Would love some feedback and ideas for a post apocalyptic setting

[Sabeki]

I like it, bound spirit in a jar! I like it!

[Lord of Shadows]

I just sent Rasch an update to the compilation that includes all material up to Post #420 (The Golden Pig).

Hopefully he can get it on the website soon. Until then, here is a link to download the file:

http://www.mediafire.com/?oo2ar5qn8izg3n8"]
.

[Pokonic]

Neet!

Also, I feel that I must give back now.

Here's some funky bandits.

....

The Wild Hunt

"And I thought normal Priv's were bad."- Anon. Scaler trader.

"Look, if you see a young women alone in the steel forests and she's surrounded by animals, that means you should run, because she's going to eat you." - Bobby Reststop, rouge.

"I like dogs, I really do. But the big mutt that one tribal brat had with him, well, that...wasn't a dog, I'll tell you that."- Javis Kartright, human bartender.

"Woo hoo, there's a little one with'em! Been awhile since we've had veal, eh girls?"- Unknown Wild Hunt member.

Savage Privs are known to be some of the worst kinds of savages; always hungry and prone to cannibalism. Members of the The Wild Hunt, however, might be among the worst.

Actual attempts at contacting this large, strange group without breakouts of violence has met extreme difficulty, as its members are rampant cannibals that barely distinguish between a rider and it's mount if both are wholly flesh. In fact, they seem to have trouble actually comprehending that others are self-aware to any degree, and, while willing to talk with unwilling prey, they tend to brush off any comment that they could possibly be wrong in their ways. In fact, giving they have been sighted to consume raw flesh on the spot, even from there own dead, have given them a reputation of complete and utter savagery that makes some remarkably suspicious that they are putting on a act and are hiding something.

These brave few who go to the wastes where there hunting parties roam tend to end up in there larder soon enough.


----

Individual members of the Hunt are often spotted on the outskirts of small towns, towns that are often no there the next day. They have several distinguishing features that mark them as part of this horrid group, listed below:

• Individuals have strikingly pale green complexions, a unique mutation found throughout the entire genepool of the huntsmen. This usually leads to those unfortunate individuals not part of this unruly band who have similar complexions to be attacked in areas where the hunt operates. Some scattered reports also tell of mottled skins and tiny, antlerlike horns gracing the heads of some individuals, always in positions of power. Perhaps this single mutation has a honored place in their society?
  
  Most carry a simple melee weapon, usually a unadorned iron pole sharpened into a spear or a axe. Often, they have a spare ranged weapon with them as well, with some even carrying rifles or energy-based weapons.
  
  Leaders tend to be heavily adorned with past trophies and wear enough stolen, moldering finery, with fingers adorned with rings of gold and necks ringed with necklaces of string and bone. Some report individuals so entirely covered with hides and armor scraps that they might as well be wearing heavy armor, even if they are not hampered by the weight likes others would be.
  
  They are almost always mounted on strange beasts resembling dogs scaled to massive sizes. The origins of these beasts are unknown, but it is known that the Wild Hunters do not seem to mourn there mounts and seem to have a steady supply of them, suggesting that these creatures, resembling Great Danes the size of P-war cars, are either domesticated or simply living in areas that are not frequented by civilized creatures.
  

The exact nature of this group is uncertain, but much could be guessed from a raid on what must had been one of there major hubs, in a isolated area in the wastes. Seemingly attacked by a rouge robot, the former country club building they lived in was a ruined, stinking pit of a place, old bones of humanoids and animals alike scattered around in piles and leather-making stations outside gave the area an unholy smell. There were evidence of animal raising; pens with large toys fit for dogs.

Said raid on the half-abandoned facility managed to shed some light on several horrors. Perhaps prime among them was evidence of failed attempts at slave-keeping, failed in that some hasty writings were discovered on the body of one such captive who was let free after some small internal spat between the members of the horde. Apparently, to the dismay of many, there are far more youths then adults, with a entire full-scale settlement out somewhere in the fair wastes, with the recent incursions only being glorified scouting parties.

The implications of the body's branding, combined with the signs of extensive mutilation of it over a period of several years, have led some rather horrid conclusions: a large settlement of cannibals and murderers, with blood lining the streets and meat is bought and sold with meat, with bucheries of man and beast alike lining the roads like banks do in the old cities, exists in a months travel from what most see as civilization, and are spreading outward.

[Sabeki]

You know, I was thinking, is this game 2d or 3d? And what art style will it be in? When I think of it, I imagine it a la Walking Dead style, because I like it, but I just wanted to ask Rasch first. Also, will this have a Kickstarter? Because if it does, we should probably figure out the rewards and such now.
Also, willing to work for free on Concept Art here. Just saying

[Lord of Shadows]

Yea, I was thinking Walking Dead, or any of the same style of game. No idea on the other stuff.
.

[Lord of Shadows]

Here's some funky bandits.

....

The Wild Hunt

"And I thought normal Priv's were bad."- Anon. Scaler trader.

Another excellent post! I can see this happening in this world. Not too sure on the name, though, as The Wild Hunt has a Celtic connection to it.

Maybe:

The Wild Skins

The Savage Horde

The Blood Hunt, etc..

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[Pokonic]

Another excellent post! I can see this happening in this world. Not too sure on the name, though, as The Wild Hunt has a Celtic connection to it.

Maybe:

The Wild Skins

The Savage Horde

The Blood Hunt, etc..

.

I was thinking 'viscous man-eating savage folk who ride in bands with hounds', and the whole 'don't really see others as individuals' thing marked them as pretty fey-like, for a lack of a better word, in my book. As such, the Blood Hunt has a nice ring to it.

[Lord of Shadows]

Something recently seen on, of all things, an old episode of the TV western "Hopalong Cassidy"

A gang that was part of the plot was known as the "3, 7, 77" gang. Everyone got skeered whenever those three numbers appeared written somewhere. Finally, at the end of the episode, Hoppy revealed what the name meant. It was the size and depth for a coffin:

3 feet wide

7 feet long

in a hole dug 77 inches deep

Possibilities for Project Six?
.

[Lord of Shadows]

With many thanks to Pokonic, may I present something from the darker side of Project Six:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Blood Hunt

"And I thought normal Priv's were bad." - Anon. Scaler trader.

"Look, if you see a young woman alone in the Steel Forest and she's surrounded by animals, that means you should run, because she's going to eat you." - Bobby Reststop, Raider Rogue.

"I like dogs, I really do. But the big mutt that one of those tribal brats had with him, well, that...wasn't a dog, I'll tell you that." - Javis Kartright, human bartender in New Aberdoon.

"Woo hoo, there's a little one with 'em! Been awhile since we've had veal, eh girls?" - Screamed by an unknown Blood Hunter.

Savage Privs are known to be some of the worst kinds of savages; always hungry and prone to cannibalism. But the members of a group known as The Blood Hunt, however, might be among the worst.

Attempts at contacting this violent, strange group without lethal results have met with extreme difficulty, as its members are rampant cannibals that barely distinguish between a rider and its mount if both are wholly flesh. In fact, they seem to have trouble actually comprehending that others are sentient and, while willing to talk with unwilling prey, they tend to brush off any comment suggesting that they could possibly be wrong in their ways. In fact, given that they have been sighted consuming raw flesh on the spot, even from their own dead, they have earned a reputation of complete and utter savagery. Some scholars have become suspicious that the Blood Hunt is putting on an act, and they are hiding something even more sinister.

Many of those brave few who go to The Wastes where the Blood Hunters roam tend to end up in the group's larder soon enough. When individual members of the Blood Hunt are spotted on the outskirts of small settlements, those places are often not there the next day. They have several distinguishing features that mark them as part of this horrid group, such as:

- Frequent branding of the skin, combined with the signs of extensive other mutilation over a period of several years.

- A strikingly pale green complexion, a rare mutation found throughout the entire gene-pool of the Huntsmen. This usually leads to those unfortunate individuals not part of this unruly band who have similar complexions to be attacked in areas where the Blood Hunt is known. Some scattered reports also tell of mottled skin and tiny, antler-like horns gracing the heads of some individuals, who seem to be those in positions of power. Perhaps this single mutation has an honored place in their society.

- Leaders tend to be heavily adorned with past "trophies" and wear enough stolen, moldering finery to mark themselves as walking treasure troves. They adorn their fingers with rings of gold and their necks with chains of hair and bone, and some report individuals so entirely covered with hides and scraps that they might as well be wearing heavy armor, yet they are not hampered by the weight like others would be.

- They are almost always mounted on strange, viscous beasts resembling dogs that have been scaled to massive sizes. The origin of these beasts is unknown, but it is known that the Blood Hunters do not seem to mourn their mounts and they seem to have a steady supply of them. This suggests that these creatures are either domesticated or simply live in areas that are not frequented by civilized people.

- Most carry a simple melee weapon, usually an unadorned iron pole sharpened into a spear, or an axe. They often have a spare ranged weapon with them as well, with some even carrying rifles or energy-based weapons. They usually attack at night, or anytime they see an advantage for them, and swarm into combat riding their large canine-like beasts.

The exact nature of this group is uncertain, but much could be guessed from a battle at what must have been one of their major camps in an isolated area in The Wastes. The ruined complex was discovered a few days after the battle by a Raider band. It appeared that the Hunters were attacked by a renegade Warbot, and the former country club complex they lived in was a ruined, stinking pit of a place, with old humanoid and animal bones alike scattered around in piles and leather-making vats that gave the place an unholy smell. There were also animal pens with large leather straps and collars.

That attack on a small encampment managed to shed some light on other horrors as well. The Raiders reported finding evidence of attempts at breeding slaves, as indicated by some writings found on the body of one such captive. From the casualties, and to the dismay of many civilized folk, there appeared to be far more Blood Hunter youths than adults, with indications of a full-scale settlement somewhere deeper in The Wastes. If this is true, and the recent incursions have only been glorified scouting parties, the implications are serious. This has led to some rather horrid conclusions: a large settlement of cannibals and murderers, with bloodstained streets, where human meat is bought and sold, with butcheries of man and beast alike lining the roads like the Bean Buckets of Talvoria. If such a place exists within a month's travel of what most see as civilization, the threat is real indeed, and is spreading outward.
.

[Sabeki]

Does anyone else see Big Bad here? Cause I can't be the only one.

[BRC]

are all the Blood Hunters Privs? Because the description seems to imply they are, but does not explicitly say so.

Also, thinking about the politics of the region, the Redmont Conflict, the Blood Hunters, and the House structure.

I forget how we have the Houses set up right now, but I had a thought.

Currently, there is no overarching structure in the Aberdoon Region. While Most of the city of Aberdoon is destroyed or underwater, the road signs all say "Aberdoon", so that's the name the region gets. Pre-Event it seems like Aberdoon was the major city in the region, with Redmont and Talvora as small towns.

Anyway, right now each Settlement governs itself.

Currently, most of the Houses are run by Scalers. The Scalers have more access to food and water (Since they can drink the plentiful salt water and more easily fish), so they were the first ones to begin the Houses.
I forget how many Scaler vs Non Scaler houses we have, anyway.

Right now there are two main schools of thought among the Houses. The prevailing school of thought is to keep the current arrangement, with little in the way of overarching structure. The Scalers are safe from most bandit attacks and would benefit little from an overarching structure to coordinate defense and build infrastructure. The Humans, Privs, and Vaxx living in settlements tend to favor the creation of some sort of centralized government for Aberdoon in order to help fend off monsters and Bandits. The thought of an army of Blood Hunters coming in from the Wastes makes them all the more motivated to organize the region.

The only groups with enough political clout to make such an alliance happen would be the Houses. Right now House Yrsule is one of the bigger opponents of the Unification Plan. Their main advantage is that any major power generation inland is vulnerable to bandits and monsters, so even though their operation is in many way shoddy, it is protected. Unification would mean an organized defense force, which would mean fewer bandit and monster attacks.

Which brings us to New Redmont. The power plant under New Redmont has the capacity to outproduce House Yrsule's operations. It is generally established that if this gets operational, House Yrsule will fall and be replaced by a theoretical House McVein (or House Redmont), who WOULD be pro-unification, especially with the threat of an army of Blood Hunters on the horizon.
In the meantime opponents of Unification are generally cautious. While a lot of people, from farmers to House leaders, support the idea of Unification, nobody has a clear plan for what it would mean. It is an open secret that each Pro-Unification faction has its own ideas for what a Unified Aberdoon would look like. If the houses begin to push for Unification it could mean full-scale war in the region.

[Sabeki]

^ Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeeeeeeeeasssssssssssssss.
That's a pretty good way to tie everything together, and maybe, assuming we do it a la Walking Dead, the voices you make have an impact on the overall end. Nice? You resolve it peacefully. Nice, with a few tocs her and there? Hiuse Yrsule rebellz, but the good guys win. Neutral in your actions? A war breaks out between the Unionists and the Separatists. Kinda bad? The Blood Hunt invade during said war, people die. Really bad? You are slaughtered by the Blood Hunt, who crush the defenseless people.
I think it should be less dependent on morality and moreso on who you ally with and the cause you support, but that's just a basic though I had.

[BRC]

If we want to start plotting out endings,hrmm.

Okay, so there are two "Clocks" ticking, how long until the power plant under New Redmont goes live, and how long until the Blood Hunt arrives.

New Redmont is the first major settlement in the Blood Hunter's path.

If the Status Quo continues
Sandtop Scrappers (with support from House Yrsule) continue to attack New Redmont, delaying the Power Plant project. The Blood Hunt attacks before the power plant is complete, Aberdoon is disunified, but stable.
Result: Small settlements are either abandoned or wiped out by Blood Hunters. New Redmont is wiped out or abandoned, other settlements hold out but are greatly diminished. Blood Hunter bands freely roam the area.

If The Scrappers capture New Redmont
Basically the same as above, only this time the Blood Hunters don't expend resources and momentum capturing New Redmont. The Scrappers destroyed the town's defenses capturing it, and have no attachment to the place, so they scatter and run as soon as the Blood Hunters arrive, mostly they get cut down in the wastes.

If The Scrappers capture New Redmont, but somebody makes Sammy Sandtop keep her agreement with House Yrsule

Largely the same as the first one. However, House Yrsule spends its considerable resources turning New Redmont into a fortress, enough Blood Hunters get gunned down trying to overcome the Town's defenses that the other settlements hold out easily. Small Settlements get wiped out, and travel between settlements becomes very, very dangerous, but the settlements are able to hold on with few difficulties.

So, what happens if Moira McVain gets the Power Plant working.

If The Power Plant activates, but nothing else happens
House Yrsule falls, House McVain becomes the new Power Barons of the area. Each Unification faction tries to push their own plan forwards, before long violence erupts between the factions, leading to a bloody civil war.

During this war the Blood Hunters arrive. Nobody is able to put up a fight, the settlements are wiped out, survivors flee offshore or spend their lives in hiding.
This is the Bad Ending.

If the Power Plant activates, and the Civil War is prevented

Basically the same as the "House Yrsule takes over" ending, only this time the McVein's are in charge. People still can't agree on a plan for unification, but they're not fighting about it.
This occurs when several Pro-Unification factions are convinced to withdraw their support for Unification in order to avoid Civil War.

Power Plant Activates, somebody gets people to agree on a Unification Plan

The New Redmont power plant provides enough electricity for improvements in industry and infrastructure in the area. Rather than facing the scattered militias of a handful of settlements they face a well-equipped defense force working together. New Redmont is fortified, but this time there is enough firepower to not just hold off the Blood Hunters, but to wipe them out. The Defense Forces then go on to reduce the local monster and bandit populations. The roads become safe, infrastructure improves, and quality-of-life goes up.

This is the Good Ending, but it's not only the hardest to pull off, it's also the most risky to go for, since if you don't pull it off you run the risk of leading to the Civil War (Aka Baddest Ending).

[Lord of Shadows]

Just to backfill some of this:

are all the Blood Hunters Privs? Because the description seems to imply they are, but does not explicitly say so.

Yes, I believe that would be correct. All the Blood Hunters encountered (or found as bodies) so far have been Privs.

Currently, there is no overarching structure in the Aberdoon Region. While Most of the city of Aberdoon is destroyed or underwater, the road signs all say "Aberdoon", so that's the name the region gets. Pre-Event it seems like Aberdoon was the major city in the region, with Redmont and Talvora as small towns.

Yes, Aberdoon was a major factory and research center for military and civilian-military industry. Before The Fall it most likely was the largest city in the area.

Anyway, right now each Settlement governs itself.

Yes, that seems to be the case.

Currently, most of the Houses are run by Scalers. The Scalers have more access to food and water (Since they can drink the plentiful salt water and more easily fish), so they were the first ones to begin the Houses. I forget how many Scaler vs Non Scaler houses we have, anyway.

House Aberdoon and The Triad are the only human Merchant Houses.

House Carnives (the "entertainment" monopoly) is Privs.

House Thirteen's leadership is Vaxx, although that is not widely known. In fact, few believe that House Thirteen actually exists. They could be a "wild card" in all this.

The Scalers are safe from most bandit attacks and would benefit little from an overarching structure to coordinate defense and build infrastructure. The Humans, Privs, and Vaxx living in settlements tend to favor the creation of some sort of centralized government for Aberdoon in order to help fend off monsters and Bandits. The thought of an army of Blood Hunters coming in from the Wastes makes them all the more motivated to organize the region.

Quite true. The only motivation the Scaler houses would have is that if the Blood Hunters sweep into the area, there won't be anyone left to sell anything to. The Blood Hunters tend to take what they want.

Which brings us to New Redmont. The power plant under New Redmont has the capacity to outproduce House Yrsule's operations. It is generally established that if this gets operational, House Yrsule will fall and be replaced by a theoretical House McVein (or House Redmont), who WOULD be pro-unification, especially with the threat of an army of Blood Hunters on the horizon.

In the meantime opponents of Unification are generally cautious. While a lot of people, from farmers to House leaders, support the idea of Unification, nobody has a clear plan for what it would mean. It is an open secret that each Pro-Unification faction has its own ideas for what a Unified Aberdoon would look like. If the houses begin to push for Unification it could mean full-scale war in the region.

Wow... that's a very accurate picture of what the current situation might be. And it leaves all kinds of room open for "adventurer" types to roam the land. Very good insight into the World of Project Six.
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[Lord of Shadows]

Does anyone else see Big Bad here? Cause I can't be the only one.

Uhmmm... Ok. I'll bite. What's Big Bad?
.

[Pokonic]

I wouldn't think that the Blood Hunt (who are all-Priv, yes) would be a Big Bad-worthy threat. Deadly, yeah, utterly depraved, yeah. But they are comparatively very low tech when compared to, say, the average established bandit gang. They have the potential to be a real big threat, enough for a whole campaign to be based around stopping them as a threat once and for all.

But they are a group that makes the Drow seem completely self-sufficient and logical.

A entire society based on eating meat and hunting down prey in a wasteland that is scarce on both in large quantities makes there numbers limited at best, and they lack any real magic or technology to make them stand out from the crowd. It's really there dogs, their numbers, and there exclusive focus on meat that makes them stand out from every other big bad group of rogues and ruffans out in the wastes.

[Lord of Shadows]

I wouldn't think that the Blood Hunt (who are all-Priv, yes) would be a Big Bad-worthy threat. Deadly, yeah, utterly depraved, yeah. But they are comparatively very low tech when compared to, say, the average established bandit gang. They have the potential to be a real big threat, enough for a whole campaign to be based around stopping them as a threat once and for all.

Hmmm... Ok. Maybe we can take a cue from a line in the (revised) description of the Blood Hunters:

"Some scholars have become suspicious that the Blood Hunt is putting on an act, and they are hiding something even more sinister."

Maybe they are a vanguard, the first wave of something even more terrible.

And the only "Big Bad" I can think of that is related to gaming is the "BBEG" (Big Bad Evil Guy) at the end of every level...

I know, I probably need to get out more...
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[BRC]

Big Bad and BBEG are Synoymous.

One interesting direction we could go with this stems from the Idea that Privs are relatively uncommon. Sure a higher proportion of Privs survived (Compared to Humans and Vaxx), but they were a very small subset of the population to begin with.

One idea could be that the Blood Hunters were some sort of cloning experiment. Some elitist Priv during the End Wars decided to gather DNA from "The Best and Brightest" out there and set up a big underground Clone Factory to populate the new world after the End Wars died down.

By "Best and Brightest", he meant Privs, and he tried to tweak the formula a bit.

Then he died, and the factory got shut down, but it managed to stay fairly intact sealed in a bunker.

A few years ago, some idiots cracked open the Bunker and turned on the Machines, which started growing Clones.
All the Clones came out totally insane, and most of them came out dead, so those that came out alive generally ate the corpses of the dead ones.

The Clone factory had been built by a city-state, originally to produce biological weapons (Genemodded monsters), and so some of the Clone vats are producing War Dogs instead of Privs.

It's convoluted, but it's enough to justify a threateningly large population of Blood Hunters. The Clone Vats both replenish their numbers and provide them a source of food. Those who leave the bunker grew up eating meat from failed clones, so that's what they hunt down.

Some thoughts
1) I've been calling them "Clones", but their genetics are mixed and matched as if the people the Mad Scientist took samples from were reproducing as normal. They're even more genetically similar than most Privs (Since they come from a much more limited gene pool), but they're not identical .
2) In addition to the clones being crazy (Brains are hard to grow), some of them may come out of the vats mobile, but with only purely animal intelligence. These are killed and eaten, which is why the Blood Hunters don't regard others as sentient. They think everybody they meet up there are the products of faulty clone vats.

[Sabeki]

Big Bad is the over-arching antagonist. Also, BRCs endings seem good. However, if we want to go even more Walking Dead, maybe there could be 'Acts', or 'Episodes', that are totally different based on how you played the last one?
For instance, Player A decided to help a small village against bandits, so now he has a village who are willing to help him, along with a Lawful reputation.
Player B is neutral, and so now has nothing involving the village.
Player C helps the bandits take the village, resulting in the bandits liking him more and giving him a reputation as a bandit.
In the next thing, Player A sees the village as a way point to rest at, Player B gets attacked by Bandits, and Player C has a cluster of mini quests.
Sound good?

[BRC]

The Blood Hunters also don't have to be the Big Bad. The Unification question can be a great focus without a massive army of Blood Hunters.

Really, the whole Unification issue I outlined above could work just as well if there are enough Blood Hunters to threaten New Redmont, since that would put Moira McVein squarely in the Pro-Unification camp.

[Sabeki]

I think of them as like the Orc army crashing in in the Hobbit: Either a really big threat, resulting in the deaths of many, or a force that makes the squabbling sides have to reform.

[sarez]

Hi guys and gals...

I've been led here by Sabeki (for good or ill! XD) and have looked at the first page or so of this thread for the vague idea of doing a map for your setting...

It looks good so I'm in,

I'm not a pro, but I'm reckon I can do you something :)

..but... I need a lot of clear guidance of what your world looks like .. and I'm English too! ..so if there's any real world extrapolation you'll have to spell it out for me! :D

[Lord of Shadows]

Welcome to Project Six, Sarez. There is some geographic information in the current project compilation, available Here.
.

[Lord of Shadows]

One interesting direction we could go with this stems from the Idea that Privs are relatively uncommon. Sure a higher proportion of Privs survived (Compared to Humans and Vaxx), but they were a very small subset of the population to begin with.

I like the possibilities here BRC. Your ideas have inspired the following adaptation:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Harmony Project

During the chaotic years of the End Wars, before the final stages of The Fall, a group of Priv scientists came together under the leadership of one Dr. Xavier Thelema, a noted Priv biochemist and also a bit of an eccentric. Those who joined him were called Thelemites, and their system of beliefs was called the Thelemic Code. To call it a cult is a misnomer, as all members were supposedly equal, and Thelema only interceded when there was a deadlocked decision.

Dr. Thelema believed that a Spirit Folk had contacted him in his dreams, and had dictated to him the content of the Thelemic Code. The code presented the idea that the End Wars were the beginning of the Age of Perfection, a pruning of the bad twigs from the world foliage, and that the Priv were the closest mankind could come to perfection on its own. Only with the help of certain Spirit Folk could the Priv hope to advance to a higher level of perfection, or what the code called "harmonic balance.". The Code referred to this search for the "Perfect Race" as "The Harmony Project."

To this end, Dr. Thelema gathered together a group of fellow, like-minded Priv scientists with the intention of creating the next great incarnation of mankind. The best and brightest of Priv academia soon joined Thelema, and work began on a secret underground research colony deep in the desert of the main continent. Here the Thelemites gathered together the DNA from the best Priv they could find, created a self-sustaining eco-system that provided them with food and clean water, and then began work on The Harmony Project.

Massive automated biogenetic vats were crafted, connected to computers, raw materials and power that was independent of the outside world. Genetic formulas were crafted and ran through the vats, sometimes creating strange, new genemoded Priv specimens. Perfect in some ways, but lacking in others, most were destroyed and their matter returned to the vats to be recycled. Dr. Thelema, meanwhile, claimed that he continued to receive guidance from his dreamy Spirit Folk, who he had begun calling by the name Aiwass.

As the work on The Harmony Project progressed, the world around the colony was tearing itself apart. Several world leaders contacted Dr. Thelema to ask for his help in creating some sort of super-weapon that could help "their side" win the war. Thelema resisted all such appeals, but before long he had added a new chapter to the Thelemic Code, one devoted to the alteration of existing animals for the protection of the perfect race. To this end, vats were soon created for the production of special animals that would be the "perfect companions" for the Perfect Race.

One of the side missions of The Harmony Project was making sure that the Perfect Race was immune to every disease known to science, and to attempt to predict what diseases may result from genetic changes in the known ones. Unfortunately, a particularly virulent super-bug escaped its containment and ran rampant through the colony, and the entire population perished. Any interest by the outside world in the reason why Dr. Thelema suddenly went silent was soon eclipsed by the final stages of The Fall, as the last remnants of society itself collapsed. The Spirit Folk known as Aiwass also fell silent, and has never been reported again.

Time progressed, and the machines continued producing specimens for the consideration of the Thelemites, ignorant of their fate. The newly created Priv also died from the virus at first, but the machines controlling the vats were adaptive, and analyzed the bodies for a cause of death. Once the source was identified, new specimens were created that were immune to the bug and the colony slowly began to revive itself. The machines were so efficient at producing new Priv that the population eventually outgrew the capacity of the built-in food and water supplies. While it was true that these new Priv were in some ways better than their "ancestors," they had some deficiencies as well, such as morals and a conscience. Isolated in their underground colony, they turned on each other.

Luckily for the Priv, this went on for only a short time before a rogue Recovery Team entered the colony looking for technology and treasure to plunder. The Priv turned on them, and the intruders were slaughtered and eaten. Realizing that there was a world outside their colony, the Priv began exploring the area around them. It was a desolate wasteland, with evidence of a past civilization, but nothing that still lived.

Then one day a group of these new Priv came upon a band of Raiders. They waited and watched these strange people. They watched as the Raiders attacked a caravan, attacked a settlement, and finally attacked a fortified camp. With each skirmish, they learned: learned how to track, when to attack, and where to place their blows for the quickest kill. The scattered denizens of The Wastes have come to call this group of savages "The Blood Hunt" since they seem to be after one thing more than any other: to eat their enemies. No one knows where they came from, or what their motives are, since all records of The Harmony Project exist only at the colony.

Back at The Harmony Project, the machines are also learning, and are still producing "newer and better" Priv specimens. What this can mean for the rest of the world is unknown at this point, but the omens are dire indeed.

GM's Notes

1) The vat-spawned Priv's genetics are mixed and matched by the machines as if the Priv the scientists took samples from were reproducing as normal. These Priv are genetically more similar than most Priv, since they come from a much more limited gene pool, but they're not identical.

2) In addition to these Priv lacking any morals or conscience, some of them come out of the vats ambulatory, but with only limited or animal intelligence. These are killed and eaten, which is why the Blood Hunters don't regard others as sentient. They think everyone else they meet are the products of faulty vats.

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Designer's notes:

Thelema and Aiwass are real-world terms:

Thelema

Aiwass
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[Thunderfist12]

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This forum needs a tears of joy emoticon. This setting has gone so far since I started contributing.

Spoiler: Completely Off-Topic

Show

We also need a maniacal laugh emoticon and an "oh-no-you-didn't!" emoticon. That would be incredibly epic.

[Lord of Shadows]

...

This forum needs a tears of joy emoticon. This setting has gone so far since I started contributing.

Spoiler: Completely Off-Topic

Show

We also need a maniacal laugh emoticon and an "oh-no-you-didn't!" emoticon. That would be incredibly epic.

Yes, indeed, it has gone far beyond what I expected.
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[sarez]

Welcome to Project Six, Sarez. There is some geographic information in the current project compilation, available Here.
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OK looks great!

So first question..

Have I got free rein to design any sort of land (and sea shape) that I want within your specifications, or has anybody ever put pen to paper and sketched out a rough of what you think this looks like...

oh and question 2, how big an area are we talking about, It looks like your focused on an area of a few hundred miles at most?

[Sabeki]

I think it's from the Oregon border to the Canadian one, with the western border of the Wastes on the East side of the Spiral mountains and the forest and coast side on the West. So, Scalers, Aberdoon, Talvoria, and Soliss are on the coast, and the Wastes, the Rust, and maybe an equivalent for Spokane (Sloane?) on the mainland. The coast you can do whatever with, we haven't figured out much other than that it rose a bit.
And I suppose the Islet Vancouver was on is still alive, but just barely and most of it is sunk.
Think civilized East, Wild Wst.

[Alexkubel]

I find I scary that this is so far from it's small start, and to think I suggested New Aberdoon originally, quiet a scary thought, so much fascinating things.

[sarez]

Ahh.. cool so it is real-world-smashed-up-and-part-sunk then!

Like I said I'm English so I didn't realise that this was related to a RL spot!

OK so now I know I'll have a play and sort out a rough sketch to start us off.