After the End

# After the Outbreak ## Chronology - **Day 0 (Atlanta).** First hospitalizations for 'rabies' at Grady Memorial. Symptoms: fever of 104°F+, confusion, unmotivated aggression, respiratory arrest, and 'rebooting' 3–8 minutes after clinical death. - **Days 1–3.** The outbreak spreads beyond the hospital. The CDC (headquartered in Fulton) declares a state of emergency, but loses control of the building itself by the third day. - **Weeks 2–6.** The military perimeter around Atlanta and the major cities of Georgia, the Carolinas, and Florida collapses one by one. Mass evacuation of the population to the north and inland clogs the I-75 and I-95 highways with abandoned vehicles. - **Months 2–4.** The federal government effectively ceases to function as a unified force. Individual military units dig into fortified points (airbases, forts) and no longer obey the general chain of command. - **Months 5–8 (Present Day).** Major 'fronts' no longer exist. There is only a map of cleared zones crawling with hordes, depopulated suburbs, and rare enclaves of survivors. The first winter is approaching—the harvest was never brought in, warehouses have been looted, and fuel is running out. ## The Infected The Infected (colloquially known as 'hot ones,' 'febrile,' or simply 'them') are not mystical zombies, but living people whose higher nervous activity has been destroyed: - They do not rot instantly, but over time they decompose like ordinary corpses—older specimens are slower and weaker. - They react primarily to sudden sounds and rapid movement; they have poor vision when it comes to stationary objects. - Infection occurs through bites or contact with infected fluids on an open wound or mucous membrane. Casual contact is not dangerous. - A small percentage of those who die from any cause 'rise' within a few minutes—which makes any death in a community a potential threat. - They gather into 'hordes' toward sources of noise—thunderstorms, building collapses, and alarm signals can draw hundreds of specimens to a single point. ### Types of Infected No mysticism here—only different stages of infection and decomposition: - **Sprinters (Fresh).** During the first 48–72 hours after turning, muscles have not yet begun to degrade—they move with almost human speed and endurance. This is the most dangerous, but also the most short-lived category. - **Walkers (The Bulk).** The backbone of any horde: a slow but tireless gait, delayed reaction to movement, relying primarily on numbers. Dangerous due to quantity rather than individual capability. - **Smolderers (Old).** Decomposition has weakened their muscles and tendons—they move noticeably slower and are weaker than walkers, but are more numerous in long-infected zones. Contact with them increases the risk of sepsis, even from a small scratch. - **Beacons (Ringers).** Some of the infected suffer damage to their vocal cords at the moment of turning—they emit a continuous, piercing wail that draws hordes from many miles away. They are an extremely valuable target for long-range takedowns, but approaching one almost always means encountering a gathering crowd. - **Silents (Drowned).** Infected who have spent a long time in the water—near crossings, dams, and river fords. They barely react to sound on land, but can appear unnoticed right at the water's edge. They are the primary threat at river and bridge locations. ## Factions - **Survivor Communities** — farming cooperatives, barricaded neighborhoods, church groups. Their primary resources are people and arable land. Usually willing to trade unless they are under threat. - **Remnants of the Army and National Guard** — hold separate fortified points (airbases, bridges, ammo depots). They are disciplined and well-armed but suspicious of strangers, sometimes imposing martial law by force. - **Marauder Gangs** — former convicts, militias, desperate families. They live by raiding the supplies of others and do not shy away from kidnapping and extortion. - **Cults and the 'Enlightened'** — small but fanatically bonded groups convinced that the Outbreak is a purification or a trial. They are unpredictable; sometimes more hospitable to strangers than gangs, sometimes more dangerous than the walking dead. ## Tone and Table Rules This is a survival game, not an action flick: ammunition and antibiotics are nearly impossible to find, wounds heal over weeks rather than after a short rest, and every decision—going on reconnaissance, sharing food with strangers, lighting a signal fire—has a long-term cost. Death is permanent. The central conflict is not 'shooting down a horde,' but hanging on for one more week without the community losing its humanity. ## Key Map Locations - **CDC Headquarters (Fulton)** — the epicenter of the outbreak. The complex was long ago overrun by the horde from within, but data on the origin of the Virus and early treatment attempts may still exist in the archives and labs on the third floor. - **Sun-Belt Grain Elevator (Polk)** — one of the few unlooted grain elevators in the region; guarded by a local farming community willing to trade grain for medicine and fuel. - **Flint River Bridge on I-75 (Highlands)** — the only surviving crossing for tens of miles; a key point for controlling traffic movement and a constant target for the 'Ash' gang. - **St. Mary's Hospital (Richland)** — a former refugee transit camp during the first weeks of the outbreak, now abandoned; rumors suggest that untouched supplies of antibiotics remain in the basement pharmacy. ## Factions and Map Structures **Local Communities:** - **Fort Benning South** — the remnants of the National Guard garrison in Montgomery; disciplined, but low on fuel and ammunition. - **'Salt of the Earth' Caravan** — a nomadic community near Hillsborough; willing to trade, but terrified of bitten individuals following a tragedy at their last stop. - **'The Ash' Gang** — marauders near Duval who control the highways and extort tribute. - **The 'Purification' Sect** — A reclusive religious community near Hinds that views the Outbreak as both a scourge and a salvation. - **Dr. Elaine Voss** — A fugitive CDC epidemiologist hiding with the Cherokee; she knows how to temporarily suppress symptoms after a bite. **Military Bases and Divisions** (full profiles for each are available in the map data): - **Fort Stewart** (Liberty, Georgia) — 3rd Infantry Division; maintains a policy of 'hard quarantine' with no exceptions. - **Fort Campbell** (Christian, Kentucky) — 101st Airborne; conducts helicopter raids for resources and 'recruits'. - **Fort Knox** (Hardin, Kentucky) — Home to the armor school and the gold depository; they are well-fortified but desperate for resources. - **Joint Base Charleston** (South Carolina) — The site of a failed naval evacuation; now a scorched perimeter. - **Camp Lejeune** (Onslow, North Carolina) — 'The Dead Garrison': compromised from within, it is a zone of pure horror that everyone avoids. - **Redstone Arsenal** (Madison, Alabama) — Secret experiments on the Virus; rumors persist of non-consensual human testing. - **West Point** (Orange, New York) — Military academy cadets who hold the Hudson area with organization and integrity. - **Joint Base MDL** (Burlington, New Jersey) — The formal remnants of federal command, now drowning under a tide of refugees. **International Forces:** - **UN Field Base 'Hope of the South'** (Broward, Florida) — The only legal evacuation corridor off the continent, under constant strain from its own mandate. - **Maritime Quarantine Cordon 'Surf Wall'** — Sinks any unauthorized vessel without warning (details below). - **New England Coalition** — The only truly safe zone (details below). **Named Characters:** Captain Min-Ji Pak (UN, escorts convoys against her mandate), Sergeant Dwayne Holloway (Fort Benning South, secretly saves the innocent), Colonel Richard Mace (Fort Stewart, fanatic of the hard quarantine), Cole 'Ash' McCray (leader of 'The Ash'), Rosa Hernandez (unofficial leader of the caravan), Pastor Elijah Turner (preacher for the sect), Commissioner Martha Whelan (New England border curator), Admiral Jonathan Graham (cordon commander), Dr. Arthur Kane (Dr. Voss's less ethical colleague at Redstone), 'King Gareth I' / Trevor Yates (self-proclaimed king of the Court of the Rusty Rose). ## Rivers, Mountains, and Crossings The region's physical geography is not merely a backdrop but a strategic factor: rivers impede the hordes and divide faction territories, mountains offer shelter to squads and partisans, and the surviving bridges are the most valuable and contested points on the map. - **Chattahoochee River** — Cuts through former Atlanta and its suburbs; downstream, it serves as a natural border between the epicenter's infection zone and the relatively clean farming counties of southern Georgia. - **Savannah River Crossing** — The border between Georgia and South Carolina; one of the few fords still crossable without a bridge during dry spells, making it a constant site of skirmishes between communities and 'The Ash' gang. - **Mississippi River Dam** — An old engineering dam near the delta; partially destroyed, it causes periodic flooding in the surrounding Arkansas and Mississippi counties—the soil is fertile, but it is unsafe for long-term encampments. - **Ohio River Bridge** — Connects Kentucky to the northern states; serves as the de facto border between the relatively controlled south and the far more chaotic, poorly explored north of the map. - **Tennessee River Bend** — A fertile fishing spot that has developed an unspoken neutrality: even warring groups try to avoid fighting here so as not to scare off the only reliable food source in the area. - **Hudson River Crossing at West Point** — Controlled by academy cadets; one of the few bridges in the north of the map maintained through organization and a set schedule, rather than by force of arms. - **Appalachian Range** — Stretches across West Virginia; its network of caves and old mining tunnels makes it a favorite hiding place for both lone hermits and those evading other survivors. - **Blue Ridge Pass** — A narrow mountain passage in Virginia that controls who can pass between the east and west of the region and what supplies they carry; a natural site for ambushes and checkpoints. - **Great Smoky Mountains Overlook** — Offers views for dozens of miles; used by several groups as a lookout point and radio communications hub, as the elevation aids signal range. - **Talmadge Memorial Bridge** — Once the primary gateway from Savannah to the ocean; partially collapsed after an explosion during the first weeks of chaos, but still walkable on foot—if one is willing to take the risk. - **Walt Whitman Bridge over the Delaware** — The last functional crossing in this sector of the river in the north of the map; held by Joint Base MDL forces as a strategic corridor for refugee evacuations. ## New England — The Only Safe Zone North of the chaos in the Mid-Atlantic lies a region that history spared. In the first days of the outbreak, the remnants of the National Guard, state police, and fire departments of New England coordinated to block off the bridges, tunnels, and highways leading south before the infection could take hold. Unlike the rest of the country, the quarantine held here—and the region has lived a nearly normal life ever since: courts are in session, rations are distributed, and streetlights glow at night. This isn't philanthropy. The coalition that rules the region carefully guards its greatest asset—the absence of infection—and treats every outsider as a potential threat. Any non-resident must undergo screening and mandatory quarantine at the border, and entry requires a 'port of entry fee' in the form of fuel, valuable equipment, or a labor contract. For local residents, this is an oasis of normalcy. For survivors from the south, it is the safest place on the map, provided they can reach it and pay the price. - **New England Border Checkpoint (Connecticut)** — the main gateway to the region from the south: multi-layered screening, quarantine holding cells, and armed guards. This is where it's decided who is allowed in and who is turned back to the cleared lands. ## Major Cities of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest - **New York City** — the largest metropolis on the map and simultaneously its largest graveyard: the density of the pre-war population means that hordes here are measured not in hundreds, but in tens of thousands. No one attempts to 'clear' the entire city—people go in on surgical sorties for specific objectives and make it a point not to linger after sunset. - **Washington** — the symbolic heart of a federal government that no longer exists. Building after building stands empty: the real (what remains) government operates from hardened bunkers and bases like Joint Base MDL, while the city itself has turned into something of an open-air museum—majestic and utterly defenseless. - **Philadelphia** — dense urban sprawl that suffered greatly in the first weeks of chaos; several major gangs have carved up the surviving neighborhoods among themselves. - **Pittsburgh** — an industrial hub at the confluence of rivers, partially held thanks to natural water barriers on two sides. - **Baltimore** — a port city that suffered severely from panic and looting even before the infection reached the suburbs. - **Louisville** — thanks to its proximity to Fort Knox, one of the few Midwestern cities where a semblance of order is still maintained. - **Indianapolis** — a vast, but sparsely populated center following the evacuation; several high-rises have been turned into fortified vertical communities. - **Cincinnati** — a city divided by the Ohio River, with the southern part being much more dangerous than the northern part. *Note to the Game Master: The exact administrative county boundaries for New York and Washington on this map are slightly simplified (the nearest accessible tiles are Dutchess and Prince George's), but the coordinates of the points correspond to the real locations of the cities.* ## Maritime Quarantine Cordon The only way to leave the mainland is by water, which is precisely why the water was sealed off first. The Navy and Coast Guard cordon holds the Atlantic line, sinking any vessel heading away from shore without direct authorization without warning. Officially, this is to prevent the Virus from spreading across the ocean; unofficially, it is to ensure no one escapes, leaving the mainland to fend for itself. The only agreed-upon exception is the UN convoys from Florida, which makes the 'Hope of the South' base one of the few legal loopholes out, and one of the most heavily guarded points on the entire map. ## The Coastal Oddities of Georgia and Carolina Within a few days' travel of each other, between Savannah and Charleston, the collapse preserved three peculiar enclaves—people who managed to cope with the end of the world by retreating entirely into another era: - **'The Court of the Rusty Rose'** — a Renaissance fair troupe that declared their tourist castle a real kingdom, complete with a king, knighthoods, and a code of chivalry. Thick walls and a moat keep the horde at bay just as well as modern barricades. - **His Majesty's Grenadier Company** — Revolutionary War reenactors who got stuck during maneuvers at a colonial fort. The Captain sincerely believes the apocalypse is a 'crown affair' and recruits passersby into the company—the bayonet formation works surprisingly well against the walking dead. - **Civil War Reenactor Camp** — former 'Northerners' and 'Southerners' from a stage reenactment whom the collapse forced to live together in a shaky truce; some have already retrofitted replica rifles to fire live black powder rounds. The three enclaves are close enough to encounter each other periodically—usually due to territorial disputes, and sometimes simply due to mutual claims of 'historical accuracy.' None of them truly recognize the modern world: the knights call the infected the 'Cursed,' the grenadiers call them 'rebels against the crown,' and the Civil War reenactors, out of old habit, call them the enemy from the other side of the front. For the player, this is a rare opportunity to get help from people who are almost entirely unafraid of modern threats—provided you can manage to play by their rules. ## Major Hordes In addition to standard infected, there are several named hordes on the map—survivors assign numbers and nicknames to large clusters, much like storms. **Horde-7 'The Matriarch'** (Atlanta) and **Horde-12 'The Canyon'** (New York) are the largest and oldest, effectively nullifying the cities where they emerged. **Horde-19 'The Lake Wall'** is trapped between Chicago and Lake Michigan. The unnamed **Camp Lejeune** horde consists entirely of former Marines. **Horde-23 'The Nomad'** slowly wanders along I-75, making the crossing through Flint dangerous year-round. **Horde-31 'The Dead Parade'** wanders through Washington almost in formation—a bitter irony over the emptied seat of power.