[INTRODUCTION]

You are a criminal.

Due to a series of bad choices, you have found yourself bouncing around the NEU's courthouses for some time now. Simple theft, grand larceny, manslaughter - it doesn't matter. You were thrown behind bars and locked away for good.

However, against all odds, you have been given a second chance. Because of overcrowded prisons in the Union, the Supreme Authority, approved by President Étienne Dubois, has authorized a lottery to draw from the incarcerated, to allow prisoners a chance of getting a Presidential Pardon through 6-months of service in the USRF.

Your name came up in the lottery selection. Really, the government hopes you will not come back - maybe you die in a trench somewhere, or maybe you get stuck with a bayonet. It's a death sentence to serve, but you were likely to die in prison anyway.

You are one of the "lucky few" who have been selected to serve under the Penal Incursion Brigade in the 158th Penal Service Regiment. All other penal units get sent to the South, but you, you get to serve under the Lakeside Division in the Great Lakes, just west of the NEU. Nothing bad ever happens on the Lakes after all, right?

You were lined up with the other inmates who were chosen for service in the USRF. You were chipped in a "surgical procedure", they called it, in the base of your neck. You were given an old uniform set, older than your grandparents, a flimsy survival handbook and dulled pencil, and put on the next available transport to the border.

This is the story of your indentured service. Earn your freedom or die trying.

[DESOLATION MODE]

Desolation Mode is a new way to partake in the USRF, for those who are looking for a more survival-oriented roleplay. Based off the CRH's Survival Roleplay System, it bridges the gap between unaffiliated and faction roleplay, giving both the opportunity to engage in survival-like roleplay in their own ways. Enter Desolation Mode, a whole new way to roleplay your faction OC. In Desolation, you take on the mantle of a prisoner from the Northeast Union who has been given a second chance at life through service in the USRF. Start with nothing and work your way up the chain of command, in the Penal Incursion Brigade, everybody starts on equal ground. You have only the clothes on your back and memories from your past life with you. Desolation Mode offers a unique experience in which you have to earn every single item, keep track of the loot you obtain, and ensure that you remain combat ready at all times. Your health is just as important as the items you seek to procure through roleplay, as a simple injury or disease may quickly fester and kill you. Desolation, in its current form, offers the following:

• A sizeable portion of Quests that you can complete at your own leisure, whenever you want, if you want. These do not require USRF Staff Team oversight. Will be updated occasionally to add more substance through the trader system.

• Traders, some of whom are unlocked from the very beginning, and others made available by completing Quests, or by participating in USRF story events. New traders may occasionally come and go.

• A Desolation Mode Character Sheet, which features About Me, Health Status, and Inventory sections and blank space at the bottom to be adjusted by yourself on need-to basis. This character sheet is ICly a survival handbook issued to your character upon joining the 158th.

[SURVIVAL HANDBOOK]

Due to the incredibly low survival rates of Penal Units in the force, USRF Commanders have authorized a form of handbook to be issued to every Penal soldier in hopes of curbing the mass death rates. Officially designated as the "Penal Service Survival Handbook", the handbooks issued to penals are made of cheapest materials at the cheapest manufacturing cost. The papers are usually old and yellow, held together with staples.  The handbook has a multitude of features to help you and your character track their belongings, health status, and who they are exactly:

• About Me! - While not exactly your standard character description template, the about me section contains only the bare minimum of information that the Penal Incursion Brigade requests. The few things that stand out from this section include the character "title" and assignment dates. As ranks are subjective within the PIB, you may fill out the title section with what your character has earned while fighting alongside other indebted prisoners in the brigade. As each member of the brigade has only 6 months of service, the end date for sentencing will be approximately 6 months after they were assigned to the PIB.

• Health Status - This module contains two sections of importance: Injuries and Sickness. If your character receives any grave injuries and wounds during battle, you are to list it following the format within the module, as well as marking the condition of the area with the appropriate highlighting on the character module. If your character were to suffer from any particular disease or sickness, you are to provide a basic description of the illness you have contracted and any debilitating effects it may have on you.

• On-Person Inventory - Being the bulk of the handbook, the main inventory section is where you will be spending most of your time filling out any equipment you have managed to scavenge for yourself during your 6-month service. As you start off with nothing but mere clothes of your back, items recorded here must be obtained inside legitimate methods in role-play. 

• Footlocker Inventory - Having only a limited amount of storage on your person, additional items worth keeping are advised to be stored away within a crude footlocker given to many prisoners of the Penal Incursion Brigade. Here, any excess items can be stored for a later date or will risk being discarded or destroyed. This section is much more free form than the previous ones and currently allows you to write in whatever format best suits the need of you properly storing items away so long that it is done in a proper and legitimate way.

• You CANNOT expand the inventory tables whenever you please. This means your character is only capable of holding whatever amount of item is capable of being held in each designated row. If an excess item is not stored away in a footlocker, it will be discarded and destroyed. Backpacks and other storage upgrades can be acquired, granting additional storage slots to its respective category. (IE. An IFAK bag adds 1 extra medical inventory slot.)            Find my pages
  
  Things to keep in mind regarding your PIB Survival Handbook:

• You CANNOT expand the inventory tables whenever you please. This means your character is only capable of holding whatever amount of item is capable of being held in each designated row. If an excess item is not stored away in a footlocker, it will be discarded and destroyed. Backpacks and other storage upgrades can be acquired, granting additional storage slots to its respective category. (IE. An IFAK bag adds 1 extra medical inventory slot.)

• You cannot modify the handbook sheet in any way, the only exception to this rule is additional character description rows to the About Me module, should you feel the need to describe your prisoner in further detail or if you'd like to write journal entries at the bottom of the document.

•   Additional supplies, such as weapons, ammunition, equipment, provisions, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, and lastly technology are sections of the inventory can have their own types, quality, quantity that can be adjusted for whenever items of such are gained. It is encouraged to also provide additional notes for when these items are kept in your on-person inventory.

[GETTING STARTED]

Getting started in Desolation Mode Desolation Mode is as simple as filling out the character sheet, which is mandatory and part of the aspect for this mode. The sheet itself is divided up into four major parts: the About Me, Health Status, On-person and footlocker inventory. This system is highly trust based, there is no incentive from skirting past the harsh reality of scrounging for weapons and supplies if you attempt to cheat the system it is based around. Likewise, the same could be said for wounds sustained and additional statuses or bonuses gained or lost while role-playing.

Progression is usually slow, unless you mind taking life-threatening risks on the regular. After creating your character, take some time during a PIB startup to let them get a feel for their environment and what exactly they signed up for. Your character should always have some sort of goal in mind that is not loot or items. 

Northeastern Dollars are one such commodity that PIB members sometimes have the luxury of acquiring. Though still indebted and can't do much with them legally, ND can be used for purchases in trade deals or bartering with other PIB members.

You cannot modify the handbook sheet in any way, the only exception to this rule is additional character description rows to the About Me module, should you feel the need to describe your prisoner in further detail or if you'd like to write journal entries at the bottom of the document.

• Rules / Expectations - As a member of the Penal Incursion Brigade, you will not have the same freedoms as your USRF cadet "peers", who will more often than not treat you poorly due to your status as a criminal. As such, you are expected to face harsh restrictions and will not be likely to fraternize with members of the USRF.  For specific rules and expectations for playing Desolation Mode, please claim the @Indebted role and refer to #pib-information for more details.

[PENAL CODE]

[PENAL CODE]

• You accept APTK in all situations. This does not mean you will be insta-killed, but your character is at a high risk of death. Tread lightly with CSB and USRF.

• You start out with nothing but the clothes on your back, your penal service survival handbook, a tiny tent, and that's about it. No weapons, provisions, nothing. You're lucky you even get shoes.

• You must roleplay your injuries, conditions, etc. Your injuries are not to be time-skipped.

• Your gear must be earned through missions, quests, trading and hosting. 

• Stealing and looting items from USRF soldiers is an option, but you may not take service weapons, armor, or rigs due to them being incredibly easy to track down, likely resulting in your death.

• Stealing items from other Penals is an option, but you are at risk of being killed by fellow Penal if they catch you stealing their stuff.

• As a Penal soldier, you are largely on your own. Trust nobody. Even though you are a military unit, at the end of the day, it's every man for themselves.

• You understand gear is not a guarantee, and you may go an exceptional amount of time without proper gear, provisions, etc.

• You cannot engage in "Loot Scumming". Refer to #pib-information

• You understand that roleplaying is not about winning. It is about building a story with others, developing a character, and most importantly: having fun with others.

• Within the rules of ROBLOX, ATF, the USRF, and the Hardcore System, you are free to play your character how you want.

Homemade Survival Handbook - Link to Character Sheet (Made by Rej) 

[EARNING TITLES]

As penals comprise of the lowest of the low, bottom of the barrel fighters under the USRF where self-preservation is most important, rank and paygrade become meaningless. However, as most Indebted hold onto prison culture, many penal units have adopted titles as unofficial substitutes for ranks to give a small fragment of distinction amongst one another. Largely unrecognized by USRF soldiers, the only official 'rank' or title is "Indebted". Titles can be earned by completing quests, missions, or standing out in a way that would allow your character to proclaim it for themselves. The majority of titles stem from prison slang terms, as all penals, being former inmates share prison culture to some degree. Below is a list of titles currently adopted by the 158th Penal Incursion Brigade on Sunrise Isles.

Indebted - Default title for all penals, it is the only real rank that penals officially hold. No matter what title you hold, you will almost always be referred to as an Indebt.

Tealeaf - Rhyming slang for petty thief. Obtained by stealing and getting caught by a fellow Indebted, USRF soldier, or CSB agent and surviving three times in a row. 

J-Cat - Derived from Category J in the Department of Law and Order's Penal Code, which is protocol for incarcerating the mentally unstable. This title is obtained after developing PTSD or other disruptive mental illnesses throughout penal service.

Saint - A stupid selfless individual, recognized for doing numerous amounts of good deeds for fellow penals such as errands, aid, or favors. Prone to being taken advantage of. 

Fuzz - A title obtained by ratting out other penals to the USRF or CSB and being recognized for it. A Fuzz is typically outcasted by most penals due to their untrustworthy reputation as a bootlicker.

Hotshot - Reliable and effective, this title is obtained by receiving public praise from USRF Section Leadership or above through superior performance as a soldier, a surefire ego booster that holds one above the average penal.

Ringleader- One of the only titles partially recognized by the USRF. Distinguished for their leadership prowess and end up geared up to be on par with most conscripts, Ringleaders are typically put in charge of other penals during a mission. Either a good friend, or someone not to be messed with. There is no median. To earn this title, a penal must be nominated and have a strong support from their fellow gang members as a leader, then must have their nomination accepted by the current Gang Leader.

Top Dog- A title that is heavily respected among the 158th Penal Incursion Brigade. The Top Dog sits at the highest social status among their peers, making it a grave mistake to get on their bad side. To earn this title, a penal may challenge the Top Dog to a fist-fight duel to take the title for themselves. A duel is fought until either person is knocked unconscious or into submission. The winner of the duel holds the title of Top Dog and steals as much loot possible from the loser. If the losing penal has no loot worth taking, then they may be finished off. (TOP DOG DUELS CAN ONLY HAPPEN AFTER A 1 MONTH COOLDOWN)

Special/Custom Titles - Can be created by JSL+ with approval of 158th Commanders as a reward for quests and missions. These titles should be seen as luxuries and used sparingly.