The Exclusion Zone [Chernobyl] - Semi-Realistic Wolf RP - Apply Here!

THE EXCLUSION ZONE IS OFFICIALLY RE-OPEN AND ACCEPTING MEMBERS!

The Exclusion Zone

The Exclusion Zone is a semi-realistic, alternate-history storyline based upon the events that occured in Chernobyl, Ukraine in 1986 when Reactor 4 exploded. The events that occurred did occur in this timeline, but their effects were much more extensive on the natural world within the Zone. While life is indeed flourishing, it is perhaps doing too well. The mutations don't just hinder some animals, they alter others into supreme predators and dangerous, hard-to-kill prey. As this is a semi-realistic storyline, mutations cannot range into superpower-territory and cannot be super unrealistic. I.e., please no wolves with fully-functioning wings, no insane night-vision or the sudden ability to sprint at unrealistic speeds, and no absolutely giant or absolutely tiny wolves. They just wouldn't realistically be able to survive in a climate this unforgiving. 

At the current time of the plot beginning, the newly founded creatures - Siberius Pantheras - are pushing their boundaries North from Chernobyl into the town of Pripyat. Their presence forces the descendants of the long-ago abandoned dogs to shift their own territory lines. Though there are no known dog packs within the area, the dangers cause many canines to reconsider their decisions and travel partners as they are forced from their homes and into the even more unforgiving wilderness. Which is where they begin to run into the resident wolf pack, who also combat the spread of the Panthers and are wary of the new predators encroaching upon their lands and hunting grounds. All the while, the human governments debate their course of action - and in secret, Ukraine begins to send out small but heavily armed patrols to begin a project that mimics the first cleanup efforts after the explosion - their goal being to kill and dispose of as many of the Zone's contaminated animals as they can, be they descended from domestic pets or whether they were born wild.

The Plot

34 years ago, the largest catastrophe known to human - and animal - kind occurred in the northern hemisphere, in the great expanse of land above Romania. Reactor four in the Chernobyl Nuclear Powerplant, just three kilometers from the small town of Pripyat, exploded. It killed 30 humans in the initial explosion and wiped out the rest of their population in a nearly 2,000 mile radius around the site as the radioactivity spread rapidly. For years, plant and animal life struggled to reclaim the abandoned land, fighting the radioactivity and mutations that followed. Without the destructive nature of humans to impede them, and thirty long years to evolve with the radiation, the animals inside the Chernobyl Disaster Zone mutated into deadly, unique creatures.

Within this terrifyingly evolved land lives a pack of wolves - every day is a struggle for them. What used to be tigers, simple forest and mountain cats that hunted in solitude, are now saber-toothed beasts that hunt in pairs or packs, just as the wolves do. Bears, foxes, even the lynx, have all grown larger or lankier, different quirks mutating into hideous and dangerous traits. Their prey, from the birds to the hare to the bison, have all changed - they're hardier, more apt to fighting back and surviving the predator's attacks.

And with nature attempting a course different than the humans had planned, had ever thought possible, the two-legs are returning. Tasked with ending the dangers within the Exclusion Zone, to keep the mutating predators from venturing out of their allocated boundaries, the humans enter their territories and hunt predator and prey alike until nothing moves. With so many dangers, so many unknown variables, how will the wolves - who are remarkably one of the few species without major physical mutations - survive another?
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Some Background

Mutations

The most common mutations are visible ones: slightly unnatural colorings for the species, such as lighter or darker variations, albinism - melanism being much rarer-, spotting or brindling, physical altering of average heights and weights of some animals, elongating of the spine or limbs, re-arrangement of growth plates and bone sizes - meaning slightly unnatural setting of limbs or awkwardly large or small shoulders/hips/skulls - and changes in other bone structures, such as claws and fangs - either shortening, lengthening, or even adding extras!  And non-visible ones: deformed lungs, which create breathing problems or the opposite, as well as some not-so-pleasant early symptoms of radiation, including cataracts, other eye and even lung diseases appearing early in life, and occasionally partial or full deafness.

More Examples of Visible Mutations: Double joints, elongated claws or fangs, double tails, extra toes, extra eyes (though most will not have visibility), extra ears (attached to current or elsewhere), taller or shorter than average heights, thicker or thinner builds, antlers on the wolves/dogs (though they won't necessarily be pretty or large), vocal manipulations, etc.

The Wildlife

Most species within The Exclusion Zone have varied mutations, most being physical and some being non-visible, varying from altered hooves, altered body-shapes, antlers growing in places they normally wouldn’t, enlarged claws and fangs, etc. - and there are even a few species exclusive to this storyline and area. 

Predators within the Exclusion Zone

[some are neutral, some aggressive, some defensive]

Smallest - Marten, Mink, Otter, Weasel, Forest Grass Snake, Ravens 

Small - Golden & White-tailed Eagle(s), Eagle Owl, Steppe Polecat, Red Fox, Raccoon 

Medium - Badgers, Lynx, Wolverines, Raccoon Dogs

Large - Brown Bears, ‘Domesticated’ Dogs, Eurasian Wolves, Siberius Panthera(!) 

Prey within the Exclusion Zone

Fish - Pike, Carp, Bream, Perch, Sturgeon, Sterlets

Smallest - Pika, Lemming, Field Mice, Gophers, Shrew, Vole, Wood Mice, Ground Squirrel

Small - Hare, Grouse, Partridge, Geese, Ducks, Beaver, Muskrat, Cranes, Swans, Whitewing(!)

Medium - Red Deer, Roe Deer, Mouflon (wild sheep), Boar 

Large - Eurasian Elk, Moose, Bison, Przewalski’s Wild Horse

Application Form

Are you knowledgeable on Chernobyl?:
Character Count: (how many do you typically play)
Interested in High Rank(s)?:
Typical Response Length/Time:
Should There be a Rival Dog Pack?: (it would be open to play, there are currently 7 dog slots open to play to begin!)
Suggestions? Ideas?:
Concerns? Questions?:
Roleplay Sample:

Interest Form

Are you knowledgeable on Chernobyl?: Not so much, but i can try to learn

Character Count: 1 (how many do you typically play)

Interested in High Rank(s)?: Maybe, but if someone else wants it id rather they have it.
Typical Response Length/Time: Length: Usually 2 paragraphs with 150+ words each but depends. Time: Really depends but I try my best to respond twice everyday.

Should There be a Rival Dog Pack?: Yea, sounds fun.(it would be open to play)

Should the Town of Pripyat (the closest to Chernobyl Nuclear Plant) be a visit-able location?: To a certain extent, but if they stay too long there will be consequences.

Suggestions? Ideas?: Nope for now

Concerns? Questions?: None for now

Roleplay Sample:

Last post

Are you knowledgeable on Chernobyl?:

Not extremely so, but I'm more than willing to research!

Character Count:

Anywhere from one to six, depending on what the roleplay calls for! I will likely be starting out with two, if that's alright.

Interested in High Rank(s)?:

Yes, but they're not necessary!
Typical Response Length/Time:

Shorter responses can take a few hours to a single day, whereas longer 600-2000 word count replies can take up to a week. I do work full time however, so I will likely be using 200-500 word replies instead of longer ones so that I can reply more frequently!

Should There be a Rival Dog Pack?:

Perhaps once the roleplay gets started and progresses a bit! That way there aren't too many positions to be filled at the start.

Should the Town of Pripyat (the closest to Chernobyl Nuclear Plant) be a visit-able location?:

Yes! It should definitely be a dangerous place to go because of the human population, but it could be a fun adventure for the roleplayers!

Suggestions? Ideas?:

None that I can think of!

Concerns? Questions?:

Would toxic saliva/blood be an option in terms of mutations? Or even something more along the lines of bacteria-laden like with cats and Komodo dragons? Totally fine if not!

Roleplay Sample:

[I'd like to go ahead and apologize that it's so long (1,333 words!), but it's the most recent example that I have, as I've been writing independently lately as opposed to roleplaying. My writing style shifts depending on which character I'm playing, and this character is egocentric and had a very poor education, which is why most of what I wrote is just him talking to himself.]

There was a song Jack used to like, back before the apocalypse. He'd never had his own music player, of course, but he would occasionally hear the song blasting over the radio when cars had their windows rolled down as they cruised through the city. He couldn't remember the name or the lyrics, but he could remember the beat and the instrumental parts, which seemed backwards if you asked him. He knew nothing about music or any sort of instruments (his elementary school didn't have a music program, and since he dropped out of third grade, he never got to enroll in the middle school band department like all the other kids his age), and he was caught in such an unexpected predicament he briefly wondered whether he was dreaming. (He hadn't dreamt in a long time. Any potential dream was always snuffed out by a nightmare that he never asked for but probably deserved anyway. They had been getting worse lately, vivid memories and imaginations plaguing his mind until his eyes began to take on a haunted glaze and bags formed beneath them due to exhaustion. The plague wasn't just affecting people physically, it seemed.)

But anyway, the point was that he had a cool-as-hell saxophone solo playing on loop in his head, so it was definitely going to be a good day - something he had been severely lacking in lately. The sudden burst of energy was uplifting, and he wanted to take full advantage of it before his world came crashing down around him again.

Unfortunately for him, he never got the opportunity to harness his newfound motivation. A shame, really, because he was actually looking forward to being productive for once. But no, some asshole with a gun just had to take the time out of her day to threaten a kid that was pretty obviously homeless and broke. Like, what did she expect to get out of it? A high-five? Two pennies and a piece of string? Jack supposed he'd never know.

It had started out simple enough: he was going to slip into the supermarket, take as much food as he could get his hands on, and sneak back out without getting caught. It was something he'd done countless times since the apocalypse happened, but this time was different. This time, some small gang of nobodies decided to claim the entire damn supermarket as their own, and Jack had heard stories of other survivors getting a bullet between their eyes while attempting to negotiate a truce with the gang. He wasn't scared, of course, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't excited for the challenge. Worst case scenario, they kill him, and even that didn't seem like too terrible of an option. Really, he was going to win no matter what the outcome was. 

Getting inside was easy enough - he'd been breaking into places for pretty much his entire life, and he'd definitely gotten skilled at slipping through unnoticed. He immediately headed directly for the canned goods, stuffing his arms with as much food as he could carry before swiftly making his way back towards the exit. It should have been easy. Get in, get out. He'd mastered the art of thievery long ago, so why should he suddenly fail now? 

Things just kept getting worse, it seemed, because before he could even start running again, the woman that had been chasing him suddenly appeared at his side, pistol held to his head and fury in her eyes. He was reminded very abruptly (and unfairly, if you ask him) that other survivors had powers now. Why couldn’t he have stolen from someone that wasn’t superpowered? Especially not someone capable of teleportation?

“Drop the cans before I shoot your useless brains out,” she snarled, southern accent just as intimidating as the gun aimed at his skull. Over her shoulder, Jack noticed she had a shotgun strapped to her back. ’Oh, fantastic. A southerner,’ he groaned internally even as he released his grip on all but one of the cans, clutching the remaining one firmly in his grasp. He needed to eat today.

“Hand it over.” Her finger hovered over the trigger, and Jack realized he was going to die there over a can of food he doubted was even edible. So much for his “good day” plans.

“Kate!” someone snapped from the store entrance, and she whipped her head around to glare at the interruptor. “Someone else snuck inside the store while you were busy screwing around! Get your ass back over here and stop them!” 

Jack peered around the blonde woman to find the man that had sold him out had disappeared, and he mentally cursed the bastard out for using him as nonconsenting bait. Kate, however, spat a much more audible string of curses directed at her apparent ally, words that Jack was too terrified to ever repeat. Instead, while she was distracted, he took off, sprinting across the parking lot with his pitiful earnings. He heard her fire the gun before a bullet whizzed past his head, narrowly missing him, but the man in front of the store yelled something at her again and she quit shooting. 

For several moments, Jack wondered whether he could get away with going back to recollect the rest of the cans he’d dropped, but he very quickly decided that would definitely not be a good idea. His energy was already draining at an alarming rate due to blood loss (thank you, Kate), and there was no way he could make it back to the food and still manage to escape without any further harm. He’d have to try a different place tomorrow.

He slipped into a shaded alleyway and slammed his back into the wall a bit harder than intended in his frantic state, sliding down to a sitting position as he attempted to catch his breath. He looked down at his reward angrily, frustrated that he’d been unsuccessful in his thieving attempts. One can. All of that for one stupid can of food he was pretty sure had expired months ago (expiration dates had never meant anything to him, of course, but still). What a terrible, miserable day. Between the burning pain in his side and the knowledge that he was going to eventually die an anticlimactic death due to starvation, he could almost cry - but only almost. It had been years since he’d last cried, back when he finally accepted the fact that Dorian was never coming back, and he wasn’t about to break his tear-free streak. But God, life fucking sucked. The world couldn’t have at least held off on ending until after he died, could it?

Thank you both for your interest! I'll definitely be contacting you once I get the Discord set up! As of right now, I'm working on finessing the setting and photos, so hopefully with the interest of a few more people - and some more ideas and such thrown around - I'll have everything set up within the next 4-5 days. 

@Envy - I'd really prefer a non-linked sample (or if it is a link, to a nongroup roleplay). I don't think being thrown into an unknown storyline with others is a great way for me to get a feel of your work. Plus, I didn't understand your first paragraph in the example very well. Please provide another sample within the next week to still be considered! I'm sorry to be so strict!

As for your question(s), Tay, I could absolutely see either of those variations having come about as a mutation in some species. Non-visible mutations are the wilder ones, and as this is semi-realistic, I'm definitely not going to try and fact check the science behind it as long as you can write and play it realistically! Like, for example, yes the blood can be toxic, but it would affect certain species differently and possibly only create minor affects, like dizziness, nausea, loss of motor control, etc.. Those are just examples and current thoughts, you could very well take different turns with it, I just mean to say as long as you have flaws with it because it can arguably be overpowering.

Yeah absolutely, that's what I was thinking! Thank you for replying!

Awesome! And no problem!

Definitely keep us in your thoughts, because I will be happy to contact you once the RP is up and running!

Oh my, I thought this was a onsite rp. XD Oh well, I'll update my form soon. 

Thank you!