Setting

Credit: first, the credits. The idea for a post-apocalyptic university campus was entirely inspired by a story written by Skiecrow. Her ideas are just too damn good.


Plot

It started the same way all wars do. Political misunderstandings, greedy world leaders, fear. Mostly fear. In the end, the reason for the war that ended the world didn't matter. What was left behind did.

It was a biological war. No one knew who launched the first attack, and anyone with the resources to find out was dead or too worried about moving their families somewhere safe. They hit the busiest places first. Tokyo's subways, New York's Times Square, downtown Toronto. You couldn't run from it. It was in the air you breathed. Coughing fits, seizures, nausea. Every major country was hit with what people were calling 'the Snap,' and it was only a matter of weeks before the infection had spread worldwide. It didn't affect plants and animals the same; they adapted, mutating into stronger, more deadly varieties.

In just one month, the world's population was decimated.

One place survived. Point Grey, a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada, wasn't getting sick. Though Vancouver had been hit hard, something kept the infected out of Point Grey. There were a few cases of the disease cropping up, but it was almost immediately contained. How they managed to control it without catching it themselves, that's still a mystery. Rumors say the people who 'took care of it' weren't really human. They also say the greenbelt separating Point Grey from downtown Vancouver was infested with vicious wolves, killing the infected before they crossed the city border.

The war broke out three years ago. Now the once populous University campus is home to only about one or two thousand people…

And, if you believe the rumors, a pack of werewolves.


Setting

Rift is set in Point Grey, British Columbia, Canada. Point Grey is, essentially, taken up completely by the University of British Columbia. It's separated from Vancouver by the Pacific Spirit Regional Park, which forms a greenbelt between them. There are only four main roads leading into Point Grey from Vancouver.

Climate

Point Grey has an oceanic climate with moderately warm summers and cold winters. It rains a fair amount, but not excessive compared to other places in B.C. It is sometimes prone to windstorms but thunderstorms only happen an average of 6 times a year.

Campus

The campus itself is quite big, and here's a virtual map of the campus for anyone who wants to know where the various landmarks at Rift are located. After the war most people live in the Northern half due to a combination of safety in numbers, and most of the other residences being either too isolated or too risky.

Technology

Electricity was cut off a month after the first initial attack of the virus. Without an outside source of electricity, most of refrigerators, ovens, lights and everything else was no longer operational. The only exception were those buildings, such as the one down at the Farm, with solar power. Two metal-workers gathered helpers and worked together to build and install wood stoves for both heating in the winter and cooking all year round. Oil lamps, candles and flashlights are the only source of light after sunset.

Food

Bread has to be made from scratch, fruits and vegetables grown from the garden. (WiP)

Nature

The Pacific Spirit Regional Park contains wooded ravines, marshes, bogs, uphill forests and cobblestone beaches. It wraps around the entirety of the UBC, fringing around the edges of the beach. Animals include songbirds, owls, eagles, squirrels, raccoons, otters, coyotes and deer (and, of course, our werewolves). These animals and the plant life of the Pacific Spirit mutated after the plague hit, evolving into more dangerous varieties. Porcupines with poisonous spines and gaseous seed pods can be expected.

Vancouver

Infected

The infected (people who have caught the Snap roam just outside of Point Grey. The werewolves keep a patrol to kill any infected who try to cross through the Pacific Spirit. Once you've left the UBC campus, you are in Infected territory, so be careful.

Written by: Silvae
Edited by: Ash

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