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Fossilized Rappy · 12-08-2015, 12:13 PM

Fallen Stars

Setting Introduction
December 21, 2012, 12:21 PM Central Standard Time: an ordinary day was shattered by a far than ordinary celestial event. As shoppers chaotically rushed through the final gift purchases of the season, families spent their time together for the holidays, and various thinkers and doers kept to their daily grinds, great amber lights appeared in the heavens. Not even the most sophisticated radar or telescope heralded their coming, their forms simply appearing in the high atmosphere as if they formed there from nothingness. Over four excruciating hours of terror, the "stars" edged closer and closer to the ground, before finally undergoing a massive burst of speed around 4:30 PM and plowing straight into the earth.

There was no debris, no waves of shock and heat, no immediate annihilation to those at the epicenter of the stars' trajectories. There was, however, another immediate effect of a sort unlike that of any meteor or asteroid. A large number of people and animals the world over suddenly become violently ill moments after the stars fell, the very air of the globe seeming to vibrate briefly but perceptibly. What appeared to be a mass flu pandemic quickly became something altogether stranger, however. Flesh warped, bones reformed, bodies being altered down to the genetic level. This was not merely a disease, even one on an unprecedented level: it was a fundamental transformation of life on Earth.

Those afflicted would not have much time to process their changes, as a mere two hours later there was another great shudder. With this final aftershock came the most crippling chaos: sudden and extreme environmental changes occurred around the impact sites of the amber stars, while across the planet humanity suddenly faced rapid flooding of the world's oceans, strange mega-storms with unnatural effects coating much of northern Eurasia, Canada, Australia, and northern Africa, minor but nonetheless destructive weather patterns on more local levels, and global electromagnetic interference that crippled the once seemingly endless network of human communication.

While the great waters stopped their rapid march inland within a day, the storms continued to rage at a near-constant rate into early February of the next year. Those who survived both the weather and the chaos of known society's upheaval – not necessarily cripplingly few in number, but nonetheless in less density than was once present – were faced with the aspect of rebuilding in a world seemingly turned upside down. Not only was the global village shattered into the sum of its parts once more and the code of social conduct torn between those who favored survival by collective cohesion versus those who sought it by personal strength, there was no denying that some people were not technically even human anymore, an obstacle to acceptance that was too much for some to overcome.

That was then, of course. This is now: 2040, almost three decades after the great fall of the stars. What was once the United States of America is now a collection of smaller nations, independent territories, and scattered ungoverned settlements wedged in between: from the boat towns and cultist hideaways of swampy DC in the east to the mountain nomads of California in the west, from the reclusive swamp towns in the scattered islands that were once Louisiana to the settlements of beaver whalers of the frigid north, all face adversity from without and within. Even those in the most developed cities inside the burgeoning nations face potential danger from illness, supply deficiency, crime and corruption, and unfriendly neighbors from the less defended regions of their lands. In spite of these stumbling blocks, however, life moves on and people push forward toward the future.

Thread Introduction
Fallen Stars is a setting I've been conceptually working on for several years, and this thread will mark the first time it's been shown publicly in its GURPS incarnation. It will be the primary thread for most things related to the setting, though I plan on making separate threads for a locations guide and bestiary. All posts of material (as opposed to replies, notices, or clarifying statements) will be linked to the table of contents below as they are posted. Outside of a few key posts, most things will be posted as I feel like writing them up rather than necessarily in order, though I plan on eventually gathering it all up into a PDF that is in the correct order for convenience.

Table of Contents
EDIT: Updates of current materials, and any future materials, will be posted on my blog.

12-08-2015, 12:13 PM	#1
Fossilized Rappy Join Date: Jun 2015	Fallen Stars: A Setting in a Mutant-Filled Post-Apocalyptic America Fallen Stars Setting Introduction December 21, 2012, 12:21 PM Central Standard Time: an ordinary day was shattered by a far than ordinary celestial event. As shoppers chaotically rushed through the final gift purchases of the season, families spent their time together for the holidays, and various thinkers and doers kept to their daily grinds, great amber lights appeared in the heavens. Not even the most sophisticated radar or telescope heralded their coming, their forms simply appearing in the high atmosphere as if they formed there from nothingness. Over four excruciating hours of terror, the "stars" edged closer and closer to the ground, before finally undergoing a massive burst of speed around 4:30 PM and plowing straight into the earth. There was no debris, no waves of shock and heat, no immediate annihilation to those at the epicenter of the stars' trajectories. There was, however, another immediate effect of a sort unlike that of any meteor or asteroid. A large number of people and animals the world over suddenly become violently ill moments after the stars fell, the very air of the globe seeming to vibrate briefly but perceptibly. What appeared to be a mass flu pandemic quickly became something altogether stranger, however. Flesh warped, bones reformed, bodies being altered down to the genetic level. This was not merely a disease, even one on an unprecedented level: it was a fundamental transformation of life on Earth. Those afflicted would not have much time to process their changes, as a mere two hours later there was another great shudder. With this final aftershock came the most crippling chaos: sudden and extreme environmental changes occurred around the impact sites of the amber stars, while across the planet humanity suddenly faced rapid flooding of the world's oceans, strange mega-storms with unnatural effects coating much of northern Eurasia, Canada, Australia, and northern Africa, minor but nonetheless destructive weather patterns on more local levels, and global electromagnetic interference that crippled the once seemingly endless network of human communication. While the great waters stopped their rapid march inland within a day, the storms continued to rage at a near-constant rate into early February of the next year. Those who survived both the weather and the chaos of known society's upheaval – not necessarily cripplingly few in number, but nonetheless in less density than was once present – were faced with the aspect of rebuilding in a world seemingly turned upside down. Not only was the global village shattered into the sum of its parts once more and the code of social conduct torn between those who favored survival by collective cohesion versus those who sought it by personal strength, there was no denying that some people were not technically even human anymore, an obstacle to acceptance that was too much for some to overcome. That was then, of course. This is now: 2040, almost three decades after the great fall of the stars. What was once the United States of America is now a collection of smaller nations, independent territories, and scattered ungoverned settlements wedged in between: from the boat towns and cultist hideaways of swampy DC in the east to the mountain nomads of California in the west, from the reclusive swamp towns in the scattered islands that were once Louisiana to the settlements of beaver whalers of the frigid north, all face adversity from without and within. Even those in the most developed cities inside the burgeoning nations face potential danger from illness, supply deficiency, crime and corruption, and unfriendly neighbors from the less defended regions of their lands. In spite of these stumbling blocks, however, life moves on and people push forward toward the future. Thread Introduction Fallen Stars is a setting I've been conceptually working on for several years, and this thread will mark the first time it's been shown publicly in its GURPS incarnation. It will be the primary thread for most things related to the setting, though I plan on making separate threads for a locations guide and bestiary. All posts of material (as opposed to replies, notices, or clarifying statements) will be linked to the table of contents below as they are posted. Outside of a few key posts, most things will be posted as I feel like writing them up rather than necessarily in order, though I plan on eventually gathering it all up into a PDF that is in the correct order for convenience. Table of Contents EDIT: Updates of current materials, and any future materials, will be posted on my blog. Last edited by Fossilized Rappy; 12-12-2016 at 06:46 PM.