Setting

The Curse of Icarus

In 2017 there was an abrupt solar flare of unprecedented magnitude that sent a plume of incredible radiation toward the earth. There was so little warning that most didn't even know it was coming. What is largely still not understood is that the flare was driven by a burst of Gama Radiation that also struck the Earth. The one-two punch stripped the earth's magnetosphere and exposed the planet to a devastating wave of solar and protonic radiation. 99.8 percent of the human race died in hours as radiation fried every living thing along the equatorial path. The only survivors were those who were behind feet of cement or in metal-lined rooms. Animal life and plant-life only survived where it was deep in the shadow of a valley or other natural shelter and even there it took a brutal beating. The equator was fried dead, leaving only deserts and blackenned smoking plains. Many survivors found that being bathed in proton radiation left them badly mutated.

The aftermath left civilization irrevocably shattered. Electronics and digital media were almost completely destroyed. Major cities were left clogged with millions of corpses and dangerous decay. Survivors were isolated and struggled to survive in a world without industry or infrastructure. Those born after the end inherited dwindling pre-fall resources and a world falling apart. Disease ran rampant through surviving humans without modern medicine, communities that didn't transition to farming died out within a generation as preserved food ran out.

60 years have passed since the end of the world. Humans have formed settlement and the population is beginning to rebound. Mutants have also grown in number and are beginning to breed true with unique inherited traits, forming mutant colonies. The secret of refining petroleum fuels has been lost and humanity struggles to reclaim industry, but they craft fairly complex chemicals and have reclaimed electrical power in many places.

Our story takes place in Norway in the township of Orkanger, a rural town living in the green valleys of Norway's fjords. Civilization has gained foothold here with hard work and the sharing of knowledge from the old world. Literacy is common in the region and it is ruled with a fair hand. Some primitive industry can be found in the town but most of the hard work of rebuilding civilization is done with the sweat of a brow and a shovel. Humanity faces threats from mutant predators and dangerous raiders as well as it's own worse nature.

Norska

The land of Norska is a cold mountainous region in Northern Europe viewed as a paradise lost to most of the world. It encompass Norway, Sweeden, Finland, and the Northwestern reaches of Russia. Norska's high mountains and deep valleys allowed a great deal of biological life to survive the scougring of the apocalypse. Generations later the land has nearly rebounded where other parts of the world are still desert wastelands and dead forests. Civilization is making a strong comeback in much of Norska but the region is still very segregated without technology to communicate or build nations. Norkans speak Norsk, a pidgeon of Norwegian, Swedish, and Russian similar enough to their pre-fall counterparts that most survivors can piece together pre-fall written language. Despite it's rich ecosystem Norska is sparsely populated because the harshness of it's winters. Few Nomad groups will stay in the North past the end of summer, even the heat-blasted desolate south is preferable to the brutal blizzards and ice storms of the North.

Life in Norska is hard. Long winters make it essential to get as much productivity in during the warm months. It isn't uncommon for settlements to freeze or starve in the winter. The brutal radiation of the sun is made only worse with miles of reflective snow and ice. Just about every trade that works outside takes a mid-day break during the peak of sunlight, eye and skin protection is normal apparel in Norska and most towns and settlements have covered walkways where people can avoid the harsh sunlight. Wasteland travelers are uncommon beyond those moving through the settlements around a town. Towns are exceptionally territorial as they compete for resources to trade with foreign merchants. Travel is dangerous in the colder months of the year with icy ports and roads, and virtually impassible during the coldest weeks of winter. Outside of the summer months, when traders come through town, its a cause for concern to see a strange vehicle on the road.

Conflicts and feuds are common in Norska. Most Towns have wronged another town if not outright attacked it and sacked it for resources. Powerful Town leaders often rally together fighting men from many nearby towns and sail around the coast with large armies looking for opportunities for pillage. These raids come like clockwork at the end of summer and discouraging them is a major industry of seaside towns and settlements. Other towns fight back and forth for years before some truce is reached. Even small settlements will war against one another. Most Town Jarls will gather their people together at the beginning of winter and do a head count to evaluate the danger of continued conflicts, usually timed with the winter celebrations in their area. This culture of killing has a flip-side. Norska has a host of traditions for formally making apologies and methods for clearly indicating that a murder is an act of revenge rather than aggression. Many of her celebrations are based around making or keeping peace and the games at these events either demonstrate the might of the people to discourage conflict or simulate battle in a way that offers resolution without spilling blood.

Mutations in Norska

Dvallin

Named after the golden stag of myth this mutant breed is a stag or deer easily twice the size of normal, cloaked in golden fur. It's eyes burn like fire and it is sheathed in a halo of flame. While these beasts are seen from afar they don't welcome the presence of men and are easilly provoked into attacking. Legendarilly they are very intelligent and some claim they've been spoken to by Dvallin. Dvallin feed on the green plants under the snow that their wreath of flames melts. While these beasts have ample meat hunters wouldn't dare to kill one. It is believed they are heralds of good or bad fortune and to eat their flesh would mean a worse fate than starvation.

Shark Bears

Shark Bears were the first Mutant breeds that appeared in Norska. At first they were dismissed as hypothermia hallucinations but eventually someone produced a corpse, or so legend says. Shark bears are large ursine beasts, nearly as big as a polar bear, with thick smooth seal-like skin and a massive maw like that of a shark. Bites of these animals are rarely survived. Their blubbery thick skin allows them to shrug off attacks from predators and remain amphibious even in the frozen winter.

Trolls

Trolls are a mutant breed that has been very successful in the high mountains and caves of Norska. Like the trolls of myth they are imposing powerful creatures with long stringy hair. They have a diet rich in protein and they are able to digest raw meat. Trolls have thick skin that insulates them against the cold and protects them against predators. Trolls are intelligent and believed to be social amongst their own but there are many stories of how gullible and dim-witted trolls are. Trolls are largely nocturnal. Their red glowing eyes give them excellent night vision and are terrifying at night.

Shadow Men

Shadow men are a mutant breed that lives in ruined pre-fall buildings. Shadow Men are tall and slender, they move with unsettling speed, their motions seem alien in nature and their appearance is usually heralded by a chattering noise. Their name comes from the black mist that seems to surround them when they are near, cloaking them like a shadow. Little is known about the behavior or diet of Shadow Men but they are aggressive towards those that enter their domain and have been known to take humans when they attack. Locals also call them Druagr or the “twice woke”, linking them to legends of the undead.

Places of Note

Town of Orkanger (Pop 154)

Ruler: Jarl Oskar Ominson – Oscar is a an Order Leader, focused on building on the momentum Orkanger has achieved and guarding against potential disasters. Oskar doesn't like the adoration of the crowd or the risk of assasins in his hall. He rarely meets with with townspeople outside of his inner circle unless he sees a benefit to the town and doesn't appear to outsiders except at celebration or judgements.

Primary industry: Honey

Exports; Lumber, Salvage, Caribou meat

Orkanger is a sheltered ocean port with ample storage warehouses and beast-powered cargo cranes. It has a large Town Center building with an indoor market, the town hall and the police station. They have a conservative pub in the town and a “Visitors House” with hotel rooms and a more rowdy pub outside the city walls. Orkanger has electrical power from a fairly well designed hydro-mill under the western bridge. It provides enough power to light the market during the day and light the streets at night. Citizens can charge batteries for flashlights and other electrical devices. Outsiders can put a charge on a battery for a handful of bits.

Orkanger is protected by a 5000 ft long cargo container barrier along the main road on the Eastern side of the town and a bridge fortresses on either side of the river. It has a secondary bridge to the East that is protected by a fortified gate and a fence. The river on it's western side is not fast but is ice cold and few beasts could cross it but the inlet on it's Eastern side is still and shallow and anyone with a boat could likely cross into town with little effort. Orkanger has about a dozen full-time guards that watch the borders and patrol the town on bicycles, additionally twice that number are armed and trained volunteer guardsmen, but most a guards are armed with only a crossbow.

Orkanger has very strict no-nonsense laws, most infractions are punished by community labor sentences that most citizens can't say that haven't done a day building a barn or shoring up the container wall because they got a little disorderly or started a fight with someone. Her citizens are conservative, hard working through the summer. They don't like outsiders very much, rarely allowing them into the city walls unless they have a relationship with the town as traders. Most people in the town live communally in the winter to preserve fuel and food, homes with 15 or more people in them aren't unusual but often people will move out for the summer months, even taking residence outside of the town walls to experience some privacy.

Town Sheriff – Gordon Wynn – Gordon is foreigner who arrived in Orkanger as a young man. He made a great deal of trouble in the town before surprisingly assuming the mantle of sheriff. He has distinguished himself in the role by not only being tough as nails but being able to get kids to listen to reason. Gordon is rarely seen without his armor and a throwing axe.

Town Chemist – Lenka Norn – Lenka was a bit strange before a decade of exposure to fumes and home-brewed pharmaceuticals. She's transgressive and irrepressible and flouts authority but she gets away with it because her work is critical to Orkanger's survival. Still she walks a fine line between chemist and drug-dealer, fearful that if she makes too much troulble she'll find another Chemist in her lab.

Truck Master – Omar California – Omar is another famous outsider, an American who arrived in Orkanger with an impressive resume. The reality is Omar is a shady mech who milks his authority as the manager of Orkanger's garages to make money on side-business engage in a bit of low-risk smuggling. He manages a team of mechs who maintain Orkanger's rigs and keep the town and nearby settlements running, but he's not very skilled at leading others.

Scrap Master – Floki the Finder – Floki is an old wiley scav who amassed a mountain of useful scrap in his youth. He makes his money with shrewd bartering skills and carefully placed favors. Floki has a warehouse full of essential parts that he sells at reasonable prices and a team of hungry young scavs that he pays far too little.

Beekeeper - Lars Honeywell – Lars is a distinguished family man, hard-working and serious. Lars and his family own the most productive bee hives in the valley. He enjoys the little status as Orkanger's bee-master but doesn't see much value in lording it over others.

Guala (Pop 37)

Gaula is a growing settlement near the Guala river and the highway into Trondheim. It has easy access to water and fertile fields in the spring and do a great deal of farming. In the winter they cut timber from the nearby forests and do a bit of woodwork. The main hall of the town is fortified with a wooden palisades but much of the town outside is largely unprotected. Guala was founded by Christians who were forbidden to practice their religion by Orkanger and they are permitted to settle under Orkanger's protection in exchange for the upkeep of the bridge over Guala river and a modest tax.

Ler (Pop 41)

Ler is a settlement on the Southern highway built into an old coal mine. It's iron gates are built into the wall of a large mining quarry. It was started originally as an outpost that kept the mines free of Trolls but eventually the guards stationed there found an active coal seam and Ler began to mine coal. Even with limited agriculture and animal husbandry the settlement is dependent on others for food and even with large reservoirs they have very little water.. Ler is very wealthy and generates a great amount of tax income. They would likely be their own town by now if their ability to expand wasn't constrained by the mine.

Storen (Pop 24)

Storen is remote settlement under the protection of Orkanger some 20 miles up the inland highway from Ler at the Guala river crossing. Storen was founded by a man named Ossil Tomasson who was exiled from Orkanger when he was discovered to be mutated. He took his family and settled in the sturdy brick buildings high above the river. The population of Storen are isolated and stranger than most, many believe they are all mutated. Storen has some defense from their high vantage point and the switchback roads that lead up the mountain. They have clean water and excellent agriculture from the volcanic soil. Within the spiked barricades of the town on the hill is a paradise of clean streets and buildings. Storen makes a modest living from visitors to their hotel but are basically self-sufficient. They receive very little support from Orkanger and in lieu of taxes they simply maintain the bridge to the south.

Inger (Pop 38)

Inger is a remote settlement some 20 miles of broken road up the coast from Orkanger. It was originally a fortress guarding the bridge to the west, but as the road fell into disrepair Inger destroyed the bridge to protect the settlement. Now Inger is largely only accessible by boat. The settlement has a large bay that protects her docks and a steep climb from the shore to the buildings high up the hill. Inger makes a modest living as a fishing village and serves as a lookout for strange ships coming in from the inlet. Inger's population are all women and they like it that way, forbidding men from setting foot in the settlement.

Elingsgareden (Pop 14)

Elingsgarden is a small rural ranch high in the mountain pass on the road to the South coast. The road is crumbling and dangerous, bringing few travelers. Elingsgarden is a hunting lodge and goat farm with some farming but it's barely sustainable. There are troll attacks here every year and people die often but the settlers stubbornly refuse to abandon the ranch because of their conviction to the land. Each time an attack goes unanswered the few settlers grow even more resentful of Orkanger.

Skormo (Pop 32)

10 miles up the river into the mountains lays the settlement of Skormo. Skormo was an outpost and hunting village on the intersection of three inland mountain roads. It also has the advantage of being in the path of a major caribou migration. The settlement struggles to eek out any agriculture with their limited access to water and other than the large number of hunters they have fairly little protection. Skormo pays fairly high taxes than many settlements because of past disloyalty.