Sodality: Instigation Story Pack

The Sodality: Instigation Story Pack is one of a set of what are planned to be five packs making up a series, intended around taking major characters from Sodality and making them into mods for various games. The series would adapt characters from Instigation, Adaptation, Determination, Augmentation, Battle for Metheel, and Vindication. As of 2021, however, most of these packs have been delayed for development and release. Only a pack for Instigation is available at this moment. Of that, the pack exists for two games: The Sims 3 and The Sims 4. The Sims 3 version, however, is restricted to only Imaki Izuki's immediate band of Exodus Agenda survivors.

The Sims 3
This pack, set in the Gerosha Gaming Universe and aiming to be informed by Cataclysmic Gerosha continuity, serves as a replacement for the Sims 3 version of the Classic (and Comprehensive) Gerosha Heroes Set, which is still available for The Sims 2.

The Sims 4
Near the very end of May of 2020, real life chaos beckoned a need to capitalize by releasing this pack before most other Gerosha packs for Sims 4 to DzMD. The idea was that its message would be most relevant then. First envisioned in 2012, this pack existed only in fragmented pieces until 2020, when it finally came together.

Intro
Play as any of the characters in this pack - or don't. Installing them into a save file lets the good ones fight for your Sims' survival, and the bad ones plot your Sims' demise. Either way, your save file will now be themed after the first season of Sodality, the fifth volume of The Gerosha Chronicles in Dozerfleet Comics. Sodality was first envisioned as a series pitch back in November of 2012, as a way to envision what the potential consequences of a second Obama victory could be for America, but then peppered with fantasy elements carried over from previous incarnations of Gerosha mythos. Sodality portrays a slight alternate history, that all the same provides commentary on the 2020s - what led to them being as they are, and what they may lead to.

Take heed of the lessons; lest reality begin to imitate the art contained in this pack!

Note: This pack was mostly made before the release of Eco Lifestyle. Only Imaki's bunker would require it to run correctly. However, the war-torn wasteland effects of southern Indiana brought about by Affadidah's jihad could easily be boosted by creating a trashed environment via Eco Lifestyle 's gameplay elements. Clothing that comes with that pack will also assist in making survivors seeking a way to gather and escape look sufficiently miserable. So while most of this pack won't require Eco Lifestyle, downloaders are highly encouraged to purchase that expansion anyway.

Setting
The year is 2019, in the Cataclysmic Gerosha Timeline (Earth-G7). It is now late September, and the world is in a state of total dissary.

In January of 2018, Candi "Ciem" Flippo was released from prison - where she'd been held since December of 2015, as a political prisoner. She had saved her hometown three times, and the world at large twice as a Centhuen Prototype, with the aid of her godfather's Zeran tech and suits. However, she was unable to stop the Triumvirate from tearing the United States into four regions. Her new husband, Donte McArthur, likewise saved the world multiple times as "Emeraldon." But failed to stop the Split from happening. All the other heroes, scattered and left unorganized, had also failed.

Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas - beguiled by ambitious and corrupt politicians with totalitarian fantasies - has become a "safe" haven dubbed "Toklisana," for what remains of the American dream. That is, the parts that are willing to tolerate the police state antics going on. Hardly a true "promised land," but an alternative to being murdered outright. California, Oregon, and Washington are colonized by the Chinese, fresh on the heels of trying to suppress riots in Hong Kong.

Amidst the chaos, Miriam is able to sneak into Hong Kong under the fake alias of "Haishui," to start her underground life of crusading against the Hebbleskins that took everything from her - including her fiance, Phil Couric, and his family. Yet, she will soon need to make new allies in the form of MSS Task Force Black Rat, if she wishes to survive the quest. In the mean time, she tries to avoid drawing too much attention from authorities during the riots - in spite sympathizing with the rioters' cause.

Much of the Midwest in the US has been taken over by the Hebbleskin Gang, which have dubbed the region "Netheel." The Society of the Icy Finger plots to seize control of Arkansas, replacing it with their Chrome Kite puppet government and create "Arkonia" as a brutalistic futuristic dystopia. They help the vile Halal Affadidah develop his own ISIS-style caliphate out of the northeast, dubbing the region "Ameristan." And in the new colonies of "Chimerica," Plum Bixie is soon going to go on the warpath to avenge her family.

The Sodality Church in Texas is planning to form an organized league of heroes from among those who enter its membership, as well as any supportive allies they can convince to join the league. They are in close contact with the Navyrope Society and the Order of the Oraphim - which have largely had to go underground. This new league of heroes would be dubbed the "Sodality of Gerosha," and would carry on Stan and Shalia's vision moving forward - in a world where the physical location of Boonville / Gerosha had fallen.

One promising candidate is the recent convert, Jack "the Jackrabbit" Mercreek. With his friends Miranda Kanla and Monty Raquin, also from an Apache tribal reservation, Jack seeks to rid the area around the University of Houston's campus from dreaded Hebbleskin scout Don "the Psycho" Mendoza - a vicious rapist vampire with a penchant for cat-and-mouse games. Rumors are, there's another vampire following Don's lead, also affiliated with the Hebbleskins: Wayne "the Vampire."

Meanwhile, an orphaned traceuse freelancer named Celia "the Taterbug" Winehart has heard rumors that her mother is still alive somewhere. She looks for leads, to put back together what's left of her family. However, she gets distracted by a need to check into the threat of this Wayne figure, as well as try not to draw attention to herself from Wayne nor from Don. She furthermore is distracted by entering a romantic relationship with Monty, that starts going too far. When Monty gets on Don's radar, however, the relationship becomes even more dangerous for Celia - with police suspecting her of foul play!

Don makes things extra personal for Jack, by eventually abducting Miranda to use for his cat-and-mouse game with Jack, relishing the animosity between the two. Jack's romantic feelings for Miranda begin fueling his rage, causing him to become reckless while pursuing answers to save Miranda. Counseling him is Rev. Wilbur Brocklyn, who fears for Jack's soul under pressure.

Also in Toklisana, Candi's old former hallmates from Unit 5 at Madison Juvenile, Patty, Brittany, and Nancy, have decided to carry on her old prison ministry / charity ideas as the Last Legs, saddened that Candi was denied the chance to go with them. Coincidentally, they find themselves befriending Candi's sister Marina Baret - now the lead singer of a rock band dubbed "Turkeybreath Skyline." The drummer, Tyrel Mace, fondly remembers a time when Candi saved his life during the Battle for Cincinnati. Marina, once wayward and promiscuous, started paying attention to signs more after touring with another band in 2016 - and witnessing the highway battle between Cherinob and Astirnah. They all agree that Candi had a lot of good ideas - but that they needed to be the ones to bring those ideas to fruition, since Candi herself couldn't.

Back in southern Indiana, word goes up about a force field installed at the Ameristani border, dubbed simply "the Wall." It's not so much designed to keep rescuers from Toklisana out, as it is to keep refugees to Toklisana trapped in Ameristan against their will! With the entire caliphate northeastern former US having been transformed into a giant prison, Halal Affadidah sets his krokodil "zombies" loose on entire cities. He also invokes on prisoners taken alive the Hebbleskin execution creed: "Decolarent eam, eviscerate eum!" (Off with her head, out with his guts.)

The Project: Earwig armor development system created by Jeraime Malestrom of Malestrom Industries - who believes a company merger with Lambrelli Labs is best for his company's future - has been tampered with illegally - both by SCALLOP director Darius Philippine abusing the powers granted unto him by the Kirby Act, and by the Hebbleskins that Darius was supposed to be protecting the project from! Jeraime himself has been abducted by the Hebbleskins, and is now set to be put in one of the armors with the Musaran mind control protocol ring on his head - thus turning him into their latest killing machine to terrorize Houston with!

Jeraime's new wife, Dolly, is taken to Affadidah's death camp in South Bend. However, she escapes along with Candi McArthur. Candi is forced to eventually move back in with her godfather, inventor Imaki Izuki - who is now one of the leaders of the Indiana Branch of the Exodus Agenda, set up to aid refugees into fleeing to Toklisana. Imaki is desperately seeking answers on how to hack the Wall, so he can lead a troupe out of Affadidah's hellish country.

While searching for more survivors to make into refugees, as well as salvaging for supplies; Candi, Donte, and Dolly become a powerful team. They all share a bunker with Imaki; longing for a chance to finish their mission and start their lives over in new land - which they intend to then defend rigorously. Along with that, they intend to explore whatever became of the other heroes that have gone missing, and build the Sodality's strength up. The heroes long for a second chance. The villains are willing to snuff out all life to deny them one.

America has fallen. And you can now make your Sims experience life in this post-apocalyptic nightmare world, by downloading this story pack for them to interact with!

Sims 4 requirements
Main article: Sodality: Instigation Story Pack requirements

Each of these was made with Get to Work - Eco Lifestyle installed, and each item varies according to need for these packs. The game packs involved are likewise Outdoor Retreat through to Realm of Magic. Stuff packs employed include Luxury Party through to Tiny Living. The pack was finished before Nifty Knitting or any later official DLC stuff packs were released, as well as before the release of Journey to Batuu, Snowy Escape, and Cottage Living.

While Jawknee and Imaki's hidden bunker lot can both function without Cottage Living, that pack his highly advised for improving gameplay - and for giving Jawnknee an army of chickens.

Sims 4 development
The pack has been in planning since 2014, but faced several delays. By the time it was made ready in 2020, several additions to Gerosha lore had been added on, including the Last Legs. Each item had to be introduced piecemeal into the greater collection. There was some challenge with giving more history to Jackrabbit's associates while avoiding contradicting any previous Gerosha continuity, especially when trying to dig more into Celia's origins.

While implementation of the pack on DzMD began in early May of 2020, the thread would not be in its completed form until mid-June of that year. Imaki's ruined house and hidden bunker were reverse-engineered from his 209 N. 2nd St. home in Ciem: Inferno.