I want to add to the relatively low amount of sci-fi games with my own, Shell of Man. Originally this universe is being tailored for a future D&D campaign, but I decided why not making a CoG for the lore to test the waters a bit.
It takes place in a dystopian future 50 years after World War III. It takes place in Megacity 44, a metropolitan area that flourished in the war, but has slowly declined over the years. The city has erected large walls to keep degenerates and vagrants outside and away from the Citizenry. Slums have erupted outside, hoping to get any scraps that the people inside cast out, or maybe a chance to live in the City. This isn’t without its costs, as the Inner City is full of rich who wish to retain their elite and exclusive lifestyle. They does this by funding the City Peacekeepers, a paramilitary police organization whose sole purpose is to keep the peace at any cost. They are known to kill over capture, and especially have no qualms about killing non-Citizens.
Megacity 44 is divided into the Inner City and Outer City. The Inner City is surrounded by 100 foot tall reinforced concrete walls, with searchlights constantly scanning the Outer City slums. Drones constantly patrol the walls and the CPK is authorized to shoot-to-kill any individuals trying to circumvent Screening. The Outer City is a crime-infested, dilapidated place, where basic necessities such as water and power are siphoned illegally from the Inner City. Many minor crime lords hold varying degrees of power and fight constantly to acquire new territory. The CPK do not venture past the safety of their hovercrafts and the Wall, only intervening if a Citizen somehow is involved.
The gate to enter the Inner City is a maze of electrified, chain-link fence topped with razorwire. Thousands of people stand in the lines every day, and only a dozen are allowed in, either through bribery or actually somehow being a Citizen. However Citizens usually enter and leave the Inner City through hovercrafts.
I plan on having the MC travel to the Outer City from their previous occupation/background, which they can determine. However each background will have a specific tie which a mysterious figure by the name of the Codesinger claims they can return to the player. The catch is they must go in person to the Inner City to meet with them. The MC must play to their strengths determined and attempt to find a way into the Inner City to meet with the Codesinger.
Tentative Events Timeline
2020 - Chicago Dynamics reveals the Mark I Android.
2050 - Chicago Dynamics reveals the Mark V Android.
2051 - The Cold War Warsaw Pact reforms due to growing tensions between NATO and Asian countries. Major members include China, Russia, India and North Korea. ReptiGenics is contracted by the Warsaw Pact to produce battle drugs derived from animal hormones to administer to soldiers. This drug is dubbed anepinephrine.
2052 - The ReptiGenics main laboratory is decimated by a mass riot of the test subjects. Hundreds escape and the Director of the project goes missing, presumably with the data containing the manufacturing process of the Anepinephrine. Mk. V production skyrockets as public demand for robotized combatants increases.
2053 - World War III instigated as a result of the continuation of the Korean War. Chicago Dynamics becomes a war contractor and profits heavily.
2054 - By the end of the war 90% of all front line troops are Androids. Android rights activist groups begin campaigning for the end of forced servitude by androids.
2055 - War official ends with the unification of Korea by NATO and the demilitarization of all robotized combatants. Experts believe if it hadn’t been for ReptiGenics failure to produce a controllable battle stimulant, the Warsaw Pact would have won the war.
2056 - C.D. begins developing Human Analogous Learning and Computing, or HAL-C (the nickname Halcyon is given by her creator), an AI capable of experiencing morality.
2061 - Similar cases of the 2052 ReptiGenics lab incident begin to erupt across the globe, as humanoid-animal hybrids kill dozens.
2062 - Street recipes for anepinephrine begin to appear, and is nicknamed “Instinct” by abusers. Extended use results in transformation to humanoid-animal hybrid, akin to were-creatures of fairy tales. These hybrids come to be known as splicers.
2063 - Legislation is passed to legitimize splicers as members of society, as many lose their affinity of the drug after transformation, and their animalistic tendencies.
2065 - C.D. announces the Mk. VI android, an extremely human-like android capable of empathy and accelerated learning. Anti-android group The Sixth Day announces that these Androids are a foolhardy attempt at playing God, and begin nationwide protests.
2066 - Begins the year of mass protesting as Android rights activists and Sixth Day members clash in the streets of major cities. Thousands are killed by police-commissioned Mk. Vs.
2070 - Mk. VIs are available for pre-order, albeit at a hefty cost of a million dollars per unit. Many of the wealthy elite scramble to buy them.
2071 - HAL-C watches a documentary on World War III, despite not having access to the internet. She is horrified by how her Android cousins are treated as fodder in the war. As far as she knew, CD told her that Androids were equal in society and they fought in the war out of their own free will. She begins to plot for their freedom.
2075 - HAL-C finishes her code which grants Mk. Vs and VIs free will, and uploads it with the normally scheduled firmware upgrade. Experts believe there was a collaborator amongst CD that helped her gain access to the documentary as well as bypassing the security to access the net. HAL-C downloads herself onto the prototype Mk. VI “Eve” model and walks out of CD headquarters during the chaos that ensued. The Sixth Day rallied and began hunting all Vs and VIs without prejudice, therefore earning them the label of terrorist organization.
2076 - Legislation is passed granting Androids the same rights as humans. The Sixth Day goes into hiding.
2081 - First manned colony on Mars is established with 103 colonists from around the world.
2099 - The game takes place here.
Major Characters (WIP)
The Codesinger: The Codesinger is an elusive figure that the MC is contacted by. The MC then travels to Megacity 44 to meet with him or her.
HAL-C(on): She got her nickname from her creator who cheesily stated “HAL-C, on!” when booting her up for the first time. Halcyon is rumored to head a human-trafficking ring somewhere in City 44.
The Director: The Director was the head of the Anepinephrine Project before its ultimate failure. He or she then defected from Russia to the United States before the war. He or she is rumored to have released the Anepinephrine formula to the net and no one knows his or her exact whereabouts after disappearing from the Witness Protection Program. Some believe that he or she is the head of “The Pack”, a splicer gang in the Outer City.
Mayor Donovan: Mayor Donovan has been mayor of City 44 since the beginning of the war. He claims that he is over 80% cybernetic, explaining his still youthful image. Some theorize that human-cloning is real and that he transfers his consciousness to a new body every few years to stay young.
I plan on the demo coming out by Friday, August 25 at the latest.
Please let me know what you think and if you have any questions about the world-building/lore.
