[WA] Strain Groups in the Rend

Wikis
#1

Digitarians:

The North Pacific Conglomerate:
Located - Northern Pacific Ocean
The product of numerous mergers and takeovers of various Digitarian Families, the Conglomerate is the primary employer of Digitarians within the Rust Coast Region and controls a significant portion of the Oceanic trade and salvage in the Northern Pacific.

Perdition Fleet:
Located- Tea Town’s Acid Bay (Tacoma)
The Fleet acts as the naval force for the conglomerate within the Rust Coast Region. The ranks of the Fleet are largely composed of the Mitsubishi and Hanjin families which represents the military rank and file and bureaucratic arm of the fleet respectively. The Mitsubishi are said to have been one of the founding families of the conglomerate while, Hanjin bought their way into the conglomerate by providing the original ships that made up Perdition fleet. The Hanjin family has very tense relations with most saltwise which they blame for much of the piracy at sea.

Boeing Family:
Located - The Redlands (Redmond)
Partnered with the Nintendo family to run R&D for the Conglomerate. Boeing specializes in engineering and maintenance of the Fleet. The Boeing family is said to have the same or interconnected ancestors with the 751 Cousins of Bowing Beach. These old ties lead to a conflict among the two groups and the ousting of the Boeing family from their ancestral lands south of Undersea. This ejection from Bowing Beach (Boeing Airfield) lead directly to their acquisition by the Conglomerate.

Nintendo Family:
Located - The Redlands (Redmond)
Partnered with the Boeing Family to run R&D for the Conglomerate. Nintendo specializes in experimental tech and electronics. The Nintendo family ancestral home is in the Redlands East of Gatesville (Bellevue). They have a tense and sometimes aggressive relationship with the Faith, the Telling Visions whom they blame for the Arcadian sect which they claim disrespects the history of their family. No member of the Nintendo family would ever be a Telling Visionist.

#2

Purebloods:

Mercer Island:
Located - Mercer Island (Lake Washington)
All of the luxury of UnderSea (Seattle), none of the rabble. Established by the Allen family and home to the Felsteads and Ballmers, Mercer Island is a Pure Blood only town within the Wash Sea (Lake Washington) connected by bridge to Undersea and the main caravan route east through the mountains. The Allen Family is generally insular and secretive, choosing to keep to themselves and rarely leaving their small fiefdom. The Felsteads are ridiculously pretentious. They don’t give much back to the community. Noted big game hunters, they have busied themselves out on Safari and dabbled in weapons manufacturing that at one time rivaled the Von Rugers. They have since become tied by marriage to the Von Rugers and have consolidated their weapons businesses. The Ballmers originally closely tied to the Gates family switched sides decades ago to join the Allen’s taking with them much of the research Ballmer and Gates pioneered in wasteland medicine. Now the Ballmer’s own and operate a series of medical schools and facilities around Undersea.

The Von Ruger Family:
Located- Fort Astoria (Astoria, Oregon)
Owners and operators of the largest gun and ammunition manufacturing facility in the Rust Coast. So well known for their reliability and power, the Port Authority even hires in Von Ruger Gun makers to service Harbor Island’s shore batteries. Fort Astoria the Home of the Von Ruger has been far removed from the bickering and influence of the Undersea Pureblood families, that is until they allied via marriage to the Felstead family. Few of the Pureblood families were hit as hard by the war with the Ironworks. Johnathon Von Ruger the patriarch of the family and “Lord of Bullets” was killed during a siege by anti slavery forces and his uncle Verdisgris who had been secretly supporting various illegal networks with family funds had gone missing leaving the family in disaray.

The Gates family
Located - Gatesville (Bellevue)
The Gates Family was once considered one of the most powerful pureblood families on the Rust Coast for their mastery of the sciences. There were few that could challenge their expertise in technology including their Digitarian neighbors in the Redlands, but time has not been kind to the Gates. Disaster after disaster struck, family members were killed and kidnapped, their city fell into ruin and disease, finally leading to a massive explosion that leveled most of Gatesville. In the aftermath many of their family has mutated into the tainted and those few remaining pure Gates are left picking up the scraps of their once noble family.

#3

Solestros:

The Port Authority:
Located- Harbor Island Battery (Harbor Island, Seattle)
The Bureaucratic organization in charge of all shipping activity through the Duwamish inlet south of Undersea and leaders of Harbor Island Battery, a steel walled fortified island. While the brunt of the dock work is done by the Mariner Baywalkers that live on the island, the Port Authority, verifies, shipping manifests, assigns docking slips, approves inlet passage and aims the island’s massive battery guns at any ships that fail to comply.

The 751 Cousins of Bowing Beach:
Located- Bowing Beach (Boeing Airfield)
Engineers and machinists by blood. Despite their lineage, they are more than a match for the saviest Diesel Jock. They specialize in the use of ultra lightweight materials and components for aircraft. The Territory of Bowing Beach has long been in contention between the Cousins and the Boeing Family of Digitarians which are rumored to have interconnected ancestors. However, with backing from the Port Authority, the Cousins were able to force the Boeing Family out about 15 years ago and claim sole ownership of Bowing Beach. The results of this ousting directly lead to the Boeing Families buy out by the Northern Pacific Conglomerate.

The Loumac Family:
Located- The Town of Loumac (Joint Base Louis McChord)
The Family’s history as leaders of the town of Loumac extends all the way back to pre fall times when the town operated as a military base. Loumac which sits between Tea Town (Tacoma) and Greentown (Olympia) now holds a small but thriving Fallow Hope community and operates the bootcamp and training academy for the area’s fallow. Loumac’s lax feelings towards psions, often choosing to convert rather than kill has long put them at odds with Fort Northgate for prominence within the Ecumenical order of the Rust Coast.

#4

Baywalkers:

The Mariners:
Located- Duwamish Inlet
Often working under the Rule of the Port Authority Solestros, the Mariners are simple, hard people, that have made their living between the open ocean and the city. While the Port Authority may own Harbor Island Battery, its said that no legitimate trade moves in or off the coast without going through the hands of the Mariners. The Mariners identify themselves with the tattoo of a trident made of an upside down “M” marked on the side of their necks. It is not unusual for them to also mark themselves with the numbers of the docking slips they work in within the island.

The Dawgs:
Located- Pontoon City (University of Washington and 520 bridge)
Pontoon City is floating city spanning the Wash Sea (Lake Washington) from Suzzo north of Undersea (Seattle) to the edge of Gatesville (Bellevue). Pontoon City holds control over the northern waters of the Wash Sea, patrolling for Piracy and regulating trade that is avoiding Fort Northgate and Mercer Island. Pontoon City also contains the neighborhood of Suzzo, a pre fall city that was a collection of libraries and auditoriums, a concrete and brick city of learning. The collected texts of Suzzo are larger and contain even rarer works of research and study than even the central library of Undersea. Due to the notoriety of Suzzo’s Libraries, it has become a popular destination for Sainthood of Ashes faith, of which many of the Dawgs are members. Lanterns are so ubiquitous along Pontoon City that it is said to resemble a glowing serpent at night.

The Potters:
Located- Acid bay, Tea Town (Tacoma)
Smugglers and cut throats that don’t have the proper papers to go through the Duwamish Inlet have to unload their wares somewhere. Despite Acid Bays recent acquisition by the Perdition Fleet of Digitarians, no one knows the toxic waterways and hidden alcoves like the Potters. So if you need goods moved without anyone noticing or perhaps a person needs to disappear its best to have a gift for the potters on hand when you head down to the docks.

#5

Yorkers:

Sons of Sodom:
Located- Sodom(SODO, Seattle)
Unwilling to live under the rules of Undersea they call home Sodom, just south of the walls of Undersea (Seattle) and made of the two great pre fall stadiums of old. The Sons are the largest Yorker Gang in the region, dressed primarily in blue and green they boast a membership of several hundred. The fields that sit at the center of their homes are some of the closest crops to Undersea, and as such are typically used for growing herbs for the drug trade within the city walls. However due to the hardships experienced during the Second Fall and the easily defendable nature of their stadium homes, the Sons of Sodom have expanded in to food production as well out of necessity, greatly improving their reputations and standing in and around Undersea.

The Knights:
Located- Cliff Castle (Stadium High School, Tacoma)
The Knights are the only Yorker clan that has been able to maintain a foothold in Teatown (Tacoma), with many of the other smaller gangs having been run out by the Purebloods and Potters Baywalker clan. Approaching the courtyard of their home “Cliff Castle” it would be reasonable to mistake it for some sort of Pureblood Estate. Soaring stone and brick walls, old even for the pre fall give it a grandeur not seen elsewhere, but the view from Acid Bay reveals the truth. Crumbling walls, half collapsed on the northern side as the cliff it stands on has eroded away into the water. Cliff Castle is a four story slum, with a missing north face and its floors jutting out into the elements like bones from a corpse. The Knights are mostly a gang of thieves, muggings, burglaries, heists and hijackings all seem to branch out from the Castle, and though efforts have been made by the “civilized” denizens of Teatown to deal with them, the rat’s nest that they call home, is the perfect for hiding both valuables and themselves.

#6

Vegasians:

Olympus Hotel:
Located- Tea Town (Tacoma)
Due to the colder temperatures not many Vegasians settle down this far north, but that doesn’t mean they don’t pass through. Any Vegasian that considers themselves anyone, which is every Vegasian, stops in at the Olympus Hotel. Owned and operated by the eccentric and mysterious Eli Vaud the Olympus is the place to go for a new Vegasian in the neighborhood, whether they are looking for work, a place to hide, or merely some good music and a hearty meal in the Mirror Room Lounge they can find it all. Of course a Vegasian owned hotel with nearly exclusive Vegasian clientele has lead to all sorts of wild rumors from outsiders. If even half of them are to be believed, the hidden sub basements of the Olympus, hold the secrets of gravemind death cultists, vast treasures, and an expansive tunnel network that allows Vegasians to move about in their natural reptilian skin.

#7

Diesel Jocks:

Mudrunners:
Location- Temple of Hellen Foothills (Cowlitz County)
There are many that believe the terrain of the Rust Coast is not conducive to vehicular travel, steep slopes, loose soil, constant downpours that make the ground slick with mud can make traction near impossible and too many trees to navigate. But in the foothills west of the Temple (Mt. St. Helens), on nights where the rain pounds heavy against the evergreen branches, the shudder and growl of engines can be heard. Travelers that have gone off the main road, hunters, and people looking to disappear occasionally find themselves trapped as the rumbling engines and crunching tires near and surround them. Riding on motorized bikes with massive shocks and trucks with tires half the height of a man, the MudRunners have never found a terrain that they can’t surmount. Considered by many to be no better than pirates like the Black Sails they are not often welcomed within the limits of settlements. They would argue in their defense that they don’t actually steal things, they just move items for people that need moving without any questions asked. Also if they did steal something it was probably because they were very drunk and they can’t really be held accountable for what they do in that state anyway.

The Black Sails:
Location- San Juan Sea (Puget Sound)
When obligation is discarded, honor dies and the madness of the open ocean takes hold one can always find a home with the Black Sails. A roving fleet of pirate ships that haunts the fogbanks of the San Juans and is considered not much better than raiders by most. Despite the name, the ships within the Black Sails have surprisingly few actual sails and tend to be primarily motorized. The fleet of hulking ships are frankensteined together out of those captured in raids, nothing is left to sink, everything is absorbed into flotilla. And those in charge of keeping everything running are the Diesel Jocks and their leader Captain Hopper. The armada doesn’t move without the DJ’s say, and everything goes back to making the fleet bigger and stronger. The Perdition Fleet has long been adversarial with the Black Sails treating their members as kill on site.

#8

Rovers:

The Waystation Network:
Location- (Cascade Mountains)
A scattering of inns, hostels, taverns and brothels, anywhere a wanderer can rest their head, marked with a tangle of colored ropes hanging from the eaves of their roofs. To most this may seem a kitschy decoration, but to the Rovers indicates membership with the Waystation Network. Set up to provide refuge for traveling Rover clans no matter the circumstances, this network turns hospitality to law. All who enter are taken under the protections of the network as long as that visitor does not violate the rules of hospitality with the facility, or any of its patrons. Punishment for violating this rule is met in only two fashions, refusal of service by all affiliated Rovers or disappearance. Where they end up is never quite known but the only absolute is that it does not occur on the grounds of the Waystation Network.

The Black Sails
Location- San Juan Sea (Puget Sound)
When obligation is discarded, honor dies and the madness of the open ocean takes hold one can always find a home with the Black Sails. A roving fleet of pirate ships that haunts the fogbanks of the San Juans and is considered not much better than raiders by most. The Rovers within the fleet are typically oathbreakers and those that have violated the rules of hospitality. Forced out of their homes and clans for these violations many wandered the wastes eventually making their way to the Black Sails. The Rover ranks typically run the logistics and trade for the Black Sails, fencing the goods procured by their fellow members. It is not unusual that raiding parties are commanded by Rovers that can evaluate goods on the go and provide direction for the most valuable items to steal. The Perdition Fleet has long been adversarial with the Black Sails treating their members as kill on site.

The Oathkeepers
Location- The Northern Corridor (I-5 corridor)
A rovers safety is only as good as their reputation, and their reputation is only as good as the bond of their brethren. It is for this reason that the Oathkeepers exist. It was not long ago that the Rovers had no reputation. They had no home, they were always outsiders, and for this reason they were easy scapegoats. They were called thieves and charlatans, violent and untrustworthy, it was not uncommon to see a rovers bloody scarves hung from a fence as a warning that their kind was not welcome in town. But that changed, which Rover family it was that started “the deal” is lost to time but the history of the dark times before are kept by some. The Oathkeepers are those that remember the histories and enforce their lessons. A Rover deal is not a toy to be played with, it is a shield against the cruelty of the world and the Oathkeepers protect that shield under the threat of death. A Rover that breaks a deal has a responsibility to make right the situation, to payback in full, double if necessary to maintain the reputation of the deal. Failure to do so is not a risk, it is a warrant written in their own hand, for the Oathkeeper dispatched to remedy the situation. Either payment is made in full or the offending Rover is no longer in any state to make any more deals.

#9

Saltwise:

The Na Tribe:
Location- Fuca Strait (Strait of Juan De Fuca)
Guards the waterways north of the San Juan Sea. They maintain the traditions of seafaring and combat training, children learning from their parents, handing down these skills from generation to generation. Many of the Na are members of the Cult of the Fallow Hopes. The Kithak Flotilla, pronounced KIT-hawk is built from rafts and boats lashed to a central ship, a mammoth rusted out hulk, not unlike a floating city, with lights somehow still running, bearing the letters KI T HA K on the side. Like many Saltwise, they take their surname from their tribe and their place of birth, and so Saltwise born in the flotilla and of the Na Tribe are called Na-Kithak.

The Pew Jet Tribe:
Location- San Juan Sea (Puget Sound)
The tribe has built their home upon what started as a hulking garbage scow, and traverse the Sound, carrying goods and passengers for those who can’t afford more eloquent transport. They ride the waves on fast, smaller craft- some motorized, some like the Gatta-Marans equipped with sails and slim hulls- that cut through the water to scout ahead of the Scow for threats and hazards. Any living or undead thing that they encounter is dealt with swiftly by teams of these specialized vessels with hull-mounted chain guns or harpoon launchers. They are a jovial tribe, with a love of jokes and tall tales almost as great as their love of going fast. They are led by a council of elders called the Captain’s Court. The head of this council is the Captain, which is a position elected from within the council by a vote of the council, and held until the Captain’s death. Saltwise born into the tribe aboard the Scow usually take the surname Pew-Scow.

The Black Sails
Location- San Juan Sea (Puget Sound)
When obligation is discarded, honor dies and the madness of the open ocean takes hold one can always find a home with the Black Sails. A roving fleet of pirate ships that haunts the fogbanks of the San Juans and is considered not much better than raiders by most. The Saltwise make up the bulk of the population and generally are considered those on the run after abandoning their obligations or debts to various shadowy enterprises. The Black Sails provides them protection, purpose, and a freedom most Saltwise don’t get to experience. The Saltwise members in turn provide much of the espionage for the fleet, often scouting targets and probing weaknesses before the bulk of the Black Sails shows up. The sneaking nature of their work also means that many blame them for assassinations and kidnappings in the area. The Perdition Fleet has long been adversarial with the Black Sails, treating their members as kill on site.

#10

Full Dead:

The Dust Clan:
Location- Town’s End (Port Townsend)
A secretive “family” of Full Dead that keep many of the histories of the area, particularly the naval histories of those groups that move through the San Juan Sea. While their port is as immaculately kept as the rest of the town, very few people actually visit Town’s End. Occasionally a traveling sage, looking to supplement their knowledge, may make their way through if they can secure passage. However with an entire Full Dead population, Town’s End frequently has a zed infestation that is left ignored and allowed to wander the streets unassailed. The Dust Clan is not originally from Port Townsend but immigrated from the Victory Point Necropolis to seek out a fortune in Pre-fall artifacts hidden under the town. A fortune which proved to be true and has supported the Dust Clan ever since, through their only business and industry “Consulate Antiquities”.

The House of Whispers:
Location- Victory Point Necropolis (Victoria, B.C.)
Resting at the southern point of Nootka Island (Vancouver Island), Victory Point is the only place the Saltwise that control the island leave alone. Victory Point is as with most necropolis a birthplace for Full Dead. While Victory Point is a fairly large ruined pre fall city, only a small area is actually inhabited by the nominally living. The House of Whispers is the town within the necropolis, an entire city inside one vast stone building that was old even in the days before the fall. It is said that it was the center of power for the entire region for hundreds of years, but now its halls are quiet, only disturbed by the rasping voices of its residents.

#11

Semper Mort:

Installation Epsilon:
Location- (Underneath Tahuya Forest)
Operated by the Digitarians in the waning days of the fall. An underground hive of lost technology and one of a series of hidden bases and outposts throughout the region. Much of the sciences, and the history of Epsilon has been lost to time but we do know a few things. We know they used the facility and it’s frozen denizens in experiments. Attempting to use the Bad Brain virus to combat the infection. We know that the experiments went poorly, and the previous owners were either killed or fled from the new raiders they created. Unlike other places, the Semper’s of Epsilon are lucky if they emerge alone, left to wander the tunnels in solitude and silence until they make their way to the surface. If they are unlucky they are found by the Cryo’s, the tribe of raiders left over from the failed experimentation. If the Cryo Raiders are feeling particularly merciful they will infect the captured Semper and turn them into one of the Cryo’s early. If not, the victim is tortured until they are so fractured they may as well have the disease. More so than most the Semper’s of Epsilon live a cruel and brutish life, and behind the lost technologies and flickering lights is the cradle of their suffering.

The Olympians:
Location: The Library, Underneath Greentown (Olympia)
An ancient subterranean tunnel system that is still used for steam heating in Greentown has become known as Hungertown, a land where groups of Gorgers gather to trade and feed on the bounty of dead from the city above. One of the neighborhoods within Hungertown is known as The Library and it is home to the Olympians, the oldest family of Sempers in the region. The Library, was so named somewhat derisively at first but has become a mark of pride for the Olympians and a thing of wonder for those few that negotiate safe passage to view it. There are no books in the Library, but due to generations of failing and faltering memories, the Olympians have taken to carving the stories of their people and the world that they interact with on the walls. Pictures for the children and written tales for the elders, hundreds of thousands of pages carved in to stone and brick, illuminated by candles and cared for lovingly by their inhabitants. A confused Semper may awaken in the Library confused and afraid, but by merely walking down a hallway will have their life and lives of their family recited to them in poem and prose.

#12

Lascarians:

Two Wrist Clan:
Location- Unnamed Caves (Ape Caves)
Lascarians who live in ancient caves high in the mountains to the south originally created by lava flow and extended by the subterranean cannibals who reside within them. This clan favors heavy furs and snowblind masks when they leave their stony shelter, as the region their home is in is a frigid tundra for a good portion of the year. They also have a tradition of bringing something back every time they leave the caves- if they fail to catch anything while out hunting at night, they must bring back something to make the excursion worth it. The Two Wrist Clan tells of the Rain Jerrs who first brought them to their home in the time before, when the sky rained fire and black poison. Many of these Lascarians belong to the Tribe of Seasons faith, often studying the passage of stars and struggling to find meaning in their dreams to understand the wisdom of Father Night. As isolated as they are, they hunt other animals more often than people- but a Two Wrist Clan funeral is always a feast.

Ironjaws:
Location - Iron Horse (Snoqualmie Pass/ Iron Horse State Park)
A tunnel almost two and a half miles in length under the mountains to the East, is inhabited by a particularly vicious clan of Lascarians, the Ironjaws. These haunters of quarries and caves have dug tunnels from the Iron Horse tunnel to points throughout the mountains, and delight in capturing victims in cleverly disguised pitfall traps or midnight raids on nearby settlements. They have a leader caste, the Pick-Men (or Pick-Women), chosen for their keen senses of smell, hearing, and taste, whose job it is to inspect all “meat” for signs of disease or corruption before it is consumed. These Lascarians prefer to wear goggles, heavy canvas, and boiled “leather,” and often carry digging implements fashioned to work equally well as weapons and cleavers. They take their name in part from the metal filter masks they wear to prevent the inhalation of dust and dirt while excavating new tunnels or pitfalls, and they tend to decorate these filter masks with jagged metal protrusions that resemble teeth.

The Meuknees (pronounced “MEEU-nees”)
Location: Underneath Teatown (Tacoma)
Living in a sprawling, half flooded network of tunnels underneath Tea Town, off the refuse of the city- be it garbage or bodies, the Meuknees will eagerly accept what the townies throw away or leave behind. This Lascarian clan has an “understanding” with local Saltwise, who will deliver bodies for the Meuknees to dispose of through the flooded portions of the tunnels along with useful scrap in exchange for the Meuknees’ silence. They also act as the eyes and ears of certain local criminal organizations, watching and listening through manholes, sewer grates, storm drains, and sometimes even holes in the walls they’ve accessed through the crumbling foundations of the town. These Lascarians tend to wear coverings made of rags and scraps- whatever they can find and repurpose that the town above has discarded.

#13

Remnants:

Super Fund:
Location- Radcoon City (Richland), Super Fund (Hanford)
It is said that Super Fund was an irradiated blight upon the land even before the bombs fell. But legend also tells that Super Fund was where the radioactive bombs that scoured our world were born, and as such has become somewhat of a pilgrimage site for Darwin worshippers in the region. However due to the extremely deadly levels of radiation few strains can actually live around Superfund for any extended period of time. For years this was limited to the retrogrades that guarded and worshipped the site but as Remnants also started to develop a resistance to radiation they too were slowly drawn to Superfund. The small remnant community that lives around Superfund mostly run tours, and private excursions into the radioactive zone from Radcoon City, a nearby city that has sprung up to support the trade from the traveling worshippers and research of the ancient facilities of Superfund from a safe distance.

Finbar’s Fabulous Freakshow:
Location- Northern Corridor (I-5 Corridor)
Traveling the Northern Corridor for over two decades, and marveling the common folk with the monstrous mutations of their remnant cast. The Remnants of the Freakshow have no mild mutations, There are no tails or fuzzy ears here, no, these poor souls have more the, born without a head variety. Organs on the outside, amorphous piles of flesh and bones the Freakshow is not for those with a delicate constitution. The Freakshow has recently come under new management as the founder, Cornelious Finbar was torn limb from limb by his employees at some point during the Second Fall. It appears that during the harsh times people had less disposable income to pay for simple entertainments and so Finbar had resorted to renting his freaks out to wealthy benefactors with more sadistic tastes. The Freaks, not approving of this treatment, decided to have several words with their employer which resulted in them deciding to go independent. The Freakshow still travels, and has become a sort of haven for outcast Remnants. While they accept any Remnants into their ranks they give special privilege to the most mutated among them often relegating those with milder mutations to more menial positions within the organization.

#14

Retrogrades:

Super Fund:
Location- Super Fund (Hanford Site), Radcoon City (Richland)
It is said that Super Fund was an irradiated blight upon the land even before the bombs fell. But legend also tells that Super Fund was where the radioactive bombs that scoured our world were born, and as such has become somewhat of a pilgrimage site for Darwin Worshippers in the region. It has also been for a long time home to various retrograde families. Despite the religious significance of the site the Retrogrades of Superfund are multifaith with a majority of Sainthood of Ashes citizens that choose to guard and watch Superfund to make sure the deadly radioactive materials and prefall technologies are not used to make more terrifying weapons in the future. However those Retrogrades that choose the path of Darwin in Superfund are most likely to join the ranks of the Monks of Manhattan, a subterranean order that lives in the tunnels below Superfund where the radiation levels are the highest. The Monks are mostly mute, not only because their tongues have probably rotted away but also because the rads are so high that the Monks exist in a perpetual fever dream between living and death. Their minds are so addled they can barely speak beyond incoherent, rambling whispers, but it is believed that if you can decipher their ravings they speak of portents and prophecies. The monks hold services to the faithful and invite others to worship with them, but apart from their fellow mutants, any who worship with them are likely dead within an hour from the radiation.

Hope’s End:
Location- Hope’s End (Mt. Deception)
This settlement was founded out of desperation by a group of Retrogrades fleeing from their dead. What started with a few tents on the edge of a cliff expanded into an elaborately carved city with the discovery of natural caves along the face. Between the city’s multi-tiered gate system and the natural defense of being built on the face of a cliff, the major struggle here is food, not zed. Don’t expect to find a friendly welcome though, outsiders are treated with suspicion.

Sanctuary/Resilience:
Location- Resilience (Satsop Nuclear Power Plant)
The settlement of Resilience, formally known as Sanctuary, is a large nuclear reactor plant home to hundreds of Retrogrades and Remnants from all walks of life. After losing most of their home to the Silver Marches and a bombing during the Battle of Iron Harbor, Sanctuary sought the aid of the Rend to rebuild, and called this new home “Resilience”. The town is heavy in Retrograde counterculture – Retrogrades walk freely without pressure for masks, pride for rot is encouraged, and green-veined Retrogrades walk freely without fear of excommunication.Resilience has a heavy Hedon presence and is currently lead by Hierophant Karolina Marks. Sanctuary maintains a strong trade route along the outskirts of the Rend, and often offer trade and support to the Rend when needed.

#15

Tainted:

Gatesville:
Location- Gatesville (Bellevue)
Formerly a Pureblood city of technological marvels. In order to develop innovations no sane mind would consider, Gatesville had a tendency to use the Edgerunner Serum to push Bad Brain to its limits without becoming a full Raider. However when a local famine robbed the city of resources needed, many lost themselves to the disease, and research began in earnest to cure this epidemic. A new disease called TRIAD was inadvertently created and released in the process and the entire city became Raiders nearly overnight Due to the stalwart efforts of the Rend, TRIAD was cured, but it left lingering effects in the bodies of many that it had infected. Over time, the few survivors found that they were becoming more resistant to diseases, but their bodies were producing the Bad Brain disease on their own, they were becoming Tainted. The residents of Gatesville still held the keys to the most technologically advanced knowledge behind their broken minds. Despite their erratic behavior they continue to research and experiment rebuilding their fractured city one invention at a time.

The Snake Tribe:
Located- East of GreenTown (Capitol State Forest)
A group of former Raiders who once fought against the Rend and then became their ally against the other warring raider tribes. The Snake Tribe are the source of the Cult of the Snake God, a local serpent based subsect of the Cult of the Fallow Hopes that emphasises testing oneself through the handling of serpents to prove one’s faith. Fonz, once a Saltwise who helped to spread this cult in the Rend, voluntarily became a Raider and usurped King Ivan, for the crime of “lack of faith.” He has since held the throne for almost four years, ruling with unwavering religious zeal and brutal cunning. Over the past few years, the Snake Tribe has changed, metabolizing and adapting to the Bad Brain and changing from Raiders to something new- the Tainted. It has never been certain where exactly the Snake Tribe calls home, as they claim to move from place to place, but they are never far from heavily forested areas where snakes make their homes.

The Mur Tribe
Located- SteelCoon (Fort Steilacoom Park)
Previously known as the Mur Dar, the Mur were an offshoot of the Dar a sub strain of swamp people that were mutating uncontrollably due to the radioactive swamp waters they lived around. The Mur were a band of Dar that were converted to Final Knight and infected with bad brain, breaking their psionic link to the Dar queen. War between Dar and Mur was frequent until the Dar Queen evolved and attempted to reassert mental control over the Mur which fled from their swamp homeland in order to keep their individuality. As the mutagenic disease swept the region twisting the strains, the Mur became something new. The bad brain and their naturally unstable genetic nature changed them to Tainted. As one might imagine, a tribe of Tainted Final Knights make for dangerous neighbors. But as their natural tendencies towards outbursts and violence make advanced planning difficult, they are considered more manageable than most Final Knights.

#16

Mericans:

Unionville:
Located- Unionville (South Union)
A small rural town south of Greentown transformed by the principles of the Architects of the Great Nation faith. Worshippers of the forgotten heralds, the Great Fathers that made it their duty to forge a nation out of chaos in the principles of freedom and capitalism. The town had always been an enclave for Mericans living simple and quiet (by Merican standards) lives. But for several years internal turmoil and strife had plagued the families that lived within the town. Bickering and infighting was common and many attempts to organize community projects ended in heated arguments. But not more than a year before the Second Fall, a man calling himself a Shaper came bearing the word of the Architects of the Great Nation all the way from GatorLand. He taught the town the ways of representative democracy, of fair compensation, the lost rights of the individual and the duty of each member of the community to the union. Unionville was transformed and quickly became a beacon of civil governance in the waste. The town grew steadily as they drew in new believers, converted Fosters and during the war newly freed Irons. Like most towns Unionville suffered heavy losses during the Second Fall, but eked out a living by battening down the hatches and isolating themselves. However now that the dead have receded somewhat citizens of Unionville can be seen traveling up and down the Northern Corridor spreading the word in their signature white wigs.

Freemen Family
Located- Western Olympic Island Forest (Greys Harbor County)
The Freemen Family is frequently confused with a Natural One tribe due to their tendency to live out among the trees in the forests west of the Olympic Island mountains. But no self respecting Natural One would be caught dead in the clothes the Freemen wear. Instead of the typical red white and blue of most Mericans, the Freemen wear drab brown and green pants and shirt, typically with a vest heavily laden with pockets to hold ammo, and a billed hat. But what makes the clothing so guarish is the violently bright orange pigment the Freemen paint on to their hats and vests to keep themselves safe from drunken friendly fire. The Freemen guard the forests that contain the hidden Quiet Folk village of Thankful. Using large rifles and treetop hunters blinds, the Freemen survey the forest for threats and eliminate them with the cruel efficiency of a single bullet at over a hundred yards. This coupled with the Freemen tendency to shoot first and ask questions later, have made them the perfect guards to keep Thankful both safe and secret, even from their other allies.

#17

Natural Ones:

Banger Tribe:
Located Paul’s Borough (Bangor Trident Base)
Centered around the former naval base, the Banger Tribe’s holy obligation is to keep the base sealed to outsiders to keep the technology inside from infecting the rest of the world. They dress in dark navy blues often with military flourishes. The members of the Tribe mark themselves with Tridents on their faces. Very secretive and territorial, nobody enters their lands without permission. The Banger Tribe is the heart of the Autumn Reaping cult and its main enforcers. The Autumn Reaping believe that the other seasons exist merely as preparation for the natural courage and bloodshed of Autumn warfare. Nature is red in tooth and claw, and the Tribe of Seasons should reflect that. Many Tribe of Seasons members in the area have buckled under their pressure --Autumn tribe members have joined the Autumnists with various degrees of enthusiasm while those of other seasons have kept their heads down and in many cases joined the cult as second class citizens. All of the resources and rituals of the local Tribe of Season now funnel to the Bangor Tribe to improving the fighting prowess and personal power of the Autumnists.

Geas Tribe:
Located: The All Seeing Waters (Lake Mason)
In the time before the Second Fall and the great change when a person could not simply learn to become a Psion, the Geas Tribe saw Psions as supreme beings, who’s power made them more evolved than a non psionic strain. Any members of the Gease tribe that were not Psions were treated as 2nd class citizens, and if they wished to rise above their station they could either leave or recieve an evolution shot in order to develop their own psionic powers. The Geas tribe was for many years at war with the Fallow Hope Templars. However when the Northern Horde struck and the land was plunged into the Second Fall it was that very war that had weakened their defenses and made them unprepared for the long siege to come. The Geas tribe struggled against the horde eventually entering into an alliance with the Snake Tribe of Tainted which slowly converted many of the Geas adding them to the Snake Tribe ranks.

#18

Quiet Folk:

The Dar:
The Rad Swamp (Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Washington)
The Dar started as a sub strain of swamp people that were mutating uncontrollably due to the radioactive swamp waters they lived around. They became highly psionic and connected in a sort of hive mind that allowed them to coordinate with each other, and receive orders from their Leader, Queen Lorelai. Due to the aid of the Rend and an acceptance of the Darwin faith for which they were named, the Dar have shown significant evolution in the last several years, changing from nearly animalistic to people capable of speech, and craftswork. However it wasn’t until a mutagenic disease swept through the community that they seemed to complete their changes and become a full strain. The Dar, although friendly are still a little secretive, what they are hiding is unknown but some suspect it has something to do with what they call “The Drones”. The Dar appear to have broken from the Hivemind that they were connected to and no longer speak in babbling “Dar Dar” words they used to but one hold over of their less evolved selves is the use of the word “Dar” as a casual affirmative in their language.

Thankful:
The Village of Thankful, (Somewhere in Greys Harbor County, Washington)
The exact location of Thankful is a mystery, but this much is known. If you go looking for it in forests west of the Olympic Island mountains you most likely wont come back. Whether this is due to the villagers themselves or their guards, the Freeman Family, is unknown, but it is best to not bother looking. Some say that even an airship that had gone looking for the village once had not returned. What we do know about Thankful is that they are a village of farmers, that primarily grow herbs and spices to make several varieties of Tea that they sell under the monicker the Spice of Life. The village traded these special tea blends to the surrounding Natural One Tribes for years before they became popular throughout the Northern Corridor, this includes both the New Hill and even the Banger tribe. In fact Thankful’s most popular selling spice blend is called Harvest Spice and was originally made as a tea for Banger Autumn rituals.

#19

Accensorites:

While there are a few small multifaith Accensorite enclaves, most Accensorites tend to congregate at the various religious communities that they are affiliated with.

Darwin:
Located- Radcoon City (Richland)
With radiation level low enough for non Mutants, Radcoon City is the neighbor to SuperFund (Hanford) the pilgrimage site where Atomic weapons were born.

Fallow Hope:
Located- Fort Northgate (Northgate Seattle) & Loumac (JBLM)
Northgate, the last hold out for the Templar order, a magnet for the most extreme Fallow. Loumac is the academy and bootcamp of the region, and the first stop for most new converts.

Sainthood of Ashes:
Located- Suzzo (University of Washington)
The Western most neighborhood of Pontoon City and home to the most expansive library in the region. Home to the Scribes of the Eternal Teacher

Hedon:
Located- San Juan Sea (Puget Sound)
Traveling the San Juan Sea is The Bliss, a 10 storey city within a ship. There is no shame, there are no limits, what carnal delights one finds can be found nowhere else.

Telling Visionist and Kings Court:
Located- Velba (Brewster Washington)
A pilgrimage site east of the mountains, where a silent order of monks use the great dish to monitor for the lost signals and the prayers of their Kings.

Tribe of Seasons:
Located- Crystal Boulder (Olympic Hotsprings)
A Seasons commune of treehouses built around a set of 20 mountain hot springs within the Olympic Island Mountains. Serene natural beauty untouched by the world of industry.

Nuclear Family:
Located- Port Bain (Bainbridge Island)
An idyllic and isolationist community where the HOA enforces a strict and harsh Law based on the family order and public appearance.

Final Knights:
Most Final Knight Accensorites choose to hide themselves among other faiths, in order to do their infernal works, as taught by the legend, the Paladin.

#20

Red Stars:

The Orca Isles
Located- The Orca Isles(Orcas Island)
Derogatively known as Combie Island by outsiders, the Orca Isles has long been an ancestral home for the Red Stars of the region. Decentralized and loosely interconnected, the Red Stars of the Orca Isles often live in a collection of small homes clustered around a single large communal building, where meals, and work is prepared as a group. The concept that children should be raised by the village is alive and strong here, with most children not even aware of who their true biological parents are. Rituals performed with the aid of hallucinogenic drugs are common, meant to bring out truth in the commune and foster a sense of transcendental connection. The organization of the community is continuously shifting as all members of the community are assigned to guilds based on their aptitude for work, and leadership in those guilds rotates among all members each season ensuring all members have equal ownership of the community.

Pyotr
Located- Pyotr (Ozette)
The steel hulking remains of a ship that washed up on the Western shore of Olympic Island shortly after the fall. Strange foreign writing adorn the ship but the name Pyotr stands out and lends the community its name. The crew of this ship were military in nature, and forged the community of Pyotr in the memory of their lost homeland. The community has grown out beyond the confines of their ship and wrapped around the nearby Lake Oz but all order and command still comes from within the ship. In order to assure commitment to the community any who rise to the station of leadership are confined to the ship’s brig along with criminals to live as the lowest among them. This way they always know the true strength of the community, as Pyotr is only as strong as its weakest link.