Zone-Born Artifact Hunter

C.E.Z: From the year 2006 to the current year of 2046, this region in Ukraine around the Chernobyl Nuclear Powerplant has been a site for the bloodiest unofficial wars in recent memory. From the year 2024 and onward, the C.E.Z, shorthanded as The Zone, this area has slowly been expanding, swallowing up large swaths of land in all directions. This development came with its own riches, as due to the nearly impossible amount of remains left behind by warfare, new flora and fauna have begun to sprout with near magical abilities. There's an untold amount of genuses and usecases for those new plants and animals, as well as a whole host of mineralesque materials now integrated into the modern world's material sciences. The factions never stopped warring, not for a second, only feeding new corpses to The Zone in the name of whatever their leader says. Due to the new materials coming from the Zone, armours have been more robust than ever, with exoskeletons becoming the normal for the Zone's upper classmen. With corporations like the American Bulwark Automata and their V8 "Centurion" combat exoskeleton, to Michigan Institute Of Science's "Saturn" scientific suit, the Zone has become a far more diverse place for equipment.

Weather: The Zone is a strange place weatherwise, as its weather is always contained within its boundaries. Springs will nearly drown people with how hard it rains, and Winters can hit as low as 150 degrees below 0 in Celsius.

ZIVCAS: A mega-corporation started in 2011 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. ZIVCAS handles arms manufacturing, equipment manufacturing, and much more for the denizens of the Zone. However, in the last half decade or so, they have begun to deploy their own PMC's with cutting edge equipment to fight for their interests in The Zone. These PMC's kill on sight and are not to be trifled with, as their gear is on par with some of the richest already pre-existing people in The Zone.

Mercenaries: A group of well... mercenaries. They're freelancers, PMC's, armed thugs, and whatever other derogatory names are tacked onto them. They are represented by an eagle head, using it as their emblem. Led by a man named Muller, whom was around during the first expansions of The Zone circa 2024, they tackle any and all jobs for any and all payers, no risk too high being a reoccurring theme with them. They are at odds with Freedom, whom see them as an active threat to the ownerlessness of the Zone. Their main armour kit is the RS-73 Punisher exoskeleton, a speedy modular system borrowing much from other exoskeletons while adding onto it. Distinctly, the Punisher armour has a sort of skull motif going on with its gasmask, which many mercenaries play off of using paint to modify their armour to look more skeletal.

Freedom: A group of free-loners and potheads, Freedom is a faction deadset on keeping the C.E.Z open to all visitors. Often described as being the surfer stereotype, Freedomers are the kind of people to go on a nature walk in this kind of hellscape. Their main armour is the Hound Exoskeleton, a speed-demon of an armour lacking in ballistic protection. The Hound is more ghillie suit shaped, but is generally made from scraps and salvage, leading to the moniker of "Trash Panda"

Duty: Rising back to power as their numbers surged post-expansion, Duty is a faction that wants to contain and restrict the Zone from others. Ex-Military, fanatical, whatever gets them going to purge the Zone off the planet is usually what describes them. They are one of the oldest players in the Zone, having ties to the original groups that came into The Zone, like ex-military personnel that got stranded. Their main armour is the Vanguard Combat Suit, an armour where the exoskeleton wasn't there to increase carry weight but increase just how many armour plates you can bolt on. The Duty soldiers have come up with all kinds of derogatory names for this armour, as it's cumbersome, and overall an ugly piece of shit. They are at odds with the Covenant, as the Covenant sees their goals as heretical and thus a threat to their ideals.

The Covenant: First spotted in 2034, The Covenant is a shadowy group of almost-cultists that believe The Zone is the beginning of the end days. Utilizing almost terrorist tactics, they rain hell on everyone whom they deem heretics, often being described as crazed fanatical lunatics with a pension for blood. Disgustingly enough, some reports say that some of the highest ranking members wear human skin pelts as trophies... Their main armour is the Peresvet Prayer Suit, a non-exoskeletal armour that focuses on keeping the wearer safe from environmental hazards and anomalies. Some say that if you smell lavender, a Peresvet suit is nearby.

Forge-11: The mysterious technopolis has become the center of of interest for all factions in the North, most of the points of interest in this region are controlled by ZIVCAS's elite units guarding a teleporter prototype, but their hold on Forge-11 is waning by the day. It is a brutal free for all within Forge-11's limits, and is unlikely to have a single faction ruling over it. Factions hold their own entrances to this region, with the Mercenaries and Freedom-ers entering from the Mines as Duty and Covenant pour in from Inflow, Forge-11 has proved to be the truest of tests an inhabitant of the Zone can take.

Inflow: The area between the Temple Swamp and Barrier has become a bloodied battlefield between the Covenant and Duty in recent times. The area of Inflow used to be a relatively bustling town that relied on it's river for things getting in and out of the region. Today, it's fought over for control of the most direct export and import path in the Zone's new North.

Barrier: Littered with abandoned military bases, derelict military depots, and radar stations, this is where Duty has laid it's claim on the new Northern section of the Zone. Despite an extensive patrol network, heavily armed specialized kill-teams, and even rumored connections to the Military, they just can't seem to exterminate the mutants in the region.

Temple Swamp: Humid, muddy, and teeming with Covenant forces, this is the home of the Zone's most religious competitor. Once a place of religion with a church at every corner, it is now a place where the leader of the Covenant, Metropolitan, can actively seek the cleansing of heretics from the Zone, one filthy sinner at a time.

Mines: An old ore processing installation, the main metallurgy and excavation equipment found in the middle of the region, sat between two housing sites that once held workers for this once prosperous area. The mercenaries hold the northern section, whilst Freedom holds the southern areas of the region, both sides fighting for the main facilities within the middle of the Mines. The main centerpiece of this region is the towering almost panopticon-esque building in the middle, once the main hub where everything and everyone passed through, it is now an incredibly advantageous vantage point for sharpshooters, and a highly sought after outpost location.

Black Detour: The road that once served as a detour for the Mines region has recently been overtaken by anomalies, outputting enough heat to melt anything below the highest tier of Science suit, and biohazardous particles that one's cells start melting away should they enter unprotected by the highest grade of biohazard protection.

Serpentine: The mountainous home of the Mercenaries, whom reside in the Cardboard and Paper Mill. Dubbed as Serpentine due to it's snaking mountains and the once popular paper toy manufactured here. The Mercenary's home is picturesque yet dangerous, while their base of operations has earned the name of "Paper Kremlin" due to it's practical invincibility to attacks.

Institute: Residing in the area's namesake Experimental Agronomy Institute located near the dried-up riverbed (It most likely dried up due to an anomalous phenomenon down stream), is Freedom's foothold in the North. Nearby is a small Hydroelectric Dam, while no longer used to create electricity in the region, it is now used by Freedom as a checkpoint hub.