It’s been five years since it all went kaput. Five years since the asteroid carrying deep-space bacteria hit ground in a rinky-dink town in Wyoming and unleashed a plague upon humanity. Five years since the beginning of the end.
It took 2 months for the US of A to collapse entirely, and a little less than 3 more for the rest of the world. Near the end, everyone started shooting off nukes. Even without the ravenous hordes of man-eating unstoppable cannibals, nowhere’s safe.
The zombies and the radiation aren’t the only threats. Doomsday cults, mercenary gangs, and the odd escaped zoo animal all prowl the wastelands, just waiting to sink their fangs into any unlucky travelers. Despite this, humanity has always been good at rebuilding. Towns have cropped up, the fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on your point of view) survivors banding together. Merchant caravans bring supplies and news between settlements. Things are bad, but there might still be hope.
Magistrate Kludd has put up fliers looking for folk willing to ride out into the wastelands and establish contact with other towns. Those who do so will be rewarded with double ration checks for as long as they work, and Sam at the General Store is willing to give these brave volunteers a sizable discount on all items.
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Spoiler: PerseverancePerseverance is the largest town this side of the Mississippi River. Located high in the Rocky Mountains, Perseverance is home to nearly 5,000 people. The town Magistrate, Jeremy Kludd, keeps things running as smoothly as possible. This is the starting location.
Spoiler: Merchant CaravansThe Merchant Caravans are a network of wagon trains that ferry supplies and information along their routes. These enigmatic folk live lives on the road, never staying in one place for more than a week.
Spoiler: ZombiesZombies are the monsters that stalk the badlands. Once human, their death and subsequent undeath has turned them into groaning, shambling corpses intent on feasting on the flesh of the living. Not much is known about them, but there are a few rules most know:
- They can see, smell, and hear you
- Injuries don’t phase them, only severing the spinal column
- Anyone who dies comes back
- They aren’t especially smart
Spoiler: Character SheetName:
Age:
Appearance:
Previous Profession:
Current Profession:
Skills:
Equipment:
Personality:
Background:
Spoiler: Volunteers
Spoiler: Clara Bounet - Moonlit_FaeName: Clara Bounet
Age: 30
Appearance: Clara stands at 5'8" and has a very lean build. She has short cropped brown hair that she keeps back with bobby bins. Her green eyes are piercing set into a tan skinned oval face. She usually wears all black and her trademark are her combat boots. She also has a fanny pack and backpack full of medical supplies that she has collected from her travels. A bow and arrow are slung across her back and she keeps a carving knife in her boot.
Previous Profession: Nurse
Current Profession: Make shift medic and scavenger
Skills: Clara is good at first aid and helping people to heal, within reason. She is a good shot with a bow and arrow. Her hand to hand combat is decent, and she is good with a kinfe.
Equipment: Bow and arrow, knife, random assortment of medical supplies (bandages, mix and match pills, etc).
Personality: Clara will speak her mind and does not care who will hear it. She is here to help for the greater good and tries to stick up for those who are defenseless. While she may not be the strongest person out there, she uses her skills to try and keep whatever is left of humanity together. Her moral compass guides her and she does her best to stay on the straigh and narrow.
Background:
Clara grew up in a middle class suburban family in Massachusetts. She had the dog, white picket fence and a family that supported her. Her life was pretty normal and boring by most standards. Clara grew up and went to nursing school. When she graduated she became a nurse in one of Boston's many hospitals. She got married and even had a kid, a son named Scott. Her life was the same day in and day out work and come home and care for her family until the outbreak..
Clara was at the hospital when the cases first start rising. It was a strange sickness that had never been seen before. The hospital did their best to quarantine those that were sick, but it was of no use. By sheer luck she made it out alive as shift change was happening when lockdown hit. Clara made it home but her husband and son were already infected. Scott was four at the time. Clara fled, not even having the strength and courage to kill them.
Since then Clara used her medical knowledge and street smarts to survive. She wandered from group to group offering her medical services in exchange for rations and what not. Along the way she started to scavenge for items she knew were valued and tried to make a name for herself as a trader. She was not so lucky in that department. At least she was still alive though, right? Now she is here Perseverance seeing what new work awaits her.
Spoiler: Gray - IrateIrukandjiName: Gray
Age:???
Spoiler: Appearance:
Previous Profession: Possibly military
Current Profession: Merchant
Skills: Negotiation, ranged combat.
Equipment: Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Cargo, RNR VECH Trailer, Knights Armament Company SR-16, STi Eagle 6.0
Personality: Being a merchant, he is very concerned with customer satisfaction, although very rarely compromising. He seems very warm and cheerful, in contrast to his companion(possibly daughter.)
Background: Doesn't really matter where Gray came from, but since the fall he's been taking his wares and mobile shelter across the tri-state area, providing anything a survivor might need in the apocalypse.
Spoiler: Sicario - IrateIrukandjiName: Sicario
Age: ???
Spoiler: Appearance
Previous Profession: Student
Current Profession: Security, "Problem Solver"
Skills: Excellent shot, multi-lingual, agility.
Equipment: Knight's Armament Company SR-25, Mossberg 590M, Springfield Armor 1911 Ronin 10mm
Personality: Sicario's personality is in contrast to Gray's, being cold, cynical and at some times threatening, although Sicario has proven beneficial to Gray.
Background: One day, Gray was selling his wares alone, the next day Sicario was with him. It is unknown if she is a daughter, friend, or was just found by Gray, but she has proven to be a great asset for the caravan, providing security and solving "problems" the caravan might have.
Spoiler: Jason Zhao - Yggdrasil_HuggerName: Jason Zhao
Age: 32
Appearance: Jason is of a tall, broad build, standing just shy of 6’3”. His olive-toned skin is a patchwork of scars and tattoos. His eyes are brown, so dark they are nearly black. His hair is as black as raven feathers, tied tightly at the base of his neck.
Previous Profession: Park Ranger
Current Profession: Scavenger
Skills:
Marksman: Jason is deadly with ranged weapons of any kind, from guns to bows and arrows to throwing knives, his pinpoint accuracy ensures he never misses.
Survivalist: Educated in all forms of wilderness survival, Jason is a competent outdoorsman and highly knowledgeable of the edible plants and animals of North America.
Keen Eye: Jason has an unerring eye for detail, and picks up on things others might easily miss
Equipment: 1 crossbow, 25 bolts, binoculars, compass, hunting knife, matches, canteen, 100 feet of nylon cordage, and a spool of fishing line
Personality: Jason is a quiet, perceptive man. He is cautious and relies on his knowledge of the wilderness and the living dead to keep him safe. He does not make snap decisions, and prefers to deliberate before pursuing any course of action.
Background: Jason once made a living as a park ranger for Rocky Mountain National Park, preserving the wilderness for future generations. He had been collecting data on wildflowers with his partner for the park when they accidentally spooked a mother grizzly bear. The bear decided to go for Jason. Jason barely had time to reach for his bear spray before the grizzly was on top of him. 7-inch long paws ending in razor sharp claws 3 inches long carved up his arms and side like a Thanksgiving turkey, but he managed to douse the bear’s face and eyes with his bear spray. The bear and her cubs fled, and Jason's partner called for medical assistance.
Jason woke up in a dark, dusty hospital room, entirely alone. Wondering what was going on, he walked around the hospital looking for any clue of what happened. The entire hospital was deserted. Pushing open the door outside, he was greeted with a gruesome sight: dozens of half-rotted corpses dressed in hospital gowns shuffled about outside the deserted hospital, rotting red blood dripping from their jaws. He fled, nearly being eaten in the process. He spent years on the road, sometimes meeting other survivors, but never staying in one place for very long. He had to find his sister.
Eventually, he heard of a town in the Rockies called Perseverance. If she was anywhere, she’d be there. He made the long trek into the mountains to find the town, dodging threats from the living and the dead alike. He eventually made it to Perseverance, but his sister wasn’t there. Despite that, the dangerous life of a wandering survivor had begun to take its toll. He needed to settle down, at least for now. Now though, he’s itching to get back into the wastelands to find his sister.
Spoiler: Figures of NoteSpoiler: Jeremy KluddMagistrate Jeremy Kludd is the elected mayor of Perseverance. He is a 56-year-old Caucasian male who used to work as a lawyer. He is a respected and responsible man whom Perseverance relies on.
Spoiler: Whistlin’ Sally TwoknivesWhistlin’ Sally Twoknives is Perseverance’s biggest zombie hunter. Known as just Sally to her friends, Whistlin’ Sally Twoknives spends most of her time in the badlands helping the Merchant Caravans, but maintains a home in Perseverance. Previously a librarian, she collects books on her travels. Her name comes from her habit of whistling while dispatching the dead with her two iconic kukri knives.
Spoiler: Jim CallowayIf Whistlin’ Sally Twoknives is Perseverance’s lead zombie hunter, then Jim Calloway is her close rival. The two go way back, but neither care to explain their history in detail. Jim Calloway is a legendary gunslinger right out of a Western. When asked where he comes from, his only answer is a curt “down South, near the border”. Just the appearance of his white hat is more than enough to scare away any would-be attackers, but that doesn’t mean the two revolvers on his hips are useless.
Spoiler: Father AndrewFather Andrew maintains a waystation out of his old churchhouse, welcoming travelers and nomads alike. He has an open invitation to come and go to Perseverance as he pleases, and is most often seen in town for funerals and weddings. He wears a blindfold over his empty eye sockets, which were pulled out by a gang of marauders a couple years ago. His niece lives with him and helps him survive.
Spoiler: The RoninThe Ronin is a mysterious figure, more myth than man. Nobody knows his name, and none have ever seen his face. To some, he is the bogeyman, haunting the wastes like a wayward spirit. To others he is a protector that appears from the darkness with a flash of silver. Nonetheless, the Ronin is immediately recognized by his Samurai armor and sword.
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