After the Greatest War [OOC/OPEN/POST-APOCALYPSE]

[The V O I D]

“I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought with, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
—Albert Einstein

“We cannot have another world war. War is the wrong word. We should ban the term ‘World War III’ and say instead apocalypse or holocaust.”
—Golo Mann

---

In Character Thread [Coming Soon]

---

It was a very mundane day, a day like any other. It was a Friday. November 9^th, 1979. The North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) Headquarters receives an alarm regarding a nuclear attack about to be committed by the Soviets. There isn't enough time to verify the attack is coming due to unexpected maintenance at various consoles through which satellite footage confirming it could be derived. President James “Jimmy” Carter, of the United States of America, is notified - and he orders a counterstrike.

NORAD and the American military launch a full retaliation within a few moments. It is far too late by the time maintenance is complete, and President Carter is dismayed to hear that it was all a false alarm. But the deed is done. The Soviet Union launches a counterstrike against the US and its allies, believing America to be those attempting to strike first.

Everyone evacuates to nuclear bunkers when possible, and those living in the southern hemisphere begin preparing for the worst. As the nukes fall, it all ends within a flash.

Total nuclear holocaust.

Yet almost despite the nuclear holocaust, humanity does survive—predominantly in the southern hemisphere, but as well in the northern hemisphere. A Nuclear Ice Age occurs, throwing Earth into total darkness for centuries. The radiation causes mutations to occur at a higher rate, both in terms of evolution and in terms of fatal mutations. Many die in the ensuing centuries, as the globe is sent back to the stone age without technology to assist them and old cities are left to fall to ruin... if they aren't lifeless husks or destroyed already, that is.

You are here, though; in a land once called Africa. The climate, the world's environment, everything has been irreversibly and irrevocably altered.

It is the Day of First Sun, in the Fourth Century Post-Cataclysm. Approximately February 1^st, 2800 according to the Old Calendar.

This is the world, after its greatest war.

---

Welcome to After the Greatest War, an alternative-history post-apocalypse roleplay. You will be taking the role of a newly founded city-state in Africa. Your people, their history, their culture, etc. will have been greatly influenced by the Nuclear Ice Age as well as WWIII to some degree or another. Some of your people may have even had stark, strange mutations or evolutionary strains in this short amount of time due to the radiation (not superpowers, more like different organs or differing physiology adapted to their environment).

All standard RP rules are present here; I am OP, thy God, etc.

Enjoy the show!

---

Code: Select all

[box][size=150][b]After the Greatest War:[/b][/size]

[floatright][spoiler=Flag or Symbol][/spoiler][/floatright]

[b]City Name:[/b]
[b]City Age:[/b] (either Old Calendar or Post-Cataclysm Calendar)
[b]City Location:[/b] (can be in place of a RL city, must be somewhere in the southern African continent or in east Africa)
[b]Government Type:[/b]
[b]Head of State/Government:[/b] (may separate if different people)
[b]Culture:[/b]
[b]History:[/b]
[b]Common Mutations:[/b]
[b]Rare Mutations:[/b]

[b]RP Example:[/b]
#GR8STWAR[/box]

After the Greatest War:

City Name: Cristonia
City Age: 140 Years Since Foundation (Both Calendars).
City Location: Pretoria, South Africa.
Government Type: Theodemocracy: Cristonia, the “City of Christ,” is governed according to a restrictive religion that can trace its roots in old world Christianity. The laws of the land, along with moral guidelines, are retrieved from a new version of the Bible referred to as the “Book of Cristi” that was written by one of the city's founders, based on what could be translated and copied from older biblical studies. The Council is the city's government, controlled in equal number by priests and elected officials.
Head of State/Government: N/A.
Culture: A mixture of Ancient Rome and Christian feudal societies.
History: TBD.
Common Mutations: An extra pair of eyes, along with shorter statures.
Rare Mutations: An extra pair of limbs.

[The V O I D]

Accepted Cities:

• Cristonia (Pretoria, South Africa) - Played by OP.
• Kollery (Maamba, Zambia) - Played by Tysoania
• Riki (Kilindoni, Tanzania) - Played by The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune
• Tana Vaovao (Antananarivo, Madigascar) - Played by Khasinkonia
• Bunyama (Bunyama Island, Lake Victoria) - Played by Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States

[The V O I D]

-RESERVED FOR TIMELINE-

[Tysoania]

City Name: Kollery
City Age: ~200 years
City Location: Maamba, Zambia
Government Type: Liberal plutocracy. Although the city is overseen by an 11-person elected council, the city's economy is heavily reliant on a handful of business magnates. Civil affairs, however, remain in the hands of the city's council.
Head of State/Government: Council of Kollery, as there is no single head of state or government.
Culture: The citizens of Kollery worship pre-war industry and heavy machinery, centered around the Maamba coal mine. Most families live in a mine shaft, and when a citizen of Kollery becomes pregnant, she will be moved to the living quarters in the deepest part of the mines, as it is thought that the machinery will protect her from evil or harm. All Kollery children are raised in the mine until they reach 13, at which point they move to the surface and begin working there. Most citizens work as farmers, waterwheel spinners, or coal miners.
History: When the bombs fell in 1979, the citizens of Maamba originally took little notice. After all, few residents from the dusty, impoverished town had ever left the region, and none of them had left the country. The local coal mine, the Maamba Colliery, was the only notable part of the town and the town was so poor that the only news came by train. When the white owners of the Maamba Colliery and the delegates from the United Mine Workers of America hurriedly packed up and left, no one thought much of it. However, they took notice once orders for coal stopped arriving and trains failed to arrive. As the central Zambian government disintegrated and chaos became widespread, more and more residents left the town in search of jobs and stability. By 2050, the town of Maamba was a ghost town.

In June 2050, a roving band of looters arrived on the outskirts of town and laid siege to the dozens of residents who remained in the town. To avoid being slaughtered or enslaved, the residents quietly relocated to the Maamba Colliery and, over the next two centuries, turned it into an underground village. By 2250, no one in the village knew what the old machinery or pickaxes did, and so the objects were assumed to be supernatural relics. Some old handbooks, which had been originally printed with the illiterate in mind, were also extremely helpful in guiding the careful expansion of the village.

By 2500, the village was nearing capacity and the villagers began building surface structures around the mine, slowly reclaiming the surface and the old town of Maamba, which was falling apart after 450 years of neglect. According to local legend, when the first surface dwellers tried to find a name for the area, the only sign they found was one that read "Colliery", and that became Kollery, the name of the new town. A van that bore the fading logo of the United Mine Workers of America from over 600 years ago became the logo of the town.

By 2800, the town has boomed to house a population of 25,000 and the coal mining industry has been restarted, albeit slowly and by hand. The local industry, although reliant on coal sales to nearby towns and villages, also has a strong water-purification sector, thanks to its aggressive protection of a primitive water trough and waterwheel system from the nearby lake to the town itself.
Common Mutations: Night vision and a hunched back, thanks to having been raised in a dark coal mine.
Rare Mutations: Significantly increased strength and muscle density.

RP Example: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=438383
#GR8STWAR[/box]

[The V O I D]

(Image)

City Name: Kollery
City Age: ~200 years
City Location: Maamba, Zambia
Government Type: Liberal plutocracy. Although the city is overseen by an 11-person elected council, the city's economy is heavily reliant on a handful of business magnates. Civil affairs, however, remain in the hands of the city's council.
Head of State/Government: Council of Kollery, as there is no single head of state or government.
Culture: Semi-worship of pre-war industry and heavy machinery, centered around the Maamba coal mine.
History: When the bombs fell in 1979, the citizens of Maamba originally took little notice. After all, few residents from the dusty, impoverished had ever left the region, and none of them had left the country. The local coal mine, the Maamba Colliery, was the only notable part of the town, so no tourists ever arrived to spread the news. Even when the white owners of the Maamba Colliery and the delegates from the United Mine Workers of America hurriedly packed up and left, no one thought much of it. However, they took notice once orders for coal stopped arriving and trains failed to arrive. As the central Zambian government disintegrated and chaos became widespread, more and more residents left the town in search of jobs and stability. By 2050, the town of Maamba was a ghost town.

In June 2050, a roving band of looters arrived on the outskirts of town and laid siege to the dozens of residents who remained in the town. To avoid being slaughtered or enslaved, the residents quietly relocated to the Maamba Colliery and, over the next two centuries, turned it into an underground village. By 2250, no one in the village knew what the old machinery or pickaxes did, and so the objects were assumed to be supernatural relics. Some old handbooks, which had been originally printed with the illiterate in mind, were also extremely helpful in guiding the careful expansion of the village.

By 2500, the village was nearing capacity and the villagers began building surface structures around the mine, slowly reclaiming the surface and the old town of Maamba, which was falling apart after 450 years of neglect. According to local legend, when the first surface dwellers tried to find a name for the area, the only sign they found was one that read "Colliery", and that became Kollery, the name of the new town. A van that bore the fading logo of the United Mine Workers of America from over 600 years ago became the logo of the town.

By 2800, the town has boomed to house a population of 25,000 and the coal mining industry has been restarted. The local industry, although reliant on coal sales to nearby towns and villages, also has a strong water-purification sector, thanks to its aggressive protection of a water pipeline from the nearby lake to purification plant in the town itself.
Common Mutations: Night vision and a hunched back, thanks to having been raised in a dark coal mine.
Rare Mutations: Significantly increased strength and muscle density.

RP Example: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=438383
#GR8STWAR[/box]

Looks pretty cool. Accepted.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Tagging, I have an idea

[Khasinkonia]

Tagging. I’ve got a fun idea to try out on Madagascar.

[Zapatha]

Taggity tag tag

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

After the Greatest War:

City Name: Riki
City Age: Founded properly in 350 AC, but the Futhark raiders/culture can be dated back to as early as 50 AC
City Location: Kilindoni, Tanzania

Government Type: Autocratic Meritocracy, though the people of Riki refer to it as Mikilforad, or strong rule. The king is chosen from among a small caste of nobles who make their way into the caste through strength and power. Though family lines may hold the throne for periods of time, any Futhark man or woman who pushes themselves and becomes legendary may become King or Queen one day.

Head of State/Government: Ase Freyjasdottir, second ruler of the Helling dynasty, grand daughter of the great Jerrik Danson, who united the various sea clans under an iron fist and established Riki as a home for all Futhark. Ase claimed the throne due to her reputation as a raider to be feared above all else, arriving like a tidal wave and killing or enslaving all who stand in her way.

Culture: Futhark culture is a bit of a mic between ancient norse myths and legends, as well as tales of the Carribean pirates and new elements that developed over time. Futhark generally believe in nomadic careers such as exploring, trading, and raiding for living, though more settled professions have begun to appear with the settlement of Riki. The Futhark worship a variety of gods, including most the old Norse pantheon, an adaptation of the Abrahamic God mostly descended from Muslim tradition, sea gods from a variety of cultures, and a smattering of egyptian gods. Futhark outside of Riki itself generally live in sea clans, spending most of their time on boats while occaisonally stopping on their home islands for food, and shelter, as well as to stash their loot. A few sea clans however have access to "spires" the remainders of pre-war battleships that jut from the water and serve as near unassailable fortresses.

History: Following the nuclear holocaust, the Nordic Council was faced with tough decisions. Sizable portions of it's population had managed to survive thanks to nuclear shelters, but 99% of their land was unsuable due to fallout. The oncoming nuclear winter was ruining what usuable land they did have left, and in an act of desperation, what remained of the nordic population was loaded aboard the remains of the combined fleets of Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, and departed for warmer waters. The following Exodus took the Nordic Fleet as it became known along the coast of Africa, around Cape Horn, and up to Tanzania before they ran out of fuel for the ships. By this point, several people aboard the fleet had become part of a radical faction glorifying the viking raiders of old, and popularized retallings of old stories amongst the populace.

By 2100, the Fleet as it had become known was following in the footsteps of their ancestors, scourging away the last remainders of civilization up and down the East African coast. By this point, the old runic alphabet that had been preserved with the small collection of nordic history books the commander of the Fleet had taken with him had become the primary alphabet of the raiders, who had become known to the locals by the Alphabets name, Futhark.

2213, or 187 BPC, The Fleet War breaks out between the "Factions", loose conglomerates based on old ethnic differences between the various nordic nations. Each of the factions clash and shatter, scattering various clans up and down the coast. Clan warfare and raids on the surrounding up and coming city states become the norm for the next five centuries, into the post cataclysm era.

324 PC, a momentous year, the birth of Lief Danson of the Maf Clan, or as he would later be known, Jerrik. Jarl Lief took the throne of his clan at the age of 16, and with his mutated genes set out with one goal in mind. To unite the Futhark Clans a form a force to be reckoned with for centuries to come. Sailing with one of the greatest fleets ever concieved in the post cataclysm era, he conquered all of the Coastal Sea, and in 350 PC founded the city of Riki at the former home of the Maf clan. He was coronated by his shaman to symbolize the gods will that he rule, and took the name Jerrik, or eternal ruler. His spawn would hence forth be called Hellings, being gifted with immense strength, an inability to feel pain, and an unnatural ability to sustain themselves on human blood.

Common Mutations:
Jotun's Blood- Those gifted with Jotun's Blood grow to truely magnificant stature, with the largedt being recorded at nearly 11 feet tall. They are properly proportioned, unlike those with normal gigantism, and are muscular as a rule, being immensly strong. Those with Jotun's Blood however are often very dull in the head, so while they do not make good leaders, they are often conscripted as bruisers or front line soldiers on raiding parties.

Rare Mutations:
Neptune's Spawn- Often considered dirty and lesser, Neptune's Spawn are amphibious folk, born with both lungs and large sets of gills on their sides, as well as webbed hands and toes. They also have gnarled and deformed teeth, that can range from being almost sharklike to just being lacking in teeth all together. Their eyes can adjust to being underwater and are almost always bald. Females however can rarely grow a slight fuzz atop their head.

Hellings- Said to be the offspring of a Jotun and a Spawn, Hellings are considered infernal creatures by many of the uncivilized tribesmen on the continents interior. All Hellings today are of the namesake dynasty that descends from Jerrik, the first king of the Futhark. They have uncanny, almost unxecpected strength for their shorter stature, lack the ability to feel pain, and can trigger a super metabolism state by imbibing human blood, the removal of which they have mutated for with a pair of razor sharp and longer canines on either side of their mouth.

RP Example: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=452127

#GR8STWAR

[Northern Poland]

tag

[Khasinkonia]

After the Greatest War:

tbd

City Name: Tana Vaovao
City Age: 1,190 years since the city was founded, 803 since Era II began
City Location: Antananarivo
Government Type: Monarchic Police State
Head of State/Government: The Head of Government is the figurehead child-queen Ranavalona Maheshiriddhida Madhukanchanaishiwaryavijaya Merina-Rajasinha IV, while the duties of a Head of State are divided amongst other roles known ‘Reny’, ‘Dada’, ‘Nenitoa’, and ‘Dadatoa’. ‘Reny’ deals with the health of the people, public bureaucracy, and youth leadership. ‘Dada’ deals with the police force and tax collecting. ‘Nenitoa’ deals with propaganda and diplomacy, while ‘Dadatoa’ deals with the military and public infrastructure.
Culture:
History: With the approach of the Greatest War(The ‘Final War’ or ‘Ady Farany’) came mass panic throughout the Southern Hemisphere. The leaders of many third-world nations enacted harsh policies in a desperate attempt to save whatever they could of their nations as nukes soared across the skies. Most failed, either by poor fortune or poor planning, but the husk of one nation clung stubbornly to life with the blessings of geography and the blood, sweat, and tears of both hardworking natives and refugees. Many good people were lost, but the very heart of Madagascar, Antananarivo, weathered the ice thanks to the coastline and mountains taking the brunt of the great death, as well as the inhabitants' preparedness for hardship and famine.

The thing that separated Madagascar from all others, however, was not the official government, but the people of the nation. The oil crisis of the previous decade combined with poor leadership created a volatile environment, and the outbreak of war sparked the Great Revolution, which quickly brought down the Ratsiraka regime and began the Time of Troubles. The population collapsed, and death reigned supreme among the countryside. But the revolution lived, and held close life, and memories of the past, within the capital's archives. For years, anarchy dominated, until the revolutionaries finally rallied from the city centre, and reunited the broken city. Some who remembered Era I called for a Third Republic, but, in the first, and only election, martial law and austerity were solemnly ordained the only way to rebuild.

Thus began Era II. Digging within the archives revealed the workings of the old days, before the great weapons could destroy the world. The days before Republics, the days of the Merinas. Already used to poverty and squalid conditions, some folks adapted quickly, and survived under the new nation. Agrarian techniques slowly flowed from the library to the leaders to the new fields where plants could take root.

Society slowly reformed, sculpted in a renewed image of the past, with leadership drawing inspirations from everywhere, dreaming of the day when they had the resources to recreate the machines detailed within books in the archive. Buildings crumbled to dust, and farmland encroached further in as the city was reinvented.

As years, decades, and centuries trickled by, the republics faded from the common memory, remaining only in the quiet pages preserved in the archive, and in legend. The government evolved, and so did the people. By the 550th anniversary of the beginning of Era II, Tana Vaovao began to settle into its present form, as the darkest days of the world slowly gave way to a new beginning. More and more faded into memory as only necessities spread to the populace, while the government was born into its current form. Only in the inner circle are the secrets of the past known, and then only in theory, as literacy unlocks knowledge, but provides no means to make use of it.

The nation's slogan is "Toujours Rappellez-Vous", a phrase which nobody quite recalls the meaning of. The old buildings in the centre, now repurposed, give vague reminders of the distant past, although most upstanding and reasonable common folk consider it nothing but legend, spun by old wives to give a more creative explanation for the witchcraft and strange metal creatures that the inner circles of the government proclaim would make life easier in every way, if they could only manifest them.
Common Mutations: Actual head-hair is very rare among the people of the island, being replaced by a cluster of fully-functional tentacles resembling those of cephalopods in structure, but able to rest in various hairstyles. Another, less omnipresent, mutation is in the vocal chords, changing the way they vibrate so that Tana voices often sound as if they're coming through a vacuum tube radio.
Rare Mutations: Increased flexibility

RP Example: C'mon my friend, you know me!
#GR8STWAR

[Benuty]

Interesting.

[The V O I D]

Both new apps are accepted. Sorry that it took me so long to reply.

The IC should be up by around Saturday (since Thanksgiving and Black Friday are going to be quite busy for everyone, I imagine). It would be safe to assume that the city-states probably have yet to contact one another, but do have some semblance of influence over regions directly around them. I expect that as time goes on, we'll begin building proper nations and have stronger interactions with one another.

[Barapam]

Very interesting. Might go for either a Zulu thing or a Kaiserreich in Namibia.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Alright! What technology are we working with?

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

After the Greatest War:

City Name: Bunyama
City Age: About 70 years, counted as 140 harvests.
City Location: Island of Bunyama, Lake Victoria
Government Type: Kingdom/theocracy
Head of State/Government: Mshujaaji (title) Mpenda (name)
Culture: Peaceful, pacifist and very risk-averse, the Bunyama people are people devoted to high learning, faith and agriculture. It is the task of every citizen to become a productive member of a utopian society, and the perfect citizen has a farm, a family, and a faith. The culture is a very restrictive and conservative one, with immense social control and strong communal bonds. Communities are close-knit, and have communal meals every day. Children are taught communally.
History: According to the legendary history of Bunyama, there once lived a 100-year-old sage on a lonely hut on the island of Bunyama. While the surrounding lands were barren, his island was a green pasture on which many crops grew. The neighbouring villagers, downtrodden and hungry, received simple rations of food from the sage out of the kindness of his heart, and there was always enough to support the meagre population of the surrounding area. One day, the villagers approached the sage, asking if he had wisdom that made his island grow so green and bountiful. The sage told them that the gods spoke to him, and granted him the wisdom which he used to plant the right seeds. Asking what they could do to be granted such wisdom, the sage told them to live in harmony with nature, and to respect all things living.

It was a long road for the beleaguered townspeople, but step by step, they came closer to the promised wisdom. The villages abolished the death penalty, imposed heavy fines for killing and harming others. Then, they began renouncing meat entirely, only eating from what the sage provided. One by one, the townspeople were allowed to join the sage on the island to share in his wisdom. From there, they built a marvellous city fuelled by the wisdom of the gods, perpetually steered by his wisdoms, which they carved into large pyramids they had built in his honour.

In reality, the story was somewhat more pragmatic. After the nuclear war and the subsequent changes in climate, the weather around Lake Victoria changed dramatically. Crops that had once grown bountifully around it were now incapable of growth. Having lost all contact to the outside words, the people around the lake slowly starved to death. What remained were subsistence farmers living off scraps, and hunter-gathers leaving sedentary settlements in favour of following the migratory herds of animals flocking north to escape the cold, among them the resurgent rhino and elephant populations.

On the island of Bunyama was situated a weather station, manned by a small community of meteorologists that spent weeks at a time there. They had some pretty advanced equipment which didn’t run on electricity, and a lot of food stored there. They had guns as well, so they could easily keep hungry populations at bay. However, after a while, both the canned food and munitions began to ran out. So, they came to a trade. The meteorologists would predict what crops would do best in the expected coming weather, and the people would give them food in return. This arrangement worked out well, and more and more people came to the island to live in relative safety. The island prospered, and the city expanded onto the surrounding islands, creating vast floating gardens between them. The meteorologists began a knowledge cult, seeking the most worthy among the populace to gain their knowledge and usage of the instruments.

Also important was one of the books the meteorologists had on the island. They were avid readers, and in their spare time they liked to read philosophy. The books on their shelves were filled with utopic and dystopic works. Most influential was Plato’s Nomoi, which they used as the blueprint for their new society. They had all the power, and the villagers happily obliged as long as they kept predicting the weather. Eventually, this system with the cult at the head, became more formalized. The society became close-knit, following the tenants of Plato closely. After a while, they forgot what they had once been like. They only knew that they had to follow the tenants of their faith in order to keep a structured society, and legends and myths arose around their founding to justify all this.

Only in the past 75 years has the city really expanded. What was once a village has now attracted many migratory peoples from all over Africa, settling down on the surrounding islands and building floating farms among the former locals. The city is now a naval centre of trade for the region, a political powerhouse and food producer, though it has an army only meant to defend it against attack. Its power is economic, certainly not political. The elected kingship prevents dynastic marriages with other rulers.
Common Mutations: The Bunyama have evolved to become complete vegetarians. Their teeth have become much more useful for grinding up fibres, and their stomachs and intestines have changed to allow for the digestion of even the toughest plant life. However, this means that most meats are poisonous to them, as are meat-derived products. This means that, while long-lived and healthy, the Bunyama tend not to have the muscle mass for hard labour, for which they use foreign immigrants.
Rare Mutations: With Bunyama, there are two options: either you can eat no meat at all, or you can eat only meat. Some Bunyama are born with razor-sharp teeth, incredible sprinting abilities, muscle mass and a digestion tract that can kill most bacteria. They can eat meat raw. These people are very rare, and inhabit a secluded island on their own. However, these are also trained as warriors, and can defend the city in a time of need.

#GR8STWAR

[The V O I D]

Alright! What technology are we working with?

I'd say if your city has some leftover tech that they managed to scavenge/get working again, and the fuel to supply it, then you can use 50s-60s era tech. But not mainstreamed unless there's a good reason for it.

Otherwise, I imagine tech ranges from place to place - anywhere from "ancient city-states IRL" tech in the BCE years up to "medieval" era on a general level.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Alright! What technology are we working with?

I'd say if your city has some leftover tech that they managed to scavenge/get working again, and the fuel to supply it, then you can use 50s-60s era tech. But not mainstreamed unless there's a good reason for it.

Otherwise, I imagine tech ranges from place to place - anywhere from "ancient city-states IRL" tech in the BCE years up to "medieval" era on a general level.

Yeah, I imagined that my folks were in Early Medieval tech when I wrote them up

[Dalria]

After the Greatest War:

City Name: Union Minière or "The Union"

City Age: Founded 1906; estimated 894 years old

City Location: Elisabethville, Congo

Government Type: Oligarchic Fascist Corporatism

Head of State/Government: Administrator Jean-Pierre Marc

Culture: The Union is the center of what is left of European-Belgian culture in Africa. The Union has took the approach to create a more homogeneous and European society, pushing for those of European blood to have more children (subsidizing land grants per extra child). Religion has become virtually extinct in the Union with faith being in by the Union itself to provide. There is a caste system in the Union; Corporate Executives/Belgian Landowners, Military Officers/Middle Management, freed laborers/tenets, and indentured servants/slaves being at the bottom. This caste system is strict with rare ability for mobility.

History: Union Minière was a power mining corporation located in the state of Katanga, Congo. It controlled over 7,700 square miles in Katanga, making it more powerful than the local state government. The corporation funded Moïse Tshombe succession of Katanga, to protect itself from impending nationalization. The corporation, with all of its might, lobbying the Belgian government to support Tshombe and his separatist regime. In the end they succeeded, Belgium recognized Katanga's independence which ultimately stopped pressure by the UN and ended the succession crisis.

Although Tshombe was "officially" in charge, everyone knew that the Union pulled the strings. The Union supplemented the role of the state, while subsidizing Tshombe's lifestyle to keep him "docile". Thousands of mercenaries flooded into Katanga to form the Katanga Brigade, the military wing of The Union made up of Afrikaans, Belgians, and local Luba tribesmen. The corporation began to rebuild infrastructure dipping its hands in every economic aspect of Katanga, also offering grants to Belgian and French citizens who relocated to the province. With the help from the Belgian government, the corporation began building a contingency plan in case of an impending apocalypse.

The European population was at an all-time high in Katanga before the Great Collapse. It seemed like a normal Friday when the world ended until the airways went silent. Elisabethville and the rest of Katanga was in chaos at first, Tshombe reassuring the public to remain calm. Soon disgruntled African locals began to loot Belgian residents. With fear of North Congo aggression and the lack of a response from Tshombe, the Union took action using the Katanga Bridage to stage a coup. The once close ally to the corporation was hung up in the town square and executed, the corporation took full control of the Katanga government and all essential functions. The Katanga brigade rounded up all non-whites and began mass executives in the city of Elisabethville, those who survived were rounded up and sent to labor camps. The only tribe that remained in good standing with the company was the Luba tribe, who would retain some autonomy.

In the next few years the corporation reorganized into a fascist corporate police state in which "diligence and hard work" was emphasized. The corporation assigned you a job at birth; often using advance breeding techniques to breed only the best of the best.

Common Mutations: The Union stresses purity, through the help of the Belgian government in creating a contingency plan, they have used advance breeding techniques and early medicines to curb mutation. Though the lower classes and slaves typically have rampant mutations such as albinism, the majority of the homogeneous population lack mutation because the stress of purity by the government.

RP Example:
https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=432821
https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=433971
https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=370537
#GR8STWAR

I scrapped mutations, hoping to supplement their lack of mutations with an arsenal of weaponry.

[Khasinkonia]

Alright! What technology are we working with?

I'd say if your city has some leftover tech that they managed to scavenge/get working again, and the fuel to supply it, then you can use 50s-60s era tech. But not mainstreamed unless there's a good reason for it.

Otherwise, I imagine tech ranges from place to place - anywhere from "ancient city-states IRL" tech in the BCE years up to "medieval" era on a general level.

My city, although it aims to occupy all of Madagascar, will somewhat resemble 1984 in that the inner party generally has 50s-60s tech minus complex computers, while the general population hovers around the early 19th century with newer farming techniques.

[The V O I D]

I'll review app(s) later. Have stuff to do today for Thanksgiving tomorrow.

[Tasuirin]

After the Greatest War:

City Name: The Grand City-State of Biayyera
City Age: 148 years
City Location: Nacala, Mozambique
Government Type:

Mercantile Republic. Three major political guilds, the Trader's Guild, the Producer's Guild and the Naval League, each vye for power within the Mercantile Assembly. The Mercantile Assembly is made up of 50 seats allocated between two groups, one of 30 and one of 20. The group of 30, known as the Ajjaguliwa, are elected representatives from the three guilds, while the other group, the Oyyensha, are designated based on the allocation of funds and as needed, allowing the state to effectively specialise for any situation it finds itself in. The head of state, the Hakimiyyu, rules over the city state, and is in control of the allocation of the Oyyensha and funds, as well as diplomacy, effectively acting on behalf of the state as well as running it, and reigning from their election for the rest of their lives.

Head of State: Kiyyama Tabiyya
Culture:

The Grand City-State of Biayyera has a culture focused around diplomacy, military and innovation, not necessarily in that order, but always valuing the three. Many of them look down upon the other cities of the continent, and though they are not adverse to physical labour, they are seen as far more noble and far less pedestrian than most of the city states. They value learning also, with public libraries founded to record and keep the knowledge of the pre-war world alive. They have fully embraced the brave new world they found themselves in, and have no intentions of returning to a time like the pre-war or taking the land associated with their former nation of Mozambique back as territory in itself, though they are not adverse to the idea of establishing a massive trade league over the whole area.

History:

The small city of Nacala was not much affected by the bombs dropping in and of itself, instead being affected by the civil war in Mozambique at the time. However, in the world after the war, the main income of the city, that being trade, collapsed, and thus many of the residents of the city simply left. However, those that did remain created a very basic settlement. That settlement was nowhere near the size or status of a city, but it remained an important stopping point for travellers. It was, thus, neutral in most affairs, and even raiders avoided damaging it, as it was an importantly located settlement and a decent stopping-off point.

After a while, materials from old ships started to be used to make smaller and more manageable boats. As such, people of the small settlement began to cross over to Madagascar and branch out. Small altercations between the people of the settlement and the people of Madagascar occurred, and the settlement realised that it would need to be better defended in future in order to keep the peace. As such, the small settlement became a slightly larger one, still not a major city, but an important stopping point. When the mainlanders created a rapport with the Madagascans, the small but lucrative transport between the two landmasses became a profitable trade for the settlement.

As such, it later became an important stopping point for traders from mainland Africa to Madagascar, regaining the major use of its ports. Eventually, traders began to settle in the city itself, facilitating a major re-population for the settlement, causing it to regain its city status. The political system currently used for the City-State developed 148 years ago, with traders, naval personnel and those involved in production creating the three major guilds of the political system. The City-State came onto the rise from that point.

Over the next few years, the City State began to set up small trading outposts both in other cities and in common travelling locations around the coast. As well as this, they began to maintain a small naval presence in the sealanes between Madigascar and the Mozambique coast, and a little further, including some points inland and along the Lúrio River. As such, they became a prominent City-State and trading power.

Common Mutations: All who have ancestory in or near Biayyera tend to have white or very light grey or blue irises. They have fairly sparse hair of any kind, with facial hair rarely growing more than stubble or thin hairs, and with most retaining baldness and low levels of bodily hair.
Rare Mutations: Biayyera have a slightly higher chance to contract the genetic illness known as "Seaman's Flesh", where the flesh becomes far more susceptible to drying out in dry conditions. As well as that, some within Biayyera have much longer tongues than average, allowing for a greater phonic inventory.

RP Example:

Example 1
Example 2

#GR8STWAR

[Khasinkonia]

I would reckon there'd be more than a little conflict with the people of Madagascar, considering the local government follows a pseudo-orwelian model

[Tasuirin]

I would reckon there'd be more than a little conflict with the people of Madagascar, considering the local government follows a pseudo-orwelian model

Ah, so the outer tribes and collectives still wouldn't be interested in trade? Most of the conflict was long in the past, but I was thinking the loss of Madagascan trade with the expansion of Tana Vaovao would have been a fun plot for Biayyera. Either way, I can change it if you'd like.

[Khasinkonia]

I would reckon there'd be more than a little conflict with the people of Madagascar, considering the local government follows a pseudo-orwelian model

Ah, so the outer tribes and collectives still wouldn't be interested in trade? Most of the conflict was long in the past, but I was thinking the loss of Madagascan trade with the expansion of Tana Vaovao would have been a fun plot for Biayyera. Either way, I can change it if you'd like.

Ah, I understand where you're going. Just wanted to be sure you were aware; some folks don't read other apps so gotta be vigilant At the moment, Tana Vaovao encompasses the land between the Tropic of Capricorn and just past the -16th parallel. So there still is some trade, but the rich heartlands are becoming rarer and rarer as virgin land.