The Aurora Crew | Metro Exodus

The world of Metro is set 20 years after a nuclear World War 3. The main story is set in Russia, but other countries still exist (some better off, most not), but the story is set in Russia and Kazakhstan for the most part. Most civilisations are isolated and live mostly underground (in cities), with radiation spread thin elsewhere. The Aurora’s crew is comprised completely of members of the Sparta Order, headed by Miller. The Order was the main ‘law enforcement’ organisation in the Russian Metro, before Artyom and Anna hijacked the Aurora in order to get away from Hansa soldiers, inadvertently dragging the other Rangers - and Yermak - along, far outside of the Metro. Now, they are setting sail for Lake Baikal in order to make a new home for themselves, as the Metro distrusts the Rangers.

The timeline is as follows: Winter, 2035: Start of the Aurora’s journey to recieve a pardon from the remains of the Government in the Yamantau Bunker, and an expedition through the Volga River area, encountering the Church of the Water Tsar and peacefully resolving the conflict along the way. Anna inhales too much of a deadly chemical weapon that damages her lungs afte falling into an abandoned ammo dump after spotting an American flag on a T-shirt, believing it to be NATO turf. Conditions minimal. Spring, 2035: The Yamantau Bunker has been reached by the Aurora Crew. Crew captured. After escaping and shooting up the bunker, Idiot devises a plan to find a new home via satellite imagery. The Aurora travels to the Caspian Sea to find satellite imagery, only to end up fighting the Munai-Bailer raider gang alongside a mysterious freedom fighter woman named Giul, who becomes Damir’s girlfriend. Anna’s condition worsens, but she lies and rationalises it as the sand. Fortunately, the crew’s next stop is a nearby taiga forest. Summer, 2035: The taiga forest has been reached, with Alyosha and Artyom sent to scout it out. The railcar they take falls into the river, but both men are saved by Olga, a Child of the Forest ‘Instructor’. She fails to hide Alyosha from the rest of the Children of the Forest, but manages to conceal Artyom. The two men regroup and discover that the dam keeping the valley safe from nuclear fallout and polluted water is about to burst, leading Alyosha to convince Olga to convince the Children to leave the forest. Anna’s condition becomes critical, and the truth is revealed. Autumn, 2035: Miller and Artyom head to Novosibirsk to, respectively, find a map to Lake Baikal and an antidote to Anna’s condition. The map and antidote are both found, and both men nearly lose their lives due to Blind Ones and radiation. They are resuscitated by the crew, who find them laid in the snow outside of the Novosibirsk Metro Station. The cure is administered to Anna, who recovers miraculously. Winter, 2036: Lake Baikal is reached. The Aurora Crew settles. Artyom is named Commander of the Aurora Rangers.

The Metro is controlled by four major factions: the communist Red Line controlling the Sokolnicheskaya Line and the Theater cultural centre station, amongst other, less notable stations; the fascist Fourth Reich controlling the Tverskaya, Chekhovskaya, and Pushkinskaya stations, while also maintaining outposts and military bases in several outlying stations and a few on the surface; Hansa, a faction of merchants, mercenaries, and corrupt politicians controlling the Ring Line and the shadow puppet of the ‘Invisible Watchers’; and Polis, the remains of the Russian army who have amassed together to make a better future. Underground. The Sparta Order is a subsidiary of Polis. The Order controls the D6 bunker.

Subfactions exist, usually in the form of glorified bandit groups and the Exhibition Militia, where Artyom’s stepfather, Alex Sukhoi, works as its leader. Venice fishermen also have some political sway, since, in the warmer months, Venice floods and creates the only reliable supply of food aside from mushrooms and livestock.

Outside of the Metro, numerous other factions exist, such as: • The Munai-Bailer - Oil Drillers - slaver-bandit clan in the Caspian Sea, headed by the Baron and opposed by the freedom fighter Giul. • The Children of the Forest, 2 tribes - the brutal Pirates and the peaceful Pioneers - of 150 (combined) survivalists who used to be children stranded in the forest by WW3 and taught how to survive by a man who was only known as The Teacher. • The Church of the Water Tsar, an electrophobic and technophobic cult of fishermen from around the Volga River who eschew technology in favour of prayer. They are headed by Silantius, who is religiously devout to the Tsar Fishes swimming in the Volga. • And finally, the Yamantau Cannibals, who posed as the Russian Army inside a heavily fortified - yet half completed - bunker since the War broke out, leading travellers and survivors to the bunkers, where they would be eaten. They are lead only by a madman known as Doctor Death, who, unlike his colleagues, did not succumb to the prions and lose most of his higher brain functions, and is still capable of reasoning.

Mutants run amok on the surface and underground, but mostly on the surface. Dog-like Watchmen travel in packs, rodent-ish Lurkers build huge colonies, batlike Demons (or Gargoyles) soar across the skies, Shrimp haunt the rivers and swamps, and bears are now at the top of the food chain. Dark Ones - telepathic 7 foot humanoids, with no mouths, milky-white eyes, lanky limbs, and a desperate drive to connect with their ‘parents’ (humans) - used to be a problem, until the Moscow population was all but decimated by Artyom when he fired missiles towards the Moscow botanical gardens. Artyom later repented by saving the last remaining Moscow Dark One, a mere child, by reuniting him with more of his kind from Saint Petersburg.

Anomalies and ghosts also exist. On the surface and underground, floating balls of lightning, simply called anomalies, scorch every living thing that dares go near them. Ghosts hide in the darkest corners of the Metro, dragging anything that lives into eternal damnation alongside them.

Numerous legends exist in the Metro, one of which is the River of Fate, a cursed sewage reservoir that guided whoever found it to their goal, as long as it is a benevolent one. It used to be a myth, until 2034, when the wandering mystic Khan - a frequent ally of the Order and Artyom specifically - and Artyom found it and used it to save the baby Dark One.

The most common form of currency in the Metro is military-grade incendiary rounds, which are incredibly common on the surface, and usually brought back to the tunnels by Stalkers, scavengers who frequent the surface.

For a long time, those who inhabited the Metro believed the surface air to be toxic without a gas mask. However, while this is true for cities that had been directly bombed or carpeted in fallout, it is not true for a wide area around these cities (though some pockets of radiation still remain). For example, the entirety of Moscow, except for most of the Metro, is toxic to breathe in, while around the Volga River and Vladivostok is not.

The Order - and some lone wanderers - use a hand-made charger made from a scooter-alternator, a stabiliser, a transformer, a large battery, and metal shears. This design became common after Artyom became a member of the order, alongside brace-mounted geiger counters, visibility lights (tiny lights that turn on when exposed to bright lights to signal the wearer of their visibility), gas mask filter counters (counting down from five minutes as the user breathes with a filter), a clock, and other gadgets.

CLOTHING & ARMOUR.

In the Metro and across the ruined world, all societies have still kept the concept of covering up, be it in tattered pre-war clothing, home-made clothing, vintage military gear, home-made military gear, or both home-made and authentic radiation protection suits. Those in the Sparta Order wear blue and white telnyashka army tank tops with camo cargo pants / shorts and specialised dogtags (all underneath their home-made plate carrier armour), Children of the Forest wear furs, foliage, and bones, the Munai Bailer wear heavy, heat-warding steel armour covered by cloaks and accompanied by goggles, Reich soldiers wear black and tan engineer jumpsuits and crudely put-together gas-masks, sometimes accompanied by helmets, hats, or heavier armour, and most Red Line soldiers wear authentic Soviet / USSR army gear, complete with ushankas, fur collars, and dark leather bandoliers. Metro and Surface citizens typically wear a mix of both pre-war and homemade clothing.

WEAPONS.

In the Metro and across the rest of the world, weapons are either hand-made or sophisticated pre-war relics. Everybody has one, everybody uses one, and those who don’t have at least a peashooter might as well give up. Simplistic weapons - such as revolvers, breech-loading or bolt-action rifles, and break-action shotguns - are usually sought after more than advanced guns by a wide margin of the Metro.

List of handguns.

Bastard: A makeshift SMG that has a high rate of fire which makes it overheat and jam quite rapidly, hence the weapon's name.

Lolife A bulky, square-ish makeshift semi-automatic pistol, the Lolife is quite capable and highly customizable to the point that some wielders have turned theirs into fully-fledged SMGs.

Revolver: A simple and reliable weapon produced in the Metro. Has great stopping power but kicks like a mule.

Stallion: An imported semi-automatic handgun that was extensively modified to better suit its current environment. It boasts great stopping power and is exceptionally effective against unarmored targets.

List of assault rifles & carbines.

AKSU: A shorter version of the classic Kalash with a folding stock has a very high rate of fire, but does not have the range or accuracy of its larger sibling. It is quite common amongst the poorer stations.

Bulldog: The pinnacle of the Kalash family, this assault rifle boasts massive improvements compared to its predecessors in terms of firepower, accuracy, ergonomics and weight. It also has a lower rate of fire, making it easier to control in burst mode. The weapon's advanced design makes it hard to maintain in the postnuclear world, degrading its reliability.

Kalash: The classic pre-war assault rifle, also known as the AK-47. Despite being very common, it is held in very high regard in the Metro due to its reliability, performance and variety in customisation.

Kalash 2012: At the start of World War 3, this was the best assault rifle used by the army. It is extremely sought after in the Metro due to its great performance. It resembles the P-90. It is seldom seen past Hansa or Polis merchants.

RPK: This classic pre-war light machine gun has a great range and is very precise, at the same time being able to handle long bursts. It tends to jam a lot, though, and needs frequent cleaning.

VSV: An accurate and powerful assault rifle made in the metro, good for medium-range combat. Its somewhat low muzzle velocity translates into lower noise and faster bullet drop. It is commonly used by both Reich and Polis stealth forces.

List of sniper rifles and relatives.

Clapper: This silenced anti-matériel rifle is extremely highly valued by experienced snipers for its immense power, pinpoint accuracy and stealth potential.

Hellbreath: The hand-held Hellbreath railgun shoots bearing balls at incredible speeds, but takes time to charge its capacitor. Deals lower damage if fired before charging fully. A weapon similar to the Hellbreath - the Volt Driver - can be made from a Tikhar.

Preved: Being the most powerful of non-anti materiel rifles produced in the Metro, it is capable of hitting its targets even in cover. It is capable of punching through tank armour. Anna uses this.

Valve: This rifle, made in the Metro by skilled gunsmiths, is extremely accurate and powerful. A truly great long-distance weapon. It is not as good as the Preved, but makes up for it by being more customisable.

List of shotguns.

Azbat: This buckshot-firing heavy machine gun is deadly at close range, but eats through ammo at a high pace and does not accept silencers. Modified from a vehicle-mounted machine gun by blacksmiths in Polis.

Ashot: This pistol, mass-produced in the Metro, is, despite being quite primitive, a powerful and reliable weapon that shines in close combat. It is heavily versatile, even being able to be modified into a hunting rifle.

Bigun: Assembled from common bicycle parts and metal pipes with the most basic tools, this revolver shotgun is as easy to manufacture as it is efficient in the enclosed space of the metro.

Duplet: This pre-war 12-gauge shotgun is one of the best close combat weapons ever used in the Metro. A blast from both of its barrels can kill almost any mutant on the spot.

Saiga: This pre-war automatic shotgun is very reliable and has a high rate of fire, which makes it a great weapon for dealing with packs of mutants.

Shambler: This revolving hybrid shotgun of pre-war and metro tech is very effective at close range and stays so even at medium range, but takes quite some time to fully reload. Named for the clearly-bullshit Metro folktale that any man sent into the tunnels with this gun would be turned into a zombie (‘shambler’) upon death.

List of pneumatic weapons.

Helsing: A silent, revolving air gun that shoots metal bolts. Overpressurizing its tank increases power, but the extra pressure vents before long. Surprisingly very common across the wastelands, with numerous forms as a crossbow even showing up from time to time.

Tikhar: A makeshift air gun, surprisingly silent and accurate. Overpressurizing its tank increases power, but the extra pressure vents before long. Certain modifications can turn it into a railgun like the Hellbreath before it.

List of heavy weapons:

Flamethrower: This makeshift pneumatic flamethrower does not have an awful lot of range, but it more than makes up for that with its lethality and remarkable ability to use almost any fuel available in the Metro.

Gatling: A makeshift rotating barrel machinegun capable of long sustained fire barrages. Requires spin-up before it can actually shoot

Medved: A makeshift spring-operated grenade launcher capable of lobbing grenades of any kind. The grenades explode upon hitting anything.

GRENADES & THROWABLES

Most grenades in the metro are homemade following the end of World War 3, made with steel pipes and basic flammable materials & ignition mechanisms. Despite their makeshift nature, they are no less deadly than their pre-war counterparts.

Pipe bomb: The successor of the fragmentation grenade, the pipe bomb is made by plugging one end of a lead pipe, filling it with alcohol, gunpowder and a pinch of gasoline, all in layers separated by thin metal discs, and then corking it with an ignition mechanism similar to a pistols.

Sticky bomb: Same as the pipe bomb, but with added hooks to cling to soft targets and objects.

Molotov cocktail: Not much has changed with molotovs.

Throwing knife: Sharp shards of metal with Lurker ‘leather’ handles, balanced to be thrown for stealth ops.

Flashbangs: Developed almost exclusively by the Order’s senior members, not much has changed with flashbangs, except the contents are encased inside small oil cans.

MUTANTS

Mutants of a common variety are generally tough creatures, which have adapted to their nuclear environment and can withstand high levels of physical trauma. Derivative from local fauna, the mutants of the surface world and the Metro often display above normal intelligence and, as a result, most species will travel and hunt in packs. While their behavior and movements are rather similar from encounter to encounter, scripted scenes keep gameplay fresh and exciting. Most mutants of the Metro are beings shaped and evolved to life in darkness, as this is essentially their world.

The majority of mutants are species that have high reproductive rates, a prime example being the numerous lurkers. This could explain that in a mere 20 years, almost all surviving species with high reproductive rates are completely mutated from the radiation.

Not all animals are mutated. Most dogs - except the Nops breed favoured by bandits - are completely normal, only really possessing larger, stockier builds (no matter the breed), larger mouths, and a more ferocious temper. Rabbits have longer limbs. Deer are missing patches of fur and have more outward-curling antlers. Seagulls feed on carrion. And so on.

Some mutant animals include:

Medved - A species of bear descending from brown bears that were affected by the radiation and grew to monstrous proportions. The size of a typical wooden cabin and considered the ‘Apex Predators’ of the remains of Russia, they can easily kill Demons and adult male Shrimp, and go toe-to-toe with Nosalis Rhinos.

Biomass - A very large mass of intelligent radioactive organic material (possibly derived from a single colony of bacteria) formed after the use of bioweapons created by NATO were launched at the Kremlin. Originally infested D6 before being purged by Artyom and Miller in 2033

Blind Ones - Giant gorilla-like mutants living in the abandoned research facility at Novosibirsk. They might be a family of the Librarians or a related species. They have absolutely zero eyes, but have an incredible sense of smell and hearing, and can telepathically communicate with human minds or outright control those of lesser intellect. They are secretly the prototype experiment by the Russian government to create super-soldiers before 2013, with the final outcome being the Dark Ones.

Błotniak - Semi-intelligent, humanoid, piscine creatures living in the Vistula, but also capable of breathing and movement on land. Somewhat similar to the mythical Slavic utopiec/topielec (drowner) creatures. They use basic tools made from stone and sticks.

Corpse Eaters - Corpse Eaters are tiny, non-lethal insectoid scavenger mutants that feed on the corpses of all creatures, including members of their own species. They derived from wingless flys.

Dark Ones - Very powerful species of sentient humanoids with psionic abilities that attempt to communicate with Artyom. They are the results of (possibly deliberately engineered) mutations in humans, and are also known as Homo novus. They were the scourge of the Metro until 2033, where the Moscow population was scourged by missiles fired towards the botanical gardens - their nest - by Artyom, with a child Dark One surviving, rejoining a second, unidentified Russian population. Dark Ones are capable of rendering themselves invisible, move matter with their minds, kill living creatures via psychic overload, influence dreams, perceptions and even minds, and telepathically talk to those who don’t negatively regard them, such as Artyom. Khan, a wandering mystic, suggested that this was due to humanity being ‘incompatible’, with people like him and Artyom having a ‘common wire’.

Demon - A giant bat-like creature found only on the surface. Varying populations have different traits. For example, Caspian Sea and Volga demons have shaggy fur, split jaws and more bat-like features, whilst Moscow demons have large, tyrannosaurus-like maws, thick-leathery skin, small eyes, and leathery dragon-like wings.

Humanimal - A humanoid mutant severely affected by decades of radiation, both in appearance and behavior. These once-humans have not only abandoned civilisation, but have regressed to an animalistic state, and will attack their human cousins on sight. They resemble zombies, just without the decay. They will throw rocks at prey.

Librarian - Librarians are much less deformed than other mutants of the Metro, resembling ordinary gorillas in both posture and overall physical appearance, though they are much larger and have longer and thinner arms. In the game however, they have a fearsome visage, as their faces, somewhat humanoid, have one lip that covers their shark-like teeth and snout. This is caused by the nose and upper lip of their gorilla progenitors fusing over successive generations. They are very territorial and will confront anything that appears to be a threat. They show signs of aggression by roaring and raising their upper lip, showing their teeth as a deterrent like most modern primates do. They are so powerful and territorial that they will even fight a demon if it enters the Library. Notorious for being some of the most dangerous monsters that inhabit the wastes of Moscow, Librarians are very difficult enemies, resilient enough to withstand multiple point-blank shots even from powerful weapons like the Duplet, and whose attacks can kill men with a few quick vicious sweeps. They are quite agile and capable of performing high jumps through the building despite their size, and most importantly they have enormous physical strength, at least somewhat on par with the demons, and more than enough to tear apart a human being with their elongated fingers and claws. They are one of, if not, the most intelligent mutants found in the surface of Moscow. They also appear to be omnivorous as they have cultivated large amounts of plants in several areas around the Library. Librarians' place in the apocalyptic Moscow ecology is entirely unknown, given their rather reclusive behaviour. However, due to the fact that Librarians are some of the few mutants that have the capacity and power of actively battling demons, their position is likely that of apex predators—similar to pre-war humans.

Librarians have a somewhat low level of intelligence that can be compared to a gorilla. Aside from humans and the Dark Ones, however, they are one of the most intelligent creatures still alive. Librarians have unique abilities that come from the fact that they are mutated primates. They can memorize small pieces of literature, place traps, and are even capable of semi-communication in the form of creating a temporary neutrality only by staring a human in the eye. Aside from this, the Librarians' intelligence is largely undiscovered and remain almost unknown.

Lurker - Small, numerous, and agile creatures likely mutated from rats. They are a colonial species that burrow and make large nests, dragging prey into them alive. Like Watchmen and Nosalisies, different populations have different traits. They have been kept as pets by more wealthier stations.

Mutant Crow - Mutant crows are small bird-like animals living on the surface and have the ability to fly. They can also mimic human speech like parrots.

Newcomers - Large, black, humanoid bony mutants only ever encountered in 2033 while Artyom is at Paveletskaya. The same mutants are later encountered again by Artyom the following year , though this time they are described as being large, pale, and having no eyes. They're also extremely durable and blindingly fast. It's possible that these are different mutants that chased out the original "newcomers".

Nosalis - A common mutant found in the metro that likely mutated from moles. There are six varieties known: common, black, winged, albino, plated, and rhino. Different populations have different traits, with a population found outside of Moscow having heads that look like tapirs, with a pronounced trunk that curls upwards when they snarl, while those found in Moscow look more mole-like. Male Nosalis are generally bipedal carnivorous mutated moles, but can assume a quadrupedal stance. They move a lot like apes, and are known to ‘bellow’. Female Nosalis resemble elephant seals, but have sugar-glider-like ‘wings’ and can emit high frequency pitches to stun and even kill prey. Nosalis Rhino - A massive nosalis leader that acts as an alpha female to common nosalises. As large as an elephant, armoured as a tank and surprisingly fast.

Shrimp - A catch-all term for chitinous marine mutants found in the underground metro "rivers" and the swamps on the surface. ‘Male Shrimp’ are mostly mutated crayfish (‘river’ Males) and mutated peacock shrimp (‘swamp’ Males) that are twice the size of a human and have club-like frontal limbs (‘swamp’ Males) or shield-like frontal limbs (‘river’ Males). ‘Female Shrimp’ are an all-female mutated spot shrimp species that have incredibly evolved reproductive organs in order to take the sperm of both the river and swamp males despite being distantly related to either. They have hagfish-like mouths and can spit corrosive saliva at prey.

Slimeslug - A mutant only ever mentioned in part of Metro folklore and black market drug dealing. Slimeslugs are very powerful, presumably predatory snail-like creature that leave hallucinogenic slimy trails in their wake.

Snakes - Though largely unchanged by radiation, some of these reptiles have developed bug-like legs and pincers on their tails.

Spiderbug - Large scorpion and spider-like arthropods that are deathly vulnerable to light. Males have a long stinger tail like a scorpion, and females can spit corrosive webbing. They are the most genetically diverse mutant species, with thousands upon thousands of subspecies throughout Russia. Spiderbug’s on the surface are tiny, whilst those underground in the metro and tunnels are the size of a dog.

Tsar Fish - A large aquatic species of mutated predatory catfish inhabiting the Volga river. Their front and back fins have evolved into arms, allowing them to ‘breach’ onto land like killer whales, thus making catching prey much easier. They also have prehensile tongues, vaguely crocodilian heads, and have lost their ‘whiskers’.

Upyirs - Medium-sized mutant vampire bats. These mutants are named after vampires due to their likeness to large bats, though they are not Demons as they crawl rather than fly. They have small leathery looking wing folds under their arms, as well as webbed hands and feet. They are known to attack entire stations in waves, competing with carnivorous rats.

Watchmen - Large dog-like mutants descended from stray dogs, covered with patches of dark grey fur, and known for their distinct howling. They have numerous ‘breeds’ based off what breeds they were descended from. One population in Russia had flat faces, prominent jowls, small ears, teeth that stuck out forwards, thick necks, lanky builds, shaggy grey fur that was thick and silver around the neck, back, and other parts of the body, while another was built powerfully, with straighter teeth, powerful jaws, receeding jowls, wiry grey-black fur, uncanny intelligence, and bulging, side-mounted eyes mostly covered by barnacle-shaped orbit-eyelid-fusion structures, blinking only via their third eyelid.

Worm - Giant leeches and bobbit worms living in a flooded station of the Novosibirsk Metro and some parts of the surface, mostly Vladivostok. Adult females are 24 feet long and resemble huge, grotesque bobbit worms with segmented armour plating and spikes resembling legs planted on each segment, while adult males are 3 feet long, resemble spike-covered leeches spit corrosive slime at prey, and are largely immobile. Interestingly enough, worms are neither leeches nor bobbit worms, but are instead an invasive species of velvet worms not native to Russia. They prey on nosalises in the Novosibirsk Metro, or anything large enough to devour.

Reaper - A centipede-like creature more than three meters tall, with a long, woolly, dark pole on its body and tail. Its front limbs are one and a half times longer than its body, and end in long sickle-shaped claws (which is how it got its nickname). Has a keen sense of hearing. Isn't very fast while running, but can leap across obstacles in quick bursts.

The Swallow - Resembles a long gray caterpillar. The body is similarly elongated, with the front of the body curving upward at right angles. At the very top of the curve is the mouth. The swallow's body is also covered with hair. Six furry spider-like legs stick out from under the swallow's belly, with which it can move quickly and silently, or walk sideways like a crab. Each such paw ends in three predatory curved claws.

Nops - Heavily mutated and altered dogs that are almost entirely changed by radiation. are remotely like medium-sized dogs, but without fur. Their muscular and lean bodies are covered in pale pink fur, with brown warts or bright red spots. Nops can produce a terrible howl. Their elongated head had a huge jaw with protruding fangs and tubercles instead of ears. Nops had fearsome, greedy, burning eyes with irritated orbits in a barnacle shape, protecting their eyes. Nops are strong enough to carry a man on their backs. They can make leaps that are two meters long. They are omnivorous.

THE SUPERNATURAL

After the bombs fell, paranormal activity began to skyrocket in the tunnels of the Metro. This is partially due to a large amount of psychic activity (Dark Ones) in the area.

Anomaly - These supernatural, bright blue balls of light will electrify and kill everything around them as they drift through the metro.

Damned Souls - Damned Souls manifest as the upper body or arms of restless, immobile beings trapped in a limbo between life and death and gathered to the centre of Moscow - where all roads lead to. The baby Dark One states that they do not know they are dead, and they are terrified and lonely, grabbing onto anyone that ventures near because they wish for someone to stay with them.

Darkness - Ill-defined patches of ghost-related darkness that renders electric light useless.

Ghosts - Though not true mutants, ghosts are strange after-images of people/creatures that died in the metro and have not passed on.

Great Door - A seemingly hypnotic entity found in the lost catacombs, embodied by a large red door.

Nagornaya Phantoms - Giant supernatural entities obscured by fog who kill the youngest member of groups to apparently consume their life force. It is, however, possible that these are not supernatural beings, but mutants who've somehow gained the ability to create fog.

River of Fate - An anomalous flow of water, said to be able to change the destiny of those who enter it for the better. Artyom and Khan had an experience with it, allowing them to save the Metro.

Master of the Tunnels - A disembodied entity and a revered character of folklore, the keeper of the St. Petersburg Metro.

FACTIONS

Rangers of the Order - An elite paramilitary organization considered the protectors of the Metro, the Rangers, also known as Spartans, venture the Metro and the surface, eliminating mutants or bandits who prey on the weak. Although apparently neutral, they maintain close ties with Polis (itself a self-proclaimed neutral power), with many members hailing from the city. They possess no home stations, instead of occupying the surface base of Sparta, and the D6 bunker following the events of 2034. Their leader, Miller, enforces a policy of "if it's hostile, you kill it", which has served the Rangers well so far. Many of the veteran members were previously Russian special forces or military, training which has helped the Rangers to gain a reputation as the most formidable fighters in the Metro. About 250 men and women can claim the honour of being Spartans, with 100 in the field at any time.

Polis - Occupying the quadruple transfer point of the Arbatskaya, Alexandrovsky Sad, Biblioteka Imeni Lenina, and Borovitskaya stations, if Hanza is the jugular of the Underground then Polis is its beating heart. A beacon of learning and pre-war civilization in the darkness after doomsday, only in Polis have the many comforts of the old Russia, first among them near-total safety, been preserved. Formed by surviving members of the Russian government, military apparatus, and intelligentsia, Polis lacks a head of state, possessing a Council bringing together the various pre-war sects which birthed the faction.

Fourth Reich - A fascist faction inspired by the ideas and policies of Adolf Hitler and his Third Reich. Led by the Führer and formed around a core of neo-nazis and pre-war xenophobes, the Reich strives to build a new order, emulating Nazi Germany’s techniques and ideals (such as having a Gestapo whilst also mixing German into their everyday speech). The Fourth Reich controlled three main stations in the Moscow Metro: Tverskaya, Chekhovskaya, and Pushkinskaya. They also maintained outposts and military bases in several outlying stations.

The Commonwealth of the Stations of the Ring Line or Hanseatic League - Commonly shortened to "Hanza": The richest faction (after Polis) and the largest trading collective in the Metro. Not the most moral, though. They worked with Polis to hide the truth of civilisation outside of Metro for years, with Artyom and Anna finding out. Being the most powerful faction at the time, they branded the offending Aurora Crew traitors, with the entire point of Miller's personal journey being to receive a pardon from the government in Yamantau.

Red Line - A Marxist-Leninist and neo-Stalinist faction, the Red Line is the haven of Soviet nostalgists and ageing former members of the CPSU and Komsomol. The Red Line employs tactics such as propaganda and societal repression to maintain power over small stations. Not every Red is a bad egg, though. Some merely don’t know any better. The Red Line primarily operates along the Sokolnicheskaya Line in the Metro, but also have Theater and Sokol.

Church of the Water Tsar - A technophobic cult occupying the area around the Volga River, the Church of the Water Tsar are loyal followers of Silantius, an old, insane man who had drilled ideas of hatred for electricity and technology into the minds of his followers alongside a religious devotion to the Tsar Fish, a giant, predatory mutant catfish that stalks the Volga. Their main fighting force is the Paladins, mercenaries allowed to use guns to execute heretics.

Munai-Bailer - An advanced Bsndit group setting up shop in the Caspian Sea, they are slavers first and foremost, enslaving the local Kazakhstani tribes, killing the old and leaving the young to be put to work on stripping destroyed ships and be used as attack dogs. Men were put to work and women are used as sex objects. They are headed by the Baron, who lives in a massive wooden tower. They use pieced-together cars to get around, and use heavily-modified weaponry.

The Children of the Forest - A ‘tribe’ comprised into two different subfactions, the peaceful Pioneers and the brutalist Pirates. They were the 150 children stranded in the forest on a camping expedition, with a man only known to them as The Teacher teaching them everything they needed to survive, plus strong moral standing and a sense of justice. They have a ‘Forest Court’, but the Pirates tend to ignore it. After the Teacher committed suicide from grief, an older boy named Roman took over, leading them through much of the same methods. They mostly use guns and handmade Helsing crossbows, and their clothes are stitched together from objects found in nature.

Invisible Watchers - In 2035, Artyom learned that all four major factions in the Metro are controlled by the remnants of the Russian government, who did not flee to the Ural Mountains as most assumed. Instead, they hid in a Soviet bunker turned Cold War museum near Taganskaya Station. When World War III broke out, high ranking members of Russian society took refuge there. One of the Watchers' leaders, Bessolov (aka Aleksei Feliksovich), explains to Artyom that the leaders of all four factions are kept in line using threats, blackmail, and bribes. Wars between them are orchestrated by the Watchers as a form of "controlled conflict" and population control. After this had been spread to the Metro public, the Invisible Watchers were hunted down and brutally killed, leading to a sort of peacetime between the numerous warring factions.