The distinction between "Real Earth" and  Mizzurian Earth is that "Real Earth" is the one on which all the Amber books are set, and is the 'Shadow Earth' that has had most influence by the Family, and thus through their long term and continued presence is substantively 'Real'. 

Coming from 'Real Earth' you very much have to account for the full impact of eveything that happened - see the timeline below. Global population loss is approximatly 65% but regional losses vary considerably, with the US, Western Canada, Russia, and China taking the brunt of the losses. The Southern Hemisphere, which is at the height of summer fairs far better as they have a chance to get their harvests in and prepare before the ash cloud reaches them.

Pregen Characters

These are characters I've developed full backgrounds for, for potential players, in games that didn't happen..

Makwa Kikkenintso Obijwe First Nation - Chaosite/Shapeshifter

Born: Poplar River, Manitoba, Canada. Raised by his Great Grandmother, although he doesn't actually find this out until 2012. He lives up to his given neam which means 'Bear'. He starts the game in Kenora 33B: Wauzhushk Onigum First Nation Reserve

His background is fully written up, including where he ans his Grandmother have been since shortly after 05:36am on the 5th January when they both woke suddenly, to the present. His Grandmother is also a Chosite, ShapeShifter, and Sorcerer (mostly self taught). Read the "Chaosites Are Everywhere" page.

Kenneth Eday Elgram - White American - Item: Smart Rifle

Born and Raised, Big Creek, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California.

His background is no where near as detailed as Makwa's but then he's done less and mostly been nowhere his entire life. He's very 'conservative' (note the small 'C'), not very outward going, and not used to strangers. There is a detailed breakdown of events relating to his invite and what happens leading up to 'Collection' day, which should all have an impact on how things should play out in game. He is ignorant of most of the abilities that the Smart Rifle has or their limitations.

Cassandra Troy - English - Trump Artist

Born in London. Mostly raised herself on the streets. Escaped to Spain in the spring of 2006 after 2 years in a prison work gang. Whilst technically of no fixed abode, she actually has a number of 'residences' in Spain (Fuengirola, Tarifa, ??) and a bunker in a disused and sectioned off old London Tube Station.
Cassadra is in part modelled after Elisabet in "Girl With a Dragon Tattoo" the original version not the 'tame' version in the American adaptation. There is one major difference though, she is completely tee-total (you'll need to read her background to know why). She is very loyal to friends and to those who find themselves on the streets through no fault of thier own. She will always help out at the local shelters at Christmas, and regulalry donates loose change surruptiscously to them. She is also very secretive and it takes a lot for her to trust anyone. Aside from very much being a 'Punk' with a Mohecan, she is also a very much a Surfer (very much the Bro, not a clam dragger, hodad, kook, or benny). There are also a few more secrets tucked into her background which she doesn't actually know about.

Blake Hemsworth - American? - Magic User

GM Note: Blake can be either Male or Female, players choice. Their exact ethnicitiy also to be determined by the player. Only their original place of birth and early life is fixed. The exact background write-up it is also down to the Player. I only have a 'skeleton' which is mostly laid out below. Which form of magic Blake uses is down to the Player to decide.

Born in Salem Massachusetts,USA. Mother-TBD. Biological Father(absent) - Thorsten. Until Jan 6th 2004 they live with their 'Parents' (again TBD, could be his mother, could be foster parents, could be adopted, could be ????).  Their 'Parents' like most people ignored the Tsunami warning, and Blake gets picked up and swept inland by the wave. Blake is saved from drowning by encountering and clinging onto an old wooded box. As they cling on their mind dirfts and they dream of another time and place where 'Magic' is real and wizzards dual. They awake to an orange sunrise (effects of the oncoming Yellowstone Ash cloud) on the Outskirts of North Andover. Not wanting to leave the chest, which now appears different to Blake, Blake finds an old metal trolley, loads the box and proceeds to make their way inland. Blake is initially evacuated to the refugee center at Merrimack College. On the 2nd April the College is struck by a 'freak' tornado (actually part of the Shadow storm) and Blake clinging once more to the chest is sucked into the void. They are awakend sometime later by an old woman.  Exactly where they awaken, is TDB by the Player, but it is neither 'Real Earth' nor Mizzurian Earth, but a.n.other Earth, only on this Earth magic is real (again the degree to which Magic works and how common it is needs to be defined by the Player).

Timeline of Events

Day	Time	Event
5th January 2004	05.36 (MST) / 12:36 (GMT)	Yellowstone commences Eruption
	10.00 (EST) / 15:00 (GMT)	US President Confirms Major Yellowstone eruption commenced at 07:36 EST and declares National State of Emergency. All National Guard Units are called up. Phased evacuation of predictioned affected states to commence at 06:00 EST on 6th January.
	13.37 (PST) / 21:37 (GMT)	Cascadia Fault (this is the fault which runs up the entire West Coast of the USA) slips by 52cm triggering  a 1.7m drop in the North American Plate leading to a 12m high Tsunami which impacts the West Pacific Coast along its entire length between 15 and 35 minutes later (British Colombia (Vancouver), Washington (Seatle), and Northern Oregon (Portland)). It also triggers 8.5+magnitude earth quakes in all the major California faults.The combination of Earthquake and Tsunami destroys large parts of San Francisco, most of Oakland, most of San Jose, large parts of Western and South-western Sacramento, and most of the cities in the valley south of Sacramento all the way down to and including Fresno. Global Sea Level is 6m(20ft) to 9m(30ft) higher post these events. In the San Francisco Bay area it is 8m where the Golden Gate bridge used to be dropping to 6m around Sacremento and Fresno.
	22.41 (GMT)	The "Ring of Fire" commences eruptions. It takes 24 hours for the whole ring to light up. Mount Yasur(Vanuatau, South Pacific),Klyuchevskaya Sopka (Far East Russian Peninsula),White Island (New Zealand), Mt Fuji(Japan)
	22:53 (GMT)	Anatolian fault slips devastating Turkey. 70% of Istanbul destroyed
	23:21 (GMT)	Mount Etna(Italy) and Stromboli(Italy) erupt
	24.00 (GMT) / 16:00 (PST)	The Black Road (see below) appears in San Franciso, extending East North East across the globe
6th January 2004	00.28 (GMT)	Series of Magnitude 7+ earthquakes across Xinjang region of China
	01.46 (GMT)	Magnitude 8.5 earth quake in Molucca Sea(Indonesia) with consequential Tsunami
	04.29 (GMT)	Mount Kilauea(Hawaii) erupts
	04.51 (GMT)	Mounts Nyirangango and Nyamuragwa (Democratic Republic of Congo, East Africa) erupt
	05.18 (GMT)	Santa Maria (Western Guatamala, Siera Madre) erupts
	06.03 (GMT)	Sangay (Ecudor)erupts
	07.17 (EST)/12:17 (GMT)	Cumbre Vieja(Mount Teide) explodes
	13.17 (EST)	Cumbre Vieja Tsunami (19m high) impacts the East Coast of the US. Florida and Maryland are particulalry badly hit.
	16:47 (EST)	First recorded 'Demon' attack in Sacremento
8th January 2004	02.12 (MST)	First caldera forming eruption of Yellowstone
12th January 2004	23.43 (MST)	Full Caldera eruption of Yellowstone
13th January 2004	13.43 (PST)	Yellowstone Ash Cloud reaches Sacremento
January 2004		As the Ash cloud spreads across the globe blocking 95% of sunlight, global temperatures plummet and crops fail as vegetation dies in the falling temperatures. Winter progressively worsens in the Northern Hemisphere and comes early with sudden onset in the Southern Hemisphere. The Great Lakes continue to freeze. Lake Michigan hits 85% frozen, all bar a small portion of the central southern section freezes.Lake Erie hits 60% frozen, and Lake Ontario 70% frozen (liquid section tends to be the centre of the Lakes on the Southern side. Lakes tend to freeze from the shore line to the middle). Volume of water over the Niagra falls reduces to 20% of normal, with all bar a section of the main channel freezing.
Feburary 2004		Gradual decline and then cesation in Demon Attacks
2nd April 2004	01:30 (GMT)	The storm to end all storms commences and lasts 6 hours.Thunder lightening (sheet, striking, plasma) rages continually across skys rolling thick black clouds. The Atacama desert, the driest place on earth gets 410mm of rain and hail during period.  In the North African deserts between 475 mm and 1020mm of rain and hail fall. In the Northern and Southern temperate zones it falls not as rain but snow in blizzard conditions, with accumulated falls of between 4m  and 11m and drifts upto 4 times as deep.
June 2004		A gradual decline in the near persistant ash rain commences as the levels of ash in the lower atmosphere begin to decrease.
January 2005		The now sproadic ash showers have now mosty ceased around the globe. The sky is still dark and forboding but levels of sunlight have increased to about 35% of normal.
June 2005		The first signs that the upper atmospheric ash cloud is beginning to thin. Levels of sunlight begin to slowly increase.
April 2006		The Great Lakes start to show signs of a gradual thawing but it will be 2007 before they thaw to anywhere near normal.
2008		The climate has returned to near normal, except that the 'Global Warming Clock' has been reset by about 40 years, back to the late 1960's equivalent.

The Black Road

The Black Road is a physical manifestation of an Amberite Death Curse. It is a physical barrier, a horrific twisting and distorting modification of the landscape into something out of your worst nightmares. Within the road, assuming you have the capability to survive contact with it, it is a dark as a moonless night, the vegetation, assuming there is any twisted into writhing masses which attempt to snare the unvary. Demonic creatures appear to attck those who linger for any time on or near the road. Getting to within 100yds of the road induces fear, depression, and self loathing within humans, and others with low force of will.

The road itself is anything between 30yds and a mile wide, the width dependent on where in Shadow you are, and its effects extend hunderds of yards above its surface. Demons and other monsters, with the ability to exist in 'Nornal Shadow' exit the road at intevals to attack and destroy anything they can, but will target any with Amberite or Choasite blood by preference if they sense them nearby (within 1000yds of the road, or within their perception range outside this).

To successfully cross the road you need to be able to maintain the Pattern for the entire crossing, which in game terms counts for Heavy exertion at 4 times the cost (ie. divide the duration by four), with at least 'Ranked' Psyche.

 On 'Real Earth' the Black Road  is typically about 150yds wide.The majority of 'Alien'/Demon incursions occur  in and around Los Angeles / San Antonio for very specific reasons. Whilst sustained fire from several individuals with 7.62mm rounds would kill about 30% of demons, more substantive weapons were required to deal with the remainder.  Of that remainder about 50% would eventually sucumb to sustainted fire from multiple 50calibre weapons, whilst all bar about 10% would eventually sucumb to 30mm or 40mm cannon or direct fire from larger calibre guns. The remaining 10% were not killable by any Earth weapon short of weapons of large scale and mass destruction (1000lb bombs and tactical Nuclear weapons). Most of these were dealt with by othermeans and parties unseen (mainly because there was nobody else alive in the vacinity to record or report on the event). Demon attacks reached their peak in the San Antonio area around the 18th January, whilst globally they peaked around Valentines day, before slowly decreasing such that by the beginning of March they were almost non-existant.