The Great Lakes Region

A lot of the world’s geography has changed. Physical effects of the Event combined with the appearance of Gates and Convergences has warped and reshaped the landscape. This article deals mostly with the geography around the area the game will take place in, the former states of Michigan and the Ohio River Valley.

The Great Lakes

The most obvious and immediate change surrounds the massive bodies of water known as the Great Lakes. Lake Huron remains much as it was, though slightly higher. It has expanded slightly, mostly in the areas of the former Detroit and St. Claire rivers and the top of the thumb of Michigan. Landmass was lost to the water, with the former downtown and midtown sections of Detroit now a morass of flowing water, lakelets, and marshes.
Lake Michigan also swelled and expanded, submerging the old city of Chicago and pushing so far east into Michigan that the former Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo areas are only 10 – 15 miles from the shore.
Lake Eerie had probably the most dramatic transformation. At some point, all of its water was removed (most think this is where the change in the other two lakes came from). A strange mountain formed, more reminiscent of those in the Western parts of the continent, sealing off the base of the Detroit River, with Detroit as its northern edge and Toledo as its southern. Those who have braved it and lived return with stories of strange encounters, shifting time, and other realitiy bending events.
Lake Superior has had little change to its banks, though that is about the only thing that remains the same. A permanent fog and gloom hangs over the waters. The mist spreads far from the shore, working its way through the pine forests, now mostly untouched by human hands for a century. It is a wild place, a place where undreamed creatures roam the world, a place of fear.

The Tomorrow Rampart

The Tomorrow Rampart is the greatest accomplishment of the Better Tomorrow Foundation. Started, in 92 PE and completed in 124 PE, the Rampart stretches from the new shores of Lake Michigan all the way across the Michigan Peninsula to Lake Huron. It begins just south of what was Grand Rapids (now called Grand Tomorrow) and bends slightly south to go below Lansing, the head of the Better Tomorrow Foundation. It stretches out until it just before the ruins of Old Port Huron, now inundated and crawling with demons from the Gate that hangs within the girders of the old bridge.
Made of stone, slate, wood, and steel in various combinations, the Rampart stands tall, generally between 22’ and 28’. Only two gates exist in it, one at Lansing and one at Grand Tomorrow. Otherwise, it serves as a stalwart against the intrusion of Earth That Is. Surprisingly, no Convergence, Ley Line, or Nexus appears within the borders of the Rampart, at least until past the Lower Peninsula. This is not due to any action of the BTF, only a natural and fortuitous accident of fate. It was between this and the natural borders formed by the Lakes that made the BTF to come to the easy conclusion of settling their efforts here.

South of the Rampart

The areas to the south of the Rampart are not so “lucky”. The small town of Aaessque, situated some 60 miles south of the Rampart, sit just on the edge of a large expanse of wilderness, both domestic and alien. A Nexus sits nearby, not more than 10 miles from the ragged outskirts of town.
The hulls of the old large cities still exist. Detroit is a mass of tall buildings, standing up like jagged teeth from the swelled waters of the Detroit river that flow where streets once stood. It is a haven of monsters and scavengers, both human and demon. Kalamazoo survives and is the northern most outpost of the Artificer’s Union. It is a place of industry and knowledge and occasionally trade and politics.

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Region