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EXPEDITIONS

VALLEY COUNTY, ID. CIRCA 2997 A.D. Almost a thousand years after the collapse of civilization as we know it, the world is a great and perilous unknown. From what little intel has been gathered so far, bastions of safety are almost unheard of... In fact, only one such bastion is currently known: The humble town of Wayward Pines, home to what remains of mankind.

But for many, expeditions outside of the safety of the fence surrounding Wayward Pines are a crucial part of their everyday life. It gives them purpose; it allows them to utilize skills that would otherwise sit dormant. If you can't imagine living each day for your 9-to-5, for your doting spouse and 2.5 kids, or for whatever BBQ that Jerry happens to be throwing this month — expeditions might just be for you.

( ! ) BEST VIEWED IN SATELLITE MODE BY CLICKING THE TOP LEFT 'MENU' AND THEN THE BOTTOM LEFT BOX.

THE EVER-CHANGING MAP. While maps of the mountain range and even the state at large are provided for navigation assistance to anyone who dares venture outside, quite a bit has changed in the course of the last millennium. Roads and towns are in ruin. The architecture of the landscape itself has shifted pretty dramatically, in places — find Wayward Pines on an olden-days map, and you're hard-pressed to make out so much as a hint of the southern cliffs.

One of the primary projects of note in these expeditions is the development of a new, more accurate map, pictured above. This map will be updated monthly with the results of each expedition, and will include locations discovered, supply caches, notable and moderately stationary dangers, and other such landmarks of note.

WHAT DO EXPEDITIONS ACCOMPLISH? Each expedition outside the fence accomplishes one or more of the following short-term goals:
BUILDING THE MAP. As stated above, each new identified location (large or small) will be added to the interactive map here on this page. It will also be added to the IC 'area map', accessible from the phone of each individual in or within five miles of Wayward Pines.

LOCATING RESOURCES. Supplies are plentiful now, and sure, possibly even for the foreseeable future — but one day they'll run out, and Wayward Pines need to be ready. While few outright 'supply caches' remain intact so long after humanity's downfall, there are plenty of valuable natural resources to be discovered in a land long untouched by humanity.

PROTECTING CIVILIANS. Aberrations aren't the only danger awaiting you outside the fence. Honestly, they may not even be the biggest danger. Each new hazard or threat is reported back to Ortech Labs, who will then begin to troubleshoot a solution in order to ensure the safety both of the civilians and of future explorers.

ADVANCING SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. While goals pertaining to survival will always take precedent, Ortech originated as and continues to be an applied-research lab at heart, and frankly, the world outside of the fence is an absolute gold mine.
More overarching goals include creating further safe havens in the form of fortified outposts, keeping an eye out for any sign that humanity has managed to survive beyond those that came from Ortech's cryogenic ark, and looking for clues on exactly how characters arrived here, in hopes of eventually finding a way to help them return home.

TO CLAIM AN EXPEDITION. Multiple expeditions are available to be claimed each month by qualified individuals. The process is pretty simple:
GAIN CLEARANCE. Characters must gain clearance in order to venture outside of the fence. Those who can't pass basic clearance screening are not allowed to leave the fenced zone unless accompanied by two individuals who have already been cleared. ( This process is handled OOCly for convenience; see the Clearance page itself for more details on how the screening goes down on an IC level. )

SELECT AN EXPEDITION. Each available expedition will have its own comment below. Each listing will include the general itinerary of the expedition (where, for how long, etc.), what kind of hazards will be encountered, and if applicable, any specialized criteria an individual must meet beyond simply gaining clearance. This could be an area of expertise, for example, or a physical skill, or a specific occupation. It may also require a set number of participating individuals.

The listing will also denote whether the expedition is or is not a choose-your-own-adventure. For most expeditions, parties will receive the mission briefing in full upon claiming it - but a select few will deliver a partial briefing and a fork in the road, and how the expedition actually progresses depends on your party's choices therein.

CLAIM YOUR EXPEDITION. Leave a comment under the expedition you'd like to claim, stating that you'd like to claim it and which of your characters will be participating. At current, you may only claim one claimable expedition per month (expeditions in which only one team may complete the assignment), though you may participate in any number of non-restricted expeditions throughout the month provided they're one at a time as the laws of space-time tend to mandate.

GATHER YOUR PARTY. Maybe it's a solo mission. More likely than not, it'll require multiple individuals, whom you'll need to pull together in order to properly undergo this expedition. After claiming an expedition, you have one week to report back with who else will be accompanying your character, or else the expedition will go up for grabs again in the interest of fairness.

CONFIRM YOUR PARTY. Drop another comment on the expedition top-level with your finalized team. If the mission includes specialized criteria, include a note on who fits those criteria.

THE EXPEDITION BEGINS. Upon confirming your party, you'll receive a link to a top-level in the Expedition Archives. The Archives is where all expeditions briefings will go, as well as talking through any forks in the road and any relevant Q&A between the party and the mods. This page that you're currently reading is specifically for the posting and claiming of expeditions — expeditions are deleted from here once they're underway to keep things from getting too cluttered.

BUILD YOUR OWN EXPEDITION. Characters who have gone on two or more expeditions are able to propose their own expedition outside of the fence. Each proposed expedition currently requires Ortech approval, which may come with or without some revisions to the plan as proposed. Once the proposal is approved, this will be treated just like a normal expedition, going through Steps 4, 5, and 6 from the above list.

Unfortunately, the ability to propose your own expedition will not be available until mid-June. This is to allow the playerbase and characters alike to acclimatize to the expedition process, not to mention the other brand-new facets Arc II has to offer. When we open up custom expeditions, we will make an announcement, and you'll find a brief copypasta where this paragraph once sat.

expeditions.

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