RolePlay onLine

There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white,

Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.

--Sara Teasdale, "There Will Come Soft Rains"

---

War.

War never changes.

The tactics may evolve. The weapons may advance. The lines on the map may shift. The leaders and demagogues and elites who make the calls, in the name of every cause under the sun, may promise that this time it will be different, this war will be the one that ends in a final peace.

It is an empty promise. Everybody wants to change the world. No one can agree on how.

Tensions mount. Sides are chosen. Arguments turn bitter. It comes down to us and them. And they are an existential threat to us. No longer fellows, they are now an enemy to be purged for our righteous cause. Our interests matter more than their rights, and we should take what we are owed from them.

Then, there is a spark, and violence ensues. Retaliation. Retribution. Revenge.

And then, it is war. And war...war never changes.

---

When atomic fire consumed the earth, those who survived did so in great, underground vaults. And now, one of those vaults has opened in the heart of Arizona. Spurred on by amazing old world technology, the residents of the vault intend to rebuild society, a fresh start for humanity grown form their very own Garden of Eden.

They enter a land rocked by turmoil. Once a mighty army, the Legions of Caesar have fallen into internal squabbling and slave rebellions following the death of their leader and his successor and the crushing of their offensive against Hoover Dam. Though a core of territory remains under their control, the Legion is crippled as those they brutalized strike back against their oppressors in search of something better.

Meanwhile, the haunted ruins of Phoenix squat, barely touched, shrouded as it is in a nuclear storm in which, it is said, the screams of the dead are carried by the howling winds. This Maelstrom hides many secrets yet, for those daring -- or foolish -- enough to brave the storm wall and explore within. The ghouls of The Children of Atom have settled this place as an oasis for their kind, a promised land where they can live free of prejudice. But there's a schism in the church, as three charismatic leaders pull the Children in different directions -- and one of those directions could lead to slaughter and genocide.

Below it all, The Brotherhood of Steel watches and waits, gathering information on their new neighbors. There is powerful technology and strange powers out there, not under their control. And anything they do not control is a threat. So they build their strength...and soon, it may be time for them to march forth.

You, for reasons of your own, have stepped into this brewing cauldron. There is danger here, but also opportunity for the brave and the bold. And there's only one question that matters...when the storm reaches its peak, where will you stand?