Apocalipsis

The "prime" timeline in which most of my OCs reside.  In the early 1990s, Earth is blanketed by an experimental biological weapon known as "Agent Venom".  Most lifeforms on the planet, from plants to humans, end up either dead or mutated.

The "Venomous Age", as the history books come to call it (VA for short, especially on year numbers), is a time of crisis.  It's a nigh-lawless dystopia rife with mercenaries, bandits, and dangerous mutant animals.  After civilization's collapse and the planet's poisoning, the scattered survivors huddle in barebones townships or become nomads.  (Caravan is one book that takes place at this time.)

After this comes Post-Venom (PV) years.  Despite the name, the chemical is still out there, albeit diluted by an "antidote" compound.  1980s technology is rediscovered and put to use.  City-states spring up, most in areas that once held major cities.  (For example, River City, the setting of Absolute Zero, was once San Francisco, California.)  Besides the street gangs, and the shady megacorporations trying to use Agent Venom for their own gain, it's a pretty stable society.