ClocktowerEchos — Roleplayer Guild

American Dream: Shattered Union

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

"My country tis of thee,
Lost land in anarchy,
Of thee I weep.

Land where our fathers died,
Land of our fallen pride.
From every sea side,
Oh save us please."

IC

No one really knows how it all started, but humanity finally destroyed itself. Every day new tales of horror and war while every night people prayed to see the daylight once more. The endless cycles of war, destruction, poverty had finally took its toil on people around the work as they protested and revolted against their governments. Soon, there was no nations left standing, nothing that what could have been called a proper nation anyways. Europe was reduced to fractured kingdoms, Russia had been lost to the snow, Africa was scared by a myriad of warlords  while various dynasties and leaders rose in China all claiming to be the true inheritors of the land. 

As for America, the once great nation had closed its doors for the first time in over 200 years. But like all other great nations, she too fell. The collapse sparked hundreds of new entities, fighting for power in the new vacuum left by the fallen government. No more was there a union of states and people, the American dream had died with its 47th and last president and with it left a wasteland.

However, man is not alone on this world anymore. With the infinite number of WMDs that had been dropped, the world has changed. New monsters called Grimm now roam the landscape, hellbent on exacting vengeance upon mankind for its greatest sin against nature. But then there are those changed by the mutations, those who exhibit inhuman or superhuman traits from everyone else. Known by many different names, polite and derogatory, the umbrella term for them is Evols. However, these Evols are almost universally looked at with horror or distain as they can turn into suddenly feral beasts or look too different for most to feel comfortable around them; some of the more superstitious folk say that they are the root of all evil and must be purged to reform America.

Now 50 years after the world ended and America collapsed, factions from coast to coast look into the sky and set out on the journey to claim their destiny, to reunited a shattered union.

OOC

Welcome to Shattered Union, an NRP set in a post apocalyptic America where the idea of government barely exists on what we'd call a state level today. The world has gone through a massively destructive war in an attempt to seemingly drive humanity to extinction; nukes, biochemicals, fire, everything man has created up to this point was used. America, like so many other former nations, had isolated itself and is now fractured, splintered and unrecognizable. Warlords, monarchs, presidents, and chiefs now rule from east to west, creating new factions, nations and tribes in their own image and interpretations of America.

One major point I would like to make is that this will most likely be a rather dark NRP; there are no demons but no one is a saint. Everyone in the wasteland follows some perverted, bastardized version of American ideals, some more zealously than others. Remember, there is no light which casts no shadow. However, that does not mean there cannot be lighthearted nations or events,  you can have post apoc cowboys or revolutionary-era militaries but just keep them somewhat serious. The best way to describe this would be like Madoka Magika; looks harmless but can get dark real quick.

(An explanation by co-GM [@Dihn AaronMk] until something more official looking it put up)
When approaching post-apoc tech I'd say look at it from a survivalist standpoint. All the modern industry and infrastructure is dead or broken. Society is broken apart so there's no idle hands and minds to put heavily towards things like building tanks (The game Banished is honestly something to consider when thinking of these ratios). So what's left to use or be made by this post-apocalypse societies is whatever can be built by hand or in the garage.

Old school manufacturies without mechanical assistance or heavy assistance like that of the heavy period of the late Industrial Revolution is basically gone. Maybe someone could build water-wheels to grind their corn better or to link up some parts to put together a sheet of cloth. But all the major materials or the manpower to throw together something more modern is gone.

I really don't have a personal guidebook to it all but simply knowing the technology you're looking at and asking not, "Do I want this?" but, "Can this be built?"

A lot of technology can be more fragile than you might think and a lack of standard parts production might kill a lot of things or make them more complicated than its worth.

Really, the most simple description would be a "wood and iron" mindset where "wood and iron" represents anything before the advent of what we'd consider modern technology. And then throw onto that an idea of "duct tape philosophy" where some modern things could or actually can be held together with scrap. It of course takes knowing what it is that's the center of the piece of technology or even what the base is.

Like I can imagine a 1991 Nissad Hardbody D20 persisting stubbornly past a nuclear apocalypse. But there may not be a lot of these on the road and no modern company will ever permit this thing to exist. But anything post '97 Dodge Ram may not make it. And Jeeps with their maintenance records will probably run out of parts and get left by the wayside.@Dinh AaronMk
Oil fields and refineries have been largely destroyed as they were considered major targets. Fuel and oil is very uncommon, most of it having to be done by hand or inefficient methods before being refined by equally ineffective methods leading to poorer quality gas. To fuel a large motor fleet of military tanks and jeeps cannot be maintained for long distances.

Yeti
Great beasts that occupy the high and cold mountains of both the Rockys and the Appalachians though more common in the former. Its suspected that they are some hyper mutated bear despite other mutated bears not sharing too many traits with a Yeti. Living exclusively in cold climates, its natural ability of retain heat also means it is weak to flame-based weaponry which is cited as the best way of killing such a beast. However, while Yetis are extremely territorial, they do not venture out into the wastes.

Primals
Thought to be mutated apes and monkeys, Primals are an umbrella term for primates who have mutated and taken residence in the concrete jungles of old cities. Larger Primals are called Primal Magnus while the smaller ones are Primal Minus. Highly adept at vertical combat, extreme caution is advised against them as packs of Primals can easily pick apart units with Minuses doing hit-and-run styled attacks and the Magnuses fighting in an all out ferocious brawl.

 Chupacabra
Chupacabras look much like humans whose backs and limbs have been bent so they run on all fours, except their skin is gray and covered in thick chitin that can deflect bullets. They thankfully do not grow very large, perhaps stunted by the heavy chitin that sprouts from their bodies, and are comparable in size to wolves. They can use their hands to pick things up, but they only grab such things as clubs and metal pipes for use in clubbing other life to death. The most dangerous things about them, though, are their human-like cunning and the large insectoid horns jutting from their skulls.

Perhaps Chupacabras were once human, but these monsters don't think like people do anymore. Whatever brought life to these depraved human-rhinoceros beetle hybrids has made them utterly mad. They are cannibals that seem to prefer to eat humans and large mammals. They typically creep after their prey in silence, set up ambushes, and then charge at them before they can react. They have also been known to dig tunnels somehow and can be found throughout the deserts of the western United States.

Thunderbirds
These massive birds of the northern United States are most likely some form of mutated eagle. While not inherently aggressive towards humans, these creatures are both very territorial and more than eager to devour an unsuspecting rancher's cattle. They are dangerous not just for their size (accounts suggest they could have a wingspan of up to 20 feet), but because freakish events seem to happen near them. More than one story talks of how a man about to shoot down a Thunderbird found himself struck by lightning, or how a hunter about to finish one off with a knife was electrocuted to death as soon as the blade touched the beast. Needless to say, Thunderbirds are best dealt with from a very, very long distance.

Ironfurs
Mutated bears of the old world, now only twenty times tougher. While their fur color may be close to what they used to be, their hides are now much harder and durable, giving them the name of Ironfurs. Some have even used them to make crude armors. Most effective way to kill them is to some how immobilize them and then get close range shots.

A mysterious figure with an even more engimatic backgroud. Nobody quite knows who he is nor how he's managed to amass such a large army of followers. He claims that none of the current nations and factions are the rightful heirs to the old nation and as thus cause many nations some form of trouble in one way or another. Many factions, people and nations have attempted to hunt him down but all have come out empty handed or dead. Some say the reason he's so elusive and near other wordly is how many Evols are in his party.

Clad in a tattered American flag and preaching the "truth" of the America, he's said to appear wherever he feels that he is needed most to restore the nation.

Inspirations from: Fallout, 40k, Mad Max, 1984, The Purge, Bloodborne, Valkyria Tales, X-Men, Vic2, EU4, Wolfenstien, etc.

RULES

Standard Guild rules
Keep arguing, bitching and dramatics to PM lest you want me to shove my fist into your ass
Special point about politics; try to keep irl politics out of this. With a setting like this, its going to get messy if people start yelling about politics
My word as GM is law, my decisions are final and rules may change without prior warning.. This also extends to the poor sods people I choose as co-GMs
Be balanced and creative! Seriously this is one of my pet peeves when someone half asses an NS and makes an OP faction or gives me carbon copied bland
Shit's going to be grimdark but it has limits. Yes there are going to be things considered somewhat taboo but make sure you keep a lid on it before it gets to out of control. I don't mind violence or cursing but if your faction has some more... discriminatory traits, DO NOT over do it. It will get messy for all people involved. (If you somehow get something sexual going guild rules force me to say keep it to PMs. Damn >_>)
There is no "true victory". Even if you conquer everyone else, you will fall to the same trap that the original US government did, you need external allies to help you and reform the US and its states. Remember, united we stand divided we fall. (tl;dr this will be more story-based and you cannot win by yourself).
Even if IC posts slow down, at least stick around in the OOC. I don't really mind if it gets off topic either.
Writing level will be at about high casual aka advanced but even if you have a single paragraph post, that's still good as long as its good.
Please use tinypic to post claims and maps, my computer disagrees with imgur and some other sites :\
Have fun! No, seriously do have fun. Why else do you RP if you don't have fun with it? :3

NATION SHEET

(Fill this out at your own leisure or as you need it. Just remember to fill something out in the NS if you're going to mention it IC like going on the warpath but lacking any military info on the NS. Also please put your NS app into the OOC, the Chars tab is for the approved ones.)

Name: Self explanatory
Flag: Ditto
Nation Type: What are you? Kingdom, republic, tribe, etc.
Claims: Where do you inhabit? Map down below to mark
Terrain: What is the climate of the place you now live in. With all the WMDs that were chucked around, its possible that the climate can be thrown off, but don't just turn Texas into a winter wonderland.

Government Type: How is your nation run?
Capital: What's the name of your capital city and where is it?
Head of State: Who leads your nation? What party do they hail from and what's their ideology and personality?
Other Important People: Religious leaders, famous generals, well known figures
Population: How many people do you have? Remember to keep this balanced
Attitude Towards Evols: Self explanatory. Keep in mind that other nations will be less likely to be friendly if you have too much of a friendly attitude and that most citizens will not favorable view them either.

Economic System: How is the economy run?
Resources: What kinds of stuff does your nation produce?
Currency: What do you use to barter with or do you just plain barter?
Technology: How advanced/industrialized are you. Again, keep it balanced.

Official Religion: Do you use an old world religion (ie Mormonism, Baptism, Catholicism... Scientology...) or do you follow some new gods and cults?
Religious Information: Describe your new religion or how you've changed the old ones if at all.

History: How did your nation start? Keep it simple so I'd say 3 paragraphs at max more or less. I don't care if you make it longer than that but I might just start skipping over bits and pieces 
Culture: Some notable cultural traits of your people.

Military Numbers: How big is your army? Remember, keep it proportional and balanced
Military Units: What kind of units serve in your military? I personally have more of a focus on this than numbers.

CLAIMS MAP

(If anyone can produce a better version of a map like this, I would be thankful)
(Do try to stay on the continental USA)

Could I reserve both Virginias, Maryland, Washington D.C., New Jersey and Pennsylvania for me please?

I'm planning to create a United Socialist Council Republics of America with a democratic socialist ideals.@Comrade Doge

Unfortunately I've already reserved PA and a bit of NJ for my own nations (home state pride! ). You could take Delaware if you want tho.
You can still have the rest though although personally I see as USCRA more feasible on the west coast given how much more pro-socialism they are. Just my own two cents though, don't need to do it.

If I end up playing, I'm thinking of snagging some territory in Mexico, or maybe in Panama. Those are both fairly out of the way, yet could get involved in different ways. (I.E. a Mexico concerned with restoring the old country may try invading California/Texas, and Panama could try and become a proper merchant state of the new era.)

EDIT: Alternatively, I'm kind of relishing the idea of creating a Pueblo state, too... EDIT 2: Or someone that wants to reform the Comancheria, putting them in direct conflict with Texas. Or some Quebec nationalists that finally get to see their crazy dream realized. ...Hmmm.@Shorticus

The thing is that Texas is already taken by someone and that the RP is really only supposed to be taking place in the USA (hence why I said that the US isolated itself and we'll just say that Trump's wall got built as well as a new Canadian wall).

The other ideas are good, just remember to be active if you want to be in direct contact/conflict with Texas as there's no doubt going to be a lot of action down there then.

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