lets discuss lore, story, and the future *SPOILERS*

[HoboForEternity]

i just finished the game, it was worth the 87+ hours i put. DC was quite frustrating but it doesn't detract much from the game's quality.

first of all, we know nothing of the surface. what caused human to retreat to underground? there are bits and pieces of info here and there, but it is likely the aboveground became inhabitable because of chemical (warfare, pollution, experiment gone wrong, we don't really know) but biocorp somehow anticipated it and build the whole underrail (iirc, they build almost everything)

it might be they have a hand in destroying the world.

then there's tchort. is it biocorp made, or really a natural creature, and really primordial? it reside in biocorp's mutagen lab, so i assume tchort was there AFTER the lab was built. it still can mean tchort choose that place or tchort was artificial. (if got the timeline right the lab and experiment was built by the original biocorp, and eidein was from the second biocorp, which is after the first civil war, but before the oligarch split. they span centuries, so it is possible that eidein's biocorp forgot what the original biocorp was doing)

in the final dialogue, it is know that it is waiting for someone. tchort mouth said "we have starved long to wait for this moment. . ., but instead we got railrat like you . . . "

it was expecting someone, probably tanner or six, or other individual by their species.

godmen, occulus, etc. big chance it's really six and tanner's race. their origin is still a mystery. alien? advanced cave natives? beings from other dimension or something even more? they have some limited relationship to the faceless too.

i think the faceless are humans that somehow found / or given part of the godmen technology in form of cybernetics augmentation, and commanded by six/other people of his race.

the mysterious pillars. i don't know what they say (especially the one in west wing of the university) because i don't play psi build. maybe someone could post what information contained in them.

if there is sequel/expansion DLC, it is obvious we will be heading north. i hope there's some kind of file / save transform to import our character.

[TRJoker]

The infos given by the pillars are very cryptic but they have hints to exactly what you think.
Hints to some sort of godlike aliens, cybernetic or perhaps even fully mechanical.
Its about robots that crawl out of their fleshy corpses on an universal scale, changing shape, doing godlike things bringing chaos and destruction, new order ... things like this.
But I will be honest, I did read them several times and did not understand it ....
Perhaps cause english is not my native language ...

[HoboForEternity]

cool. how much will you have to have to read it? i plan a PSI build next playrtough (wont be soon, but eventually)

[TRJoker]

Not very much, compared to what you have to read anyway ...
Its about 3 or 4 short textes every pillar ...
A sideeffect is that you gain new psy abilities, at least at one of them ...

[A.W.S.H.]

Pretty much the entire game's story and lore is based on BioCorp and their petty internal power struggles. Technically Underrail is not just a post-apocalyptic setting, it's a post-post-apocalyptic setting, where a second apocalypse (read, the Hollow Earth Incident) took place after the first, and the first one isn't even relevant anymore. I'd go further and say that even the second apocalypse doesn't really matter, because while you spend a lot of time helping the small people, the eventual focus shift reveals that the greater forces in the background have not been born as a consequence of the apocalypse, but always been there, and always controlled the fate of the planet. If I were to go all pretentious and technical, Underrail is more dystopian than post-apocalyptic fiction.

Tchort is, simply put, a biocomputer that consists of the agglomerated bodies and minds of BioCorp's former head scientists, who wants to grow stronger by absorbing other species into its body and thus adding their genetic material to its own. It's essentially The Many from System Shock 2 made the main villain (with SHODAN getting a small side role as IRIS in the Arke power plant).

The Faceless are, rather unmysteriously, a species of BioCorp-made mutants that revolted against their creators and ran off to form their own civilisation. Not many secrets to be found there.

[kirill-busidow]

Originally posted by HoboForEternity:

the mysterious pillars. i don't know what they say (especially the one in west wing of the university) because i don't play psi build. maybe someone could post what information contained in them.

Sure, i will post all.

[kirill-busidow]

Mysterious pillars (Silent isle):

Three strange pillars rise from the pool. They are decorated with glowing symbols that you are unfamiliar with and they seem to hum, though you are unsure whether they actually produce sound or if it’s just all in your head.
Focus your mind on the pillars.
You clear your mind of other thoughts and focus just on the sound of the pillars and the glowing symbols.
As the time passes you lose the perception of the world around you. You can no longer hear the water dripping from the cave ceiling or the insects skittering amongst the mushrooms. Everything except strange symbols is darkness and the only sound is the humming of the rock.
You realize this could be dangerous.
Continue focusing.
As the time passes you can no longer distinguish the glare of the symbols from the humming. They merge into a single feed through which mental images pour into you. You cannot tell If they are memories or just products of your imagination.
You see a man sitting on a throne in a large sphere orbiting an invisible star. Millions of miles below, you hear wind sweeping across desolate landscapes carrying sand and dust. The sand scrapes across a naked man, tearing the skin away and revealing the robot body beneath. Great hydraulic pumps expand the universe until nothing can be seen.
The trance finally subsides. You cannot make any sense of the information that was poured into you and you’re left with only fragments.
The strange feeling that followed you across the island still lingers in the back of your head, though dormant.

Mysterious pillars (Core City):

Three strange pillars rise from the pool. They are decorated with glowing symbols that you are unfamiliar with and they seem to hum, though you are unsure whether they actually produce sound or if it’s just all in your head.
Focus your mind on the pillars.
You clear your mind of other thoughts and focus just on the sound of the pillars and the glowing symbols.
As the time passes you lose the perception of the world around you. You can no longer hear the water dripping from the cave ceiling or the insects skittering amongst the mushrooms. Everything except strange symbols is darkness and the only sound is the humming of the rock.
As the time passes you can no longer distinguish the glare of the symbols from the humming. They merge into a single feed through which mental images pour into you. You cannot tell If they are memories or just products of your imagination.
The corpses of Leviathans rot from within as their corpses collapse into the Sun. Machines gnaw and tear at the rubble of the universe , weaving fine thread. On top of a ziggurat amidst the thick forest the reign of the Godmen is proclaimed. The space weave ripples.
The trance finally subsides. You cannot make any sense of the information that was poured into you and you’re left with only fragments.

Mainframe (Oculus)

Suspended in the middle of pyramid a massive glowing rock hums softly.
Focus your mind on the rock.
You clear you mind of other thoughts and focus just on the sound of the humming and its strange contours.
After a while the walls of the pyramid start moving away from you. At first slowly, but soon they begin accelerating. They escape faster and faster, moving light-years away from you, but somehow you can still see them.
Inversely, the rock shrinks to the sub-atomic size. You can no longer see its light, but you can still feel its presence though the humming.
In the vastness of space, surrounded by the pyramid’s walls, a storm of memory, knowledge, and visions rages around you.
Most of them seem to be well beyond your reach, but you might be able to glimpse into some of them.
1. Focus on two large objects revolving around one another.
As a Leviathan circles around a red planet, from half galaxy away an invisible spear is hurled. It warps the space-time as it races towards its target, dislodging planets and shattering stars. This tell-tale signs will arrive too late to warn the creature of its impending doom, though.
For this giants it is impossible to defend from the enemy who can kill by observing. The Eon of the Beast is over.
2. Focus on the nearby superheated object.
The egg is cold and dark on the outside, but as you pass the membrane you can see and feel the hot core within.
Immeasurable amounts of energy flow though the invisible network. So much more than they need to rule their domain, but not nearly enough to change their fate.
3. Focus on the pervading background waves.
Countless thoughts of Godmen race though your head as you let the waves pass though you, but you can only make sense of small fragments.
You sense their fear and wonder as they arrive close by. They lament as they learn their fate.
Morbid curiosity make them descend. You feel anger and hatred as they die. Three are now all that remain.

With a sickening screeching the space around you implodes, and just as quick as it expanded, the pyramid reverts back to its previous state.

Monolith (west wing)

Suspended in the center of the room, surrounded by cables and various electronics, is a half-shattered crystal monolith. It is dark and rough on the outside, but from within the cracks emanates enticing blue light. Life watching bonfire, there is something primal that draws you to stare into its depths and listen to its humming.
Focus your mind on the monolith.
You clear your mind of other thoughts and focus just on the sound of humming monolith and its enticing blue light.
As you stare into the crystal, its light grows brighter and brighter, binding you to everything else. No shadow, no sound, no thoughts – just light.
No it is the light of the clear blue skies above lush thick green forests. You have never seen such sights, but somewhere deep in your mind – you know this place.
A massive structure of stone and metal rises far above the treetops. Its sacred, yet obscene geometry cuts into the skies above. Its dark cold walls have been hardened by millions of years of angry winds and tempered by many sieges.
Impregnable it stands in the wildest region of this moon – the Tomb of the Godhead.
Evil winds that now weep this temple seek to awaken the dead Godhead. They bring word of his people, his children and the sickness that has befallen them… that has *again* befallen them.
Now, gratingly, the many maws of the Tomb open, bellowing deeply. The song is carried back on this evil winds to all corners of the moon.
Slowly the voiced rise from across the globe. They are irritated at first, and soon they grow angry, furious. But their fury becomes tempered with fear and then… pain.
Now the world is screaming and you soon realize why. Deep in your guts you can feel it – a beast stirs. Fueled with all your desires and fears, like a rabid rathound it claws with increasing fury at the inside of your skin, yelping, growling, barking.
The pain becomes increasingly intense as the moments pass. Your face and your hands become numb, and inside – only pain. You look up at the sky, it’s nighttime.
In desperation your hand reaches for the stars. You have to escape or you have to cut your belly open and let the beast out, there is no other way.
The vision ends abruptly and you find yourself back in the real world. Collapsed on your knees, tears running down your face, you are screaming at the monolith.
You take a deep breath and compose yourself. Maybe what you saw was only a vision, but the pain was real.

[HoboForEternity]

@TAPETRVE
that all makes sense, especially about all biocorp shenanigans. (and thank styg i am not the only one making the connection between IRIS and SHODAN hahaha) anyway, so my timeline is correct then? everything on the DC (even including the mushroom forest, dat self growing toilet paper though) is a product of pre-hollow earth biocorp, eidien, wit nosek, etc is the second biocorp, and finally the oligarch split.

@kirill

thanks, that's quite hell lot of texts. still, nothing make sense, though it hint the godmen are aliens with technology so advanced, law of the universe bend over them. guess everyone see the different thing. i dont think efreitor mateo see that, instead something about the truth of tchort.

the biocorp plot seems to be almost clear, what we barely know is the godmen, their artifact, and the race of tanner / six. guess we wil lhave to wait for the sequel.

[ArchAngel]

well vision says only 3 godmen were left. My guess would be that is Tanner, Six and someone else.

[kirill-busidow]

Read computer (mail) in Deep caves. Caesarus living block.

There is some info on monoliths (they are alien, they are used to project Psi powers from living into them - and i suspect they are reason Psi appeared amoung humans).

Also W.Abdul logs there, he see his shadow (Bilocation) which tells him he is trapped in his body, hm.

[kirill-busidow]

Wikipedia is wrong! There are more pillars and more lore.


Mysterious Pillars (Deep caves)

Three strange pillars rise from the pool. They are decorated with glowing symbols that you are unfamiliar with and they seem to hum, though you are unsure whether they actually produce sound or if it’s just all in your head.
Focus your mind on the pillars.
You clear your mind of your other thoughts and focus just on the sound of the pillars and the glowing symbols.
As time passes you lose the perception of the world around you. You can no longer hear the water dripping from the cave ceiling or the insects skittering amongst the mushrooms. Everything except the strange symbols is darkness and the only sound is the humming of the rock.
As time passes you can no longer distinguish the glare of the symbols from the humming. They merge into a single feed though which alien thoughts poor into you.
They gather now around the Machine God. It is not customary to do so, for He is not god of discovery or hope, but a jailer, a warden…or, at best, a watcher of dark horizons.
On this day, however, from this point, the Chosen set out onto their greatest journey yet and they need His blessing. The great arch that they’ll travel across will take them across to the other side of His wall.
They will lose much of themselves in the process, but, by his Grace, will be made anew. To sail the black seas of infinity but not to submerge and drown – that is the miracle only their greatest benevolent God of the Machine could perform.
Or they so hope.
The stream of alien thoughts end and you find yourself in the real world again, feeling strangely melancholic.

[max.savenkov]

Where is Tchort's desire to absorb all races of Underrail is explained? I don't remember anything about it in any logs or other info-dumps. Actually, this really annoyed me: I haven't a single hint why I should kill Tchort. Sure, it's a nightmare of a creature, with psionic powers to boot, but one shoudn't judge by appearances...

Six and his vagueness really irritate me. Not a single straight answer from him, and not a line of dialogue to tell him to go to hell, which is what I really wanted to say to the man. And Faceless Commander is hardly better.

[Jack Dandy]

Originally posted by TΛPETRVE:

Pretty much the entire game's story and lore is based on BioCorp and their petty internal power struggles. Technically Underrail is not just a post-apocalyptic setting, it's a post-post-apocalyptic setting, where a second apocalypse (read, the Hollow Earth Incident) took place after the first...

What WAS the hollow earth incident, though? The Faceless uprising?

And, can somebody tell me about Occulus? I didn't take their storyline.

[HoboForEternity]

Originally posted by max.savenkov:

Where is Tchort's desire to absorb all races of Underrail is explained? I don't remember anything about it in any logs or other info-dumps. Actually, this really annoyed me: I haven't a single hint why I should kill Tchort. Sure, it's a nightmare of a creature, with psionic powers to boot, but one shoudn't judge by appearances...

Six and his vagueness really irritate me. Not a single straight answer from him, and not a line of dialogue to tell him to go to hell, which is what I really wanted to say to the man. And Faceless Commander is hardly better.

i hope styg and co is planning on sequel. can't leave me hanging like this :(

Originally posted by Jack Dandy:

What WAS the hollow earth incident, though? The Faceless uprising?

And, can somebody tell me about Occulus? I didn't take their storyline.

i think it's experimental failure. if you read the log in residential area, there's a hint here and there. some stuff gone wrong and caused people to die and evacuate the rest, thus "hollowing" the whole deep caverns.

[kirill-busidow]

Originally posted by Jack Dandy:

And, can somebody tell me about Occulus? I didn't take their storyline.

Occulus occupy area build originially by Godmen.

Their machinery was built to spy on everyone and everything around them.

Their machinery is most advanced amoung see in Underrail (more advanced than Biocorp - i.e. top human knowledge and science).



About, Six - Faceless mention that his equipement is far more advanced than anything they saw.
Also Tchort call him High One. And that he was expecting him. I think he would be more dangerous to him than to us. Because as Faceless commander explains Tchorts skills and abilities are more harmful the more advanced being is. I.e. to humans he is not as dangerous as to Faceless an (i assume) as to Six.

Also Tchort is Devil (in slavic), cunning and weakest amoung others.

[HoboForEternity]

so why is tchort waiting for six? what's its endgame? obtain the high one technology to augment it even further?