world details under construction

[scrosciare]

B A S I C S It's year 2046. The end isn't near, but seems like it might be to those in a rapidly dwindling population. Despite urban settlements blooming due to few daring to stay outside the cities, people grow more and more secluded by the day, tending to their own. Strangers are regarded with suspicion. It's the only way to survive in a world that doesn't cut a person much slack. Naturally, unknown sicknesses spread like wildfire in this sort of environment. At least a fourth of the world’s population has been decimated at this point, and the numbers don't seem to be slowing--quite the contrary. Food production is automated because the wilderness is riddled with unknown entities. Roads are a constant danger. Aeroplanes pollute the airspace between major cities, leaving a constant smog hovering in the air. Bullet trains still jet between locations that can't be reached via air, but they come few and far between. Free trade is nothing but a dream in conditions like this. The lack of menial work leads to poverty and an economy teetering on the brink of collapse. Crime is the only way to make a living for a majority of the survivors. It's not just the burglars and kidnappers that you have to be afraid of, though. There’s actual monsters, as well. Happily someone you know knows someone who knows this one guy who might be able to do something about your problem. He'll require cash and never gives you his name, but that's better than watching your child eat his own leg and choke on his own blood. H I S T O R Y ►►► 2018 - 2021 Europe is under siege from the inside. Riots break out, hostile takeovers commence, and central governments fall all over the continent. Slowly, smaller city-states emerge, governed by idealistic dictators. Massacres and purification of both country and culture begins. Borders to the east are built out of steel and prejudice. ►►► 2022 - 2024 A town full of people in rural Ireland are wiped out due to mysterious circumstances, though there seems to be one common thread to every single death: cannibalism. The area is barricaded and declared hazardous. In Los Angeles, an unseen attack kills thousands. The FBI suspects biological warfare, placing the country on edge and its citizens thirsty for justice. The US government seems unconcerned. Riots break out in New York, Boston, Chicago, the Bay Area, Washington, Austin, and Philadelphia, leading to the declaration of martial law. ►►► 2024 - 2025 For reasons unannounced, the US invades Canada. The ensuing war makes it easy to miss the disappearance of several smaller towns in the southernmost states. Roads to them are blocked completely. A new Kalmar Union is formed between the Nordic countries. Russia reclaims the Baltics while the world’s political leaders are distracted, and the border fence is moved westward. The entire Dutch royal family dies to a Mediterranean Plague. A new king is never crowned, but the people eventually elect a leader. All contact with Greenland is lost. ►►► 2025 - 2027 Finland is ejected from the Kalmar union; soon after, Helsinki is placed under quarantine, with Sweden and Norway erecting borders between the lands. The Plague spreads like wildfire over Europe. Paris closes its borders. One can only enter through a meticulous vetting process. The Vatican follows suit, but also closes its communication routes with the rest of the world. ►►► 2027 - 2031 Canada falls. US troops flee back south when The Plague extends to Canada as well. No cure has been found. Oslo declares independence and breaks away from the Kalmar union. Scotland also declares its independence and closes its borders. A union is formed between Scotland and Oslo. ►►► 2031 - 2034 Vienna soon becomes a ghost city after falling to a new illness that is dubbed The Blue Fever. Following several days of a high fever, victims swiftly suffocate to death. It’s impossible to avoid contamination from the bacteria responsible--even in quarantine conditions. Sea blockages are erected around the coast of Finland, with Russia erecting its own protective borders in western forests. The country is completely closed off. All those left inside stay inside. ►►► 2035 - 2039 A new European Union is formed, this time militarised. Nordic and UK decide not to join. The EU invades Italy, breaking into the Vatican. Shortly after the Vatican is brought to its knees, an ugly uprising follows, leaving hundreds dead when the EU squashes the uprising. The Italian tragedy is brushed under the rug. ►►► 2039 - 2042 With Canada an uninhabitable wasteland, the US attempts to extend its reach into South America. Queen Charlotte of England enters negotiations with Scotland. Meanwhile, the UK closes its borders for five years in 2039. No one enters or leaves the country during that time. ►►► 2042 - 2045 An international research facility is opened in London (2024). Scientists around the world are brought in. Ideas for cures and protective measures are being formulated. ►►► 2045 - 2046 Anonymous forces bomb London.

D E T A I L S DEMONS roam the earth. Completely inhuman, these beings are beyond discussion. Creatures of hunger, greed, and malice. They possess a person, crawl inside them, and eat them from inside, out. Some are strong enough that a simple touch is enough to infect a person with madness. Other demons need more time for their corruption to take hold. Those demons higher up in the food chain may adopt a more human-like form, however, they’re still completely and utterly inhuman, incapable of compassion or understanding. MAGIC is real, but not easy to wield. It takes an obscene amount of time and knowledge to master. Think of hex bags, protective symbols, and knowledge as opposed to wiggly fingers and light effects. CYNICISM is just as real. Most people find it hard to believe in anything invisible--including demons and magic.