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[i]On the 23rd of April 1986, the No. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant violently exploded, sending hundreds of tons of radioactive material into the surrounding area. The nearby city of Pripyat is evacuated, and a 30 kilometer zone of exclusion is established. The only people allowed to enter the zone are so-called "liquidators," officials in charge of cleaning up the area and covering the gaping hole over the exposed reactor core. Hundreds of people die in the process to contain the center of the disaster, but eventually a massive concrete structure known as the sarcophagus is finished. It effectively seals off the reactor core and prevents any more radiation for leaking out, and the zone remains like this for two decades.

The quiet, empty land was violently shaken in 2006, when an impossibly bright light, seemingly originating from above the plant, illuminated the land for kilometers around. After several minutes the light disappears as quickly as it came, and those who observed the phenomenon are left without an explanation. A few days later the sky lights up again, only this time it is accompanied by a violent earthquake that shakes the entirety of the zone. A wave of energy emanates from the plant, killing practically everything within the zone which isn't in sufficient cover. Simultaneously, the landscape all across the zone becomes nearly unrecognizable, as land formations suddenly spring out from the earth, creating strange and unfamiliar landmarks. The zone's boundary is extended by 5 kilometers, and scientists all around the world flock to determine what happened. Few of them return, and those who do tell of a world which is practically alien compared to our own. Local flora and fauna are hideously mutated, invisible dangers are scattered all over the place, and strange objects called artifacts, said to possess powers beyond explanation, can be found in certain places.

Over the next several years, waves of people from all walks of life come to the zone. Some come to escape real life, some come in search of riches, some come to take advantage of the zone's lawless nature, and some come in search of the fabled wish granter. These people are called stalkers, and each one has their own reasons for coming to the zone. The zone represents not only great danger, but great opportunity. It is a new frontier to be explored and discovered by those who dare to brave it's hostile and unnatural environment.

This remained the status quo in the zone for years, but over time subtle changes began to reshape the zone. Stalkers began to notice emissions becoming more frequent and drawn out, reports of horrifying new mutants began to circulate throughout the stalker community, and new anomalies materialized all across the zone. Scientists within the zone scramble to figure out what is happening, even as the zone's borders continue to grow and grow.

8 April 2018 - Present Day: The zone's radius is estimated at 60 kilometers, giving it an area of over 10,000 square kilometers. The population of the zone reaches well over 2000, and continues to grow. Factions have come and gone, stalker camps have changed locations, and very few stalkers from the original waves are either alive or still within the zone's borders. Even to those who are, the zone is a whole new world, one that is constantly changing and growing. New legends have circulated throughout the stalker community about mutants, anomalies, and artifacts the likes of which have never been seen before. Some parts of the zone have become uninhabitable due to freak changes in anomalous activity, while areas previously deemed too hazardous to traverse are teeming with veteran stalkers eager to explore the newlands.

More people are signing on with Duty as the border of the zone comes closer and closer to Ukraine's capital city, Kiev, reinforcing the idea that the zone may one day swallow the entire globe. Freedom still exists, but their numbers are dwindling, and their mentality is shifting, since even they can't ignore the threat the zone poses to the outside world. The two factions have been in a cease fire for over a year, and talks are circulating about a possible alliance, combining certain aspects of both factions. Monolith has mysteriously faded into the realm of memory, and almost every mercenary squad has evacuated the zone, fearing the new dangers spawning into the ever-expanding zone. The former has been replaced by the Marauders who, as the name implies, attack any other stalkers without provocation or reason as far as anyone else knows. As a direct result of the emergence of the Marauders, a small group of highly skilled and experienced stalkers from every faction, calling themselves Sentinels, banded together in an effort to learn more about the Marauders and defend other stalkers from them.

Though the details in the zone change, the basics remain the same. Anything that isn't human will try to kill you, even some fellow humans will try to kill you, and there are no rules. Every stalker has a thirteen percent chance of dying on day one. The average life expectancy in the zone is a month. Exceed six months in the zone, and you're either incredibly skilled, incredibly smart, incredibly lucky, or all of the above. Every decision you make in the zone will have an effect, and every action has it's consequences. One move can mean the difference between life and death.[/i][/center]

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Before anyone continues reading, I would like to have a committed player base, that means no flakes. For anyone who is familiar with the stalker universe, this roleplay should be fairly straightforward to you, with some tweakage. Like I said in the above few paragraphs, the zone is in a state of flux, and things are changing. Most things in the original stalker games will be included, some have been removed, and several things have been added to it. I've already thought through a basic synopsis which I will be developing as the RP progresses, and I already have a decent idea about how it will end. Bear in mind, this RP does have a fairly linear progression of events. There will be room for side bits, but there is an ultimate goal in mind. In addition, it is highly likely that characters will start dying off near the end, and I don't just mean NPCs, though they'll be going in fucking droves by the time we reach the eleventh hour.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, I will do my best to reveal information to you as time progresses, and I'll try to get the players who are more familiar with the Stalker games to help with that. As of right now, I will tell you a few bits of information about Stalker which may help you make your character. First of all, pretty much every stalker goes by an alias. Not all of them, but most. Second, women are pretty uncommon in the zone, and out of the handful that are in the zone most are noncombatants. Female characters are not unwelcome, just know that yours will be setting a precedent, unless you conceal your gender. Finally, once the RP gets started, as long as you stick to the main group of players, you should be okay.

Regarding characters, basic shit applies, meaning NO GODMODDING, NO OP CHARACTERS, NO MARY SUES OR MICHAEL STEWS, ETC. As long as you follow a few restrictions I will put in place for the sake of the storyline and you follow the basic guidelines your character should be alright. Your character must be a fairly experienced stalker, which is why I recommend no one really signs on for this unless they have played any of the Stalker games (for those who haven't, you can download and play a standalone mod for Shadow of Chernobyl called Lost Alpha from ModDB), and for this reason, if you haven't played it but want to join the RP anyways, I would like to call on my fellow stalkers to help me out in teaching you rookies.

Now, the part you all have been waiting for (I hope), the Character Sheets.

[hider=CS Format]
Name: (Yep.)

Alias: (Recommended, but not required.)

Nationality: (Yep.)

Age: (Like I said, 16 to 50.)

Gender: (Yep.)

Physique/Appearance/Clothing: (Picture or realistic art for an image, please. Physical description as well.)

Spoken Languages: (Yeah, this is a thing. Stalkers come from all over the place, and it's reasonable to assume they all can speak many different languages. Being the two most common languages in the zone, every character must know either English or Russian.)

Faction: (You may have ties with a faction, or be a former member of a certain faction, but every character must be a neutral stalker currently. If your character has ties with a faction, please state them here. I will only allow your character to have ties with/be a previous member of Mercenaries, Freedom, Duty, Scientists, Clear Sky, Bandits, or Sentinels.)

Personality: (I will let you decide whether you want to tell us your character's personality or not. As long as you yourself have a solid grasp on how your character behaves, you may chose not to fill this part out.)

History: (Same as the above.)

Reputation: (This is required and will make up for the last two parts. Almost every stalker who has been in the zone for a while has a reputation, and different people will see them differently depending on their reputation.)

Weapons/Ammo: (Be smart about this. Some ammo is more readily available than others. If you bring a .454 Casull, expect to be using it as a fancy paperweight a lot.)

Gear: (Backpack, medical supplies, etc. goes here.)

Skills/Abilities: (Anything that your character can do better than the average stalker. List 8 + description of each.)

Weaknesses: (Anything that puts your character at a disadvantage compared to other stalkers. List 4 + description of each.)

Note: I will make exceptions if you PM me with a good reason to give you one, but it must be a good reason.
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If you have any questions or want additional information, you can either post it here or PM me. Now, I'm going to get to work on my own character. Good hunting, stalkers.