Infected worlds

Infected worlds come in three main types:

• Quarantine world's: Places where humanity has taken steps, sometimes drastic ones, to stop the infection from spreading.
• Post Apocalyptic: World's totally overrun by the virus, leaving a wasteland where zombies roam unchecked and the remaining humans fight constantly with the undead that were once their friends and family.
• Early Stages: World's in the very early stages of outbreak where the looming danger the world faces is not yet fully realized or understood. Like other world's we’ve described in the verse many infected worlds follow patterns in terms of development and technology but the rise of non-Wanderer Drifters in the verse over the last few decades has spread the infection beyond those worlds who seem to have naturally developed the virus.

Quarantine worlds

Worlds in mid-outbreak often take steps to try and stop the rise of the virus and save their world from becoming a zombie wasteland. To do this, sections of cities all over the world are fenced off and repurposed as makeshift towns for carriers of the infection. Depending on the world and the seriousness of the outbreak, these quarantine zones, often referred to simply as “zones” are sometimes patrolled by military, militia or contracted mercenaries who keep the healthy out and the infected in. In other worlds, zones are built further out from populated areas or entire towns are converted with food and supplies being dropped in via drones or helicopters. Eliminating the need for any humans to be in proximity of the area.
In general zones are lawless places without government or law enforcement. Infected run more or less free, fighting over supplies and housing. Running these zones has taken a large toll on governments and economies causing mass shortages of resources. Quarantine zones usually have timed brownouts with no power, usually after a certain time of night to enforce curfews. Food and resources are scarce and this has given rise to gangs and factions banding together to fight over limited supplies.

Gang examples:

These are just a few examples of ganges that may exist in the quarantined off zones players may encounter. GM’s and players building backstories should feel encouraged to write their own gangs where needed, and to alter the existing examples if they like.

The Reborn:

A group run by an ex-priest named Richard Moss. Some people call his group a cult, others the new church. But no matter what you choose to call it, most agree it’s little more than a group of thugs who want to justify their violence with religious doctrine. Moss converts people by telling them the infected are gods "chosen" and that the world will be baptised in the blood of the humans as the infected rise to power. He preaches the only way to complete god’s work is to destroy the last of humanity and bring god’s plans to a close. Preaching that, when the last human is infected, the rapture will begin taking all those who served god’s plan to the eternal kingdom and ushering in the second coming.

The Demons Heart:

An old biker gang from before the plague, mostly thugs and criminals but many people living in the quarantine prefer dealing with them to The Reborn. The Demons have a violent history as drug runners and enforcers but these days they are more businessmen then thugs. The Demons saw an opportunity in the quarantines and have run with it, creating a vast network of smugglers who move things in and out of the zones since they have people on both sides of the fence. Demons have a reputation for not being a group to cross but also as a group true to its word, deals made with demons are always honored and debts are always repaid. Since cash has no value in the quarantine zones the Demons work mostly for favors or supplies. A favor owed to a Demon is treated like one owed by them, they take it incredibly seriously and will call it in for all kinds of unscrupulous tasks. Demons have more power than most other groups thanks to having many chapters before the rise of the virus. These chapters now pass things from one city to another, smuggling things in and out of various zones.

The Amazons:

A group of women who didn't want to be associated with any of the other groups and formed their own gang. To the surprise of many sceptices it rose to a very prominent position of power quickly. Proving to be strong and resourceful, their numbers consist of a lot of the brightest, most clever and resourceful women in the quarantine zones. The Amazons secure their place by working as medics, engineers, trade brokers and many other things. With careful recruitment tactics of the quarantine population and the ability to offer safety, shelter and food, they are able to pull from a vast talent pool of educated women and even the odd man, though they are pretty few and far between in the ranks of the matriarcal gang. The Amazons make clever use of the skills their members possess and form careful alliances with other groups in order to not only survive, but thrive.

the Knights:

A group controlled by an ex police officer named Fredrick Night, The Knights look to create order from chaos. The Knights help keep the peace in the zone, acting as an unofficial police force. Every member is deputized and expected to not only help uphold order and civility but to be a model of it themselves. It’s well known that if your neighbor steals your food rations or you get shaken down by another group, it was the Knights you went to for help. They also act as mediators for disputes between other groups. Anything that involves keeping the piece is their specialty.

Early infection worlds

In the early days of the virus, humanity in a lot of worlds hailed it more as a cure all miracle rather than the world ender it’s been proven to be. Many were infected intentionally and it wasn’t until the infected started dying, and the realization that those already infected had become sterol that governments started quarantining off those already infected. In these worlds Drifters often find billboards and newspaper articles hailing the benefits of the miracle virus. Citizens of these worlds are often eager to talk about how things are changing for the better not everyone agrees and it’s common for the occasional protest group or old man with sign reading “the end is near” to appear in these settings. To the casual outside observer these worlds seem almost utopian in a great many ways. The people are happy, riding on the high of a world quickly becoming free of disease and offering the promise of longer lifespans. New technology is rapidly evolving and many politicians are using a promise of spreading this cure all miracle to all the people in short sighted attempts to win elections.

Zombie apocalypse worlds

What can we say about an apocalyptic zombie wasteland that hasn’t already been said by limitless examples from recent pop culture? Well we won’t bore you with a detailed description of a desolate wasteland where the dead hunt the living, we do want to share some key differences between these worlds and a traditional zombie world.
Infected are of no interest to the walking dead, already carriers of the virus, they can move through the hordes of zombies unhindered. In these worlds the infected and humanity often have an uneasy relationship, sometimes working together to maintain a semblance of civilization and other times working against each other. Many humans hold a strong dislike for the infected since they believe it was the mass surge of virus hunters who helped end their world well other humans fear the inherent risk the infected bring of passing the virus on to the few remaining humans.
In most worlds with the virus, there are those who will hunt out those infected and purposely contract the virus. These people are known as Virus Hunters. Though the infection comes with countless drawbacks like sterility and the risk of becoming a member of the walking dead, it also has the ability to cure debilitating conditions or defects. The introduction of the virus into a person's system can cure cancer, blindness, deafness, diabetes, arthritis and just about any other ailment or sickness someone might be living with. It also makes you stronger, faster, immune to other viruses and infections and able to heal wounds at an alarmingly fast rate. Thanks to all these perceived benefits, where you find the Virus, you often find black markets where people pay handsomely to contract the disease.
Verse zombies are much stronger than humans and able to see in the dark but they are still slow shamblers unable to think or coordinate. They have a keen sense of smell and hearing that helps them hunt down humans but have no interest in animals. Like their infected counterparts, they can take massive damage but they do not heal rapidly at this stage of the infection and a headshot with a melee or ranged weapon will usually put them down.