Art by @ Lamreii
Who are the Messengers?
The Messengers are the mail carriers of the apocalypse, risking life and limb to deliver letters, warnings, packages, and critical news between distant settlements. They support themselves through donations from the places they visit, but may also carry job requests and bounties.
They have no central leadership, formal membership records, or strict hierarchy. They are less of a unified faction and more of a loose identity adopted by people willing to carry messages across the wasteland. They have no direct stake in Shelter, though individual Messengers may develop their own relationships, loyalties, and enemies.
Where do I find the Messengers?
You usually don't. They'll find you and perhaps offer you a quest.
Can I be one?
Yes, but being a Messenger is a backstory detail rather than membership in an active faction.
A Messenger character may have previously delivered messages between settlements or may continue to do so through player-driven roleplay.
Staff will not provide jobs, quests, rewards, contacts, or dedicated storylines simply because a character is a Messenger. Any roleplay connected to the occupation must be player-driven.
Being a Messenger provides no special benefits while in the Shelter. Characters will not receive supplies, protection, employment, or automatic assistance from other Messengers. It is ultimately just a job: carrying messages and small deliveries between settlements.
There is no official way to prove or disprove that someone is a real Messenger. Reputation is everything. Anyone can wear the title, but abusing it, stealing deliveries, or falsely representing other Messengers may have consequences.
The Messengers are intentionally a very loose organization. Players and Storytellers are welcome to use them for hooks and backstories.