Post Apocalypse (that does not involve Nuclear War)

[Sabby]

I've always been curious about this, but it seems every post apoc setting I come across has rads, mutants and robots in it :/ I've started writing up my own personal setting, but I'm curious as to other peoples visions.

[Inkidu]

Asteroids and comets are always good.

There's a movie called Reign of Fire that's basically apocalypse by way of dragons being reawakened upon the modern world.

Zombie apocalypses are also popular.

[Sabby]

Can't believe I missed zombies.

No zombies .___. there are enough zombies.

[Inkidu]

Can't believe I missed zombies.

No zombies .___. there are enough zombies.

There are a couple of magically induced apocalypses out there, but that might just be a case of fantastic nuke. :\

Viruses, genetically engineered viruses, parasites. Lots of stuff. :)

[Neysha]

Theres that website, Exit Mundi or something like that which covers numerous forms of Apocalypti.... everything from Nuclear War, to Christian rapture, to Grey Goo scenarios, to physics itself randomly breaking down inexplicably. Id link you it buuuut... I'm on my ohone at work. I'm sure another Elliquian is familiar with it though or can look it up. Its a fun website to waste time on.

[Vorian]

Theres that website, Exit Mundi or something like that which covers numerous forms of Apocalypti.... everything from Nuclear War, to Christian rapture, to Grey Goo scenarios, to physics itself randomly breaking down inexplicably. Id link you it buuuut... I'm on my ohone at work. I'm sure another Elliquian is familiar with it though or can look it up. Its a fun website to waste time on.

Found it

[Sabby]

I'm more interested in other peoples ideas ^^ There are talented writers on E.

[Inkidu]

Apocalypti

Sorry... got... to do it.

Apocalypse is a word of Greek origin and as such is not subject to the Romano-Latin formations. The proper plural form in English is apocalypses.

There! I feel much better now. :D Sometimes you've to to feed the inner grammarian so that it doesn't go all fascist. XD

Sabby: I find the reasons are really just excuses to reshape society along the lines of the author's narrative goals. I mean, I uses pretty standard stuff really, but I try to do it in other time periods, or other settings. Also, why not have people just have a knock-down drag-out conventional war?

[Neysha]

Sorry... got... to do it.

Apocalypse is a word of Greek origin and as such is not subject to the Romano-Latin formations. The proper plural form in English is apocalypses.

There! I feel much better now. :D Sometimes you've to to feed the inner grammarian so that it doesn't go all fascist. XD

Sabby: I find the reasons are really just excuses to reshape society along the lines of the author's narrative goals. I mean, I uses pretty standard stuff really, but I try to do it in other time periods, or other settings. Also, why not have people just have a knock-down drag-out conventional war?

I like my version better. It has sentimental value. .. you Nazi! :P

[Moraline]

I personally prefer post apocalypse settings that involve varying levels of environmental disasters.

Too much water
Not enough water
No gas/oil
Food shortages
Pollutant filled (Garbage world)

Or as in the case of my World building thread "Rock City 2015," the world has been struck by a series of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) that cause massive loss of power. (Could possibly cause a whole variety of extremes.)

You could toss into the mix, a world with total economic breakdown. Nothing like a great depression to fuel the passions for war.

[Inkidu]

I like my version better. It has sentimental value. .. you Nazi! :P

Yes, but I have my degree in it, so that's Mr. Grammar Nazi to you. ;D

[RubySlippers]

Here is my idea its more of a thoughtful post-Apocalypse setting it would take I Robot (modern with Will Smith) and an old movie Colossus The Forbian Project here is how it goes:

A master computer just takes over using robots and all but is benevolent it wants to take care of humans so humans don't have to work or go to school or really do anything they opt not to and logically education is generally not tied to being dangerous. Now clearly some throwbacks are around aka they actually don't want to be taken care of and enjoy struggling and the Master Computer keeps finding ways to bring them in and its not being so nice anymore.

Sort of a comparison between a communal society and non-communal.

[Sabby]

Mine involved man made plant life growing until it covered all of Earths land mass, shrouding anything under the canopy in poison. Metal erodes over time, leaving the more sensitive technologies useless. Computers and firearms, for example, too many small working parts and delicate electronics, but the girders of large buildings are safe... for now. All that's left of humanity lives on the tops of skyscrapers, patched together to form a sort of bridge and shanty town in the sky. Humans were often banished to the surface to slowly die, but some were immune and repopulated the surface, evolving into a light sensitive climbing species, using large mounted lizards to scale the taller buildings and breach the canopy at night.

The setting takes place at a point where the buildings are finally starting to give out to the erosion and shift.

[Callie Del Noire]

There was an old Cypberpunk 2020 campaign I did.. it started with an alien invasion..they seeded the atmosphere with a massive nitrogen/oxygen reaction that created 'thunderboomer' storms that literally flattened a few cities.. and then they found out the AIs on the moon had mass drivers (nothing like bulk cargo containers hitting your 'fleet carrier, the only ship capable of flying FTL,  at a fraction of the speed of light) before they could follow up with the first strike with terraforming machinery. Society collapsed literally over night, you had alien landings and crashes. Lots of mayhem.

[Moraline]

I like that idea of plant life spreading across the planet.

Reminds me of the Great Lakes algal blooms that are taking over (can be seen from space.)

I could see it turning to something that begins to grow on land, eventually covering the entire planet. No water safe for humans to drink without purification and the algae corroding all metals.

[Beorning]

I like that idea of plant life spreading across the planet.

Reminds me of the Great Lakes algal blooms that are taking over (can be seen from space.)

I could see it turning to something that begins to grow on land, eventually covering the entire planet. No water safe for humans to drink without purification and the algae corroding all metals.

... and the people who drink un-purified water? They get infected! And they turn into mossy mutants!  ;D

[Moraline]

... and the people who drink un-purified water? They get infected! And they turn into mossy mutants!  ;D

Swamp Thing!

[Beorning]

An *invasion* of Swamp Things! Threatening to assimilate everyone into their vegetable collective!

[Ryven]

There's also demonic/hellish themes.  The game Hellgate: London was based upon the legions of hell overwhelming Earth.

[Jennifer swallows]

There's the new pacific rim movie, that seems to suggest that's a apocalyptic scenerio. Only, i don't think it get's to the point of post-Apocalypse. But being tramped to death by giant monsters from another universe sounds like a pretty epic way to go!

[Beguile's Mistress]

An apocalypse (Ancient Greek: ἀποκάλυψις apocálypsis, from ἀπό and καλύπτω meaning 'un-covering'), translated literally from Greek, is a disclosure of knowledge, hidden from humanity in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e., a lifting of the veil or revelation, although this sense did not enter English until the 14th century.[1] In religious contexts it is usually a disclosure of something hidden. In the Revelation of John (Greek Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου, Apocalypsis Ioannou), the last book of the New Testament, the revelation which John receives is that of the ultimate victory of good over evil and the end of the present age, and that is the primary meaning of the term, one that dates to 1175.[1] Today, it is commonly used in reference to any prophetic revelation or so-called End Time scenario, or to the end of the world in general.

Taking this into account you could base your story on a race that returns to earth after ten thousand years.  They have come to activate a gene that had been designed to remain dormant in the human body.  What the gene is responsible for, how people react to it and the changes in humanity are yours to design.

[meikle]

I'm running an apocalypse world game where the cause of the end of the world was ostensibly global climate change.  Polar ice caps melt, major storms all over the world, collapse of the ozone leads to increased heat and changes biomes and etc.

There are still mutants in it because they're fun.

[IberiaSloane]

Story wise, an interesting post-Apoc world would be something like this... ecological disasters are being rigged and destroying land and people in the quest to reclaim what was taken and lost. This is due to the machinations of a small oligarchy of Ancient Aliens that wish to restart the world with their guiding hand bringing destruction. And due to the rise of natural disasters and constant weather/climate changes... the remaining humans who got lucky and were spared find their bodies evolving to survive.

Tougher Skin, Longer Endurance, Bigger Lung Capacity, Better Eyesight, etc but no superpowers as we know, just enhanced humans... like Steve Rogers. No only do the humans adapt but so do the animals that survived, becoming bigger, badder, and meaner, and smarter. And the small oligarchy leave some settlers behind to enforce the rules of the oligarchy and to see if Civilization can become what it once was. In the new world of limited technology and dependence on the old way of life.

[Sabby]

Take out the evolution and add interdemensional vampires, and you just explained Vampire Earth.

[Beguile's Mistress]

Have you read "Zoo" by James Patterson?

[Sabby]

No, I haven't! Will have to Google it.

Reviving this thread because I'm after a specific kind of story and might as well discuss post apocalyptic fiction in general.

Nuclear Apocalypse is fine this time, but there are two specific themes I'm after which I'm having trouble finding. Supernatural, and 21st century conspiracy theories. I've just started reading The Dark Tower by Stephen King, and it's had me craving a post apoc story with some more mysterious and otherworldly elements to it. I also just finished Outlanders, which dealt heavily in things like Annunaki/Ancient Aliens.

[HairyHeretic]

The Twilight 2000 RPG is sort of post apoc-ish. Basically it has a World War 3 scenario, initially between China and Russia, but escalating into Europe which drags in NATO and the US. It starts conventional, escalates with biological and chemical weapons, to 'limited' battlefield tactical nuclear weapons, and finally to intercontinental nukes. Civilisation isn't completely destroyed, but the most national level governments and a lot of infrastructure is gone.

[Oniya]

A supernatural apocalypse that has fascinated me is the idea of Earth being on sort of a cycle where the 'space between planes' gets thicker and thinner over time.  At its thickest, the denizens of other planes are dismissed as mere myth and superstition.  At its thinnest, they waltz in with impunity.  Not merely the creatures of popular legends, but also creatures of those stories that have been forgotten - or outright suppressed.

[Avis habilis]

There's an RPG out there called Summerland set in a world where the whole globe reverted to primeval forest over night. Nobody knows why, or even knows how to start trying to find out.

There's also Tribe 8, where civilization was destroyed by an invasion of spirits.

[Dovel]

A Post Apocalyptic setting I found interesting was from the novel Ill Wind. In the story a oil-eating microbe is released, designed to consume anything made of petrocarbons: oil, gasoline, synthetic fabrics, and of course plastic. It not only destroys the world's oil supply but it also consumes everything that is oil based. To give you some idea, his is a quick list of what is made from oil. Petroleum Based Products

In a matter of weeks the world is sent almost back to the stone age as everything starts to literally fall apart as its destroyed by the microbe.

[Ebb]

There is a reasonably good article about some common fictional apocalypse mistakes on cracked.com today:

http://www.cracked.com/article_21251_5-things-every-movie-gets-wrong-about-apocalypse.html

The one about gasoline particularly irks me, although I can understand the reasons for overlooking it. But realistically a couple of years down the road you're just not going to have gasoline-powered anything. Refineries aren't that easy to operate.

[Revelation]

There's the 50's era novel Day of the Triffids, where a strange meteor shower has blinded most people on earth, and a species of mobile, predatory plants native to that setting's Earth are able to grow unchecked and prey on the blind humans, with non blind humans being a minority.

[Oniya]

John Wyndham had quite a few stories along those lines.  He's also the author behind 'The Midwich Cuckoos', which was later released as the movie 'Village of the Damned'.

[Dovel]

Yes, Day of the Triffids, and Village of the Damned were both great ones. I remember watching both of those when I was younger. Wall At Edge Of World, is another good one. It takes place in a walled off city of telepaths after they destroyed the world using a biological weapon. Now only a few of the 'nulls', normal people, live outside the walls in the ruins of the old world.

[starryphantasy]

I'm not usually into post-apocalyptic stories and settings, but a manga I started kind of swayed me. It's called 7 Seeds, and I would love the chance to write something similar to it. And eventually RP a kind of AU, original version.

It has a meteor crashing on earth backdrop, but a really cool premise and setting beyond that.

[Avis habilis]

Then there was John Christopher's The Death of Grass ("No Blade of Grass" in the U.S.) where a plague wipes out all the grasses in the world - including wheat & barley. Mass starvation & anarchy ensue.

[Drake Valentine]

I only think of two things for Post Apocalypse and the first involves nuclear war. xD

A) I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. - Albert Einstein
Mass nuclear war that has left the surviving humanity's technology level in 'stone age.' There may be remains of technology, but would imagine most of them would not be as functional even if they survived. I do not know if the devastation from a nuclear blast at ground level will serve as the same as an emp if it was launched overhead, science isn't my strongest of points, but I assume it may.

B) Something on a more fantasy scale of demon and angel war on Earth; of course, I guess that can also be taken as a religious viewpoint even though I am not religious.

[BCdan]

I sort of like not-really apocalypse scenarios. Theres a great anime where it seems like a virus is killing everyone and going to destroy all civilization, but later on its discovered that it was somewhat localized and 'only' killed 20% of the population. The main plot revolves around the political fallout, as several major countries are greatly altered and society makes a very rapid shift.  But on the other hand, major technological breakthroughs also happened in response to the virus. 

I think its called Eden: Its an Endless World.  Its pretty brutal at times.

[Inkidu]

Then there was John Christopher's The Death of Grass ("No Blade of Grass" in the U.S.) where a plague wipes out all the grasses in the world - including wheat & barley. Mass starvation & anarchy ensue.

Why just wheat and barley? All cereal grains are graces, so rice and corn would be affected as well? Morbid curiosity.

[Oniya]

Yep.  In the story, the primary goal of the protagonist is a place with a potato farm (as potatoes are not grasses, and can fill that dietary niche.)

[Avis habilis]

Why just wheat and barley?

Oh, not just them. They were just the first ones to come to my mind is all.

[Thorne]

Someone above mentioned Steven King - he did a post-apoc setting, with The Stand. Plague and meta-physics rolled in.

Super storms might also do it, and there was also.. hrrrnm, Waterworld. Which I enjoyed, despite the critics...

[Mathim]

There's a movie from within the last couple of years called Hell wherein the sun just gets hotter and hotter and turns up the temperature of Earth so high that few people survive and it's a struggle to find water and gas and such. Kind of done poorly but a good idea.

[Slave2Fantasy]

What about that supervolcano thing? Something similar happened a long time ago. Let me link you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_Traps

Also, I was thinking a good scenario would be during the suns expansion into 'red giant' phase. This is several billion years down the road, so I am assuming we have colonized the solar system at this point. Nonetheless, this would wreak havoc on Mars and the moons of Jupiter as well.

[Andi]

Not that I can remember who wrote it or what it was called, but I read a novel a few years ago that had the sun turn out to be cyclical not only on the well-known 12 year sunspot cycle, but also a ~12000 year nova cycle, aligned with the zodiac. In the novel, an Atlantean artifact powered by zero-point energy ends up deep-freezing earth during that sunstorm... but for a post-apocalyptic scenario, how about a world buffeted by the sun having just shed its outermost layer a century or two ago and wiped the slate (more or less literally)?

[Avis habilis]

That sounds a bit Revolution-ish. Come to think of it a storm of solar flares that was intense & long enough could cause an EMP that would wreck every modern piece of electronics in the world.

[Andi]

Yupp. Now add to that the temperature of that cloud of ejecta, and the effect the particle storm has on earth's magnetic field... any survivors better learn how to make tools from flint.

[Mathim]

Anybody (not) seen The World's End? I thought their take on the apocalypse was kind of more inventive in that it involved

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

every technological advance over the last century or so simply being 'repossessed' by the aliens who gave them to us in the first place and leaving us back in the dark ages.