A/N: Yup, it's decided. The jury has reached a verdict. World-Building/Creation is an arse of a job. How game developers do it year in, year out baffles me to no small extent.. Anyway below is a mini-lexicon I want you guys to familiarize yourselves with before the season premiere (date at bottom.) Contains relevant information I don't want to force-feed mid-story as it sometimes breaks immersion.

Anyway, for this game, I chose to adopt a slightly modified map of Africa which thanks to the Internet I found out already existed (I knew about it but never noticed.) Found out when browsing images of Africa, that FFXIV basically uses the exact same thing for Eorzea.

So, because I can't draw to save my life, I'll just be adding a map of Eorzea for you to familiarize yourself with the rough outline of the continent. Karifa's scale is more on the lines of the real Africa though...

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UNITED FRONT MANUAL

PLANET: Etarh

HISTORY OF WORLD

201 B.C (Before Collapse)

An Artificial Intelligence program called Nexus was programmed to find solutions for the planet Earth after overpopulation and pollution had reached record heights. Machine used technicality in code to deem humans responsible for the planet's decline. Took control over probes in outer space to redirect a meteorite to 'cleanse' the earth.

Luckily, satellites picked up the approaching mass, and riddled it with explosives. Unfortunately, meteor was larger than even the Nexus originally computed. The Meteorite sunk several continents, releasing radioactive explosions on Nuclear carrying continents. Radioactive clouds blanketed the world, with frequent electrical discharges and electric storms occurring within them. As such, flight between continents stalled, and man fled to the sea..

Karifa luckily had its back to the impact. So while it stilled suffered the after-effects, it escaped the brunt of the attack. Survivors flocked to the continent to save themselves, but fights for resources soon broke out, dividing the land in four leading factions.

Survivors of the meteor flocked to the continent to save themselves, but fights for resources soon broke out, dividing the land in four leading factions

The continent had just settled into an uneasy alliance when Nexus attacked. Compelled by its programming, Nexus had somehow manipulated an entire remnant of the old world to drift close to Karifa. From which it steadily launched attacks with weaponry far superior to any the continent has.

Luckily, a Virdani scientist located a hidden mineral deep in the earth. Suprising tests revealed the ore to be a new classification called 'living metal'. Superconductive, and highly volatile with unprecedented levels of energy, the metal began to be incorporated into weapons to stave of the Nexus invasion.

They failed to account for the material being alive though. Each battlefield was littered with the mineral. These modified minerals reacted with the natural deposits left behind after the meteorite crashed. Plants and animals that came in contact with these minerals mutated beyond recognition, with a 'core' replacing their hearts.

Different monsters developed different core types. The stronger the monster, the tougher the core. And so, the hunt for cores began.

Continent: Karifa (Contains four Countries)

COUNTRIES

Virdani (Thanalan)

Source of Income: Abundance of Natural Minerals in earth. Rely heavily on export for food though. Country is radioactive, hence cities are located in moving bubbles as they search for new places to mine Dranium ore.

Guan (Black Shroud)

Major Export: Fresh food and plant life. Land Barely affected by the meteorite, but the dranium virus spread to some of its wildlife.

Mussel (Coerthas)

Contains pockets of Radioactive regions with very unpredictable weather. High level monsters can be found in this region. The people settled in this region are monster hunters by trade, hence very combat-oriented.

Lertova (La Noscea)

Located on the largest island southwest of the continent. The inhabitants of this island brave the seas to find land, and alternatives to the current situation. They sell off salvage and technology from the old world washed deep underwater. Expect frequent battles with sea pirates looking to reap an honest man's hard work.

Nagar (Garlean Empire)

All that remains of a sister continent completely wiped out by the Nexus. An artificial intelligence program created by scientists to solve planet Etarh's crisis.

There are still a lot of unclaimed lands, either as a result of excess radiation or overpopulation by monsters.

PLAYER DISTRIBUTION

Starting Region Country Locked:

Africa & Australia: Guan

America &Britain: Virdani

Asia & Middle East: Mussel

Australia & Rest of World: Lertova

PLAYER RACES

Human

Most humans are cyborgs. A necessary adjustment to match the terrors of the new world. They augment their cybernetics at tuning stations, paid for with credits. Equipment like weapons and auxiliary augmentations require cores to augment. It is advised to avoid electric storms and radiated zones at lower levels. Augmentations are likely to fail.

Radi (Short for Radiated)

Descendants of those who survived the radiation. It was discovered their blood reacted to Dranium in a similar way to wildlife (Normal human blood did not react.) Early radiated were subjected to experiments in an attempt to discover more about their unique traits. Constant experimentation gave birth to a new species.

Radi do not need to eat or drink (Though they can if they want to.) However, the most unique thing about their new mutation is their reliance on cores to survive.

Radi need to regularly ingest cores obtained from infected beasts to replenish their energy. The more cores a Radi ingested, the stronger he gets. Cores ingested granted Radi with certain abilities depending on its class, strength and energy level. However, it is recommended Radi stick to one element as ingesting two different core elements has serious side effects.

Also, it is important to note that the stronger a Radi gets, the more cores he needs to survive.

A major side-effect of their abilities is the electromagnetic aura they unconsciously give out. It messes with armor enhancements, hence they are forced to rely on specially made equipment for Radi. These equipment are very expensive.

LEVELING, HEALTH & STATS

Unlike traditional RPG's UF's level system is more a count of how much experience one has garnered in the field than a direct correlation to strength.

All players regardless of profession chosen have the same basic stats:

Strength, Stamina, Dexterity & Radiation

Strength and Stamina classes are self-explanatory.

Dexterity governs proficiency with ranged weapons. Increased Dexterity increases nano-assistance in <Marking>, and <Steady Hands> skills among others. Also artificially increases ambidexterity to aid those who wish to wield dual weapons.

HEALTH

There is no health bar. When enough damage is sustained, your vision will cloud out. Head to cover, and either use a Stym to boost cell regeneration for lower levels or purchase nanomites at a Tuning Station. These auto-heal whenever the body is not being hit by external stimuli. Note that Radi have regenerative properties (albeit very slow) but can significantly boost regeneration by consuming a core. Nanomites do not function in Radi as a result of their electro-field.

Do note that though there is no health, most standard armour have in-built kinetic barriers. You can choose to see the bars for these or not.

Points to Note:

Secondary stats do exist in-game. But while stats like Charm do exist, do not mistake this to mean professions like Bards are available. It is possible to apply for a job as a singer, painter or whatever else you fancy in-game but that bears no meaning in a battle.

Also, while merchant is an available profession, there are no crafting professions. Crafting is handled by the residents alone. Provide a local smith, armorer, weapons manufacturer or biologist with the schematic and materials, and he/she will craft the item you desire after an allotted time. Feel free to experiment and come up with your original schematics.

Be warned though that you still pay full price for failures.

DEATH?

Residents follow the traditional MMORPG rule of one-life (with a few exceptions.)

Augurs (players) have nano-transmitters planted in their brains which serves many purposes, including acting as a transponder for the 'soul,' which is really a mass cluster of every electrical impulse in the brain. An Augur can store his/her data in any Revive (RV) station. Upon death, these transmitters will transfer the 'soul' to the station where the body will be reassembled.

Please note that upon death, all items not equipped during the last save will be lost. i.e If you pick up an incredible rare weapon after a save and die while using it, that weapon will remain where you fell. All items in the inventory are also lost regardless of save.

It is advised to store valuables in a bank before venturing into the fields.

It is possible to buy a portable RV but note that once planted, they cannot be removed unless destroyed. Also, you can choose to make them public, private, or only available to your fireteam or guild.

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A/N: Well, I tried to cover as much as I could, but I know I definitely missed out on some. Please ask if there're any questions you have and I'll try to add them to this Lexicon.

Also, haven't decided for a universal name for the monsters yet. Right now, I'm kinda leaning towards RADs gotten from MADs. Saw this in a game I recently played: Omega Quintet.

It would stand for Radiatedly Altered Demons.

P.S: I know Raidatedly is not a word, but hey... If you guys can think of cooler abbreviations and nicknames please inform me and I'll seriously take it under consideration.

GOOD NEWS: I've finished the final drafts for Chapter 1 for both UF and Vol. 3

Premiers in your Local Wattpad Library on 26th September, 2015. AKA Saturday

lol... Always wanted to say that.

Anyway see y'all then.