Introducing Clove

Illustration by Bulletproof-Eggs

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Sara Lee, aka Clove, was a senior in high school when the Collapse happened. It started like any other day in class, but when the first bell had rung, half the class hadn't shown up. By lunch period, another half were gone, parents pulling out their kids in a panic. She was one of a handful of students who rode out the day in school and walked home after picking up her brother. Her parents, hard-working immigrants even during the Collapse, went home only after clocking out from work. They ate dinner as a family like they usually did, then watched the news transfixed.

There were reports of an outbreak, a virus that killed in 24 to 48 hours, and hospitals unable to deal with a surge of sick and dying. In 72 hours, most of the people in their block had left the city. Her family decided to stay put--no one was sick and it felt safer to stay. Anyway, there was nowhere to go. They could possibly go to family in Idaho, but the virus was there, too.

One by one, texts to friends stopped being answered. Social media showed a world gone mad--a horror movie come to life. Her parents had to take her phone away. Four days later her mom and dad started exhibiting symptoms. Her brother the day after. Sara felt it, too, but unlike them, she recovered. They called hospitals but no one picked up. She got up half lucid in the middle of the night to find her family gone. Her mother and brother were in bed together and her dad on the kitchen floor, his mouth left open gasping for air.

She fled to the backyard and stayed there for three days and nights falling asleep on the ground and drinking water from a hose. At some point she heard a man yelling, calling out for survivors. She ignored him. Then out of nowhere something snapped inside her. She went back inside, doing her best to avoid the dead bodies in the house, grabbed her phone, stuffed a backpack with what she thought could be of use, and roamed the neighborhood.

There were other people about, but she stayed away from them and stayed away from the homes. She assumed the houses were full of dead people, too. She found food in an abandoned, broken-in liquor store, and slept in parking lots, fields, and parks. She followed working open wi-fi signals until she couldn't find anymore. Then maybe a week later, or was it two--time had lost its meaning--she found herself at the University, known later as The Uni.

She slept in the quad, sheltered in a coffee stall. Dawn found her the next morning, a kind smile on the woman's face. Like a skittish animal, Clove bolted away. She spent the next few days circling the perimeter of the school, spying on Dawn and her friends during the day, and sleeping near the train tracks at night.

They had a garden. Sara's mom had a garden. Sara went to the garden. Dawn found her there, but this time she didn't run away.

"What's your name?" Dawn asked.

"Clove," she answered.

CLOVE

• Age: 18
• Nationality: Chinese-American
• Branch: Civilian
• Appearance: Jet black hair, medium height, likes to wear athletic wear, and always brings around a toolkit and a bag to stuff scavenge into with her.
• Military Rank: n/a
• Moral Code: Family above all else; tech is worth preserving
• Buddy: Dawn
• Big Dream: Bring sustainable electricity; find a family
• Trauma: Took care of her family during the Outbreak and watched her family die from the virus
• How did they meet the group: Rode out the virus mostly at home but came across Dawn when exploring the old University.

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ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS

STR	C	AGL	A	INT	B	EMP
Heavy Wpns		Driving		Recon	C	Command
Close Cmbt	D	Mobility	C	Survival	B	Persuasion
Stamina		Ranged	D	Tech	D	Medical Aid

Specialties:
Scrounger, +1 modifier to survival rolls for scrounging

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• Damage: 0/5
• Stress: 1/5
• CUF: D
• Unit Morale: C/

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Health

• Critical Injuries:
• Diseases:
• Starving:
• Dehydrated:
• Sleep Deprived:
• Hypothermic:
• Radiation
  • Temporary: 0/10
  • Permanent: 0/10

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WEAPONS

Wpn	REL	ROF	DMG	CRIT	BLAST	RNG	MAG	ARMR	WGT	SPENT AMMO
Bow	3		1	3	-	2			1
Knife	5		2	3	-	2		1	1

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GEAR

Carrying Capacity: 8/8, current weight: 7.75 lbs.

Combat Gear	Back Pack
1. Bow	1. Lockpicks
2. Knife	2. Crowbar
3. Flashlight	3. Basic tools
4. Binoculars	4. Small battery
5.	5. Sleeping bag
6.	6. Blanket (not on person)
7.	7. Flask/water
8.	8. First aid kit
9.	9.
10.	10.
11.	11.
12.	12.

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VEHICLE

• Vehicle One: Bicycle
• Type:
• Reliability:
• Travel Speed:
• Combat Speed:
• Damage:

Setting

COLLAPSE

It has been eight to nine months since a deadly virus killed 80 to 90 percent of humanity. Collapse was quick and brutal. Within a month, the global telecommunication infrastructure ceased to exist, a month after that the power grid went offline. There were rumors that the collapse rekindled the settling of scores all of the world: sectarian violence, border skirmishes, and other small-scale wars. There were rumors of nuclear detonations in Europe, Russia, and the East Coast of the United States. For the survivors, those rumors quickly became lesser considerations. There was the reality of survival to contend with.

Humanity reacted in a myriad of ways: Some reverted to their basest instincts--stealing, killing, preying on the weak. Others retreated from what was left of society to ride out the plague on their own or with their families, employing their skills in hunting, fishing, subsistence farming, carpentry--whatever it took. Some survivors clung to demagogues, yearning for meaning in a world gone mad. Yet others clung to the idea of a civil society. These folks ended up establishing small communities or nomadic bands, helping other people when they could.

NOW

The characters have found themselves within one of these communities. There are eighteen people in all, each contributing whatever skill, knowledge, and hope they have left to offer. For now, it's a symbiotic community, each benefiting the other. It's a diverse crew: the youngest is 10 and the oldest 58, of all backgrounds and former professions.

Most have discarded their old names--"old names for an older time," the saying goes. Now folks go by names like "Crow," "Old Bear," or "Clove," a way to rid oneself from whatever sins and traumas they may have committed during the height of the Collapse.

THE SETTLEMENT

The community has established a settlement in the old bones of a university, each member taking residence within the school itself or one of the surrounding homes. There is a subsistence garden in the center, a kitchen, and classrooms turned into various workshops for butchering, carpentry, and for whatever the community needs.

The de-facto leader is Adrienne Greene, aka "Dawn."

The community survives through a combination of scrounging, hunting (birds, dogs, deer, coyotes, etc.), fishing, and gardening/farming. Scrounging parties are often organized with community members volunteering or taking turns.

Folks have come to call the settlement "The Uni" a reference to the site it's been established in.

ADRIENNE GREENE, AKA DAWN

From what community members can tell, Dawn was an engineer, maybe a professor, in the old world. She has a keen interest in tech and gathering tech. And despite all the tragedy around her, Dawn remains positive, even hopeful. While others tend to look directly at what is front of them, which usually means doing-the-thing-that-needs-doing for survival, Dawn somehow looks beyond, imagining a time of renewal, of rebuilding.

Regardless of what folks say openly, Dawn's hope is infectious, even when their imaginations, their experience will not allow them to hope.

THE WORLD BEYOND

It's mostly quiet out there and the small band of survivors spend most of their days taking care of the basics: food, shelter, and creating enjoyment where they can find it. But sometimes a nomad or a trader will pass through with stories. Most of the tales sound familiar--most folks have lived through some form of it or another. But sometimes there are rumors: of doomsday cults, slavers, folks that have gone feral, or ominous military vehicles in the night passing through.

The immediate surroundings (north and west) consist of mostly homes and strip malls. Directly east are warehouses and the port, just beyond the strip of trees that flank the university.

There is a highway nearby: The 5, but similar to most freeways, it is mostly clogged with abandoned cars.