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Black Earth is a 28mm miniature wargame featuring several factions at war in the fictional world of the earth of 2070. The game is published by Nuclear Shrimp Games and it first made its appearance in October of 2016.

The game currently features three factions, the United Earth Federation (U.E.F), the Homo Inhumanum and the Tecton Order. These are the three factions introduced at launch but already a few other factions have been hinted to soon make their appearance. Namely, the People's Rebellion and the Exiles have been explicitly named in the lore.

The world of Black Earth

Synopsis

Black Earth takes place in an alternate universe where, while the largest portion of the population was migrating to newly build mega cities called ‘Hubs’, a number of unexpected events caused a massive nuclear strike on most of the old cities. This caused hundreds of millions to die from the atomic explosions and rendered all the cities uninhabitable and any technology impossible to salvage. At the same time something, that many attributed to the nuclear strikes, caused the entire fleet of satellites, including the 2 space stations, to fail and crash land. This has left a planet in confusion, cut off from reliable global communications but most important of all in diplomatic breakdown. War is inevitable…

A Residential Quarter is a self sustainable community complete with parks, malls, hospitals and all kinds of ammenties required for a high standard of living as expected in the late 21st century.

The United Earth Federation as a means to end poverty.

It is the year 2070 and the world has undergone radical political change. After several recurring global economic meltdowns the United Nations pass the United Earth Federation Institution Act in August 13 of  2035, bringing a political union to the vast majority of the countries of the UN. Leaving the popular conspiracy scenarios to die, the United States, the European Union, Russia, China and Japan are some of the countries that agree to this political union that will once and for all render their sovereignty null. The countries that are left out all occupy the bottom charts of GDP per capita, essentially leaving the weakest countries to waver into deeper poverty. These countries would come to be known as the “Exiled Nations”.

World wide riots and the People’s Rebellion

The perpetuated austerity had created a generation of people who were brought up in the paradigm of civil resistance. The world was already in unrest before the UEF Institution Act was proposed so when it was passed, with tens of millions of people taking to the streets during the vote, the civil resistance grew into a global uproar.

For weeks the streets of most major cities were turned into urban battlefields with the riots causing billions of dollars worth of damage in property. In some cities the wildfires from the mass use of molotov cocktails could not be contained in time causing thousands of deaths. The UEF military leadership were quick to blame the organised civil resistance groups for this incident allowing them in turn to deploy riot suppression and control troops.

The Riot teams made brutal assaults arresting and severely injuring with reckless abandon. The shock and awe that would once be enough to demoralize future riots worked in reverse causing a new wave of public uproar against the UEF. Soon the rioters would employ weapons and tactics not before seen in riots. These radicalised rioters would soon congregate under the wing of the People’s Rebellion, a radical anti authoritarian group.

The Event

On August 15 of 2045, two days after the 10 year anniversary of the institution of the UEF, thousands of ICBMs carrying nuclear warheads flew to the sky. Their targets were the 340 largest cities in the world spanning across the globe. Each city was hit by multiple ICBMs each of which was carrying on average 10 warheads. Anti Ballistic Systems were almost useless, attaining an interception rate of 0.9% putting once and for all an end to the question of how these systems could help to prevent a nuclear disaster.

The death toll was 1.4 billion.

Hours after The Event millions, if not billions, of survivors would seek shelter to any nearby settlements that had not been decimated by the nukes. This would form the largest refugee wave the planet had ever seen, causing mayhem in its wake. The formal migration to the Hubs had not been completed as most of them were still under construction. Nevertheless, millions of refugees tried to get in Hubs throughout the world with or without an apartment reservation. The UEF military was called upon to handle the situation providing humanitarian aid, building makeshift migrant camps outside the Hubs and Cities but also to prevent the refugees from entering the unspoiled settlements. For months, the view outside of these cities would be long lines of people queuing for medical assistance, radiation scanning, meals or bureaucratic data entry of some sort.

The immense number of displaced people was too much to handle and the makeshift refugee camps turned into permanent slam towns as months and years went by. This was not to come to pass in peace of course. Violence and crime skyrocketed as the desperate refugees were reverting to basic instincts in order to survive and protect their families. Cultural differences, in particular religious beliefs, was also a prime reason for tensions.

By 2051 all the refugee camps were declassified as such. They were urbanized with unofficial names such as “Immigrant Quarter” or “Heathen Square” which would carry their legacy in history.

The People’s Rebellion

The members of the newly founded United Earth Federation (a political body of the united nations of USA, EU, Russia, Japan, China, India, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and Canada) are lashing out through every diplomatic medium against the alleged terrorists who have yet to claim responsibility for their actions. The People’s Rebellion, a widespread community of anti-authoritarians with a rich record of activism, is immediately put to blame. This creates an outrage in the Anarchist, Communist and Anti-authoritarian community and radicalizes the group further. The people take arms and the first armed riots in the heart of the Hubs take place. The People’s Rebellion becomes a symbol of liberty among the less fortunate and millions join or support the cause.

The Tecton Order and the Technocrat Party

In all this chaos a new power rises. On the 24th of August of 2049 The Tecton Order, a group of powerful individuals coming from the financial and political elite, come out publicly and announce that they intend to use their resources and influence to create a new world order which will end all conflict and suffering. The 12 ‘unmasked’, as they will be come to be known, are shown to be some of the most powerful people alive. Bankers, Conglomerate owners and CEO’s and prominent politicians are among the 12 Unmasked of the Tecton Order and this immediately causes a tremendous blow on the UEF, as these people literally control 50% of the global GDP.

In a salvo of aggressive public statements the UEF and the Tecton Order suffer a diplomatic breakdown overnight with the former attempting to show their teeth with military action. A regiment of Tecton Knights, an elite military unit using state of the art technology including powered personal battle suits, makes a surprise attack in the NATO HQ in Brussels. The Knights overwhelm the idle UEF troopers and the headquarters are destroyed in a show of brutality and deadly efficiency.

Meanwhile in the UEF senate, the Technocrat Party proposes a more favourable look at the Tecton Order’s manifesto as it happens to promote the more pragmatic ideology of the party. Being bound by the UEF constitution and the protection of all ideas in the Senate, the Democratic party, the Republican party and the Socialist party fail to pass an accusatory mandate to charge the Technocrat Party for condoning with terrorism. This gives the Tecton Order a legitimate body of representatives inside the UEF that would later be used to destabilise the UEF’s sovereignty.

The Homo Inhumanum

The UEF, the Tecton Order and the People’s Rebellion would engage in the first war in human history with no geographic fronts. Fierce urban skirmishes would dominate the entire planet for several years with no faction really gaining any significant advantage.

It was then that another threat appeared from the smoldering wrecks of the old cities, still smoking from the nuclear holocaust. A group of mutated supersized humans never seen before started causing mayhem in the areas surrounding the old cities. These mutants seemed to be obsessed with violence and murder, sometimes lashing out for no reason other than to cause harm.

Communication with this new ‘species’ of human was impossible as the only intelligible words they can spew out are “KILL”, “DESTROY”, “MURDER” and a few others on that same category. The severe DNA alteration of these humans was so significant and universal among a large population that it warranted the creation of a new species of the Homo genus.

This species is now called Homo Inhumanum although the term 'Brutes' is a lot more ubiquitous. Brutes use crude tools and weapons, scavenged from the ruins of the devastated old cities. Although their technology is extremely backward the sheer strength, stamina and ferocity of the Brutes makes them extremely dangerous even when armed with steel clubs.

The Brutes were originally hypothesized to be a minor threat as their limited cognitive capacity and primitive society would mean they would be outmatched by modern military. However their numbers seemed to be getting larger at an exponential rate – even taking into account their high mortality rate. The Brutes were hypothesized to be sterile and indeed all specimens brought for study show exactly that. It is yet unknown how these creatures reproduce although it is worth noting that no juvenile or female Brutes have ever been encountered which adds to the mystery of their numbers.

Operation ‘Meteorite’

By 2071, The UEF and the Tecton Order have been fighting it out in every outlet, from skirmishes to publicity races. Operation :”Meteorite” is mainly a publicity attempt by the UEF to show the might of their armed forces by eradicating the seemingly easy target presented in the savage Homo Inhumanum. The UEF mobilizes its army in a manner that resembles mostly a victory parade in an attempt to enhance its image as the world’s greatest power.

However, six weeks into the operation, the UEF forces begin to falter under unprecedented Homo Inhumanum numbers. The UEF administration manages to keep the turning of the tide of the war secret from the media for a few more weeks but Tecton Order agents eventually manage to gather enough evidence from the frontlines to expose this embarrassing and bloody defeat.

Terror spreads across many Hubs when the Brutes, despite reassurances from the administration, counterattack and invade UEF territory. The administration is immediately forced to resign amidst the crisis and the new elected government includes 2 members of the Technocrat party from the 50 total cabinet members.

Operation ‘Meteorite’ becomes a commonly used term that signifies major political blunders and is set in stone in human history in the worst possible manner.

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