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Wasteland Reference Guide
11 years ago
V2.9
Notes:
* This is all the lore and information about the world of Wastelands. My Wastelands was inspired by Miracle of Sound's Cries Of A Dead World which in turn was inspired by the Wasteland game remake. I do think I'll have to come up with another title for this universe since I don't want people to confuse my Wastelands with the game Wastelands.
* No matter what other title I come up to name this universe, the central area to where everything is currently focused at will always be known as the Wastelands.
* I'll continually update this journal with new information. I'm not very good with words as I am with painting.
The Wastelands is a post apocalyptic world torn apart by a massive war. A virus has drastically decreased the chance of males to be born, and there's a high chance that born males are infertile. A high percentage of the population is female and the semen of fertile males is the most valuable currency.
The setting:
Before The War
The world before the war was very similar to our earth. The population is made up of anthropomorphic animals and the level of technology is similar but different in several areas. The area now known as the Wastelands is a massive urban sprawl that stretched across country borders. Population was very high and the birth rate off the charts. With a population rate out of control, several governments and companies got together to find a way to humanly reduce the population rate. They created the Sig4C Virus.
The Virus
The virus was intended to reduce the chance of males being born, ensuring that females would be unchanged in case the reduced rate of the male population was too drastic. A vaccine was created to be used after several generations when the population was at a more manageable level. Unfortunately the vaccine became ineffective when the company that developed the virus made some modifications without telling government overseers before it wad released into the population.
The Sig5A Virus had all the effects of the Sig4C, but was also intended to increase semen production and make it taste better. The scientists in charge of the project (all guys) intended to create a new world order where males could choose from a harem of females and bonk as much as they liked.
However, with the changes made so close to release into the population, the company wasn't able to properly test the new virus, and when it was released it was discovered that as well doing everything the Sig4C did, the change to the semen also made the males infertile. The vaccine developed for Sig4C proved ineffective to Sig5A. The virus quickly spread world wide. Fortunately some males being born where immune to the effects of the virus, but the percentage of fertile males to infertile males was very low.
The War
Like all good scandals it wasn't long before the origins of the Sig5A found it's way into the public domain. Support for the governments and companies involved was taken to an all time low, and many riots erupted across the world as the virus spread unchecked. Biologists the world over rushed to find a cure for Sig5A but when public unrest reached it's peak, civil war, and then international war broke out. Sides where taken, lines drawn, and there was no time to develop a cure when the bombs came raining down.
The urban sprawl became a dusty wasteland, pockmarked by radiation, chemical and biological attacks. Society had collapsed. Fighting continued for a few years until the radiation storms grew too violent to risk fighting in, and a nuclear winter settled in.
The Aftermath
It's been a couple of decades since the war ended and society has taken it's first few steps out of the fallout bunkers. The nuclear winter has receded, the sun shines once again. The governments of the old world are no more, it's surviving citizens scattered and divided into tribes and clans. Females are the dominant gender in this new world, the seed of fertile males more valuable than gold or technology.
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Major Factions:
Punks - Technically not a faction themselves, Punks are anti-authoritarian tribes and clans. Born with a strong will for independence and sticking it to the man, Punks tend to be wandering nomads, traders, mercenaries or bandit raiders. You'll never see a Punk farmer though. Them and farming just don't work.
The Old Guard - After the war the remnants of military and police forces in the Wasteland area banded together to a fortified scrap of land to create the first bastion of civilization in the new world. Led by a military council of aging war veterans, the Old Guard rule with a hard fist, keeping it's citizens in line with strict laws and harsh punishments. Despite the military dictatorship, the town has flourished with it's farms and security from the dangers of the Wasteland.
The Sisters Of Clarity - Originating from a religious order that survived the war, the Sisters Of Clarity preach a more philosophical view in the new world. The order teaches that the female has inherited the world and that they are the dominant gender of a new world order. The Sisters Of Clarity's word has spread far across the Wasteland as they where one of the few organizations to travel extensively during the nuclear winter and now have a strong base of support across many areas of the Wasteland. Venturing out early after the war was helped by their choice of uniform: heavy rubber and latex clothing, and gas masks. This choice of clothing was acquired from a fetish shop that was located next door to their sheltered church.
The Sisters Of Clarity has fortified the isolated section of the Depths their order survived the war in. Known as the Citadel of Order, this is where their headquarters are located. The order has churches in every major settlement including Fort Betty, the Trading Outpost, and Water City. The latter is a little different than the others churches as the high volume of unpolluted sea water and warm to high temperatures has allowed the church to adopt swimsuits as their uniform.
Ghouls - Technically not a faction itself, Ghouls refer to people that have been caught in the radioactive, chemical and biological fallout from the war. Devolving into primal beasts, Ghouls have lost all sense of civility, speech and knowledge of technology. Fiercely territorial and pack hunters, Ghouls are cannibals and will attack anyone or anything on sight.
Bimborgs - A growing nation of cyborgs that view bimbos as the ideal form of appearance and culture. Bimborgs came about after a abandoned cyborg factory started to automatically build new cyborg soldiers sometime after the war. The factory had been damaged and the templates for the cyborgs lost, but the computer system found a template in it's files that was never intended for production. This template was created by a technician and was pure wank fantasy. Bimborgs recruit by abducting males and females they find in the Wasteland. Fertile males are sent to their breeding factories, while infertile males are turned into shemale Bimborgs and fill maintenance and administration roles, while females are turned into Bimborg soldiers or recruiters.
Amazons - Often mistaken for Ghouls due to their cannibalistic diet and aggressiveness, Amazons are a female only tribe that are very territorial. The Amazons originated from the survivors of a Miss Amazon body fitness competition. The tribe value strength above all and typically prefer to wear swimsuits and use primitive weaponry like spears and bows. The Amazons will always kill infertile males on the spot and use fertile males for breeding before they are eventually slaughtered. Even unknown females trespassing will be hunted by the Amazons, although outside of their territory the tribe will cautiously let unknown females pass by. Just don't expect to strike up a conversation with them.
Minor Factions
Civies/Civ - Short for civilian, civies are people who may have links to any of the major or minor factions but do not belong to any. For example, a farmer living within the boundary of Fort Betty does not have to be part of Old Guard and mayregularly attend the local Sisters of Clarity church would be classified as a civ.
Outcasts - Outcasts are ex-Old Guard members. Exiled from the Old Guard territory for crimes or political reasons, many Outcasts have made a home at the Trading Outpost. Some have resorted to banditry or joined Punk tribes, but the majority of Outcasts still cling to a civil lifestyle found within the Old Guard's borders.
Mercenary Groups - In every major settlement there is at least one mercenary group offering security or private armies. Some follow strict rules and lofty ideals, while others are bandits with a name.
Roborgs - On the extreme end of cybernetic technology are the Roborg, cybernetic soldiers and vehicles that are more machine than organic being. Intended to bolster the ranks during the war, Roborgs are the brains of crippled veterans and volunteers transplanted into war machines. The long term effects of such transplants had not been properly studied before the war, and many surviving Roborgs have been driven insane from the decades of isolation and being a brain in a tank. Roborgs can be found wandering alone in the Wasteland or still following their old patrol patterns. There are still many military installations in the Wasteland full of valuable technology and salvage guarded by these heavily armed and armoured war machines.
Union of Traders - The largest guild of craftsman, caravan runners, and business owners, the UoT has political links in many friendly settlements and have invested much in exploration and map making. Although they don't have a professional force of their own, the UoT has contracts with several of the more reputable mercenary groups.
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Technology
The level of technology before the war is very similar to our own although there are differences in several places.
Cybernetics - Cybernetic enhancements and prosthetics were very advanced with full limb replacements, implants and even brain transplants in the old world. After the war many cybernetic factories and laboratories where lost, however cybernetic technology is still available in the Wasteland to those with the skills and equipment. The Bimborgs are particularly as advanced in cybernetics as the old world, and the Old Guard do have a cybernetic facility at their fortress.
There are two types of cybernetic prosthetic, Mechanical Prosthetic and Synthetic Muscle. The former consists of pistons, wires, hydraulics and to a lesser degree, cogs and gears. This prosthetic type is the most common and cheapest of the technology, both in the old world and new. Despite it's mechanical nature, this prosthetic can pass off as a real limb if fitted to the correct body type with the tactical use of clothing and synthetic skin or fur. In a closer examination one can spot the little details that give away the mechanical prosthetic - unresponsive to pain or extreme temperatures across the limb, unnatural movement, odd skin folds.
Synthetic Muscle is an advanced form of prosthetic that mimics the muscles and tendons. Doing away with traditional mechanical parts allows the limb to look and feel entirely natural even with a simple synthetic skin covering. With advances in miniaturizing artificial nervous systems, one could even feel natural pain and temperature. This does make the synthetic muscle limb far more expensive than the common mechanical prosthetic and many that had this prosthetic where either rich or had received a significant insurance payout.
Across much of the pre-war population, all common prosthetics where intentionally designed not be stronger, faster or tougher than an extreme example of what a natural limb could do. This was a legal requirement to stop people from abusing the use of an unnatural limb or accidentally causing damage to people and property in case of a malfunction or an extreme emotional event. There where exceptions to the law, military cybernetics where exempt and some specialized or hazardous jobs where regulated with permits and licenses.
Even with an illegal, unlimited prosthetic limb, a person is still only as strong, fast and tough as the point where the prosthetic connects to their body. This doesn't apply to those with fully cybernetic bodies or transplanted brains, but to someone who has, for example, replaced both arms with illegal, super strength prosthetics. In theory those limbs could pick up a car, however without reinforcement to the back and legs, this cyborg would either completely crush his back and legs from the weight of the car, or rip his prosthetics off at the joints to where the connect to his body.
Artificial Intelligence - With such advanced knowledge on cybernetics and prosthetics, their knowledge of robotics and artificial intelligence where just as good. However the research and creation of AI was tightly regulated. AI followed set protocols and instructions. Depending on it's role, AI could solve and adapt to problems, but they could not move beyond their core programming. For example, the AI controlled factory the Bimborgs originated from followed the instructions it had as defined by a template: a software file that detailed cyborg roles and rules the factory AI and it's creations had to follow. As the factory had been placed on an automatic resource requisition, the factory could search and locate outside of it's factory boundaries for resources to refill it's stocks. It could not however stop manufacture or change the template.
Satellites and Networks - Research in the old world never got off the ground when it came to space. Technology did not advanced beyond ballistic rockets and they never successfully put a satellite in orbit. Maps where provided by high altitude aircraft and wireless communication limited to radio. Long distant communications, television, and internet where instead run through massive landline networks. The aftermath of the war destroyed much of the land network, but some of the lines have been salvaged and there are plans to connect the major settlements of the Wasteland.
Land Vehicles - Petrol and electrical driven vehicles where a very common form of transport along with public trains and trams in the old world. Working pre-war vehicles are less common in the Wasteland now as many could not hold up to the difficulties of the post apocalyptic environment and spare parts are increasingly harder to scavenge. Petrol and other liquid and gas fuels are also hard to come by and electric driven vehicles require a generator of some kind to recharge the batteries. Land yachts - a wheeled frame pushed along either by a fixed sail or kite - are a common form of cheap, long distance travel across the Wasteland.
The safest form of travel across the Wasteland is the Desert Bus, a massive, pre-war, nuclear powered transport platform that was designed to carry a super massive ore extractor. The ore extractor was never mounted upon the transport platform so that left plenty of space for accommodation modifications. The Desert Bus may be slower than a land yacht, but it's sheer size makes it unstoppable and it's well protected with fortifications and heavy gun placements.
Aircraft - The old world had jet engines and large aircraft, however pretty much all the surviving jet aircraft have been scrapped or mothballed shortly after the war. Jet aircraft require a lot of maintenance even for a short flight, and with the difficulty in finding fuel and spare parts, as well as having little reason to use such aircraft, the use of jets in the Wasteland is unheard off. The Old Guard maintain a small fleet of aging helicopters, and a few Punk tribes have access to microlights.
Guns - Guns are common in the Wasteland, although the Old Guard have the largest stockpile and facilities of advanced military grade weapons. Advanced weaponry were illegal for much of the public before the war so most gun designs available to the other factions are based on earlier, less complex designs gained from scavenging from museums. These weapons are made from scrap and scavenged materials, and tend to be less reliable than military grade weapons.
As well as reverse engineering old designs, the manufacturers of these cheap weapons also experiment with creating new designs, often extreme examples of standard weaponry just for the hell of it. Extreme examples like ultra short sawn-off shotguns, pistols that fire rifle rounds, and once, an electric chain gun that fired shotgun shells. These weapons are usually as much as a threat to the operator than to their targets and not terribly popular with those with more than half a brain cell.
Lasers - Due to advances in energy storage technology just before the war, laser weapons for infantry became a reality. These recoil-less, ridiculously accurate energy weapons are coveted by many soldiers, however the difficulty in maintaining and recharging these weapons make them quite rare. Larger laser weapons such as laser cannons are incredibly rare to be in active service as the larger the laser weapon is, the more power is required to fire it.
Heavy Weapons - Rockets, grenades, and cannons aren't terribly hard to manufacture in the Wasteland providing you have the resources, however there isn't much demand for them beyond defending settlements and outposts. Raiders, patrols and explorers tend to prefer using small arms while sometimes the Old Guard or Bimborgs will employ the use of vehicles to mount larger weaponry.
Theromndite - Also known as Slag, Theromndite is a mixture of three powdered materials that burns at an incredibly high temperature when introduced to an open flame. Ignited Theromndite burns so hot it can penetrate through the armour plating of a modern tank. During the war Theromndite was weaponized for infantry to use as a cheap and light alternative to anti-armour rockets and missiles launchers in the form of shells for grenade launchers and shotguns. These shells where designed for mid to short ranges and would ignite a couple of feet from exiting the barrel.
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Geography
The Wasteland - The Wasteland is based on the vague coastal outline of Europe and except for one particular area those are the only geography similarities to Earth. The urban sprawl that stretched across the continent was a multiple leveled mess of towering skyscrapers built over layers of older buildings.
Fort Betty - Fort Betty is the Old Guard's headquarters. Once a military bunker, Fort Betty has expanded into a fortress. High walls and towers surround the central bunker, while secondary walls surround farm land and a flourishing town. Fort Betty resides in the central southwest of the Wastelands, near the northern side of the Broken Mountains.
Bimborg Territory - Bimborg Territory is dotted with fortified factories and facilities. Nothing much is known of the insides of these citadels due to the high security, but Old Guard diplomats have been able to glean some information about their leadership and reproduction. Bimborgs are lead by a Queen, a cyborg elected through a democratic process called a beauty pageant. The Queen rules for a set number of years and is advised by a council called the Den Mothers, who also oversee all reproduction within the territory.
The Trading Outpost - A popular trading settlement on the western edge of Bimborg territory. The Trading Outpost is neutral ground for everyone and is inhabited by mostly Punks, Old Guard outcasts and Bimborgs. Bimborgs use the outpost for trading Bimborg goods, recruitment and services (cybernetic limb replacement for example), while the Sisters of Clarity maintain their largest church here. Various mercenary groups are based at the Outpost, while from time to time Amazons will visit to trade. The settlement is also home to the award winning cum bar and restaurant the Spunk'd Punk.
The Depths - Although the war reduced the towering buildings of the old world to dust and wreckage, that only flattened the surface of the old continent wide city. Far before the war, developers had ran out of horizontal land to build on as much of the remaining undeveloped land where protected wild life parks, so they started to build on top of the old city instead. The Sisters of Clarity did not have a bunker like the Old Guard, but their church was on the lower levels and was undamaged by the war above. Many areas did collapse onto itself, but there are still huge unexplored areas of pitch black streets and buildings and factories under the dust of the Wasteland that could hold a treasure trove of technology, lost knowledge and supplies. However the dangers under the Wasteland are unknown and many expeditions have disappeared into the Depths and never returned.
The Garden Coast - Once an affluent coastal area popular with the super wealthy, the Garden Coast was spared much of the fallout from the war by the Broken Mountains to the north. It's buildings and streets are now overgrown with jungle. Despite the lush plant life, the Garden Coast is avoided by many due to it's high population of ghouls. The Amazons also make this area their home and many veteran explorers consider the Garden Coast to be more dangerous than the Depths.
Londium and the Emerald Isles - A collection of city state islands well known for it's rainy weather. The islands spared well during the war because there wasn't much there to fight over. Despite that the population has split into many waring tribes that seem to be quite content with painting themselves blue and fighting each other, although if any person not painted blue so much as coughs in their direction, the tribes will band up to form a fearsome alliance.
The Rift - On the Wasteland's eastern edge is the Rift, a huge canyon splitting the continent into two. A series of large bombs during the war triggered a record breaking earthquake that caused the the two tectonic plates to drift apart, collapsing the land in between. The exposed Depths on either side are very unstable and without aircraft it's far safer taking a long route around the Rift than trying to climb down and then back up.
Broken Mountains - A range of mountains between the central Wasteland and the Garden Coast. Stretches from the Cratered Lands across the continent up to the southern tip of the Rift.
Water City - A wide river runs down through the bottom of the Rift and at the mouth of that river a section of the city from before the war now lays half submerged in the waters. Still standing decades after the war, the buildings jutting out of the waters are now home to sea faring Punk tribes, traders and pirates. No one knows who came up with the lame Water City name, but none of the tribes have come up with a better name. Yet.
Shithole - A large town settled within a huge crater. Originally founded as Hilt's Hole by the settlement's leader during the dark years of the nuclear winter, the town's name has changed over the years to it's current namesake. Although it's not an actual shithole, the town has a tough reputation for independence and standing up to the factions like the Old Guard. The crater itself sits upon the entrance of a huge military complex as dark, mysterious and dangerous as the Depths itself. Shithole's citizens call the largely unexplored complex the Dungeon.
Cratered Lands - Once known as the Ibural Peninsula, this area was hit by many large bombs during the war. Now it's a torn landscape of jagged mountains, ridges, and lake filled craters.
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Environmental Hazards
Although the war ended a couple of decades ago, some effects of the fighting have not receded like the nuclear winter.
Radiation Storms
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Trivia
The Punk Salute - The one fingered salute of the Punks is a honorific hand gesture reserved for greeting and congratulating friends and family. The proper gesture requires the thumb to be placed across the closed fingers while the middle finger points straight up. However if the thumb is pointed away from the hand, the meaning of the gesture becomes opposite: this is used as a negative sign on someone the Punk feels is not worth the breath to swear at. The lesser known two fingered salute of the Punks is a gesture of sexual attraction.
Punk Population - The population across the numerous Punk tribes and clans far outnumber the forces and civil population of the Old Guard, however the tribes rarely form alliances with each other and even those are short lived due to lack of central leadership and infighting.
Infertile Semen - Along with being delicious and nutritious, the cum of infertile males also vary in taste according to their species. There are variations in flavour across each species, but generally reptiles have fruity flavoured cum, mammal spunk is bitter, while aquatic species have sweet tasting semen.
Bimborg Services - At the Trading Outpost, the Bimborgs run a cybernetic and prosthetics service for non-bimborgs. Cybernetic surgery is their largest export, and the Bimborgs accept fertile semen, resources and servitude for limb replacement, maintenance, and cybernetic upgrades. Servitude involves temporary joining the Bimborg faction for a set amount of time. The servant is given a memory block implant and a basic AI control unit so that the person's body can fill out basic duties within the Bimborg territory without compromising Bimborg security. When the person's service is at an end, the person is taken back to the Trading Outpost and the memory block and AI unit removed.
Breast Enhancements - Since the ideal of feminine beauty is no longer defined by males, the demand for breast enhancements and other plastic surgery is non-existent in the Wasteland. However the Bimborgs at the Trading Outpost offer mandatory breast enhancements for most of their prosthetic services as big enhanced tits is a part of their bimbo ideal. This spawned some controversial for a while when more than one old, grizzled veteran male failed to read the small print and woke up after surgery with a pair of fetching 34DDs.
Jungle of the Garden Coast - Before the war, the Garden Coast was a temperate environment of forests and grasslands. During the dark, cold years of the nuclear winter, the environment drastically changed into a vibrant jungle of tropical trees. There are no records of how this came to be - the surviving natives of the area are the Amazons, and they aren't very chatty when it comes to subjects of their history or their territory.
Ghoul Types - There are three types of Ghoul: Hunters, Scavengers, and Alphas. Hunters are the typical Ghoul, commonly forming into packs that hunt across their territory. They can be faster and stronger than the average person but tend not to raid large caravans, preferring small groups of travelers. Scavengers are a weaker form of Ghoul. The effects of radiation, biological or chemical weapons may not have killed a Scavenger, but they are physically weaker than the average person and are opportunistic scavengers. They can form into packs but are easily broken into retreat with a show of force. Alphas are the opposite of the Scavenger. The effects of the radioactive, biological and chemical weapons have transformed this Ghoul into a very dangerous beast that can take on well armed patrols by itself. When an Alpha encounters a Hunter pack, the Ghoul will kill the leader and take over the pack. This pack will then absorb rival packs it encounters, forming a warband that will attack any settlement in it's path. Alphas do not get along with each other and will attack one another on sight.
Uncivil War by Miracle of Sound - Unofficial theme music for Mercenaries.
Notes:
* This is all the lore and information about the world of Wastelands. My Wastelands was inspired by Miracle of Sound's Cries Of A Dead World which in turn was inspired by the Wasteland game remake. I do think I'll have to come up with another title for this universe since I don't want people to confuse my Wastelands with the game Wastelands.
* No matter what other title I come up to name this universe, the central area to where everything is currently focused at will always be known as the Wastelands.
* I'll continually update this journal with new information. I'm not very good with words as I am with painting.
The Wastelands is a post apocalyptic world torn apart by a massive war. A virus has drastically decreased the chance of males to be born, and there's a high chance that born males are infertile. A high percentage of the population is female and the semen of fertile males is the most valuable currency.
The setting:
Before The War
The world before the war was very similar to our earth. The population is made up of anthropomorphic animals and the level of technology is similar but different in several areas. The area now known as the Wastelands is a massive urban sprawl that stretched across country borders. Population was very high and the birth rate off the charts. With a population rate out of control, several governments and companies got together to find a way to humanly reduce the population rate. They created the Sig4C Virus.
The Virus
The virus was intended to reduce the chance of males being born, ensuring that females would be unchanged in case the reduced rate of the male population was too drastic. A vaccine was created to be used after several generations when the population was at a more manageable level. Unfortunately the vaccine became ineffective when the company that developed the virus made some modifications without telling government overseers before it wad released into the population.
The Sig5A Virus had all the effects of the Sig4C, but was also intended to increase semen production and make it taste better. The scientists in charge of the project (all guys) intended to create a new world order where males could choose from a harem of females and bonk as much as they liked.
However, with the changes made so close to release into the population, the company wasn't able to properly test the new virus, and when it was released it was discovered that as well doing everything the Sig4C did, the change to the semen also made the males infertile. The vaccine developed for Sig4C proved ineffective to Sig5A. The virus quickly spread world wide. Fortunately some males being born where immune to the effects of the virus, but the percentage of fertile males to infertile males was very low.
The War
Like all good scandals it wasn't long before the origins of the Sig5A found it's way into the public domain. Support for the governments and companies involved was taken to an all time low, and many riots erupted across the world as the virus spread unchecked. Biologists the world over rushed to find a cure for Sig5A but when public unrest reached it's peak, civil war, and then international war broke out. Sides where taken, lines drawn, and there was no time to develop a cure when the bombs came raining down.
The urban sprawl became a dusty wasteland, pockmarked by radiation, chemical and biological attacks. Society had collapsed. Fighting continued for a few years until the radiation storms grew too violent to risk fighting in, and a nuclear winter settled in.
The Aftermath
It's been a couple of decades since the war ended and society has taken it's first few steps out of the fallout bunkers. The nuclear winter has receded, the sun shines once again. The governments of the old world are no more, it's surviving citizens scattered and divided into tribes and clans. Females are the dominant gender in this new world, the seed of fertile males more valuable than gold or technology.
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Major Factions:
Punks - Technically not a faction themselves, Punks are anti-authoritarian tribes and clans. Born with a strong will for independence and sticking it to the man, Punks tend to be wandering nomads, traders, mercenaries or bandit raiders. You'll never see a Punk farmer though. Them and farming just don't work.
The Old Guard - After the war the remnants of military and police forces in the Wasteland area banded together to a fortified scrap of land to create the first bastion of civilization in the new world. Led by a military council of aging war veterans, the Old Guard rule with a hard fist, keeping it's citizens in line with strict laws and harsh punishments. Despite the military dictatorship, the town has flourished with it's farms and security from the dangers of the Wasteland.
The Sisters Of Clarity - Originating from a religious order that survived the war, the Sisters Of Clarity preach a more philosophical view in the new world. The order teaches that the female has inherited the world and that they are the dominant gender of a new world order. The Sisters Of Clarity's word has spread far across the Wasteland as they where one of the few organizations to travel extensively during the nuclear winter and now have a strong base of support across many areas of the Wasteland. Venturing out early after the war was helped by their choice of uniform: heavy rubber and latex clothing, and gas masks. This choice of clothing was acquired from a fetish shop that was located next door to their sheltered church.
The Sisters Of Clarity has fortified the isolated section of the Depths their order survived the war in. Known as the Citadel of Order, this is where their headquarters are located. The order has churches in every major settlement including Fort Betty, the Trading Outpost, and Water City. The latter is a little different than the others churches as the high volume of unpolluted sea water and warm to high temperatures has allowed the church to adopt swimsuits as their uniform.
Ghouls - Technically not a faction itself, Ghouls refer to people that have been caught in the radioactive, chemical and biological fallout from the war. Devolving into primal beasts, Ghouls have lost all sense of civility, speech and knowledge of technology. Fiercely territorial and pack hunters, Ghouls are cannibals and will attack anyone or anything on sight.
Bimborgs - A growing nation of cyborgs that view bimbos as the ideal form of appearance and culture. Bimborgs came about after a abandoned cyborg factory started to automatically build new cyborg soldiers sometime after the war. The factory had been damaged and the templates for the cyborgs lost, but the computer system found a template in it's files that was never intended for production. This template was created by a technician and was pure wank fantasy. Bimborgs recruit by abducting males and females they find in the Wasteland. Fertile males are sent to their breeding factories, while infertile males are turned into shemale Bimborgs and fill maintenance and administration roles, while females are turned into Bimborg soldiers or recruiters.
Amazons - Often mistaken for Ghouls due to their cannibalistic diet and aggressiveness, Amazons are a female only tribe that are very territorial. The Amazons originated from the survivors of a Miss Amazon body fitness competition. The tribe value strength above all and typically prefer to wear swimsuits and use primitive weaponry like spears and bows. The Amazons will always kill infertile males on the spot and use fertile males for breeding before they are eventually slaughtered. Even unknown females trespassing will be hunted by the Amazons, although outside of their territory the tribe will cautiously let unknown females pass by. Just don't expect to strike up a conversation with them.
Minor Factions
Civies/Civ - Short for civilian, civies are people who may have links to any of the major or minor factions but do not belong to any. For example, a farmer living within the boundary of Fort Betty does not have to be part of Old Guard and mayregularly attend the local Sisters of Clarity church would be classified as a civ.
Outcasts - Outcasts are ex-Old Guard members. Exiled from the Old Guard territory for crimes or political reasons, many Outcasts have made a home at the Trading Outpost. Some have resorted to banditry or joined Punk tribes, but the majority of Outcasts still cling to a civil lifestyle found within the Old Guard's borders.
Mercenary Groups - In every major settlement there is at least one mercenary group offering security or private armies. Some follow strict rules and lofty ideals, while others are bandits with a name.
Roborgs - On the extreme end of cybernetic technology are the Roborg, cybernetic soldiers and vehicles that are more machine than organic being. Intended to bolster the ranks during the war, Roborgs are the brains of crippled veterans and volunteers transplanted into war machines. The long term effects of such transplants had not been properly studied before the war, and many surviving Roborgs have been driven insane from the decades of isolation and being a brain in a tank. Roborgs can be found wandering alone in the Wasteland or still following their old patrol patterns. There are still many military installations in the Wasteland full of valuable technology and salvage guarded by these heavily armed and armoured war machines.
Union of Traders - The largest guild of craftsman, caravan runners, and business owners, the UoT has political links in many friendly settlements and have invested much in exploration and map making. Although they don't have a professional force of their own, the UoT has contracts with several of the more reputable mercenary groups.
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Technology
The level of technology before the war is very similar to our own although there are differences in several places.
Cybernetics - Cybernetic enhancements and prosthetics were very advanced with full limb replacements, implants and even brain transplants in the old world. After the war many cybernetic factories and laboratories where lost, however cybernetic technology is still available in the Wasteland to those with the skills and equipment. The Bimborgs are particularly as advanced in cybernetics as the old world, and the Old Guard do have a cybernetic facility at their fortress.
There are two types of cybernetic prosthetic, Mechanical Prosthetic and Synthetic Muscle. The former consists of pistons, wires, hydraulics and to a lesser degree, cogs and gears. This prosthetic type is the most common and cheapest of the technology, both in the old world and new. Despite it's mechanical nature, this prosthetic can pass off as a real limb if fitted to the correct body type with the tactical use of clothing and synthetic skin or fur. In a closer examination one can spot the little details that give away the mechanical prosthetic - unresponsive to pain or extreme temperatures across the limb, unnatural movement, odd skin folds.
Synthetic Muscle is an advanced form of prosthetic that mimics the muscles and tendons. Doing away with traditional mechanical parts allows the limb to look and feel entirely natural even with a simple synthetic skin covering. With advances in miniaturizing artificial nervous systems, one could even feel natural pain and temperature. This does make the synthetic muscle limb far more expensive than the common mechanical prosthetic and many that had this prosthetic where either rich or had received a significant insurance payout.
Across much of the pre-war population, all common prosthetics where intentionally designed not be stronger, faster or tougher than an extreme example of what a natural limb could do. This was a legal requirement to stop people from abusing the use of an unnatural limb or accidentally causing damage to people and property in case of a malfunction or an extreme emotional event. There where exceptions to the law, military cybernetics where exempt and some specialized or hazardous jobs where regulated with permits and licenses.
Even with an illegal, unlimited prosthetic limb, a person is still only as strong, fast and tough as the point where the prosthetic connects to their body. This doesn't apply to those with fully cybernetic bodies or transplanted brains, but to someone who has, for example, replaced both arms with illegal, super strength prosthetics. In theory those limbs could pick up a car, however without reinforcement to the back and legs, this cyborg would either completely crush his back and legs from the weight of the car, or rip his prosthetics off at the joints to where the connect to his body.
Artificial Intelligence - With such advanced knowledge on cybernetics and prosthetics, their knowledge of robotics and artificial intelligence where just as good. However the research and creation of AI was tightly regulated. AI followed set protocols and instructions. Depending on it's role, AI could solve and adapt to problems, but they could not move beyond their core programming. For example, the AI controlled factory the Bimborgs originated from followed the instructions it had as defined by a template: a software file that detailed cyborg roles and rules the factory AI and it's creations had to follow. As the factory had been placed on an automatic resource requisition, the factory could search and locate outside of it's factory boundaries for resources to refill it's stocks. It could not however stop manufacture or change the template.
Satellites and Networks - Research in the old world never got off the ground when it came to space. Technology did not advanced beyond ballistic rockets and they never successfully put a satellite in orbit. Maps where provided by high altitude aircraft and wireless communication limited to radio. Long distant communications, television, and internet where instead run through massive landline networks. The aftermath of the war destroyed much of the land network, but some of the lines have been salvaged and there are plans to connect the major settlements of the Wasteland.
Land Vehicles - Petrol and electrical driven vehicles where a very common form of transport along with public trains and trams in the old world. Working pre-war vehicles are less common in the Wasteland now as many could not hold up to the difficulties of the post apocalyptic environment and spare parts are increasingly harder to scavenge. Petrol and other liquid and gas fuels are also hard to come by and electric driven vehicles require a generator of some kind to recharge the batteries. Land yachts - a wheeled frame pushed along either by a fixed sail or kite - are a common form of cheap, long distance travel across the Wasteland.
The safest form of travel across the Wasteland is the Desert Bus, a massive, pre-war, nuclear powered transport platform that was designed to carry a super massive ore extractor. The ore extractor was never mounted upon the transport platform so that left plenty of space for accommodation modifications. The Desert Bus may be slower than a land yacht, but it's sheer size makes it unstoppable and it's well protected with fortifications and heavy gun placements.
Aircraft - The old world had jet engines and large aircraft, however pretty much all the surviving jet aircraft have been scrapped or mothballed shortly after the war. Jet aircraft require a lot of maintenance even for a short flight, and with the difficulty in finding fuel and spare parts, as well as having little reason to use such aircraft, the use of jets in the Wasteland is unheard off. The Old Guard maintain a small fleet of aging helicopters, and a few Punk tribes have access to microlights.
Guns - Guns are common in the Wasteland, although the Old Guard have the largest stockpile and facilities of advanced military grade weapons. Advanced weaponry were illegal for much of the public before the war so most gun designs available to the other factions are based on earlier, less complex designs gained from scavenging from museums. These weapons are made from scrap and scavenged materials, and tend to be less reliable than military grade weapons.
As well as reverse engineering old designs, the manufacturers of these cheap weapons also experiment with creating new designs, often extreme examples of standard weaponry just for the hell of it. Extreme examples like ultra short sawn-off shotguns, pistols that fire rifle rounds, and once, an electric chain gun that fired shotgun shells. These weapons are usually as much as a threat to the operator than to their targets and not terribly popular with those with more than half a brain cell.
Lasers - Due to advances in energy storage technology just before the war, laser weapons for infantry became a reality. These recoil-less, ridiculously accurate energy weapons are coveted by many soldiers, however the difficulty in maintaining and recharging these weapons make them quite rare. Larger laser weapons such as laser cannons are incredibly rare to be in active service as the larger the laser weapon is, the more power is required to fire it.
Heavy Weapons - Rockets, grenades, and cannons aren't terribly hard to manufacture in the Wasteland providing you have the resources, however there isn't much demand for them beyond defending settlements and outposts. Raiders, patrols and explorers tend to prefer using small arms while sometimes the Old Guard or Bimborgs will employ the use of vehicles to mount larger weaponry.
Theromndite - Also known as Slag, Theromndite is a mixture of three powdered materials that burns at an incredibly high temperature when introduced to an open flame. Ignited Theromndite burns so hot it can penetrate through the armour plating of a modern tank. During the war Theromndite was weaponized for infantry to use as a cheap and light alternative to anti-armour rockets and missiles launchers in the form of shells for grenade launchers and shotguns. These shells where designed for mid to short ranges and would ignite a couple of feet from exiting the barrel.
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Geography
The Wasteland - The Wasteland is based on the vague coastal outline of Europe and except for one particular area those are the only geography similarities to Earth. The urban sprawl that stretched across the continent was a multiple leveled mess of towering skyscrapers built over layers of older buildings.
Fort Betty - Fort Betty is the Old Guard's headquarters. Once a military bunker, Fort Betty has expanded into a fortress. High walls and towers surround the central bunker, while secondary walls surround farm land and a flourishing town. Fort Betty resides in the central southwest of the Wastelands, near the northern side of the Broken Mountains.
Bimborg Territory - Bimborg Territory is dotted with fortified factories and facilities. Nothing much is known of the insides of these citadels due to the high security, but Old Guard diplomats have been able to glean some information about their leadership and reproduction. Bimborgs are lead by a Queen, a cyborg elected through a democratic process called a beauty pageant. The Queen rules for a set number of years and is advised by a council called the Den Mothers, who also oversee all reproduction within the territory.
The Trading Outpost - A popular trading settlement on the western edge of Bimborg territory. The Trading Outpost is neutral ground for everyone and is inhabited by mostly Punks, Old Guard outcasts and Bimborgs. Bimborgs use the outpost for trading Bimborg goods, recruitment and services (cybernetic limb replacement for example), while the Sisters of Clarity maintain their largest church here. Various mercenary groups are based at the Outpost, while from time to time Amazons will visit to trade. The settlement is also home to the award winning cum bar and restaurant the Spunk'd Punk.
The Depths - Although the war reduced the towering buildings of the old world to dust and wreckage, that only flattened the surface of the old continent wide city. Far before the war, developers had ran out of horizontal land to build on as much of the remaining undeveloped land where protected wild life parks, so they started to build on top of the old city instead. The Sisters of Clarity did not have a bunker like the Old Guard, but their church was on the lower levels and was undamaged by the war above. Many areas did collapse onto itself, but there are still huge unexplored areas of pitch black streets and buildings and factories under the dust of the Wasteland that could hold a treasure trove of technology, lost knowledge and supplies. However the dangers under the Wasteland are unknown and many expeditions have disappeared into the Depths and never returned.
The Garden Coast - Once an affluent coastal area popular with the super wealthy, the Garden Coast was spared much of the fallout from the war by the Broken Mountains to the north. It's buildings and streets are now overgrown with jungle. Despite the lush plant life, the Garden Coast is avoided by many due to it's high population of ghouls. The Amazons also make this area their home and many veteran explorers consider the Garden Coast to be more dangerous than the Depths.
Londium and the Emerald Isles - A collection of city state islands well known for it's rainy weather. The islands spared well during the war because there wasn't much there to fight over. Despite that the population has split into many waring tribes that seem to be quite content with painting themselves blue and fighting each other, although if any person not painted blue so much as coughs in their direction, the tribes will band up to form a fearsome alliance.
The Rift - On the Wasteland's eastern edge is the Rift, a huge canyon splitting the continent into two. A series of large bombs during the war triggered a record breaking earthquake that caused the the two tectonic plates to drift apart, collapsing the land in between. The exposed Depths on either side are very unstable and without aircraft it's far safer taking a long route around the Rift than trying to climb down and then back up.
Broken Mountains - A range of mountains between the central Wasteland and the Garden Coast. Stretches from the Cratered Lands across the continent up to the southern tip of the Rift.
Water City - A wide river runs down through the bottom of the Rift and at the mouth of that river a section of the city from before the war now lays half submerged in the waters. Still standing decades after the war, the buildings jutting out of the waters are now home to sea faring Punk tribes, traders and pirates. No one knows who came up with the lame Water City name, but none of the tribes have come up with a better name. Yet.
Shithole - A large town settled within a huge crater. Originally founded as Hilt's Hole by the settlement's leader during the dark years of the nuclear winter, the town's name has changed over the years to it's current namesake. Although it's not an actual shithole, the town has a tough reputation for independence and standing up to the factions like the Old Guard. The crater itself sits upon the entrance of a huge military complex as dark, mysterious and dangerous as the Depths itself. Shithole's citizens call the largely unexplored complex the Dungeon.
Cratered Lands - Once known as the Ibural Peninsula, this area was hit by many large bombs during the war. Now it's a torn landscape of jagged mountains, ridges, and lake filled craters.
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Environmental Hazards
Although the war ended a couple of decades ago, some effects of the fighting have not receded like the nuclear winter.
Radiation Storms
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Trivia
The Punk Salute - The one fingered salute of the Punks is a honorific hand gesture reserved for greeting and congratulating friends and family. The proper gesture requires the thumb to be placed across the closed fingers while the middle finger points straight up. However if the thumb is pointed away from the hand, the meaning of the gesture becomes opposite: this is used as a negative sign on someone the Punk feels is not worth the breath to swear at. The lesser known two fingered salute of the Punks is a gesture of sexual attraction.
Punk Population - The population across the numerous Punk tribes and clans far outnumber the forces and civil population of the Old Guard, however the tribes rarely form alliances with each other and even those are short lived due to lack of central leadership and infighting.
Infertile Semen - Along with being delicious and nutritious, the cum of infertile males also vary in taste according to their species. There are variations in flavour across each species, but generally reptiles have fruity flavoured cum, mammal spunk is bitter, while aquatic species have sweet tasting semen.
Bimborg Services - At the Trading Outpost, the Bimborgs run a cybernetic and prosthetics service for non-bimborgs. Cybernetic surgery is their largest export, and the Bimborgs accept fertile semen, resources and servitude for limb replacement, maintenance, and cybernetic upgrades. Servitude involves temporary joining the Bimborg faction for a set amount of time. The servant is given a memory block implant and a basic AI control unit so that the person's body can fill out basic duties within the Bimborg territory without compromising Bimborg security. When the person's service is at an end, the person is taken back to the Trading Outpost and the memory block and AI unit removed.
Breast Enhancements - Since the ideal of feminine beauty is no longer defined by males, the demand for breast enhancements and other plastic surgery is non-existent in the Wasteland. However the Bimborgs at the Trading Outpost offer mandatory breast enhancements for most of their prosthetic services as big enhanced tits is a part of their bimbo ideal. This spawned some controversial for a while when more than one old, grizzled veteran male failed to read the small print and woke up after surgery with a pair of fetching 34DDs.
Jungle of the Garden Coast - Before the war, the Garden Coast was a temperate environment of forests and grasslands. During the dark, cold years of the nuclear winter, the environment drastically changed into a vibrant jungle of tropical trees. There are no records of how this came to be - the surviving natives of the area are the Amazons, and they aren't very chatty when it comes to subjects of their history or their territory.
Ghoul Types - There are three types of Ghoul: Hunters, Scavengers, and Alphas. Hunters are the typical Ghoul, commonly forming into packs that hunt across their territory. They can be faster and stronger than the average person but tend not to raid large caravans, preferring small groups of travelers. Scavengers are a weaker form of Ghoul. The effects of radiation, biological or chemical weapons may not have killed a Scavenger, but they are physically weaker than the average person and are opportunistic scavengers. They can form into packs but are easily broken into retreat with a show of force. Alphas are the opposite of the Scavenger. The effects of the radioactive, biological and chemical weapons have transformed this Ghoul into a very dangerous beast that can take on well armed patrols by itself. When an Alpha encounters a Hunter pack, the Ghoul will kill the leader and take over the pack. This pack will then absorb rival packs it encounters, forming a warband that will attack any settlement in it's path. Alphas do not get along with each other and will attack one another on sight.
Uncivil War by Miracle of Sound - Unofficial theme music for Mercenaries.
The aspect of females being the dominant gender in the Wasteland world, including the 'Sisters of Clarity' and 'Amazons' factions catch my interest in particular. Looking forward to seeing further updates about it!