patches of forest dotting the land and it's here where the Hunters live, descendants of the Disaster's above-ground survivors. They tend to stay in their forests away from the monsters, but every so often, they will leave and patrol the lands around the Cave and the Diamond City, searching for any Sleepers on their pilgrimage. The Hunters are not friendly and if they catch a band of Sleepers, expect things to become very dangerous, very quickly. The Diamond City The Diamond City is northeast of the Cave and the last sign of the former human civilization in the Overworld left from before the Disaster, a sprawling metropolis almost completely untouched by the Disaster beyond the lack of life in its borders. Like any city worth its salt, the Diamond City is split between slums, suburbs and business districts, with the slums surrounding the outer edges and the business quarter nestled in the heart of the City. It's a highly advanced city compared to the Cave, though the technology differs in levels depending on the district. Floating above the tallest building, the Administrative Spire, is a diamond-like object from where the Diamond City gets its nickname. The City is where the Sleepers are told to travel upon waking up. According to the Caretaker and his Workers, it's from the Diamond City that the Sleepers hail from, having fled to the Cave during the Disaster. (For specific buildings in the City, see also: Locations) (To figure out how your character's history might work in the City, see also: Worldbuilding) ♢ navigation ♢