Fallen World Mystery Dungeon

A "unique" take on the PMD formula which is probably mostly furry bait now that I think about it oops

30 years ago, while everyone was distracted, the world ended. As a third World War raged on, there were few eyes in the sky, only looking for any ballistic missiles. When the meteors struck, no human was ready for what would be to come. The meteors peppered the entire earth's surface, leaving massive craters in almost every single country. Many countries would no longer exist, reduced to dust that coalesced in the sky. Many urban centers where brought down by shockwaves and tidal waves of debris. The survivors thought that this was the end of humanity, as the skies turned dark, and the air turned cold.

As humanity was left hanging on by a thread, a miracle happened that only the most religious could have ever believed in. Fantastical monsters, from a popular videogames franchise, appeared. A deer with crystalline antlers rose from the dead, many of whom were stricken down the asteroids and the ensuing shockwaves. Time itself was seemingly altered as golems constructed mega-cities connected by train networks, and surrounded by sturdy walls within only a few days, creating them from the rubble of cities. A ruby-red lizard reshaped the continental crust, reshaping the lands to repair some of the damage created by the craters. Then, as the last of humanity was herded into these mega-cities, they disappeared, as suddenly as they had appeared.

No one knew why these legendary Pokemon had appeared, nor did they understand why they left. There were theories of course, most of which centered on the newly revived humans that had to share quarters with those who had survived. These humans were not as they once were, now bearing traits of the many Pokemon. They went by many names, such as the revived, Pokehumans, the gifted, and metahumans. Of course, all known 1,021 Pokemon were pronounced in these revived humans. There were many more, however, never before seen. If it had just been having steel skin, being extraordinarily large for a human, or a fluffy neck, tensions would likely not have been as high, however these changed humans had to deal with new problems. One of the most frequent was the problem of instinct. None of these revived humans knew how to control their newly acquired instincts and powers, which only worsened in the tight quarters of the mega-cities.

Riots broke out often, as out of control revived humans were animalistic and kept causing insane damage to the struggling cities. To control the growing threat, non-lethal riot control was attempted, however the incredible durability of the majority of these revived humans made such early attempts impossible, and lethal riot control with high caliber weaponry became the norm among the mega-cities.

Eventually, things did relax, at least a little. The first generation figured out how to control their new bodies, leading to far less accidents. The second generation of the revived, born with their powers and instincts rather than haphazardly tacked onto their bodies, were even able to harness their gifted abilities in productive ways, rather than simply containing them. In an ideal world, this would have been the end of tensions.

Unfortunately, many still remembered the early years of the cities, and the corrupt took advantage of it. The signs of trouble were there as far back as the first year. Assassinations were frequent, law was enforced to the whims of those who could afford it, and the politicians were more than willing to take bribes to prevent others from raising through the ranks. As many of the revived were left with no possessions, having had their homes completely obliterated and their every mortal possession lost in the strikes, the cards were stacked against them. Many cities slowly removed their rights, one by one, unwilling to view them as anything except inhuman. They were anything from feedstock to free labor, and even later on, pets. Many spoke out against this stratification. Often, it wouldn't be long before their names were in the obituary. Defiant rebel groups were forced underground, waging warfare upon the corrupt through guerilla and terroristic tactics.

As time went on, this corrupt class began to isolate the cities, cutting off world-wide communication and inspiring fear of leaving from within the borders. The walls of the mega-cities went from protection to being a massive trap. The train networks were retired, many tunnels destroyed as to prevent movement and trade to other cities. Automated weapons were designed to patrol the outside of the walls, to prevent the truth from leaking. This did not stop everyone, as some companies still broke isolation to do trade, and many fled the increasingly poor conditions over the walls, but fear is a very powerful tool, and many now believe the world on the outside to be completely inhospitable. The embers of yester-decade are stoked constantly, inciting a divide between humans and the revived, even when they share the same goal.

The world is ever-changing though. Some of the many meteors brought with them a horrifying gift of their own. The world is warping under its influence. Spatial and temporal anomalies are cropping up underground, portraying themselves as ever-changing networks of differing types, from jungles to the interiors of ancient spacecraft. A glowing cyan crystal is now growing itself across the lands, its presence causing mutations within the revived, and drying the world of its underground resources. Some believe that the underground anomalies are the key to fixing the world, undoing what has been done by the meteors. Others believe the crystal is here to purify the world of the aberrations known as the "gifted". Whether or not these beliefs are true, the only thing that anyone knows for certain is that change is in the wind.

What is Fallen World?

Fallen World is an open concept for a different, arguably way edgier way of doing PMD. Note that different does not necessarily mean better. Being an open concept means that you're welcome to tweak and adapt whatever elements you like.
Don't like the wilders because they're too furry-like? Go ahead and remove them. Like some elements, but don't like the setting? Feel free to put those elements in your own PMD world instead. Prefer the world to be less bleak and instead more optimistic? New Dawn's right there. Want the revived to be completely out of control at all times? I don't mind, you do you. Don't like the ferals in the dungeons and prefer the wilders to be there instead? I ain't stopping you. Think the Zuelarite is stupid and just want mystery dungeons? Then just remove them. Want humans to have addictive pheromones for your horny human x revived fanfic? Alright, have fun!

The tl;dr of this world, if you did not read above, is that the world is kind of fucked. Meteors struck the world, Pokemon were suddenly shown to be real in a blitz campaign, and now everyone lives in these massive cities built by them. Some were revived as half Pokemon, often called the revived or Pokehumans, while those who have remained fully human are often called survivors, or in particularly segregated cities, just humans. Due to the close proximity of everyone, and the complete social upheaval, corruption soon became rampant, and the worst of humanity is on display now.

Some have escaped to try to live their lives outside of the city. It was complete anarchy out there, oft resembling that of a Fallout society, with raiders and villagers trying to make ends meet in the rubble of their respective countries. However, on top of mysterious illnesses and the already existing wildlife, much of the regular humans have died. Worse yet, isolation seems to have a strange effect on the revived, seemingly unable to maintain their humanity in the face of the wilderness. Furthermore, the corrupt class have attempted to make escape as difficult as possible, meaning that most cities cannot provide fresh blood. With limited information about the effect of isolation, and combined elements, the outside world is a treacherous endeavor for anyone who wants to escape city corruption.

The world is bleak, and at a turning point. Mystery dungeons are spreading like wildfire, and Zuelarite is corrupting the revived humans. Slavers and attempted genocides are frequent in the cities. Rebels and exploration teams alike are struggling to contain the situation. The major legendary Pokemon are nowhere to be found, and most of the minor legendary Pokemon are particularly bitter about what path humanity has decided to take. Despite all of this though, there is one guarantee about this world.
Humanity, regardless of the form they take, shall fight, win, prevail.

The Mystery Dungeons

Mystery dungeons are either temporal or spatial anomalies, and often times both, that can be found deep below the ground, although a concerning number of them have been spotted above ground, warping rubble cities and the wasteland jungles alike into dangerous traps. They're often left exposed by the many craters that aren't filled in by Groudon. They can take just about any shape, and unlike the mystery dungeons that the games offer, they often display far more verticality.

Feral Pokemon are often found within the dungeons. No one knows the mechanics to create them, or why full Pokemon are showing up in the dungeons, but it is known that the Pokemon cannot leave the dungeons. Attempts to do so have only resulted in the Pokemon disintegrating into cyan dust. On the subject of Pokemon, the revived seem to accelerate their transition into a wilder state while in one, though this can be stopped by simply having a survivor nearby. The wilders seem to avoid the dungeons at all costs, though no ill effects have been found trying to keep a wilder in one for an extended period of time. Concerningly, the dungeons have displayed the ability to transform a human into a revived if too much time is spent within, although this process appears to take days to occur, and will be totally reset if the dungeon is exit before it is complete.

Additionally, the dungeon only seems to reconfigure itself while no living being from outside is in it, and they will not attempt to remove anyone from inside of it, no matter how long you linger. Drones have captured the process of reconfiguration, however the footage has been known to cause madness in the revived and survivors alike, and is therefore heavily discouraged from viewing.

The Zuelarite

Zuelarite, named after Venezuela where it was first discovered, is the incredibly tough cyan crystal that can be found across the wastelands, constantly multiplying and consuming the minerals in the area as they go. If a building comes into contact with them, things like the rebar often consumed by it, leaving dangerous husks which have the chance to collapse at any time. On top of that, they seem to have a mutagenic effect against the revived, causing things like 3rd arms and compound eyes to suddenly form with prolonged exposure to the crystals. This makes them incredibly dangerous to both humans and the revived, albeit in very different ways. Thankfully, they're also very visible, as they have a neon glow to them that makes them stick out like a sore thumb, even in dense vegetation.

Attempts to destroy the crystal seem to yield an intense explosion, though there is a number of refining processes that can be done without the crystal exploding. A select few groups that thrive in the wastes have figured out how to refine them into fantastical devices that can replicate the behavior of many of the wonder orbs found in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games. Cities where the Zuelarite have spread to have also taken note of their property to consume the mineral resources in a given region. These cities are very close to a breakthrough on how to extract the resources that these crystals take from them. Some even have taken note of their intense energy release on destruction, and are working to harness it as as power source rather, though progress is incredibly slow and dangerous for this research.

Inhabitants

Humans

Your standard human. Often referred to as "survivors," they're largely outnumbered by the revived 3:1. They're not particularly strong compared to their revived brethren, but over the years, they have found to be immune to many of the things that could put a revived out of commission. A revived versus human situation is often unfair, though humans who fight the revived on a semi-regular basis tend to involve themselves with high caliber weaponry, leveling the playing field.

Revived

The non-standard human, demonstrating Pokemon traits. These humans are, on average, significantly more durable and with far more stamina. They have to contend with instincts, though the second generation has learned at an early how to do so. Hybrids are seemingly impossible within the ranks of the revived, though there are many who are pursuing the genetic editing route to try to create designer hybrids.

On rare occasions, the revived are born with a singular mutation which are not Zuelarite induced. This could be as simple as being shiny, as mundane as a higher jump by 8 inches, or as advanced as having a megastone/Z-crystal replacing some of their organic structure. They can even be Pokemon specific, like having your mood displayed through colored rings on an Umbreon. These mutations are genetic, but are always recessive, and mutts cannot have nor pass down these mutations.

Despite being half Pokemon, most are furless except in a select few areas(tails, ears, Umbreon's rings, etc,) their skin instead taking the coloration of the fur. For Pokemon with steel for skin, a revived's skin isn't metallic, but it is incredibly strong and could be construed as mildly reflective. For larger Pokemon, the revived can find themselves upwards of 10 feet tall, but not much larger, while smaller Pokemon don't get much smaller than 4 feet tall. This can change with prolonged exposure to RCG-F6882, which appears to be able to activate a very limited transformation into their wilder form, among other things.

Mutts

While in most cases, a revived/human pairing would result in another revived, or more rarely a human, on very rare occasions the process goes awry, and instead creates mutts. These humans display some very vague characteristics of the Pokemon they would've been based on, such as reflective eyes, but they're as frail as humans and in most cases cannot even use their moves. They're often viewed as useless due to the general lack of education most receive, and the fact they're still weak to just about everything a revived is.

Two very obscure traits that few would ever know is that they can substitute a human in the outside world, preventing a revived from becoming a wilder. They are also immune to the process of wilderification and dungeon-based transformation themselves, though they still instinctively avoid dungeons and find them incredibly unnerving to be in just like a wilder.

Legendaries

They're legendary Pokemon. They can change their form to suit their needs, so long as that form is either human, it is not of another legendary, or displays some trait of their respective typings. You cannot have Suicune become a Flareon, but you can have Moltres become a Fletchinder. Broken into two groups, the major legendary Pokemon are those with the ability to terraform the world, or have otherwise great power. This includes the likes of Yveltal, Palkia, and Kyorge. The minor legendary Pokemon are those with great strength and a general form of immortality(or at least incredibly long life,) but not a lot else. The eon duo, the lake Trio, the legendary beasts, these types of Pokemon are all classified as minor legendary.

The major legendary Pokemon just buzzed off and let humanity figure things out after doing a half-assed job of repairing the world. According to the minor legendary, they seem to have a fondness towards humanity, one they do not share. It's unknown exactly where they've gone, though some wastelanders have claimed of spotting them throughout the years. No such sighting has ever been confirmed.

Minor legendary Pokemon have remained quite active in the world though, attempting to figure out on their own how to stop the spread of Zuelarite and mystery dungeons. Many of them view the revival as a gift that has been severely squandered by humanity, and generally ignore humanity as a result, unless they draw near to their own territory.

Wilders

Wilders are technically just the revived, albeit in a far more animalistic state. When left alone for long enough, the revived begin to lose their mind, and their body begins to morph far towards the Pokemon form they are based on. This most often leads to fur growth, or the replacement of skin with metal. However, as their humanity is never truly removed, they end up in this weird quarter state, where many of them end up as taurs with an almost perfect Pokemon body underneath, and a modified human body on top. This taur state only seems to occur if they have more than 2 legs, otherwise a more anthropomorphic approach is undertaken by the form. Many who have not seen them often report that the sight of one is incredibly unnerving and bizarre, though anyone who has stuck around one for long enough have reported feelings of being comforted instead.

As mentioned before, their humanity isn't truly gone. If you stick them around survivors or mutts for long enough, their mind will eventually recover, and they'll remember who they are. If they were originally revived, then the physical changes will also slowly reverse. However, for some reason, while their minds do eventually become human-like, naturally born wilders do not have their physical forms revert. There is otherwise no known difference, as even the children of a naturally born wilder who has regained their humanity will be a revived rather than a wilder.

While there is no noticeable mental difference between a first generation who has recovered and a born wilder, naturally born wilders appear to have a far more apathetic view on life, seeing dawarinism as the course of life. It's either you succeed long enough to have children and then die, or die, and there's no real motivation to try to do more than to have children. While this is a default and strongly held mindset, it can be broken with enough effort by a third party.

Strangely, the animalistic mind of the wilders seem spooked by mystery dungeons, refusing to enter them on their own accord, even when starving and offered high quality nutrition inside. There is no known reason for why this occurs, as no negative effects are seen on the wilders other than heightened stress levels.

Ferals

Ferals are full Pokemon which are constricted to the dungeon. They seem to act as a given mystery dungeon's immune system, keeping out those who are in to try to take advantage of their anomalous properties. They cannot leave the dungeon, and while they can be eaten, you have to prepare them inside the dungeon.

History

• 2023
  • The final year that resembles our own timeline.
  • December: Tensions between Russia and the US reach a boiling point
• 2024
  • January: As the United States changes presidents, Russia in a bout of overconfidence declares war on the United States.
  • May: Russia severely regrets that decision, as the United States had built their army around fighting in Europe and Asia, and they're still tied up with Ukraine. China joins the war at the end of the month, providing much needed manpower to Russia.
  • August: A small number of tactical nuclear weapons are suddenly exchanged on the battlefield over the course of a week. Known as the August Exchange, it set a precedent that kiloton-scale nuclear weapons would be used freely throughout the war. This exchange would later leave live nuclear weapons scattered about the abandoned lands post-apocalypse.
  • September: Disgusted by the exchange, many European countries join the war.
  • October: The first privatized manned Mars mission begins, with the goal to accelerate colonizing Mars.
• 2025
  • June: A modified bacteriophage is utilized to defeat a strain of MRSA.
  • July: After much hesitancy, bioweapons are employed by China to try to wipe out American soldiers in a losing battle.
  • November: The Hohmann transfer is thrown out the window, as greater emphasis was put on trying to colonize Mars. The estimated time until self-sufficiency was accelerated to 8 years.
• 2026-2028
  • Much the same was happening. Everyone was either too focused on Mars or the war to notice what was to come.
• 2029
  • Valentine's Day: Hell rained from the sky as the meteors made impact to the ground. Even if people were prepared, the ensuing earthquakes and tsunamis would've likely destroyed most of the bunkers. Only a handful would survive.
  • March 1st: The first legendary to appear was Regigigas. They were soon followed by the whole ensemble. The minor legendary Pokemon would begin to round up the survivors, while the major legendary Pokemon would try to repair what had been destroyed to the best of their abilities. Time appeared to have slowed to a crawl as entire cities were built in only a few minutes.
  • March 2nd: First contact with the revived. They struggled to maintain themselves under the stressful situation of being packed into massive cities.
  • March 4th: People began to realize that many were separated by the legendary Pokemon. The reasons are left unknown, but it broke many families up and left people over 10,000 miles away from their home country, leading to further instability.
  • March 7th: The last known sighting of Xerneas. That would be the last time a major legendary would've been spotted before they all vanished.
  • Sometime after March 7th: TPC issues a statement that they still exist, and would prefer that the revived were not called Pokehumans. They no longer had the legal rights to demand that, though many still absconded the idea to think of the revived as human.
  • April: Most are fine with calling the mass majority of companies are non-existent now, as most suffered severe manpower and coordination issues with their employees scattered across the 300+ mega-cities and no way to easily communicate nor coordinate. New startups are founded to try to repair what has been done.
• 2030
  • Zuelarite is discovered by a number of separate groups in Venezuela, starting in May.

Technologies

• Riot Control Gas - Formula 6882 is a gas sometimes utilized as a non-lethal riot control agent against the revived. It leaves the revived in a suggestive state, turning off their higher reasoning capabilities, while also leaving survivors relatively unharmed other than irritated lungs. While originally marketed for riot control, a more common use is for slavers to subdue the revived without needing to potentially hurt a product. It was discovered after a freak lab explosion managed to create it, and its effects were seen on the passerby revived. Caution must be used while using RCG-F6882, as the gas itself has proven to be quite flammable, and has an ignition point of just above 220f/104c, and uncontrolled exposure may result in a partial wilderification of a revived.
• Power Armor is a very common thing in cities with industrial capabilities. With the advent of portable hyper-dense energy solutions, many cities began to employ power armor with energy shields in their riot control teams to try to equalize the survivors with the revived. There has been discussion about using such equipment in mining operations as well, however the technology is currently banned for civilian use in most cities.
• Shrink Tech is a set of technologies which can modify the planck distance and adjust the gaps between molecules. Breakthroughs done by revived researchers meant that the defiance of the previously known physical laws was now possible, though the technology is heavily restricted due to the potential uses it has as a weapon.

Other Notes

• The mega-cities are split into two parts. The living quarters is the largest of the two parts, where farming and any mining operations are to take place. There is also an ecology zone, where one can hunt and retrieve plants to farm. Both often have the rubble of the cities they were built on top of just laying around.
• Scattered throughout most cities are the spires. These massive towering constructs are actually enormous ROM databanks, containing the entire internet before disaster struck. Shortly after their purpose was discovered, many were turned into new-age datacenters to provide infrastructure to the new internet.
• The outside world is mostly a "wasteland", pockmarked with craters. The soft barren sand gave rise to unnaturally lush vegetation created by Xerneas, often referred to as a jungle. You can live off of these plants, but the more familiar plants will not survive without a lot of extra help.

Variants

Got an interesting idea that puts a twist on this open concept? Go ahead and tell me! I might even add it.

New Dawn Variant

New Dawn is a more "optimistic" take on the Fallen World concept. There are some key differences.

The main one is that the mega-cities were never built, and the infrastructure wasn't as severely damaged. This means that while there are still tensions between humans and the revived, they're not as cut-throat, with relations between the two groups blossoming rather than floundering. This also means that the world is not quite as isolated, as the mega-cities did not trap humanity into a death spiral.

The other one is that there isn't really a "world-wide wasteland" to speak of. Instead of having a thick jungle growing over sandy soil, you now have a world covered in the same biomes as before, except the impact sites which all have the jungle. Much more of the ecology survived the impacts, leading to a far more lush world earlier on.

Storybase

Fallen

My own personal exercise into this world. Good if you want an idea of how to build a world around this concept, I guess.
Part 1
Part 2