#daclegacy

[cyazurai]

Have you ever wanted to play the Ultimate Decades Challenge because having death rolls and events from history (wars, famines, plagues) sounds like a lot of fun, but you’re really about 0% interested in history? You don’t want to download hundreds of pieces of medieval CC and mods, and even if you wanted to, you’re just not big on the aesthetic? Well, do I have a challenge for you!

I was having a conversation about the UDC with some friends, @melsie-sims and @gutsberries, and we came up with this really cool idea for a modern version: post-apocalypse.

If you decide to play through this challenge and post it somewhere, please tag it with either #DAClegacy or #deadlyapocalypsechallenge without spaces so I can find it! I’d love to see it!

I have written up the entire thing over on Google Documents, and I will include that here! But first I have a few notes here before you go to check it out:

There will be a lot of death. And since it's in the nature of the challenge, that includes very young children and innocent farm animals. If that bothers you too much, I don't blame you, but this is also not the challenge for you.

I have a lot of rules, but you can modify them for your own gameplay. This does include removing the death rolls if you really want to! You can even mix this with another challenge if you want to.

This challenge is pretty heavily story focused. But you do NOT need to actually write a story for it, it sort of writes itself honestly.

This can be as long or short as you want it to be. It can be 10 generations, it can be 20, however long it takes for you to reach one of the two win conditions. It can also be infinite if you so wish, so you can completely repopulate the barren world.

If you're still interested, go here -

GOOGLE DOCUMENT

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to send me either a DM or an ask! I'm usually available!

[cyazurai]

Our next misfit is Celestin Acker.

Born in the summer of 2028, there was barely a time since he's been alive that the world hasn't been upturned. Unlike Nymphe, though, Celestin's parents were relatively normal, and tried their best to keep their son protected from the goings-on in the world as long as they could. He wasn't fully aware of how bad things were until his parents sent him away to a place that was designated safe for children... and never came back for him.

Being a sensitive soul, the loss of his parents has left him feeling deeply lonely and sad. No matter how many friends he might make or how the world might recover, he knows he'll never recover from this gloominess.

Since his parents kept him mostly protected from the harsh reality of the world as long as they could, he has grown to actually care about his appearance and the health of his skin and hair, unlike most people these days. Just because the world ended doesn't mean those left standing shouldn't care how they look.

He doesn't have many... survival skills, and he knows this. If anything, he's more of a liability than a boon, but he's promised to teach the future children born to the community, since he enjoys reading and writing. It might not help with arithmetic, history, or anything else, but it's a start.

Eventually, once they have gotten to a point where they can live comfortably, he longs to start writing books and... well, publishing them, if there is any way to publish them in the near future. It's his life goal, since he knows that so, so many wonderful books were lost forever in the nuclear war.

And you know, maybe he'll find someone to help with his loneliness... one can always home.

[cyazurai]

The world as everyone knew it was over. When people had joked in the early 2020s that the world was on its way out, the apocalypse was beginning, etc, they weren't that far off.

Everything was happening all at once. Natural disasters, civil wars around the world, global unrest, and finally World War III in the 2030s. Every country was willing to do whatever they needed to do in order to end the way and ensure victory for the correct side - whichever side they considered the correct one. Some opted for nuclear bombs, others for biological warfare, and others yet chose the newly created AI super soldiers.

And who could have foreseen it, but everything went terribly wrong! The Nuclear bombs decimated things and irradiated them. The biological weapons spread farther than they were intended, killing those that used them as well as the intended targets. The AI super soldiers, well... they rose up against humanity in general, which anyone could have seen coming.

Things spiraled out of control until only 1% of the population was left standing. Some time before things had gotten to the point of no return, a giant space station had been launched. People from around the world had gone to live on this station, as an experiment - and every one of them was spared. As things spiraled out of control many people had been sent up to the station to save them, but eventually the rockets stopped coming back, and those left on Earth had to pick up the pieces, wondering if their saviors would ever come.

But after having to scrounge and fight and be cutthroat in order to survive in this world, some people have grown to prefer the lawlessness of the post-apocalyptic world. They go by many names, but in Simerica they are called the Lawless. They are plunderers, murderers, criminals, and the kind of people you wouldn't want to meet in the bright sunshine, let alone a dark alley at night.

Not everyone wants to be Lawless. Many want to bring a return to the days they barely remember, from the Before time. The days when the air wasn't toxic, and you could go for a walk with a loved one without worrying about getting gutted like a fish for your meager belongings.

Our story follows one specific girl who gathered together a group of misfits to attempt to rebuild a life for themselves from the ground up - at least until they can find a way to build a rocket themselves.

Nymphe Graves, founder extraordinaire.

Her birth name isn't Nymphe, but she would sooner cut her own tongue out than tell you what it actually is. Born in the winter of 2029, she has next to no memory of the life before the war. Her father was a doomsday prepper, and that's the only reason why she's alive to start over - unfortunately, her mother wasn't so paranoid, and had divorced the man and ran away to marry a millionaire. Lot of good that did her.

She's never known a real community, since she and her father lived in that basement bunker for most of her childhood, and as such it's made her want to create a world where people can have that again, even if it's a bit of a selfish reason why. She wants to be a confidante to her neighbors - someone they can trust.

As such, she tries to befriend anyone she meets that doesn't seem like a member of the Lawless - and hell, even if they are maybe she can win them over in the end.

Because of her upbringing, she's not a fan of the little markets she sees around - buying things just never made sense to her because it's just so easy to find whatever you need, or make it yourself. Don't be lazy, DIY.

She has the utmost confidence in herself and the fact that she can actually do this thing. Self doubt is not a thing she allows into her life, because the moment you allow yourself to doubt that's when they can get you.

Maybe building a rocket is a bit out of her league, she's not exactly book smart, but someone has to know where to start at least. Right?

(Next introduction in the next post. This one got too long. The rest won't be this long I promise! Also the posts will be sporadic, not like my regular legacy posts. I will not have a schedule. I will post them when I have them.)

[cyazurai]

Goldie MacLeod is our third misfit, and an ex-Lawless.

Born in the fall of 2030, she is one of the youngest members of the group, and the most recently joined. She has no memory of a biological family, and in fact, her earliest memories don't include any adults at all. She was raised by some kids and teens that were orphaned by the war, and as the war raged on, they did what they could to survive. Eventually, when the war ended and everything settled, they'd already settled into their way of life, and ended up joining the Lawless. Why rebuild society when taking whatever you want when you want it is so much better? For a long time, that's how Goldie thought too, and she worked as a courier for different Lawless factions. She only realized too late there was no future in it - not for those she truly cared about. When she discovered that her closest friend had been murdered simply because they annoyed another member of the Lawless... she knew she couldn't stay there.

Because of her upbringing, and staying so long within the Lawless, she has taken a few bad habits with her, but she uses them to the advantage of her new community. Specifically, she's got incredibly sticky fingers, and quiet feet. She can quietly slip into a place, get what she needs, and get out, without alerting a single soul. Some of her new friends aren't big on that, but Nymphe knows sometimes certain things need to be done to survive, and Goldie is their best bet.

She also has a bit of a temper, because she didn't exactly have an upbringing that taught her ways to control her emotions, being raised by teenagers who struggle with their emotions enough themselves. Thankfully, it's a quick to light, but quick to die sort of temper.

Another skill she came away with after living with the Lawless is baking. Baking, you might ask? Yes, she was often on kitchen duty when she wasn't sent out to steal things, and she learned that she was both very good at and really enjoyed baking.

With the skills she has accumulated, she will be primarily the chef for their little community while they develop, and she is very happy to have that position. Perhaps her favorite thing to do in life is cook or bake, and perhaps someday, when they've rebuilt the world a little bit more, she can open a restaurant all her own.

[cyazurai]

Nymphe had been traveling for a couple of years as she gathered her small group of misfits. They were from all over Simerica, and gradually, somehow they had found each other. She would be eternally grateful, because in just a short time she had grown to care about each and every one of them, and despite some of their shortcomings, they were valuable members of their little society.

But they knew that eventually they would have to settle down. They had originally thought about finding a place away from any signs of society - out in the countryside, where there was less likely to be Lawless about, and less chance of radiation or the remnants of biological weapons.

When they saw Evergreen Harbor, though, they knew that it was the place. It was the perfect place to start anew - it had so much trash they could repurpose for their own needs, as well as houses to raid. The more law-conscious of them raided the garbage piles, while those who were less... squeamish about stealing from dead people broke in to steal a few necessary items they could easily carry out.

Once they had scavenged enough items, they cleaned out an empty lot so they could have somewhere to stay, at least temporarily. They didn't have a lot to their names, but they were able to put together a small homeless encampment with beds made from stolen mattresses and store pallets.

"I don't see why we didn't just steal the frames, mattresses, and sheets," Gabriel commented once they had gotten everything set up.

Nymphe was beginning to grow frustrated - she loved her community members, but sometimes it was like they had rocks for brains and couldn't really absorb information that was told to them. "Do you want to drag a bed frame all the way here? I know I don't. And Goldie said all the beds were already stripped ages ago. What sheets were they supposed to take, Gabe?"

"I don't know, check the linen closets maybe?!" He was beginning to get frustrated, but they were all exhausted and frustrated so no one really held it against him.

"We did," Goldie piped up, glancing over from her conversation with Eugenia. "Picked bare. No clothes in drawers, no towels, no bed sheets, no throw blankets, nothing. We have to make due with what we found."

And that's exactly what they were going to have to do.

[cyazurai]

Our sixth and final misfit is Zayn Yamada.

Born in 2030, he is the son of Japanese-American parents who wanted him to grow up to be whatever he wanted to be. Unfortunately, he was born at the beginning of the war, and so they weren't able to give him the education or really anything they had wanted to give their family, except for love. His parents loved him deeply, and were willing to do anything for their son. Instead of sending him away like Celestin's parents did, they evacuated to the countryside along with him, where they were moderately safe... until the biological weapons were unleashed. Unfortunately, they were tested where "no one" lived, with very little regard to the safety of any rural towns or wild animals. Zayn woke up one morning as one of only 9 living residents living in the small town, and no one knew why they were immune. It wasn't just the children - all the survivors were of varying ages. Elderly sims, children, teenagers, you name it. After cremating the hundreds of dead that were left after the biological weapon swept through, the 9 living members left became a makeshift family, raising the teens and children. Zayn had always been a social bug, and he knew he couldn't stay in his little town family forever - and the first chance he got, he travelled to the city to see what was left of the world.

Zayn has always had an eye for women, even as a boy. Frankly, his parents worried that he was going to chase after all the girls in the town even back when he was a little. And he was good at wooing them - compliments, dandelions, sweet smiles, holding hands, anything that got a little girl's stomach full of butterflies. That isn't something that has changed, he still wants to woo pretty much any woman he meets, but he has gained self control. Now, he wouldn't even mind settling down if he finds the right girl.

The way to his heart is through his stomach - specifically, sweets. He hides this aspect of himself because he thinks it's not exactly something that's "cool" or something someone trying to survive in the apocalypse should even bother about, but he can't help himself. He'd love it if he could eat sweets every day.

One of the things that Zayn is the most interested in is recycling - after the war and everything, the world has gained the look and air quality of the inside of a dumpster. Some of the air is still toxic, remnants of the old world are littered everywhere, and things are overall horrendous. Having grown up in a relatively clean town, far from the pollution of the big city, he is determined to bring that back into the world in more places than just his home.

Because he is so conscious of recycling and reusing things, he has become the community's main builder, handyman, and "decorator." He finds things out in the world to help build up their little home, and gets to clean up the world while he does it.

[cyazurai]

Next up, we have our fifth misfit, Eugenia Homewood!

Born in the summer of 2029, Eugenia is the same age as Nymphe, but she couldn't be more different. Much like Celestin, her parents wanted to keep her protected from the atrocities of the war and kept her sheltered. But unlike Celestin, her parents were rich and were confident that they were immune to the goings-on in the world. They stayed locked away in their ivory tower with their butlers and maids, and played pretend that things would last forever. But they didn't seem to realize that now that the world was ending, the Lawless were taking the term "Eat the Rich" literally. Eugenia barely got away with the help of the head maid, and suddenly she was thrust into a world she didn't understand. She didn't even know what was happening in the world at the age of 17 - she didn't know how to do anything, she had always had people to do things for her, and now she was alone in a world that made it difficult for anyone to survive. Thankfully for her, she was the first person that Nymphe found, and she feels she owes her life to the other woman.

When she was living her high class life, unaware of how the rest of the world was living, Eugenia had always had a soft spot for animals. Any kind of animal, but especially farm animals. Perhaps it was because she was one of the lucky little girls who actually got the pony she asked her parents for, and every time she asked for a new one she got it. So she had an entire stable full of her own horses, and she would have loved to have cows, llamas, sheep, goats, chickens... anything she could have gotten her hands on.

Growing up with a private live-in chef at her grand estate, she has become something of a gourmet; if the food she eats isn't up to her standards, she doesn't want to eat it. Unfortunately, living in the apocalypse kind of limits the kinds of foods she can eat, and she's had to learn the hard way that sometimes you need to just pick off the mold and eat the veggie anyway.

Unsurprisingly, she's a very high maintenance girl, and most of the time, no one really wants to spend time around her because she's always complaining about something. Every day is the worst day ever; the sun absolutely hates her; there's always dirt EVERYWHERE and it's THE LITERAL WORST and she just can not.

The only thing that calms Eugenia down when she's in one of her moods is yoga, meditation, or if she's especially lucky, a good massage. As such, she longs to help anyone else she can with her knowledge of wellness. But until she has a good place to actually teach people, she will be the one taking care of the community's animals, and she's excited to do so.

[cyazurai]

Our fourth misfit is Gabriel Stern, the youngest son of the one who was the President of Simerica during the time of the war, not that he's proud of that fact.

Born in the winter of 2027, he is the oldest member of the group, not that he feels any more mature than any of them. He remembers more of wartime than any of them, and he remembers his father (the President) never being home during that time. His mother was usually home, but she was always so worried about the love of her life she wasn't much of a mother, so he and his three older brothers were pretty much raised by the secret service and a nanny. Despite his parents not being very present in his life while they were alive, the secret service agents were very present, and as such, none of the boys were every allowed to do anything. Ever. He thought he would be trapped in that house his entire life... until his father was assassinated by an AI Super Soldier and the country was thrown into even more turmoil than it was already in. The next thing he knew, his mother had sent him and his brothers all off with a different secret service agent, to be raised separately so no one knew who they were. Sort of an impromptu "witness protection program." His real name used to be something else, but he's been Gabriel Stern for a good ten years now and barely remembers what his name used to be.

After being cooped up for the first 13 years of his life, Gabe has developed an adventurous streak, so honestly this new way of life is exciting for him. The constant struggle for survival, sleeping outside, scrounging for any kind of food... it's exhilarating!

However, another result of his upbringing is that he hates underperforming. If he does anything, and I mean anything, he has to do it exactly right or it's not worth anything. So he can be found doing something over and over and over and over until it is perfect, and breaking it if he can never get it to reach his perfectionist standards.

Being stuck inside for several years after going on the run with Shirley, his secret service agent, he has grown to love moving more than anything. Going for a jog, weightlifting, sit-ups, whatever he can do so that he's not just sitting around doing nothing - he can't stand being inactive.

And because of that, he longs to get strong enough that he doesn't need to worry about protecting those he cares about, so he has joined a little sports team that got together to play to entertain those who have very little to entertain them. After all, in a world where everything is stressful and life isn't a guarantee, it's good to have a little diversion.

Besides that, his main job in the community is to take care of the garden because he really enjoys gardening. He is also willing to do anything that anyone asks of him, he's a bit of a jack-of-all-trades.

He hopes that his mother and brothers are still alive out there somewhere and that he'll be able to find them, but he knows better than to expect anything of the sort.