Aug 16, 2022 11:58 pm
Let's start off with a massive info dump.
Some say centuries. Some say millennia. Most say it simply doesn’t matter how long ago the Rifts came, only that glowing blue ley lines and the rips in reality where they cross in the world shattered what was and created what is. Scattered, chaotic, untethered to a single paradigm of civilization, humanity thrives in the aftermath of a global cataclysm lost to time.
Whatever happened, and whenever it took place, the results are clear in the still devastated lands adventurous travelers dare to cross when going from one bastion of society to another. The eclectic mix of frontier towns, feudal-style fortresses, and towering, sprawling cities—those of technological wonder as well as magical might and mystery—speaks of a kind of patchwork approach to the rebuilding of civilization.
That’s only the start of it, though, for humans are far from the dominant sentient presence they may have once been. Doorways to countless realities, once only theorized in quantum physics texts, granted passage to a nearly endless variety of entities both monstrous and sublime. Not only people and creatures but, in many cases, portions of their realms came right along with them, creating an even more complex, disjointed landscape across the world.
While the struggle to merely survive is far from over, enough factions have risen from the no-longer smoldering ashes of the original apocalypse to begin the battle anew for control of land, of resources, and of the people who live in this terrifying new world. With machines of war and policies of oppression, the dictatorial empire that is the Coalition States claims nearly a third of the population of the continent’s humans under its control or influence. Reasonably credited for saving mankind from annihilation in the earliest days after all fell to chaos and death, the Coalition now marches inexorably toward a future that may well be worse than extinction.
Another third of the population of native humans has taken up the practice of magic and mysticism, returned to the world in the wake of the reality-altering Rifts. Various kingdoms, guilds, and other formations of united purpose and effort bring practitioners of many arts together with beings from worlds beyond who understand the manipulation of forces mere science cannot contain within theorems and formulae. While many such factions are either benign or at least neutral in their dealings with the world, the most powerful organization in what is still known as North America is the True Federation of Magic, led by a most diabolical and power-mad ruler of horrifying ambition and capacity.
The remaining third of humanity on the continent lives independent of these two mighty blocs, organizing in the countless ways people do when left to their own devices and needs. Communes, micronations, kingdoms, city-states, and other realms dot the landscape all across North America and far beyond. Some are courted by the two powerhouses while others count themselves fortunate to remain outside such notice. They have enough problems dealing with the endless threats presented by enemies from beyond and by criminal warlords of their own kind.
Some say centuries. Some say millennia. Most say it simply doesn’t matter how long ago the Rifts came, only that glowing blue ley lines and the rips in reality where they cross in the world shattered what was and created what is. Scattered, chaotic, untethered to a single paradigm of civilization, humanity thrives in the aftermath of a global cataclysm lost to time.
Whatever happened, and whenever it took place, the results are clear in the still devastated lands adventurous travelers dare to cross when going from one bastion of society to another. The eclectic mix of frontier towns, feudal-style fortresses, and towering, sprawling cities—those of technological wonder as well as magical might and mystery—speaks of a kind of patchwork approach to the rebuilding of civilization.
That’s only the start of it, though, for humans are far from the dominant sentient presence they may have once been. Doorways to countless realities, once only theorized in quantum physics texts, granted passage to a nearly endless variety of entities both monstrous and sublime. Not only people and creatures but, in many cases, portions of their realms came right along with them, creating an even more complex, disjointed landscape across the world.
While the struggle to merely survive is far from over, enough factions have risen from the no-longer smoldering ashes of the original apocalypse to begin the battle anew for control of land, of resources, and of the people who live in this terrifying new world. With machines of war and policies of oppression, the dictatorial empire that is the Coalition States claims nearly a third of the population of the continent’s humans under its control or influence. Reasonably credited for saving mankind from annihilation in the earliest days after all fell to chaos and death, the Coalition now marches inexorably toward a future that may well be worse than extinction.
Another third of the population of native humans has taken up the practice of magic and mysticism, returned to the world in the wake of the reality-altering Rifts. Various kingdoms, guilds, and other formations of united purpose and effort bring practitioners of many arts together with beings from worlds beyond who understand the manipulation of forces mere science cannot contain within theorems and formulae. While many such factions are either benign or at least neutral in their dealings with the world, the most powerful organization in what is still known as North America is the True Federation of Magic, led by a most diabolical and power-mad ruler of horrifying ambition and capacity.
The remaining third of humanity on the continent lives independent of these two mighty blocs, organizing in the countless ways people do when left to their own devices and needs. Communes, micronations, kingdoms, city-states, and other realms dot the landscape all across North America and far beyond. Some are courted by the two powerhouses while others count themselves fortunate to remain outside such notice. They have enough problems dealing with the endless threats presented by enemies from beyond and by criminal warlords of their own kind.