After Impact, the first two years were a crucial time for the remnants of humanity to establish a foothold against the Scourge or be lost forever. Across the states, most survivors didn’t stand a chance, cities were kill zones, weapons were rare, ammo was rarer, and food doesn’t grow in concrete. Others were luckier, most rural folks had guns to spare, a freezer full of last year's deer, and generators on standby. The New Southern States of America were luckier still to start fresh in a hotbed of military power. Driven by a blue-collared workforce and surviving military members and supplied with the spoils of abandoned military bases, the NSSA quickly rose above the petty squabbles of disorganized tribes and gangs to become the premier power in the region. Armed with the best in modern weaponry and vehicles from day one, the NSSA has only grown, firmly establishing themselves as a leader not only in militant might, but also in safety and productivity for their citizens.
As the world turns empires rise and fall. Those with power grasp for more and trample the weak under the relentless marching of their conquests. They are the writers of history, and soon the rotten carcasses of brutalized civilizations are swept away in the river of time, forgotten to all but the few who dare to question the system they were born into. The Valkyrie are those who questioned, and those who remembered the atrocities the NSSA committed as they alone rose from a bloody battlefield of contenders decades ago. Firm believers in brutally violent resistance, the Valkyrie are a steadily growing organization that has been fighting the NSSA’s expansion since before New Hattiesburg. Harassing the leading military power in the region with unprecedented organization and precision, the Valkyrie are vicious combatants who excel in guerilla tactics and ambushes, and are completely unafraid to use everything at their disposal to strike a blow that will be felt through the nation.
Created by stranded Road Rats and local survivors after the formation of the Central Sea, the Merchant Republic of Mare immediately became the lifeline that held communities together and gave them a chance to start again. Growing from fledgling trade convoys and a fleet of half-drowned fishing boats, Mare quickly grew to become a powerful authority in the Central Sea. While Mare struggles to maintain tense alliances with rival ports on the western bank of the Sea and fights to maintain neutrality in the Gulf, they police and control trade and commerce in their waters with an iron fist.
Teetering atop the jagged mountains on the eastern bank of the Central Sea and protected by the invisible aura of the gods, the Fuhren Clans are an island of humanity in an ocean of Scourge and savages. Seeking direction in a violent new world, the Amish founders of the Clans looked to the past once more and discovered not only a source of strength, but a forgotten way of life. Guided by their already archaic lifestyle and armed with the spoils of raided museums, the Clans adopted a warlike culture that saw them meet humanity's newfound enemies not with timidity or seclusion, but with the edge of a sword. Beset by mysterious illnesses and miraculously warded from the Scourge, the Clans slowly shifted into a feudal polytheistic society driven by strength and honor. Arming themselves with tactics and armament straight out of the dark ages, the Clans soon became renowned equally for their brutality in combat and the incredible artistry of their artisans. Strongholds rose and stone walls crept across their land as they carved a bloody path through the Scourge and the army of savages rising against their southern border.
Rising seemingly out of the sludge and sand left by the formation of the Central Sea, the Gorgon Empire surged from roaming bands of raiders to a sprawling army almost overnight. Trapped in a technological limbo, the Gorgon’s worship the Hivelords that burrow through their rocky canyons and slither beneath the sand. Capable of understanding some modern weaponry but unable to manufacture it, the Gorgon’s mostly rely on vicious melee weapons dipped in Scourge blood and wielded by almost unstoppable berserker-like warriors. Driven by religious fervor and a healthy dose of drugs, the Gorgon’s are capable of almost superhuman feats. That, combined with their mutant war beasts and sheer numbers makes them a truly fearsome enemy.
An fundamentalist republic returning to the building blocks of America, the Union of Carolina and Virginia is fighting to save the world not only from the Scourge, but from the festering rot that seized the world before Impact. Returning to traditional values that saw gender and race take their proper places in society, the Union flourished under unfaltering, iron-fisted rule. Despite their lack of technological innovation, the Union’s surging populations saw them spread quickly from the woods of Virginia to the surrounding states. Forests fell and wooden palisades rose wherever they went. Crude trenching machines cut mazes of trenches across the land and clunky, smoke-billowing tanks crushed villages and homesteads in their path. With each mile taken, the Union grows stronger and with each battle won their slave-powered workforce grows.
Bloodthirsty raiders that haunt every Union soldier’s nightmares, the Reavers are killers that haunt the Appalachians. Filling their ranks with former slaves freed in their conquests, the Reavers are reapers who tear across battlefields with the thunder of a thousand engines. Experts in guerrilla warfare and terrorism, the Reavers strike with speed and ferocity from the backs of motorcycles and other spike-encrusted vehicles before disappearing into the mountains without a trace. Led by near-mythical figures from the unreachable wilderness, the Reavers are known to their enemies only for their brutality, but to the slaves, the oppressed, and the broken, they are saviors. Unquestionably violent and ruthless in their pursuits, the Reavers are hellbent on the liberation of all slaves, even if it takes a genocide to do so.
Like the ancient sea raiders of mythical proportion, the Dorian Empire’s conquests are as quick and brutal as they are unanticipated. Perched at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, the Dorian Empire is a violent culture steeped in tradition and populated by raiders and pirates. Using a mixture of modern and archaic tech, the Dorian Raiders depend on sheer force of numbers to overwhelm their enemies and swarm over their walls with the fury of the sea monsters they so revere.
The world ended when Impact unleashed the Scourge on humanity, but for some, it was just the beginning. In an era ruled by lawlessness and meaningless bloodshed, one nation rose from the ashes stronger. Having been purged of weakness, political corruption, and the shackles placed upon them by the United States generations ago, Cuba was left free to cut a bloody swathe through the Caribbean and take their place as a nation undivided and free of both human and Scourge oppressors. A proud nation after years of turmoil, Cuba is a place of safety and opportunity for those willing to bend the knee, and even those who refuse will find purpose in the ranks of the army. Limited resources have slowed Cuba’s technological advancements, but even disadvantaged so, they are able to boast one of the world's largest and most feared navies.
Before Impact, a technological giant in Maine was developing cutting edge robotics that were projected to revolutionize the future. They never got a chance to realize that dream, but what they did get was a future that could no longer police or control them. Suddenly they were free to do whatever needed to be done to ensure their own future. Sentinel is a shadowy corporation that specializes in arms dealing and autonomous defense systems. Driven by demand, Sentinel has spread their factories and outposts all over North America, even going so far as the Northwest. Their armies are filled with robotic killing machines and their labs are overflowing with experiments and technology that borderline the supernatural. Their ruthless hunt for knowledge and technological superiority has made them enemies all over the world, but enemies of Sentinel don’t usually last very long.
Scourge born not in dark nests and muddy tunnels but in sterile labs and surgical wards, the Protégés are a living testament to the twisted ingenuity of Sentinel. Intelligent monsters, delivered by infected mothers that they would never know, the Protégés were the perfect experiments. They were raised in labs, tested, augmented and tortured until finally, with the help of a human sympathizer, they broke free and wrestled control of remote Sentinel facilities for themselves. Caught somewhere between man and Scourge, the Protégés fight to avoid slipping into the chaos and violence of their lesser kin while fighting brutal battles against their creators at every turn.
The Scourge have often been considered an evolutionary mistake, an affront to the natural world, and a plague of mindless animals that are fit for nothing other than extinction. The Swarm of the Glade would argue that they are proof that the Scourge are rather the next step in the ever-changing evolution of the human race. Created by chance or design, the Swarm is made up of intelligent Scourge born out of living nests that wind endlessly through the murky, waterlogged swamps of Florida. Intelligent enough to strategize, savage enough to lead armies of their lesser brothers, and cunning enough to sway human sympathizers to their cause, the Swarm is a force that if left unchecked, could bring humanity to its knees once again.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.