Agents of the Multiverse

The Steppes Forward Initiative is a program designed by the AotM and supported by Sanctuary that allows individuals who have been banished from Sanctuary a way to work towards rejoining society. It focuses on reparation work and skill building, as well as reintegration into the community of Sanctuary in its later stages. The program is fairly new, and is likely still ironing out bugs, but most agree it's a far better option than forcing those banished to suffer the elements and mutating storms of the Steppes or bolstering Harbor's ranks.
Who is Eligible & How to Apply
Any individuals who have found themselves banished from Sanctuary, or who may consider themselves a danger to themselves and others are welcome to voluntarily apply. They may leave at any time, or they may be asked to leave if they cannot adhere to the program's requirements.

Any interested parties may turn themselves in at any watchtower, one of the gates outside of Sanctuary, or at the gate of the program's site itself.

All applicants are required to sit down for an entry interview and an evaluation with both the program's psych team and its resident telepath. This will place them into one of three entry categories:

Green
Green is the result that most applicants get. This means that your character may have committed crimes, but they were mostly non-violent, and they don't really have any severe or notable emotional or psychiatric problems that may make them a threat to others. They are allowed to come and go freely from the program's home base.
Yellow
Yellow is the next level up. This likely means that your character has committed notable violent crimes, or that they have personality traits that make them a considerable risk to themselves or others. However, their tests indicate that they are not beyond the current skills of the program to assist with extra support, and that they genuinely wish to improve. They may be asked to remain on site until their tests put them in the green, or if they must venture out, to venture out with one of the program's staff.
Red
Red is rare, but The Steppes Forward Program is a potential buffet of suffering to the wrong sorts-- a place to seek victims, sew chaos, or recruit. Or otherwise some individuals who come to the program genuinely wish to change, but may be beyond the scope of the staff to help in this setting. These are characters who are ether extremely dangerous or extremely unwell (like the Joker). They are carefully apprehended, and usually wind up facing the Dreamland Protocol.

If your character would fall under this category and you don't want them stuck (temporarily or otherwise) in a telepathically induced lotus eater fantasy, then it's best not to have them apply to this program. But that can be a fun plot for some people! Just plan carefully and know what you want from it.
Where is it?
The hamlet that has been built to house the participants of the Steppes Forward Program has been built directly into one of the large caverns within the cave systems beneath the mountains that surround Sanctuary. The caves have naturally protective elements against the Crackle Storms outside, and are fairly well shielded from the elements. The biggest downsides are temperature, aggressive animals, and the occasional incursion from Harbor, as many of the cave's tunnels do eventually let out into the Dome.

The hamlet itself is several stone and wood buildings built around a central fire pit where meals are often taken. Unless special circumstances arise, most of the residential dwellings are group housing, with four program participants to a house. There are also two buildings that flank either side of the hamlet that acts as temporary housing for staff and security rotations staying on site. Most staff do not live there permanently.

There is a small forge available in one of the side caverns, as well as other various workshop spaces. Like Sanctuary, most of the area is lit up by glowstones and the occasional fire or traditional lantern. Modern tech is sparse, as while the caves do offer protection from the Crackle Storms, they're still not as good as Hearth Stones, and tech blackouts are even more common here. Most of the protection available goes towards shielding security devices and the shields and power inhibitors that the program members wear. There is a modest, shared bathhouse for bathing, as well as a single individual bathroom attached to each residential building.

The cavern the hamlet is housed in continues on deeper into the mountains, and eventually reaches the Dome where Harbor is located. It is the only official channel to the Dome that is controlled by Sanctuary. When Harbor was discovered, all known tunnels beneath the city were collapsed to avoid invasion. Harbor has seized all other routes through the mountains. It's often a struggle to keep them from seizing this one too, and part of the work that the Steppes Forward Initiative does is protecting travelers who may wish to risk the journey to the Dome to hunt, fish, or gather fruit.

The Cave Hamlet tunnel comes out somewhere in the unclaimed ruins outside of Harbor-- far enough that skirmishes are at least monthly rather than daily.

Food & Resources
While supplemental food is brought in both from Sanctuary and the AotM's own personal stores, the Cave Hamlet is meant to be largely self sufficient. Program participants are led on hunts both inside and outside of the caves, and very little goes to waste. There is also a series of small gardens outside of the cave mouth where some of the recreational facilities are for use when the weather's nice, and several places for mushroom cultivation within the cave itself.

This does mean that there is a lot of giant spider on the menu, which isn't terrible if you don't think too hard about it. It tastes a bit like shrimp to most people.

The Cave Hamlet gets most of its water supply from a nearby mountain spring.

At least once a week, Code Green participants are asked to participate in cooking and sharing a community meal for Sanctuary's new and down on their luck residents, though they may opt to participate more than just the minimum once a week as well. The food is markedly better, and there's a chance to meet new people who might not otherwise have preconceived impressions of them yet. The meal is usually served in the town square's community hall.

The Program

Work & Money
Besides the community meals Green program members cook, Steppes Forward members are tasked with putting some of their usual aggression into pest control and patrolling. They keep the tunnel clear of giant spiders and other problem wildlife, as well as acting as additional eyes for threats coming from Harbor (though there are more traditional guards present as well).

They contribute to Sanctuary's community food stores through fishing, hunting, and foraging, and help keep the streets clear of garbage and snow. They also help with things like building upkeep, construction projects, and beautification where they have the skill and ability.

Those who have Green status are allowed to wear a tips pouch on their belt, and they may keep whatever they make during projects. Yellow status must graduate to Green before they can be personally responsible for their tips, which stay with their designated therapist. They may ask for purchases through their therapist at any time, but those purchases must be approved.




New Applicants to the Steppes Forward Initiative are fitted with two devices that keep themselves and others from harm. Both devices are programmed to send out an alert to the security stations the moment they sense any attempts at tampering.

Shield Belts
Shield belts are a specialized bit of technology that usually is fitted around a person's waist. After that, it locks in place, and cannot be removed again without a specialized key.

The belt projects a kind of energy shield. This shield allows kinetic energy out-- so the wearer can interact with people and objects normally, like eating their lunch or shaking hands. However, it only allows a certain amount of kinetic energy in before it activates and throws up a bubble.

This means that while someone may be able to pat someone on the back, the force of say, a punch or a swung weapon would activate the shield and cause the object, or person, or bounce off of it. It also offers some limited protection from things like falls.

These are worn for both a practical and security based purpose. Those in the Steppes program are often working in the caves-- sometimes with heavy rocks or machinery, and often with native wildlife that would love to take a bite out of them. The shields act as a full body safety hat in these scenarios. But they also make fist fights between program members rather ineffective and silly looking. Some furniture might get broken, but generally those inside the shields are mostly okay.

The belts aren't foolproof, of course. Not all acts of violence require enough kinetic energy to activate the shields, and should the wearer be caught out in a bad enough Crackler, the belts may short circuit, but they certainly cut down on problems at the least.

Program security is equipped with devices that can remotely deactivate the shields in an emergency, and each belt is equipped with a vitals and location tracker.

Power Inhibitors
Along with the Shield Belts, all new applicants who have powers are required to wear power nullification bracelets as long as the inhibitors won't create a medical situation.

The bracelets work by sending specialized pulses of energy to the wearer's brains and nervous systems where their powers activate while in use, and are customized to the wearer. They interrupt those signals before they can reach the rest of the body, effectively rendering them useless.

This can leave the wearer feeling strange and unfocused for a time, but while the side effects are a little unpleasant, they aren't dangerous. Thankfully, the inhibitors aren't active constantly. They only activate when they sense an attempt by the wearer to use their abilities, and program members are closely monitored for adverse reactions.

Unlike the Shield Belts, though, which are a safety requirement and stay on for the duration of the program's stay, the power inhibitor bracelets can come off if after a few weeks the wearer has proved that they can exhibit restraint and good behavior.



Steppes End
While the colder end of the long, underground tunnel the program's camp is situated in is devoid of the bacterial and fungal problems the dome end deals with, there are still plenty of dangers to look out for.

Sanctuary shares its space with a good amount of megafauna, and unlike the Dome, these animals can come and go freely through the tunnels and caves when they wish.

When winter approaches, mammoths and mastodon often migrate through the tunnels to reach warmer weather to overwinter in. While the Steppes Forward tunnel is not typically one of their preferred routes, herds do occasionally come through, and they can be dangerous if cornered or provoked. It's best to just allow them space to come through, especially since Sanctuary itself needs the population to remain healthy for hides, dung, and meat.

Other animals can often be found near the cave entrances as well, however. Smaller bear species, cave hyenas, and ground sloths may venture in, but can typically be scared away again. Short faced bears and saber cats can be much harder to deal with.

Deeper in you'll run into the cave system's full time residents. Most, like the camel crickets, bats, and subterranean beetles are more startling than harmful. While respirators should be used around large guano piles, and caution should still be taken for less 'dangerous' diseases, rabies has not been documented anywhere in Sanctuary or the Dome.

However, the Steppes side of the tunnels do harbor some larger species to beware of. Your biggest danger is the so called Cave Ghost, a spider capable of growing large enough to dwarf a pony. Cave ghosts are blind, pale, semi-translucent arachnids with long legs and heat sensing pits.

They hunt prey by laying a line of silk across the cave floor. When an animal trips the wire, the spiders, who often hunt in groups of three to five, then swarm, overwhelming their target. Each spider possesses a venomous bite, a quick acting neuro-toxin that can be fatal if not swiftly treated.

They are highly specialized, however, and don't often venture to close to the cave mouth, where they may freeze, or too close to the Dome side of the caves, where it's too hot for them. The most dangerous ambush area comes in the middle, which is constantly shrouded in fog.

Lastly, you may encounter giant cave millipedes. The millipedes are gentle giants who feed on dead animals and detritus and are usually not aggressive unless severely provoked. They can usually be seen coming through the dark, as their large, heavily armored bodies make a lot of noise and possess bioluminescent markings to ward off predators.

The biggest danger from the millipedes is they usually don't care if they have to go over or around you or your things to get where they want to go, and their massive bodies can easily destroy a campsite in a matter of moments, or damage people or equipment. If provoked, they may quickly curl up as well, which can crush anything nearby, and the cyanide they spray can be deadly.

The Dome End
The tropical, humid heat of the Dome sits on the other side of the Steppes Forward tunnel, and presents its own dangers and risks. While many of the program's members have received the multiversal vaccine offered at Sanctuary and the Omphalos's clinics, not everyone has.

Tropical insects like mosquitos and sandflies, bats, guano piles, rodents, and contaminated water can all pass on diseases. Certain fungi can also result in lung or skin infections. Even the soil can occasionally contain parasites.

There is also plenty of local fauna to look out for on this side too. You won't find the Cave Ghosts this close to the heat of the Dome, but you will find dog sized tarantulas. While not nearly as aggressive as Cave Ghosts, and less dangerous because they hunt solo, these spiders won't hesitate to feast on someone who is sufficiently injured or incapacitated from other animals or the elements.

Any reptile that can fit inside the cave mouth, including Titanoboa-- a truly immense snake-- and carnivorous theropods, can and often do attempt to use the tunnel to cool off during hot days and occasionally nest.

Python sized centipedes can be occasionally found hanging from the roof of the cave to catch unfortunate birds and bats that fly in. Though they don't normally venture from their perches as long as the hunting's good, they are not like the Steppe Cave's placid millipedes. They are active, venomous hunters, and will not hesitate to attack anything they think they can ambush and overpower.

Fortunately, where the Dome's barrier ends, so too does the range of the local plants and animals. They can't seem to cross it, even when there's no physical barrier, and trying causes them great distress.

In the spring, you will occasionally encounter herds of returning mammoths and mastodon.

It should also be noted that the ruins where the tunnel come out can possess their own dangers in the form of structural weaknesses, traps, and deceptively deep pools of water. Stagnant pools can harbor disease and predators, where other pools may have unseen currents from underground river systems that have shifted over time to overtake the ruins. It is not advisable to explore on your own. While the ruins directly around the cave mouth and the staircase and walkway leading up to the surface have been checked over and reinforced, the rest of the ruins have not been given this same treatment.

Large predators and territorial nesters also tend to like to use the cool shade of the ruins for their own means.




Having Your Character Join
If you'd like to have your character join The Steppes Forward Initiative, they first have to commit some kind of crime bad enough to get them arrested by either Sanctuary's mercenaries or the AotM's security force.

This can be a single, serious event like murder, or smaller, less serious repeat crimes like theft or deliberate property destruction.

Then your character will have to be apprehended by someone. This can be an NPC played by you, or another character who has enough authority to do so.

From there, you can just claim your character is now part of the program if you'd like! Or if you need a little more to go on, ask the player of the character who arrested yours to make an assessment on whether they're in the Green or Yellow group, or DM Jabberwookie!

Please note that if your character would very obviously fall into the 'Red' group, you may want to find a different route for your character. They won't be accepted into the program. Instead they will be apprehended and placed in a kind of telepathic dream prison known as the Dreamland Protocol until someone can rescue them or something happens to allow them to escape.

Program Graduation
How long your character is in the program depends on what they did and their own mental health and personality. Characters graduate when they've been deemed rehabilitated by the program's experts, not after a specific duration of time.

They are constantly being assessed by these experts and their treatment modified to fit them and their challenges. Once your character has been rehabilitated, they're simply allowed to leave and live on their own again. If they need help getting set up with a home and job in Sanctuary, the program will assist them in doing so.

Can my Character Escape?
Escaping is easier if your character has the Green label. This means they're trusted enough to come and go from the program's base camp if they want while they complete the program.

Should they simply stop coming one day, camp security will look for them in Sanctuary and the Omphalos, and any safe zones in the Dome. If they find them, they will capture them, and their status will be upgraded to Yellow for non-compliance. Security will not pursue them into the thicker jungle areas or Harbor, however.

Yellow status may find it harder to get away. They eat and sleep on site, and may not leave without staff present, so they have eyes on them on almost every moment of the day. It's not impossible, but it would take much more planning and maybe outside help.

In either case, your character, once they have escaped, will have to avoid being sighted and recaptured by Sanctuary mercs or AotM Security. They will also have to figure out how to get off their shield belts and their power inhibitors, or live without their abilities until they can. The trackers in the shield belts can also make it a lot easier for them to be found.

They can purposefully allow themselves to be hit by a Crackler as an option (though there are risks here), or find a tech expert to remove it in Harbor.