Welcome to Afterlight

“It is absolutely necessary, for the peace and safety of mankind, that some of earth’s dark, dead corners and unplumbed depths be let alone; lest sleeping abnormalities wake to resurgent life, and blasphemously surviving nightmares squirm and splash out of their black lairs to newer and wider conquests.” H. P. Lovecraft

The Afterlight setting is a dystopian cyberpunk world set in the year 2039. It is a world dominated by megacorporations that control every aspect of society. These corporations have built their own cities, complete with their own police forces, transportation systems, and other infrastructure. The world is highly urbanized, with sprawling megacities and polluted skies.
The world is also highly unequal, with the megacorporations controlling all the wealth and power, leaving most of the population living in poverty and struggling to survive. Technology has advanced to the point where cybernetic implants and genetic modifications are commonplace, but this has led to a divide between those who can afford the latest enhancements and those who cannot.
Supernatural elements also exist in the Afterlight world, with various secret societies and cults practicing dark magic and worshiping ancient deities. The government and corporations often exploit these supernatural forces for their own gain, leading to dangerous and unpredictable situations.
The Afterlight setting is a dark and dangerous world where the line between technology and magic is blurred, and the powerful few hold all the cards.

Basics

"Myths, history, just different ways to interpret the past." Indiana Jones

This setting is a near future cyberpunk world where many of the folkore and legends turn out to be true, while government and corporate conspiracies work to keep them secret from the common man. This is a world of shadows filled with monsters and secret super technologies. With conspiracies and cabals competing to control everything.
You will generally take on the role of an investigator, or monster hunter, working to unearth the secrets of the Nether. The trick to doing this of course is maintaining your normal life as well. For most of this world, your talk about ghosts and goblins will seem crazy. At best they will ignore you, at worst they will report you to one of the organizations trying to keep a lid on the Underverse. That is the way it is in the afterlight, everything exists in the shadows.

Familiar but Different

The world is the same as ours, but different in a few ways. You would recognize the map, but you might not recognize all the names on it. You would understand most of the conversations taking place at the bar, but would have never heard of a few of the items mentioned.
First, it is 20 years in the future, technology has continued to advance at a phenomenal pace, Cybernetics have become available but are not yet commonplace. Although the Linx has become quite popular with the younger generation, allowing them to connect their brains directly to their devices. Flying cars are now a thing, with the Aerodynes becoming a not so uncommon sight above many of the urban sprawls of the world. Catchup on the latest in NuTek.
World governments have continued to jockey for control with a series of conflicts in SouthAm (South America to you older folk) coming to a close in the last few years without any real clear winners. Zaibatsu/MegaCorps have continued to gain more and more wealth and power with a few even becoming de facto governments of some smaller nations. An initiative lead by China and its ever growing "belt and road" initiative which has indentured much of the developing world to Chinese MegaCorps.
Behind all this exists the Underverse, a shadowy world filled with wizards and boogeymen kept under wraps by mysterious conspiracies such as The Council.
Check out the Lexicon for some definitions and slang used here.

Roleplaying Game Systems

We have used two systems for roleplay in this setting Fate Condensed. A lightweight system emphasizing narrative storytelling over statistics and rolling dice.
Our rules for Fate Condensed are at FATE: House Rules.