In the weeks leading up to July 1993, the U.S. Army began steadily increasing their presence in and around Louisville, Kentucky. Following mysterious events of illness and violence, the army suddenly setup the Knox Country Exclusion Zone, separating Louisville from all of the towns to the south. Following three days of marshal law and the aggressive confiscation of all firearms and munitions, the exclusion zone quickly devolved into chaos, and news of panic in the streets of other cities began to take hold of the citizenry.
On July 9th, all hell broke loose. Following commotion at the primary checkpoint, hordes of aggressive, mangled people flooded into the city, devouring anything living they came across. Those they tore down suddenly returned to life, joining the horde of what could only be classified as zombies. The momentous destruction of the bridges leading out of Louisville marked the climax of this horrid day, leaving the city mostly stranded from the outside world.
Hope lingered for a day or two, while the power grid remained active. Yet, news of the rapid decline of world-wide society was plastered across every channel of every screen and blaring across every radio station, spreading claims of an airborne infection that killed any who caught it, followed by undead resurrection. It wasn’t long until the grid failed, and then even the warm glow of technology was gone.
Amidst the chaos of the outbreak, a handful of resourceful survivors lead by Elias Victor, including a few now ex-military personnel, managed to create a safe community on the southern outskirts of Louisville, and dubbed it Haven. The rules of Haven are clear and careful, with Elias claiming that they cannot afford even the slightest mistake. While residents can come and go as they please, all who choose to remain in Haven must abide by its laws and strive to be a providing member of its society. Shortly after its walls were completed, Elias established the Scouts and the Watchers.
Watchers are well geared and skilled at removing undead threats with clear orders of an absolute eradication of current undead and prevention of future undead, while holding Haven’s citizens to its laws. Scouts are those few fit and able that are trusted by Haven’s officials and the Watchers to travel freely past the Outer Markers beyond the walls without suspicion, and the backbone of resource acquisition for the community. The rest, the citizens, are survivors that have sought the relative safety of Haven’s sturdy walls, community and stable shelter. Those among them that obey Haven’s laws also benefit from its periodic food and water rations, so long as they provide in what way they can.
You are one of those survivors, having found your way into Haven, narrowly escaping death, with only the clothes on your back. How will you take to life within the walls? Will you uphold or defy the last shred of order they’ve pulled together? Will you thrive within the walls, or will you seek to explore the dangerous wilds of Kentucky and its deteriorating cityscape beyond the Outer Markers?
Haven is a single-settlement focused (optional residence) take on the setting of Project Zomboid. Players begin as survivors in the walled community of Haven, located on the southern edge of Louisville between the military fence and the southern highway. Residency is optional, with your character starting as a newly arrived survivor at the gates of Haven. If you enter, you choose to become a resident, temporary or otherwise. Yet you can also turn away and take on Kentucky on your own.
Haven has clear laws, which are governed by its leaders, protected and policed by the Watchers, and supplied by the Scouts. Each of these factions are comprised of player characters who have earned a spot in their ranks, and new player characters can either work to join one of these factions, or make their own way, either inside, or beyond the walls of Haven. However, the world outside the settlement is an exceedingly dangerous one, and unfriendly to lone survivors.
There are practically zero firearms, besides those that skilled craftsmen might smith in later months or years, or bows and crossbows one might scavenge or craft. There are little to no functioning vehicles, save for a few kept in good condition by Haven’s officials (primarily for settlement or faction events). Kentucky is home to horses, yet Elias and his original crew could not spare the time or manpower to find and claim them in the first year. We also use a myriad of other QOL and immersive mods that retain the mid 90s lore of zomboid (so no modern weapons, etc.).
Zombies in this setting have superhuman strength, normal hearing, and are in very large numbers throughout Kentucky. Despite their strength and their numbers, zombies have poor eyesight, are quite fragile, and often sluggish during the day. Most characters in official factions will recommend only taking on zombies directly with a survivor group of three or more, and the Watchers admonish any ill-prepared attempt at clearing hordes of any kind, while the Scouts will often encourage sneaking or fleeing rather than fighting.
The roleplay in this server is intended to follow the long term emergent stories achieved through living within the safety of the walls of Haven while interacting with the other residents, as well as Haven’s laws and factions. Resources donated to Haven or procured by the Scouts are carefully rationed, breaking Haven’s laws has potentially harsh consequences, and everyone is intended to pull their weight for the survival of the community. You will have a choice of whether not your character thrives as a cog in this machine, defies the governing individuals, or attempts to leave and survive on their own in the heavily infested streets and wilderness of the now-desolate Knox Country.