Black Rock Region

[Willy Pete]

Summary: a wide-open valley plagued by harsh weather and harsher wildlife, chosen for the location of the Black Rock Penitentiary due to its remote location on the island.

Background: In the early 20th century the Canadian government purchased a spot of empty land in the remote Black Rock valley on Great Bear Island to build a penitentiary for those who they wished to keep off the mainland. Thus, Black Rock Penitentiary was built. An abandoned coal mine was refurbished and restored to give the prisoners a way to earn wages and to furnish the Penitentiary’s supplies.

With the arrival of the first series of prisoners, things settled into normalcy. While bouts of violence inside the prison weren’t uncommon they were quickly contained with minimal damage and those who escaped rarely made it very far due to the remote location. While some were against it, the current Warden managed to get permission to use blast mining to expand the mine. Under his keen supervision, his guards managed a small supply of ANFO-based mining charges to expand Breakback mine into its modern size.

During The Event a number of things happened. At the time, the Warden was overseeing a new supply of mining charges in the mine. When The Event kicked off he received a call from the Penitentiary via landline phone about the chaos and a fire breaking out. He called for the evacuation of the mine but the elevator’s engine went haywire and sent it crashing to the ground, trapping all prisoners and guards inside. Tensions rose, some prisoners in the lower levels managed to overpower their guards and get their weapons as well as some mining charges. Someone twitched and chaos ran its natural course, with much of the mine collapsing in a cascade event that trapped the Warden and many others within the dark bowels of the mine.

Up above, a fire had broken out in the prison Armory that led to an explosion which collapsed the Armory in on itself with most of the weapons inside. With only a handful of weapons, loss of facility controls leading to most of the cell doors being opened, a handful of guards barricaded themselves into the hallway leading to the armory. A riot ensued with the prisoners being unable to escape and a fire erupted causing massive damage to the penitentiary. All inside perished due to a mixture of smoke, fire, and violence. The damage sustained allowed wolves to squeeze inside where they found a wealth of fresh human flesh ripe for the taking.

Key locations (Maps Below): 

-Black Rock Penitentiary: built to house the worst of the worst, criminals who the government didn’t want to keep on the mainland due to the severity of their crimes. Located centrally in a remote valley with wide snowdrifts and no shelter, those who do manage to escape never make it far before succumbing to the weather or wildlife.

While there is an abundance of loot for those who venture inside, the Penitentiary itself is a poor shelter. Fire damage lets the cold in and reliance on electrical systems means that a campfire is required to cook anything. On top of that, wolves regularly patrol the inside and outside making it dangerous.

A fire broke out during The Event and a riot followed during an attempted evacuation, leading to many bodies and spent shell casings strewn about the inside. Wolves managed to get in due to damage caused by the fire and found a taste for human flesh. They now roam the halls, hungry for more meat.

The only way to access the penitentiary further than the reception area is by finding the codes to the many doors and then visiting during an Aurora. Each section is separated by a two-door airlock with only one door being able to open at a time. First open the entry door, then once beyond move to the next door. The first door will close when the second door is accessed. 

Each keycode can be found on one of the guard or prisoner bodies outside of the penitentiary with the prospect of finding a master keycard on the Warden. Notes and buffer memories that can be found indicate that he was in Breakback mine when The Event took place.

At the end of the penitentiary run one will find the Armory. It offers almost no protection from the elements as it was the epicenter of the fire, having mostly collapsed in on itself with the majority of navigation requiring the player to crouch. However, inside one can find ammunition and weapons that survived the blaze, all the older enfield rifles and revolvers as the better weapons were slagged or otherwise ruined. Other high-tier items including meds and clothing can also be found here and the slagged weapons can be broken down for easy scrap metal.

-Breakback Mine: an old coal mine where the prisoners toil, mining coal for the prison use and to earn wages or just pass the time. Multi-leveled with elevators and lifts separating each level. Nodes with coal can be found and mined with a pickaxe, though with the lifts out of action one must find rope to descend into the mine proper.

During The Event a number of prisoners and guards were trapped inside when the elevator collapsed. Tensions were high and a riot broke out in the following chaos, with prisoners managing to steal mining charges. One wrong move caused a cascade event that caused cave-ins throughout the mine, trapping a good portion of the prisoners inside the mine.

The Warden was one of the few who managed to survive the initial chaos, though he succumbed to his wounds behind one of the collapsed portions of rubble. To find his body and the master keycard one will need to use luck and skill to find mining charges to clear the way.

-Winding road: a road leading up a hill into the mountains to leave the region.

-Mountain tunnel: a tunnel leading out of the region.

-Long road: the other way to transit in and out of the region.

-Little trail and Little trail overlook: a small trail on the Winding road leads to a small clearing where a family might have a picnic. A couple benches have been set up here, though due to the proximity to the penitentiary few stop here.

-Convict cave: a small, empty cave named so as freezing convicts might find shelter here if they manage to escape.

-Road collapse: a portion of the road collapsed, possibly in relation to an automotive accident during The Event. One car can be found at the bottom of the rubble, with a few more stalled out above. Tread with caution or you might fall as well.

-Prison bus: the prison bus would be parked in the motor pool. It would be a non-transition zone with a closeable door and limited items inside. It would serve as protection from weather and wildlife. If mining charges were craftable, one could harvest diesel fuel from it to make more. Otherwise it would just be a unique location.

Special Items:

-Prison Shirt: a blaze-orange long sleeved shirt for prisoners to wear. Not very warm, but at least wolves and bears don’t see in color.
Warmth: 0.5 C
Windproof: 1.0 C
Waterproof: 0%
Protection: 0%
Mobility: 0%
Weight: 0.25 Kg
Repair: 1x Cloth (30 minutes, +35% condition)

-Prison Pants: a blaze-orange set of pants for prisoners to wear. Not very warm, but at least wolves and bears don’t see in color.
Warmth: 1.0 C
Windproof: 0.0 C
Waterproof: 0%
Protection: 0%
Mobility: 0%
Weight: 0.5 Kg
Repair: 1x Cloth (30 minutes, +30% condition)

-Guard Coat: an outer coat worn by prison guards, built to protect you from weather and wildlife.
Warmth: 3.0 C
Windproof: 3.5 C
Waterproof: 40%
Protection: 9%
Mobility: -5%
Weight: 2.0 Kg
Repair: 2x Cloth (90 minutes, +30% condition)

-Guard Pants: heavy-duty pants worn by prison guards, built to protect you from weather and wildlife.
Warmth: 2.0 C
Windproof: 1.0 C
Waterproof: 20%
Protection: 8%
Mobility: 0%
Weight: 0.75 Kg
Repair: 1x Cloth (30 minutes, +30% condition)

-Stab-proof vest: a vest made of high-durability reinforced fabric to prevent attacks from bladed weapons, should be effective against wolves and bears as well.
Warmth: 0.5 C
Windproof: 0.5 C
Waterproof: 70%
Protection: 30%
Mobility: -7%
Weight: 2.5 Kg
Repair: 1x Cured leather (90 minutes, +25% condition)

-Pickaxe: a heavy pickaxe with a metal head and sturdy wooden handle. Designed for breaking down rocks.
Weight 2.0 Kg
Repair: 1x Fir firewood or Not repairable
Use: the pickaxe would be found inside Breakback mine and could be used to mine coal from nodes along the walls similar to harvesting wood from fallen limbs. The source nodes could be infinite or finite, giving players another way to collect coal that didn’t require RNG.

-Mining charge: tube filled with ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (ANFO) with a 60 second fuse. Used for clearing debris during mining. High explosive, use with caution!
Weight 0.25 Kg
Crafted: mining charges would be found in Breakback mine in low quantities. Others might be crafted from ammonium nitrate prills found in the mine and diesel fuel from the bus or non-crafted and only found in the mine.
Use: if implemented they would be used to clear the collapsed portions of Breakback mine, requiring a match, torch, or flare to light the fuse. They would have to be placed in collapsed portions, and could not be used offensively against wildlife. Being too close to the explosion can harm or kill the player.
 

Edited April 28, 2020 by Willy Pete
Minor Edit

[Fuarian]

I really like this idea. Lots of thought went into it. +1

[RossBondReturns]

Yes! I dig this.

Would be a good challenge!

[Bimbobjoejr.]

I like the new item additions, but where would the "stab-proof vest" be equipped? would it be an accessory, an inner layer, or an outer layer? And for the transition points, what regions do they connect to? I love the idea but these are only a couple of questions that I'd have.

[Willy Pete]

3 hours ago, Bimbobjoejr. said:

I like the new item additions, but where would the "stab-proof vest" be equipped? would it be an accessory, an inner layer, or an outer layer? And for the transition points, what regions do they connect to? I love the idea but these are only a couple of questions that I'd have.

 I had figured it would be an outer layer garment, meaning you would be sacrificing warmth and wind resistance but with very good armor. it could also work as an outer accessory, but it would probably need to be nerfed so that you couldn't have that plus the moose hide cloak and be incredibly damage-resistant. As to what regions it would connect to, it would probably be along the eastern coast of the map connecting to Desolation Point via another region. I have a couple ideas, one of which I will be posting  in a day or two.