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PREMISE
Meadowlark is a sci-fi/science fantasy game set on a far future Earth radically changed by war, climate change, and a series of catastrophic geological phenomena. Ongoing efforts to stabilize the planet and protect the future of the human race have led to the population living in dense mega-cities, carefully contained under firm government controls while the rest of the planet is encouraged to grow wild and hopefully replenish itself. These measures have resulted in some success, but the potential of finding a new, safer home for the human race is of chief concern, and terraforming colonies now orbit several planets and moons.
In contrast to these sci-fi elements, it is now also known that this world contains mysterious gods, one which has granted all of the Displaced with a boon of sorts, though only through its own death. There are six other gods still out there in the world, and whether they have more of a part to play in the game setting remains to be seen.
Characters arrive in game having already been in this world for several months. They are experiencing the effects of heavy sedation, and show many signs of having been victim to multiple medical procedures. As they come to awareness out of their drugged state, they will have no memory of where they have been held, what has been done to them, or how they came to be here. There are lasting changes: they have had a neural implant put in their head, and a literal god's essence now exists inside them, centered at their sternum. The latter of these prevents any use of canon powers while also providing characters with a shared empathy bond and a new power that's unique to them.
Initially discovered and taken care of by a militant organization of rebels called Morningstar, characters are soon provided with fake IDs and guidance on how to integrate with the world. What path they forge from this stage onwards is entirely up to them. Constructed to be an open-world, plot-driven game, Meadowlark is at its core intended to adapt and adjust according to the choices made by characters as they progress in the world. Characters will have the chance to engage with the city of New Amsterdam and the entire rest of the world however they wish, and their decisions and actions will affect the overarching plot in various ways.
Chiefly a cyberpunk setting, Meadowlark also draws strong inspiration from space opera, kaiju films, cosmic horror, and dystopian/post-apocalyptic fiction. The world characters have arrived in is plagued by environmental instability, wealth disparity, political corruption, and corporate impropriety, but it is also home to many technological wonders and remarkable achievements. It has now also been discovered that there is a religious cult of sorts that has sprung up in response to the Displaced and the existence of the gods.
As the world begins to experience a series of strange and cataclysmic events, characters will find that what's happened to them is linked to the fate of this solar system and the people living in it. They will be pushed to make many choices and explore their own beliefs and motivations as they move through a world disrupted by the threat of an oncoming apocalypse, when all they may truly want to do is simply return home.
