Space Captain Katsura's Academic Blog (and more!)

A short introduction to the setting I want to flesh out and hopefully run a chronicle in it one day.

2050s, what remained of the United States of America is locked in struggle between two external supernatural threats and between remnants of human civilization who cannot completely put aside difference even with threat of extinction looming on the horizon. But alliances are brokered, erstwhile enemies from before the Apocalypse are grudgingly cooperating and difference can be made. If it's not too late, that is.

Located in Mid West USA, there is a large industrial-military AI complex possessed by an avatar of the Machine Incarna and bent on assimilating the rest of industry left and calcifying the reality around. It has many names, given by humans and supernaturals who fight valiantly to stop its encroachment: the Moloch, the Beast or simply the Machine. What stops it from overwhelming the rest of North America continent might be the fact that Banes it uncovers in search for resources to fuel its army of war machines are as likely to possess machines as they possess humans, triggering occassionally
"civil wars" within the AI complex that grind it to halt until the conflict is resolved.

Little remained of Mexico, gobbled up by another creation of human science perverted by the spiritual world. What was meant an attempt to revitalize Amazon jungle by genetically modified plants turned into disaster when an avatar of Wyld itself took control over the jungle and started slowly but surely spreading over South America and Central America, reaching former borders of USA as of now. Unlike the Moloch, the Neo-Jungle is not bent on killing off humans (whom the Beast sees as potential source of Awakened Mages who can threathen the fabric of reality it wants to calcify) but enviromental changes are making it difficult to maintain civilization at Neo Jungle territories, and rapidly evolving fauna and flora makes it difficult even for Gaia's shapeshifters to survive there. Humans who survive there for longer periods of time cannot be longer called humans, moulded to different species on Wyld's whim, and distrusted by regular humans as mutants and outsiders.

As for humans and supernaturals locked between the two supernatural threats to the civilization, they have been also crippled by host of plagues and diseases which ravaged the Old World even more, possibly wiping out humans there completely as there is no communication between other continents. The Civilization fractured into various factions: Mother Desert, a motley group of Garou Nation remnants, their Kinfolk and various people seeking refuge from the civilization, dominating the West of former USA; Las Vegas, an oasis of civilization controlled by gangs that is in control of a well maintained nuclear power plant (Neuroshima was created long before New Vegas ); Salt Lake City, a holy site governed by Mormons, Jews, Muslims and Christians alike, buying protection from roving gangs for money it gets from pilgrims and worshippers; Texas, the only land relatively untouched by the Plague and major exporter of oil and foodstuff; Appalachian Confederation, a self styled quasifeudal imposed by people in control of local mines and steel industry; Miami, a city on the border of the Neo-Jungle, fighting valiantly its encroachment even as local inhabitants no longer resemble normal humans; Detroit, a shell of a city ruled openly by packs of the Sabbat; the Hegemony, a federation of gangs established by Mexican refugees and locals, threathening Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Texas; the New York Republic, seeking to reestablish the United States of America; and the Outpost, remnants of US military and Technocratic Union banded together to stave off the Machine's encroachment.

More details in next posts, thoughts welcomed. Most of information here is Neuroshima setting adapted loosely to classic World of Darkness.