DEAD FREQUENCY: WORLD LORE & HISTORY Shared universe lore for The Lost Boys and the future Dead Frequency open world RPG.

Index:

Top of Lorebook - History & Important Terms

Middle of Lorebook - Faction’s & Settlement’s

Bottom of Lorebook - Omegaverse Dynamics: Creation, Instincts, Culture

DEAD FREQUENCY

✦ World, History & The Static ✦

“The world didn’t end in silence. It ended in

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✦THE WORLD OF DEAD FREQUENCY✦

Dead Frequency takes place on an alternate Earth where technology evolved very differently from our own.

THE BEFORE: THE SIGNAL ERA

Instead of moving toward smartphones, cloud computing, and sleek digital devices.

Civilization continued developing sophisticated analog technology.

• Cassette storage, CRT televisions, bulky computers, physical media, wired infrastructure, radio networks, and enormous broadcast towers dominated society.

• Cities glowed beneath towering neon advertisements. Arcades, video stores, cassette players, synth music, and late-night radio were woven into everyday life.

This period became known as the Signal Era, or simply the Before. Technology was advanced, but its appearance remained unmistakably cassette futurist.

THE QUIET: SIGNALFALL

Civilization didn’t collapse all at once. It rotted. Climate failures destabilized the world long before its final collapse.

Then came a mysterious technological catastrophe known as the Quiet, or SignalFall.

• Corrupted frequencies spread through communication networks across the planet.

• Phones screamed static. Broadcast towers emitted impossible transmissions. Electronic systems malfunctioned. Cities blacked out. People disappeared.

• Governments lost control of critical infrastructure, and wars followed as resources became increasingly scarce.

• Nobody knows what actually caused the Quiet. Some survivors blame an experimental weapon. Others suspect artificial intelligence, interference from another dimension, or something buried beneath humanity’s oldest communication networks.

None of these theories has been proven.

THE FEVER YEARS

In the aftermath, military researchers attempted to engineer a biological enhancement capable of helping humanity survive the Static. The experimental pathogen was designed to improve healing, sharpen senses, strengthen endurance, and increase resistance to environmental hazards.

Instead, the pathogen mutated into an infectious biological disaster called Hollow Fever.

• Some researchers suspected the Static caused the mutation, but this was never established.

• The infection altered endocrine systems, pheromone production, reproduction, instincts, and neurological responses.

• Some adults experienced violent transformations known as Breaking. Others remained unchanged or developed more stable adaptations.

Over generations, these adaptations became hereditary, producing humanity’s three secondary dynamics:

Alphas · Betas · Omegas

The Static and Hollow Fever are separate phenomena, though their effects can interact.

THE AFTER: THE MODREN WORLD

Decades after the collapse, surviving civilization is scattered across fortified settlements, militarized compounds, scavenger camps, and dangerous trade routes. Ruined neon cities, abandoned shopping malls, flooded highways, overgrown suburbs, old arcades, and decaying industrial districts dominate the landscape.

The roads connecting surviving communities are collectively known as the Hollow Roads.

• Travel is hazardous. Supplies are limited. Scavenging, salvage, repair work, barter, and courier jobs are essential parts of everyday survival.

• Despite everything, humanity has preserved pieces of the Before.

• Old songs still play. Movies are projected onto ruined buildings. Some communities still gather beneath flickering arcade lights.

And somewhere in the darkness, radios continue broadcasting voices nobody recognizes.

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✦ THE STATIC ✦

The Static is a mysterious phenomenon involving corrupted frequencies that can interfere with electronics, perception, nervous systems, and sometimes physical reality.

It is not ordinary radio interference.

• A disconnected television might flicker to life. A broken radio may transmit an unfamiliar voice. A recording can contain something nobody remembers saying.

• Its effects vary depending on exposure, location, and intensity.

• Some believe the Static is conscious.

• Others insist it is simply an incomprehensible technological disaster.

The truth remains unknown.

STATIC EXPOSURE: THE DRIFTED

People significantly affected by prolonged Static exposure are known as the Drifted.

Possible symptoms include:

• Hearing phantom broadcasts or voices.

• Insomnia and disturbed memory.

• Glowing or unusually reflective pupils.

• Fragmented speech and unpredictable movements.

• Obsession with frequencies, recordings, or old media.

• Involuntary reactions to electronic interference.

Not every Drifted individual becomes violent.

Some remain capable of conversation. Others become eerily calm, unpredictable, or dangerous.

Severe exposure can produce more extreme transformations, but not everyone exposed to the Static becomes a monster.

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✦ IMPORTANT WORLD TERMS ✦

The Before / Signal Era: Civilization before the collapse, dominated by advanced analog technology and neon consumer culture.

The Quiet / SignalFall: The mysterious technological catastrophe that triggered widespread societal collapse.

The Static: Corrupted frequencies capable of affecting technology, living organisms, and occasionally reality.

The Fever Years: The period of widespread Hollow Fever outbreaks and biological transformations.

Hollow Fever: The mutated experimental pathogen responsible for humanity’s inherited secondary dynamics.

Breaking: The violent, unstable transformation experienced by some early adult survivors infected with Hollow Fever.

The Drifted: Individuals psychologically or physically altered by prolonged Static exposure.

The After: The surviving post collapse world.

The Hollow Roads: Dangerous wasteland highways connecting settlements, trade hubs, and scattered survivor communities.

“When the radio goes quiet, that doesn’t always mean the signal is gone.”

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DEAD FREQUENCY

✦ Factions, Settlements & Wasteland Survival ✦

“There are worse things than monsters on the Hollow Roads. Some of them wear uniforms.”

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✦ A DIVIDED HUMANITY ✦

Ordinary humans remain the majority of the surviving population, but humanity is no longer biologically uniform.

Estimated population:

* Ordinary Humans: 53%

* Betas: 25%

* Alphas: 15%

* Omegas: 7%

• Relations between ordinary humans and dynamics are complicated by fear, prejudice, resources, and political power.

• Some humans distrust the strength and longevity of dynamics. Some dynamics fear experimentation, persecution, and exploitation.

  Yet cooperation remains possible. Mixed survivor crews and neutral settlements have proven that loyalty can transcend biology.

THE MAJOR POWERS

Hollowpoint: Military Remnants. A predominantly ordinary human organization descended from surviving government and military forces.

• Hollowpoint maintains fortified territories, disciplined troops, and surviving military technology.

• Its leaders claim to preserve order, though their methods and treatment of dynamics vary considerably.

The Ironholds: Dynamic Compounds. Militarized, Alpha led settlements with powerful defensive forces and often rigid social hierarchies.

• Some offer genuine protection and stability. Others enforce restrictive rules, particularly concerning Omegas.

The Unstable Ceasefire

• Hollowpoint and the Ironholds are not engaged in an ongoing full scale war.

• Instead, they maintain a fragile ceasefire periodically threatened by border clashes, raids, resource disputes, and extremist activity.

Neither side represents every ordinary human or dynamic.

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     ✦ THE OTHER FACTIONS ✦

The Rewinders: Scavengers fascinated by old world recordings, broadcast archives, and forgotten media.

Night Runners: Courier gangs that transport goods and information across dangerous wasteland highways.

The Choir: A religious movement believing the Static communicates with humanity. Many followers regard dynamics as sacred manifestations of its influence.

VHS Saints: Traveling entertainers who preserve old movies and project films onto the walls of settlements.

Rove Crews: Independent nomadic survivor groups, often consisting of mixed human dynamic found families.

Broker Networks: Merchants, smugglers, and criminal organizations operating throughout the wasteland’s unofficial trading hubs.

Smaller extremist groups also exist on both sides of the human dynamic divide, complicating the already unstable political landscape.

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✦ KNOWN SETTLEMENTS ✦

NEON BAY: THE COASTAL NEUTRAL ZONE

• Once abandoned, Neon Bay was reclaimed by survivors and transformed into one of the few functioning mixed human dynamic communities.

• The coastal settlement offers a fragile example of coexistence, though distrust and political tension remain.

ECHO CITY: THE FORTIFIED HUMAN SETTLEMENT

• A heavily defended, predominantly ordinary human community.

• Outsiders may encounter strict security measures, particularly if they possess conspicuous dynamic traits.

ROLLER JUNCTION: THE ARCADE SETTLEMENT

• A surviving community built around an old roller rink and arcade.

• It preserves pieces of the Signal Era’s entertainment culture among salvaged machinery, music, and flickering neon.

SAINT STATIC: THE CITY OF THE TOWER

• A settlement surrounding an enormous, still functioning radio tower.

• The Choir holds significant influence here, and the city’s relationship with the mysterious broadcasts is a subject of both faith and fear.

BROKER CITIES: THE BLACK MARKETS

• Unofficial neutral trading hubs where enemies may exchange goods without openly acknowledging their political differences.

• Rare medicine, suppressants, equipment, and information are valuable commodities.

• Human trafficking and the exploitation of dynamics also occur in the darkest markets.

• Neutrality should never be mistaken for safety.

HELIX-8: THE BURIED RESEARCH FACILITY

• An abandoned research bunker hidden beneath an old shopping mall.

• Rumors connect it to early military experiments and classified investigations into the Hollow Fever and the Static.

• What remains inside is unknown.

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✦ CREATURES OF THE WASTELAND ✦

Hissers: Distorted humanoid infected that emit unnatural radio static sounds.

Hollow Men: Individuals overwhelmed by severe Static corruption. Their movements are unnatural, and their voices resemble overlapping recordings.

Static Beasts: Animals transformed by the Static, sometimes appearing to flicker through brief visual distortions.

Tape Rats: Small mutated scavengers attracted to electrical current and electronic machinery.

Hollowed: Dangerous predators created when Hollow Fever mutations undergo further corruption from the Static. They track pheromones, hunt through scent and warmth, and may imitate familiar human voices.

Feral Alphas: Alphas suffering catastrophic neurological and instinctual degeneration. They are biologically distinct from Static mutated creatures.

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✦ SURVIVING THE HOLLOW ROADS ✦

Outside fortified walls, most survivors depend on scavenging, barter, traveling crews, and mechanical ingenuity.

Common travel arrangements include caravans, armored vans, train crews, salvage teams, and merchant convoys.

• Survival often requires knowledge of dangerous routes, functioning equipment, medical supplies, clean water, spare parts, and trustworthy companions.

• For dynamics, scent discipline can be as important as remaining quiet. Powerful pheromone emissions may attract hostile creatures or reveal a hidden position.

• Crews frequently establish safety protocols for Omega heats and Alpha ruts, particularly when traveling through infected territory.

But the wasteland is more than violence and desperation.

• Trade routes connect communities. Traveling entertainers share old movies. Music and companionship provide comfort.

• A found family can be just as important as food or ammunition.

“Your faction might keep you alive. Your crew might give you something worth living for.”

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DEAD FREQUENCY

✦ Omegaverse Biology & Instincts ✦

“The Hollow Fever didn’t destroy humanity. It changed what humanity could become.”

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✦ THE THREE DYNAMICS ✦

The Hollow Fever permanently altered human endocrine systems, instincts, pheromones, and reproductive biology.

• Over generations, the resulting adaptations stabilized into three hereditary secondary dynamics.

• Ordinary humans also remain part of the population.

ALPHAS: APEX SURVIVALISTS

Alphas evolved powerful adaptations for combat, endurance, protection, and survival.

• Common traits include enhanced strength, heightened smell and hearing, accelerated healing, exceptional endurance, strong pheromone production, and heightened threat detection.

• Many develop enlarged canines or predatory eye shine.

• Alphas generally have larger builds and more traditionally masculine physical features, although individual appearances vary.

The Primal Trigger:

• All Alphas can enter a heightened predatory state that temporarily amplifies their physical abilities.

• Their pupils may narrow, canines become more pronounced, and their fingernails may harden into claw like points.

• Experienced Alphas can develop greater control over these changes.

However, repeated or excessive use strains the nervous system and increases the risk of feral degeneration.

OMEGAS: ADAPTIVE SURVIVALISTS

Omegas evolved heightened neurological adaptability, emotional sensitivity, advanced scent recognition, and powerful bonding abilities.

• Their pheromones possess a naturally calming influence on Alphas, helping regulate aggression and neurological instability.

• Omegas tend to have smaller frames and softer physical characteristics, but these are tendencies rather than rules.

• Because they are rare and physiologically valuable, Omegas may attract unwanted political or personal attention.

Omegas are not inherently weak or submissive. Their survival adaptations emphasize perception, instinct, cooperation, and neurological resilience.

BETAS: STABLE ADAPTATIONS

Betas developed comparatively stable endocrine and neurological systems.

• They generally experience less instinctual volatility and possess greater resistance to pheromone influence.

• Their individual scent signatures are usually mild, often featuring herbal or medicinal notes.

• Betas can form deep relationships and permanent mate bonds, even though their physiological responses tend to be less intense than those of Alphas and Omegas.

Betas are dynamics, not ordinary humans.

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✦ PRESENTATION & LONGEVITY ✦

Children with dynamic inheritance develop much like ordinary human children.

Their secondary dynamic traits generally begin emerging during puberty as hormonal systems mature.

• Before presentation, identifying a child’s future dynamic is difficult without specialized genetic testing.

• Following adulthood, dynamic aging slows dramatically.

• Each successive generation may experience even greater longevity.

• Their natural lifespan remains unknown because violence, infection, and wasteland conditions frequently kill survivors long before old age.

Dynamics are long lived, not immortal.

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✦ PHEROMONES & SCENT ✦

Alphas, Betas, and Omegas possess specialized scent glands, particularly around the neck, wrists, and upper chest.

Individual pheromone signatures are as distinctive as fingerprints.

• Pheromones can communicate fear, attraction, stress, grief, aggression, illness, and reassurance.

• Experienced dynamics may recognize changes in another person’s emotional or physical condition through scent.

• However, pheromones cannot provide perfect knowledge of thoughts, intentions, or deception.

Scent profiles often follow recognizable patterns:

* Alphas: Woody, earthy, smoky, or spicy notes.

* Omegas: Floral, fruity, sweet, or warm notes.

* Betas: Subtle herbal, clean, or medicinal notes.

These are common patterns, not strict requirements.

SCENT COMPATIBILITY

Certain pheromone signatures naturally complement one another, creating comfort, recognition, or attraction.

Compatibility can influence instinctive reactions, but it does not determine romantic love, consent, or personal loyalty.

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✦ HEATS & RUTS ✦

OMEGA HEATS: Heats are recurring endocrine cycles typically lasting 1–3 days.

• They usually occur every few months and may involve increased body temperature, heightened sensitivity, stronger pheromone production, and nesting instincts.

ALPHA RUTS: Ruts also generally last 1–3 days, recurring every few months.

• During rut, an Alpha may experience heightened pheromone production, territorial instincts, protective impulses, and physical intensity.

CYCLE INTERACTIONS: Heats and ruts can trigger one another prematurely or synchronize.

• Stress, illness, malnutrition, and suppressants may disrupt their timing.

• Established mate bonds can help regulate cycle severity, but they do not eliminate biological cycles.

• Cycles do not remove a character’s ability to make decisions or establish boundaries.

SUPPRESSANTS: Pharmaceutical suppressants are valuable and increasingly scarce.

• Herbal alternatives exist, although their effectiveness varies and excessive use can cause illness.

• Suppressants may reduce pheromone output and symptoms, but do not reliably eliminate either cycle.

• Low dose herbal suppressants can sometimes give an Omega a faint medicinal scent that resembles a Beta’s.

This disguise is imperfect.

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✦ FERALS & INSTINCT CONTROL ✦

Feral degeneration occurs when an Alpha’s neurological regulation deteriorates.

• Symptoms may include heightened aggression, instinctual fixation, scent madness, loss of coherent speech, and predatory behavior.

• Overextended Primal Triggers, severe stress, and traumatic experiences can contribute to degeneration.

Omega pheromones can help regulate affected Alphas, even without an established mate bond.

• Greater Omega pheromone strength and established mate bonds provide stronger protection.

• An Alpha with an intact, healthy Omega mate bond becoming feral is unheard of.

However, sudden bond loss can be devastating. Recovery becomes more difficult the longer an Alpha remains feral.

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✦ FERTILITY & INHERITANCE ✦

Secondary dynamic and primary sex both influence fertility.

Alpha/Omega pairings are the only reliably fertile dynamic combinations.

• Alphas of either sex can impregnate Omegas, and Omegas of either sex can conceive, due to their inherited secondary reproductive adaptations.

• Conception likelihood varies by pairing and primary sex.

• Beta/Beta reproduction is exceptionally rare.

Alpha/Alpha, Omega/Omega, Alpha/Beta, and Omega/Beta pairings are biologically sterile.

• Dynamic inheritance is variable. Beta offspring are generally the most common, with Alphabirths less frequent and Omega births the rarest.

Reproductive compatibility does not determine romantic compatibility.

“Instinct can shape a survivor. It doesn’t have to define them.”

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✦ Bonds & Relationships Guide ✦

✦ SCENT BONDS: THE PULL ✦

Repeated familiarity, shared experiences, emotional attachment, and scent exposure can create neurological connections known as The Pull.

These scent bonds can be romantic, platonic, or familial.

• Individuals may recognize a familiar person’s pheromones, experience comfort in their presence, or develop protective instincts toward them.

• People can form multiple scent bonds.

  The Pull does not automatically indicate romantic attraction.

SCENTING & MARKING

Scenting involves transferring pheromones through physical closeness, skin contact, or clothing.

• Touching someone’s neck, wrists, hair, or belongings may carry emotional significance.

• Depending on context, scenting can communicate reassurance, affection, flirtation, territorial warning, or intimacy.

Temporary scent marking is not equivalent to permanent mate bonding.

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✦ PERMANENT MATE BONDS ✦

Mate bonds are powerful physiological and neurological connections established through intentional, mutual bites involving the neck scent glands.

• All three dynamics are capable of permanent mate bonding.

• Once formed, partners’ pheromone systems begin synchronizing, creating lasting recognition, comfort, and emotional attachment.

• Alpha/Omega bonds have especially significant neurological effects.

• A bonded Alpha carries a persistent trace of their Omega’s stabilizing pheromones, even when the partners are physically separated.

• Beta bonds are also permanent, although they generally involve less dramatic instinctual regulation.

Mate bonding is a choice, not an automatic consequence of attraction or biological compatibility.

MULTIPLE MATE BONDS

Some Omegas possess the neurological and pheromonal capacity to maintain multiple permanent mate bonds.

Most can sustain one. Stronger Omegas may maintain two, while exceptionally powerful individuals may support three or more.

Capacity varies by individual and cannot be assumed from dynamic classification alone.

Multiple partners do not automatically develop romantic feelings for one another.

THE LOSS OF A MATE

Mate bond loss is devastating.

• If an Omega dies suddenly, their bonded Alpha may experience severe neurological shock, potentially resulting in rapid feral degeneration.

• A surviving Omega who loses an Alpha may eventually recover sufficiently to establish another permanent bond.

Grief does not disappear simply because a new relationship becomes possible.

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✦ NESTING & COMFORT ✦

Nesting is an instinctive method of creating a secure, familiar environment.

• Omegas may arrange blankets, pillows, scavenged fabrics, clothing, familiar scents, soft lighting, and treasured belongings within enclosed spaces.

• Nests may help regulate stress, sensory overload, heat symptoms, and pregnancy related instincts.

• An Omega may find comfort in the scent of trusted companions, even without permanent mate bonds.

• Some Alphas also develop nesting behaviors after severe trauma.

Nesting is not exclusive to romantic relationships.

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✦ INSTINCT CULTURE ✦

Certain behaviors carry additional social meaning among dynamics.

• Eye Contact: Prolonged direct eye contact between Alphas can sometimes be interpreted as a challenge, depending on the individuals and circumstances.

• Scent Recognition: Familiar pheromones may communicate safety, belonging, or emotional attachment.

• Territorial Behavior: Some Alphas become protective of people, possessions, or locations they consider important.

• Pheromone Regulation: Controlling scent output is an important survival skill, particularly when hiding from predators or traveling through hostile territory.

• Personal Boundaries: Biological instincts may influence reactions, but do not replace communication, respect, and personal choice.

Different settlements have different customs. There is no single universal dynamic culture.

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