User Added Areas [Pre-Fallout 4][Archived]

War has sandwiched the former United Kingdom. In the south, the royalists backed by the (would-be) reigning monarch, to the north the highland army, consisting of many royal families, inhabiting towns and cities alike. In the middle sits the remnants of the former British Empire lead by a dictator known only as The High Minister. In many places this war has dissolved into trench warfare in an ever present stalemate.

So how did all this start? How did people survive the Great War? What is the state of this once great nation?

Before the Great War, the United Kingdom, once part of the European Commonwealth, began to suffer as the fuel resources began to dwindle. Its power in its own commonwealth began to dwindle, and eventually took up isolationism. As isolationism took its hold in the country, a dictatorship rose up and it set about defending itself against the bombs. As with most plans during the Great War, none of them quite went to plan. The United Kingdom’s missile defence system collapsed and a number of cities, most prominently Liverpool, were destroyed.

Fortunately many escaped harm by surviving in purpose built bomb shelters and bunkers, all of which had their own plans for when they eventually got out into the wasteland after the war. These shelters were all publically funded, and communities were each responsible for building and funding their own shelters. As I said before, most plans didn’t go quite to plan. The percentage of shelters that actually followed through with the plans set out for them by the dictatorship of Great Britain was less than 40%. The other 60% would become the Royalists army, who rescued the actual royal family from official deposition and formed in and around Winsor originally; The Highland armies, who settled in Scotland before losing ground to the British government and were beaten back to the highlands; and the rebels, which is a broad term for “anyone who isn’t with the British Government”.




Terrain, Weather, and geographical info:
The land once called Great Britain was hit quite badly during the war. Bombs were dropped right over many of the greater cities such as London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Edinburgh and so on. Many cities, left unprotected, Liverpool for instance, were instantly destroyed and the inhabitants were turned to ghouls.
Weather in Britain is fairly stable, ranging from acid rain, to overcast on most if not all the days of the year. The sun is never seen, unless it is through a break in the clouds. The biggest worry from the weather is the irradiated smog that sometimes falls over England. When it rarely arrives, it is best to sit inside and await it’s passing, unless you have a protective suit. Those that live near coastal regions, will come across the irradiated fog that sometimes plagues the coastal regions. When it is foggy, it is best to stay indoors, unless appropriate attire is worn.
Geographically speaking, Britain has changed very little since the war, although the maps that have been developed since the war map only the areas that are known to be safe to travel in. Liverpool is one of those “no go” areas, full of rabid ghoul and mutated animals, it hasn’t been explored since the war, except by the ghouls that actually

Flora/Fauna:
Mutant crabs – These are much smaller, less vicious than the lurks of the United States, spotted around the whole of the former united kingdom, but lesser so around Scotland.
Giant Rats – Giant rats, very similar to those seen in America, they are most often seen around major population areas, especially in London, where they are infested. So much so, pest control is still a job prospect within London.
Feral dogs, cats, and foxes – These animals, although not very intimidating on their own, often come in packs. Bites from these animals are highly infectious, and given enough time the infection will kill a person or force them to lose a limb.
Mutant Squirrels – Though rarely seen in major population areas these provide a good food source to those that can get to them.
Mutant Pigeons – these birds are everywhere, especially in major population areas, living off scraps. Some can be trained as messenger pigeons; however most do not make it to their destination as they are a free and abundant food source to local populations.
Mutant Deer – Seen strictly in the countryside, deer and elk can be found in abundance in wooded areas. Elk can be quite dangerous and protective over the herd, and will almost always attack on sight.

Mountain Goats – Common in the highlands, these hardy goats escaped the majority of the effects of radiation. That being said, more mutations have started to arise with every generation. The goats have two forked tongues, and their digestive system has become incredibly tough , enabling the goats to digest almost anything. The goats' pupils also are no longer landscape, but are now vertical. Mountain goats, as the name suggests, are only found in mountains.

Swarmer Ants – Swarmer ants are over-sized ants, becoming the size of modern day mice. They live and feed in hundreds, each ant working as a part of a group then as an individual, as if hundreds of ants all have the same mind linking them. They feed on sweet things, and are often found near pre-war sweet factories and shops, but failing that they will eat any plant life they can find and feed off the glucose stored in them. Swarmer ants produce a very sweet smelling liquid as a bi-product which is secreted in their nests after digestion. This liquid is often used in Wasteland perfume manufacturing, but it can also be fermented to form an alcohol, or it can be consumed as a kind of wasteland honey. Unfortunately, though, the liquid is kept deep in their nests, which house thousands of ants, and when the nest is attacked, the ants swarm the attackers (that's where they get their name from), each ant able to rip off and consume sizable amounts of flesh. As a result of this, Swarmer Ant perfume is very expensive because of the risk involved in harvesting the liquid. Swarmer ants are found UK-wide on their scavenging hunts, but their nests are found few and far between.

Mega and Minor Bats – The bats of the UK have mutated from the radiation, becoming much larger, the more common minor bats standing at around 2 feet tall, but major bats, often found in heavily bombed areas, have mutated even more and can occasionally stand at 4 feet tall (though this is very rare). Minor bats are mainly found in bombed forests and caves, but major bats can be found all over the UK, though very uncommon. Both form of bats' eyes have disappeared, skin growing over them, but they were never needed anyway. Their claws are huge and razor sharp, and are used to crack open the shells of insects like radroaches, but are also used to kill small animals. Humans only become a target for the bats when there is no other food, and even then the minor bats will only go for those small or weak like children. Mega bats have been known to go for adult humans, but an adult is still a challenge even for the largest mega bat, they would rather just hunt some deer or attack a group of children. The bats' ears, although over-sized before mutation, are now enormous, standing double the height of the head. The ears are needed to track animals down from great distances, and it's not uncommon for a mega bat to hunt something down from five miles away. They are generally black, but albino bats are not uncommon. Minor bats are much tamer than mega bats, and can therefore be tamed, but major bats are feral and attack any humans on sight.

Stalker Fungus – Stalker fungus, as it’s been come to known in the wasteland, is an interesting, but horrifying phenomenon born of radiation mutation. The fungus spores effects people and creatures in quite a weird way. The fungus grows into a large stalk, which when triggered releases its spores. Beings that breathe in the spores will have their inhibitions seemingly removed and will act on irratic impulse. Due to this, victims of the spore cloud will often get themselves or it killed. It will then be eaten from the inside and the fungus stalk will start to grow out of the corpse. Those who are incapacitated or fail to die can recover from the spore cloud, but it will often take weeks unless some form of anti-fungal drug is administered. Stalker Fungus is found in the countryside, or within settlements, if an infected animal or person finds their way into it. Stalker Fungus has in recent times been used in research to create a new psychedelic drug.

Factions:
The British Government – Overall, the British Government are by far the largest faction in the whole of the island. In total it holds seven of the major cities of Britain, and has a loose hold over northern England, Wales and southern Scotland. They are led by a woman named the “Grand Minister”, and have equipment, power and sheer numbers.

Royalists – the Royalists are the British Government’s strongest opposition in Britain. They are led by the survivors of the royal family who were unofficially deposed by the Grand Minister. Though they follow the royalist banner, most are refugees from the British Government’s territory. They control all of south-west England and parts of central England, up to Birmingham, blocking off any British Government trade routes directly from London to Cardiff.

The Highland Armies – The highlanders, as their name would suggest, have taken to their routes and have become warriors against British rule. They control the vast northern highlands and specialise in guerrilla warfare. They don’t tend to be well equipped, mostly using tools and other melee weaponry. They tend to have an excellent knowledge of the lands, and have great survival instincts, they have a lack of knowledge of technology and the only difference between them and the raiders are their organisational skills.

Euro-Traders – This faction is one of the few international factions that exist within Britain, using the Euro-tunnel as the gateway into Europe. They are a trading faction, trading with everyone for the right price. They have vast trading routes, although their route into Britain stops at London.

State of Oxford – Located within royalist territory, the State of Oxford is an independent and thoroughly neutral. Oxford is completely controlled by these tech-savvies, who hold isolationism as their core belief.

The Black - A raider faction in the ruins of Blackpool. Having been forced out of Manchester, the raider group organised against the government and now consistently raid settlements in north west England. Members of the Black are called Blackheads, and have strange customs, such as scarring themselves with images and patterns, all of which have a symbolic or literal meaning.

Raiders – These are the raiders of the Britain, they don’t live by the law forced on them by the British government. Though they usually hate the British Government with a passion, they don’t hate them enough to ally with the enemies of their enemies and can be found raiding anyone they come across. Few of them have organisational skills at all, but most develop their own sub-cultures.

Major/Minor Locations

England
Birmingham
Birmingham sits on a border between British Government territory and Royalist territory, and is Cardiff’s supply line. It is constantly under fire from Royalists, and an invasion is always just days away.

Blackpool
Before the war, Blackpool was a cheery seaside town. Now its bright lights are a beacon to every raider, slaver, pimp and pusher on the Island. The surrounding area is a flooded slum infested with mutant crabs and feral ghouls. The once famous Blackpool Tower is now a sniper’s delight.

Bristol
The city of Bristol is at the capital of industry in the eyes of the Royalists. There they build ships, in order to beach Cardiff, with recycled metal. Engineers are celebrated here, and it is a profession that can make someone very rich. Navy yards and academies have cropped up in recent years, and weapons manufacturers have also moved into town. There are many factories and houses being built every day.

London
The city itself is divided into Inner City London and Outer City London, the Outer City London is placed by raiders, hiding amongst the ruins of the old city, Raiders avoid the major motorway roads, which are patrolled by the British Government. Inner City London is surrounded by a twenty foot concrete wall on all sides. the tops of the wall has a walkway all around and the outer side is covered in barbed wire. Every hundred meters sits a guard tower that is constantly guarded. Immediately behind the wall is ring road, which too is patrolled constantly by Government troops. At various points there are gates leading into the city, behind the gates sits the designated market zones, which double as a temporary home for all those who are looking to live within the city. The rivers are protected by flood defences, which are still functioning. The flood defences are fully fortified. The British Government headquarters sits in the Houses of Parliament building besides the clock-tower known as Big Ben. Tower Bridge is currently being restored, and scaffolding covers the structure. Many other buildings in London also look like this. Almost all streets inside London are cleared of rubble and even have working street lights.

Manchester
Manchester serves as a vital artery to and from the south, as it provides the only safe route up into Scotland. Soldiers from Manchester have almost always seen service against the highland army in Scotland. Manchester’s biggest threat is Liverpool. Liverpool is infested with rabid ghouls, who tend to make it out to Manchester, and attack its inhabitants. In recent times, the British army have constructed a large trench around the western half of Manchester to negate attacks by the ghoul. In any other situation Liverpool would have been invaded and obliterated, but the irradiation levels in Liverpool are that high that it is almost impossible for any human to inhabit for even a short amount of time.

Nottingham
Nottingham serves as a large trading up, given its links to all the major territories of the British Government. It has the largest military garrison next to London, and is in a good position to supply either Birmingham or Manchester if they are ever in need.

Oxford
Surrounded by a three mile thick minefield, and walled off with force fields, the state of Oxford sits on the edge of the river Thames, a few miles up from London. The city state keeps to itself isolated under almost all circumstances. After an attempted invasion by the British Government, Oxford found fame in the legends of the wasteland, as it swatted away the invasion force as easily as pushing over a child. No one has attempted an invasion since.

Windsor
Windsor is the capital of the Royalist country, with Windsor Castle as their palace. It is a very clean place, full of grandeur that is awe-inspiring. It is meant to look grand and impressive, with soldiers in every direction. There is an army stationed at Windsor always, and security is at the utmost important. The best of the best is stationed there and emplacement guns are put at strategic points.

Scotland
Aberdeen
Aberdeen, in the east of the Highlands, is the source of almost all army supplies. Controlling most of the farmland, it produces almost 70% of the food required to keep the troops fed. The royal house in charge of Aberdeen has kept a good relationship with the farmers, and due to it controlling the supplies of the army, it also has the biggest say in the country’s politics. With that in mind, Aberdeen could be considered the capital of the Highland Armies.

Dundee
Dundee serves as the Highland’s capital, although each area of Scotland is divided between the different houses. A representative of every house is present in Dundee, acting as a council for the good of their people. As it is close to the border, it is also headquarters of the Highland army, and is very well armed. It serves as the base of the army reserves, where troops are rotated onto the frontlines. There are many clubs, bars and brothels in Dundee, making it very popular with the troops.

Edinburgh
Edinburgh is one of two Government headquarters in Scotland, unfortunately, it is barely that. The city itself has been shelled to all hell when the Government first arrived, and after defeating the Edinburgh clan, the Government moved into the bunkers once held by the clan. Now they use the bunker as a base and had use the 'mountains of rubble' to protect the fort of dirt they have created above the rubble, because of the uneven ground, it makes the city almost impossible to assault, although it provides an immense amount of cover, which the Highlanders often use to their advantage.

Glasgow
Most of the government's defence in Scotland is assigned to Glasgow, because of the salvageable technology in the city itself. Due to it's vicinity to the ocean, the Glasgow fog often forces the unprotected Highlanders to call off assaults, making the city easy to defend. Though a lot of the city is damaged, there are many buildings still intact. Since the loss of Edinburgh, the Government swears to recover as much of the old world from Glasgow as possible, including many of the old wrecks moored in the River Clyde.

Inverness
Although Inverness is a relatively small city, Inverness is quite important. Being at the centre of a mouth out to the North Sea, it profits from being able to supply hydro-electricity through the vast number of turbines that surround the city. Though power doesn’t cover the entire stretch of the Highlands, it is reaching all the important places. It has quite a quarry industry, which supplies stone bricks across the Highlands.

Wales
Cardiff
Cardiff sits on the frontlines of the war against the Royalists, much like Birmingham, constant fighting occurs in and around Cardiff. The Royalists have taken up to invading by water, using small craft built from wreckage. These surprise attacks often make the situation in Cardiff quite desperate as its trade routes are often blocked by Royalists and their supporters.

The Neutrona Group
Founded in Wales during the early twenty-first century, The Neutrona Group made itself famous in the British Isles when they introduced Neutrona Soda to the public. Known not only for their soft drinks, the Neutrona Group also dabbled in other forms of confectionary. Of this side business, the Neutron Bar became immensely popular. The company was famous for delivering their soft drinks and candy directly to the doors of their customers via an electric “float” driven by the “Neutrona Man”. The Neutrona Group’s popularity was so great during the mid-twenty-first century that there was a Neutrona depot in every city across England, Scotland and Wales.

Neutrona Soda came in many flavours, though their original Neutrona Solar or just "Neutrona" (orangeade) was their biggest hit. Other flavours include, but are not limited to: Neutrona Dwarf (cherryade), Neutrona Nebula (Limeade) and Neutrona Pulsar (Lemonade)

Currency:
In government territory, caps are usually traded in for coins, as Government stores only use coins made by the mint. All coins have a picture of the High Minister on them, although there are rare Royalist coins scattered throughout the lands as they were made for when the Royals were let out of their bunker. The British Government wants to destroy all Royalist coins and does so whenever they are found, however the coins have become something of a secret sign, of Royalist loyalty.

Neutrona bottle caps are used as currency everywhere else in the wasteland, although some people trade resources. Neutrona bottle caps are coloured depending on the flavour of Neutrona it came from, although all caps value the same amount, All Neutrona caps have the logo of the company on it.

Pre-War Timeline:
May 2051 - Prime Minister Edward Ahab is sworn into power
April 2052 - The Resource War Begins
October 2054 - British spies Learn of Project Safehouse, sending information back to London
January 2055 - The United Kingdom starts to build preservation shelters across its land
September 2057 - The Prime Minister reintroduces conscription for both men and women.
October 2057 - The United Kingdom is controlled by a fully militarised dictatorship. The monarch is technically powerless. 60% of the population serve the government Prime Minister Ahab becomes High Minister.
January 2060 - The High Minister imports technology from the United States in return for large material shipments used in Vault creation. Britain gains Fusion technology, which is used in the more secure preservation shelters.
August 2060 - The Resource War Ends
November 2060 - The United Kingdom recalls its forces and focuses on defence
December 2060 - China occupies Hong Kong, officially absorbing it back into the country, away from British hands, Britain gives no defence as its interests lay in the homeland.
January 2061 - The United Kingdom occupies parts the Republic of Ireland after increased tensions on the border of Northern Ireland regarding the remains of North Sea Oil.
February 2061 - Government forces intercept the second attack on the houses of parliament (by British citizens), it is nicknamed "the second gunpowder plot"
August 2064 - The Republic of Ireland is annexed by The United Kingdom after a constant stalemate.
May 2066 - The British Missile Defence Network is built over many cities across the United Kingdom
January 2070 - Rumours persist of American spies on British soil
June 2072 - As Canada is annexed by the United States of America, the United Kingdom breaks of all negotiations
July 2072 - Canadians loyal to the British Empire immigrate to the United Kingdom rather than face execution.
October 2077 - The United Kingdom declares war on many of the European countries. The Great War occurs. High Minister Ahab escapes the bombs inside the government bunker. The World ends.