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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Shoot Da Moon's Avatar

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    Default Worse Than the Disease IC



    “Freedom and Unity”
    - Vermont State Motto

    About two or three generations ago, the old world suffered a terrible plague that forced people to seek an extreme lockdown. Fortunately for humanity, one of their disaster preparations was a huge network of underground Shelters all across the nation. Your ancestors fled to one of these Shelters and escaped death from the RW11 Virus.

    Up until a day ago, you lived your whole life in Shelter 44, an advanced and safe lockdown bunker in the state of Vermont. Overseer Mailer, the undisputed leader of Shelter 44, has declared you and the rest of your group outcast, and gave you all 48 hours to gather your severance package gear and say goodbye to your loved ones before you are escorted out of the bunker by security forces.

    Overseer Mailer is the only person in the Shelter to sport a neck tattoo - a symbol of her office. Even after decades of hard administrative work, She has no lines or wrinkles in her face - you’ve never seen her worry or laugh. Everybody in the Shelter recognises her tall broad-shouldered stature and pale complexion from the vaguely foreboding photos, featured on the Shelter letterhead and posters. She keeps her shirt sleeves rolled up to her elbows and her raven dark hair is always casually styled. Her political mask is a constant half-smirk and the gaze from her bright green eyes never stays still when she is talking. You have never known Shelter life under any other Overseer, or learned information about the previous Overseer.

    DAY 1

    As the Shelter entrance closes up behind you and you ascend to the surface via an elevator, you see natural sunlight and feel natural cold in stark contrast to the artificial environment of the Shelter. It is morning, the sun a hand and a half high from the horizon. Ice and snow encrust the world around you as you head out of the man-made cave. Scattered dead bodies of human beings and animals are immediately outside the Shelter’s entrance, dead from severe lacerations or impalement. Further out from there are the rough remains of a road and buildings flanking it. Vermont roads in Winter were bad terrain even before the collapse of proper civilization - now they are barely better than mud and gravel in a straight line.

    To the east of here, two hundred metres down hill, the road leads to a town which the road sign names “Springfield”. Going the opposite way, the road seems to lead west one hundred metres to some kind of fortified encampment and shanty town centred around a large sign on a pole - “Waffle House”. Directly across the road and 50 metres from where you are now, there is a imposing concrete entrance downstairs to an underground structure (looking eerily like some sort of gaping open jaws carved out of industrial rock and metal) in the middle of various wrecked roadside eateries, autoshops, truck stops and other gravestones of Old World highway travel.
    Anachronism will never high-light the folly of my convictions!

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Shoot Da Moon's Avatar

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    Anachronism will never high-light the folly of my convictions!

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Titan in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    Simone Sparks

    Simone is conflicted.

    She had always been curious about what was outside the Shelter, of course. She had even toyed with the idea of going outside to see for herself, maybe, if she could get permission; maybe join the security forces or something? On the other hand, that really was not her forté. She was so much better at fixing things than breaking things.

    She never imagined this would be the way she'd finally get to see what was outside.

    Simone is a young woman - practically still a girl, really - standing at a grand height of 5'4". She has a backpack on her back stuffed with what she thinks will be useful out here, including an obvious backpack rolled under the flap, and a canteen and a crowbar hanging off the side. In her hands is an old receiver radio, which she's currently fiddling with in order to keep her hands and mind busy.

    She really doesn't want to think about how this is almost certainly the last time she'll ever see home again.
    There's no wrong way to play. - S. John Ross

    Quote Originally Posted by archaeo View Post
    Man, this is just one of those things you see and realize, "I live in a weird and banal future."

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    Tariq Sandoval

    It's clear enough to Tariq why he's been banished: he screwed up, and now pays the price for that. He greets his fate with trepidation - leaving what has been his world for his whole life and thrust into the unknown is not an easy experience for anyone. Using the time given to him, he gathers up what belongings he is allowed, and tearfully says goodbye to his family before finally being thrust out into the world.

    Unprepared for how cold it is outside, Tariq digs his blanket out of his pack to wrap around himself. His skinny frame provides little insulation from the cold, so he's eager to get anywhere warm. Looking around at his fellow exiles, he says, "Where to? Springfield? Waffle House? I'd be happy anywhere that's not standing freezing in the snow!"
    Last edited by GnomesofZurich; 2020-09-29 at 05:53 PM.

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Sean Pires


    Sean is a man in his early twenties, not tall or large, but in good physicall shape. He carries a backpack, probably of the like age, that is half as large as himself. He puts the backpack on the ground, along with a spear and a pair of skis.

    "We stand and freeze. Just give me a moment. I have considered our route, and have my preferences, but I want to see if things have changed since I last was to the surface."

    He takes a look around, seemingly not being in hurry anywhere, then proceeds to examine the bodies.
    Last edited by u-b; 2020-10-02 at 09:39 AM.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    (OOC: Sean Pires; see Dice Rolls thread for results.)
    Anachronism will never high-light the folly of my convictions!

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    Richard Clark

    Richard is on the taller side, his body in good shape from a life taking his training pretty seriously and black hair that had previously been regularly cut and keep short. In his past as a Shelter security officer, he'd tended towards a more welcoming expression, relying on charisma and diplomacy to resolve disputes, but as he leaves the Shelter to a scene of death, his expression is a little more on the grim determination side of things. His ill-informed foray into politics may have ended up in disaster for him, but he still had a responsibility towards the people he served, even if that just meant these people here now.

    As Sean searches around, Richard draws his revolver and stands guard. The gun may not be anything like the pistols he'd trained with in the Shelter, and his leathers and small shield (currently wrapped in a blanket along with some food and water - apparently he'd been too concerned with physical protection to get away with grabbing a backpack too - weren't any match for the gear the security forces had access to when things got bad, but it would have to do and he felt better to have at least these at hand. At least the baton he carried on his belt was pretty much what he was used to

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Worse Than the Disease

    The newly outcast adventurers stand on guard as Sean picks over the scene. He finds a small bottle of pills and bullets for both pistol and rifle among the dead people. The dead are stained with blood and baring defensive wounds - this was a fight they lost.

    The silence is otherwise unbroken as no-one approaches the area.
    Anachronism will never high-light the folly of my convictions!

  9. - Top - End - #9
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Yuki Akuma's Avatar

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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    Simone Sparks

    Simone frowns as all she gets is static. She shuts the radio off, and stows it in her backpack, before bending down to pick up her walking stick. Well... it's a bit sturdier than most walking sticks. More of a staff than anything.

    "We should get going. I... really don't want to be outside when the sun goes down, if it's already this cold," Simone says. "If we're voting, I say we go to... Waffle House. There's probably people there. People with stuff that might be broken." She pauses. "Look, that's all I really know how to do, okay? I dunno how else I can really contribute."
    There's no wrong way to play. - S. John Ross

    Quote Originally Posted by archaeo View Post
    Man, this is just one of those things you see and realize, "I live in a weird and banal future."

  10. - Top - End - #10
    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Sean pockets the rounds and the pills, inspecting the pills and the bottle containing them for any marks they might have and/or other distinctive features like a recognizable shape. He then takes some more time to examine the scene. "Somebody take the dogs. I would be overloaded if I had to carry them, but they are good to eat." He nods at Simone's suggestion. "Waffle House seems reasonable enough."

  11. - Top - End - #11
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    With the suggestion from Simone and Sean backing her up, Tariq says, "Waffle House it is! Let's go!" He is eager to get on their way to somewhere warm. Viewing the bodies with distaste as they pass by them, he keeps his entrenching tool to hand, in case they run into trouble.

  12. - Top - End - #12
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Shoot Da Moon's Avatar

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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    Worse Than the Disease

    The road to the Waffle House is well-travelled and uneven. The Appalachians are an extremely old geological formation, and they have been weathered down in so many nooks and crannies that it's easy to get yourself turned around in the wilderness, or take a nasty fall in failing weather or the dark. Also, except when you get up north, the Green Mountains rarely break out above the treeline.

    Thankfully, it’s still sunny out.

    (OOC: The terrain is considered Bad. But it isn't snow or ice (yet), so the travel skill is Hiking. Anyone wanting to speed up the journey, see the rules on AtE2 page 31-32 and the Hiking rules on B351. Otherwise, the journey to the Waffle House depends on the slowest Move (encumbrance included) amongst the party, IIRC. It's 100 metres of distance to the destination.)
    Anachronism will never high-light the folly of my convictions!

  13. - Top - End - #13
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    Tariq is happy to be moving, and eyes the geological formations with interest as he walks, figuring out as a mental exercise where he would place explosives if he wanted to bring a particular feature down.

    Quote Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon View Post
    (OOC: The terrain is considered Bad. But it isn't snow or ice (yet), so the travel skill is Hiking. Anyone wanting to speed up the journey, see the rules on AtE2 page 31-32 and the Hiking rules on B351. Otherwise, the journey to the Waffle House depends on the slowest Move (encumbrance included) amongst the party, IIRC. It's 100 metres of distance to the destination.)[/I]
    (OOC: Even for Bad terrain, it's probably overkill to use Hiking to speed up a journey of 100 metres (~110 yards or 6.25% of a mile). My character with Light encumbrance has Basic Move 4, which, using the rules on B351, would be 40 miles in an 8 hour day under ideal conditions, 20 miles for Bad terrain, so it would take 90 seconds, increasing to 2 minutes at Basic Move 3, 3 minutes at Basic Move 2, and a whopping 6 minutes at Basic Move 1).
    Last edited by GnomesofZurich; 2020-10-01 at 08:40 PM.

  14. - Top - End - #14
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Worse Than the Disease

    Your group has a short hike to the Waffle House, which is a layered encampment.
    The outermost layer is a fenced-in shantytown of tents and campfires, guarded by armed men with dogs on leashes. A big sign displayed at the fence reads "Prove yourself trustworthy".
    Beyond that is a more established encampment, complete with thick walls and richer residents. There, regular merchant caravans do their business and hostels operate for those needing better shelter. Gambling (prize fights and card games) and services are set up here.
    The innermost part of the settlement(?) is the Waffle House building itself, fortified and off-limits to anyone not authorised by the encampment leadership. The guards there sport better armour and guns than anyone else here. A rifleman on the roof provides overwatch for the whole place.

    Your group are obviously the cleanest and least prepared people here. The guard at the fence opening gently stops you all and asks you your business.
    Anachronism will never high-light the folly of my convictions!

  15. - Top - End - #15
    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Sean Pires

    Sean takes some time to observe the encampment before approaching it. When he is up close and asked by the guard, Sean expresses the truth in just a few words, wondering if that would be enough. If not, he would be deferring to Richard to provide the details.

    "Trade. Work for hire."

  16. - Top - End - #16
    Titan in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    Simone Sparks

    Simone seems to be far more interested in the fence - and peering through it to see the rest of the encampment - than the guards. People aren't really her forté.

    "I fix stuff," Simone mumbles, not looking at the guards still. Mostly hoping someone else can do the talking, but wanting to provide what she's actually good for just in case the faceman forgets to.
    There's no wrong way to play. - S. John Ross

    Quote Originally Posted by archaeo View Post
    Man, this is just one of those things you see and realize, "I live in a weird and banal future."

  17. - Top - End - #17
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    Doing his level best to look 'trustworthy', Tariq responds to the guard, "Work and a place to stay."

  18. - Top - End - #18
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    Richard Clark

    Seeing how the others react, Richard gently lays the frozen dog down before stepping forward, revolver holstered and offering a friendly hand and a smile which he hoped put across how trustworthy he was.

    "Hello! My name's Richard Clark, and our group come from a nearby Shelter. We're new out here, but I assure that you can trust us. I was a servant of law and order myself back in the Shelter, and the others have valuable skills I'm sure can be put to good use. I hope our visit will have a good outcome for all of us, if you'd let us in?"

    He stays like that, open hand waiting for a handshake, until the guard reacts.

  19. - Top - End - #19
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    (OOC: Very Good Reaction)

    The guard does a double take.
    "A SHELTER?! Did you just say a Shelter?"
    The guard signals to his comrades and then turns back to you.
    "Okay, you guys need to talk to the boss. I can take you there directly. Welcome to our town. If you're from a Shelter, we need to discuss all sort of matters with you guys..."

    When other guards show up, one takes over for the greeter while the rest help escort your group inside the Waffle House. The people inside have almost completely refurbished the eatery to be a miniature bunker, with people gathered around a regional map.

    One woman looks up as the guards present you to her, she shakes all your hands before she gets down to brass tacks.
    "Now, what is this about a Shelter?"
    Anachronism will never high-light the folly of my convictions!

  20. - Top - End - #20
    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Sean Pires

    Sean did not even think about violating the Protocol before Richard spoke of the Shelter. He had not decided to stick to it, he just did not think otherwise. Now, though, as this topic was brought under review of his consciousness, four facts become apparent. The first was that they have not been instructed one way or another before being cast out. Sean definitely wasn't. The second was that the Overseer would be hard-pressed to enforce anything on the outcasts anyway. The third was that now, after the Shelter has been mentioned, it wouldn't be good for their future as the outcasts to withhold the details. And the fourth was that Sean's hope of eventually being cast back in was rapidly evaporating. With all this in mind, he lets Richard proceed with what he had started, taking notice of all the details being disclosed.

  21. - Top - End - #21
    Titan in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    Simone Sparks

    Simone is surprised by the guards' reaction, to say the least. What's the big deal about being from a Shelter?

    She follows along through the encampment, curiously looking all about her as she goes, again far more interested in the things than the people. Are they using electricity out here...? She was pretty sure only Shelters would have working electricity, but then again generators weren't hard...

    When they get into the main building, Simone's eyes suddenly widen. "Were we not supposed to tell..?" she whispers. "...They threw us out, so who cares I guess." Someone's surly.
    Last edited by Yuki Akuma; 2020-10-03 at 07:56 AM.
    There's no wrong way to play. - S. John Ross

    Quote Originally Posted by archaeo View Post
    Man, this is just one of those things you see and realize, "I live in a weird and banal future."

  22. - Top - End - #22
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    As the group's escorted through the settlement, Richard's eyes don't stay still, looking at everything they pass with interest. Things here were a lot different from home, and very removed from the scattered stories of the old world his family had told him, but yet the people here were still people. He could live here, he supposed, if things went well.

    There was a possibility that bringing up the Shelter wasn't the best idea, but Richard hadn't gone through life second-guessing his decisions, and apparently exile wasn't changing anything. He receives the handshake with a respectful nod, considering his words for a moment before speaking.

    "Yes, we come from a Shelter - we each had our various run-ins with the Overseer, and so were exiled out here. I hope you'll understand if I don't divulge all the details right away - regardless of my views about the leadership, there are still people I care about there and, speaking completely honestly, I don't know you well enough yet to trust you with their safety yet." He pauses again, then smiles. "Still, if you're as trustworthy as your sign claims, I'm sure that can change soon. Now, the man who let us in said there were things we could do for you. Would you like to explain them, so we can see what we can do for each other?"

  23. - Top - End - #23
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    The woman chews over the group's response for a moment. She is not comforted by it. But she seems more anxious than angry or distrusting.
    "Okay. Can you at least tell me what number Shelter you can from? Can you tell me the name of your Overseer?"

    The woman pauses to mark down some things in her log before turning back to the group and explaining;
    "You said you were all exiled from your Shelter? I've never heard of anyone getting exiled from a Shelter before. And...weren't Shelters supposed to end lockdown and open up 50 years ago? Why has your Shelter remained closed off? Shouldn't it let people come and go freely? That was the universal policy, right?"

    The man besides the woman, who was working the radio and writing on the map until now, looks up and addresses you;
    "The reason we're asking, is that we need Shelters online. They're the only places that are certain to have advanced technology. When you're in a war, you need every advantage you can get."

    The woman nods. "And speaking of war, we were hoping you guys knew something about fighting the big stinking army attacking pretty much every good person in the state. We think the army came from a Shelter, you see..."
    Anachronism will never high-light the folly of my convictions!

  24. - Top - End - #24
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    Richard raises an eyebrow at the response. "That's...not how things worked in our Shelter. Clearly, our Overseers decided their way was better for some reason. We've always only had very limited contact with the outside world -Sean knows more about that - and unless Mailer was even better at hiding things than anyone thought, we haven't been sending out troops, and you're the first living people we've come across." He pauses, a thoughtful expression on his face. "You've never heard of any exiles? It's never been a common punishment, but it has happened before. Surely one of them must have come past here at some point over the generations since the virus."

  25. - Top - End - #25
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    The woman shrugs. "The only Shelter people I've ever had a lot of contact with are from Bread Basket, Red Brick and Gunmetal." She points to large settlements marked on the regional map.
    "No exiles."

    "Well, if you're not with those psychos, maybe you can help us?" The man with the map asks you. "If you can get your Shelter to help the war effort, that would be great...but we'll settle for fighting the invaders with us."
    Anachronism will never high-light the folly of my convictions!

  26. - Top - End - #26
    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Sean Pires

    Assuming the map they have here is not secret, Sean takes time to examine it.

    "I'd rather not have our shelter involved in a war agains three other shelters. At least, not right away. No objections to getting personally involved though not all of us are exactly fighters. Can we have a brief intruduction into the subject, suitable for people who have just crawled out of a hidey-hole in the ground?"
    Last edited by u-b; 2020-10-04 at 02:54 AM.

  27. - Top - End - #27
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    The man with the map and radio points to red crosses scattered all over the map. "For the last 5 years, there's been regular attacks on peaceful settlements by some sort of gang of gangs - a coalition of gangs. According to reports, they're equipped with advanced technology - even robots!"

    The man then pulls up some sketches on paper depicting symbols. "All the attackers have these pure black tattoos, mostly on the arms, the legs and the back. The mostly either kidnap people for some kind of slavery or steal anything valuable while killing anyone they can find."

    The man puts the sketches back and continues; "We found people spying for the army all around the region. We've confirmed the army is made up of sub-factions, each with their own tattoos, names and uniforms. So far, we've got names for them; The Jackpots, The Jacks, The All-Blacks, 14 Words, Lucky Strikes, The Gamblers..."

    The man looks up at you. "You sure none of this sounds familiar?" (It does not.)
    "I don't think your Shelter has anything to do with this, but I have a hunch that, somewhere out there, a Shelter went rogue."

    The woman coughs to get your attention. "As for work you can do, there is a radar station in the mountains we'd like someone to check out for us..."
    Anachronism will never high-light the folly of my convictions!

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    Simone Sparks

    "Fourteen words? ... I remember something about that from one of gramma's old books... About..." She frowns, looking at the ceiling. "...I don't remember." She shrugs her shoulders.

    At the mention of the radar station she perks up considerably. "A radar station? Okay that sounds awesome we should totally go." Pause. "Whyyy do you want it checked out though?"
    There's no wrong way to play. - S. John Ross

    Quote Originally Posted by archaeo View Post
    Man, this is just one of those things you see and realize, "I live in a weird and banal future."

  29. - Top - End - #29
    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Sean Pires

    "Have not heard any of those names." says Sean still looking at the map "So, they are fairly delocalized and have not been tracked to a lair... Are they using The Gutter to move around?" here Sean thinks some explanation should be in order "I was a scout for the shelter. Our scouting efforts were fairly limited, but I still know a bit more than nil."

    As the radar station is mentioned, Sean nods. "Civilian or military? Show me where you expect it to be on your map. Any specifics you want to have done in there?"

    Spoiler
    Show
    If the expected location of the radar station is pointed to, Sean will estimate the distance, both in miles and in days of travel with current group, and take notice of anything noticeable near the route between here and there.
    Last edited by u-b; 2020-10-04 at 06:51 AM.

  30. - Top - End - #30
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Worse Than the Disease IC

    The man points to a place on the map, about 110 miles from your current location. It is on top of East Mountain, in the Essex County.
    "The radar base was formerly military. We want you guys to check it out, scavenge what you find there if you can, and try to establish a Comms base. If there's an outside chance you can get the radio station working, we have to risk it."
    Anachronism will never high-light the folly of my convictions!

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