Heroine Rail

Short descirption of setting: A post apocalyptic world where steampunk and victorian pseudo-science ruled in the old world. A combination of disasters including changing weather, poison gas, and disease brought about the end of civilisation. The resulting anarchy allowed the survivors to act as they wished unconstrained by the mores of a rigid society but already many are trying to enforce their own will on the wastes.

Themes: What exactly is civilisation and what are the costs? Is it sustainable without being build with the blood and on the backs of others? What happens to people when free from society and consequence, are they bettered or do they indulge in their darkest desires? Or do they just go mad? Can electricity really heal people? Does war every change?

End o' The Line: The War Rig if it was steam engine. The biggest engine of the old world, kept together with scrap with a massive cow catcher to shove off any rubble in its way and pulling a train of armoured cars. Designed to be a mobile fortress even when still, the End o' The Line brings progress along the Golden Rail... and cargo back the other way.

The Palace: The height of civilisation in the lawless wastes... or so they'll tell you. A mansion filled with old world riches of questionable value in the current age provides a home for opium fiends and pleasure slaves. Their leaders run an ever expanding slave empire in order to feed this lifestyle that in all probability is unsustainable in this post apocalypse. Of course they probably wouldn't have gotten away with it if there weren't so many people who have only known dirt queuing up to see inside it's glittered halls.

The Golden Rail: A major landmark since most of the old maps have been destroyed or useless. Walk in a straight line and you're bound to hit it eventually. Walk along it far enougth and someone is bound to hit you! Teams of engineers work to restore it to full condition in order to extend the reach of The Palace with their End o' The Line

Plantations: Someone's got to grow all that opium, and occasionally food as well. The End o' The Line has done a good job of rounding up various wanderers and tribes and refocused their efforts for the betterment of society as slaves and indentured servants. It takes a special breed of person to leave the plush comforts of the palace to oversee these captives. A desire to build a place of their own to call home is one of the required traits. Cruelty is another.

Platform 8 1/2: Home and birthplace of the End o' The Line. The technological hub of the world. The inhabitants of Platform 8 1/2 like to think themselves seperate from the rest of the empire they are technically part of while The Palace views them as pets that get afforded a little leanway. This is where scientists gather to share lost old world knowledge and engineers restore ancient relics. But even Platform 8 1/2 couldn't function as it does without coal mined by slaves and labour done by indentured servants lovingly called apprentices.

Canibal lands: Whenever someone is accused of having become a mad degenerate with the downfall of society, they point here and say they could be worse. But is it really such a terrible thing, to eat another man, as long as they use all the proper cutlery? I might be that the rumours are exagerated but in any case the 'canibals' remain hostile to outsiders and for the most part have resisted attempts at enslaving them.

Hot Air balloons: With all the madness on the ground many consider hot air balloon one of the safest ways of travelling long distance. The downside is since you can be seen for miles you're likely to attract a crowd of scavengers waiting for you to run out of fuel. Some say seeing the ruined earth from high above makes you think differently, or it might be that it requires a different sort of mind to fly up high in the sky with nothing more than a fire and a patched together balloon. There are many wrecks of the giant zepplins that used to rule the skies that dwarf any wastelander hot air balloon but a reliable source of hydrogen or hellium is incredibly hard to come by.

The Darkness: On the otherside of the Golden Rail from The Palace is rumoured to be a growing force that could rival the slave owners. So called because their brutality leaves little survivors and they're a long way from clashing with The Palace yet. Eventually they'll meet the End o' The Line and the results won't be pretty for anyone caught in the middle. Interestingly, one of the rumours suggest The Darkness is led by a defector from The Palace