Wastelander

Wastelanders also look human from the outside

### Key Traits

Brave, Determined, Survivalist, Conscientious, Adaptable, Rough Sense of Humour.

### Contradictions/Conflict

Indulge Yourself versus Remember Your Duty

## Appearance

Wastelander clothing is typically ripped, weathered and worn in layers as they don’t like to throw anything away. While natural colours are sometimes favoured, since both robots and zeds are colour blind some wastelanders use splashes of very brightly coloured layers to stand out from the tree line.

They often keep their weapons brightly coloured, too, especially their guns as nothing proves someone isn’t a Zed-Synth more than when they’re carrying a ranged weapon. Many a colonist has survived a sniper because they carried a day-glo orange rifle. Jewellery is often eccentric, involving trash being turned into decorations. Bottle cap bracelets and necklaces slung with the ring pulls liberated from soda cans are not an uncommon sight.

It’s also a rare Wastelander who doesn’t have a scar and such scars often have a metallic sheen due to the processes used by the nanites to hasten their healing factor. Some wastelanders decorate their faces by purposefully causing patterns of such scars - often involving raised dots in lines around the edges of the face and fingers.

You can find more inspirational pictures at https://au.pinterest.com/ARC\_Inc/
multiverse-wastelands/

## Anatomy

The nanite gland develops alongside other organs in those who are born wastelanders, is about half the size of your fist and is connected to the liver.  The nanite gland creates a variety of organic nano-molecules that are each designed for a specific purpose ranging from rapidly seal wounds, regenerating damaged tissues, dealing with damage caused by low-level radiation, destroying cancer cells and functioning in key roles within the immune system.

Gland nanites cannot be affected by kinetic abilities because they are organic chemicals, though of complex design, and are not nanomachines as we normally think of them.  However some of the larger nanites constructed still maintain the kind of complexity normally expected from synthetic nanomachines albeit using organic mechanisms and thus comparisons can be readily drawn.

There’s a very rare condition afflicting 1 in 300,000 wastelanders where the body’s remnant immune system, rather than going dormant, instead attacks the nanite gland requiring continuous gene therapy to keep the immune system from targeting nanites and the gland as a threat.  This condition is called the Nanite Auto-Immune Conflict Condition (NACC).

Humans who are genetically engineered into wastelanders need to have the nanite gland implanted and then undergo 12 weeks of gene therapy so that their bodies fully accept the gland.

Zeds have an enlarged gland with white nanite markings on it which show the strain of infection.

Removing a wastelander’s nanite gland will immediately drop them to walking wounded, though they still won’t bleed out from any current wounds due to latent nanites already present in blood and tissue.  However the body will begin to shut down and after four hours they will fall into the Dying State where they will remain for around 2 hours before finally dying.

Death can only be prevented through the use of a stasis pod (only viable for a maximum of 12 weeks before cell death is guaranteed) or the implantation of a fresh nanite gland. If the target's own DNA isn't used in the creation of the nanite gland, then the target must be given medication to prevent their body from rejecting the foreign tissue.

## History

This is a world of science but the science works a little differently here than it does on Earth. It is a little more flexible than would normally be expected. There are technologies that are ineffective on Earth that just work better here and theories that just can’t get off the ground over there which blossom into wondrous reality here.

Last Hope gained its name because its discovery came only a decade after human scientists declared that Faster Than Light travel was a real impossibility. Instead they found a way to cross through inter-dimensional space to find other universes whose laws behaved in an unpredictable fashion. Some of those shuttles never returned -- perhaps because those universes were inimical to human life or perhaps because technology just couldn’t work there.

When they eventually found a habitable world they officially called “Hope” and unofficially called “Last Hope” because it was humanity’s last hope to explore and colonise a world filled with life. Due to higher background radiation and a multitude of foreign diseases, human colonists either had to survive on a diet of medication and hide from the great outdoors or were bioengineered with a nanite gland that could help repair the damage.

For over a century they imported more colonists until they reached a population of 67 million inhabitants before something went terribly wrong. An unknown event led to a tearing in the fabric of reality itself and allowed an interdimensional body, known as the Writhing One, to be seen in the sky for precisely 4.79 hours (aka 4 hours 47 minutes and 24 seconds). The colonists, desperate to save Earth, shut down all conduits between their worlds and set their satellites to destroy any incoming shuttles so that their world could remain in quarantine. They call this event the Incident.

Those who saw the Writhing One, glimpsing it in the skies or even studying instruments that studied it, went insane - injuring themselves and others in a horrific manner. When their bodies fell, the nanites raced to repair the damage but they could not repair damage done to the cerebral cortex by both the Writhing One and the injuries they had sustained. When their bodies rose, they were different. They were cunning, primal and terribly hungry. They roamed in packs of three to a dozen and would not harm each other but would hunt down wastelanders, in particular, with a single-minded devotion. They were also capable of rapidly regenerating damage to their bodies. Over time they developed new strains -- each more cunning and resourceful than the last.

The military were largely wiped out, but enough remained to take control of the robotics factory, pumping out basic robots who would kill anyone not implanted with a special beacon implanted beneath the skin (AI not being sufficiently advanced to tell the difference between a wastelander and a Zed-Synth on sight).

Unfortunately the fact the disease was infectious meant that eventually some of those who had been implanted succumbed to the infection. One of the robot factories sent out a programming update so that the robots would slay anyone -- regardless of beacon. In their last transmission, they apologised and stated they would reverse their decision once their factory was clear of Zeds but they never did. That was just over seventy years ago. People have rebuilt since then but civilisation is still small, spread out and under siege.

The survivors are genetically engineered to be better at surviving, but with increased metabolic rates, high adrenaline responses and a more aggressive (though not necessarily violent)approach to life. Their nanite gland also allows them to survive a higher level of background radiation such as that found on Last Hope without taking special medication. This has no effect on areas of exceedingly high radiation (i.e. where there are radiation indicators).

## Psychological Traits

Wastelanders see themselves as human and use the term “wastelander,” as a way to distinguish themselves from “homeworlders.” At their core they see Earth as the birthplace of humanity and the true home of all humans. Despite all of the post-apocalyptic tales to the contrary, the average wastelander isn’t a raider out for blood nor a cannibal eager to consume the living. Most are just people living in a harsh world and surviving against terrible odds.

This means that the average person will be happy to see a fellow human on the road, will offer resources to fellow travellers and the average warlord or thug is more interested in keeping their farmers alive rather than using their body parts for decoration. This doesn’t mean that horrible people don’t exist, or that they don’t clump together into gangs, but they aren’t as common as one might think. However it doesn’t take many well-armed butchers to terrorise a neighbourhood and many warlords punish dissent harshly indeed. Thus the wastelanders often have a peculiar relationship with the Might Makes Right ideology. They believe it is true, but that one must strive for the day when it isn’t anymore. Even some warlords hope for that day when they can relax their harsh laws.

The Wastelanders have access to cloning technology and pre-Incident they used it to take recordings of the minds of their best and brightest scientists. This means that occasionally a revivified clone can awake with the mind of a now deceased scientist or other famous person. Such a fate is typically a tragic one for though their skills and knowledge is needed, they must discover the horrors of the world anew and their original may well have had a hand in how things came to be.

### 10 Cultural Cores

1. Amplify your Leaders
2. Water must never be sold
3. Teasing is a sign of affection and strengthens Community bonds
4. Aggressive Loyalty
5. Children are consdered a dangerous but sacred duty
6. Risks are inevitable and Valuable
7. Be private in your gift giving
8. You can't trust anyone when their hungry
9. Waste nothing
10. Be prepared

## Species Perks

**No Bleed Out Timer:** Due to your nanite gland, your body can survive in the Dying State indefinitely until dehydration or starvation sets in. Therefore you can only be killed outright by slay, coup de grace, disease, poison or elemental damage (i.e. burns and radiation).

**Disease Resistance:** Your nanite gland also boosts your immune system and therefore makes you immune to most diseases and parasitic infections. Only diseases and parasites specifically designed to affect you will do so.

**Natural Healing:** Your nanite gland allows you to regenerate 1 health point per half hour without the need for Immunoboosts.

**Badass:** You can push through the pain to continue doing what you need to do during the Walking Wounded phase. This includes running, fighting and using skills. It still hurts but as a wastelander you are less affected by pain.

**Omega Strain (optional):** Those who have
this Zed-Synth strain have increased regeneration (1 health point per five minutes even if you are currently dying) unless killed by a slay or coup de grace. Those who are contaminated will become super-zeds called “Alphas” when they fall into the Dead State. They are also vulnerable to mind control from certain psychics. When you hear someone shout: “Strain Obey!” you must attack the shouter’s enemies and behave in a pack-like rabid and violent fashion. During this stage you regenerate 1 health per 30 seconds and can be brought back from the Dead State to 1 health point by an Alpha commanding you to “Rise!”

## Common Phrases and Naming Conventions

Wastelander first names are normal for Earth but middle names often reflect nostalgic memories
and last names are replaced with their ancestor’s state or country of origin. Therefore you can get
Paul England, China Meng or Patricia Nike Texas. In order to prevent division within the ranks of
the colonists, the first settlers decided to use a random name generator for their settlements and
landmarks. One, in particular, was a big fan of the Elder Scrolls series and used the Dragon name
generator to create names that were then split in half for ease of use.

* "Coffee boiler” = Shirker, lazy person, would rather sit around a coffee pot than help.
* “Get fragged!” = As in, get blown up, often used as an expression of disbelief when someone says a tall tale.
* “Kiss my rad-infested ass!” = contemptuous phrase.
* “Knock yourself out and get going” = refers to smacking a device to make it work again, pull yourself together.
* “Light it up!” = Expression of excitement.
* “I’m all outta juice” = Exhausted.
* “I’m all powered up!” = Excited.
* “Ranger bait” = Someone who is extremely shady or up to no good.
* “Synth-blood!” = You’re a risk to society.
* “You bloater!” = you’re pathetic, refers to a bloated corpse.