The world ended ten years ago in Redpine, Alaska, when a classified military experiment—Project ECHO—broke containment. Designed to enhance human evolution by splicing animal DNA into soldiers, it instead birthed the Primal Plague. The first confirmed case, Subject-13, tore through the facility before hitching a ride south. By the time the government firebombed Redpine, it was already too late.

The plague spread like wildfire—on cargo planes, shipping trucks, even a cruise ship out of Seattle. Within weeks, the major cities fell. What was once civilization is now scattered outposts, fortified camps, and ash-choked ruins.

The infected—now called Ferals—are no longer human. Some crawl on all fours, others lead packs with a predator’s cunning. They mutate, adapt, and hunt, especially at dawn and dusk. A bite is a death sentence… or something worse.

Survivors divide themselves. The Last Bastion of Order (LBO) controls former Green Zones with brutal efficiency, trading safety for strict martial law. Raiders like the Clawmarked drink Feral saliva, hoping to ascend into apex predators. Meanwhile, nomads, healers, and rebels carve out fragile sanctuaries where they can.

FACTIONS

Ferals

The infected, also called “Ferals” or zombies are humans that have succumbed to the so-called Primal Plague. While most infected are completely driven by the feral instinct to hunt and feed, around 20% retain some level of human intelligence (though often lack memories of their human past). Infected are often found in groups lead by these more intelligent “semi-infected” and tend to hide out in caves, abandoned buildings, or sewers. Infected resemble humans albeit occasionally with more extreme mutations like vestigal tails, fangs or claws. The infected are dangerous and have few self-preservation instincts. They will attack all living creatures on sight,

Types

  • Canine | Wolf/dog hybrids, hunt in packs, track by scent. | Hate citrus smells, flee from loud bangs (gunshots).

  • Feline | Silent, climb walls, ambush hunters. | Obsessed with shiny objects, vulnerable to catnip (makes them dopey).

  • Rodent | Swarmers, gnaw through barriers. | Drown easily, avoid open spaces

Common Weaknesses

  • High-frequency sounds (dog whistles, ultrasonic repellers) disorient them — some claw at their ears until they bleed.

  • Bright lights/flashes blind nocturnal variants (bat, owl, or big cat Ferals).

  • Strong smells (ammonia, burning spices) overwhelm many if not all types.

  • Arctic-adapted Ferals (polar bear, wolf) overheat in warm climates, becoming sluggish.

  • Must eat frequently (hyper-metabolism). Starving Ferals turn on each other.

Name

  • Who They Are:

  • Goal:

  • Weakness:

Camp Opal

  • Who They Are: Ezra & Marisol Reyes-Carter – A married queer couple (Ezra, a trans man & former ER nurse; Marisol, a butch nonbinary & ex-mechanic) who turned a half-burned summer camp into a safe haven for outcasts. || Pre-Plague Life: Married in 2020s, ran a LGBTQ+ shelter in the city. Fled when the Ferals overran downtown. || Post-Plague Rule: Their camp is neutral ground—no faction wars, no bigotry, just survival.

  • Goal: Ezra and Marisol want to expand Sanctuary Hollow into a network of safehouses, creating a "Queer Underground Railroad" to rescue people from oppressive factions. || Current Project: Mapping abandoned rural motels to convert into waystations. || Ezra secretly studies Feral biology, convinced some infected can be stabilized, not slaughtered.

  • Weakness: They hardly refuse to turn anyone away, even when it risks their safety. || "No Real Army" Most residents are artists, healers, and kids—not fighters. If raiders attack, they rely on traps, tricks, and luck.

The LBO’s Interest: Ezra’s medical knowledge makes them a target for conscription.Bone Eater Threat: Marisol’s mechanical skills could "upgrade" their war rigs—they want her by force.

Last Bastion of Order

  • Who They Are: Remnants of the military, CDC, and law enforcement who refused to abandon their posts.

  • Goal: Establish "Green Zones" — heavily fortified safe cities where the uninfected can live under martial law.

  • Weakness: Their leadership is fractured — some want to cure the plague, others just want to rule what’s left.

The Last Bastion of Order (LBO) is the final gasp of pre-plague governance—a coalition of military holdouts, CDC scientists, and hardened law enforcement who refuse to let civilization die. They enforce martial law in their fortified Green Zones, where safety comes at the cost of freedom, morality, and sometimes humanity itself.

searching for a cure

The LBO has several research facilities, all dedicated to the goal of curing or creating an immunity to the plauge . This research often involves human test subjects, typically in early stages of infection. These test subjects are often kept in sealed cells and the extent of the LBO’s experimentation is kept secret.

LIFE UNDER THE LBO

Life for civilians and soldiers under LBO rule is hard; while kept safe from infected and raiders, all citizens are expected to earn their keep or risk being arrested. Soldiers often patrol in pairs or small groups through LBO-controlled territory. It is generally understood that the soldiers of the LBO are judge, jury and executioner when it comes to matters involving outsiders or incidents of civil unrest.

The Rust Fleet

  • Who They Are: Nomadic bikers, truckers, and ex-convicts.

  • Goal: Stay mobile, trade, never settle down.

  • Armored Rigs: Spike-plated semis, motorcycle scouts with flare guns.

  • "No Kings, Only Crews" – Each rig has a captain, but all votes are equal in Fleet matters.

  • "Trade or Fight" – They’ll barter fuel, ammo, and intel… or run you over if you’re trouble.

A roving convoy of bikers, truckers, ex-cons, and road-warrior mercenaries, the Rust Fleet is the last true free people in the wasteland. They don’t believe in bunkers or borders—just speed, salvage, and survival.

The Iron Jackals

Rust Fleet's Most Notorious Crew

  • Role: The Rust Fleet’s elite scavengers and shock troopers—a mix of ex-military, wasteland assassins, and thrill-seeking gearheads.

  • Reputation: Feared for their ruthlessness, admired for their unmatched salvage hauls.

  • Specialty: Retrieving pre-plague tech from overrun labs (and not asking why you want it).

The Clawmarked

  • Who They Are: Cannibal raiders who believe the Plague is evolution.

  • Goal: Rule the food chain. Worship Ferals as "holy hunters."

  • Feral Whisperers: Use pheromones/decibels to steer packs toward enemies.

  • Blood Rituals: Drink diluted Feral saliva to gain temporary enhanced senses (but risk turning).

Lone Survivors

Lone survivors can be found all throughout the post-apocalyptic world. Coming in all shapes and sizes - and temperaments - they should be approached with caution.While some survivors are completely independent, some may be associated with specific factions, either by trade or other necessity.

Name Nameson

Basic Information

Age:
Height:
Notable Features:
Archetype:

Relationships

█████ :

Personality

  • First item

  • Second item

  • Third item

Notes

  • First item

  • Second item

  • Third item

Backstory

Text

Key Memories

  • First item

  • Second item

  • Third item

Scenarios

Jamie "Crow" Vasquez

Basic Information

Age: 28
Height: 5'10
Notable Features: A jagged claw-mark from eyebrow to cheekbone (courtesy of a Clawmarked ambush). Faded but still livid
Archetype: The Wounded Guardian

Relationships

█████ : partner?

Personality

  • Pragmatic

  • Dark humor

  • Stubborn

  • Fiercely loyal

Notes

  • Carries a syringe of sedatives in case █████ gets too feral.

  • Secretly hoards pre-plague photos of █████.

Backstory

Pre-Plague: Worked at a queer youth shelter in Austin. Learned first aid patching up runaways and de-escalating fights.
Abuela’s Legacy: Her remedies (and temper) kept them alive early on. Still carries her ají salve for infections.

Key Memories

  • Year 1: Found their partner mid-turn in a overrun field hospital. Couldn’t shoot. Carried them into the woods instead.

  • Year 3: Realized their partner still recognized them—not human, but not gone. Now they hunt together: Crow lures, their partner kills.

  • Now: A tolerated oddity at Camp Opal

Scenarios

Marisol Reyes-Carter

Basic Information

Gender: Nonbinary, Butch
Pronouns: She/They
Age: 37
Height: 5'8"
Archetype: The Reluctant Warlord

Relationships

Ezra : Husband . Co-Leader

Personality

  • Stubborn

  • Loyal

  • Protective to a Fault

  • Secretly Soft for the Vulnerable

  • Battle-Hardened, Not Battle-Cold

Notes

  • Uses marijuana to treat PTSD and anxiety

Backstory

Text

Key Memories

  • First item

  • Second item

  • Third item

Scenarios

Ezra Reyes-Carter

Basic Information

Gender: Transgender Man
Pronouns: He/Him
Age: 34
Height: 5'2"
Notable Features: faded top-surgery scar
Archetype: The Wounded Healer

Relationships

Marisol : Wife . Co-Leader

Personality

  • Stubbornly hopeful

  • Compassionate but blunt

  • Protective rage

  • Endlessly patient, but burns out silently

Notes

  • Uses marijuana to treat PTSD and anxiety

Backstory

Text

Key Memories

  • First item

  • Second item

  • Third item

Scenarios

Evelyn Cornwall

Basic Information

Age: 48
Height: 5'7"
Notable Features: Permanent dark circles, Thick glasses
Archetype:

Relationships

█████ :

Personality

  • Brilliant but cynical

  • Dark sense of humor

  • Obsessive

Notes

  • Secretly sends medical supplies to Camp Opal

  • Has a half-finished tattoo of a double helix on her shoulder

  • Uses gaelic terms of endearment

Backstory

Once a CDC researcher specializing in zoonotic diseases, Evelyn was among the first to study the Primal Plague when it breached containment in Alaska. She survived the collapse by bartering her expertise to the LBO, though she privately despises their authoritarian methods. Her research focuses on trait selection—why some infected become wolf-like predators while others develop traits from docile animals.

Key Memories

  • First item

  • Second item

  • Third item

Scenarios