Guts And Blackpowder

The infection, referred to in-universe as "The Blight" is an unknown disease with an incredibly high mortality rate—its origins are currently unknown. The Blight first appears in the late stages of the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), as the war begins drawing to a close and Russian soldiers begin leaving the Caucasus, the Blight begins to appear in small controlled outbreaks amongst the ranks of Ottoman Janissaries and the Russian Army, although the outbreaks are able to be contained—these are attributed to other diseases, such as the Black Death, or Miasma. Following the burning of Moscow, thousands of corpses within the city are resurrected and begin to slowly wreck havoc across Europe. Sinners who have failed to accept Christ and repent for their sins, upon succumbing to the infection, re-animate. Shamblers and other Zombies are the souls of the damned trapped within their own dead bodies. November 28th, 1812 | Berezina, Russia Following the Burning of Moscow, French forces begin a rapid retreat from Russia. As French forces retreated, a trigger-happy Frenchman blows the initial bridge across the Berezina River, leaving Marshal Claude-Victor Perrin's IX Corps and stragglers from the original bridge encampment trapped on the other side of the Berezina River. Victor orders the construction of a new bridge across the Berezina River. A number of his forces take carriages to retrieve logs from nearby areas, and deliver them to the players. As French Forces begin building the Bridge, the soldiers left behind become the first French soldiers to encounter the Infected. Upon the successful construction of the bridge, the French IX Army Corps successfully retreats the rest of their forces across the Berezina River, headed by Cuirassiers and Supply Wagons. December 24th, 1812 | Vardø, Norway Royal Navy Sailors onboard the HMS Undaunted lose a tow-ship containing several infected individuals onboard within a blizzard, with it crashing into the island of Vardøya. The following day, the Royal Navy discovers the ship crashed on the island, and the HMS Undaunted sends a crew of 15 men aboard a jolly boat to investigate the island. Only four of the Royal Navy sailors return. The Royal Marines and Sailors discover Zombies, referred to as "mad men turn cannibals" within the nearby village of Vardø, and flee, with several being killed. The crew of HMS Undaunted remains docked at a nearby port, with another blizzard approaching. Believing that the Royal Marines on the island may still be alive, they remain on the lookout for a signal from the nearby lighthouse. Danish soldiers within the main fortress compound retreat to the basement of one of the buildings within the compound, but as Shamblers attack and kill multiple Danish soldiers, they make a break for the dock to escape. The Danish soldiers ring the bell of the nearby church, and the crew of the HMS Undaunted, believing it is a signal from their expedition party, signals back. Danish soldiers then make their way to the lighthouse and activate it, guiding the HMS Undaunted to their position. The events that transpire at Vardøhus Fortress remain largely unknown by the general public until 1815, when Danish scientists and investigators make their way to the fortress to investigate. Numerous bodies are recovered—including several soldiers, and a Runner is spotted trapped within ice, still alive, and with its eyes moving. The investigators return the bodies from Vardøhus to Copenhagen in 1815. September 2nd, 1813 | Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain During the Siege of San Sebastián, British and Portuguese soldiers are captured by the French and imprisoned on the fortress at the top of the island. At some point following the British breach of the main rampart and the French retreat up the hill, the Blight strikes San Sebastián killing everybody in the city except for the survivors in the citadel and various stragglers. The British Army, caught completely unprepared for this threat, retreats fully disorganized. Inevitably, a French officer decides to release the British/Portuguese prisoners and arm them against the threat. These forces then make their way through San Sebastian, and encounter Barry, an Officer of the 9th Regiment of Foot, who helps them escape before dying. The survivors are then extracted to the HMS Undaunted, but it is unknown what becomes of them afterwards. Jonathan Baker was a British Soldier at San Sebastián during the initial outbreak. He leaves 2 notes for the players to find, which give them a glimpse into the initial outbreak at San Sebastián. His dead body can be found in a small building adjacent to the capstan section. Jonathan Baker's first note can be found in a shattered bottle—intended to be thrown into the sea—behind a large pile of crates at the bottom of the Winch. Late 1813 | Leipzig, Germany At the Battle of Leipzig, the Coalition and French forces simultaneously encounter the infection. Many regiments of different nations, previously enemies, band together to escape the burning city. As a result of this, Napoleon and most other major leaders became aware of the nature of the infection, and as a result called for a ceasefire. Fighting in the Napoleonic Wars officially concludes. Jacob, a French Engineer, mistakenly leaves his fuse too short to escape and kills himself in the detonation of the barrel used to save you and your allies. December 1813/January 1814 | Kaub, Germany With mass panic ensuing in Germany, panicked civilians within the areas surrounding Frankfurt rounded up hundreds of innocent civilians and forced them into the cellar of Pfalzgrafenstein castle. Field Marshal Blücher and elements of the 1. Garde zu Fuß, 13. Infanterie Regiment, and 18. Infanterie Regiment (as-well as a Russian pontoon-building division and Bavarians) arrive in Kaub, in an effort to pursue Napoleon and win the Napoleonic Wars regardless of the cost, and begin looting Pfalzgrafenstein for supplies when his forces encounter the cellar. The door bursts open, and nearly all of Blücher's forces die attempting to close the cellar, with the surviving forces being the respawning players, along with Blücher (now infected) and his accompanying Officer. When the players arrive in Kaub, they are elements of the German rear guard (as-well as Bavarian and Austrian stragglers attempting to get home). Blücher orders the players to secure the castle in order to secure safe passage for the Prussian Army across the Rhine River. Blücher later succumbs to the infection and kills his accompanying officer. Upon securing Pfalzgrafenstein, the players hole up and await the retreating Prussian Army. Following the events of Kaub, the Prussian Army is rendered largely out-of-action due to a collapse of the Prussian chain of command April 26th, 1814 | Tyrol, Bavaria Bavarian forces, along with the majority of allied armies are disorganized and panicked—with Stuttgart and Wurttemberg having succumbed to the Blight. Bavarian Army Command orders elements of the Bavarian army to pass through the alps and split out north. The forces at Tyrolean Village, after traveling through a number of desolate villages find themselves surrounded on all four sides, and consistently losing numbers due to both the infection, and being hampered by Zombies. The Bavarian and Austrian forces at Tyrolean Village, knowing they are surrounded, make one final stand against the Blight before succumbing to the infection. Late May 1814 | Saint Petersburg, Russia As The Blight begins to become an active threat and rip across Europe, Russian Army Command continues to pursue Napoleon, ignoring the Zombie threat and proclaiming it to be a "small disease" out of Moscow. Russian Soldiers stationed at St. Petersburg became increasingly concerned throughout October 1813 as Zombies near the gates of the city and gradually overrun Russian forces domestically. Russian forces are able to consistently lead Zombies away from the city for a period of several months. In May of 1814, the prevalence of the Zombie threat can no longer be ignored by Russian forces, and Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly answers the pleas of forces stationed at St. Petersburg by arranging for a defense. The city is fortified with garrisons positioned over various defensible positions with as much ammunition as possible, and using flags to signal each-other. On May 18th, a forceful evacuation of civilians from St. Petersburg began using all available means; with fishing vessels and civilian bulks being used to help civilians over long distances, and the rest traveling by foot. Several days later, the Blight reaches St. Petersburg and invades the city. The Players are one of several groups holding out at established defensible positions. Within the range of the city, a Russian Army Mortar Detachment is positioned. The Hobo repeatedly makes rounds bribing the Russian Army to provide him with guns, cannons, and mortar fire on the player's position. The players are able to successfully holdout for several hours, defeating the Zombies and signalling to other Russian forces within the city that they've held their position. 1815 | Ligny, Belgium La ferme d'En-Haut was the last stand of forces stationed in Ligny. It takes place at some point in 1815 as a precursor to the events of Waterloo. The forces in Ligny were down to 20 men, with 3 bags of flour, 40 bottles of juice, and a bag of five bread loaves. June 18th, 1815 | Waterloo, Belgium La Haye Sainte is one of the final stands of British and French forces at Waterloo, it takes place prior to Hougoumont. La Haye Sainte falls at 8:35 on June 18th, 1815. June 18th/19th, 1815 | Waterloo, Belgium Hougoumont is the last stand of British, German, and French forces at the Hougoumont Farmhouse in Waterloo—the soldiers at Hougoumont intentionally sacrifice themselves to allow for the rest of the French Army to retreat from Waterloo. It takes place shortly after La Haye Sainte (which is only a few miles from Hougoumont). Players can find a newspaper from the Britannia Herald on the desk in the entrance building, discussing several events going on in the world. Shortly prior to the defense of Hougoumont, the British Army abandons the French forces at Waterloo and retreats, causing the French forces to be overwhelmed--the defense of Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte give the main French forces the time necessary to properly retreat from Waterloo. Hougoumont falls by 2:00 on the morning of June 19th, 1815. June, 1815 | Paris, France Paris is in the midst of a large-scale evacuation, with tens of thousands of undead leaving the city in ruin. Jean is a French soldier, holding out with his men at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, uses the arrival of the players to begin the full evacuation of civilians from Notre Dame. Upon finishing the evacuation, Jean's men rings the bells of Notre Dame to signal the Ferryman, originally intended for his regiment. July 7th, 1815 | Copenhagen, Denmark Following the arrival of two investigative ships which returned from Vardøhus Fortress, and a subsequent outbreak of the Blight, the city of Copenhagen has been placed under a full quarantine by the Royal Navy, with the undead having reached the city, the Royal Navy is intent on keeping any survivors from getting out in order to avoid the spread of the Blight. The Royal Navy performs an extensive bombardment of the city utilizing Congreve Rockets, leaving the city completely ablaze. You and your team, stragglers from the Danish Army and National Guard, make an effort to evacuate from the city and escape. July, 1815 | Roscoff, France Following the French evacuation from Paris, American Ambassador William H. Crawford sends a letter to the United States requesting his evacuation from France. Upon receiving the letter, the United States dispatches the USS Constitution to extract Crawford. Crawford is brought to Roscoff by the French Army, which fortifies the city. A garrison is stationed at the church and takes Crawford to the attic of a nearby farmhouse. At some point shortly prior to the arrival of the U.S. Marines, the Zombies breach the cities defenses and overrun it, killing the majority of the French forces and forcing the rest to retreat into hiding. In response to the developing situation, the British deploy an Expeditionary Force to Roscoff to prevent any infected from breaching the shoreline and threatening the British mainland. With severe distrust sewn between French and British forces following the British retreat from Waterloo, the French Army takes members of the Expeditionary Force prisoner and kills several of them. Under the cover of fog, the USS Constitution sneaks past the British Quarantine of Europe and successfully docks in the harbor of Roscoff. The garrisoned forces at the Church retreat into the catacombs underneath the church, preparing to be overrun by the British Expeditionary Forces while the Scared French Soldier holds back the U.S. Marines outside, believing them to be British Forces. A large portion of the forces retreating through the Catacombs are slaughtered in their retreat. September 10th-11th, 1815 | London, United Kingdom In the wake of the fall of northern France two months prior, various reports of the Blight began to appear across the British Isles in cities such as Plymouth, Edinburgh, and Southend. Although it is unknown how exactly the Blight managed to get there, it can be assumed that it was the result of contaminated shipping. In order to halt the impeding threat, the British Government would establish martial law within London, although this would prove unpopular as riots and violent skirmishes would soon erupt throughout the city, and vandalism and robbery would be widespread. By the time the Blight reached London, military order had dissolved and many commanders had already fled to their estates.