The Database: Highway Lore and OOC
Why I ultimately decided against a backstory:
Alright so after writing revision after revision, trying to make some sense or at least give context as to why Soviet China and Russia along with a buncha other countries would be in a heavily altered America. But time and time again, it became so convoluted or dumb that I'd just rewrite another draft trying to be more vague. But again, it wouldn't work... at all.
So after thinking about it and reading the old Highway threads, I realized that there doesn't need to be some world wide context. It doesn't matter what started this weird mash of cultures and doomsday stuff; all that matters is the here and now, and how only certain stuff came to be. There is still backstory, but its so heavily fragmented that trying to spell it all out would be another goal in of itself.
So just assume there's no real context to anything, every happens because its needed to happen, if you really want to find out the details of what caused things then go spelunking into labs, bases, or even houses with working computers.
That and there is no real point, because me and the players normally make **** up as we go along.
The World (Not the US)
The world has suffered a global scale nuclear conflict many years ago, some places were hit harder than others, and some are still going about as if there was no "Apocalypse" of any sorts. But since their asses aren't the main focus I'll give you a brief summary of what parts of the world were like.
Asia and the Asian Pacific: The land that brought the world to its knees, filled with ash layered jungles, vast dead deserts, and urban centers that are packed with more people then there should be. Back when the name "Red Coalition" actually had some weight to it, there were many cities, factories, and farms spread all throughout the continent. So far, that there was barely any wilderness left when room for more people finally ran out. When the first nukes were launched, they were launched straight into China and Vietnam, and its said that America were the first ones to use nuclear armaments in the conflict; and they were most likely the reason The Coalition fired its payloads back.
Mixed with Radiation and Pollution, the air here is barely breathable, air filters and gasmasks are required for everyone that goes outdoors. And what little wild life is left has most likely been killed by the polluted weather, acid rain isn't good for anyone, and when said rain is able to melt through steel; you can expect people to start migrating East/West to the less ****ed parts of the world.
As of today there is little news that comes from Asia, other than the stray broadcast from the few survivors that still try to scrape by.
Europe: Most of Europe was allied with the US during WWIII, so when nukes were launched, some ended up heading their way as well. Most of Eastern Europe is about as bad as Asia, as the stray radiation storms do blow into the area on occasion, but it is far more habitable then Asia; the only thing you have to worry about is strange gravitational anomalies, mutant plants, and whatever horrible blood-sucking mutant crawls out of the irradiated dirt.
Now Western Europe on the other hand is more like America, but a tad more civilized. They weren't hit as hard, but it doesn't mean they got off easy. There are still cities and towns, and most of the governments there are trying to reclaim land to try and bring themselves back from the ashes all those years back.
Recent news from Europe suggests that they're trying to find a way cross the seas to seek out other survivors or people. Only one voyage was made, and that voyage never made it back to port.
Africa: Its a huge land mass filled with mutated animals and humans alike, the jungles and deserts have been contorted and shaped into something
otherworldly by anomalies that float aimlessly throughout the continent. Most explorers that come here looking for treasures are likely to never see home again, either succumbing to one of the many threats there, or embracing whatever lies in wait there.
Australia: Torn apart by huge sandstorms, its inhabitants have gone crazy in the hope for finding some rest or satisfaction in the wasteland. Only the strongest and violent clans thrive in these large deserts stained in blood and tears. Barely anything comes from these lands, except for a legend about a man traveling the roads, helping those in need. While the nickname was lost in translation, its safe to say that he's a Warrior of The Road.
Subtle references are subtle.North America
A land torn apart by several wars, a land reformed with technology that used to belong in the realms of science-fiction; only to be burned to ash in the year 2013. Now the remains of the US are rich with history and places to see. From the heavily urbanized south-west, to the radioactive snow covered pines of the Great North, and to the relatively "normal" East Coast; there is always something out there to see or do.
East Coast: The East Coast wasn't hit as hard as the rest of the world, due to the nuclear defense systems that were in place throughout the remaining cities after the first wave of bombs were sent out. Although DC and its surrounding area is a radioactive slime pit that breeds all sorts of oddities, and rumors of a military presence slowly
weeding out any mutants in the area are starting to worry some of the nearby towns. The rest of the East Coast is more or less the way it was before the Crisis occurred, rolling green hills, lush plant life, poor-quality roads, and the miles and miles of farms that sit quietly in the plains.
The main thing you have to worry about in the East are the people themselves, raiders, rival factions, and even the damned military itself have all turned on each other hoping to "rebuild" America in their image.
West Coast: The exact opposite of the East Coast, this land is far from normal, as nuclear devices, heavy fighting, terraforming, and all sorts of things that'd make God shake his fist in anger all occurred on this broken and fractured coast line. For starters California is nothing but a chain of islands, with raging seas filled with creatures and mutants swimming in between them. The rest of the area is nothing but cities being reclaimed by nature, and God knows what else.
The Border (A long desert stretch, starting in Indiana and ending in Alabama): As per-Highway tradition, we need a big ass desert in the middle part of the map. Terraforming is what shaped these lands into the dry, vast desert it is today. You see, back when the Soviets were first invading America, they had a problem: American's were fighting in their home turf, and as such knew the lay of the land better then any of their strike teams they could send in (obviously). So instead of just carpet bombing suspected resistance hideouts, they instead opted for violent dust storms and tornadoes that tore the land asunder, ripping entire forests, flinging them into sink holes that started to appear during the "transformation".
Now its just a land of large drop offs and canyons that stretch for miles and miles. But surprisingly
or should I say, "Not surprisingly" there are people setting up dangling cities and bridges that try to cross these treacherous abysses; but unsurprisingly, most have failed in their attempts to secure a holding on the side of a cliff, and have had their cities and villages plunge into the ebony depths. Such is life in the desert.
North and Southern United StatesWhen the Reds invaded America, the land was divided into two parts, the northern Soviet nations (Russia, Germany, etc...) would take north of America; while China and its allies would take the southern portions of the US. Both Nations, with their tech and people, transformed the land to look more closely to their homeland. Because of this, all of the south is vast deserts and lush jungles filled with huge neon soaked cities that can be spotted from miles away as they tower over the jungle canopy.
While the Northern US was turned into a tundra with a few splotches of autumn colored forests scattered throughout the land. Most of the north has been urbanized and industrialized, thick clouds of smog blanket the horizons, polluted/irradiated snow on the surface has driven the inhabitants here indoors or underground in the far-reaching metro tunnels that were constructed after the peace treaty between the US and The Reds was signed. [NOTE:Some say that you can find entrances to the Soviet Metro in the subway tunnels of New York.]
West CoastLittle to nothing is known about the mythical West Coast, rumors suggest that its a inhospitable hellhole with nearly everything out there trying to kill you. And reports of some the more braver explorers say that most, if not all, of California has fallen into the sea, leaving only a small chain of islands in its wake. With said islands constantly being bombarded with hurricanes and harsh seas that make getting to or from the island a near impossibility.
Up north in Washington, there has been long-standing rumors and myths about a huge laboratory built inside the frozen remains of Seattle, with the Space Needle being the center of the lab's operation.
South AmericaI'll keep this short and simple, (going to cut the sh1t here); I haven't written much mainly due to the fact that I have something planned down here, and it'd be sorta crappy if I revealed it. So South America is basically still functioning, but it's basically a buncha nations fighting each other for dominance, combined with Americans and Soviet survivors trying to take some land for themselves due to the (mostly) clean water and food sources. There's a lot more fighting going on down in these parts.
Northern America (Canada)And Canada is just full on 30-days and 30-nights of Nuclear Winter, snow without a rad suit or some form of immunity is real bad for your health. All I'll say is that once you get some good gear or armor, there is a ton of cool experimental stuff to find,
along with a few other things....