Setting Guide
The world wasn't always like this.
Early in the year 1988, scientists discovered Asteroid 198X. The rogue asteroid, approximately the size of Manhatten, was on a collision course with the Earth. Despite warnings from scientists, the federal government ignored this; it was an election year, after all.
Over the course of the next 18 months, the asteroid continued on its terminal path to Earth, all while the great nations ignored it. Asteroid 198X didn't even make national news until late 1989 when amateur astronomers were able to spot it through their hobby telescopes.
The world changed overnight. When the truth could no longer be ignored, a great panic ensued. Riots and armed conflicts erupted worldwide, and while leaders promised they had a plan to stop it, the chaos continued, killing millions in its wake.
In an act of last hope, the leaders of the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. turned to their mightiest arsenal for a solution: nuclear missiles. They hoped to nuke Asteroid 198X with everything they could muster. The plan was never sound, but it was the last, best hope for the planet Earth. The leaders set December 31st, 1989, as the day to save humanity.
However, something went terribly wrong.
The missiles were launched; however, a decimal point was dropped in the conversion from metric to imperial units. The missiles exploded early. The primary blast missed by a mile, and the secondary radius only succeeded in shattering Asteroid 198X into millions of car-sized, newly radioactive meteors, destined to fall randomly worldwide over the course of the next several days.
In light of this abject failure, every nuclear-armed nation decided to settle their old scores. Each had lied about holding back a few of their nuclear missiles, which they launched at each other in one last act of spite.
Between the limited nuclear exchange, meteor impacts, massive radioactive fallout, and unimaginable chaos, nearly 98 percent of humankind died.
This is the world you find yourself in.
Most of the people are gone. Nothing works anymore, and you're lucky if you find some useful resources or a couple of Twinkies left behind. With most of humanity gone, wildlife is slowly reclaiming territory. Some water tables are irradiated, others are not. The people who remain are fighting over whatever they can find, sometimes alone, and other times in groups. These groups range from almost friendly and reasonable to downright dangerous and antagonistic.
You are a survivor in this dangerous, fallen world. Your choices will have consequences, and how you interact with the world will have a lasting impact on you and others.